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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[David Ignatius] Talk is cheap, real strategy is hard
Making New Year‘s predictions is tricky in this turbulent world, but here’s one fairly safe bet: The next president will propose a more assertive U.S. foreign policy. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, has often sounded nearly as hawkish about use of military force as the Republican contenders. But what would a new American assertiveness mean, in practical terms? What can U.S. military power do, realistically, to combat the Islamic State and other threats more effectively? How can C
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Responding to Europe’s political polarization
In Europe, 2015 began with the far-left Syriza party’s election victory in Greece. It ended with another three elections that attested to increasing political polarization. In Portugal, the Socialist Party formed an alliance with its former archenemy, the Communists. In Poland, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won enough support to govern on its own. And in Spain, the emergence of Podemos, another new left-wing party, has ended the traditional hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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KEB Hana Bank cuts 690 jobs via early retirement
KEB Hana Bank, South Korea's leading lender by assets, said Sunday it has eliminated 690 jobs through a voluntary retirement program as part of efforts to downsize.The number of job cuts, made in late December, amounts to 4.3 percent of its workforce of 16,100 as of the end of November last year, according to KEB Hana.The lender said the early retirement program, carried out for the first time in about four years, focused mainly on employees aged 40 and older.KEB Hana's job reduction was the thi
CompaniesJan. 3, 2016
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FSS head urges careful watch against debt crisis
The chief of South Korea's financial watchdog vowed Sunday to step up efforts to ensure fiscal soundness of major lenders and financial institutes here Sunday, pointing to a possible crisis stemming from a U.S. rate hike."Risk management will be more important than ever in 2016,"Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said in his New Year's message."Should a U.S. rate hike lead to an increase in interest rates here, local companies and households may experience a ve
Jan. 3, 2016
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Former opposition leader quits party
Kim Han-gil, a former co-leader of the main opposition party, quit his party Sunday, dealing another blow to the opposition in the disarray following a high-profile departure of its other former co-chairman.Kim co-founded the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) in 2014, with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who announced his departure last month. The party changed its name to the Minjoo Party of Korea on Wednesday."I will dedicate myself to creating a new political order from scratch and win the gener
PoliticsJan. 3, 2016
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Korean prospect hoping to stay patient upon rejoining FC Barcelona
South Korean football prospect Lee Seung-woo, on the verge of rejoining FC Barcelona, said Sunday patience will be a virtue once he lands back in Spain.The 17-year-old departed for Spain on Sunday to rejoin the reigning La Liga champion, as an international ban on the club for violating FIFA's youth eligibility rules will be lifted.FC Barcelona were penalized in April 2014 by FIFA for signing players under 18 and fielding ineligible players at youth levels between 2009 and 2013, and were not per
SoccerJan. 3, 2016
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South Korean firms face possible cash crunch after rating cuts
South Korean firms may experience a credit crisis this year after a number of them have suffered cuts in their credit ratings, market observers said Sunday.According to Korea Ratings, one of the country's three largest credit appraisers, the number of local firms suffering credit rating downgrades in 2015 came to 61, nearly matching the number of companies suffering credit downgrades in 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis at 63.What is more troubling may be that companies in nearly all industri
Jan. 3, 2016
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Former South Korea int'l Kim Bo-kyung joins reigning league champion
Former national team midfielder Kim Bo-kyung has signed with the two-time defending South Korean league champion.Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of the first-division K League Classic announced Sunday they've acquired the 26-year-old midfielder.Financial terms of the move were not disclosed.Once tapped by former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung as one of the country's future stars, Kim represented South Korea at each of the past two FIFA World Cups, and also at the 2010 Asian Games and the 2012
SoccerJan. 3, 2016
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SK Innovation going all out to expand global presence
South Korea's top refiner SK Innovation Co. plans to speed up its overseas expansion this year as it seeks to develop new growth engines while also boosting its global presence, company officials said Sunday.The move apparently comes as more than half of the company's overall sales already are from exports.Increased profits from overseas sales, rather than exports, will further improve the company's overall sustainability, an official noted. "To secure a foundation for a long and sustainable dev
CompaniesJan. 3, 2016
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North may be readying for thermonuclear weapon tests: South Korean military
North Korea may be preparing to test its thermonuclear weapons capabilities at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, a South Korean military unit responsible for nuclear defense said Sunday.In its report, the South's Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Defense Command said the North has already laid the groundwork to develop thermonuclear weapons and may already be producing tritium, a radioactive isotope necessary to build more sophisticated nuclear weapons."We can't discount the possibilit
