Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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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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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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Samsung, Hyundai chiefs to accompany Yoon on Singapore trip
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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S. Korea seeks Russia's role in ending N. Korea's nuclear program
South Korea asked Russia on Wednesday to step up efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, citing Moscow's "constructive" role in a recent nuclear deal with Iran, according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the request to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during bilateral talks on the sidelines of a series of conferences led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations under way in the Malaysian capitol this week. "Our minister
Foreign AffairsAug. 5, 2015
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Governance at center of Lotte crisis
Lotte Group is facing the biggest challenge in its 67 years of history as the government is gearing up to take issue with its alleged unfair business practices after its founding family’s feuds erupted last week.The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday said that its commissioner Jeong Jae-chan has investigated into the governance structure of Lotte Group both at home and abroad, and that he will share the results with the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday. “Because Lotte has a structure of having a
IndustryAug. 5, 2015
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SoftBank Korea confident in Coupang’s market control
Harvard dropout Kim Bom’s daily deals start-up Coupang made Korean tech start-up history in June when it fetched $1 billion from SoftBank in the country’s largest-ever Internet investment.Coupang is Korea’s prized unicorn, and perhaps SoftBank’s as well: After hooking bargain hunters with Groupon-type daily discount promotions and beating out its local rivals as the go-to source for cheap deals, the Seoul-headquartered start-up transformed itself into an e-retailer, raking in over 200 billion wo
TechnologyAug. 5, 2015
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[Photo News] Winners of SNUE-Korea Herald English Contest
ENGLISH CONTEST -- Winners of the sixth Seoul National University of Education-Korea Herald English Contest pose during the award ceremony at the British Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday, along with (from left, back row) Hong Sun-ho, English education professor at SNUE, British Ambassador Charles Hay, Herald Corp. CEO Lee Young-man, SNUE President Shin Hang-gyun and Yu Kun-ha, head of digital services at Herald Corp. The biannual event seeks to assess students’ ability to write in English and promp
Aug. 5, 2015
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Debate brews over state history textbooks in Korea
Political debate is brewing as the ruling camp appears to be entertaining the idea of expanding state-published history textbooks to middle and high schools.Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea was quoted as saying Wednesday that the government has not ruled out establishing a body responsible for the publication of Korean history textbooks.“History should be taught in a consistent manner in classrooms so as not to create division amongst the people,” Hwang said in an interview with Yonhap News.The
PoliticsAug. 5, 2015
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Korea Eximbank takes hit for DSME loss
As a major lender to the nation’s shipbuilding industry, Export-Import Bank of Korea has been hugely affected by the huge operating loss recorded by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.Not only is the state-run bank taking the blame for overlooking the shipbuilder’s faulty management, but it is also reeling from a worsening financial soundness, and likely to face a special audit in the worst case.Financial authorities are currently considering making additional investments in Korea Eximba
Aug. 5, 2015
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Rival parties ping-pong over electoral reform
Political tit-for-tat on election rules entered a new phase Wednesday as the main opposition leader dared the rival Saenuri Party to concede to proportional representation system overhaul, in return for accepting the ruling party’s suggestion on open primaries. New Politics Alliance for Democracy chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that he is willing to take the Saenuri Party’s proposal to hold open primaries to select candidates for the next general election on the condition that the ruli
PoliticsAug. 5, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Park's sister raises stir over Japan ties
Just as President Park Geun-hye struggles to improve the country’s relations with Japan, an unlikely figure has catapulted herself to the center of controversy by criticizing Seoul for dragging out the sex slavery rows: her younger sister, Geun-ryeong. In an interview with Japan’s video-sharing website Niconico, the 61-year-old Park Geun-ryeong said she was sorry that in most news reports South Korea blames Japan for the ongoing toil of the so-called comfort women “without itself taking greater
PoliticsAug. 5, 2015
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Big Bang releases new ‘E’ EP
Big Bang revealed its much-awaited, brand new EP at midnight Wednesday. Titled “E,” the album is the fourth and last installment of the group’s “MADE” series and comprises two tracks -- “Zutter” and “Let‘s Not Fall in Love.”The release came directly following an hour-long live broadcast on Naver’s V, a new app that allows Hallyu celebrities to stream live videos and chat with fans in real time. Also revealed during the broadcast were making-of reels for the new songs’ music videos, which feature
PerformanceAug. 5, 2015
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China's restructuring to take toll on Korean shipbuilders, steelmakers
