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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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Miss Universe Korea names 80-year-old model 'best dressed'
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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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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
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Lippert sends out New Year's cards to officials
Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, sent out New Year's cards to the country's political and governmental officials, sources said Tuesday, which came with a family photo including his son, who was born in Seoul.The card, which had New Year's messages in English and Korean, were sent to local officials. It included a photo of his son, who was born last year.Lippert gave his son the Korean middle name of Sejun, literally meaning "clean and excellent." The move was seen by many as his
Foreign AffairsJan. 6, 2016
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S. Korea probing possible error in repatriation of remains of Chinese soldiers
The Defense Ministry opened Tuesday an investigation into allegations that the remains of North Korean soldiers were mistakenly included when South Korea repatriated the remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.Following an agreement with China in 2013, South Korea sent home what were believed to be the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers in 2014 who fought alongside North Korea against the South during the war. Remains of another 68 soldiers were repatriated in March last ye
DefenseJan. 5, 2016
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Park’s salary to rise by 3 percent
The Cabinet has decided to raise President Park Geun-hye’s annual salary by more than 3 percent and expand the merit-based wage system in the public sector, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced Tuesday. Park is set to earn 212 million won ($179,000) this year, compared to 205 million won last year, after the Cabinet approved the bill on government employees’ salaries in the meeting held in the morning.Given that the nation’s average consumer price inflation stood at 0.7 percent last ye
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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Prosecutors seek 1-year jail term for ex-PM
Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a one-year jail term for a former South Korean prime minister on charges of receiving bribes from a deceased businessman. Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo was accused of receiving 30 million won (US$25,000) at his election office in April 2013 from Sung Wan-jong, the late chairman of construction firm Keangnam Enterprises Inc.Prosecutors said the sentence demand came as Lee's actions "severely damaged" the laws related to the transparency of political fundings.The
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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Opposition calls for renegotiation of sex slavery deal
The main opposition party on Tuesday called on the Seoul government to renegotiate last month’s agreement with Tokyo to settle Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women and apologize to victims for the “unilateral” deal.Four senior lawmakers of the Minjoo Party of Korea including its floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul made the demands during their hour-long talks with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at his office in Seoul.The lawmakers also said that Seoul should not accept Tokyo’s contributi
Foreign AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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Caffe Bene founder crashes from dizzying heights
Caffe Bene, a leading local coffee chain, announced Dec. 30 that a private equity fund has become its largest shareholder. “The fifth K3 Fund, a private equity fund, has taken an 84.2 percent stake in the coffee chain,” a company official said. Industry watchers said the ownership change in the homegrown coffee chain is expected to lighten its strained finances by lowering the company’s debt ratio to 300 percent from the previous 865 percent. The change in governance not only highlights the dire
IndustryJan. 5, 2016
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Minjoo Party recruits high-profile figures
The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea leader Moon Jae-in meant it when he said he would “boldly recruit new figures” in a housecleaning action to replace the big shots who recently defected.Lee Soo-hyuck, former deputy foreign minister and chief delegate for the six-party negotiation talks with North Korea, joined the party Tuesday, following suit after crime profiler Pyo Chang-won and video game company Webzen chairman Kim Byung-kwan.“Lee is a top-level expert in the diplomatic field, which
PoliticsJan. 5, 2016
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Marriage stress may fuel Korea’s low fertility rate: study
Marriage and financial stress, rather than child care-related struggles, may have a bigger influence on a Korean mother’s decision not to have more than one child, research by a state-run think tank suggested. Contrary to the popular belief in Korea that child care stress can significantly reduce the mother’s desire to have a second child, the study, written and released by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, showed that wives with lower household income or who are unhappy with thei
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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Park calls for airtight national defense
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called on her top aides to strengthen defense capabilities and maintain airtight readiness posture, saying this year marks a “turning point” in her diplomatic and security policy. Presiding over the first Cabinet meeting of the year, she also pledged to make constant efforts to put cross-border relations back on track, in an upbeat response to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year address in which he said Pyongyang would strive to improve the ties and cont
