Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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Foreigners' card spending dips in Q2
Foreigners swiped less with their credit cards during their stays in South Korea in the April-June period as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak led to a fall in the number of visitors to the country, data showed Friday. Foreigners' card spending in the country totaled $2.73 billion in the second quarter, slipping 1 percent from $2.76 billion three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. From a year earlier, it also dipped 6.4 percent. The local retail and tourism
Sept. 4, 2015
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Hyundai Heavy workers launch new strike over pay hike
Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the country's leading shipbuilder, launched another partial strike Friday, demanding higher wages, better working conditions and other benefits. Refusing a proposal by the management to freeze their base salary, the workers at the shipyard in this southeastern city put down their tools at 8 a.m., and the walkout lasted until noon. Thursday's strike is the second such action following one on Aug. 26. The Hyundai Heavy union, jointly with other
IndustrySept. 4, 2015
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Nearly half of top S. Korean firms face grim sales outlook
Nearly half of South Korea's top businesses are expected to see their sales shrink this year due to a global economic slowdown and weak domestic demand, market observers said Friday. According to market analysts, only 56 percent of the country's 300 largest firms by stock market capitalization are expected to see their sales grow in 2015 from a year earlier. The ratio marks the lowest since 2002 and compares with 69 percent in 2014. "The number of companies with growing sales is decreasing st
IndustrySept. 4, 2015
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S. Korea pound Laos 8-0 in World Cup qualifier
Newest Tottenham Hotspur winger Son Heung-min scored his first international hat trick, as merciless South Korea beat up on Laos 8-0 in their World Cup qualifier at home Thursday for their second straight victory in the regional qualification stage. Son Heung-min gestures after scoring his first international hat trick, as merciless South Korea beat up on Laos 8-0 in their World Cup qualifier at home Thursday for their second straight victory in the regional qualification stage. (Yonhap) T
SoccerSept. 3, 2015
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Park says she took cue from Schroeder over labor reform
President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that she has taken a cue from former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over labor reform. Park made the comment to Schroeder during their encounter at a military parade in Beijing, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters after arriving in Shanghai, the second and last stop on Park's three-day trip to China. Germany's so-called Hartz reform is credited with transforming the labor market and welfare system in Germany. Park has repeatedly c
Foreign AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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N. Korea rebukes Park for warning against NK provocation
North Korea blamed President Park Geun-hye on Thursday for warning against the North's provocation during her summit with China's leader, saying inter-Korean ties can return to confrontation at any time. The North's message came as Park held a summit with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Wednesday in Beijing where they warned Pyongyang against taking any action that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. She expressed gratitude to Xi for the constructive role Beijing has played
North KoreaSept. 3, 2015
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Warmer Seoul-Beijing ties send message to Pyongyang
When Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a massive military parade on a rostrum overlooking Beijing's iconic Tiananmen Square, South Korean President Park Geun-hye sat two seats to the right of Xi. The presence of Park at the rostrum was notable, partly because of her yellow jacket, but also because Choe Ryong-hae, a key aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who also attended the military parade, was barely visible. Choe was seen at the end of a row of other foreign officials watchin
Foreign AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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Park's wardrobe choice means fortune in China
President Park Geun-hye wore a gold-colored jacket when she attended a huge military parade on Thursday marking the end of World War II. The wardrobe choice by Park was seen as a message of congratulation to the Chinese people, who have long cherished the metallic shade, along with the color red, as a symbol of fortune. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted the military parade to show off his catchphrase "China Dream" for national rejuvenation. Xi was dressed in a dark-gray Mao Zedong-sty
PoliticsSept. 3, 2015
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S. Korea's chief nuclear envoy to visit U.S.
