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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[Newsmaker] Over 65% of S. Koreans support Moon's decision not to visit Japan: survey
The majority of South Koreans support President Moon Jae-in's decision not to visit Japan for the opening of the Tokyo Olympics and summit talks, a poll showed Tuesday. In the R&Search survey of 1,095 people aged 18 and older, 65.5 percent of the respondents were in favor of Moon's decision, while 26.7 percent were against it. Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday that the president decided not to visit Tokyo as the two neighboring countries failed to achieve sufficient progress in consultations
July 21, 2021
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23 more Cheonghae unit members test positive for COVID-19; total at 27
An additional 23 members of the virus-hit Cheonghae naval unit tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday, raising the confirmed infection cases among the 301-member unit to 270. According to virus tests conducted on all the members upon their return home from Africa the previous day, 270, or 89.7 percent, of them have tested positive for COVID-19, while 31 tested negative, the ministry said. The unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa first report
July 21, 2021
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PM urges labor group to cancel scheduled rallies amid virus flare-up
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Wednesday urged a major umbrella labor group to cancel its protests scheduled for later this week as authorities struggle to contain the country's fast-spreading fourth COVID-19 wave. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) plans to stage two large rallies in Wonju, 140 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Friday and a week later, with over 1,000 members reportedly planning to gather at the event slated for Friday. The rallies were reportedly arranged to sup
July 21, 2021
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S. Korea, Japan agree to continue efforts to resolve pending issues despite tension over diplomat‘s remarks
South Korea and Japan agreed Tuesday to continue efforts to resolve pending issues rooted largely in wartime history, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, despite the flare-up of tension over a Japanese diplomat‘s disparaging remarks on President Moon Jae-in’s approach to Tokyo. First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun shared the understanding with his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Mori, during their bilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday, the ministry said. “The two vice m
July 20, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Opposition leader against opening up to refugees
Lee Jun-seok, 36, the youngest-ever leader of the nation’s main opposition People Power Party, has been outspoken on a number of sensitive issues since taking office last month. Sitting down with The Korea Herald on Monday, he candidly spoke about hot topics like refugees, immigrants and North. When asked about the nation’s immigration policies, Lee said that South Korea should accept immigrants who can help the nation’s economy, but should be cautious about refugees. &ldqu
July 20, 2021
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CIO raids home of presidential aide over alleged illegal exit ban case
A state anti-corruption probe agency raided the home of a presidential civil affairs secretary on Tuesday over his suspected involvement in an allegedly illegal travel ban on a former justice minister, informed officials said. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) searched the home of Lee Gwang-cheol, a presidential secretary for civil affairs and justice, to secure evidence related to his charge of abuse of power in allegedly orchestrating an i
July 20, 2021
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Moon urges govt. support for credit rehabilitation of delinquent borrowers during COVID-19
President Moon Jae-in instructed his Cheong Wa Dae team Tuesday to map out measures to support the credit rehabilitation of people with delinquent debts attributable to the COVID-19 crisis. He made the call during a meeting with his Cheong Wa Dae aides, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon told them to explore ways to help delinquent borrowers restore their credit if they have faithfully repaid debts linked with damage from the pandemic, she said. The move is intended t
July 20, 2021
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Moon calls for thorough preparations for changing trade conditions
President Moon Jae-in stressed the urgency Tuesday of taking government-private measures to respond to changes in the international trade conditions, especially in line with efforts to tackle climate change. For example, he said, the European Union plans to implement a carbon border tax in 2026 on certain goods imported from third countries with lower environmental standards. It also announced a plan to start banning the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035. "Changes i
July 20, 2021
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Vice FM Choi says Soma's remarks affected Moon's decision not to visit Japan
First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Tuesday that the recent remarks by a senior Japanese diplomat disparaging President Moon Jae-in's efforts to improve ties with Tokyo acted as a "significant obstacle" to Moon's potential trip to Tokyo. Choi made the remark before departing for Tokyo to attend bilateral and trilateral talks with his Japanese and US counterparts, renewing the call for Tokyo to take appropriate action about the remarks by Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of miss
July 20, 2021
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PM apologizes for failure to prevent mass virus outbreak within Cheonghae unit
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for the government's failure to prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak among sailors of South Korea's Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, confirming a widely feared mass infection. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa to bring back all the members. "The governm
