Most Popular
-
1
Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
-
2
Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
-
3
Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
-
4
Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
-
5
Miss Universe Korea names 80-year-old model 'best dressed'
-
6
Shut up and dance
-
7
NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
-
8
Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
-
9
Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
-
10
Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
-
Ahn vows to move forward as 3rd political force
Independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo reiterated Monday that his new party proposed to be launched next month would distance itself from the main opposition party, vowing to transform the decades-old two-party political system into a multiparty system.“It is an outdated mentality that the opposition must align to do well in the general elections. It seems to suggest that we should maintain the vested interests of the main two parties,” Ahn said in a radio interview with local station CBS. “We must prep
PoliticsJan. 4, 2016
-
Student councils, scholars denounce sex slave deal
A local scholars’ group on Monday called for the immediate annulment of last week’s agreement between South Korea and Japan on wartime sex slavery, saying it is working with 380 intellectuals and activists across the world to establish a society solely dedicated to the “comfort women” issue. The student councils of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Ewha Womans University also called on the government to scrap the agreement, while encouraging other universities to join their cause.The grou
Social AffairsJan. 4, 2016
-
Child care crisis looms as funding standoff persists
The Education Ministry stepped up its offensive against local education superintendents this week, with the government and regional offices locking horns over who is responsible for funding the “Nuri” child care and education subsidy program.“Some education offices’ refusal to allocate a budget for the Nuri program infringes on children’s right to be educated. Superintendents should immediately take measures to stop the ‘child care’ crisis, and be mindful that they are responsible for the situat
Social AffairsJan. 4, 2016
-
Election map row weighs on Assembly
Preliminary candidates for the April general elections on Monday filed a lawsuit against the National Assembly and incumbent lawmakers for violating their rights, as it appeared unlikely for the lawmakers to determine the new constituencies by the end of the grace period this Friday, already well past the deadline. The three candidates from the Saenuri Party -- Im Jeong-seok, Jeong Seung-yeon and Min Jeong-sim -- claimed the Assembly violated the law since it had abandoned its obligation to red
PoliticsJan. 4, 2016
-
Drinking, smoking, obesity cost South Korea W23tr: report
Problems and damages resulting from excessive drinking, smoking and obesity cost South Korea 23.3 trillion won ($19.7 billion) in 2013, which was equivalent to nearly half of the spending on medical costs covered by the national health insurance, a report showed Monday. The report, written and released by the Health Insurance Policy Research Institute under Korea’s National Health Insurance Service, said problems resulting from drinking cost Korea 9.4 trillion won, smoking 7.1 trillion won and o
Social AffairsJan. 4, 2016
-
KT GiGA Internet crosses 1m users
Network operator KT said Monday that the number of its GiGA Internet service subscribers has crossed the 1 million mark as of Dec. 30. Since the launch of the GiGA Internet in September 2014, which offers both fiber optic and wireless network services, KT attracted around 70,000 new subscribers to the Internet service every month, which translates into 2,300 new subscribers a day. KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu delivers a speech at a New Year’s event at a KT office in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province on Mond
TechnologyJan. 4, 2016
-
Ssangyong Motor's Dec. sales jump 18.4%
Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian auto conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Monday that its sales jumped 18.4 percent on-year in December as soaring sales at home more than offset slumping exports. Ssangyong Motor sold 15,116 units last month, compared with 12,764 units a year earlier, the company said in a press release.The figure does not include complete knockdown kits that are assembled abroad. Overseas shipments nosedived 16.4 percent to 3,765 units over the cited period
IndustryJan. 4, 2016
-
Webtoon service Lezhin enters U.S. market
Lezhin Entertainment, an operator of webtoon (online comics) services in Korea, said Monday that it launched its U.S. operations in late December. Having completed the work to tailor its platform -- dubbed Lezhin Comics -- for the U.S. readers, including installation of payment systems and language translation, the Korean webtoon services operator will also set up a U.S. branch this year, which will be in charge of leading the entire businesses in the U.S., one of the world’s largest comics mark
TechnologyJan. 4, 2016
-
Korea briefs China on Japan deal on wartime sex slaves
South Korea briefed China last week on a landmark deal with Japan aimed at resolving the long-running grievances of Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, a diplomatic source said Monday. The briefing came at the request of the Chinese side, the source said on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. Under the deal with South Korea announced on Dec. 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized to the Korean victims and Tokyo agreed to provide 1 billion yen (US$8.
