Most Popular
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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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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
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FM champions multilateralism, stresses S. Korea's vision as 'global pivotal state'
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Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
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[Weekender] How Seongsu, once an industrial zone, has become ‘Seoul’s Brooklyn’
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Delta Air Lines to launch new Incheon-Salt Lake City route in June next year
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4 in 10 illegal aliens entered S. Korea without visas last year: data
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Trade ministers of S. Korea, China hold talks in Beijing
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[Editorial] In camouflage
Korea is a democracy, and any one eligible has the constitutional right to seek elected office. But what we hear about some of the candidates running for the April 13 general election provides cause for concern. Most worrisome is that some of the candidates are former members of a radical leftist party banned by the Constitutional Court for its pro-North Korea, socialist platform and activities that the court said were acts of rebellion. News reports said that about 40 of the 60 candidates run
EditorialApril 3, 2016
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Booming start-ups face stiffer rules
The nation’s antitrust agency announced changes in its annual watch list Sunday to account for the changing industrial landscape -- dominated for decades by family-controlled conglomerates. Kakao Corp., the operator of the nation’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, and Celltrion, a leading biosimilar developer, have been added to the Fair Trade Commission’s 2016 conglomerate watch list with four other newcomers, the watchdog said Sunday.The total number of companies in the latest update has reache
BusinessApril 3, 2016
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Corporate investment, private spending shrank in 2015
Korean companies shunned investments as the economy struggled to find new sources of growth amid a downturn in exports and weak domestic demand last year, latest data showed Sunday. The country’s corporate investment in its gross domestic product fell to a 39-year low in 2015 as companies hunkered down due to the global slowdown and intensifying competition from Chinese firms. Bank of Korea (Yonhap)Gross fixed capital formation -- measure used as a proxy for investment -- accounted for 29.1 pe
April 3, 2016
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[J. Bradford DeLong] Debunking America’s populist narrative
One does not need to be particularly good at hearing to decipher the dog whistles being used during this year’s election campaign in the United States. Listen even briefly, and you will understand that Mexicans and Chinese are working with Wall Street to forge lousy trade deals that rob American workers of their rightful jobs, and that Muslims want to blow everyone up. All of this fear mongering is scarier than the usual election-year fare. It is frightening to people in foreign countries, who c
ViewpointsApril 3, 2016
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[David Ignatius] China’s political turbulence
China’s intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security, offers a snapshot of the political intrigue taking place within the regime of President Xi Jinping. The MSS has replaced two vice ministers within the last four years, after reports of political infighting and scandal. The current minister is said to be a figurehead, with the real power held by a hard-line Xi loyalist who was drafted last year from the party’s discipline commission. This shake-up within the intelligence service mirr
ViewpointsApril 3, 2016
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[Elizabeth Drew] Causes behind Trump’s Republican success
Whatever becomes of his candidacy — whether he wins the Republican Party’s nomination or is even elected president of the United States — Americans and the rest of the world will be wondering for a long time how the phenomenon of Donald Trump happened. They are already doing so. The first thing to understand is that American political parties have nothing to do with who runs for the U.S. presidency. In fact, U.S. political parties amount to a collection of functionaries who arrange the process o
ViewpointsApril 3, 2016
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[Michael R. Bloomberg & Joe Biden] Curing cancer within reach
One of the most frightening words a patient can hear from a doctor is “cancer.” We know it from the experience of our families and friends, and the millions of Americans who hear it directly from their doctors each year. In President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, he compared the effort required to eradicate cancer to a “moon shot,” summoning the American ingenuity and scientific pursuits that sent humankind to the moon. We believe that it’s time for a full and complete nationa
ViewpointsApril 3, 2016
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[N. Balakrishnan] Hong Kong’s refugee vetting system failing
As anyone who steps out of their home knows, it takes money to travel, and the further away from home you are, the more money it takes. We have to keep this in mind when we read about ill-informed news reports about “penniless” refugees and “asylum” seekers who somehow manage to travel halfway across the world with supposedly not a penny to their name! Hong Kong has recently seen increasing numbers of people from places such as Somalia, India and Pakistan arriving to seek “asylum.” Logic dictate
ViewpointsApril 3, 2016
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[Newsmaker] G5 steers turnaround of LG’s mobile unit
LG Electronics has made diverse new experiments with its smartphones such as the leather-clad G4 and dual-camera phone V10 over the past year. The phones were great but received little acknowledgement from customers.The company has recently come up with another unprecedented phone in the market -- the world’s first modular smartphone G5. But this time the initial market reaction seems quite different, with orders soaring. According to telecom carriers and retailers, the phone sold more than 15,
TechnologyApril 3, 2016
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U.S. human rights envoy visits Seoul over Pyongyang issues
