Most Popular
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Slew of top K-pop stars ready to return from military
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S. Korea, US clinch 2026-30 defense cost-sharing deal in pre-election push
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N. Korean leader's sister derides Seoul's Hyunmoo-5 missile as 'useless'
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Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
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Controversial cult leader’s sentence reduced to 17 years
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Concerns raised over chronic labor shortage at state-run center for digital sex crime victims
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BTS-themed moon jar to be unveiled on Hangeul Day
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Samsung, Hyundai chiefs to accompany Yoon on Singapore trip
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1,430 minors investigated for drug offenses from 2018 to 2023: police
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[Robert Fouser] Why the US election looks so close
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S. Korea OKs forest experts' visit to N. Korea
South Korea on Tuesday approved plans by a group of forest experts and officials of Hyundai Asan, a South Korean operator of an inter-Korean tour program, to visit North Korea this week to check pine trees which turned yellow at its scenic mountain resort.Officials from the state-run Korea Forest Research Institute and Hyundai Asan will be allowed to visit the North starting Wednesday for a three-day stay in a bid to look into what went wrong with the pine trees at Mount Kumgang on the North's e
North KoreaJuly 28, 2015
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Samsung releases flip-style smartphone
South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has commenced sales of its second flip-style smartphone in line with its struggles to diversify its handset portfolio amid ailing sales.The Galaxy Folder, which boasts a 3.8-inch display, will come in two editions that run on the third-generation and long-term evolution networks.It will also come with 8-megapixel and 2-megapixel cameras on the back and front, respectively, along with a 1,800 mAh detachable battery."The folding-
IndustryJuly 28, 2015
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Smart appliances market to grow sharply in next 5 yrs
The global market for smart home appliances is forecast to grow by more than twofold annually over the next five years, buoyed by advancement in the Internet-of-Things technology, a report said Tuesday. Production of consumer electronics, whose functions will be connected to other mobile devices, is estimated to reach an annual 223 million units by 2020, up an average of 134 percent each year from the current output of around 1 million units, according to market tracker IHS. Given that the forec
July 28, 2015
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Gov't set to extend eased mortgage rules for another year
The government will extend a temporary measure to ease mortgage regulations for another year in a bid to prop up the local economy that is showing budding signs of recovery, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.In August last year, newly minted Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan announced the eased rules in order to give home buyers greater access to mortgages and thus help boost the sluggish local housing market as well as the overall economy.The loan-to-value ratio was adjusted to 70 percent at l
July 28, 2015
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Hyundai, Kia rank 1st in home production ratio
Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. had the highest home country production ratio among major global carmakers in 2014, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data by FOURIN, a Japanese car research firm, the two Korean carmakers produced a combined 8 million cars last year, of which they churned out 3.59 million units in their home country.This represented a 44.8 percent home country production ratio, the highest among nine carmakers whose global productions exce
IndustryJuly 28, 2015
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Samsung likely to showcase new phablet on Aug. 13
South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday sent out invitations for what is expected to be an unveiling event of its next flagship phablet, presumably the Galaxy Note 5, on Aug. 13 in New York.The invitation from the South Korea-based top smartphone maker has a picture of lines that form a shape like a smartphone, which looks similar to its quirky edition of the flagship model, the Galaxy S6 Edge, which was released in April.The Galaxy S6 Edge was initially considered an upb
TechnologyJuly 28, 2015
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S. Korea declares de facto end to MERS outbreak
Prime Minster Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday declared a de facto end to the outbreak of MERS, which has claimed 36 lives in the country since May.The number of people diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has remained flat at 186 for the past 23 days, with the release of the last suspected patient Monday, indicating a slim chance of the country reporting an additional case."After weighing various circumstances, the medical personnel and the government judge that the people can now be free fr
Social AffairsJuly 28, 2015
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U.S. intelligence sees possibility of N.K. provocation around October: S. Korean lawmaker
U.S. intelligence authorities believe North Korea could engage in a provocative act around the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party in October, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday.An American intelligence official made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, chairman of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party without saying what provocation it would be, according to the party's spokesman, Rep. Kim Young-woo, who was present in the meeting.Kim did not identify the U.S. in
North KoreaJuly 28, 2015
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American veterans celebrate groundbreaking for 'Changjin' battle memorial
Elderly American veterans of the Korean War celebrated the groundbreaking Monday for a memorial commemorating "Changjin Reservoir Battle," one of the fiercest battles in the war that also helped make a massive evacuation operation possible.The November-December 1950 battle, also known as the "Battle of the Chosin Reservoir," came as the U.S.-backed South Korean forces began retreating from North Korea after China sent massive numbers of troops to fight alongside the communist neighbor.In the bat
InternationalJuly 28, 2015
