Most Popular
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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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Shut up and dance
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
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BTS’ Suga fined W15m for e-scooter DUI
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[KH Explains] Is Hyundai-GM partnership win-win to beat Tesla, Chinese rivals?
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Court confirms revocation of progressive teachers' union's legal status
An appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that a progressive teachers' union is not a legitimate labor group because its members include fired teachers.In October 2013, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court against a government's decision to outlaw the KTU due to the union's repeated refusal to deny membership to nine fired teachers.Under the law, dismissed teachers are not eligible to join a trade union.The Seoul Hig
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Gov't to adopt performance-based salary system on full scale
The government plans to adopt a performance-based salary system on a wider scale as part of its efforts to reform the public sector, government sources said Thursday.Public companies and government agencies frequently come under criticism for lax management and mounting debts usually covered by taxpayers' money. In response, the government has pushed forward with the full introduction of a system to encourage competition among public servants since it has so far been applied only to the heads of
PoliticsJan. 21, 2016
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[Robert J. Shiller] Economists on refugee path
Today’s global refugee crisis recalls the period immediately after World War II. By one contemporary estimate, there were more than 40 million refugees in Europe alone. These “displaced persons,” as they were called at the time, were forced to flee their homes because of violence, forced relocation, persecution and destruction of property and infrastructure. The dire postwar situation led to the creation in 1950 of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which was expected to serve on
ViewpointsJan. 21, 2016
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[Editorial] GDP coupling
Moody’s Investors Service has picked South Korea as one of the few countries whose economies are seriously susceptible to the economic slowdown in China. A local research institute has analyzed that a drop of 1 percentage point in the growth of China’s gross domestic product would slash Korea’s GDP growth by 0.6 percentage point. The Chinese economy is markedly decelerating with its 2015 growth posting a 25-year low of 6.9 percent. Compared to a 10.4 percent GDP growth in 2010, its expansion has
EditorialJan. 21, 2016
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Yongin determined to take lead in environment, gender issues
In 1996, Yongin was largely a farming region surrounded by mountains. Now, the city has established itself as one of the fastest-growing cities in South Korea, with a population of nearly 1 million. It’s home to Everland and Caribbean Bay, the nation’s most popular amusement and water parks, 10 university campuses and some of the most significant museums and galleries in the country -- including the Ho-Am Art Museum and the Nam June Paik Art Center. An image of Yongin Techno Valley (Yongin Cit
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Ministry denies rumored inflow of Muslim workers for halal food
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food on Thursday denied rumors of the government’s reported plans to launch a halal food-processing complex in the southwestern part of the country in the face of opposition by Protestant groups here.According to rumors that spread quickly, the government plans to spend 550 billion won ($453 million) to build the food-processing complex in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, by the end of this year. It will include a meat butchery to carry out religious slaughter of ani
IndustryJan. 21, 2016
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Dayou Winia to launch Dimchae Cook in China this year
Dayou Winia, a South Korean consumer electronics company best known for its kimchi refrigerator brand Dimchae, is planning to launch its new rice cooker, the Dimchae Cook, in China this year.As the premium rice cooker officially began sales at Lotte Hi-Mart stores nationwide on Thursday, a Dayou Winia executive revealed plans to “introduce Dimchae Cook in Chinese markets within the first half of this year.”Dayou Winia’s business operations director Choi Jun-bong (right) and a model hold up a Dim
IndustryJan. 21, 2016
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Shinhan Financial ranks 18th in global sustainable company list
Shinhan Financial Group came in at 18th place on a list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies, announced Wednesday at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Seoul-based group said Thursday. It is the highest ranking that a Korean company has ever reached on the list, which is known as the Global 100 and compiled annually by Canada-based Corporate Knights since 2005. German carmaker BMW topped this year’s list. Aside from Shinhan, three other Korean companies made it
Jan. 21, 2016
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[Editorial] Prosecutors’ irritation
An assessment of a group of prosecutors’ attitude when they interrogated criminal suspects at their offices has been made public for the first time. The evaluation of Seoul district-serving prosecutors, conducted by the Korean Bar Association, was mainly focused on whether they took a coercive stance during the interrogation process or whether they were lax in performing their basic duties as civil servants. The KBA, composed of a group of lawyers, has publicized the list of the 10 best prosecut
EditorialJan. 21, 2016
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Elementary schoolers want to be chefs, star athletes
The top dream jobs among young students in South Korea are to be an entertainer, star athlete or other professional in sports and art, a survey showed Thursday.It marked a stark contrast to former generations who mostly wished to become the president (1970s, '80s) or a doctor (1990s).According to a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs on 456 fourth and sixth graders in elementary schools, 40.5 percent of respondents said they wanted to become athletes, artists or entertain
