Most Popular
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Who's lying? Hybe vs. Min conflict continues to intensify
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Seoul should engage Kim Jong-un’s elites for change, ex-North Korean diplomat says
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Thousands rally in Seoul to call for Yoon's resignation
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Most teen sex offenders get away with slap on wrist
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FM champions multilateralism, stresses S. Korea's vision as 'global pivotal state'
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Man sentenced to 1 year, 8 months for stealing from elementary school classrooms
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
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Same-sex couple denied insurance clearance despite landmark ruling
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Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
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Panmunjom tours for select Korean nationals may resume in October
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Insurance fraud increasing by the year
Insurance fraud by those exaggerating illness or injury to be hospitalized is increasing each year, the prosecutors’ office revealed Sunday. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, a typical false patient stayed in the hospital for over 144 days for noncommittal illnesses such as gonarthritis within six months of signing 10 different insurance contracts. (123RF)The number of false hospitalization and over-the-top treatments were found to have cost the insurance companies 99 billion won (
Social AffairsApril 10, 2016
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Allianz ‘bargain’ sale highlights troubles in life insurance sector
The stunningly low price of Allianz Life Insurance Korea being sold to China’s Anbang Insurance Group highlights the depth of troubles facing Korea’s life insurers, industry sources and experts said Sunday. Anbang has agreed to buy Korean operations of the German insurance group -- Allianz Life Insurance Korea and Allianz Global Investors Korea -- for $3 million, the two announced Wednesday. Allianz Life Insurance Korea's office building in SeoulThe news -- or more precisely the price at which A
April 10, 2016
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[Election 2016] Early voting ends in record-high turnout
Early voting for Wednesday’s parliamentary election closed with a record-high voter turnout, announcing a rather successful kickoff to the new supplementary voting method.But some protested the process was partly inappropriate, alluding to possible errors or even influence-peddling.The two-day preliminary voting ended at 6 p.m. on Saturday with voter turnout of 12.2 percent -- 5.13 million out of the 42.1 million eligible voters across the nation -- according to the National Election Commission.
PoliticsApril 10, 2016
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McDonald’s Korean unit up for sale
McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant chain, has put its Korean unit up for sale, industry sources said.The company has asked financial services company Morgan Stanley to look for potential buyers but how much stake it wants to sell is unknown, they said.The food chain announced on March 31 its plans to search for “strategic partners” in Asia and add more than 1,500 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and Korea over the next five years.“These actions build on our turnaround efforts and will adv
April 10, 2016
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[Emily S. Chen] Surrender of Japan’s peace constitution
In February, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the National Diet to amend Article 9 of the country’s constitution, which renounces war as a means of settling disputes. Drafted by the United States after World War II, the constitution contains “some parts (that) do not fit into the current period,” Abe said. He is particularly concerned with the constitutional provision that prohibits Japan from maintaining “land, sea, and air forces,” arguing that it seems to be in direct contradictio
ViewpointsApril 10, 2016
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[Editorial] Youth in plight
Korea is undergoing such rapid demographic changes that many relevant statistics keep producing new records. Those on marriage are no exception. Latest figures show that in 2015, the number of marriages stood at 302,800, the lowest since 2003. The ratio of the number of marriages to every 1,000 people dropped to 5.9, marking the first time that it has gone below six. The record-breaking spree continues: the average age of Korean men tying the knot for the first time reached a record high of 32
EditorialApril 10, 2016
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[Editorial] Homework to do
With the campaigns for Wednesday’s general election in the final stretch, voters should think about decisions they have already made or will make. Here are some of the points we suggest voters ponder over before they go to the polling stations. First, the quadrennial election should serve as a verdict on the administration of President Park Geun-hye. Her five-year single term of office has already passed its midway point, but an election like this is usually regarded as a sort of midterm evalua
EditorialApril 10, 2016
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[Mark Gilbert] New reasons to worry about Europe’s banks
European banks have lost their mojo. A toxic combination of negative interest rates, comatose economies and a regulatory backdrop that might euphemistically be described as challenging is wreaking havoc with bank business models. Their collective market value has dropped by a quarter so far this year. The smoke signals emanating from the European Central Bank in recent weeks suggest regulators aren’t blind to this. Daniele Nouy, who chairs the ECB’s bank supervisory board, said earlier this week
ViewpointsApril 10, 2016
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Future mass N. Korean defections can't be ruled out: unification ministry
Future mass defection by North Koreans working abroad cannot be ruled out following the recent escape of 13 people, South Korea's unification ministry said Sunday.Speaking to reporters, a ministry official explained that considerable pressure to send back hard currency to Pyongyang in the face of tough United Nations sanctions played a part in the restaurant workers' defection. The government hinted earlier that the defectors were fearful that they would be punished if they were unable to send b
North KoreaApril 10, 2016
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[Gareth Evans] Learning from military intervention in Libya