July 20, 2021
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Moon vows more support for coronavirus-hit small businesses
President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed Monday that the government will expand substantive support for small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, he said the government will try to modify a proposed supplementary budget bill in the process of discussions at the National Assembly. "It is the most regrettable and apologetic thing that the self-employed and micro and small merchants are suffering increasing damage due to the resurgence of the coronavirus and strengthening of a
July 19, 2021
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Opposition presidential contenders vie to claim no man’s land
With less than eight months left until the presidential election on March 9, 2022, over a dozen people are weighing their chances at presidency in the conservative arena that no longer has major factions after two former presidents have been jailed. The establishment within the main conservative party broke down with the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and the party’s crushing defeat in the parliamentary election last year, giving way to new faces such as an ex-prosecutor ge
July 19, 2021
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Police book former special counsel for Park Geun-hye case for alleged graft
Police said Monday they have booked on suspicion of graft the former special counsel responsible for investigating a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye. Park Young-soo, who investigated the scandal surrounding the now-imprisoned former president for over four years, resigned earlier this month following allegations that he accepted a Porsche rental car and seafood from a man who claimed to be a fisheries businessman last December. An official with the Seoul Metropolita
July 19, 2021
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Former DP chief narrows gap with bigger rivals in presidential hopefuls poll
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl maintained his lead among prospective contenders for next year's presidential race, while Lee Nak-yon, a former chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), gained ground against his bigger rivals, according to a poll released Monday. According to the poll of 1,013 voters nationwide conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) on Friday-Saturday, Yoon, the leading candidate from the opposition bloc, managed to stay on top with 30.3 percent su
July 19, 2021
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Ruling party, govt. agree to hike up relief funds to small merchants hit by COVID-19
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Monday agreed to sharply expand the scale of relief funds for struggling small business owners in the wake of the recent upsurge in COVID-19 infections. The consensus was reached during a high-level consultative meeting between the two sides earlier in the morning, Rep. Koh Yong-jin, a DP spokesman, said in a briefing. "(The two sides) agreed to provide ample support to small merchants by increasing the size of assistance to the maxim
July 19, 2021
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Approval ratings of Moon, ruling party climb for 2nd consecutive week: poll
President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) both saw their approval ratings climb for the second straight week, according to a new poll released Monday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from July 12-16, Moon's job approval rating was recorded at 45.5 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous week. The result marked Moon's highest performance in public polls since the 45.6 percent figure in the third week of October last year, acco
July 19, 2021
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Defense chief names special prosecutor over death of Air Force sexual abuse victim
Defense Minister Suh Wook on Monday named a Navy colonel as a special prosecutor for the investigation into the death of an Air Force sexual harassment victim, the defense ministry said. The appointment of Col. Ko Min-sook -- the first of its kind since the founding of the country's armed forces -- came as the bereaved family has raised complaints that the ongoing probe is not thorough enough. The master sergeant, surnamed Lee, took her own life in May, about three months after being sexually
July 19, 2021
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247 out of 301 Cheonghae unit members test positive for COVID-19: JCS
A total of 247 sailors of South Korea's 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, in the worst-ever mass infection among service members. An additional 179 members have newly tested positive after 68 were confirmed to have been infected as of Sunday, the JCS said. The unit first reported six COVID-19 cases last week and conducted virus tests on all of its members. "Test re
July 19, 2021
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Moon decides not to visit Japan: Cheong Wa Dae
SEOUL/TOKYO -- President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan this week, as no satisfactory accomplishment is expected in proposed summit talks, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. Moon had considered a trip to Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday. South Korea and Japan had consultations on the possibility of holding the first face-to-face summit between Moon and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the occasion. The two sides "had meaningful discussions on progress
July 19, 2021
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61 more Cheonghae Unit members test positive for COVID-19
An additional 61 service members of South Korea's anti-piracy naval unit in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload on their destroyer to 68, officials said Sunday. The figure is feared to rise further, as the test results of about 200 service members of the 300-strong Cheonghae Unit are expected to be available in the coming days. "Until now, we've received the test results on 101 service members, and 68 tested positive, with 33 negative,&q
July 18, 2021