DefenseJan. 5, 2016
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Hanwha to supply tactical communication systems
(Hanwha Thales)Hanwha Thales clinched an agreement Tuesday to supply tactical information communication networks to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, as Seoul seeks to improve its battlefield command and control systems, the company said. Under the 166.3 billion won ($139.9 million) deal, the Seoul-based defense contractor will deliver network management, tactical mobile communications and low-capacity trunk radio systems by the end of this year. Hanwha and the Agency for Defense D
DefenseJan. 5, 2016
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Korean fire stations to get advanced ambulances
The government will place at least one ambulance with advanced equipment at each fire station in the country to provide quicker treatment for emergency patients, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Public Safety and Security said it would provide special ambulances that are equipped with 12 emergency medical devices to 205 fire stations. In these ambulances, medical staff will be able to conduct emergency treatments, such as intubation or heart-stimulating drug injections, which are difficul
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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Park’s salary to rise by 3 percent
The Cabinet has decided to raise President Park Geun-hye’s annual salary by more than 3 percent and expand the merit-based wage system in the public sector, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced Tuesday. Park is set to earn 212 million won ($179,000) this year, compared to 205 million won last year, after the Cabinet approved the bill on government employees’ salaries in the meeting held in the morning.Given that the nation’s average consumer price inflation stood at 0.7 percent last ye
Social AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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[CES 2016] Samsung flaunts TV leadership
LAS VEGAS -- Even with all the buzz about driverless cars and the Internet of Things, the annual International Consumer Electronics Show can never be complete without fancier TVs. Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest TV-maker, unveiled Monday its new high-end UHD TVs before their official debuts at the CES trade show that runs from Wednesday through Friday in the U.S. city of Las Vegas. Samsung’s TV chief Kim Hyun-seok speaks at a media preview event for the company’s 2016 quantum-dot UHD TV
TechnologyJan. 5, 2016
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[Kim Seong-kon] What lies ahead of Korea in Year of Monkey?
Waking up in Seoul in the Year of the Monkey, I once again ponder on the future of Korea in accordance with the Chinese zodiac. I am far from superstitious, and yet it surely is fun and even enlightening to compare the Korean people’s character traits to those of the symbolic animal of the year. Sometimes, I am amused to find people who strongly resemble the animal of the year in which they were born. My father, who was born in the Year of the Monkey, is very agile and dexterous. Although he is
ViewpointsJan. 5, 2016
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[Photo News] LG prepares for 2016 CES
LG PREPS FOR 2016 CES -- LG Display CEO Han Sang-beom (left) pays a visit to the firm’s exhibition booth at the 2016 International CES trade show to be held from Wednesday to Saturday in Las Vegas. At the booth, the display-maker will showcase 55-inch double-sided displays, a 139-inch commercial display made of 8 organic light-emitting diode displays, and high-end OLED TVs with their sizes ranging from 65 inch to 77 inch. (LGD)
TechnologyJan. 5, 2016
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[Photo News] LG Uplus, Rinnai launch smart heating system
TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE FOR SMART HEATING -- Mobile carrier LG Uplus and Rinnai Korea, a local gas-fired tankless water heater maker, have jointly developed a smart boiler controller which allows users to monitor and remotely control home heating systems.(LG Uplus)
TechnologyJan. 5, 2016
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[Robert J. Fouser] Korea needs united opposition party
The end of 2015 saw the implosion of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, Korea’s main opposition party, after months of rising tension. On Dec. 13, Ahn Cheol-soo announced that he was leaving the party and that he would form another party with the hope of becoming the main opposition party. Since then, a number National Assembly representatives have left the party, which has rebranded itself as the Minjoo Party of Korea. Since Ahn’s departure, defections have continued as politicians jocke
ViewpointsJan. 5, 2016
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Former U.S. envoy on N.K. dies
Stephen Bosworth, a former U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, died Sunday, according to the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, where he had worked until recently. He was 77.Stephen Bosworth (Yonhap)The exact cause of his death was not immediately made public. But he is known to have contracted prostate cancer several years ago. Last November, he was scheduled to visit Seoul to attend an international forum, but his visit was canceled due
Foreign AffairsJan. 5, 2016
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[CES 2016] LG to show off premium tech at CES
LAS VEGAS -- Aiming to claim the limelight at the 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show to be held Wednesday to Saturday in Las Vegas, Korean tech giant LG Electronics said Tuesday it would focus on building and promoting its premium brand image with high-end product lineups, including the LG Signature for home appliances. The LG Signature, the latest christening strategy for the company’s premium products, consists of organic light-emitting diode TVs, a twin-tub washer and refrigerators.
TechnologyJan. 5, 2016