Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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SM founder Lee Soo-man is back with A2O Entertainment
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[Newsmaker] Indoor sports facilities dissatisfied with 'nonsensical' COVID-19 exceptions
Business owners expressed discontent and dissatisfaction toward the government for making “unrealistic” and “nonsensical” exceptions to let indoor sports facilities operate in a limited capacity. Starting Friday, indoor sports facilities were allowed to reopen their doors with a cap of nine children at a time, an exception the government made to address the gap in child care. Indoor sports facility owners are frustrated with the response, as the revised rules do not add
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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Seoul court orders Japan to compensate sex slavery victims
For the first time in history, a Seoul court has ruled that the Japanese government is liable to pay compensation for wartime sex slavery, ordering it to give 100 million won ($91,340) to each victim. The Seoul Central District Court said at 9:55 a.m. on Friday that “State immunity cannot be applied to crimes against humanity” in regards to the suit that 12 victims had filed against the Japanese government. The case began when the 12 so-called comfort women, including the late Ba
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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Busan announces separate economic relief package for city
The Busan Metropolitan Government will provide economic relief for industries in the city that have been affected by the social distancing measures that were extended due to the third wave of COVID-19. Beneficiaries will include artists, the transportation industry and the tourism industry. Busan’s acting Mayor Byun Seong-wan said 154,000 businesses and individuals would receive a combined 220 billion won ($208 million) from city, district and county resources. This is separate from the
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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94% of Koreans feel ‘tired’ amid pandemic
Collective exhaustion with coronavirus restrictions is mounting in South Korea amid a prolonged fight against the pandemic, with nine in 10 Koreans saying they feel “tired.” According to a poll of 837 adults from Jan. 6-7 by a job search engine Incruit, 94.1 percent of the respondents said their fatigue had accumulated due to the protracted pandemic. The biggest reasons they felt fatigued about the pandemic was that they had to refrain from meeting their families and friends (12.2
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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Seoul has coldest day in 35 years
Cold air from the North Pole gripped the nation on Friday, pushing the mercury down to minus 29.1 degrees Celsius on a mountain peak in Gangwon Province and minus 21.7 degrees in northwestern Seoul. The capital’s official overnight low, measured in Jongno-gu, hit minus 18.6 degrees, the lowest since Jan. 5, 1986. In Gangwon Province, the cold spell froze the Soyang River and Bukhan River in Chuncheon, as well as a waterfall on the Hantan River in Cheorwon. Seawater icicles even formed on
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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Denial of citizenship for foreign man caught drunk driving legitimate: court
The government’s decision to deny a naturalization application of a foreign national who was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol was legitimate, according to a local court’s ruling. The Nepalese man, who married a Korean woman in 2014, applied for naturalization in May 2018. He was convicted of drunk driving and given a fine in November 2019 while his application was being reviewed. The Justice Ministry denied the application in February 2020, citing his failure t
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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NK state media make no mention of leader Kim's presumed birthday
North Korean state media made no mention of its leader Kim Jong-un's presumed 37th birthday on Friday amid its detailed report on an ongoing rare party congress. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling party, carried articles on the eighth party congress of the ruling Workers' Party, the country's biggest political event, but did not mention his birthday. The North's state Korean Central Television (KCTV) also kicked off its program at 9 a.
