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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Education ministry plans to use supplementary budget to reduce classroom crowding amid pandemic
The Ministry of Education will use a supplementary budget to alleviate classroom crowding in order to bring more students back into school buildings come September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry's document has shown. According to the document shared with Yonhap News Agency by Rep. Lee Eun-ju of the minor opposition Justice Party on Thursday, the ministry asked education officials nationwide to use the supplementary budget, 6.36 trillion won ($5.5 billion) in total, to solve the proble
July 18, 2021
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Gyeonggi lays out plan to turn DMZ into peace, ecology belt
Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, has established a new five-year plan for the preservation and peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified inter-Korean border area, officials said Sunday. The plan calls for the provincial government to invest 170 billion won ($149 million) from 2021 to 2025 in various projects to lay the grounds for a long-term national vision of turning the 4-kilometer-wide zone bisecting the peninsula into a peace, ecology and tourism belt. The D
July 18, 2021
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[Newsmaker] ‘COVID relief to 80% of households is too much’
Former legislator and opposition presidential contender Yoo Seong-min criticized the ongoing political argument over whether to hand out another round of COVID-19 relief grants to all Koreans or to only those in the lower 80 percent of the income brackets. Based on the national health insurance premiums, the monthly income of a four-person household in the lower 80 percent income bracket is 9.75 million won at the upper bound, which is 117 million won in annual income (before tax), Yoo wrote on
July 16, 2021
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Moon says this weekend is watershed for efforts to curb coronavirus spread
President Moon Jae-in stressed Friday that this weekend will be a watershed for South Korea's battle against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, especially the delta variant. He asked the people to refrain from making trips or having gatherings during the period. "The spread of the delta variant is scary," he wrote on his social media accounts. "But we cannot let our lives be swayed by the virus." In particular, he added, this weekend will be a "crossroads" in the
July 16, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Buddha's Birthday, Christmas to be excluded from alternative holidays
The alternative holiday bill passed by the National Assembly last month will be newly applied only to national holidays, the government said Friday. Public holidays, like Buddha's Birthday and Christmas, will be excluded from alternative holidays, the Ministry of Personnel Management said. The Assembly approved legislation on June 29 to increase alternative statutory holidays by designating a substitute holiday for all public holidays that fall on weekends. But the bill delegates the actual de
July 16, 2021
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FM Chung calls for overseas mission chiefs to prioritize citizens' safety
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has ordered chiefs of South Korea's overseas diplomatic missions to prioritize the protection of citizens in South Africa and other countries struggling with political unrest and COVID-19 outbreaks, his office said Thursday. Chung made the call during Wednesday's virtual meeting with the diplomats, during which they discussed a range of issues, including the deepening unrest in South Africa sparked by the recent incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The
July 15, 2021
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S. Korean PM to join virtual APEC summit on pandemic
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will participate in a virtual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on COVID-19 this week, his office announced Thursday. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to chair the emergency summit of APEC member states on Friday. In the session, Kim is expected to speak about South Korea's role in regional efforts to overcome the coronavirus crisis. Other participants will reportedly include US President Joe Biden, Chinese Presid
July 15, 2021
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Moon orders dispatch of medical staff, goods to treat Korean troops abroad infected with coronavirus
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered the mobilization of an aerial refueling and transport aircraft to provide swift medical support for the South Korean troop members abroad infected with COVID-19, his office said. The president issued the message in connection with the report that six crew members in a mission aboard the country's naval destroyer operating off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the virus. They belong to the anti-piracy and counterterrorism Cheonghae Unit, of wh
July 15, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Support rating for ex-top prosecutor Yoon dips below 30% for 1st time in 4 months: poll
The support rating for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running presidential contender, dived below the 30 percent level for the first time in four months over a series of allegations raised against his wife and mother-in-law, the latest poll on major hopefuls showed Thursday. The fall diminished Yoon's opinion poll lead over runner-up Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to within the poll's margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. According to the poll by Realmeter, the support ra
July 15, 2021
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Ex-chief state auditor joins main opposition party in apparent bid to run for presidency
A former head of the state audit agency joined the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday in a move widely seen as a step toward running for the presidency. Choe Jae-hyeong, the former chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), expressed his intention to join the biggest conservative party during his meeting with party Chairman Lee Jun-seok earlier in the day and officially became a member in a following ceremony. The move came less than one month after Choe stepped dow
