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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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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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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[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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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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[KH Explains] Is private equity giant MBK a risk-taker or renegade?
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[Jeffrey Frankel] The right time to reform fuel pricing in the U.S.
World oil prices, which have been highly volatile during the last decade, have fallen more than 50 percent over the past year. The economic effects have been negative overall for oil-exporting countries, and positive for oil-importing countries. But what about effects that are not directly economic? If we care about environmental and other externalities, should we want oil prices to go up, because that will discourage oil consumption, or down because that will discourage oil production? The answ
ViewpointsAug. 10, 2015
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[Editorial] Zero tolerance
As a public outcry mounts over sexual molestation and harassment cases at a high school in Seoul, officials are busy announcing measures to curb sexual abuses at schools and other public workplaces. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn presided over a meeting of senior government officials last Friday to discuss the issue. Participants agreed to push for revisions of pertinent laws and regulations to fight sexual abuse. Under the plans, teachers, soldiers and government employees will be removed from
EditorialAug. 10, 2015
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[Editorial] Political commitment
The government included plans to tax the incomes of members of the clergy in a package of proposals to revise tax codes, which are mainly aimed at boosting the economy stuck in a low-growth trap and export slump. It is the latest move of the government to levy income tax on the clergy, discussions of which began in 1968. The latest plan calls for revising the income tax law to count the earnings of ministers, priests and monks as taxable income. The issue of taxing clergy incomes has caught th
EditorialAug. 10, 2015
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E-Mart faces tax probe: reports
Tax authorities are investigating allegations of a slush fund creation by E-Mart, the discount store chain of Shinsegae Group. According to reports, investigators at the Seoul Regional Tax Offices are probing whether a substantial portion of the company’s stock kept under an executive’s name actually belongs to Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myung-hee, her son and Shinsegae vice chairman Chung Yong-jin and his younger sister Chung Yoo-kyung. The investigators are also looking into whether the vice cha
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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Firms willing to do business in N.K.
Eight out of 10 South Korean companies intend to do business in North Korea after unification, a recent survey found Monday, with resource development and infrastructure building cited as their key interests. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently conducted the survey on its 500 member companies. Of them, 87.2 percent responded they were willing to carry out North Korea-related projects when the two Koreas are unified. Gaeseong and Haeju, both located near Gyeonggi Province, were p
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Loss-laden DSME struggles to survive
The money-losing Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the world’s biggest shipbuilder by order backlog, is desperately struggling to survive in the industry. The industry‘s continued slowdown and the shipbuilder’s record 3.07 trillion won ($2.65 billion) shortfall in its second-quarter operating profit for this year have spawned speculations that DSME is readying a full-fledged restructuring process.While the DSME management had refuted rumors about an imminent workforce cut, tension is r
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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Hotel Lotte IPO being considered: report
Lotte Group is reportedly considering to publicly list Hotel Lotte Co., the de facto holding company of its South Korean operations, amid rising pressure to improve its corporate transparency and circular shareholding structure. “Given the recent developments, there is a possibility that Lotte will start discussing new measures to improve its governance structure in the long run, including a public listing of Hotel Lotte,” a key group official close to the matter was quoted as saying. As the fie
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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[Photo News] KT wins design awards
KT WINS DESIGN AWARDS -- South Korea’s leading mobile carrier KT said Monday that it has won two top awards for its phonebrella, an umbrella fitted with a smartphone holder on its handle at this year’s Red Dot Award, one of the world’s most prestigious product design competitions. (KT) KT WINS DESIGN AWARDS -- South Korea’s leading mobile carrier KT said Monday that it has won two top awards for its phonebrella, an umbrella fitted with a smartphone holder on its handle at this year’s Red Dot Awa
TechnologyAug. 10, 2015
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Dead homeless foreigner remains unidentified
Late last month, a homeless foreigner who called himself “Thomas” died of biliary tract cancer in a public hospital in northern Seoul. He was brought to the hospital after experiencing severe pain and constantly shaking his hands. Thomas had claimed that he was an Israeli in his 60s who came to Seoul to run an English education-related business, according to city officials. He had added that he ended up on the streets after the business failed.Upon his death, the Seoul Metropolitan Government fa
Social AffairsAug. 10, 2015
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Online payment Syrup Pay sees growth
IT solutions developer SK Planet’s online payment service Syrup Pay is gaining traction as it saw transactions executed through the system increase fourfold since its launch in April.The total amount of transactions processed on Syrup Pay crossed the 60 billion won ($51.4 million) mark this month, up from 5 billion won recorded during the first month of its operations, according to SK Planet on Monday. IT solutions developer SK Planet said Monday that transactions processed on online payment sys