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Actor-singer Lee Seung-gi releases single ahead of conscription
With the start of his mandatory military service around the corner, actor-singer Lee Seung-gi has released a song about the very subject.His agency, Hook Entertainment, said Lee will enter the Army on Feb. 1, and put out the single "I Am Joining the Military" at noon Thursday.Through his agency, Lee said the midtempo ballad is as much about himself as about those who will also have to complete their military service, as well as their families and friends.The 29-year-old, who debuted with the cha
PerformanceJan. 21, 2016
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Seoul holds off Shilla’s hanok hotel project
Hotel Shilla’s third attempt to obtain a permit to build a traditional-style hotel in central Seoul was once again mired in a deadlock by Seoul City on Thursday.The Seoul Metropolitan government said it reserved the decision to approve the company’s request to ease regulations for the project envisioned at a location designated as a development-restricted area.The company had sought to build a hanok hotel at Jangchung-dong in Jung-gu district, a neighborhood near the historic Fortress Wall of Se
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Low-income Koreans more suicidal than richer people
South Koreans in the low-income bracket think about committing suicide much more than people at higher income levels, a report showed Thursday.According to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, one out of 15 low income earners has thought about killing themselves in the past year, 4.3 times higher than those in higher income brackets. The low income bracket refers to those who earn less than 60 percent of the median income for all Koreans. The degree of depression felt
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Lotte executive gets suspended jail sentence in construction worker's death
An executive director of Lotte Engineering & Construction Co. was given a suspended jail sentence Thursday for neglecting safety measures at the construction site of its skyscraper in Seoul leading to the death of a worker.The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced the 57-year-old executive in charge of the construction project to eight months in prison, suspended for a year, for involuntary manslaughter.Two other defendants who supervised the site received shorter jail terms with a year of susp
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Appeals court upholds stripping teachers’ union of legal status
The Seoul High Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the government’s decision to strip the Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union of its legal status, dealing it yet another blow in its two-year legal fight. The left-leaning group has been engaged in a bitter battle with the Labor Ministry since October 2013, when it was no longer deemed a legal entity. The ministry cited a violation of a labor law clause that bans dismissed education workers from joining trade unions. According to the Educat
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Korea puts KF-X fighter jet project in full swing
South Korea officially kicked off its multibillion-dollar project Thursday to produce homemade fighter jets over the next decade.Under the Korean Fighter Experimental project by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, contractor airplane maker Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. will come up with six units of a homegrown prototype fighter by 2021.The test fighters will undergo flight tests for four years before the development project is completed by mid-2026, according to DAPA.Based on the
DefenseJan. 21, 2016
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Pets no longer considered ‘waste’ under new law
Pet owners are no longer required to dispose of the bodies of their beloved pets in the trash, as a revised animal protection law came into effect Thursday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, pets treated at animal cremation facilities will no longer be classified as waste under the revised law. Animals not treated at cremation facilities will still be subject to the waste management law, which requires pet owners to dispose of the bodies as waste.Before the law wa
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2016
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Actor Lee Jong-suk's wax figure to be unveiled in Hong Kong
A wax figure of the popular Korean actor Lee Jong-suk will go on display in a global museum of wax dolls in Hong Kong this week, a local public relations agency working for the museum said Thursday.The actor will unveil his wax figure in a ceremony at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong on Friday, The Tic Toc said."Lee enjoys great popularity all over Asia, not just in Korea,"the museum said. "It's a great honor that we get to display his wax figure."Lee is the fourth Korean whose wax figure will be insta
TelevisionJan. 21, 2016
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Inter-Korean exchanges frozen after nuke test
The South Korean government said Thursday it would not allow any direct civilian exchanges with North Korea for the time being, a punitive step against Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test.It's time to concentrate efforts on imposing effective sanctions on the North, said an official at the Unification Ministry that handles Seoul-Pyongyang relations.The reaffirmation of Seoul's firm stance came after reports that the North proposed contact in China with the South's civilian organizations not be
North KoreaJan. 21, 2016
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THAAD will help counter N.K. missile threats: U.S. think tank
Amid North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats, the stationing of advanced U.S. missile assets on the peninsula would boost the allies’ defense capabilities, a leading Washington think tank said Wednesday. Speculation persists that Washington is seeking to deploy a unit of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in the South, though U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken reiterated that no decision has been made yet during a news conference in Seoul on Wednesday. In a comp
North KoreaJan. 21, 2016