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Chinese president visits Shenyang near N. Korea
Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to the northeastern city of Shenyang near the border with North Korea on Monday in a trip that could be seen as a message of willingness to improve relations with Pyongyang, diplomatic sources said.Xi made a one-day visit to Shenyang and stressed the importance of promoting industrial bases in the northeastern region, according to local businessmen and diplomatic sources. Xi also called for greater efforts to open up the province of Liaoning, they said.The v
North KoreaJuly 28, 2015
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U.S. puts N. Korea among world's worst countries for human trafficking
The United States designated North Korea as one of the world's worst countries for human trafficking for the 13th straight year on Monday, saying Pyongyang fails to meet even the minimum standards for efforts to improve the situation.The State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 of its four-step classification of countries, saying the communist regime maintains political prison camps and sends people overseas for forced labor."The government o
North KoreaJuly 28, 2015
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Iran deal indicates U.S. flexibility on N. Korea: Seiler
The United States is willing to show flexibility in nuclear talks with North Korea, if resumed, as demonstrated in a recent deal with Iran, a key Washington official on Pyongyang said Monday."We have long been open to dialogue with the DPRK and we have made quite clear to the DPRK that we are willing to engage in discussions on a range of issues," Sydney Seiler, the U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks, told reporters here. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democra
North KoreaJuly 27, 2015
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S. Korea, U.S. to work closely for Koreas' reunification: minister
South Korea and the United States will work even more closely together to reunify the two Koreas, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang said Monday.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo made the remark during an address at a security conference, saying the South Korea-U.S. alliance is "key" to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."South Korea and the U.S. will work even more closely together to defend the values important to achieving a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, such as human
North KoreaJuly 27, 2015
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Foreign start-ups seek legal clarity
This is the seventh and final article in a series on foreigners working in Korea’s technology start-up ecosystem. ― Ed.PinStory, a food recommendation start-up in Seoul, is the poster image of diversity: A Korean ex-banker and a Spanish ex-restaurateur and developer spotted a shortage of restaurant information in English and joined together last year to create a quality-driven directory of Seoul’s best eateries for a foreign audience. PinStory CEO Universe Shin (left, back row) poses with the te
July 27, 2015
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Spy agency denies tapping civilians
Korea’s top spy agency chief Monday categorically denied allegations the agency used a hacking program to wiretap citizens during the first session of a bipartisan parliamentary committee that aims to probe any wrongdoings by the NIS. National Intelligence Agency chief Lee Byung-ho (center) enters the plenary session of the Intelligence Committee at the National Assembly on Monday. (Yonhap)Lee testified before the National Assembly Intelligence Committee’s closed-door session, saying that the N
PoliticsJuly 27, 2015
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Eurasia Express passengers pay tribute to fallen WWII soldiers
MOSCOW ― More than 250 passengers of the “Eurasia Express” opened the third and final chapter of their 20-day journey in Moscow on Sunday, reaching the last stop of a trans-Siberian railway and marking their journey by paying tribute to fallen soldiers during World War II at a memorial. Led by Rep. Kang Chang-hee of the ruling Saenuri Party, the visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier initiated their three-day layover here, designed to display South Korea’s appreciation for Russia’s immense sac
Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2015
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Former U.S. envoy to teach at HUFS
Kathleen StephensHankuk University of Foreign Studies is to appoint Kathleen Stephens, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, as a chair professor for its diplomacy course, officials said Monday.Stephens will be teaching at the HUFS division of language and diplomacy, which combines language study and a training course for diplomatic skills. It was created in 2014 to foster diplomats and members of international organizations.“The practical knowledge, experience and know-how Stephens possesses
PeopleJuly 27, 2015
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Crimes by seniors on the rise
Crimes committed by elderly citizens have become a social problem in South Korea’s rapidly aging society, as the number of criminals aged 60 or older reached an all-time high, officials said Monday.According to data by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, 149,957 senior citizens were charged with crimes in 2013, accounting for 7.5 percent of some 2 million total suspects that year. This marked a constant increase from 3.3 percent of the total criminal population in 2004. In contrast, the ratios of c
Social AffairsJuly 27, 2015
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Two Koreas mark armistice agreement
Over in the South, descendants of veterans who fought in the Korean War participate in a ceremony marking the 62nd anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and U.N. Forces Participation Day at the Olympic Hall in eastern Seoul on the same day. (Yonhap)The two Koreas on Monday celebrated the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, with commemorations on each side as jarringly different as the current state of the Korean Peninsula separated by economic and ideological disparities and military conf
DefenseJuly 27, 2015
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Panel calls for scholarship boost for ex-soldiers
A parliamentary panel has recommended that the government seek a program under which universities give extra points to those who have fulfilled their compulsory military service in their selection of scholarship students.The National Assembly’s special panel on enhancing human rights in the military made the recommendation last month as it wrapped up its activities to improve the rigid, hierarchical military culture that is cited as a primary cause of constant abuse in the barracks.The panel has
North KoreaJuly 27, 2015