July 15, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yoon jittery over falling poll ratings
A weekly presidential preference poll that showed higher support ratings for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl compared with other surveys was stopped this week, prompting Yoon to blame political pressure from other candidates and their supporters. PNR Research, the pollster that had conducted the survey every week since April, said its clients told it last week that they would no longer commission it for the poll. Yoon said in a statement on Tuesday that the PNR poll was stopped becaus
July 14, 2021
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Uncertainty of extra budget grows amid conflicting views on emergency handouts
The fate of the extra state budget currently under review at the National Assembly is growing more and more uncertain amid a widening political rift among rival parties and the government over the direction and scope of COVID-19 relief handouts. In late June, the government proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($28.9 billion) in an agreement with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to finance the fifth round of COVID-19 aid packages. The handouts were set to be given to people in the bottom
July 14, 2021
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Cheong Wa Dae reports 1st coronavirus infection among its staffers
Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday that one of its officials has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The official tested positive for the virus earlier in the day while working from home due to their spouse's fever symptom, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. It is the first known coronavirus infection directly linked with the office of President Moon Jae-in. Park said the official holds the rank of assistant secretary to the president but stopped short of revealing personal informati
July 14, 2021
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Moon says Korean New Deal investment to be expanded to W220tr
South Korea will increase its investment in the Korean-version New Deal project to 220 trillion won ($191 billion) by 2025, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday. He announced the scheme to expand the scale of government-private investment from the originally planned 160 trillion won, marking the first anniversary of the launch of the campaign. It is aimed at creating a massive amount of jobs and spurring mid-to long-term economic growth with a focus on promoting the digital infrastructure and
July 14, 2021
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Former PM Lee ahead of front-runner Yoon in hypothetical two-way matchup, poll shows
Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who was a distant third in recent polls on presidential hopefuls, surprisingly topped conservative front-runner Yoon Seok-youl in a hypothetical two-way matchup, a survey showed Tuesday. Lee, who also served as the chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), scored 43.7 percent compared to former Prosecutor General Yoon's 41.2 percent in the poll conducted by WinGKorea Consulting. The result came as Yoon, a leading conservative candidate, is facing growing att
July 13, 2021
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Youngest opposition chief's leadership hits snag over controversial steps
The leadership of the country's youngest-ever main opposition chief is being brought into question over a string of controversial political steps, one month after he rose to the party's top seat with a big media splash. Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), drew a major backlash not only from the ruling bloc but also inside his own party over a misguided agreement with his ruling party counterpart a day earlier to provide COVID-19 relief funds to all citizens. Lee and Rep. So
July 13, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yoon unlikely to join opposition party soon
Ex-chief prosecutor and presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl appears more focused on bringing together centrists than joining the main opposition People Power Party, while former chief state auditor Choe Jae-hyeong is likely to join the party as another presidential hopeful, according to figures in close contact with the two men. Political critic Chin Jung-kwon said he met with Yoon last week and it seemed like the former prosecutor general “intends to stay outside the PPP for a while.&r
July 13, 2021
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Park Jin from opposition party to run for president
With the race for the presidential election kicking into gear, a string of senior lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party are announcing their candidacies one after another. Four-term lawmaker Park Jin on Tuesday declared his bid, becoming the third current lawmaker from the People Power Party to enter the fray, following Ha Tae-keung and Yun Hee-suk. Considered a diplomacy expert in the National Assembly, Park is known to be close to US President Joe Biden. He visited the US
July 13, 2021
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Main opposition lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19
A sitting lawmaker affiliated with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, party officials said. Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig based in the southern coastal city of Tongyeong was confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus after attending a meeting last week with a journalist who tested positive for the virus, PPP floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said. "Jeong attended a meeting of (PPP) lawmakers representing South Gyeongsang Province last Thursday,
July 13, 2021
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Moon taps former judge as vice justice minister
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday nominated Kang Sung-kook, a former judge currently serving as a senior justice ministry official, as his new vice justice minister, Cheong Wa Dae said. Kang, head of the ministry's legal affairs bureau, will fill the vacancy left when former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu resigned in early June after he was embroiled in a controversy over his unpunished assault of a taxi driver last year, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Kang's term will
July 13, 2021