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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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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] Poll shows former prosecution chief Yoon slightly ahead of Gyeonggi Gov. Lee
A new poll on prospective presidential contenders released Friday showed former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl with a slight edge over his ruling party rival, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung. In the survey by Gallup Korea, Yoon received 25 percent of support, up 4 percentage points from a month before. He overtook Lee, whose rating stayed put at 24 percent. The survey conducted from Tuesday to Thursday was the first opinion poll after Yoon, with no party allegiance, announced his inte
July 2, 2021
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[KH Explains] Who is Lee Jae-myung?
The life story of Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, one of the top contenders for the presidential election next March, is a quintessential rags-to-riches tale in South Korea. His policy initiatives and past works, as well as his political philosophy, have been controversial and criticized by many, but to call the path that he has walked to date as simply dramatic could be an understatement. From being a young factory worker to assuming the top gubernatorial post of this country, Lee is on
July 2, 2021
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Ex-prosecutor general's mother-in-law gets 3-year prison term
The mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a leading presidential hopeful, was sentenced to three years in prison Friday, kicking off a political firestorm ahead of the 2022 election. The local district court in Uijeongbu, 23 kilometers north of Seoul, convicted the 74-year-old, surnamed Choi, of collaborating with three business partners to establish a medical foundation and open a long-term care hospital for senior citizens in February 2013, despite having no medical quali
July 2, 2021
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Moon marks S. Korea's feat against Japan's industrial material export control
President Moon Jae-in attended an event Friday to commemorate South Korea's successful response so far to Japan's unilateral export curbs. He described Tokyo's measure, launched in early July 2019, as tantamount to a "surprise attack." It restricted exports of three key industrial materials -- photoresist, etching gas and fluorinated polyimide -- to South Korea, apparently in protest against its handling of diplomatic issues related to shared history. The Moon administration soon opt
July 2, 2021
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Cheong Wa Dae trapped in ‘one house’ rule
Issues surrounding real estate continue to plague President Moon Jae-in, with yet another property speculation scandal adding a new name to the growing string of top aides who have resigned from their positions. On Sunday, Kim Gi-pyo, Moon’s anti-corruption secretary, offered his resignation, just two days after allegations were raised over his recent property declaration involving loans worth billions of won. According to the declaration, he owns assets worth 9.12 billion won ($8.05 mi
July 1, 2021
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Ex-prosecutor general does not rule out joining main opposition party
Yoon Seok-youl, a former top prosecutor and leading presidential hopeful, has said he may join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) if it is deemed necessary for the opposition block's win in next year's presidential election. "It is possible (for me) to ally with the PPP, and even enter the party if necessary for a change of government," Yoon said during a TV interview Wednesday. Lacking powerful presidential contenders, the conservative party has urged the former prosecutor
July 1, 2021
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Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung announces presidential bid
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung officially announced his presidential bid Thursday, vowing to ensure fairness and to turn a crisis into an opportunity with powerful economic policies. Using a prerecorded video released via social media channels including YouTube and Facebook, Lee signaled the beginning of his presidential campaign by reading Article 1 of the Constitution. “The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic. The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea shall reside in
July 1, 2021
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New autonomous police system takes effect to offer community-oriented services
An autonomous police system went into effect nationwide Thursday in what appears to be the biggest organizational change since the inauguration of the country's police 76 years ago. The system was designed to disperse power within the police after President Moon Jae-in's reform of the prosecution service led to more investigative authority for the police. It is also aimed at providing people with more community-oriented policing services. It came into being in accordance with the new act intro
July 1, 2021
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Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung launches presidential bid, vowing to reduce inequality
Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung officially launched his high-profile presidential campaign Thursday, pledging to alleviate inequality between the powerful and the weak. The front-runner by a wide margin among the nine contenders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Lee announced his bid to run in the March 9 presidential election through a prerecorded video, released on YouTube and other online platforms, in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Through the politics of moderating t
July 1, 2021
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Seoul keeps 4-person cap on private gatherings
The Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday it is keeping a four-person cap on private gatherings amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, just hours before the rule was set to be relaxed. The decision was reached at an emergency virtual meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the heads of all 25 local ward offices. The city of Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, two days before it was set to raise the cap on private gatherings from
