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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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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[News Analysis] Experts weigh in on aftereffects from N. Korea’s full COVID-19 lockdown
North Korean watchers are weighing in on ramifications of the regime’s extreme response to COVID-19, as it has suspended all travel by land, sea and air and shut down public facilities. Leader Kim Jong-un issued the highest alert for the pandemic on Dec. 2 for the second time since February, when the new coronavirus began spreading globally. Such extreme measures, however, would be a double blow to North Korea, which suffered reduced food production this year due to shrinking outside sup
North KoreaDec. 6, 2020
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Seoul city to cancel year-end bell-ringing ceremony due to COVID-19
The Seoul metropolitan government said Sunday that a traditional bell-ringing ceremony at midnight on New Year's Eve will be canceled amid a recent surge in novel coronavirus infections. "Considering the rapid spread of COVID-19, we have to cancel the year-end bell-ringing ceremony," said an official from the municipal government of the capital city. It is the first time in 67 years that the annual year-end celebration held at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul on the last day of the
Social AffairsDec. 6, 2020
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New virus cases hit highest since March, tougher curbs to be enforced
The daily number of new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 600 on Sunday, as authorities decided to raise social distancing measures to Level 2.5 in the greater Seoul area to curb the relentless surge in COVID-19 transmissions. The country added 631 more COVID-19 cases, including 599 local infections, raising the total caseload to 37,546, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Five additional coronavirus fatalities were reported, bringing the total to 545. Th
Social AffairsDec. 6, 2020
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Defense chief to attend virtual Asia-Pacific defense ministers' meeting this week
Defense Minister Suh Wook will join his counterparts from the United States, China, Japan and other countries in an annual Asia-Pacific defense ministers' meeting this week, officials said Sunday. The 7th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) will be held via video link on Thursday, which will bring together top defense officials from 18 countries, also including the 10 ASEAN member states, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand. This year
Foreign AffairsDec. 6, 2020
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Coronavirus cases in military exceed 400 as 6 new cases reported
Coronavirus infections in the South Korean military exceeded 400 Saturday, as six more cases were reported amid a continued cluster transmission at barracks. Three soldiers at an Army boot camp in the border county of Yeoncheon tested positive while being quarantined, bringing the number of total patients there to 80, according to the defense ministry. One Army officer and a Marine at the Sangmudae Artillery School in the southwestern county of Jangseong also tested positive
Social AffairsDec. 5, 2020
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Nearly W15b budget allotted for opening Sejong branch of parliament
SEJONG -- Nearly 15 billion won ($13.7 million) has been set aside from state budgets to launch a project to partly relocate the National Assembly in Seoul to the administrative city of Sejong. According to the Sejong municipality, the 2021 national budget, approved by the assembly earlier this week, includes 12.7 billion won earmarked for the initial design of the envisioned Sejong National Assembly. Including the unused 2 billion-won budget allotted for the relocation project this year
Social AffairsDec. 5, 2020
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NK to convene Supreme People's Assembly meeting in late January
North Korea will convene a Supreme People's Assembly meeting in late January, state media reported Saturday. The SPA usually meets once a year in April to rubber-stamp decisions by the ruling Workers' Party. The North has also used SPA sessions as a major platform to unveil key policy changes or messages. "The 4th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be convened in Pyongyang late in January," the
North KoreaDec. 5, 2020
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Arrest warrants issued for 2 officials over Wolsong-1 shutdown controversy
DAEJEON -- A local court on Friday issued arrest warrants for government officials accused of deleting documents related to the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon Central District Court granted the warrants against two officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, whose names were withheld, on charges of disturbing the state auditors' examination. However, the court rejected a request to issue an arrest warrant for another ministry offi
Social AffairsDec. 5, 2020
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New virus cases below 600, bigger wave of pandemic in progress
The daily number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea fell back to below 600 on Saturday, following a nine-month high the previous day, continuing to put the country under a critical alert over a bigger wave of the pandemic amid the winter. The country added 583 more COVID-19 cases, including 559 local infections, raising the total caseload to 36,915, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It reported four additional coronavirus fatalities, bringing the total t
Social AffairsDec. 5, 2020
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Justice ministry appeals court's decision lifting top prosecutor's suspension
South Korea's justice ministry has filed an appeal against a court's decision that lifted Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's order to suspend Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl from duty, the ministry's legal representative said Friday. Lee Oak-hyung, the lawyer for Choo, said the ministry has requested that a higher court review the Seoul Administrative Court's ruling on Tuesday that allowed Yoon to return to work. Choo suspended Yoon from duty earlier last week and said she would discipline him o
PoliticsDec. 4, 2020
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China slams US national security allegations as 'hodgepodge of lies'