South Korean shipbuilders and steelmakers are increasingly facing risks from China’s recent restructuring in its ailing shipbuilding sector. Beijing on Monday announced a large-scale restructuring in the industry as part of efforts to shift away from its investment-driven economic growth model and concentrate on boosting domestic consumption.Market watchers said the escalating crisis in China could take a huge toll on local shipbuilders as well as steelmakers, should they try to push ahead with
IndustryAug. 5, 2015
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Seoul steps up N.K. diplomacy
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Wednesday stepped up diplomacy to prevent North Korea’s possible provocations and the growth of its nuclear program, as he attended a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings involving Asia-Pacific nations in Malaysia.On the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, high-level multilateral security talks involving 27 Asia-Pacific countries, Yun met with his counterparts from China and Russia to discuss North Korean threats, and other bilateral and
Foreign AffairsAug. 5, 2015
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Choi urges public firms to adopt peak wage
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan urged public companies Wednesday to introduce the wage peak system as soon as possible, reiterating it would help widen employment opportunities for young job seekers.In his meeting with 40 chiefs from the state-run agencies and firms, Choi said that “large (public) firms such as LH and the Korea Railroad Corp. should take the initiative in inducing the labor-management agreement on the wage peak system in August.”Under this system pushe
Aug. 5, 2015
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Ex-first lady Lee begins four-day visit to Pyongyang
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, hoping to create momentum to enhance cross-border relations as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary this month of their liberation from Japan’s colonial rule. Lee Hee-ho (center), the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, and her entourage pose for a photo upon arrival at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport on Wednesday. (Yonhap)Her four-day trip to the communist state came as inter-Korean relat
North KoreaAug. 5, 2015
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[Herald Interview] Actress Uhm Jeong-hwa eager for more roles, challenges
When people talk about Uhm Jeong-hwa’s career as an actress, they often describe it as having begun with a successful transition from her singing career. Uhm’s long and diverse filmography certainly confirms that it was successful -- but at an interview at a cafe in Seoul on Monday, Uhm emphasized that it wasn’t a transition. “I actually debuted as an actress,” she said. “It just happened to take me eight years to find my second movie.” During that time, Uhm built her name as a sexy and charisma
FilmAug. 5, 2015
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SK launches program for young job seekers
SK Group is rolling up its sleeves for youth job creation as part of its efforts to strengthen socially responsible activities.The nation’s third-largest conglomerate launched on Wednesday a 2-year-long job creation plan for the youth, aimed at supporting young jobseekers to start their careers.SK Group said that it recognizes the youth unemployment problem is not something that can be resolved by the government alone, adding that the group’s role should be to create quality jobs for youths and
IndustryAug. 5, 2015
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SK hynix ends legal dispute with SanDisk
SK hynix, South Korea’s top chip maker, said Wednesday it has agreed with U.S.-based SanDisk to end their ongoing legal battle and to extend ties on patent use. In March last year, SanDisk filed a lawsuit against SK hynix in the U.S., claiming that its former researchers had moved to the Korean chip maker and leaked confidential business information in 2008. Following the agreement, SK hynix will pay an undisclosed amount in patent fees to SanDisk and supply dynamic random access memory, or DRAM
TechnologyAug. 5, 2015
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Out of the sun
For some, summer might mean a time to strip down and get toasty in the sun; Koreans, however, have developed a myriad of ingenious ways to shield themselves as much as possible from the harsh rays. Granted, the aversion to sun may not be as great as it is in China, where vacationers frequently don “face-kinis” -- rubber masks that cover the skin of the entire face -- when going to the beach, according to recent news reports. A woman veils her face with a scarf to escape the sun in this July 2015
CultureAug. 5, 2015
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[Editorial] Exports in distress
Korea’s exports stood at $46.61 billion in July, down 3.3 percent from the same month last year. It marked the seventh consecutive month that the outbound shipments dropped on-year. The bad global economy is primarily responsible for the continuing slump in exports, but the latest data calls upon both the government and businesses to redouble their efforts to cope with the situation. In addition to exports, the nation’s imports are also dropping -- faster than exports, with the inbound shipmen
EditorialAug. 5, 2015
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COOPERATION FOR 5G
TechnologyAug. 5, 2015
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[Editorial] Sexual misconduct
The Korean society, like elsewhere in the world, often witnesses sex scandals involving politicians, government officials, professors, teachers and celebrities. But the latest two cases -- one involving a member of the National Assembly and the other involving five teachers in the same high school -- should be a cause for big concern. The scandal involving Rep. Sim Hag-bong of the ruling Saenuri Party looks like a nasty soap opera, starting with a woman accusing the lawmaker of raping her at a
EditorialAug. 5, 2015