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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S. Korean government, ruling party settles on tax relief proposals
The government and the ruling Democratic Party agreed on tax relief for single homeowners and retail stock investors, in an apparent move to soothe public anger over increased levy burden under the Moon Jae-in administration. According to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Tuesday, the government scrapped its initial plan to broaden the tax base for capital gains to include retail stock investors who own stocks worth over 300 million won in a single company. This means the current standard -
Nov. 3, 2020
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Moon says carbon neutrality is a necessity for survival
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday urged the government to move forward with its preparations for carbon neutrality by 2050, saying that achieving the goal is "not a choice but a necessity." Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Moon reiterated his administration’s commitment to laying the foundations for South Korea becoming a net-zero emitter. "I made the heavy promise of moving toward the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in the parliamentary address. It is a declarat
Nov. 3, 2020
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Moon says S. Korea's 2050 carbon-neutral goal is 'heavy promise,' urges calm preparations
President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that South Korea is seriously committed to its stated aim of going carbon neutral by 2050 to support the global fight against climate change. He called for national efforts to attain the goal via a "calm and cool-headed" approach, speaking during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. "Carbon neutrality is the direction in which the world should move to respond together to the climate crisis," he stressed. "We should actively part
Nov. 3, 2020
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Sitting lawmaker detained over election wrongdoing allegations
CHEONGJU -- A sitting ruling party lawmaker was put under pre-trial detention on Tuesday for alleged campaign accounting fraud and other wrongdoing ahead of the parliamentary election in April. The detention came shortly after the Cheongju District Court in the namesake city, 120 kilometers south of Seoul, approved a detention warrant requested by prosecutors for the lawmaker based in the city. This made Rep. Jeong Jeong-soon of the Democratic Party (DP) the first incumbent lawmaker of the 21
Nov. 3, 2020
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Moon offers condolences to Turkey, Greece over quake damages
President Moon Jae-in conveyed condolence messages to the leaders of Turkey and Greece, which suffered a heavy blow from a powerful earthquake, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. In notes sent to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Moon expressed regret over deaths attributable to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake and offered his condolences, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon also expressed his hope that the two nations will qui
Nov. 2, 2020
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Prosecutor general’s rating as next presidential candidate rises to new high
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s approval rating as a presidential candidate shot up to its highest point so far, narrowing the gap with ruling party heavyweights, in the final week of October. In a survey conducted by Realmeter, Yoon was chosen by 17.2 percent of respondents as the favored candidate, the highest figure since Yoon was first included in relevant polls in June. Compared with a month earlier, he gained 6.7 percentage points. The poll puts Yoon 4.3 percentage points beh
Nov. 2, 2020
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Opposition slams ruling party for fielding Seoul, Busan mayoral candidates
The ruling Democratic Party decided to revise its rules and officially nominate candidates for mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan in April, as a majority of party members voted in favor of the plan Monday. The party’s constitution states that it cannot nominate any by-election candidates if the party caused the situation that made the by-election necessary. The late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon took his own life in July, and former Busan Mayor Oh Ke-don resigned in April amid sexual ha
Nov. 2, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Former President Lee Myung-bak put behind bars
Former President Lee Myung-bak was placed behind bars Monday, after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for bribery and embezzlement and revoked his bail. The 78-year-old, who led the country from 2008 to 2013, faces 16 more years in jail. Lee left his residence in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, at around 1:45 p.m., as supporters and longtime aides, including former Rep. Lee Jae-oh, gathered to bid him farewell. “They can arrest me, but they can’t confine the truth” his
Nov. 2, 2020
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PM announces new 5-level social distancing scheme
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday announced a new social distancing scheme based on five levels instead of three, saying the new plan aims to improve anti-virus measures in a tailored fashion amid criticism the current system is too broad-brush. The scheme will take effect Saturday and break up the current three levels into Levels 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3. The government has divided the nation into seven zones, with the level of each zone determined based on the average number of daily infect
Nov. 1, 2020
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Moon appoints new minister for food and drug safety
President Moon Jae-in on Sunday appointed Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip, known for his daily coronavirus briefing, as the new minister for food and drug safety in a reshuffle that also affected 11 other vice minister-level posts. Moon also appointed Vice Labor Minister Lim Seo-jeong as senior presidential secretary for jobs and Park Jin-kyu, a former presidential secretary for New Southern and New Northern policies, as vice minister of trade, industry and energy, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang
