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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[Herald Review] One of Netflix's most expensive Korean originals returns, but at what cost?
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Man calls 119, found dead 1 week later because officials went to wrong place
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Food tycoon Paik Jong-won's Theborn Korea pushes toward IPO
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Samsung tightens its belt amid crisis winds
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A different look at Korea’s economic miracle
The Spirit of Korean Development by Sang-young Rhyu(Yonsei University Press) There has been much debate surrounding the analysis of the economic success and political transformation of South Korea. However, the interest of this book does not lie in the tangible factors behind its development. What is puzzling to non-Koreans is the intangible factors that enabled tangible factors to work together and thereby enable development. In other words, this book offers an explanation for Korea’s miraculou
BooksDec. 3, 2015
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OCA photo book receives printing award
Kim Min-jae is a veteran sports photographer who has covered many international sporting events, including the Asian Games and Olympic Games, for more than 30 years. Photographer Kim Min-jae (Courtesy of Kim Min-jae)The experience has led him to settle in Kuwait at the invitation of Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees. Kim, who started his career with the South Korean Ministry of Sports in the 1980s, now wor
BooksDec. 3, 2015
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ADB cuts Korea's 2016 economic growth outlook to 3.3%
The Asian Development Bank cut its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for next year to 3.3 percent from a previous 3.4 percent, citing sluggish exports. However, South Korea's economy is expected to recover in the coming quarters, backed by strong stimulus packages and low interest rates, the ADB said in its latest outlook update released Thursday. The ADB kept this year's growth forecast for South Korea's economy at 2.7 percent, saying the economy is showing signs of improvement after
Dec. 3, 2015
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State pension's assets top 500 tln won for first time
South Korea's state pension service said Thursday that the size of funds under its management has surpassed the 500 trillion won ($427 billion) mark for the first time ever. The National Pension Service said its total funds reached 500.2 trillion won as of September, a gain of about 100 trillion won from 2013 and a five-fold increase from 100 trillion won in 2003. Last year, the size came to 469.8 trillion won. Since 1988, the NPS said it has raised 622.4 trillion won overall, with 122.2 trill
Dec. 3, 2015
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Lotte Hotel reassures Japanese shareholders' support for IPO
South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Thursday its Japanese shareholders support the current leadership despite the ongoing succession feud, in an effort to clear up uncertainties surrounding the preparation for listing its hotel unit. The listing of Hotel Lotte is one of the reform pledges that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin has made to assuage public disgust over a bitter family feud over control of the retail-focused conglomerate, which has sprawling businesses both in South Korea
IndustryDec. 3, 2015
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Seoul shares down 1% in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded 1 percent lower late Thursday morning as investors lost the appetite for riskier assets after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen hinted at an interest rate hike this month. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 20.03 points to 1,989.26 as of 11:20 a.m. Most market heavyweights were in negative terrain. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slipped 0.85 percent, and top cosmetics maker Amore Pacific dropped 2.46 percent. U.S. stocks fell on We
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to suspend abolition of state bar exam until 2021
The government announced Thursday it will delay the abolition of the state-run bar exam until 2021, amid continued controversy over the recently adopted law school system. The Ministry of Justice decided to delay the abolition for four years from the planned 2017, citing public opinion poll results that called for improvement of the current law school system and retention of the state-run exam, its officials said during a press briefing. Law schools were first introduced at universities seven
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2015
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Life expectancy of Koreans tops 82 years in 2014
South Korean babies born in 2014 are expected to live more than 82 years as medical advances and efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle reduce death risks, a government report showed Thursday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of babies born last year averages 82.4 years, up from the previous year's 81.9 years. Male and female babies are expected to live 79 years and 85.5 years, respectively. The figures are higher than the previous year's tally of 78.5 years a
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2015
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GS E&C wins 760 bln-won LNG terminal order
GS Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean construction firm, said Thursday that it has received a 760 billion-won ($651 million) order to build a LNG terminal and other facilities in Bahrain. Under the deal with LNG W.L.L of Bahrain, the South Korean firm will build a floating LNG storage unit, near the Hidd Industrial area, to receive LNG shipments; an adjacent regasification platform; subsea gas pipelines from the platform to shore; and an onshore gas receiving facility. The fa
IndustryDec. 3, 2015
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North Korea defectors' satisfaction markedly falls 10 years after settlement: poll
North Korean defectors' satisfaction in life decreased significantly after 10 years of living in South Korea, a survey by a Seoul think tank showed Thursday, indicating difficulty in assimilation to the capitalist South.North Korean defectors who have lived here for more than 10 years said their satisfaction in life scored 2.73 on a 4-point scale, according to the poll of 240 North Korean defectors by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification.It showed their level of satisfaction pe