There are important lessons to be learned from what went wrong with the NATO-led military intervention in Libya in 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama was right about that in his recent wonderfully frank interview in the Atlantic. But if we are not to compound the world’s misery, we have to take away the right lessons from that intervention.We can agree that Libya is now a mess, with Islamic State forces holding significant ground, the United Nations-facilitated peace process faltering, and atroci
ViewpointsApril 10, 2016
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[Noah Smith] Growing a nation won’t always grow its economy
On June 23, the U.K. will vote on whether to withdraw from the European Union. This is a momentous decision, with far-reaching economic and political consequences that are now being hotly debated. If Britons vote to exit, it could lead to a breakup of the EU, and set back the global move toward greater political integration. This raises an intriguing question: What’s the optimal size for economic performance? Are we better off with many little competing city-states, a bunch of midsized nations o
ViewpointsApril 10, 2016
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[Therese Raphael] Cameron is clean, but no one cares
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron didn’t lie. He’s not accused of being a tax cheat. Unlike his Icelandic counterpart, he didn't have financial holdings that presented an obvious conflict of interest. Even so, he’s in trouble. Cameron is under attack for revelations that he benefited, albeit legally, from shares in a fund his stockbroker father had set up in Panama. Cameron is unlikely to lose his job, as Iceland‘s Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson did, but his reputation is taking a hammering. That’
ViewpointsApril 10, 2016
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Court upholds penalty on official for faulty maritime guidelines
A Seoul court on Sunday upheld the government’s decision to punish a public official who failed to draw up a manual for maritime crisis management ahead of the Sewol ferry sinking. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the public official, surnamed Choi, for neglecting his duty to complete the manual on preventing maritime disasters and resolving crises afterward.A high-ranking official at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Choi headed his team in assisting navigation and man
Social AffairsApril 10, 2016
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Court jails right-wing activist for breaking into Cheong Wa Dae
A Seoul court said Sunday that the head of a conservative organization had been sentenced to 10 months in prison for driving a car into the presidential office premises without permission. The Seoul Central District Court jailed the 58-year-old, identified only by his surname Oh, on charges of obstruction of government affairs after he ignored a guard’s request to stop the car and rushed the car into Cheong Wa Dae on March 10. Before he attempted to drive into the presidential office, Oh was sto
Social AffairsApril 10, 2016
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Sexual slavery victim in China moved to Seoul for medical treatment
A Korean victim of sexual slavery by Japanese troops during World War II residing in China was moved to Seoul for medical treatment, officials said Sunday. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said 88-year-old Ha Sang-sook, the only Korean sexual slavery victim living in Wuhan, China, arrived at Chung-Ang University Medical Center in Seoul to treat her injured lungs.In early February, she broke a rib after she fell down the stairs from the second floor, leading to lung inflammation and ren
Social AffairsApril 10, 2016
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Ministry under fire for alleged lax security cover-up
The Central Government Complex in downtown Seoul, which recently came under fire for allowing a civilian break-in due to lax security, is facing further backlash as the government allegedly destroyed related evidence and covered up the disgraceful incident.According to police authorities, passwords written on a wall -- which a 26-year-old civil servant aspirant used to sneak into the office -- were apparently erased by an official from the Ministry of Personnel Management after the police launch
Social AffairsApril 10, 2016
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Finance Ministry to accelerate policy push after general election
Korea is preparing a renewed push for economic recovery after this week’s general election in a desperate attempt to jump-start the economy after a worse than expected first quarter, government officials said Sunday.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance plans to announce a series of policies by the end of April to boost jobs for youth and women, and to issue up to five new licenses for duty-free shops in Seoul, they said. Ministry of Strategy and Finance in Sejong City (Yonhap)The ministry’s move
April 10, 2016
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CJ chairman absent from son’s wedding
The ailing CJ Group chairman didn’t attend his son’s wedding on Saturday, due to his health condition and the court’s order that bans him from leaving the hospital, officials said Sunday.Lee Jay-hyun’s 30-month jail term is currently suspended due to complications from a kidney transparent in 2013. “The chairman could have requested the court’s permission to attend his son’s wedding but didn’t even ask for it considering his health,” a CJ official said.Lee Sun-ho (CJ Group)The chairman’s son, Le
IndustryApril 10, 2016
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[Election 2016] Minjoo struggles to win back Gwangju voters
GWANGJU -- Some 20 kilometers from downtown Gwangju, a southwestern city of South Korea, lies the May 18 national cemetery, resting place to nearly 700 souls who lost their lives in the violent crackdown of the pro-democracy demonstration in 1980. The birthplace of the nation’s modern democracy was thrust back into the spotlight Friday by a surprise visit from Rep. Moon Jae-in, the former leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea. Moon showed up alongside Kim Hong-gul, the third son of
PoliticsApril 10, 2016
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More large-scale defections possible from North Korea: Seoul
In the wake of last week’s mass defection, additional exoduses may come about among North Koreans working overseas as the impact of U.N. resolutions and unilateral sanctions takes shape, top Seoul officials said Sunday. A group of a male manager in his 30s and 12 female employees in their early 20s who had served at a North Korean restaurant arrived in Seoul on Thursday, the Unification Ministry announced late Friday. Officials declined to unveil the detailed time line of their journey or the lo
North KoreaApril 10, 2016