Most Popular
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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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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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Market uncertain on Korea's October rate cut despite slowed inflation
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Samsung unveils 'personalized AI' for all devices
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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[Editorial] Brace for trouble
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Mud fest organizer to compensate for illegal use of photo
An appeals court upheld an earlier ruling Tuesday that the media does not have to compensate a woman for publishing a poster containing her photo without her consent. But those who made the poster should compensate the woman, according to another ruling. (Yonhap)The Seoul Central District Court rejected the 30-something woman’s appeal for financial compensation from five media outlets that published the poster containing the photo featuring her playing in the mud along with others, officials sa
Social AffairsJuly 22, 2015
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Samsung widens gap with Apple in Q2 market share
South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. managed to maintain its presence in the global smartphone market in the second quarter, but its archrival Apple Inc. suffered a setback in the face of growing demand for low- to mid-end devices, data showed Wednesday.Samsung took up 26.8 percent of the world's smartphone market in the April-June period, unchanged from the previous quarter's reading, while Apple saw its share fall to 16.4 percent from 20.5 percent over the cited period, accordi
TechnologyJuly 22, 2015
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Gov't to spur fixed-rate loans to rein in household debt
South Korea's government said Wednesday it will prod local lenders to extend fixed-rate amortized loans and further scrutinize borrowers' repayment ability as part of efforts to stem a sharp rise in household loans amid a potential U.S. interest rate hike. The set of measures came as the ballooning household debt can be a bugbear for Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is also facing a double whammy of sagging demand and a slump in outbound shipments. The amount of the country's household deb
July 22, 2015
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S. Korea reports no new MERS cases for 17th day
South Korea reported no additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome for the 17th straight day on Wednesday, signaling an apparent end to the outbreak that has claimed 36 lives here so far.The number of fatalities has also remained flat for the past 12 days.So far, 186 people have been diagnosed with the viral disease since the country reported its first case on May 20.As of Wednesday, 13 of those diagnosed still remained hospitalized as the remaining 137 have been discharged from hospit
Social AffairsJuly 22, 2015
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N. Korea upgrades long-range missile launch facility
North Korea has almost completed modifications to its long-range rocket launch facility near the border with China, government sources here said Wednesday. A new 67-meter-tall gantry has been spotted in the Dongchang-ri site, which the North calls the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, a source said apparently on the basis of satellite imagery. "We believe that the North will use the extended gantry in Dongchang-ri to fire a long-range missile longer than the Unha-3," the source said. "We thin
North KoreaJuly 22, 2015
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Samsung heir pledges support for start-ups
Samsung Group heir apparent and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong on Tuesday visited the group’s start-up incubation centers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province to discuss future support plans. The centers opened last year, joining a government-led initiative that aims to nurture start-ups and venture companies across industries. Lee attended the opening ceremony of each center together with President Park Geun-hye.During the visit, Lee, the de facto leader of South Korea’s large
TechnologyJuly 21, 2015
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Death penalty sought on Army sergeant over bloody shooting rampage
Military prosecutors sought capital punishment for an Army sergeant on Tuesday for killing and wounding a dozen unarmed fellow soldiers in a shooting rampage at a military outpost near the tensely-guarded eastern border with North Korea last year.The 23-year-old conscript, surnamed Lim, detonated a grenade and sprayed a hail of bullets in June last year in the military outpost of the 22nd Infantry Division stationed near the east-coastal front line, killing five comrades and wounding seven other
DefenseJuly 21, 2015
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LG CNS, Sonnedix sign $112m solar power deal
LG CNS, a leading Korean information technology solution provider, said Tuesday it has secured a 130 billion won ($112 million) project to build a 33-megawatt solar power plant on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Together with the latest deal, the company has won three solar power projects in Japan, with their combined power capacity reaching 43 megawatts. The company said the plant will be located in the city of Imaichi, Oita Prefecture. Its construction will take about two years. Its sister compa
TechnologyJuly 21, 2015
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Staff cuts are not option for restructuring: DSME
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Tuesday that its restructuring will focus on selling noncore properties and stock assets, dismissing news reports of workforce reduction.Rumors about DSME’s possible job cuts emerged after company CEO Jung Sung-leep announced over the weekend that the shipbuilder would launch a restructuring program aimed at cutting costs, including relocating manpower and job rotation.The CEO fanned speculation of massive layoffs when he said at the company’s worksh
IndustryJuly 21, 2015
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[Newsmaker] U.S., Havana renew ties despite discord