North KoreaJan. 8, 2021
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Local furniture maker under probe over alleged slush fund, bribery
Police have raided the headquarters of South Korea's leading furniture maker Hanssem Co. this week as part of a probe into its alleged slush fund creation and graft charges, an official said Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to the compound in western Seoul the previous day to search for potential evidence. Having combed a computer server room and offices in charge of budget operation and public relations, they secured documents and other materials, according to th
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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Ultrafine dust density falls to record low for December
Last month saw a record-low ultrafine dust density for December in South Korea, the government said Friday, citing outcomes from its seasonal management system for air pollution. The Ministry of Environment said last month's national average density of ultrafine dust particles was 24 micrograms per cubic meter, the lowest level for December since relevant record-keeping began in 2015. Ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5, are a class one carcinogen. Un
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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New S. Korean envoy to Japan vows efforts to improve ties with Tokyo
Kang Chang-il, South Korea's new ambassador to Japan, vowed Friday to do his utmost to help improve the country's relations with Tokyo amid increased tensions after a local court ordered Tokyo to pay damages to Korean wartime sexual slavery victims. "I hold a tremendous responsibility to normalize the frayed relationship between Korea and Japan. I feel heavyhearted and heavy-shouldered," he told Yonhap by phone, hours after his appointment became official. "I will make every eff
Foreign AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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American soldier in S. Korea dies in car accident during training
An American service member stationed in South Korea died earlier this week in a car accident during a military training, the US military said Friday. Staff Sgt. James Wento, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday, as the military vehicle he was driving overturned during the training event of his unit at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, northeast of Seoul, according to the 2nd Infantry Division. "The circumstances surrounding the accident are under investigation," the
DefenseJan. 8, 2021
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USFK reports one more COVID-19 case
A civilian worker for the US Forces Korea (USFK) has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Friday. The contractor, who works at USFK's Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, was confirmed to have been infected the previous day and is now in isolation at his residence in Seoul before being transported to a facility designated for COVID-19 patients at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, according to USFK. He last visited the Yongsan base on Dec. 31, it added. "KDCA and USFK h
DefenseJan. 8, 2021
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S. Korea past 3rd peak of pandemic, tougher curbs in place against foreign arrivals
The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be slowly declining after a peak amid tough social distancing guidelines, but health authorities remain guarded against a more transmissible virus variant, officials said Friday. The country added 674 more COVID-19 cases, including 633 local infections, raising the total caseload to 67,360, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Friday's caseload was the lowest since Jan. 2, when the figure stood at 657 due largely t
Social AffairsJan. 8, 2021
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NK paper emphasizes antivirus efforts as party congress is under way
North Korea's official newspaper on Friday urged the people to keep their guard up against the coronavirus pandemic as a rare party congress is under way in Pyongyang with thousands of delegates gathering to join the largest political event. The eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party, the first of its kind in nearly five years, has been held since Tuesday to determine the country's policy directions for the economy and foreign affairs. Pyongyang had been placed on the highest alert agains
North KoreaJan. 8, 2021
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NK leader reviews inter-Korean ties, vows to 'comprehensively' expand external relations
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reviewed inter-Korean relations and pledged to "comprehensibly" expand external ties during a rare party congress, state media reported Friday. Kim announced the policy line in a report to the third-day session of the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party held in Pyongyang the previous day, citing "the prevailing situation and the changed times," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The report studied the issu
North KoreaJan. 8, 2021
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Optimism waning on continued reports of new COVID-19 variant
Authorities were on alert as South Korea identified three new cases of a more contagious COVID-19 variant from the UK on Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in a press briefing Thursday that three individuals had been confirmed infected with the variant first identified in the UK. The three belong to the same family as another patient, who was found to have the UK variant earlier after arriving in Korea from Britain in mid-December. With the addition of the three new
Social AffairsJan. 7, 2021
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Top court acquits teacher who posted political comments on social media
The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the appeal of a high school teacher and acquitted the man who had been indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. Identified by the surname Ko, the teacher had shared controversial posts on social media ahead of parliamentary elections in March and April of 2016. The teacher at a public high school on the island of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, who also serves as the branch president of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers&ls
Social AffairsJan. 7, 2021
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Cheong Wa Dae denies report on pardons for Park, Lee
Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday flatly denied a report that the presidential office was considering ways to grant pardons to Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, the two former presidents jailed for abuses of power and corruption offenses. Earlier in the day, the Chosun Ilbo reported that Cheong Wa Dae was considering pardoning Park first while discussing other options like a suspension of prison sentence for Lee, citing unnamed sources from the ruling bloc. Pardons can only be granted by the presid
PoliticsJan. 7, 2021
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N. Korea vows to bolster defense on 2nd day of party congress
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed Wednesday to bolster defense on the second day of a party congress held for the second time since 2016. He came to power in 2012. Kim said he would expand the military capabilities to realize a peaceful environment for North Koreans, according to the North’s state media. Kim discussed economic goals as well for different sectors, but again skipped foreign policies. On the first day of the congress, Kim admitted to economic failures over the past f
North KoreaJan. 7, 2021
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Foreign arrivals required to present negative COVID-19 test results
Foreigners arriving at South Korean airports are required to present negative coronavirus test results to be allowed into the country, starting Friday, as the country seeks to contain the influx of new variants of the coronavirus reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Foreign nationals must now show the results of a polymerase chain reaction coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their departure for Korea, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Foreigners a
Social AffairsJan. 7, 2021