Most Popular
-
1
Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
-
2
Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
-
3
K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
-
4
35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
-
5
Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
-
6
Prosecution closes 'Dior bag' case amid opposition uproar
-
7
Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
-
8
Court confirms sentence for rapper who attempted to evade national service
-
9
[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
-
10
N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
-
German president to visit S. Korea next month
German President Joachim Gauck plans to make a four-day trip to Seoul next month for talks with President Park Geun-hye, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Park is set to meet with Gauck on Oct. 12 to discuss how to boost cooperation in a wide-range of issues, including trade, South Korea's presidential office said. In 2014, Park met with Gauck during her state visit to Germany. Trade volume between South Korea and Germany stood at $289 billion in 2014. (Yonhap)
InternationalSept. 21, 2015
-
Opposition chief recants confidence vote
The chief of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Monday called off his earlier proposal to convene a confidence vote. Earlier this month, Chairman Moon Jae-in vowed to step down if the vote results say so amid deepening internal feuds and calls for his resignation following the party's crushing defeat in the parliamentary by-elections in April. On Sunday, the NPAD's executive committee confirmed the party members' support for Moon's leadership, adding that the decision e
PoliticsSept. 21, 2015
-
Chinese slowdown may spark further devaluation: vice minister
China will likely carry out another devaluation of its currency to prop up the world's second-largest economy as it is tipped to face a slowdown in the long term, a senior Seoul official said Monday. "Many economists predict an economic slowdown in China in the medium and long term because of an unstable stock market and a possible structural change in its economy," Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in an opening address at a seminar in Seoul. "In that case, the Chinese authorities may
Sept. 21, 2015
-
S. Korea can reject potential U.S. request for Japan forces entry: defense minister
South Korea is capable of turning down any U.S. request for the entry of Japanese armed forces onto the Korean Peninsula, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Monday in his latest efforts to defuse concerns over Japan's rearmament moves. Japan passed a package of security bills into law in the wee hours of Saturday, unshackling its previously self defense-only armed forces from limitations imposed after World War II and empowering them to fight in overseas battles. The rearmament step has sparked
DefenseSept. 21, 2015
-
English translation of S. Korean children's novel to be sold in Britain
A translated version of a new book by a best-selling South Korean children's novelist will be sold in Britain, the author's overseas agency said Monday. The British publishing company, Little, Brown Book Group, will publish Hwang Seon-mi's "The Dog Who Dreamed of Love" in English next fall, KL Management said. This will be Hwang's second book to be published in English after "Leafie, a Hen Into the Wild," which has sold more than 1.1 million copies in the local book market since its release in
CultureSept. 21, 2015
-
Men arrested on suspicion of smuggling meth from China
Prosecutors said Monday they have arrested three people, including a local gang member, on suspicion of smuggling methamphetamine worth some tens of billions of won from China. The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said the 58-year-old member of a South Korean organized crime group and two others are suspected of trafficking 18.2 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth some 60 billion won (US$51 million), from China on Aug. 10. The amount is enough for hundreds of thousands of people to take at
Social AffairsSept. 21, 2015
-
S. Korea sets out to woo back Chinese tourists
South Korea's retail and tourism industries are preparing a slew of promotional and cultural events to woo back Chinese travelers during a long-haul holiday season, pinning their hopes on making up for a summer slump in the wake of a viral respiratory illness, sources said Monday. Since the first outbreak in late May, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome made a big dent on domestic spending as foreign tourists canceled their planned trips during the peak summer season, while South Koreans avoided
CultureSept. 21, 2015
-
N.K. spurns S. Korea's invitation for railway restoration ceremony
The Unification Ministry on Monday said that North Korea rejected Seoul's invitation to a ceremony held in August to embark on restoring the South's section of a disconnected inter-Korean railroad. The ceremony was held on Aug. 5 to mark Seoul's efforts to reconnect the 223.7-kilometer Gyeongwon Line that once ran from Seoul to the North Korean eastern city of Wonsan before the Korean Peninsula was divided 70 years ago. Seoul first plans to renovate the 9.3-km railway section in the South near
North KoreaSept. 21, 2015
-
S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet over Japan's security legislation
South Korea, the United States and Japan are pushing to convene their Defense Trilateral Talks next month to discuss follow-up steps for Japan's recent security enactment, a government source said. Japan passed a package of security bills through the upper chamber on Saturday, which allows the country's armed forces to engage in overseas combat, even when the country is not under attack, removing limits on the military put in place after the end of World War II. The three countries "are pushi
InternationalSept. 21, 2015
-
Park vows to show S. Korea's contributions to global issues
President Park Geun-hye pledged Monday to demonstrate South Korea's commitment to contributing to global issues as she prepares to visit New York later this week for the U.N. General Assembly. Park is also set to attend the U.N. summit for sustainable development that will adopt the post-2015 development agenda, which serves as a guideline for sustainable development over the next 15 years. The new agenda is a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals designed to eradicate extreme poverty,