BEIJING (AFP) -- Beijing on Friday lashed out at a claim by the US intelligence chief that China is the "greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide", calling it a "hodgepodge of lies". The war of words comes as relations between the two superpowers have spiralled to their lowest point in decades and as Washington unveiled travel restrictions for members of the Chinese Communist Party. US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a Wall Street J
Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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New virus cases at 9-month high of over 600, tighter curbs to be considered
The daily number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea topped 600 on Friday, the most in nearly nine months despite tightened antivirus measures, prodding authorities to consider adopting tighter virus restrictions. The country added 629 more COVID-19 cases, including 600 local infections, raising the total caseload to 36,332, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It reported seven additional coronavirus fatalities, bringing the total to 536. An additional 439
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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Foreign ministry's budget rises 3.5% for next year with focus on virtual diplomacy
The foreign ministry said Friday that its budget has been set at 2.84 trillion won ($2.62 billion) for next year, with a focus on bolstering noncontact diplomacy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The total amount includes a 6.4 billion-won increase for what it calls "digital plus public diplomacy," which is aimed at improving infrastructure for virtual meetings that have become a new standard for diplomats since the outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted in-person talks, the ministry said.
Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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Two people indicted on fraud charges in Optimus fraud case
The prosecution on Friday indicted a key broker on charges of fraud in connection with its investigation into a financial fraud scheme at a private equity investment company. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office charged the suspect, only identified by his family name Shin, with fraud in the massive fund scam case surrounding Optimus Asset Management. It also charged another suspect, surnamed Kim, with violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act. The Optimus scandal centers on allegations th
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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Top prosecutor brings his disciplinary case to Constitutional Court
South Korea's top prosecutor filed a complaint on Friday with the Constitutional Court, taking issue with the "unfairness" of the prosecutor disciplinary act under which the justice minister seeks to punish him. Lee Wan-kyu, the lawyer for Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, told reporters that some provisions of the act were "against the Constitution" as they seriously harm the fairness of the operation of a disciplinary committee. Under the act, the disciplinary committee
PoliticsDec. 4, 2020
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Experts rap Seoul for ban on cross-border propaganda leafleting
North Korea experts on Thursday criticized a move by the South Korean parliament to criminalize sending propaganda leaflets, along with food and medicine, into the North across the inter-Korean border. Defectors here have long sent leaflets and other materials across the border, but the activity essentially ground to a halt in June when Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in protest. Roberta Cohen, who served as a US deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights, expresse
North KoreaDec. 4, 2020
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Democratic Party leader’s aide found dead
An aide to Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon was found dead Thursday after prosecutors questioned him over allegations that a firm suspected of involvement in investment fraud paid for Lee’s office supplies. Police found the deputy chief of Lee’s secretariat, also surnamed Lee, dead in a building near the Seoul Central District Court around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday during a search, after he was reported missing. Lee, accompanied by a lawyer, was interrogated at the Seoul Central Dis
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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Vietnam agrees to allow expedited entry for biz people from S. Korea
Vietnam will allow coronavirus quarantine exemptions to business travelers and their families from South Korea from the beginning of next year as part of efforts to shore up economic exchanges despite the pandemic, the foreign ministry said Friday. The two countries reached the agreement when Seoul's Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho, visiting Vietnam, paid a courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh earlier in the day, the ministry said in a press release. The measure
Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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Unification minister promises support for N. Korea aid groups
Unification Minister Lee In-young on Friday met with aid organization leaders and promised active support for their efforts to send humanitarian assistance to North Korea. During the meeting with the leaders of Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea (KNCCK), Lee also welcomed a UN Security Council panel's recent decision to extend the exemption period for sanctions on humanitarian aid to the North from the current six months to nine months. Lee promised to review the KNCCK's propo
North KoreaDec. 4, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Court mulls arrest warrants for 3 Industry Ministry officials over closure of Wolsong-1 reactor
A local court on Friday began reviewing whether to issue arrest warrants for three high-ranking Energy Ministry officials suspected of destroying documents about the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Court on Friday afternoon started an arrest warrant hearing for the three officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This followed a request from the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday. The officials are under investig
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020