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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103 autumn foliage paths in Seoul
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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When two worlds collab: K-pop flexes power with global stars
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Bipartisan panel formed to address livelihood issues amid tension over first lady probe
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Sitting prosecutor indicted for assaulting suspect during raid
A sitting prosecutor was indicted Tuesday on charges of assaulting a suspect accused of being involved in an alleged blackmail case during a raid on his office. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office charged prosecutor Jeong Jin-woong with assaulting another prosecutor, Han Dong-hoon, while exercising a search warrant against Han in July. Han was accused of colluding with a former reporter at local cable television network Channel A to blackmail a jailed businessman to dig up dirt on a pro-governm
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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NK leader's increased public activities suggest he has better control over coronavirus: expert
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's public activities have increased sharply since July, suggesting that he has better control in containing the coronavirus, a researcher at a state-run think tank said Tuesday. Koh Jae-hong, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), said in a report that Kim's face-to-face activities dropped sharply in the first half of the year and were limited to the Pyongyang area or meeting only a few specific officials. But such face-to-face meeti
North KoreaOct. 27, 2020
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Appeals court upholds suspended prison sentence for ex-prosecutor in DUI case
A former prosecutor, who was sentenced by a Seoul district court to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, after being convicted of repeated drunk driving, drew the same sentence from an appeals court Tuesday. The former prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors Office, identified only as Kim, was indicted in March 2019 for scratching another car while parking his car under the influence of alcohol at his apartment complex in southern Seoul two months earlier. Kim ignored protests from t
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Drug ministry to fast-track AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate
South Korea's drug safety agency said Tuesday that it is reviewing whether to grant fast-track approval of a vaccine candidate developed by British-Swedish bio giant AstraZeneca Plc. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it has formed a team of officials dedicated to evaluating whether to give the green light to the vaccine candidate. Pharmaceutical companies from both home and abroad have joined the global race to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 virus, with 27 of them having
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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To quell vaccine worries, health chief makes public display of getting a flu jab
In an attempt to dispel mounting public hesitancy, South Korea’s Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo made a public show of getting a flu jab Tuesday afternoon at a clinic in Sejong. The minister’s display comes after 59 deaths with suspected ties to this year’s batch of flu vaccines had been reported as of Monday. During Oct. 7’s session of the ongoing parliamentary audit, main opposition People Power Party Rep. Kang Gi-yun suggested the minister and himself
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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[US elections and Korea] US presidential election to bring changes, challenges for Seoul
The fate of US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will be decided in a week, but for South Korea difficulties lie ahead regardless of the winner. For South Korea, Special Measures Agreement issue -- the negotiations over Seoul’s share of the cost of maintaining US Forces Korea -- will be the most immediate issue, experts say. The talks began late 2019, but the two sides have so far failed to narrow their differences. The US is said to be requesting an increase
PoliticsOct. 27, 2020
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Korean American singer appeals to foreign minister to lift entry ban
Korean American singer Steve Seung Jun Yoo, widely known here as Yoo Seung-jun, appealed to South Korea’s foreign minister on Tuesday to lift his entry ban, saying Seoul’s repeated refusal to allow him into his birth country violates his rights. The plea came a day after Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the parliamentary foreign affairs committee that the ministry was not considering issuing Yoo a visa to let him back to the country. The South Korean-born singer has been banne
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Blow for Yoo in WTO race, as EU, Japan back rival
With the EU and Japan reportedly backing Nigeria’s World Trade Organization candidate, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee faces an uphill battle in the race to claim the top job of the international trade body. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, formerly Nigeria’s finance minister and foreign minister, and Yoo are facing off to become the first female chief in the WTO’s 25-year history, replacing Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down a year early in August after seven years
Foreign AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Ruling party steps up push for new anti-corruption agency
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is stepping up its push for the launch of a new investigation body for high-ranking public officials, a flagship project of President Moon Jae-in’s prosecution reform initiative, by proposing bills to amend related laws and seeking to move up the launch by a month. According to the National Assembly’s bill information site on Tuesday, 10 ruling party lawmakers jointly tabled 13 bills on Monday to create a legal framework for the Corruption Inv
PoliticsOct. 27, 2020
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Arrest warrant in review for school counselor suspected of leaking SAT questions
A local court on Tuesday began reviewing whether to issue an arrest warrant for a high school counselor suspected of leaking test papers for a US college entrance exam. The Seoul Central District Court is expected to reach a decision Wednesday. The suspect is a former career counselor for the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, a prestigious boarding high school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Police accuse him of selling photos of US Scholastic Aptitude Test papers to a broker for three years
