Most Popular
-
1
Thousands rally in Seoul to call for Yoon's resignation
-
2
Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea
-
3
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says
-
4
FM champions multilateralism, stresses S. Korea's vision as 'global pivotal state'
-
5
[Weekender] How Seongsu, once an industrial zone, has become ‘Seoul’s Brooklyn’
-
6
S. Korea to showcase Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Armed Forces Day ceremony for 1st time
-
7
Delta Air Lines to launch new Incheon-Salt Lake City route in June next year
-
8
Korean American documentary ‘Free Chol Soo Lee' wins Emmy
-
9
Korea, China, Japan vow to address yellow dust and climate change
-
10
4 in 10 illegal aliens entered S. Korea without visas last year: data
-
Police officer found dead in apparent suicide
A police officer was found dead in an apparent suicide at a police substation in eastern Seoul, police said Tuesday.Police said the 47-year-old was already dead when he was found by a fellow officer in the staff lounge at around 12:35 p.m.The officer, identified only by his surname Lee, was under investigation for corruption charges.While he is suspected to have committed suicide, police are investigating the details of the incident. (Yonhap)
Social AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
[Editorial] Shady price rises
There is an urgent need for economic policymakers to pay more attention to irregular growth in consumer product prices. Over the past year, prices of daily necessities have grown despite drops in raw material prices, according to a consumer advocate group.The Korea National Council of Consumer Organization has compared the consumer prices and rollout costs of 34 processed foods and daily necessities sold by 300 distributors in Seoul.The organization said raw material prices fell 3.2 percent on a
EditorialMarch 22, 2016
-
Koreans ignore scattered cash in downtown square
A Korean woman threw cash worth 22 million won ($19,030) on the street in downtown Seoul on Monday, but caused no major disruption as passersby did not rush to pick them up, police said Tuesday. The 56-year-old threw hundreds of 1,000-won, 5,000-won and 10,000 won-banknotes in the Seoul Square at around 5 p.m.But there was no single citizen who picked up the bills, with many of passersby glancing at the grass covered by banknotes and taking photos of the scene, police said. Police collect the ba
Social AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
Protestor left unconscious by water canon files a suit
The family of a farmer knocked down by a water cannon blast from the police during an anti-government rally last year filed a compensation suit against authorities on Tuesday. Two daughters of Baek Nam-gi, 70, who still remains unconscious, demand a total of 240 million won ($207,800) from the state and police officials including the National Police Agency chief Kang Shin-myung and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Goo Eun-soo, the Lawyers for a Democratic Society said. Jung Hyun-chan,
Social AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
[Editorial] Park flip-flops
Recent remarks by President Park Geun-hye on her economic outlook are drawing accusations of inconsistency and fickleness. Her assessment on the national economic conditions changed from skepticism early this year to an upbeat mood in early March, and again returned to skepticism this week.In her speech to the public in January, Park said that Korea “could face the woes of mass unemployment and pay huge social and economic costs, as it did during the (1997-98 foreign exchange) crisis.” Park expr
EditorialMarch 22, 2016
-
[James Gibney] Switching status of Cuba and Puerto Rico
President Barack Obama dangles U.S. dollars before the Castros while Congress stonewalls Puerto Rico’s pleas for debt restructuring. The Tampa Bay Rays take the field in Havana as San Juan fends off New York hedge funds wielding legal baseball bats. The Rolling Stones play a free concert for Cubans; Puerto Rico can’t get no satisfaction. As Cuba rises and Puerto Rico falls, it’s worth considering the diverging trajectories of these two ex-Spanish colonies that the Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodrigue
ViewpointsMarch 22, 2016
-
[Carl P. Leubsdorf] Trump’s chances of being elected
Hardly a week goes by when an old friend doesn’t contact me with the same question: Could Donald Trump really get elected president?My standard reply is that, at this point, there are two answers: “Yes,” and “Probably not.” Never say never.By all logic, the blustery billionaire has antagonized enough voters that, even if he attracts disaffected white Democrats, he’ll have a difficult time winning a general election. A substantial proportion of Republicans says they won’t support him, even if he
ViewpointsMarch 22, 2016
-
[Kim Seong-kon] The last time I saw Paris
I have just returned from a trip to Paris, where South Korea was invited as the guest of honor country at the 2016 Paris International Book Fair.I traveled with 30 Korean writers to the book fair for a series of literary events. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, hosted a welcoming reception for us and French President Francois Hollande visited the Korean Pavilion to pay his respects to the guest of honor country, as did the French minister of culture. The 30 Korean writers enjoyed enormous popul
ViewpointsMarch 22, 2016
-
[David Ignatius] Signs of progress against extremists in Syria
Moderate Syrian opposition forces claim they are strengthening their positions against extremists in northern and southern Syria as the Russian military withdraws and a fragile cease-fire takes hold with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.Two rebel commanders described the recent battlefield gains against the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra in telephone interviews Saturday. Their claims couldn’t be verified, and it’s too early to say whether the moderate opposition is truly expanding its
ViewpointsMarch 22, 2016
-
[Lee Jae-min] Peace treaty has its complications