DefenseJan. 3, 2016
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Sales of high-grade bonds tumble amid economic slump
Sales of high-grade corporate bonds in South Korea hit an over three-year low in the third quarter of last year amid growing concerns over earnings by shipbuilders, carmakers and steel producers, data showed Sunday.The net issuance of bonds with a credit rating of AA or higher plunged to 800 billion won (US$679 million) in the July-September period from 3.6 trillion won three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Securities Depository.It was the lowest level si
Jan. 3, 2016
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South Korean won forecast to weaken to U.S. dollar this year
The South Korean won is likely to remain weak against the U.S. dollar this year on growing uncertainty in emerging economies following a U.S. rate hike and a slowdown in the Chinese economy, market watchers said Sunday.The local currency, however, is not expected to drop sharply against the greenback in light of Seoul's strong foreign exchange position and its sufficient current account surplus, they said.The South Korean currency started at 1,103.50 won to the dollar on the first trading day of
Jan. 3, 2016
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Hyundai to run separate booth for Genesis cars at Detroit Motor Show
South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. plans to run a separate booth for its new luxury lineup of Genesis cars at the upcoming international motor show in Detroit, where the new vehicle model will also make its international debut, company officials said Sunday.It will mark the first time the carmaker will run a booth wholly designated to just one lineup of cars at an international auto show, they noted.The company earlier said the new G90 model, locally named the EQ900, will make its int
CompaniesJan. 3, 2016
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South Korea, Japan pushing for high-level economic talks in Jan.: source
South Korea and Japan are trying to schedule high-level talks to discuss bilateral economic issues and cooperation, a government source here said Sunday.According to the source, the two countries are pushing for their 14th high-level economic consultation in Tokyo in mid-January. The last such meeting took place in Seoul in January 2015.Lee Tae-ho, South Korea's deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, will represent Seoul, while his counterpart will be Yasumasa Nagamine, Tokyo's deputy for
InternationalJan. 3, 2016
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Youth hold rallies protesting 'comfort women' deal
Dozens of young South Koreans took to the streets Saturday to protest a recent agreement between South Korea and Japan to resolve the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.The agreement, reached on Dec. 28, has sparked a wave of public protests among victims and their supporters, who claim Japan got the better side of the deal by obtaining Seoul's promise to settle the issue once and for all if Tokyo fulfills its commitments.Under the deal, Ja
Social AffairsJan. 2, 2016
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N. Korea's Kim opens sci-tech complex
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the opening ceremony of a science technology complex on the first day of the new year, the North's state media said Saturday.The "Sci-Tech Complex" opened Friday to help spread the latest science and technology developed by the North's ruling Workers' Party, according to the Korean Central News Agency."Going round the interior of the complex, (Kim) said this is a great center for all-people study and one for disseminating latest science and technology in
North KoreaJan. 2, 2016
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China's military overhaul may affect command in charge of Korean Peninsula
A major overhaul of China's armed forces appears to have affected one of seven regionalized commands in charge of the Korean Peninsula, according to Chinese and Hong Kong media reports on Saturday. The Chinese Shenyang Military Area Command, which is close to North Korea, is one of the seven battle-zone commands and believed to be tasked with coping with contingency plans on the Korean Peninsula. Citing a "source familiar with the matter," Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thu
World NewsJan. 2, 2016
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Seoul bourse to stay subdued next week on oil rout, emerging markets
South Korean stocks may remain subdued next week, weighed down by slumping global commodity prices and risks stemming from emerging economies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,961.31 on Thursday, the last trading day of this year, down 1.47 percent from a week earlier. The market got off to a weak start this week as Samsung Group affiliates lost ground after the country's regulator ordered them to resolve the complicated cross-shareholding struct
Jan. 2, 2016
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U.S. asked N. Korea's chief nuclear envoy to meet S. Korean counterpart after 2012 deal: Clinton email
Shortly after a 2012 nuclear deal with Pyongyang, the United States had asked North Korea's chief nuclear envoy to meet bilaterally with his South Korean counterpart, according to a newly released email of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Clifford Hart, then U.S. special envoy for six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, made the request during a phone call with North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador Han Song-ryol, days after the two sides reached a food aid-for-denuclearization
North KoreaJan. 2, 2016
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U.N. chief commends Park on Korea-Japan deal of wartime sexual slavery
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday South Korea's President Park Geun-hye had made a "courageous decision" to reach a landmark agreement with Japan on resolving the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery."History will laud President Park Geun-hye's courageous decision based on her vision," Ban said during his phone call with Park.Ban also said it is a relief that the two countries reached the agreement before the end of 2015, as it marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of
PoliticsJan. 2, 2016