June 30, 2021
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S. Korea-US relationship moved beyond security alliance to comprehensive, global partnership: Moon
President Moon Jae-in assessed Wednesday that South Korea's relationship with the United States has evolved from a traditional military-and-security-based alliance to that of a comprehensive and global partnership. Moon shared his views on the state of the Seoul-Washington alliance in a lunch meeting with the heads of constitutional institutions -- the National Assembly speaker, the Supreme Court chief justice, the Constitutional Court chief and the prime minister -- at Cheong Wa Dae. The pres
June 30, 2021
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Special-type workers to benefit from employment insurance from July
Non-standard contract employees, such as parcel delivery workers, home tutors and insurance salespersons, will be newly included among employment insurance beneficiaries, beginning in July, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday. The ministry said a revision of the Employment Insurance Act aimed at making workers in 12 non-standard forms of employment eligible for employment insurance is to take effect Thursday. Non-standard contract employees refer to workers of special employmen
June 30, 2021
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With top 2 hopefuls on board this week, presidential race picks up pace
The presidential race is picking up pace with one of the two front-runners declaring his bid and another set to follow suit this week, less than nine months before the election. The launch of the top two contenders -- former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung -- is expected to quicken the pace of other hopefuls who are testing the water for their potential bids. On Tuesday, Yoon, who has topped opinion polls for most favored presidential hopefuls since late last
June 30, 2021
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South Korea's parliamentary committee passes resolution demanding removal of Dokdo from Tokyo Olympics map
A South Korean parliamentary committee on Wednesday passed a resolution denouncing Japan's renewed claim to sovereignty of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on the Tokyo Olympics website. Dokdo, located in the East Sea, has appeared on the map of the route of the torch relay, posted on the Tokyo Olympics website, in an apparent territorial claim to the South Korean islets by the Japanese government. The National Assembly's culture committee held a plenary session and passed the resolution co
June 30, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Jailed ex-president worries about nation in letter
Jailed former President Lee Myung-bak said it was a shame that the country has come to its current state in a letter to a fellow university alumnus, which was disclosed on an alumni website. On the online community of Korea University students and graduates called Kopas, a person who introduced himself as a plastic surgeon and graduate of the university’s medical school said in a post on Tuesday that he wrote to Lee, and Lee wrote back. “It is such a shame that the country has come
June 30, 2021
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Moon pledges full support for shipping supremacy
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged full support for the nation’s shipping industry to further bolster its competitiveness in the global market and to regain its leadership position by 2030. “Our pride as a top shipper has been recovered,” the president said during the launch event of HMM’s new mega container ship, called HMM Hanul, at Busan’s new port. “The Hanul is the final of the total 20 vessels that completes the strong recovery of the nation&rsqu
June 29, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Choo slammed for saying she ‘opposes feminism’
Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae got herself in trouble by saying she opposes feminism in an interview on YouTube. Among those who criticized her remarks was Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor Justice Party. Choo, who has vowed to run for president next year on the ruling Democratic Party ticket, said in an interview with an online media outlet Friday that she opposed feminism and that “if one wants to be treated like a flower because she’s a woman, women will always be ornamental.&
June 29, 2021
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Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl announces presidential bid
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl on Tuesday announced his bid to compete in the presidential race next year, officially launching a political career 118 days after stepping down from the top prosecutorial post. During a press conference in southern Seoul on Tuesday, Yoon vowed to rebuild justice and the rule of law, saying the Moon Jae-in administration has destroyed South Korea’s foundations. “It is hard to articulate every misdeed that this administration has committed,&r
June 29, 2021
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Assembly committee adopts resolution against Japan's Fukushima water release plan
A South Korean parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved a resolution condemning Japan's plan to dump contaminated water from its destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee unanimously passed the resolution, which also calls on Tokyo to take sufficient measures to ensure the safety of radioactive water at the Fukushima plant. The resolution was prepared by ruling and opposition parties after the Japanese government announce
June 29, 2021
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Strict mask rules could be readopted with rise in variant cases: PM
Mandatory outdoor mask rules for those who have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines could be reintroduced if the country sees a rise in new coronavirus variant cases, the prime minister said Tuesday. Starting Thursday, South Korea plans to allow people administered with their first vaccine doses to travel outdoors without masks, as part of the government's new COVID-19 guidelines emphasizing incentives for vaccinated people. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, however, stated that the gov
June 29, 2021