Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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4 S. Koreans, abducted in waters off West Africa, have been released: foreign ministry
Four South Koreans who were kidnapped in waters off West Africa about two months ago have been freed, following the release of another Korean national in a separate abduction in the same region, the foreign ministry said Monday. The four were released at 10 p.m. Sunday (Korea time) after being abducted by an apparent group of pirates while aboard a fishing boat near the Gulf of Guinea on June 1. They all remain in good shape, the ministry said. "They are under protection at a safe place t
Aug. 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon hustles to bolster support from main opposition after party entry
Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a leading opposition presidential contender, is moving toward strengthening connections and support within the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) after becoming a member last week. Yoon, who resigned in March as prosecutor general over an extended feud with the ruling bloc over prosecution reform, signed up with the PPP on Friday after having campaigned as an independent for about a month. The PPP leadership and key members courted Yoon to join the pa
Aug. 2, 2021
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Unification ministry stresses wise, flexible approach to joint military drills after N. Korea's warning
South Korea will deal with the issue of joint military drills with the United States in a "wise and "flexible" manner so as to not heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the unification ministry said Monday after North Korea warned against such exercises. On Sunday night, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that annual summertime military drills between South Korea and the US will cloud inter-Korean relations and that Pyongyang will closely watch
Aug. 2, 2021
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Yongsan mayor proposes moving US military hotel for park
The mayor of Yongsan Ward said he has proposed moving a US military hotel to a location outside the US Army Garrison Yongsan to make way for a new national park. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency last week, Mayor Sung Jang-hyun said he proposed the relocation of Dragon Hill Lodge from its current location inside the garrison to a site outside Yongsan but inside Seoul during a recent meeting with a central government official. The US military is in the process of returning the site of the
Aug. 2, 2021
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Members of virus-hit Cheonghae unit members to receive vaccines starting this week
Service members affiliated with a naval unit which reported a mass COVID-19 outbreak while on anti-piracy missions in Africa will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines starting this week, the defense ministry said Monday. A total of 272 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit tested positive for COVID-19 last month and all of the unit members returned home weeks ahead of schedule. The government's failure to vaccinate them before their overseas deployment has been blamed for the mass infection. &
Aug. 2, 2021
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Police reopen probe into alleged fraud case involving Bithumb
Police have reopened an investigation into an alleged fraud case involving a former chairman of the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, informed officials said Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been probing Lee Jung-hoon, former chairman of crypto exchange operator Bithumb Korea, after a group of 14 investors filed their second fraud complaint in mid-July, they said. Kim Byung-gun, chairman of BK Group, an entity specialized in medical and investme
Aug. 2, 2021
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Vice unification minister plans to visit US in September
Vice Unification Minister Choi Young-jun plans to visit the United States next month to coordinate North Korea policy as South Korea seeks dialogue and reconciliation with North Korea after Pyongyang's restoration of inter-Korean communication lines, officials said Sunday. Choi has been taking necessary steps for a US trip expected sometime in September, such as receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and filing a request for exemption from coronavirus quarantine, ministry officials said. "A trip to
Aug. 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] More Koreans suffer mental disorders amid pandemic
The number of Koreans who have suffered from mental disorders and eating disorders has risen in the pandemic, data showed Sunday. Last year, the number of people diagnosed with either depression, insomnia, anorexia or bulimia stood at 1,504,181, up by 67,233, or 4.67 percent, from the previous year, according to government data. The data, from the state-run Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, was disclosed by independent lawmaker Lee Yong-ho. Depression accounted for 55.7 perce
Aug. 1, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Bill allowing politicians to take babies to work look set to pass
After Rep. Yong Hye-in, 31, of the Basic Income Party, brought her 2-month-old son to her workplace on July 5, her photos went viral on social media. On the day, she held a press conference to urge the passage of her bill that would allow a lawmaker to enter a plenary session with an infant who needs nursing. Under the current law, only lawmakers, the prime minister, state council members and those authorized by the assembly speaker are allowed. When her photos made headlines, opinions were
Aug. 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Ex-chief state auditor to declare presidential bid next week
Choe Jae-hyeong, former head of the state audit agency, will declare his bid to run for the presidency next week, opposition party officials said Friday. Choe will make the announcement through an online event Wednesday, about a month after he stepped down as chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), hinting at his presidential ambitions. According to opposition party officials, Choe is in the final stages of drawing up his statement announcing the presidential bid. In the statement,
July 30, 2021