The U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues arrived in South Korea this weekend for discussions on a range of issues related to the communist nation, government officials said Sunday.Amb. Robert King arrived in Seoul via Incheon International Airport on Saturday to meet with senior officials in South Korea for discussions on diverse issues related to North Korea.The human rights bill, which was passed by South Korea's parliament last month, is known to be one of the envoy's major
North KoreaApril 3, 2016
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Gov't to establish gene bank for families of forced laborers
The government said Sunday it is pushing to set up a gene bank for the bereaved families of Koreans who were forced to work for Japan under its 1910-45 colonial rule.The Ministry of the Interior said it is planning to launch the gene database project next year and has sent the plan to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance for a budget review.The genetic data would help the verification of the victims who were buried without a proper funeral arrangement or a grave.The genetic test process is estim
Social AffairsApril 3, 2016
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Model 3 to trigger `big bang’ of EVs in Korea
The unprecedented global attention to preorders of Model 3, the first mass-market model of luxury electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, is forecast to spur the EV market in Korea. About 198,000 customers globally, including Koreans, put down a deposit of $1,000 to preorder Model 3 in the first two days since Tesla unveiled its low-priced, but high-performance and well-designed electric family sedan in the U.S. on Thursday. The image of Tesla’s first mass-market model Model 3 Tesla MotorsThe init
MobilityApril 3, 2016
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[Market Now] Hyundai Heavy Industries to face debt repayment burden
Hyundai Heavy Industries is expected to face increasing debt repayment burden stemming from its bond issues using its shares in unprofitable shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine as collateral.To secure liquidity to revive its sluggish operations, the Korea-listed shipbuilding giant issued bonds worth $220 million exchangeable to HMM equities last year.However, with HMM going through debt structuring and losing share value on the global shipping downturn, investors in Hyundai Heavy’s exchange
April 3, 2016
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10cm’s latest song tops charts
Male indie duo 10cm’s new song “What the Spring??” topped music charts including MelOn, Mnet, Olleh Music, Bugs Music on Saturday. “What the Spring??,” released on April 1, depicts single men complaining about couples enjoying the spring season. Unlike other songs about spring, 10cm’s piece speaks for the singles, not for couples, with the chorus “Flowers all fall down at last just like you two fall apart soon. Screw all up.” The duo’s new song garnered great attention with its April Fools’ Day
PerformanceApril 3, 2016
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Park: N. Korea's nuclear program to hasten its collapse
South Korean President Park Geun-hye pressed North Korea again on Saturday to give up its nuclear weapons program, warning its defiance will only lead to its collapse.North Korea has repeatedly vowed to develop its economy and nuclear arsenal in tandem despite growing international pressure and sanctions.North Korea views its nuclear program as a powerful deterrent that can ensure its survival against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy toward it."North Korea will only hasten its path
North KoreaApril 3, 2016
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What determines Seoul cityscape?
The overcrowded landscape of Seoul seems to lack unity and style with its mix of skyscrapers, high-rise apartment buildings and low-rise houses that crowd the hilltop towns. “Foreigners often ask me why Korean urban architecture lacks unity. In fact, the bizarre, spontaneous cityscape is the result of the floor-area ratio limit,” said Kim Sung-hong, architecture professor at University of Seoul and commissioner for the Korea Pavilion exhibition at the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale. Henc
Arts & DesignApril 3, 2016
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JYJ Junsu to release album in May
K-pop boy band JYJ’s Kim Jun-su will release his fourth studio album in May, the singer’s agency C-JeS Entertainment announced Friday. Kim will kick off the Asia Tour in June, starting in Seoul. The tour will see the singer perform in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kobe in Japan, the agency added. Kim Jun-su performs his song for KBS drama series “Descendants of the Sun” at a concert on Saturday. (C-JeS Entertainment) Kim unveiled the video announcing his May comeback during the finale of his spring tour at
PerformanceApril 3, 2016
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Cirque du Soleil sues Timberlake for copyright infringement
NEW YORK (AFP) - Canadian-based Cirque du Soleil is suing American pop superstar Justin Timberlake, alleging that his hit song “Don't Hold the Wall” illegally borrows from one of the troupe’s original musical compositions. A 10-page complaint filed in New York alleges that Timberlake illegally used parts of the song “Steel Dream,” taken from Cirque du Soleil's 1997 album “Quidam.” The circus troupe, which is asking for $800,000 in damages, said it had filed the suit over the “unauthorized use of
PerformanceApril 3, 2016
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Bowie the eclectic celebrated in star tribute
NEW YORK (AFP) - David Bowie had many faces -- the attention-grabbing glam rocker, the inward-looking experimentalist -- and for a tribute to his life, leading names in music celebrated him by embracing his eclectic spirit. Nearly three months after the shock of Bowie's death from an undisclosed battle with cancer, some of the many musicians influenced by the rock legend honored him with two sold-out nights in New York. Yet the concerts were not about dutiful covers of Bowie’s hits, many of whi
PerformanceApril 3, 2016
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Secret Tut chamber? Egypt calls experts to examine evidence
VALLEY OF THE KINGS, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt on Friday invited archaeologists and experts from around the world to examine new data from new, extensive radar scanning conducted on King Tutankhamun's tomb to explore a theory that secret chambers could be hidden behind its walls. The open invitation to a conference in Cairo in May, issued by the antiquities minister at a news conference just outside the tomb, aims to bring broader scientific rigor to what so far have only been tantalizing clues. The n
CultureApril 3, 2016