Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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[Herald Interview] US election may unleash growth for Korea: Laffer
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Yoon's Prague visit sets stage for W24tr nuclear power plant deal
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Minjoo Party leader slams tax hike on cigarettes
The leader of the main opposition party on Wednesday urged the government to roll back a tax increase on cigarettes, criticizing the measure as a veiled attempt to collect more money by exploiting health concerns. The Minjoo Party of Korea’s chairman Rep. Kim Chong-in called for the “readjustment” of the taxes on cigarettes, noting that the tax increase appears to be failing in its antismoking aims.In 2014, The Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to double the tax imposed on packs of cigarett
PoliticsJuly 27, 2016
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Hyundai Heavy turns to black in Q2 amid reduced costs
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, reported Wednesday that it swung to a net profit during the second quarter thanks in part to reduced costs and improvement in its non-shipbuilding business. Net income came to 392 billion won ($345 million) in the April-June period on a consolidation basis, a turnaround from a loss of 242 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales dropped 17.4 percent on-year to reach 9.86 trillion won, while it logged
July 27, 2016
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Former chief of Lotte's ad firm summoned over alleged slush fund
Prosecutors summoned a former chief of Daehong Communications Inc., Lotte's advertisement affiliate, on Wednesday for questioning over the alleged creation of a slush fund, as they widened their probe into the country's fifth-largest conglomerate.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it summoned Choi Jong-won over suspicions the ad firm funneled more than 1 billion won ($880,000) into a slush fund by faking deals or exaggerating unit prices.The 58-year-old is also accused of siphon
CompaniesJuly 27, 2016
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Chicken and beer festival kicks off in Daegu
Fans of fried chicken and beer will gather in this sizzling hot city of Daegu this week as it holds a festival wholly dedicated to the hugely popular summer night snack in South Korea with various concerts and events. The combination of chicken and beer is called "chimac" in Korean, and it's the theme of the "Daegu Chimac Festival," which runs from Wednesday to Sunday. (Visit Korea)The Korea Chimac Industry Association Corp. hosts the event in the city, located some 300 kilometers southeast of S
CultureJuly 27, 2016
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World leisure sports festival to kick off in Chuncheon next month
The world's biggest leisure sports festival will be held in the country's northeastern lake city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, next month with foreign and local participants competing in 14 sports events, organizers said Wednesday. The fifth edition of the Chuncheon International Leisure Sports Festival will run from Aug. 12-15 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, with some 5,600 local and foreign athletes from 31 nations to compete. (Visit Korea)This year's in
CultureJuly 27, 2016
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‘Comfort women’ fund set for shaky start
Seoul will launch a 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) fund on Thursday for the victims of Japan’s sexual servitude during World War II, following months-long debate with Japan and ongoing protests at home. The organization, called the Foundation for Reconciliation and Healing, has several tasks to carry out, including persuading reluctant victims. Korea and Japan have also yet to agree on the timing of the funds’ transfer. An 11-member public-private preparation committee has been gearing up for the
Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2016
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N. Korea sends leaflets via Hangang River for 1st time
A pack of propaganda leaflets sent from North Korea via the Hangang River were found Tuesday, marking the first time such leaflets had been sent via the waterway, the South Korean military said Wednesday.According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the leaflets distorted the 63rd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice agreement -- which fell on Wednesday -- claiming it as the day the communist nation achieved victory against the united forces of the U.N. and the South Korean military. They also said
North KoreaJuly 27, 2016
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Korea, Japan to hold finance ministers' meeting in Seoul in Aug.
The top economic policymakers of South Korea and Japan will have a meeting next month to discuss various economic and financial issues over the two neighboring countries, the finance ministry here said Wednesday."The economic authorities of South Korea and Japan have decided to hold the seventh finance ministers' meeting on Aug. 27 in Seoul," the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement."The detailed schedule and agenda will be determined later."The ministerial-level talks were held
Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2016
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N. Korea experts support unification tax: poll
A majority of South Korean experts on inter-Korean ties believe the introduction of a "unification tax" is necessary to prepare for a unified Korea, a survey showed Wednesday.They agreed that a reunification itself is in the interest of South Korea, but they were divided on an ideal format, according to the Hyundai Research Institute.The think tank, affiliated with Hyundai Group, conducted the poll on 93 pundits from July 11-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.08 percentage points at a 95
North KoreaJuly 27, 2016
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[Editorial] Legend or myth?
Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju belongs to a new breed of entrepreneurs who have engineered Korea’s information technology boom and built their own business empires. In many respects, Kim and his fellow IT gurus like Naver’s Lee Hae-jin, Kakao founder Kim Beom-soo and NCSoft founder Kim Taek-jin can be called Korea’s Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. All in their late 40s, they went to schools that draw the nation’s brightest -- Seoul National University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Sc
EditorialJuly 27, 2016
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Korea's imports of Norwegian mackerel up 73% in H1
South Korea's imports of Norwegian mackerel rose 73 percent in the first six months of this year from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the Asian country banned catches of mackerel in its waters for one month during the first half.South Korea imported 10,751 tons of mackerel from Norway in the January-June period, compared with 6,199 tons during the same period last year, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council.South Korea caught 28,687 tons of mackerel in the first five mon
IndustryJuly 27, 2016
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[Editorial] Chinese way
China, like many other countries, has many faces. It boasts the world’s second-largest economy, military power and advanced technologies in some sectors like aerospace. At the same time, China has yet to overcome backwardness in its political and economic system and various social norms which lag behind international standards. The country also needs to overcome the skepticism about its vision to become a global superpower equaling the U.S. The skepticism is based on Chinese leaders’ failure to
EditorialJuly 27, 2016
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Extra budget vital for job creation: Park
President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that the extra budget submitted to parliament will play a crucial role in bolstering job creation, calling on lawmakers to lend their support by promptly approving the stimulus plan."The government will allocate the extra budget with haste as soon as the plan is passed," Park said in a statement delivered by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn at the National Assembly, adding the budget will play a key part in improving the national economy and creating more jobs.
July 27, 2016
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[Bo Lidegaard] Hillary and the Scandinavian-American dream
This week, Hillary Clinton will address the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to accept her party’s presidential nomination and present its platform. When she does, she will define her vision of, among other things, the social contract in America.It will be a crucial moment. The relationship between Americans and their government is a burning issue today, and two of Clinton’s fellow candidates -- Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Bernie Sanders -- have, each in his own way,
ViewpointsJuly 27, 2016
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S. Korea says sanctions most effective tool to rein in N. Korea's nuclear program
Imposing sanctions will be the most effective way to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions as decades of inter-Korean talks failed to induce any positive changes in the reclusive country, South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday. South Korea reiterated its firm stance toward the North in response to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho's remarks made a day earlier at a press meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in the Laotian capital. At the meeting Ri said,
North KoreaJuly 27, 2016
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[David Ignatius] Can a rebuked China manage anger?
China suffered a significant setback this month in its bid for dominance in the South China Sea, and its leaders are following a familiar script after such reversals: They’re making angry statements but taking little action while they assess the situation. The U.S. is playing a characteristic role in such a flare-up, too. Rather than crowing about victory, it’s trying to talk the Chinese leadership off the ledge before it does something rash. The chief hand-holder in this case has been national
ViewpointsJuly 27, 2016
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SK Telecom steps up development of advanced AR, VR tech
South Korean network operator SK Telecom said Wednesday it has partnered with Israel-based 3-D sensor processing developer Inuitive Ltd. to step up its development of solutions based on augmented and virtual reality technology.SKT and Inuitive signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on the day, agreeing to jointly work on new AR-and VR-based solutions under development by SKT for mobile phones and small electronic devices.SKT plans to merge its AR and VR tech brand “T-Real” with Inuitive’s
TechnologyJuly 27, 2016
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LG to invest W2tr in OLEDs
LG Display’s latest plan to make an additional investment in plastic organic light-emitting diodes indicates that Samsung and LG would be double vendors for Apple’s new iPhone to be unveiled in 2018, industry sources said Wednesday. LG Display said Wednesday it plans to invest around 2 trillion won ($1.76 billion) -- equivalent to around 15 percent of the display-maker’s equity capital -- to produce around 15,000 plastic OLED sheets per month in its Paju plant. LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom speak
TechnologyJuly 27, 2016
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Minister issues warning against strike
Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said Wednesday that the government will deal with the laborers of conglomerates under a creditor-led workout going on strike. In an economic-related ministerial meeting in Seoul on Wednesday, the finance minister said that he was concerned that some conglomerates’ workers are protesting when they should instead be working together to overcome the difficulties of restructuring ahead.“They are only making contractors and nonregular workers uneasy. Their act, which is onl
July 27, 2016