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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Moon's approval rating at new low of 36.7%: Realmeter
President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating has hit a new record low of 36.7 percent, the second consecutive week that it has stayed below 40 percent, a poll showed Monday. In the five-day Realmeter survey through last Friday, 36.7 percent of respondents gave a positive assessment of Moon's leadership, down 0.7 percentage point from a week earlier. The rating, in particular, dropped 4.2 percentage points in Seoul and 5.0 percentage points among those in their 20s. Moon also lost support in h
Dec. 14, 2020
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Assembly passes revised spy agency law after eliminating opposition filibuster
The National Assembly on Sunday passed a contentious bill aimed at transferring the state spy agency's authority to conduct anti-communist investigations to the police. It is the last of the three bills that were recently approved by the assembly as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's long-planned push to reform so-called powerful institutions, such as the state prosecution service. Last week, parliament approved a major police law revision that introduces a local autonomous police syst
Dec. 14, 2020
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Govt. plans to secure 10,000 hospital beds in capital area
The health ministry said Sunday it plans to secure a total of 10,000 hospital beds in the capital area to treat a surging number of COVID-19 patients. With 10,000 beds, the region comprising Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province can cope with 1,000 new cases a day for the next 20 days if 500 people are released from quarantine each day, the ministry said. Of the 10,000 patients, 300 were assumed to be critically ill, 2,700 moderately ill or high-risk, and 7,000 asymptomatic or mildly ill. Acco
Dec. 14, 2020
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Moon says S. Korea's antivirus fight at crucial juncture, toughed social distancing may be necessary
President Moon Jae-in called on Sunday for all-out efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections in South Korea, saying the country's antivirus fight stands at a "crucial phase" before deciding whether to lift the social distancing alert to the highest. "There is nowhere to step back," he stressed during an interagency meeting on virus response at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in Seoul. He presided over the emergency session hours after loc
Dec. 13, 2020
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Moon to preside over emergency anti-virus meeting
President Moon Jae-in will preside over an emergency anti-coronavirus meeting on Sunday, officials said, after South Korea's daily virus cases hit an all-time high of over 1,000. It will be the first time in about 10 months for Moon to chair an anti-virus meeting since he did so on Feb. 23. That underlines how seriously he views the recent spike in virus cases. Such meetings have usually been presided over by the prime minister. Cheong Wa Dae said Moon's decision to preside over the meeting is
Dec. 13, 2020
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In climate summit, Moon says S. Korea to set higher 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction goal
President Moon Jae-in told global leaders Sunday that South Korea is seeking to raise the 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target in line with its stated aim of going carbon neutral by 2050. Participating in the Climate Ambition Summit, held via video links, Moon said his country plans to submit a long-term low-carbon growth strategy and its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), newly converted into absolute terms, to the United Nations within this year. "Furthermore, we wi
Dec. 13, 2020
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Cheong Wa Dae checks disaster response preparedness
Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it reviewed the government's wintertime disaster response system in an annual interagency high-level meeting. Suh Hoon, director of national security, presided over the session joined by vice ministerial officials of 27 related ministries and other organizations. They discussed the potential causes of "disaster crises," which often occur in winter, and countermeasures, according to the presidential office. Those include heavy snow, inferno and wildfire, as
Dec. 11, 2020
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Accommodation reporting system kicks off for short-term visitors
Short-term stay foreigners are obliged to report their places of accommodation here to immigration authorities under the government's latest measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. The ministry said the accommodation reporting system for short-term visitors went into effect on Thursday to help find the whereabouts of foreigners swiftly. Under the system, any foreign national staying in South Korea for fewer than 90 days with a short-term vis
Dec. 11, 2020
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Moon visits public rental home complex amid housing market instability
President Moon Jae-in made an on-site inspection Friday of a major public rental housing complex south of Seoul, as a public outcry has been mounting over soaring home prices and rental costs. Cheong Wa Dae described Moon's move as meant to demonstrate the government's policy commitment to improving the public-sector supply of such rental homes in both quantity and quality. Moon stressed the importance of providing "houses in which everyone wants to reside" during the visit to the co
Dec. 11, 2020
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Moon announces S. Korea’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050
President Moon Jae-in officially announced South Korea‘s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 in his address to the nation on Thursday. Moon said going carbon neutral cannot not be delayed any further as Korea looks to overcome the climate crisis and aim for a sustainable future, according to the presidential office. By promising carbon neutrality, Korea will raise new, promising industries, activate a circular economy and help form a low-carbon ecosystem for the business sector,