WASHINGTON -- The Cuban flag has flown proudly over Havana's newly restored embassy as the US and Cuba relaunched diplomatic ties but swiftly cautioned that sharp differences lingered after five decades of enmity.Some seven months after President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro agreed to restore ties snapped in 1961 during the Cold War, Havana and Washington reopened full embassies in the two capitals Monday.The Cuban flag flies in front of the country's embassy for the first
World NewsJuly 21, 2015
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Samsung to unveil new flagship smartphones on Aug. 13
South Korean smartphone-maker Samsung Electronics has finally set the launch date and venue of its upcoming smartphones ― the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus ― for Aug. 13 in New York, according to news reports.A Samsung official was quoted by a local news outlet as saying that “the Korean firm has sent invitations to its customers and partners for the New York unveiling event on Aug. 13.” Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 4. SamsungIt had been rumored that the launch event would be advance
TechnologyJuly 21, 2015
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NCSOFT, NVIDIA team up to develop multiplatform game
South Korean online game developer NCSOFT said Tuesday it would beef up its partnership with U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA to complete the development of its upcoming role-playing game “Lineage Eternal.”Lineage Eternal (NCSOFT)In order to deliver vivid and immersive visual effects, NCSOFT said it would deploy the latest computer graphics technology from NVIDIA. The Korean game developer has been collaborating with the U.S. graphics chipmaker for many years. Most recently, the companies held a test run o
TechnologyJuly 21, 2015
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[SUPER RICH] Shin Dong-bin gains complete control of Lotte, both in Korea, Japan
At the age of 60, Lotte Korea chairman Shin Dong-bin finally achieved his desire of getting a full grip of Lotte in Japan. Lotte Holdings of Japan announced last Thursday that the board of directors unanimously agreed to name him the company’s president. Now Lotte Holdings has three presidents -- Shin Dong-bin, his father and Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho and Japanese CEO Tsukuda Takayuki. But there is little doubt that Shin has overall control of the firm. In March, Tsukuda was seen “bowing polite
IndustryJuly 21, 2015
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Korea mulls curbs on capital outflow
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan indicated Tuesday that the government may take action to stabilize financial markets if there is a sudden capital outflow.Minister Choi also tried to ease concerns among foreign shareholders about the nation’s negative views on short-term speculative investments. Choi Kyung-hwan, deputy prime minister and minister of strategy and finance. Yonhap“If the U.S. Fed rate hike gives a severe boost to capital outflow (from Korea), we may revise the system and bring in m
July 21, 2015
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[Editorial] In rough seas
The shipbuilding industry, once a major source of pride for Korea Inc., is sailing through rough waters. While the sluggish global economy is primarily to blame for the current situation, there is a bigger cause for concern. A simple look at figures shows how bad the situation is. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s top shipbuilder, recorded its biggest-ever operating loss of 3.25 trillion won ($2.84 billion) in 2014. Another world-class shipbuilder, Samsung Heavy Industries, which managed to
EditorialJuly 21, 2015
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[Editorial] Future of progressives
Shim Sang-jung, a veteran progressive politician, has taken helm of the minor opposition Justice Party, which is the most left-wing party that has seats in the National Assembly. Shim, a two-term lawmaker, scored a come-from-behind victory over popular former lawmaker and party chief Roh Hoe-chan. She won 52.5 percent of the vote in a run-off poll, against Roh’s 47.5 percent. She said her primary mission would be to realign the nation’s progressive forces -- used in Korea to describe groups po
EditorialJuly 21, 2015
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[Kim Seong-kon] Mental clocks and specters of the past
Recently, I met a Korean-American professor who pointed out that the Korean people’s mental clock had stopped ticking, and was forever stuck in the past times of colonial rule and military dictatorship. I could not agree with her more. Ironically, our psychological clocks are stuck in the past, even as we develop forward-looking technologies. There is no doubt that we are a past-oriented people. For example, we are still obsessed with hunting down people who allegedly collaborated with the Japa
ViewpointsJuly 21, 2015
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[Robert J. Fouser] Improving Korean universities
The headlines were shocking. A professor at a Korean university repeatedly beat a student and forced him to eat his feces. When questioned by prosecutors, the professor that it was for the student’s benefit. The student, meanwhile, said that he endured such inhumane treatment in the hope that the professor would help him become a professor. The incident is no doubt isolated, but it sheds light on the rigid authoritarian structure that plagues Korean universities. Universities, by their nature,
ViewpointsJuly 21, 2015
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Art project to create conversations with North Koreans via postcards
Postcards offer a taste of the foreign and exotic, giving the recipient a chance to share in the scenery experienced by the sender. Some of them, however, are about more than eye candy. This is the case with Uri Tours’ upcoming art project, “Conversations with North Korea,” which will involve sending postcards from North Korea to people across the world. Uri Tours is a U.S.-based North Korea tourism company. CEO Andrea Lee was inspired to host the project after witnessing tour participants’ reac
PerformanceJuly 21, 2015
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Zombies, ghosts and all things horror at BiFan
Zombies, ghouls and the horrific of all kinds abound as the biggest genre film festival in Asia stirs into life in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Branching out from the European genre film festivals on which it is based ― typically focused on horror and the grotesque ― the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival takes a wide view of the term “fantastic” to encompass “all that we cannot experience in the real world,” including sci-fi, suspense and action, according to organizers.In recent year
FilmJuly 21, 2015