Most Popular
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‘Korea crossed the line too far’ disgraced singer’s lawyer cries foul after 3rd visa denial
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Opposition mulls delay of financial investment income tax
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Immigration policy must go beyond labor supply: experts
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Nasrallah's killing reveals depth of Israel's Hezbollah penetration
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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KMA chief under pressure after surveyed doctors refuse to back him
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[Graphic News] Per capita rice consumption hits all-time low in 2015
Per capita rice consumption in South Korea hit a record low in 2015 as people added other types of grain products to their diet, government data showed Friday.According to data by Statistics Korea, the average annual consumption of rice per person fell to 62.9 kilograms last year, down 3.4 percent from the previous year’s 65.1 kilograms, while the consumption of grains other than rice made up 12.3 percent of the country’s diet last year. This marked the lowest level since record keeping started
World NewsJan. 31, 2016
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Foreign investors to get omnibus accounts
South Korea will introduce an omnibus account system for foreign investors in the local stock market starting May to improve convenience and access, officials said Sunday. The Financial Services Commission said the new system would simplify the current registration system that exclusively applies to foreign stock investors, institutional or retail. Under the new system, a global asset management firm or a brokerage house can open a single account to process orders from their clients. Currently
Jan. 31, 2016
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Luna says f(x) music is trendy, global
Luna of SM Entertainment girl group f(x) said that f(x)’s music has been successful because it is global and trendy. The girl group is known for its high quality dance music in addition to its energetic performances. Billboard named the quartet’s latest album “4 Walls” the No. 2 K-pop album of 2015.“F(x) communicates a lot with composers from abroad, so we can connect better with our fans abroad. It also helps us to develop our musical color,” she said at a press conference before the Sunday per
PerformanceJan. 31, 2016
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Search for 4th telecom carrier faces doubts
After another failed attempt last week, doubts are growing over the Korean government’s search for a fourth telecom carrier in Korea. Aiming to spur competition and lower service fees, the government has sought to pick a fourth player in the telecom market that has long been dominated by three big companies -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- since 2010. But the latest seventh attempt ended in vain again Friday as the three bidders -- Sejong Telecom, K Mobile and Quantum Mobile -- failed to come
TechnologyJan. 31, 2016
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National debt to hit 600 trillion won
South Korea’s national debt is expected to exceed 600 trillion won ($496 billion) for the first time ever this week, drawing concerns over the nation’s fiscal health amid a slowing economy and rapid population aging, the National Assembly said Sunday.According to the national debt clock released by National Assembly Budget Office, the national debt could reach 644.9 trillion won by the end of the year, a 49.8 trillion won increase from the 595.1 trillion won estimated in late 2015. The total cou
Jan. 31, 2016
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[David Ignatius] Obama’s Egyptian blunder
Five years ago, President Obama made a decision that helped topple Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. His policy represented a bet that the democratic surge of the Arab Spring could lead to a stable political transition in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East. Obama’s embrace of the Tahrir Square protesters’ demand for Mubarak’s immediate departure was idealistic, popular and understandable at the time. But it was arguably among the biggest mistakes of Obama’s presidency. And, interestingly, i
ViewpointsJan. 31, 2016
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[Jeffrey D. Sachs] The global economy’s marshmallow test
The world economy is experiencing a turbulent start to 2016. Stock markets are plummeting; emerging economies are reeling in response to the sharp decline in commodities prices; refugee inflows are further destabilizing Europe; China’s growth has slowed markedly in response to a capital-flow reversal and an overvalued currency; and the U.S. is in political paralysis. A few central bankers struggle to keep the world economy upright. To escape this mess, four principles should guide the way. First
ViewpointsJan. 31, 2016
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[Editorial] Merited punishment
The court handed out verdicts in two prominent cases Friday - one involving an American citizen charged with murder and the other a former prime minister charged with corruption — and both deserve credit for establishing justice, which is sometimes tricky. The first case involves Arthur Patterson, a 36-year-old American who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering a Korean college student in Seoul 19 years ago. As seen by the long years since Cho Choong-pil, then 22, was brutally sta
EditorialJan. 31, 2016
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[Editorial] Looking backward
As political parties gear up for the April 13 general election, some negative aspects of Korean politics are rearing their ugly heads. The already notorious factional strife within parties — between President Park Geun-hye’s loyalists and the “non-Parks” in the ruling party and between those who were close to the late President Roh Moo-hyun and the “non-Rohs” in the main opposition party — are heating up day by day as they brace for a war over candidate nominations. There are frequent merge
EditorialJan. 31, 2016
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‘Come to See Me’ play relives nation’s most infamous serial killings
A scene from the Korean play “Come to See Me,” which is on an open-run at the Myeongdong Theater until Feb. 21. (Pro’s LAB)In 1986, the quiet rural town of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, was left in horror when a young local woman was found bound, raped and murdered in a ditch near a grassy field. At the time, no one could have predicted that the victim was only the first of what is estimated to be 10 woman killed over a five-year period at the hands of Korea’s most notorious serial killer -- who