North KoreaDec. 3, 2015
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Improved Pyongyang-Beijing ties to help resume six-way talks: Hua
China's "normal and stable" relations with North Korea will be conducive to a resolution to the nuclear issue and regional peace, a senior Chinese official said.Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, admitted that the bilateral relationship was frosty until recently due to a dispute over Pyongyang's continued nuclear development but that it is warming up again.With regard to the matter, she said, China has three unswerving principles--realizing the denuclearization of the Ko
Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2015
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State pension's assets top 500 tln won for first time
South Korea's state pension service said Thursday that the size of funds under its management has surpassed the 500 trillion won ($427 billion) mark for the first time ever.The National Pension Service said its total funds reached 500.2 trillion won as of September, a gain of about 100 trillion won from 2013 and a five-fold increase from 100 trillion won in 2003. Last year, the size came to 469.8 trillion won.Since 1988, the NPS said it has raised 622.4 trillion won overall, with 122.2 trillion
Dec. 3, 2015
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Samsung expands payment tool to budget smartphones
Top tech firm Samsung Electronics Co. will release new editions of the Galaxy A smartphone series later this month, with updated features including Samsung Pay, the company's mobile payment tool that previously only came with high-end models, the company said Thursday.The new Galaxy A (2016) series will come in three versions, namely the Galaxy A7, the Galaxy A5, and the Galaxy A3 with 5.5-inch, 5.2-inch and 4.7-inch displays.The Galaxy A7 and A5 will support Samsung Pay, a mobile payment platfo
TechnologyDec. 3, 2015
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UK lawmakers vote to launch airstrikes on IS in Syria
British lawmakers voted by a wide margin Wednesday to join the international campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria, after Prime Minister David Cameron asserted that bombing the “medieval monsters” in their heartland would make Britain safer.The 397-223 vote in the House of Commons means Royal Air Force fighter jets _ already operating against IS in Iraq from a base in Cyprus _ could be flying over Syria within hours. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told Channel 4 news
World NewsDec. 3, 2015
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Parliament again passes annual budget after deadline
The National Assembly is notorious for its end-of-year tug-of-war over the government's budget for the following year and failing to pass it before the deadline. This year was no exception.On Thursday, the National Assembly passed the government's 2016 budget bill during a plenary session and failed to meet the legal deadline by just 48 minutes.The bill calls for increasing the government budget by 2.9 percent to 386.4 trillion won ($332 billion) next year from 375.4 trillion won this year. It f
PoliticsDec. 3, 2015
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U.S. senator calls North Korea leader 'forgotten maniac,' urges Obama to increase pressure on Pyongyang
A U.S. senator urged the administration of President Barack Obama on Wednesday to act immediately to rein in North Korea, calling leader Kim Jong-un a "forgotten maniac" seeking nuclear weapons and cyberwar capabilities while torturing his own people.Sen. Cory Gardner made the appeal in an article to the Wall Street Journal, stressing that while the U.S. is preoccupied with problems in the Middle East, Kim's "reign of terror" continues and his nuclear weapons arsenal grows. "It is time for the U
North KoreaDec. 3, 2015
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U.S. bill calls for moratorium on refugee admissions from high-risk countries like Syria, North Korea
A U.S. senator has introduced a bill calling for a temporary moratorium on accepting refugees from dozens of "high-risk" countries that include Syria and North Korea.The bill, submitted by Sen. Rand Paul last month, is aimed mainly at preventing the entry of extremists into the U.S. under the refugee program. It came after revelations that one of the terrorists in last month's deadly attacks in Paris posed as a refugee to enter France.A total of 34 countries were classified as high-risk countrie
InternationalDec. 3, 2015
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Korea to start work on airports on 2 remote islands in 2017
South Korea will start building two small airports on two remote islands starting in 2017 that will greatly improve convenience for residents and fuel tourism, the government said Thursday.Once built, the two airports can connect Ulleung and Heuksan, located in the East Sea and Yellow Sea, respectively, to Seoul, with a travel time of about one hour, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.At present, travelers from the capital city can expect to spend 5-9 hours transferring from
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2015
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Korea's foreign reserves shrink in Nov.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves dropped slightly from a month earlier last month but mostly due to a devaluation of non-U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Thursday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to US$368.46 billion at the end of November, down $1.14 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The drop was largely attributed to the recent appreciation of the U.S. greenback, which in turn led to a decline in the value of the country's foreign reser
Dec. 3, 2015
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Futures firms' Q3 net jumps
South Korean futures companies' net profit more than doubled in the third quarter of this year from a year earlier on a rise in brokerage commission income, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined earnings of six local futures companies came in at 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 1 billion won a year ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The strong bottom line came as their fee income from futures dealings jumped 23.5
IndustryDec. 3, 2015