Foreign AffairsJan. 4, 2016
-
SK chairman pledges growth at New Year’s event
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won reaffirmed his pledge to take the lead in overcoming structural difficulties to achieve growth in 2016 during his first official appearance of the year in Seoul on Monday. Chey made the remarks during SK Group’s New Year’s event, attended by some 500 high-level executives including CEOs of SK’s key affiliates. It was his first public appearance since causing a stir last week by admitting to an affair and revealing plans to leave his wife, as well as his first part
IndustryJan. 4, 2016
-
6 killed after 2 cars fall into sea
Six people have been killed as their two separate cars fell into the sea in South Korea's southwestern area, the Coast Guard said Monday.Emergency crew members pulled the bodies of two sisters, surnamed Sohn, and a teenager, presumed to be the son of one of the women, from the car in the waters off Haenam, some 420 kilometers south of Seoul, soon after receiving a report about the vehicle earlier in the day.Footage from a security camera showed that the Hyundai Accent subcompact car was heading
Social AffairsJan. 4, 2016
-
Park asks political parties to embrace reform
President Park Geun-hye pressed political parties Monday to embrace reform and concentrate their efforts on improving people's livelihoods.She also expressed hope that political parties will regain public trust and public officials will root out corruption and address what she calls abnormalities across the country.Park made the comments in a meeting with more than 200 officials, including the prime minister, top officials of her ruling Saenuri Party and the parliamentary speaker, at Cheong Wa D
PoliticsJan. 4, 2016
-
General elections mired in uncertainty without constituencies
With just 100 days to go before voters cast their ballots, the general elections in April remain mired in uncertainty due to the absence of local constituencies.Rival parties have failed to fully agree on redrawing the electoral constituency map for the elections on April 13. The current electoral map became invalid by the end of 2015.For the first time in history, candidates seeking parliamentary seats in the 20th National Assembly are jockeying for position ahead of elections without exactly k
PoliticsJan. 4, 2016
-
Arirang TV now available in Philadelphia
Arirang TV, South Korea's English-language broadcaster, announced Monday it has become available across the U.S. city of Philadelphia via digital terrestrial network.Arirang TV said the service began at midnight Monday, Eastern Standard Time, or 2 p.m. Monday in South Korea, making it the first South Korean channel to reach America's fourth-largest TV market.Arirang added the fourth non-American channel to be available in Philadelphia, after NHK World of Japan, France24 of France and RT of Russi
TelevisionJan. 4, 2016
-
Apink to hold first-ever North American tour
The South Korean girl group Apink will kick off its first-ever concert tour to North America this week, the group's agency said Monday.The tour titled "Pink Memory: Apink North American Tour 2016"is scheduled to begin in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday (local time), and go to Dallas Wednesday and San Francisco on Friday before wrapping up in Los Angeles Saturday, A Cube Entertainment said.Chorong, a member of the band, posted a photo of the group taken upon their arrival in Canada on the official
PerformanceJan. 4, 2016
-
Kia Motors' Dec. sales grow 9.1%
Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 automaker, said Monday that its sales increased 9.1 percent in December from a year earlier on strong demand both at home and abroad. Kia Motors sold a total of 308,140 vehicles last month, compared with 282,477 units a year earlier, the company said in a press release. Domestic sales rose 11.1 percent on-year to 53,330 units, and overseas shipments also climbed 8.7 percent to 254,810 units.Kia Motors said that its annual sales in 2015 inched up 0.3 percent
IndustryJan. 4, 2016
-
Hyundai Motor's Dec. sales grow 8.5%
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Monday that its December sales grew 8.5 percent on-year on strong sales at home and abroad. Hyundai Motor said in a press release that it sold 516,359 vehicles in December, compared with 475,997 units a year before.Domestic sales jumped 18.3 percent on-year to 82,060 units, and overseas shipments also rose 6.8 percent to 434,299 units. For 2015, Hyundai Motor sold a cumulative 4,964,837 vehicles, almost the same as it did in 2014. Earlier in t
IndustryJan. 4, 2016
-
[John Micklethwait] The 20 percent world in Western democracies
If you want to pick a number for 2016, how about 20 percent? Look around the politics of the Western world, and you’ll see that a lot of once-unthinkable ideas and fringe candidates suddenly have a genuine chance of succeeding. The odds are usually somewhere around one in five — not probable, but possible. This “20 percent world” is going to set the tone in democracies on both sides of the Atlantic — not least because, as anybody who bets on horse racing will tell you, eventually one of these
ViewpointsJan. 4, 2016
-
Photos capture political upheaval in Korea
Photographers are perhaps the most observant participants of major historical moments. They are at some of the most tumultuous events, capturing in a split second what will become an important new chapter in history. Two dedicated witnesses of Korean history have recently published photo books offering glimpses into Korea’s turbulent moments in history. The Seoul Museum of History published a book, featuring 174 pictures taken by Willard Straight (1880-1918), who lived in Korea for a total of fi
CultureJan. 4, 2016