PerformanceJan. 31, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Kim draws fire over migration, voting rules
Ruling Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung once again talked his way into trouble last week, with his latest comment that South Korea’s low fertility should be tackled by bringing in more Chinese immigrants of Korean descent.It was not the first time an off-the-cuff remark by Kim to put him at the center of political controversy, as he faces the daunting task of overcoming an escalating factional standoff over the party’s nomination rules for the April elections.“Korea, which has an ethnic
PoliticsJan. 31, 2016
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Despite apology, Japan denies mobilizing WWII sex slaves
Despite a much-touted deal with Seoul and an apology to the “comfort women,” Tokyo was found Sunday to have once again denied the forcible nature of its mobilization of sex slaves during World War II in a formal U.N. document. The Japanese government on Jan. 29 submitted a response to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, a group of 23 independent experts which has posed a list of questions on its handling of women’s rights issues including the conscription of sex sla
Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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Social immobility becomes harder to tackle in South Korea: study
The gap between the rich and the poor in terms of encountering life chances widened among younger generations in South Korea, with such social immobility costing the country social and economic losses, a report showed Sunday. The report, written by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, showed that social immobility was more prevalent among younger Koreans in their 20s, 30s and 40s, compared to the older generation. The research interviewed a total of 1,342 Koreans and divided them i
Social AffairsJan. 31, 2016
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North Korea's trade with China contracts in 2015
North Korea's trade with China dipped nearly 15 percent last year apparently due to a chilly bilateral relationship between the two neighboring countries, a report showed Sunday.The North-China trade volume reached $4.9 billion in the January-November period, down 14.8 percent from $5.76 billion a year earlier, marking the first double-digit on-year drop since 2000, according to a report by state-run think tank Korea Development Institute.Pyongyang's shipments to its neighbor sank 12.3 percent t
North KoreaJan. 31, 2016
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Korean department stores to offer instant tax refunds starting Feb.
South Korean department stores will start offering instant tax refund services to foreign customers starting in February as part of an effort to boost sales, market watchers said Sunday.Under the new program, foreigners can buy products without paying the mandatory 10 percent value-added tax if the item costs 30,000-200,000 won ($25-166), observers said. Each person can be exempt from VAT for up to the first 1 million won in purchases. Products that cost more than 200,000 won require the buyer t
IndustryJan. 31, 2016
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LG beats Samsung in profitability of home appliances
LG Electronics Inc. was more profitable than Samsung Electronics Co. in the home appliance business in 2015 despite a huge gap in their overall revenue, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data, LG's home entertainment and home appliance & air solution divisions chalked up an operating profit of 1.04 trillion won ($830 million) on sales of 33.9 trillion won. (Yonhap)The company's operating margin, or the ratio of operating profit to sales, thus came to be 3.1 percent last year.Samsung's
IndustryJan. 31, 2016
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Korea to introduce 'omnibus account' for foreigners
South Korea plans to introduce an omnibus account system for foreign traders to help boost their convenience in trading stocks on the Korean bourse, the financial regulator said Sunday.The envisioned program is also expected to help get its stock market included on the Morgan Stanley Capital International advanced market index.According to the Financial Services Commission, a global asset management firm or brokerage house can open a single account to receive trading orders from their clients an
Jan. 31, 2016
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Stricter bank credit control causes mortgage loan growth to sink
Stricter credit control guidelines by local banks that officially go into effect in February caused a sharp drop in home-backed mortgaged loan growth coming into this year, financial sector sources said Sunday.Data provided by KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, Nonghyup and the Industrial Bank of Korea showed the amount of outstanding mortgaged loans provided to customers as of last Thursday standing at 349.49 trillion won ($290.15 billion), up around 446 billion won from late December when i
Jan. 31, 2016
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Korea making headway on resolving obstacles for 2016 space
South Korea is on course to test launch its next-generation space rocket in late 2016 after it made headway in resolving a major technical obstacle that could have led to delays, the head of the country's aerospace research institute said Sunday.In a meeting with reporters at the Naro Space Center in Oenaro Island 485 kilometers south of Seoul, Korea Aerospace Research Institute head Cho Gwang-rae said the incomplete combustion issue that had plagued the locally built 75 ton thrust engine to be
TechnologyJan. 31, 2016
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Pyongyang slams U.S. move to deploy THAAD to South Korea
North Korea blasted the United States Sunday for stepping up efforts to deploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to South Korea.Washington has been pushing to put a THAAD unit in South Korea to deter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.However, the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North Korean Workers' Party, called it a "foolish attempt" to pressure Russia and China, countries fearing any increase of U.S military power in the Asia-Pacific region, by taking strategic su
North KoreaJan. 31, 2016