Nov. 1, 2020
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Prosecution raids two brokerages over high-profile financial scam case
The prosecution on Friday raided two brokerage houses in connection with a snowballing financial fraud scandal involving a hedge fund, officials said. Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office raided the headquarters of Shinhan Investment Corp. and Korea Investment & Securities Co. in western Seoul to secure materials related to Lime Asset Management. Shinhan faces disciplinary action from the Financial Supervisory Service for misselling Lime funds. Lime is under
Oct. 30, 2020
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PM calls for response readiness against COVID-19 on Halloween weekend
The prime minister on Friday called on state and local health authorities to maintain response readiness against potential COVID-19 cluster transmissions during the upcoming Halloween weekend. "I ask that related agencies and local governments focus all their efforts on antivirus work so that the Halloween weekend does not end up becoming a source of a mass virus spread," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a government meeting. The meeting of the Centra
Oct. 30, 2020
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Justice ministry begins inspection of Seoul prosecution office over financial scam probe
The Ministry of Justice has begun inspecting the prosecution's decision in 2018 to drop charges against an asset management firm that is now at the center of a snowballing financial scandal, legal sources said Thursday. The ministry's inspection team on Wednesday secured the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's internal document regarding its 2018 probe into Optimus Asset Management, according to the sources. The move came a day after Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae ordered the ministry to
Oct. 29, 2020
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Ruling party urges government to change capital gains tax plans
The ruling Democratic Party appears to be moving against the government over sensitive tax reform issues in response to a public outcry. Speaking on the Democratic Party’s official YouTube channel Thursday, party Chairman Lee Nak-yon hinted that the party would negotiate with the government to alter the proposed changes. “The comments are about the requirements of (being categorized as) major shareholders who are subjected to capital gains tax, to abolish the 300 million won (st
Oct. 29, 2020
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Ruling party unveils plan to compete in Seoul, Busan mayoral elections next year
The ruling party on Thursday unveiled a plan to field candidates in the mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan next year. The April 7 by-elections for mayoralties in the country's two largest cities are seen as a major barometer of public opinion ahead of the presidential election in March 2022. But the Democratic Party has long remained unsure whether to take part in the elections, as its internal rule prohibits it from fielding a candidate in a by-election if the by-election is caused by a
Oct. 29, 2020
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Lawmakers postpone audit of Cheong Wa Dae over absence of key officials
The ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday to put off their annual audit of Cheong Wa Dae's work at the parliament due to the absence of Suh Hoon, director of national security, and some other key aides to President Moon Jae-in. The National Assembly's Steering Committee was scheduled to open the hearing on the presidential office's affairs in the morning of the day. The previous night, however, Suh informed the panel that he could not attend the session, as he is in a two-week self-qua
Oct. 29, 2020
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Rival parties argue over body search on opposition floor leader
Rival parties on Thursday argued over a body search on the People Power Party Floor Leader Joo Ho-young by a member of the Presidential Security Service against his will, Wednesday. When Joo arrived at the office of the National Assembly speaker on Wednesday morning to meet with President Moon Jae-in before his parliamentary speech on the state budget, a PSS official told Joo that he had to be searched. “I told him I am the opposition PPP’s floor leader, but (the PSS official) said
Oct. 29, 2020
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More Mt. Bukak trails to be opened to citizens: Cheong Wa Dae
The northern side of an ancient fortress wall on Mount Bukak, just behind the presidential compound in Seoul, will be open to citizens as a new trail course starting in November, 52 years after it became an off-limits zone for security reasons, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday. "Mount Bukak will return to the arms of citizens," it said in a press release on the plan to allow them to trek the area beginning Sunday. It's part of Cheong Wa Dae's move to fully open the mountain to the pu
Oct. 29, 2020
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Moon says S. Korea to keep working with WHO, int'l community on coronavirus
President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed South Korea's commitment Thursday to continued cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community against COVID-19. He was replying to a Twitter message by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus regarding Seoul's "effective" handling of the pandemic. Moon thanked him for speaking highly of what South Korea has done so far. "Korea's response has been relatively successful thanks to our people who have tu
Oct. 29, 2020
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Moon says 2021 budget will lay grounds for ‘leading economy’
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday pledged to focus on economic recovery, and to forge ahead with the Korean New Deal in order to reinvent Korea as a “leading economy.” “The 2021 budget bill the government is submitting is a budget for ‘overcoming the era of crisis to rise as a leading nation,’” Moon said. “The priority is given to quickly overcoming the crisis to support people’s livelihoods, and to achieve rapid and strong economic recovery. I
Oct. 28, 2020