InternationalSept. 21, 2015
-
S. Korea's farm exports plunge 9.3 pct on-year in Aug.
South Korea's exports of agricultural and forestry products dropped significantly from a year earlier last month as shipments to all major markets except China continued to dwindle, the government said Monday. Outbound shipments of food and other farmed products reached $457.6 million in August, down 9.3 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The cut was partly attributed to a large drop in shipments to Japan, previously the wor
Sept. 21, 2015
-
Jeju Air unveils new brand identity before planned IPO
Jeju Air Co., South Korea's largest low cost carrier, said Monday that it will change its brand identity in time for a planned initial public offering it aims to complete by the end of this year. Jeju Air, owned by Aekyung Industrial Co., said in a press release that the new brand identity is intended to conjure up images of Jeju by symbolizing "stones" and "wind," which are closely related to the image of the southern resort island. It also utilizes the color orange in the overall design to
IndustrySept. 21, 2015
-
Foreign sell-off of Korean ETFs hits record high in Aug.
Foreign investors sold the largest amount of an exchange-traded fund with exposure to major South Korean firms in August, industry data showed Monday, amid ongoing uncertainties in the global economy. Investors yanked a net $310 million from the iShares MSCI Korea Capped ETF last month, a fund that has exposure to large and mid-sized South Korean firms, according to the data. The outflow marks the largest amount since the fund was first launched in May 2000, the data showed. An ETF refers t
Sept. 21, 2015
-
Man kills wife, kids at day care
A 52-year-old man killed his wife and children with a weapon and hanged himself at a day care center on Jeju Island, officials said Monday. The man, identified only by his surname Koh, was found dead on the second floor of the center, where he lives together with his family, by a teacher, the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters said. Also found dead were his 40-year-old wife Yang, who is the head of the day care, and two children, aged 14 and 11. The teacher first reported at 7:58 a.m. that she had
Social AffairsSept. 21, 2015
-
Man indicted for attempting to set Japanese Embassy on fire
A 57-year-old man was indicted Monday for attempted arson on the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, presumably out of anger over a historical dispute between South Korea and Japan, prosecutors said. The defendant, identified only by his surname Kim, is suspected of approaching the embassy with four bottles of soju and a 1.5-liter plastic bottle filled with gasoline, as well as a lighter at around 7:20 p.m on Sept. 5 before being caught by a police officer on guard, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor
Social AffairsSept. 21, 2015
-
'Jeonse' not affordable anymore, prodding Koreans to buy homes
Oh Jong-suk, a 41-year-old office worker in Seoul, could not fall into a deep sleep after receiving a call from the landlord of the home he has leased. As his two-year housing contract draws toward its expiration, the property owner demanded a 20-percent increase in the rental deposit, dubbed jeonse here, if Oh's family wants to stay longer. The bread earner with two kids in elementary school has been on the lookout for other jeonse housing, but opted to ditch his plan to move as jeonse prices
Sept. 21, 2015
-
U.S. nuclear envoy to visit S. Korea
The chief U.S. envoy to the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program will visit South Korea this week to join an annual defense conference between the allies, a government official said Monday. Ambassador Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy, is scheduled to visit South Korea on Tuesday to take part in the two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue starting Wednesday, the official said on condition of anonymity. His visit comes amid North Korea's v
North KoreaSept. 21, 2015
-
'The Throne' rockets to solid opening at weekend box office
The Korean period drama about a Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) king who starved his own son to death was the top performer at the local box office over the weekend, data showed Monday. "The Throne" drew 1.32 million viewers during the Sept. 18-20 weekend, bringing the film's total attendance to 1.8 million, according to box-office data from the Korean Film Council.Released last Wednesday, the film by veteran director Lee Joon-ik topped 1 million in just four days. Starring Song Kang-ho and Yoo Ah-
CultureSept. 21, 2015
-
Russian security chief due in S. Korea
Russia's security chief was to arrive in Seoul for talks with top South Korean officials, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. Nikolai Patrushev, chair of the Russian Security Council, is set to meet with President Park Geun-hye's top security adviser, Kim Kwan-jin, and Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs, the presidential office said. The one-day trip is part of an exchange of visits of senior officials between the countries on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the estab
DefenseSept. 21, 2015
-
Tax benefits estimated to inch down in 2016
The amount of tax incentives to individuals and companies will edge down nearly 1 percent in 2016 from this year as the government scales back support for large businesses, a government report showed Monday. According to the report submitted to the National Assembly, tax deductions, tax credits and other tax breaks are estimated at 35.3 trillion won ($30.1 billion) next year, down 333.1 billion won, or 0.9 percent, from this year. Tax breaks for individuals will likely reach 25.1 trillion won
Sept. 21, 2015