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Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon joins main opposition party for presidential bid
Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a leading conservative presidential hopeful, joined the main opposition party Friday to increase his chance of winning the race. Yoon submitted an application to join the People Power Party (PPP) during his meeting with Rep. Kwon Young-se, the chief of the party's external relations committee, at the party's headquarters in Seoul. The move, coming about a month after Yoon's official declaration to run in the March 9 presidential election, will subject hi
July 30, 2021
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Moon picks new secretaries for civil affairs, fight against corruption
President Moon Jae-in has nominated new Cheong Wa Dae secretaries for civil affairs and anti-corruption, his office announced Friday. Lee Ki-heon, secretary to Moon for civil participation, was tapped as secretary for civil affairs and justice, to replace Lee Gwang-cheol, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Lee offered to resign early this month after being indicted on suspicions that he was behind an allegedly illegal travel ban on a former vice justice minister involved i
July 30, 2021
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Lawmakers condemn misogynistic attacks on Olympic archer
A group of progressive lawmakers have condemned misogynistic attacks being leveled at a female South Korean archer now competing at the Tokyo Olympics. An San, the double gold medalist who will vie for her third gold in women's individual archery on Friday, has recently become a target of misogynistic attacks for her short haircut. Some male internet users flooded An's social media account with hate speech, taking issue with her past use of online slang terms, deemed misandrist by anti-femin
July 30, 2021
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Moon marks UNESCO inscription of S. Korean tidal flats as natural heritage
President Moon Jae-in expressed his gratitude Friday to those who have endeavored to protect South Korea's tidal flats inscribed as UNESCO's world natural heritage. Earlier this week, the UNESCO added tidal flats, called "getbol" in Korean, in four areas located on the western coast of the country, to the list. The getbol have become a "great life" to be protected by not just South Koreans but also mankind, the president wrote on his social media accounts. "But this p
July 30, 2021
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Seoul to push for video-linked family reunion as priority project with North: Cheong Wa Dae
The government will push for a video-linked reunion of divided families with North Korea as the most urgent inter-Korean project, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. A presidential official made the remark when asked to comment on speculation that the government is seeking a video-linked reunion event with the North, following Tuesday's restoration of communication lines between the two Koreas. "It is an issue agreed upon by the leaders of South and North Korea, and (video reunions are) the most
July 29, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Opposition leader urges Yoon, Ahn to join primary next month
South Korea’s main opposition party leader said Thursday that if former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl does not join the party next month, party members who have joined his camp will be expelled. People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok said that as the party has finalized the primary in late August, he expects Yoon to join the PPP in August. “The No. 1 opposition party’s primary is like a public good. A celebrity can’t stop the bus. That’s not going to
July 29, 2021
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Presidential hopefuls vying to win support of pet lovers
Presidential contenders from the ruling and opposition blocs have added a new approach to their widening campaigns to win voters at next year's presidential election: reaching out to cats and dogs. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the top two presidential hopefuls from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), have been stepping up the promotion of their presidential campaign pledges dedicated to pets and, ultimately, pet and animal lovers. Gov. Lee is not a pet owner himself
July 28, 2021
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Minister rules out Aug. 15 presidential pardons for two jailed former leaders
Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said Wednesday it is too late for two former presidents jailed for corruption to receive presidential pardons on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day. He made the remark as two elderly former presidents, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, were admitted to hospitals last week in moves some observers said may be intended to arouse public opinion favorable to special amnesties for them. Minister Park dismissed such speculation, saying they were hospitalized for
July 28, 2021
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Koreas at starting point for resumption of peace process: Cheong Wa Dae
South and North Korea are standing at the starting line again for the ultimate goal of denuclearization, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. It was talking about the meaning of the reopening of inter-Korean communication lines, the result of President Moon Jae-in's exchange of several personal letters with the North's leader Kim Jong-un over the past few months. The previous day, the two Koreas restored their military and government-level liaison hotlines that were severed in June last year. They a
July 28, 2021
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Moderna to resume COVID-19 vaccine shipments to S. Korea next week: govt.
US pharmaceutical company Moderna will resume provisions of COVID-19 vaccines to South Korea next week, the prime minister said Wednesday, following a delay due to an issue linked to the company's vaccine production. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced the company's vaccine supply resumption plan at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, explaining that health officials discussed the matter with Moderna officials late Tuesday through a video conference. The government said Tuesday that Mo
July 28, 2021