Dec. 10, 2020
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Top court orders retrial of inter-Korean summit transcript destruction case
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower court to reconsider its not guilty verdict for two former presidential officials accused of destroying a transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit to cover up the then-South Korean president's alleged offer to surrender the de facto western sea border. The top court remanded the case to the Seoul High Court, ordering a retrial of Baek Jong-chun and Cho Myoung-gyon, who served in the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun. The court ruled that th
Dec. 10, 2020
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Moon hails passage of bill on anti-corruption investigative body
President Moon Jae-in welcomed the passage of a bill Thursday on facilitating the launch of a non-prosecution body tasked with investigating corruption among senior government officials. He said it's "fortunate" that the way has been opened for the speedy establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. The president expressed expectation that the CIO will be formally set up at the start of 2021
Dec. 10, 2020
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Nat'l Assembly passes contentious bill on new investigative organ amid opposition protests
The National Assembly passed a contentious bill Thursday that would expedite the launch of a new investigative body handling high-profile corruption cases amid fierce protest from conservative opposition lawmakers. The revision bill on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) law passed a plenary session in a 187-99 vote. One lawmaker abstained. The proposal was tabled at the last plenary meeting of the regular parliamentary session Wednesday, but the main oppositio
Dec. 10, 2020
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Experts call for expanding hallyu infrastructure at home
Despite the rising status of hallyu, or the wave of Korean pop culture, across the world, relevant support infrastructure at home has failed to catch up, hallyu experts said Thursday, calling for the immediate construction of a K-pop concert arena and hallyu big data center, among other measures. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute (KCTI), a think tank affiliated with the culture ministry, said the construction of a hallyu big data center will elevate the cultural hallyu industry to higher
Dec. 10, 2020
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Moon's approval rating dips again, reaches new low of 37.1%: poll
President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating has dropped again this week, dipping further from last week's all-time low figure, a poll showed Thursday, with a rift between the justice minister and the top prosecutor deepening and new virus cases soaring across the nation. In a Realmeter survey on 1,509 voters nationwide from Monday through Wednesday, 37.1 percent of respondents said they supported Moon. The figure represents a 0.3 percentage point dip from the 37.4 percent approval rating from
Dec. 10, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Justice ministry holds disciplinary session over prosecution chief's alleged wrongdoing
The Ministry of Justice held a meeting Thursday to discuss disciplinary measures against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over alleged irregularities, after delaying the session twice amid backlash. Last month, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae suspended Yoon for six counts of alleged wrongdoing, including surveillance of the judiciary, the first time a justice minister has taken such a step in the country's history. Yoon, who fiercely refuted all allegations against him, has been restored after wi
Dec. 10, 2020
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Parliament passes key economic proposals, contentious bills stalled amid opposition protest
The National Assembly on Wednesday approved a number of bills, including those related to corporate governance, police overhaul and labor reform. But a highly contentious proposal aimed at facilitating the launch of a new investigative agency for high-profile corruption failed to pass due to objection by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said it will proceed with the bill Thursday when an extraordinary session opens. More than 110 bills were passed
Dec. 9, 2020
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Ruling party seeks to relocate Assembly to Sejong
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea resolved on Wednesday to move 10 National Assembly standing committees to the administrative capital of Sejong, making its plan official in an effort to quell overpopulation in Seoul and achieve more balanced regional development. A party relocation plan steering group submitted a comprehensive report to the party’s supreme council on moving the parliament out of Seoul to Sejong. “The steering team has been working for about four months to re
Dec. 9, 2020
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Moon asks lawmakers to hold hearings on new Cabinet nominees
President Moon Jae-in formally requested Wednesday that lawmakers hold confirmation hearings on his picks to serve as new ministers of interior, land, health and gender equality. Moon signed related documents on the four nominees and submitted them to the National Assembly earlier in the day, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok told reporters. Last Friday, Moon picked Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party as the interior and safety minister and Kwon Deok-cheol, head of the Korea
Dec. 9, 2020
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Opposition raises heat on Moon over prosecutorial reform
Rep. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party on Wednesday demanded a meeting with President Moon Jae-in, accusing the president of setting in motion the controversies surrounding the prosecutors’ office. “President Moon is the cause of the situation, and the person most in charge,” Joo said at a meeting of People Power Party lawmakers, adding that he has requested a meeting with Moon. “I will ask in person if the actions of the Democratic
Dec. 9, 2020