Most Popular
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Ex-presidential official’s leaked phone call rattles conservative bloc
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Man escapes DUI charges by downing bottle of soju while pulled over
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Pay debate plagues foreign nanny pilot
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K-pop star lip-syncing controversy flares up again
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35% of S. Koreans view unification 'unnecessary'
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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[Reporter’s Notebook] Was Netflix film opening BIFF really a bad thing?
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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[Editorial] N. Korea provocations
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are high following North Korea’s firing of rockets across the border and South Korea’s subsequent return fire. North Koreans fired several shells toward loudspeakers broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda and the South retaliated by firing dozens of 155-millimeter howitzer rounds Thursday afternoon. Seoul had resumed propaganda broadcasting after an 11-year hiatus as retaliation against North Korea’s land mines placed on the southern side of the DMZ that injured
EditorialAug. 21, 2015
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Seoul stocks tumble to 2-year low
South Korea’s stock market nosedived Friday, responding to the geopolitical risk triggered by the two Koreas’ cross-border tensions, as well as the overnight fall on Wall Street and the recent depreciation of the yuan.Financial authorities, however, assured that the impact of the recent North Korean attack on the financial market would be limited. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plummeted 38.48 points, or 2.01 percent, closing at 1,876.07 points, the lowest level since Aug. 23, 2
Aug. 21, 2015
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Regional powers vie over influence in Eurasia
Major regional powers are vying to strengthen their geopolitical foothold on the strategically vital Eurasian continent with their distinctive policy initiatives striving to court Asian nations including South Korea.For them, Eurasia, accounting for 71 percent of the world’s population and 60 percent of the global gross domestic product, is critical as their influence over it would, after all, determine their global status, analysts say.Among other policy initiatives, China’s “One Belt One Road”
Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2015
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Eurasia poses opportunities, challenges for Korea
For South Korea, Eurasia is a continental landmass of opportunities for energy supply, economic growth, cultural exchanges and other untapped possibilities. But it also entails daunting geopolitical challenges the divided country has long confronted. Participants of the Seoul-led Eurasia Express journey wave for a photo at Perm Station in Russia on July 25 during their 14,400-kilometer trip from Beijing and Vladivostok to Berlin. (Yonhap)Despite a series of constant obstacles to its diplomacy in
Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2015
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S. Korea employs brisk diplomacy over N. Korea attack
South Korea revved up its diplomacy Friday to secure international cooperation in deterring North Korean provocations, as tensions flared anew due to Pyongyang’s rocket attack and warning of “military action.” Seoul explained the facts of the North’s rocket provocation to major countries and the United Nations, and discussed with them ways to fend off additional provocations that could include a rocket launch disguised as a satellite launch.Earlier in the day, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy
Foreign AffairsAug. 21, 2015
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Allies step up defense coordination
South Korea and the U.S. stepped up their military coordination Friday to effectively fend off additional North Korean provocations, while attention was being drawn to whether they would apply their joint counter-provocation plan for the first time. Military vehicles move toward a training site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province on Friday. (Yonhap)South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Choi Yun-hee and Combined Forces commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti have been sharing military intelligenc
DefenseAug. 21, 2015
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Ex-Lotte Holdings VP refuses to open personal information
Former Lotte Holdings VP Shin Dong-ju Former Lotte Holdings vice chairman Shin Dong-joo, the eldest son of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, has refused to disclose personal information in a document specifying the conglomerate’s governance structure submitted to a watchdog, industry sources said. The Fair Trade Commission requested the document in its attempt to raise understanding of the retail giant’s murky governance structure, revealed amid a family feud involving the group founder and
BusinessAug. 21, 2015
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[Herald Interview] HyunA says her goal is bubbly, energetic type of sexy
There isn’t much variety to the words used to describe HyunA: All roads lead to “sexy.”HyunA (Cube Entertainment)That image of the 4minute member and solo singer who appeared in Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” music video remains alive and strong in her latest EP “A+,” which dropped Friday. Promotions for the EP started off with an adults-only trailer that showed the 23-year-old partying hard in Los Angeles, and the music video for the strutting lead track “Roll Deep“ is expected to follow in the same vei
PerformanceAug. 21, 2015
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LG, Samsung battery-powered Audi EV aims to take on Tesla
Audi, together with Korean battery makers LG Chem and Samsung SDI, aims to take on Tesla with its new full-electric sport utility vehicle that drives 500 kilometers on a single charge. The German marque is set to unveil a preview of the e-tron quattro concept at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show in September. It plans to put the car into production in 2018 as its first mainstream electric car. The car’s 500-kilometer driving range is more than triple that of other mass-market EVs on the market. E
TechnologyAug. 21, 2015
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‘Uber for delivery‘ to debut in Korea next month