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Moon requests Canada's backing for S. Korea in WTO chief race
President Moon Jae-in had phone talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday mainly as part of efforts to broaden international support for South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's candidacy to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the conversation that lasted around 25 minutes, Moon and Trudeau exchanged opinions on issues of mutual concern, which include the WTO chief race, cooperation in the response to the new coronavirus and partnerships on the global stage, accord
PoliticsOct. 27, 2020
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Presidential panel members call for increasing medical school quotas
Public interest members of a presidential panel on social dialogue on Tuesday issued written advice calling for increasing quotas at local medical schools starting in 2022. In the controversial recommendation, Seoul National University professor Kim Yoon and five other public interest members of the Economic, Social & Labor Council's health care committee said that expansion of medical school quotas is inevitable to raise the number of doctors in South Korea to the average of member countri
PoliticsOct. 27, 2020
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Unification ministry to launch ecological survey of Han River estuary next month
South Korea will launch an ecological survey on its side of the Han River's estuary along the inter-Korean border early next month as part of efforts to implement an agreement with North Korea to jointly use the now-restricted waterway, an official said Tuesday. Under a military agreement signed at a 2018 summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two sides agreed on the joint use of the Han River estuary along their western border and conducted joint waterway
North KoreaOct. 27, 2020
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Study finds up to 23% salary gap by region
Salaries in Korea vary by up to 23 percent depending on where workers went to high school, college and found first employment, a study showed Tuesday. According to the study published by the Korean Labor Economic Association, the average monthly pay of workers who went to high school, graduated college and earned their first jobs outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province was 1.86 million won ($1,650). That is 5.1 percent lower than the monthly salary of 1.96 million won for all Koreans stu
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Children's nutritional intake deteriorates amid COVID-19 pandemic: survey
The new coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on children's nutritional intake and other aspects of welfare, a survey by a nongovernmental group showed Tuesday. A survey by Seoul-based charity group Good Neighbors, conducted in June on 6,750 children from age 4-18 and their parents, showed that the rate of children who ate three meals a day on a regular basis stood at 35.9 percent. The number represents a significant drop from the annual average of 50.1 percent in 2018, yielded by a s
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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Lotte delivery workers launch strike demanding better treatment
Delivery workers at Lotte Global Logistics on Tuesday launched a nationwide strike to demand better treatment following the deaths of their colleagues apparently from overwork. The workers announced the strike at a distribution center in southeastern Seoul, saying they will be joined by around 250 colleagues across the nation in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Gwangju, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province. "Lotte Global Logistics has made enormous profits thanks to increased delivery volumes cau
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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USFK requires flu shots for all members, stresses vaccine safety
The US Forces Korea (USFK) called on its members Tuesday to get flu vaccination, stressing that its flu vaccine is safe without reports of serious adverse effects. All US military members are required to receive the seasonal flu vaccine annually, and Commander Gen. Robert Abrams has directed all of the USFK members to get their flu shots by Dec. 1. "The potential exposure of the COVID-19 virus is something we cannot afford to risk by delaying or avoiding the flu shot. Do your part to pro
Social AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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[Contribution] Sustaining New Southern Policy amid COVID-19: An ASEAN perspective
President Moon Jae-in initiated the New Southern Policy (NSP) in order to upgrade relations between the Republic of Korea (Korea) and ASEAN. Since the NSP has come about primarily due to President Moon’s personal interest in and commitment to engaging ASEAN, it is therefore unclear if the NSP will continue beyond his single term in office which will end in May 2022. The plans to accelerate ASEAN-Korea cooperation this year have been largely put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even
Foreign AffairsOct. 27, 2020
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US flies surveillance aircraft near Korean Peninsula: aviation tracker
A US spy plane flew near the Korean Peninsula early Tuesday, an aviation tracker said, in what appeared to be an effort to monitor North Korea just days ahead of the US presidential election. The US Air Force's E-8C Joint Stars was spotted in skies above the Yellow Sea from late Monday to early Tuesday, No callsign tweeted. The same type of the aircraft was also seen carrying out operations Saturday night above the western waters. The flights came amid speculation the North could test its ne
DefenseOct. 27, 2020
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NK paper stresses science and technology amid antivirus campaign
North Korea's official newspaper said Tuesday the country should focus on science and technology to make what it needs on its own without imports at a time when its borders are closed over coronavirus concerns. "We can hardly find a better opportunity in strengthening our self-supporting economy and maximize our internal ability and development potential through the power of science and technology than now when borders on the land, in the air and sea have been completely blocked," sai
North KoreaOct. 27, 2020