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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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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SM founder Lee Soo-man is back with A2O Entertainment
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Govt. to offer free virus tests at 150 new testing sites amid spike in COVID-19 cases
Health authorities will begin offering free virus tests at 150 new makeshift COVID-19 testing sites in Seoul and its surrounding areas under a three-week containment campaign, officials said Sunday, as the daily virus count breached the 1000 mark. The Central Disease Control Headquarters said that from Monday until Jan. 3, it will administer the tests at facilities at Seoul and Yongsan Stations, major university districts and other high-risk areas in the greater Seoul metropolitan area. They wi
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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In climate summit, Moon says S. Korea to set higher 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction goal
President Moon Jae-in told global leaders Sunday that South Korea is seeking to raise the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target in line with its stated aim of going carbon neutral by 2050. Participating in the Climate Ambition Summit, held via video links, Moon said his country plans to submit a long-term low-carbon growth strategy and its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), newly converted into absolute terms, to the United Nations within this year. "Furthermore, we wi
PoliticsDec. 13, 2020
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Seoul receives first measurable snowfall of season
Seoul received the first measurable snowfall of the season on Sunday as the state weather agency issued a heavy snow advisory for the metropolitan area and other parts of the country. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Seoul received about 0.8 centimeters of snow as of 6 a.m. and is expected to receive up to 7 centimeters later in the day. KMA issued the advisory for Seoul and parts of the Gyeonggi Province, as well as for the eastern province of Gangwon. The advisory
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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S. Korea’s new daily COVID-19 cases top 1,000 for first time
South Korea’ daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time on Sunday, the highest total since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak here in January, as the government’s antivirus restrictions appear to be bearing little fruit. Calling the current situation “the biggest crisis” since the pandemic arrived here, President Moon Jae-in warned that the country will have to consider enforcing the toughest-level social distancing rules if the virus doesn’t s
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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[News Focus] Korea’s single-person households top 9 million
SEJONG -- The number of single-person households in South Korea has surpassed the 9 million mark for the first time since the nation started compiling the data. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the tally for single-person households came to 9.009 million as of November, which made up 39.1 percent of the total 23.03 million households nationwide. The figure contrasts with 34.4 percent (7.23 million), posted five years earlier in November 2015 and 33.3 percent (6.61 million) a d
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2020
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Moon vows to mobilize all resources to fight COVID-19 as new cases hit record
President Moon Jae-in vowed Saturday to use all available resources to stem the spread of the new coronavirus as the country's new daily infection number hit a record high of 950. Calling the current state an "emergency," Moon apologized for failing to promptly stabilize the COVID-19 situation despite tightened social distancing measures taken at the cost of citizens' inconvenience and economic damage. "We will consider this as an emergency situation and put all out efforts in a
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2020
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Five more soldiers, 1 Marine test positive for COVID-19
Five more soldiers and a Marine have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Saturday. Three Army officers and a Marine officer at the Sangmudae Artillery School in the southwestern county of Jangseong were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 before their release from quarantine following a series of infections at their base, according to the ministry. In the northeastern county of Hwacheon, a soldier and an officer were also confirmed to have been infected with th
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Notorious child rapist released from prison amid strong protests
Cho Doo-soon, one of South Korea's most notorious child rapists in recent memory, was released from prison on Saturday amid strong protests against the heinous criminal's return to society. Cho served a 12-year term for kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old girl in a church bathroom in Ansan, 42 kilometers southwest of Seoul, in December 2008. A huge public outcry has erupted over what has been seen as too lenient a punishment for a horrendous sexual crime against a minor. He left the correction
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2020
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Korea's new virus cases hit record high of 950
South Korea reported 950 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, a record figure since the country reported its first virus case nearly 11 months ago. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency counted 928 local infections and 22 imported cases. Seven of the imported cases were from the US and three from Russia. Korea's accumulated confirmed COVID-19 cases now stands at 41,736. Saturday's new caseload marks a sharp increase from 689 the previous day. It is the highest mark since January, when the
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2020
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Man acquitted in retrial 41 years after getting prison term for extolling NK founder
A Seoul court has reversed the prison sentence delivered to a man more than 40 years ago for watching North Korean propaganda TV content and praising the communist country's late founder, judicial sources said Saturday. The man was initially convicted of violating the now-defunct anti-communist security law and served 10 months behind bars in the 1970s, when anti-communist sentiment was running high in South Korea. In a recent retrial of the case, the Seoul Central District Court found him, no
North KoreaDec. 12, 2020
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US reaffirms commitment to complete denuclearization of N. Korea: State Dept.
