Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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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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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Gov't to host Korean music festival in London
South Korea will host a Korean music festival in London next month to enhance the global interest in Korean music initially sparked by the popularity of K-pop, the government said Thursday.The second edition of the "K-Music Festival" will be held from Sept. 1-30 in several performance halls in downtown London featuring a rich lineup of Korean traditional and contemporary musicians, said the Korean Cultural Center UK, which is hosting the event.The roster includes Su:m, a traditional Korean music
CultureAug. 27, 2015
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Gov't starts 'one-plus-one' service for show ticket buyers
The government launched a program Thursday to provide an additional ticket to people who purchase tickets to certain shows to help revive the country's performing arts industry hit by the MERS outbreak, officials said.Last month, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the program that would provide the "one-plus-one" service to those who buy tickets for certain shows worth 50,000 won ($42) or less. The government spent 30 billion won in supplementary budget for this program.The fi
CultureAug. 27, 2015
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S. Korean firms inactive in overseas M&As
South Korean companies are less active in overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) than their counterparts in other countries since they involve huge funds and high risks, a report showed Thursday.Local companies spent a total of 51.2 trillion won ($43.2 billion) to acquire or merge with other firms last year, but the portion of overseas M&As came to a mere 400 billion won, according to the report by the Korea Economic Research Institute. The ratio averaged 3.6 percent over the 2010-2014 period,
IndustryAug. 27, 2015
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US reporter, cameraman killed on air; gunman dies
A TV reporter and cameraman were shot to death during a live television interview Wednesday by a gunman who recorded himself carrying out the killings and posted the video on social media after fleeing the scene.Authorities identified the suspect as a journalist who had been fired from the station in 2013. Hours later, he ran off the road and a police officer found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died at a hospital later Wednesday.(Yonhap)The shots rang out on-air as reporter Alison
World NewsAug. 27, 2015
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Hyundai, Kia's overseas output drops to 3-year low in July
Overseas production by South Korea's leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its corporate cousin Kia Motors Corp. dropped to a three-year low last month, dragged down by the plunge in output at their plants in China, data showed Thursday. The combined number of cars produced by the duo at their plants in eight countries abroad reached 289,753 units in July, down 14.1 percent from the 337,278 units tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Associ
IndustryAug. 27, 2015
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S. Korea to hike military budget to boost readiness
South Korea will sharply increase its military budget for 2016 to enhance the readiness of its armed forces against North Korean threats, the top economic policymaker said Thursday.In a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party in Seoul, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the latest standoff with North Korea highlights the need to strengthen the combat readiness of troops near the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas, as well as to cope with the threat posed by Pyongyan
DefenseAug. 27, 2015
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S. Korean students urge Abe to apologize for sexual slavery
Two South Korean college students, who crossed the U.S. by bicycle to promote awareness of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, held a rally in front of Japan's Embassy in Washington Wednesday to demand Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologize and compensate victims.The two students, Shim Yong-seok and Baek Deok-yeol, both 22, arrived in Washington earlier this week after traveling all the way by bicycle from Los Angeles since June 27. The 4,800-kilometer journey was aimed at calling for Japan to
InternationalAug. 27, 2015
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Korean investments in foreign securities nears record in Q2
The value of foreign securities held by South Korean institutions climbed to a near record high in the second quarter as local asset managers and insurers beefed up their buying of foreign assets and equities, data showed Thursday.The outstanding amount of foreign securities held by institutional investors reached US$115.3 billion as of the end of June, the highest level since the second quarter of 2007, when it was $116.5 billion, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.The amo
Aug. 27, 2015
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U.S. says respects S. Korea's decision to attend Chinese military parade
The United States said Wednesday it respects South Korean President Park Geun-Hye's decision to attend a massive military parade China plans to hold to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II."Participation in these events is the sovereign decision of each country. We respect the Republic of Korea's decision," a State Department spokesperson said on background in response to a Yonhap News Agency's request for comment.The Chinese parade, set for Sept. 3, is seen as a show of force am
InternationalAug. 27, 2015
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Park to meet with Xi, attend military parade in Beijing
President Park Geun-hye will hold summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, ahead of China’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.The summit is set to take place next Wednesday upon her arrival in China for a three-day visit, the presidential office said.On Thursday, Park plans to watch the huge military parade to be staged in Tiananmen Square before attending a luncheon reception to be hosted by Xi at the Great Hall of the
Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2015
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Amid jeers, Merkel vows ‘no tolerance’ of far-right hatred
Angela Merkel urged Germans to stand up against hatred and vowed zero tolerance for attacks against refugees, even as more than a hundred far-right protesters booed her visit to a shelter for asylum-seekers Wednesday.Merkel had traveled to Heidenau, a small town near Germany’s eastern border with the Czech Republic, to express support for refugees following neo-Nazi riots at the site over the weekend. Dozens of police were injured when a far-right mob hurled bottles and fireworks at officers in
World NewsAug. 26, 2015
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Labor market reform talks set to resume
South Korea’s largest trade union group decided to return to the long-stalled trilateral negotiations among labor, management and government Wednesday, giving a boost to the government’s push for labor market reform. Key officials from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions made the decision at a high-level meeting four months after the three-way talks collapsed in early April. (Yonhap)The union officials entrusted Kim Dong-man, head of the FKTU, with the authority to decide when to return to the
Social AffairsAug. 26, 2015
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Philippines seeks U.S. help to protect troops in disputed sea
The Philippine defense chief said he asked the visiting U.S. Pacific commander on Wednesday to help protect the transport of fresh Filipino troops and supplies to Philippine-occupied reefs in the disputed South China Sea by deploying American patrol planes to discourage Chinese moves to block the resupply missions.The Philippines has protested past attempts by Chinese coast guard ships to block smaller boats transporting fresh military personnel, food and other supplies to a Filipino military sh
World NewsAug. 26, 2015
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S. Korean Red Cross expects family reunions around mid-October
Reunions of families on either side of the Korean Peninsula separated by the Korean War could be held around mid-October, a South Korean Red Cross official said Thursday.In a breakthrough agreement following intensive talks earlier this week, the two Koreas said they’d hold Red Cross talks early September to arrange for family reunions.“Considering the amount of time it takes from the inter-Korean Red Cross meetings to the actual reunions, I estimate the family meetings to take place around mid-
North KoreaAug. 26, 2015
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China probing brokers, regulators for possible stock crimes
Employees of one of China’s biggest securities firms and one current and one former employee of its market regulator are under investigation on suspicion of illegal stock trading, state media reported Wednesday, amid the collapse of a stock price boom.Three other brokerages announced they are under investigation for possible violations of rules on confirming the identities of customers.China’s main stock market index has fallen more than 40 percent since early June. On Wednesday, it fell another
World BusinessAug. 26, 2015
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Korean firm launches world’s first 4G telecare solution
Hidea Solution’s 4G-supported health care solution LivOn SilvercareKorean health care solution firm Hidea Solutions has launched the world’s first remote health care, or telecare, solution running on the Long Term Evolution, or 4G, network, dubbed LivOn Silvercare. The LTE-based telecare solution is aimed at enabling caregivers to monitor elderly or people with disabilities in real time and respond to emergencies in a swift manner.The LivOn Silvercare solution consists of a telecare base unit, a
TechnologyAug. 26, 2015
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[Start-up Seoul] Medical tech start-up makes wearable to tackle dementia
As Korea faces the growing challenge of caring for an aging society, one start-up hopes to help reduce the social costs by treating and diagnosing mental disorders without the use of drugs.Ybrain, a Seoul-based medical technology start-up, aims to create wearable devices that help doctors and patients treat mental diseases in their early stages, and even prevent them. Its ultimate goal is a medical device tackling the most common form of dementia ― Alzheimer’s disease, which it views as the most
TechnologyAug. 26, 2015
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LG Chem boosts presence in water treatment market
LG Chem workers check the production line for membranes for reverse osmosis filters at the company’s plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. (LG Chem)South Korean chemical firm LG Chem said Wednesday that it had completed the construction of its plant for reverse osmosis water filters in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The LG Group affiliate broke ground on the plant in August last year and has poured around 40 billion won ($33.7 million) into the construction. The plant will begin
TechnologyAug. 26, 2015
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Mirae Asset chairman honored by academia
Mirae Asset Financial Group chairman Park Hyeon-jooMirae Asset Financial Group chairman Park Hyeon-joo was conferred the top accolade by South Korean academia for its leading contribution in elevating the nation’s economic presence globally, the group said Wednesday. In the 17th Korean Academic Society of Business Administration’s annual award ceremony last week, Mirae Asset won the Best Company Award, in congregation of some 1,500 professors and graduates. This is the first time that the honor
Aug. 26, 2015
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Concert to bring together Korean, foreign traditions
Seoul’s Senior Public Diplomacy Group will host a free folk music and dance concert at the National Museum of Korea on Sept. 6.The concert, which brings together performers from nine countries, including Korea, was set up as part of the group’s efforts to promote Korean culture and bring different groups together to celebrate their own traditions.“Initially we held concerts only with Korean traditional performers but since then we began to include dances from other cultures to bring people toget
Expat LivingAug. 26, 2015