Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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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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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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Moon appoints interior, health ministers after confirmation hearings
President Moon Jae-in has appointed two new ministers on interior and health affairs, as the National Assembly adopted reports on the results of their confirmation hearings, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. Jeon Hae-cheol began his work as interior and safety minister, and Kwon Deok-cheol as health and welfare minister on the day, it added. (Yonhap)
PoliticsDec. 24, 2020
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Court to resume hearing over top prosecutor's injunction request against duty suspension
A court here will resume a hearing Thursday afternoon on an injunction request by the country's top prosecutor over a disciplinary measure given to him last week. The Seoul Administrative Court is set to reopen the hearing behind closed doors at 3 p.m. on whether to grant an injunction filed by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. The first hearing took place Tuesday afternoon for about two hours, attended by lawyers of Yoon and the Ministry of Justice. Yoon is not expected to attend the hearin
PoliticsDec. 24, 2020
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US says it supports S. Korea's concern over Chinese, Russian violation of KADIZ
The US State Department expressed strong support for South Korea and its efforts to defend its air space on Wednesday, one day after more than a dozen Chinese and Russian aircraft entered the country's air defense identification zone (KADIZ). The State Department also said the United States' commitment to the defense of its allies is "ironclad." "The United States strongly supports our ROK ally and its concerns regarding recent provocative air operations," a department spok
Foreign AffairsDec. 24, 2020
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S. Korea confirms 3 more cases of highly pathogenic bird flu
South Korea confirmed three more cases of highly pathogenic bird flu in poultry Wednesday, raising this year‘s total caseload to 22 amid growing concerns over the disease spreading across the nation. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it has identified an avian influenza (AI) of H5N8 strain at a fowl farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul. The farm was raising about 4,700 ducks and 100,000 quails. It was the 20th such case since the nation confirmed
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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New virus cases spike to over 1,000, virus curbs further tightened
South Korea‘s daily new coronavirus cases rose to above 1,000 for the first time in three days Wednesday, as the nation imposed the most stringent social distancing rules so far to contain the winter wave of the virus. The country added 1,092 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,060 local infections, raising the total caseload to 52,550, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It was the second-highest one-day tally of confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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South Korea signs pact to support Asian forest cooperation body’s office in Seoul
South Korea forged a formal agreement with the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization to provide support to the international body’s headquarters in Seoul, officials said Wednesday. The headquarters agreement, signed by South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa and AFoCO Executive Director Chencho Norbu, calls on the Korean government facilitating the organization’s operations here and mission of responding to climate change and realizing sustainable forest management. It also r
Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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Vice justice minister under fire over violence against cab driver
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has been assigned to look into civic groups’ complaint against Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu over allegations he was not duly punished for grabbing a taxi driver by the collar early last month. Lee, reportedly drunk at the time, was reported to police for his violent act, but police closed the case as the victim said two days later that he didn’t want to press charges. Lee allegedly grabbed the cab driver around the neck when
PoliticsDec. 23, 2020
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Cho Kuk’s wife sentenced to 4 years in prison for forgery and illegal investment
Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, was sentenced to four years in prison for forging documents to help her daughter gain admission at a medical school and for making illegal investments in a private equity fund. The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday immediately put Chung under detention and slapped her with a fine of 500 million won ($451,000), alongside the forfeiture of 140 million won. The 58-year-old Dongyang University professor was indicted in November
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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Korea halts flights from UK over new COVID-19 variant
South Korea will suspend all passenger flights from the United Kingdom over worries about a new variant of the coronavirus, health officials said Wednesday. Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, told a virtual news briefing that air travel from the UK will be barred from Wednesday until Dec. 31. Korea’s two domestic airlines together operate direct routes to and from London‘s Heathrow Airport four times a week. Korean Air will still fly planes from
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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NK steps up COVID-19 fight, but year away from vaccine
North Korea is stepping up efforts to hold back the coronavirus, but the isolated regime will see its people vaccinated in early 2022 at the earliest, market data firm Fitch Solutions said in its latest report on global vaccine distribution. The report categorized countries in the Asia-Pacific region into three groups. Groups one and two will get vaccinated by June and September next year. Group three, with North Korea and eight other countries including Mongolia and Brunei, will secure vaccine
North KoreaDec. 23, 2020
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Land Minister nominee apologizes for past remarks at hearing
Land Minister nominee Byeon Chang-heum repeatedly apologized for controversial past remarks after being blasted by opposition lawmakers at his confirmation hearing Wednesday. He also pledged to supply more homes in station areas to address housing shortages. At the parliamentary confirmation hearing, lawmakers from the opposition party called for the nomination of Byeon, CEO of the state-run housing developer Korea Land & Housing Corp., to be withdrawn, saying he does not have “the m
PoliticsDec. 23, 2020
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USFK to receive first shipment of Moderna vaccine as early as this week: source
The US Forces Korea (USFK) will start administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to its members this week, Gen. Robert Abrams said Wednesday. According to the US Department of Defense's plan, Allgood Army Community Hospital inside Camp Humphreys in South Korea will be one of four sites outside the continental US that will receive the initial vaccination. "Over the next few days, USFK will begin to receive and administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to combat the COVID-19 virus to further
DefenseDec. 23, 2020
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[News Focus] Who is responsible for Korea's late entry in vaccine race?