Hong Kong-based logistics start-up GoGoVan, better known as “Uber for delivery,” will debut its Korean-language app next month, a source close to the matter told The Korea Herald. GoGoVan, founded in summer 2013 in Hong Kong with an app to connect licensed van and truck drivers with users for free, is one of the fastest growing start-ups in Asia, expanding its global reach to mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, beyond its home market. The company announced the entry to Korea early thi
BusinessAug. 21, 2015
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[Robert B. Reich] Hypocrisy of ‘family-friendly’ workplace
Netflix just announced it’s offering paid leave for new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth or adoption of a child. Other high-tech firms are close behind.Some big law firms are also getting into the act. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is offering 22 paid weeks off for both male and female attorneys.Even Wall Street is taking baby steps in the direction of family-friendly work. Goldman Sachs just doubled paid parental leave to four weeks.All of this should be welcome news. Mil
ViewpointsAug. 21, 2015
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Stock volatility index hits yearly high on N.K. tension
The South Korean stock market's volatility soared to a yearly high on Friday as investors fret over the ripple effect of military tension with North Korea following an exchange of artillery fire across the western border. The volatility index for the KOSPI 200, a basket of 200 blue-chip shares listed on the main Seoul bourse, jumped 23.3 percent to close at 18.49 on Friday, marking the highest level since Oct. 17, 2014, data by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, show
Aug. 21, 2015
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Ruling party lawmaker gets five-year jail sentence for bribery
An appeals court on Friday upheld a five-year jail sentence for a ruling party lawmaker for taking bribes from a railway parts supplier in exchange for business favors. The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence to Cho Hyun-ryong of the ruling Saenuri Party. Cho was convicted of taking 160 million won ($146,000) from the head of Sampyo E&C between December 2011 and July 2014. The 70-year-old lawmaker was also ordered to pay a fine of 60 million won and forfeit an additional 160 million won.
PoliticsAug. 21, 2015
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Xiaomi says no plan to open stores in S. Korea
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. said Friday that it has no plan to open official stores in South Korea for now but is considering making inroads into the South Korean market. "Xiaomi does not have any official store in South Korea, and we have no plans of entering the country as of now. We are looking into this matter," Kaylene Hong, a communications manager at the Beijing-based company, said in an email. Products of Xiaomi, known for its ultra-cheap mobile phones, have gained popularit
IndustryAug. 21, 2015
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China says military parade will involve 12,000 troops, 200 aircraft
Chinese organizers of a huge military parade marking China's victory over Japan in World War II said Friday that the Sept. 3 parade will involve about 12,000 troops and 200 aircraft, adding it will represent "new development" of the Chinese armed forces. "The number of troops participating in the parade is about 12,000," said Qu Rui, deputy director of the parade steering group, told reporters during a press conference. "At the same time, more than 500 pieces of 40-odd types of equipment, an
InternationalAug. 21, 2015
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N. Korea seen as preparing for missile launches: source
North Korea seems to be gearing up to fire missiles, a government source here said Friday, as the country's troops were ordered to be on a war footing. "The North is showing signs of shooting off a Scud missile near Wonsan and a Rodong missile in the North Pyongan Province," the source said, citing detection results of its joint radar system with the United States. Mobile launcher vehicles, loaded with Scud and Rodong missiles, have been detected, the source noted. "It seems that (the North
North KoreaAug. 21, 2015
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Prosecution postpones ex-prime minister's detention
Prosecutors said Friday they have accepted the former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook's request to delay the execution of a prison sentence delivered to her by the top court the previous day for bribery. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Han will show up at the Seoul Detention Center by 2 p.m. Monday after she goes through some medical checkups and wraps up her work as a former lawmaker. On Thursday, the Supreme Court sentenced Han, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 u
PoliticsAug. 21, 2015
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Weakening won feared to accelerate capital outflow in S. Korea
As the South Korean currency weakened at a faster pace and emerging economies are rattled by global financial uncertainties, foreigner investors are pulling out their money en masse from the local equity market, data showed Friday. Snapping their five-month buying streak in June, foreigners dumped a net 2.65 trillion won ($2.24 billion) in the June-July period, according to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. In July alone, offshore investors unloaded a net 2.26 trillion won wo
Aug. 21, 2015
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Cable channel JTBC to pay compensation for unauthorized exit poll use
A Seoul court on Friday ordered a local cable channel to compensate three major South Korean broadcasters for the unauthorized use of their exit polls during last year's provincial elections. The Seoul Central District Court ordered JTBC to pay 1.2 billion won ($1 million) to three terrestrial networks, KBS, MBC and SBS, which lodged a suit in August 2014. They accused JTBC of citing their exit polls without permission during the June 2014 elections of provincial government heads and council
IndustryAug. 21, 2015
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Park visits key military base over N. Korea's threats
President Park Geun-hye visited a military base near Seoul Friday to check South Korea's military readiness, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, after a recent exchange of shells between the two Koreas heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The surprise visit to the headquarters of Third Army in Yogin, Gyeonggi Province, came as North Korea threatened to take military action unless South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along the heavily fortified border. Park is set to receive a briefing from t
DefenseAug. 21, 2015