South Korea's chief envoy will visit Washington next week for talks on how to deal with North Korea, a government official said Thursday, apparently as part of brisk shuttle diplomacy among regional powers following President Park Geun-hye's visit to Beijing. Hwang Joon-kook, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, plans to leave for Washington "around next week" for a meeting with his American counterpart Sung Kim, the official told reporters on condition of a
Foreign AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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Red-hot striker to start for S. Korea vs. Laos in World Cup qualifier
South Korea has tasked red-hot striker Suk Hyun-jun with carrying the offense against Laos in Thursday's World Cup qualifier at home. Suk, a 24-year-old forward making his first international appearance in five years, will start as the featured striker, as the 57th-ranked South Korea take on the No. 174 Laos at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Suk, who plays for Vitoria de Setubal in Portugal, has scored three goals in his last two club matches. He is look
SoccerSept. 3, 2015
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'The Throne' filmmaker speaks highly of actor Song
Filmmaker Lee Joon-ik on Thursday highly praised veteran actor Song Kang-ho's portrayal of a Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) king, who starved his own son to death in a new film depicting the tragic story in Korean history. "Although the film is titled 'Sado,' it is also a film of King Yeongjo whom Song played," Lee said during a news conference after the film's press preview. He was referring to the original Korean-language title of the "The Throne." Sado is the posthumous epithet given to the
FilmSept. 3, 2015
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Korea boosts presence in Indonesian forest industry
South Korean President Park Geun-hye (far left), Korea Forest Service Minister Shin Won-sop (second from left), Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Zulkifli Hasan (third from left) and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attend the signing ceremony of a bilateral forestry pact on Oct. 12, 2013. (Korea Forest Service)The Korea Forest Service is elevating Korea’s presence in the global forestation scene with the Korean forest welfare model, chipping in large-scale investments
Sept. 3, 2015
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KFS spreads state-of-the-art forest leisure know-how to Indonesia
Korea Forest Service Minister Shin Won-sop (eighth from left) and South Korean forest authorities visit Korindo Group’s lush forest plantation in Kalimantan, Indonesia, on July 2, 2013. (Korea Forest Service)The Korea Forest Service has successfully brought the nation’s advanced expertise in the forest leisure industry and ecological tourism to Indonesia, widening the scope of environmental cooperation between the two nations. KFS, the state agency for afforestation and forest resources, invite
Sept. 3, 2015
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[Graphic News] Sex crimes rampant at schools
An average of more than three cases of sexual crimes were reported daily at schools nationwide between 2013 and 2014, a report revealed this week.Based on numbers collected from 17 city and provincial education offices, it showed that a total of 2,357 sexual crime cases were reported at elementary, middle and high schools, the report released by New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Bae Jae-jeung said. This translates to an average of 3.2 cases a day, it said.Sexual molestation cases accounte
Social AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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Korean researchers open ways for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis
South Korean researchers’ latest findings on Alzheimer’s disease patients may provide a new, efficient method for early diagnosis of the mental illness, the nation’s Health Ministry announced Thursday. The research, organized by the Korea National Institute of Health, discovered that elderly Alzheimer’s disease patients had larger amount of a specific family of small proteins, named SUMO1, in their blood, compared to healthy elderly Koreans. It researched a total of 80 elderly Alzheimer’s diseas
Social AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Global warming ‘far above’ target
Inadequate national targets for curbing climate-altering greenhouse gases meant emissions would be “far above” the level required to stave off disastrous global warming, analysts warned Wednesday.Instead of the U.N.-targeted ceiling of two degrees Celsius of average warming over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, the world was on track for 2.9-3.1 C by 2100, according to the Climate Action Tracker, a tool developed by a consortium of four research organizations.“The climate targets so far submitt
World NewsSept. 3, 2015
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Indonesia's fight against graft
Indoneisian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo accepted on Tuesday eight candidates for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner posts, who had been scrutinized by an all-women government-sanctioned selection team. Credit should go to the team, which started work in June, for completing a tough job that will characterize the future of Indonesia’s fight against corruption. We believe in the courage and integrity of the team members, who, despite pressures from various quarters, came u
ViewpointsSept. 3, 2015
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Sino-U.S. rivalry a challenge for Korea’s diplomacy
Tiananmen Square on Thursday turned into a pomp-filled showcase of China’s military prowess, with the march of its goose-stepping troops leading a formidable display of intercontinental nuclear missiles, fighters, bombers, drones and other high-tech weapons.During the much-anticipated military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered a message of “peace and justice,” which was eclipsed by the massive presentation of China’s homebuilt com
Foreign AffairsSept. 3, 2015
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Why India ignores a $16 billion health crisis
In January, the Indian government asked for public opinion on tougher new laws to curb smoking: To raise the minimum smoking age to 21 from 18, and to ban the sale of single cigarettes, which account for 70 percent of nationwide cigarette sales. People responded enthusiastically; 45,000 emails and 100,000 letters poured into the health ministry, as Reuters reported earlier this month. What they said, however, is not known because the government hasn’t yet read the messages, according to a health
ViewpointsSept. 3, 2015
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CJ Group calls for support in spreading K-culture
CJ Group vice chairman Lee Chae-wook on Wednesday slammed the government and politicians for shackling the corporate sector from conducting culture-related global projects that could lead to national prosperity.“CJ has contributed to the global proliferation of Korean pop culture, which led to the enhancement of public awareness and likability for Korea and its products. However, back at home, we have been framed as a predator of the market, and restrained from actively carrying out our business
IndustrySept. 3, 2015