The government is facing growing criticism over the apparent lag in Korea procuring sufficient COVID-19 vaccines, with a blame game erupting over who is responsible. President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting Tuesday that efforts were well underway to ensure Korea has enough vaccine doses for its people, hitting back at accusations that he has been too slow in acquiring vaccines, which already have reached the public in a number of countries. “I believe public inoculation in our country wi
PoliticsDec. 23, 2020
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Seoul’s new nuclear envoy holds phone calls with US, Japan counterparts
Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s new top nuclear negotiator, spoke on the phone with counterparts in Washington and Tokyo, in his first such talks since his appointment this week, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, Noh held phone talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who doubles as Washington’s point person on North Korea. During the conversation, Biegun congratulated Noh on his appointment and reaffirmed the US’ commitment to resum
North KoreaDec. 23, 2020
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Population mobility rises for 6th month in Nov. amid rising home prices
The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country rose for the sixth straight month in November amid rising housing prices, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences gained 7.9 percent on-year to 610,000 in November, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The tally has risen since June, when the number of such people grew 25.3 percent on-year to 607,000. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 100 peo
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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Childbirths in S. Korea dip by most in 2 decades in Oct.
The number of babies born in South Korea declined by the fastest on-year pace in 19 years in October, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country's chronic low birth rate. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 21,934 babies were born in October, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier. It marked the sharpest on-year fall for any October since 2001, when the number of newborns fell 17.7 percent on-year. The tally also marked a record low for the month of October since 1981, when
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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73% of S. Koreans positive about Biden-Kim summit: poll
About 73 percent of South Koreans are positive about incoming US President Joe Biden holding a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un either unconditionally or in case of real progress in nuclear negotiations, a survey showed Wednesday. According to the poll conducted by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), 20.1 percent said that Biden should hold talks with Kim "unconditionally," while 52.9 percent responded that they should meet if real progress is mad
North KoreaDec. 23, 2020
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S. Korea to halt flights from Britain until Dec. 31 over new virus strain woes
South Korea said Wednesday it will suspend flights arriving from Britain until the end of this year over concerns about a new strain of the novel coronavirus. The country's diplomatic missions in Britain will suspend issuing quarantine-waiver documents so as to place all arrivals from the European nation in a 14-day quarantine, according to health authorities. The country will also conduct an additional virus test when they are released from quarantine. South Korea will beef up airport quaran
Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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Over half of S. Koreans value speed over safety regarding vaccinations: survey
Over half of South Koreans think the speed at which coronavirus vaccinations are carried out is more important than verifying their safety, a public survey showed Wednesday. In the Realmeter survey conducted on 500 people aged 18 or older nationwide Tuesday, 54.9 percent of the respondents said the country should start vaccinating the public as soon as possible because the current state of the new coronavirus pandemic is dire. Another 41.1 percent, however, said inoculations could wait until t
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020
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Military reports two new COVID-19 cases
A Navy officer and an Army soldier tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The officer stationed in the eastern city of Donghae was confirmed to have been infected after coming into close contact with one of his colleagues who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The Army soldier in the northeastern county of Yanggu tested positive after undergoing a test upon returning from vacation, the ministry said. The latest cases brought the total nu
Social AffairsDec. 23, 2020