US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has reaffirmed his country's continued commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department said Friday. Biegun, while meeting with top South Korean officials in Seoul, also confirmed the United States' commitment to coordinating its denuclearization efforts with South Korea. "During his meetings with senior ROK officials in Seoul, Deputy Secretary Biegun expressed appreciation for the ROK's continued partnership in C
North KoreaDec. 12, 2020
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Court rejects appeals by Japanese firm over rulings on forced labor
A South Korean court struck down appeals filed by a Japanese firm against a ruling that ordered a freeze of its assets here to compensate victims of wartime forced labor. According to the Daegu District Court in southeastern Korea on Friday, its Pohang branch rejected Thursday two appeals filed earlier this week by Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp over the court's decision to seize its assets. The court dismissed a similar appeal in August, calling the plaintiff's claim "ba
Social AffairsDec. 11, 2020
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USFK tightens COVID-19 restrictions in greater Seoul area
US Forces Korea said Friday it will strengthen anti-coronavirus restrictions for its personnel in the greater Seoul area following a resurgence in the number of virus cases in the country. Effective 6 p.m. Saturday, the US military will heighten the Health Protection Condition by one notch to Charlie for Area II that encompasses Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western city of Incheon, until further notice. Under the tightened rules, "only mission essential individuals wil
DefenseDec. 11, 2020
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US returns 12 military sites to Korea
The United States returned 12 military sites that were controlled by its forces to South Korea on Friday, in a major handover that included the Yongsan base in central Seoul for the first time. Following a drawn-out return process due to disputes over environmental cleanup and other issues, the allies finalized the handover at a regular joint meeting of the Status of Forces Agreement, which stipulates legal responsibility of the 28,500-strong US forces stationed here. The 201st SO
DefenseDec. 11, 2020
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Dismantlement of Yongbyon complex should not be underrated: US expert
The dismantling of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex should not be underestimated in the denuclearization process, an American nuclear expert said Friday. Siegfried Hecker, known for his 2010 visit to the Yongbyon complex, made the remarks during a video conference with Unification Minister Lee In-young and Moon Chung-in, special foreign policy adviser to President Moon Jae-in, also stressing the need for a "flexible approach" in dealing with the North, including sanctions relief
North KoreaDec. 11, 2020
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South Korea mobilizes Army, police to ramp up COVID-19 contract tracing
Hundreds of Army and police personnel will be dispatched to break the chain of infection of the novel coronavirus, which has seen an average of more than 600 cases diagnosed each day over the past week here. Despite the government’s stronger social distancing measures implemented from earlier this week, cases have continued to grow daily with no signs of abating. Sharp upticks in new cases, which began in mid-November and centered on Seoul and surrounding areas, have drawn concerns t
Social AffairsDec. 11, 2020
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Cheong Wa Dae checks disaster response preparedness
Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it reviewed the government's wintertime disaster response system in an annual interagency high-level meeting. Suh Hoon, director of national security, presided over the session joined by vice ministerial officials of 27 related ministries and other organizations. They discussed the potential causes of "disaster crises," which often occur in winter, and countermeasures, according to the presidential office. Those include heavy snow, inferno and wildfire, as
PoliticsDec. 11, 2020
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Accommodation reporting system kicks off for short-term visitors
Short-term stay foreigners are obliged to report their places of accommodation here to immigration authorities under the government's latest measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. The ministry said the accommodation reporting system for short-term visitors went into effect on Thursday to help find the whereabouts of foreigners swiftly. Under the system, any foreign national staying in South Korea for fewer than 90 days with a short-term vis
PoliticsDec. 11, 2020
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Moon visits public rental home complex amid housing market instability
President Moon Jae-in made an on-site inspection Friday of a major public rental housing complex south of Seoul, as a public outcry has been mounting over soaring home prices and rental costs. Cheong Wa Dae described Moon's move as meant to demonstrate the government's policy commitment to improving the public-sector supply of such rental homes in both quantity and quality. Moon stressed the importance of providing "houses in which everyone wants to reside" during the visit to the co
PoliticsDec. 11, 2020
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US returns 12 military sites to S. Korea, including some at Yongsan Garrison
The United States on Friday returned 12 American military sites to South Korea, including some in central Seoul, amid persistent concerns that an additional delay would further dampen regional development efforts. During a virtual joint committee session of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), Seoul and Washington agreed on the return of the sites, though they failed to bridge differences on who and how to shoulder environmental cleanup costs, Seoul officials said. But the two sides agreed t
DefenseDec. 11, 2020