Most Popular
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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81-year-old model awarded ‘best dressed’ in Miss Universe Korea
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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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'Smart pill'? ADHD treatment prescriptions spike this year
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[KH Explains] Korea pursues ‘fire-free’ batteries amid EV fears
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AI textbook bubble could burst, expert warns
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Man calls 119, found dead 1 week later because officials went to wrong place
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[Herald Review] One of Netflix's most expensive Korean originals returns, but at what cost?
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Fights, complaints, stalker fans among reasons passengers exit planes before takeoff
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SF Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo back home after injury-shortened rookie season
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Korea seeks closer industrial, energy cooperation with Brazil, Peru
South Korea seeks closer industrial and energy sector cooperation with Brazil and Peru as it moves to expand its presence in Latin America, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said an official delegation visiting the two countries this week will engage in talks aimed at strengthening ties in such areas as nuclear power, industrial technology, trade promotion, power distribution and infrastructure building. The team led by Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee wi
InternationalDec. 8, 2015
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Seoul shares down 0.37% in late-morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 0.37 percent lower late Tuesday morning as investors remained cautious after crude prices plunged to a near seven-year low. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.2 points to 1,956.47 as of 11:20 a.m. Oil refineries traded in negative territory, with industry leader SK Innovation falling 2.33 percent and No. 3 S-Oil dropping 0.39 percent. Lotte Chemical slid 0.42 percent, and Kumho Petro Chemical dipped 2.09 percent. The local currency was changing
Dec. 8, 2015
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Gov't to hike fines on boats violating navigation rules
The government will sharply increase fines slapped on boats that violate safe navigation rules in the face of growing public awareness for maritime accidents, the maritime ministry said Tuesday. Penalties for not adhering to set rules or disregarding oversight by authorities can lead to a fine of upwards of 10 million won ($8,500) starting on Dec. 23. This is up fivefold from the present 2 million won, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Under the changes, boats and ships that e
Social AffairsDec. 8, 2015
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Oil price drops to lowest since 2009, sinking energy stocks
A sharp drop in the price of oil on Monday rattled investors and helped push stocks lower across several industries.Investors sold from the start of trading following a decision by OPEC last week not to cut production. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped nearly 6 percent, deepening its stunning 1{ year plunge, to close at its lowest level in nearly seven years. The losses were broad, with seven of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor's 500 index closing lower. As they have all year, oil dril
World NewsDec. 8, 2015
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Oil slide blackens energy stocks
Oil industry stocks tumbled Monday, dragging down British and US markets, as crude prices sank to their lowest close since February 2009 in the wake of last week's OPEC decision.Leading petroleum stocks such as US giant ExxonMobil, France's Total and Italy's Eni all fell between two and three percent, with many smaller producers and oil-services companies suffering even bigger drops.The big pullback in petroleum-linked stocks came after Friday's decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Expo
World NewsDec. 8, 2015
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Instant coffee losing market share in Korea
South Korea's instant coffee market has been on a steady decline despite increasing coffee consumption, as more people drink at coffee shops or buy other types of coffee drinks, industry data showed Tuesday. The instant coffee retail market was valued at 1.05 trillion won ($895.6 million) last year, falling 9.4 percent compared with a year ago and dipping 14.7 percent from 2012, according to data from the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The combined sales of instant coffee
IndustryDec. 8, 2015
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Japanese scholars demand U.S. textbook publisher correct sexual slavery descriptions
Dozens of right-wing Japanese historians have issued a joint statement accusing an American history textbook of containing factual errors about the country's wartime sexual slavery, a claim seen as in line with Tokyo's attempt to water down the atrocity. The 50 scholars, including Osaka City University professor Eiji Yamashita, claimed in the December edition of Perspectives on History, a scholarly journal published by the American Historical Association, that the U.S. publisher McGraw-Hill's t
InternationalDec. 8, 2015
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U.S., IMF do not view Korea as currency manipulator: Korea
Neither the U.S. government nor the International Monetary Fund view South Korea as a currency manipulator, and the issue is unlikely to affect economic relations between the two countries, the Korea Society president said Monday. Thomas Byrne, an economics expert who has been leading the Korea Society since August, made the remark during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington, pointing out that the large current account surplus Korea is enjoying now is not because of increase
Dec. 8, 2015
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Creditors set to provide 450 bln won to STX Shipbuilding
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., a midsize local shipyard, is likely to receive financial aid of 450 billion won ($385 million) from its creditors soon, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, will decide this week on whether to salvage the shipbuilder from a liquidity shortage. Local lenders' exposure to STX Offshore & Shipbuilding stood at 4.29 trillion won at the end of September, with KDB extending the largest amo
IndustryDec. 8, 2015
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Seoul shares start higher on large-cap gains