TechnologyAug. 10, 2015
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Daum Kakao names new chief
South Korea’s largest mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao said Monday it has named a new chief executive in order to swiftly respond to the fast changing mobile business environment. Rim Ji-hoon, new CEO of Daum Kakao. (Daum Kakao)Rim Ji-hoon, former head of investment firm K Cube Ventures, will head the mobile messenger and Web-portal firm. Daum Kakao previously had Choi Se-hoon and Lee Sir-goo as co-CEOs after the merger between Web-portal Daum and mobile messenger firm Kakao last year. “Whi
TechnologyAug. 10, 2015
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[Graphic News] Number of self-employed businesspeople lowest in 20 years
The number of self-employed people are at a record low due to the Middle East respiratory syndrome and the economic recession, data showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, the number of self-employed businesspeople for the first half of this year was 3.98 million, a decrease of 107,000 people compared to the same period last year.This is the lowest number since 1995, when there were 3.97 million self-employed businesspeople.Those who were hit the worst were owners of manufacturing and food
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korean scholars urge Japan to issue 'sincere' apology
Hundreds of South Korean scholars Monday called on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to "sincerely" apologize for his country's militaristic past and brutal colonization of Korea, as both countries prepare to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. This Friday, Abe is set to issue a statement marking Japan's World War II defeat, which ushered in Korea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The Japanese leader has offered a glimpse into his hyper-conservative v
InternationalAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korean financial firms beef up IT investment in 2014: report
South Korean financial companies expanded their employment of information technology experts and IT-related investments last year as part of efforts to counter a rise in financial glitches and irregularities, a report showed Monday. The country's 155 financial institutions, including banks, insurers and card companies, employed 9,136 IT professionals as of the end of last year, up 9.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the annual report by the Bank of Korea. The biggest
IndustryAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korea, Mongolia hold working-level defense talks
South Korea and Mongolia held working-level defense talks in Ulaanbaatar Monday to discuss regional security issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry said that Yoon Soon-ku, the ministry's director general on international policy, met with his Mongolian counterpart, Zagdsuren Boldbaatar, in Mongolia's capital to discuss a follow-up to a meeting between their defense chiefs held in May last year and how to enhance defense cooperation. Yoon
DefenseAug. 10, 2015
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Reforms critical for next economic leap: finance minister
South Korea should successfully push ahead with sweeping structural reforms if it wants to make the next leap forward, the top economic policymaker said Monday. Speaking at the construction site of a railway line here, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said Asia's fourth-largest economy will be able to strive for growth only by making headway in changing the labor, finance, public and education sectors. "If the country implements changes, per capita income could reach the US$30,000-40,000 rang
Aug. 10, 2015
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U.N. Command denounces N.K. mine blasts in DMZ as violations of armistice
The United Nations Command Monday denounced North Korea's detonation of land mines in the demilitarized zone last week, calling the blasts violations of the armistice agreement. The UNC also said it plans to propose a general officer level-dialogue with North Korea. "The UNC condemns these violations of the Armistice Agreement, and will call for a general officer level-dialogue with the Korean People's Army," the UNC said, without elaborating on when the proposal will be made. Three North Kor
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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N. Korea's denuclearization remains top priority: U.S. official
North Korea's denuclearization remains a top priority for the United States despite Pyongyang's unwillingness to give up its nuclear weapons program, a senior U.S. official said Monday. "Denuclearization remains our top priority," Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. under secretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters in a conference call from Tokyo. "We remain in close contact with other five party partners on our shared goal of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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S. Korea voices regret over NK's rejection of Seoul's offer
South Korea expressed regret Monday that North Korea has refused to accept Seoul's offer for inter-Korean talks, which was made to coincide with a rare visit to the North by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung. South Korea attempted to send a letter to North Korea proposing the high-level talks on Wednesday, the same day Lee Hee-ho embarked on her four-day trip to North Korea, according to the Unification Ministry. But Pyongyang has not received it, saying there is no order to do so from
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015
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Park voices regret over N. Korea‘s decision to push back standard time
President Park Geun-hye expressed deep regret Monday over North Korea's recent decision to push back its standard time by 30 minutes. The North said last week that its clocks will be moved back a half-hour starting on Liberation Day, the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japan's colonial rule. Liberation Day, which falls on Saturday, is a major holiday in both Koreas. Currently, the two Koreas use identical standard time, set under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. "It
North KoreaAug. 10, 2015