A peace treaty is being mentioned in the course of exploring an ultimate solution to the military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. It has been suggested that a peace treaty would tame North Korea by replacing the current armistice agreement and officially ending hostilities in the region.China supports the idea of pursuing denuclearization and a peace treaty in parallel. The U.S. position has been that denuclearization should be a prerequisite for any meaningful discussion of a peace treat
ViewpointsMarch 22, 2016
-
[FROM THE SCENE] Wind and sun power Gapado’s revival
Gapado Island’s wind generators overlook green barley fields on Saturday. (Kim Da-sol/The Korea Herald)GAPADO ISLAND, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province -- Bundled up in padded coats and scarves, a group of visitors braved the cold, their hair flapping in the wind as they disembarked the ferry to Gapado Island.The name Gapado comes from the meaning “island of wind and waves,” and the island’s village head, 61-year-old Kim Dong-ok says there is a reason for that.“There’s an old saying that goes
Social AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
'Comfort women' foundation may launch in summer
As South Korea and Japan held their first director-general-level meeting Tuesday to discuss follow-up steps on their “comfort women” deal, Japanese news reports said a foundation to compensate the victims -- as agreed by the two governments -- will likely launch this summer.Chung Byung-won, the new director general for Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, flew late Monday to Tokyo for talks with Kimihiro Ishikane, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan’s Foreign
Foreign AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
Police to run poll on drunken driving law
South Korean police will be conducting a poll on whether to tighten the legal alcohol limit for drivers, officials said Tuesday. The National Police Agency said that it will carry out a month-long survey on 1,000 Koreans on whether to lower the legal blood alcohol level for drivers from the current 0.05 to 0.03 percent. A glass of soju can lead to 0.03 percent of blood alcohol concentration.The survey will ask respondents whether they think it is necessary for police to step up its crackdown on
Social AffairsMarch 22, 2016
-
North Korea's saber-rattling is no bluff: ministry
The South Korean military Tuesday said that it sees North Korea’s nuclear programs, ballistic missiles and its new large-caliber multiple rocket system as “real threats,” dismissing speculation that Pyongyang’s nuclear threats were empty rhetoric.“North Korea has been conducting multiple test-firings related to improving the performance of the new rocket launcher. Our intelligence is cross-referencing the projectiles, range and trajectory with our information for assessment,” said Na Seung-yong,
DefenseMarch 22, 2016
-
Minjoo struggles to retain irate chief
The Minjoo Party of Korea, including its former chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in, pulled out all the stops to dissuade their disgruntled interim chief Kim Chong-in from resigning over proportional representative nomination conflicts.The sense of crisis -- that a prolonged leadership vacancy would lead to the party’s crushing defeat in the upcoming April 13 general elections -- pushed Moon to break his silence and hurriedly fly to Seoul from Busan for arbitration.After a tantalizing two-day boycott, Kim
PoliticsMarch 22, 2016
-
Mirae Asset chairman still ‘thirsty for deals’
Just days after it inked a $2 billion deal to take over a bigger rival, Mirae Asset Securities is looking at another acquisition target. The brokerage unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group is exploring a takeover of Hyundai Securities, Korea’s fourth-largest securities firm with 3.2 trillion won ($2.76 billion) in assets, it said. Behind Mirae Asset’s seemingly relentless push for expansion is its charismatic boss Park Hyeon-joo who harbors an ambition to grow his Korean empire to be Asia’s to
March 22, 2016
-
Perseverance behind Shilla‘s heritage hotel success
Perseverance was the key in achieving her long-cherished dream. After four failed attempts, president Lee Boo-jin of Hotel Shilla, a Samsung Group affiliate of luxury hotels and duty-free shops, is finally on her way to build a hotel in the style of a traditional Korean house, or hanok.Following a March 2 approval from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Lee plans to build the hanok hotel adjacent to Shilla Seoul hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, after using parts of the hotel grounds to accommoda
IndustryMarch 22, 2016
-
[Hallyu power] Pony, trendsetter of K-beauty
Pony -- real name Park Hye-min -- is one of the most popular Korean makeup gurus, with 981,144 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her makeup tutorials -- in which she demonstrates themed makeup styles, ranging from looks of K-pop female idols and Christmas holiday makeup to everyday makeup for school or work -- have some 700,000-plus views each. While her makeup videos are mainly based on Korean styles and Korean cosmetics, they are enjoying growing popularity overseas along with the global asc
PeopleMarch 22, 2016
-
[Photo News] Korean Silicon Valley
KOREAN SILICON VALLEY – President Park Geun-hye (left) tries out a virtual reality device along with KT chairman Hwang Chang-kyu at the opening ceremony of the nation’s new start-up accelerating complex, called “Start-up Campus,” in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. Dubbed “Korean version of Silicon Valley,” the campus aims to nurture more than 1,000 start-ups in the next 10 years. (Yonhap)
TechnologyMarch 22, 2016
-
Toyota drives hybrid car sales push with new Prius
Top Japanese automaker Toyota will push for sales of its hybrids lineup with the launch of the all-new Prius hybrid, setting a goal of lifting the proportion of hybrid car sales to 50 percent from its current 32 percent in Korea, the carmaker said Monday. TOYOTA PRESENTS FUTURE OF HYBRID WITH NEW PRIUS-- Toyota Korea CEO Akihisa Yoshida (right) poses next to the fourth-generation Prius hybrid at its launch event at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. (Toyota Korea)While launching the four
MobilityMarch 22, 2016