South Korean stocks started a tad higher Tuesday led by gains in Samsung Group shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.38 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,967.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech giant Samsung Electronics gained 0.63 percent, and Samsung SDI, its battery-manufacturing unit, advanced 3.38 percent. Samsung Engineering soared 23.66 percent following a plan to sell new shares to improve its financial status. The local currency was trading at 1,174.45 w
Dec. 8, 2015
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Gov't to frontload 68% of 2016 budget in H1 to bolster growth
The government plans to aggressively frontload next year's budget in the first half to help bolster growth of the sputtering economy amid flagging exports and still weak domestic demand, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The 2016 resource allocation plan approved by the Cabinet calls for 68 percent of next year's more than 330.6 trillion won ($281 billion) budget to be spent before the end of June, the ministry said. The move comes as the ministry downgraded next year's growth forecast from 3
PoliticsDec. 8, 2015
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Over 3,000 Koreans join class-action suit against Volkswagen
Over 3,000 owners of Volkswagen vehicles in South Korea are participating in a class-action lawsuit against the German auto giant, demanding the cancellation of their purchases and full refunds, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, about 3,200 customers of Volkswagen and its luxury brand Audi have joined the collective lawsuit filed with a Seoul court against the German carmaker, its local units and dealerships. The number of people suing Volkswagen has been on the rise si
Social AffairsDec. 8, 2015
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Beijing vows to improve relations with Pyongyang to 'new level'
A key official of the Chinese Communist Party in charge of political relations with North Korea has said that he wants to improve ties with Pyongyang to a "new level," in the latest sign of warmer relations between the allies. Song Tao, who was recently appointed head of the Chinese Communist Party's international department, made the remarks Monday during a meeting with North Korea's Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong in Beijing, according to the Chinese Communist Party's website. Song was bel
North KoreaDec. 8, 2015
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Doosan Heavy wins 240 bln-won order from Botswana
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Tuesday that it has clinched a 240 billion-won ($205 million) deal to improve a power plant in Botswana. Under the deal with Botswana Power Corp., Doosan Heavy will improve the Morupule A power plant that has a capacity of 132 megawatts, 260 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Gaborone. The power plant has been shut down since 2012. Doosan Heavy will replace key parts, such as turbines and boilers
IndustryDec. 8, 2015
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Korea elected to chair U.N. human rights panel
South Korea was elected to chair a U.N. human rights panel for a year, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday, boosting the expectation that it would play a more influential role in enhancing North Korea’s woeful human rights conditions. Amb. Choi Kyong-lim MOFAThe election came as the member nations of the Human Rights Council supported South Korea by consensus, Seoul officials said. Ambassador Choi Kyong-lim, who heads the country’s permanent mission in Geneva, Switzerland, will serve as the c
Foreign AffairsDec. 8, 2015
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UN officials warn of climate disaster if Paris pact fails
LE BOURGET, France (AP) – Talks on a universal climate pact shifted to a higher gear Monday with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging governments to set off an ``energy revolution'' to rein in heat-trapping carbon emissions and avert disastrous global warming.Foreign and environment ministers joined the talks outside Paris after lower-level negotiators who met last week delivered a draft agreement with all crunch issues left unresolved.Warning that ``the clock is ticking towards climate cat
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2015
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Police to seek ways to arrest labor union head
SEOUL (Yonhap) – The nation's police chief said Monday they will review diverse measures to arrest the head of a local umbrella labor group as he is unlikely to soon emerge from a major temple where he has taken shelter.Han Sang-gyun, the head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is on the wanted list for organizing illegal rallies. He attended a massive anti-government protest that led to a clash with police on Nov. 14 and took refuge in Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul as police b
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2015
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‘Liberal arts education translates into better jobs’
With South Korean youths struggling to get jobs amid the worsening employment rate, the nation’s higher education trend has been shifting toward practical courses like finance and engineering and away from liberal arts, which many job seekers have dismissed as irrelevant to their future careers. But Smith College president Kathleen McCartney believes otherwise. The head the leading liberal arts college in the U.S. stressed that what students learn through flexible curriculum provided by the libe
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2015
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Opposition lambastes Seoul’s protest against critical U.S. press
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Monday demanded the government offer an apology for a claim by a U.S. weekly that the South Korean consul general in New York protested an article criticizing President Park Geun-hye. The newspaper, the New York-based Nation, ran a story last week lambasting the Park administration’s crackdown on antigovernment protesters, likening her approach to the authoritarian rule of her deceased father and late strongman, Park Chung-hee. The write
PoliticsDec. 7, 2015
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Korean men do least housework in OECD
South Korean men spend the least amount of time on housework among 29 surveyed members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, highlighting the persistent gender imbalance in household responsibilities.According to the work-life balance index published Monday by Statistics Korea and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, South Korean men spent an average of 45 minutes a day on household chores, less than a third of the OECD average of 139 minutes. South Korea was the only
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2015