Most Popular
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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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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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SM founder Lee Soo-man is back with A2O Entertainment
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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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Food fight continues over ruling party chairman’s lunch at Japanese restaurant
Political parties continued their quarrel over the weekend as to whether it was appropriate for Lee Hae-chan, the chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, to visit a Japanese restaurant for lunch on Friday, the day Japan excluded South Korea from its whitelist of trusted trade partners.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party -- grappling to appease public backlash sparked by its lawmaker Rep. Kim Jae-won appearing at the National Assembly under the influence of alcohol last week -- houn
Aug. 5, 2019
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South Korea confirms 2020 minimum wage at W8,590
South Korea’s hourly minimum wage for next year has been confirmed at 8,590 won ($7.10) after a monthslong debate, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Employment and Labor legally set the figure as the minimum wage for 2020, sticking with the recommendation of the Minimum Wage Commission last week.It added that when factoring in the minimum wage to the 209 working hours every month, the monthly salary would come to 1.7 million won. The 2.9 percent raise from this year’s
Aug. 5, 2019
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S. Korea affirms next year's minimum wage as earlier set
The government announced Monday that the 2020 minimum wage will be set at 8,590 won ($7.16) per hour as earlier decided as it has rejected a call for more deliberation by the labor sector.The labor ministry posted next year's minimum wage in a publication in the government's official gazette, adding the hourly pay will be uniformly applied to all workplaces starting Jan. 1.In July, the Minimum Wage Commission, involving labor and business representatives and experts, decided to raise the minimum
Aug. 5, 2019
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German museum removes wartime sex slave statue on Japan's pressure
Japan has allegedly pressured a German museum to remove a statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's World War II-era sexual slavery from display, a South Korean civic group said Sunday amid escalating political and trade tensions between the two neighboring countries.According to Korea Verband, a nonprofit association based in Berlin, its chairperson Han Jung-hwa donated a small statue of a girl to Ravensbruck Memorial, located in Brandenburg, northern Germany, in 2017. The German museum,
Aug. 4, 2019
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Govt. vows to support local industries amid Japan's economic retaliation
South Korea's industry minister on Sunday vowed to provide any necessary support to local firms to help them cope with Japan's economic retaliation and export restrictions on key industrial materials."The government will utilize all necessary assets and capabilities to ease local firms' burdens," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a meeting with representatives from different industries. The remark came after Japan announced the removal of South Korea from its list of trusted tr
Aug. 4, 2019
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Main opposition warns its lawmaker who showed up drunk at National Assembly
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has issued a warning to Rep. Kim Jae-won, who stirred up controversy after answering questions on the extra budget under the influence of alcohol, the party said Sunday.Kim, chairman of the parliamentary special committee on budget and accounts, showed up drunk at the National Assembly near midnight on Aug. 1 and answered reporters’ questions about the supplementary budget. “It has been confirmed that Rep. Kim Jae-won drank o
Aug. 4, 2019
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Koreans hold candlelight vigil to protest Abe government
Some 680 civic groups held a candlelight vigil over the weekend in protest of the Japanese government’s decision to take South Korea off a list of preferred trading partners and to call on Tokyo to apologize for war crimes it committed in World War II.According to organizers, a Japanese civic group also sent its support, backing the protest against the Abe government’s escalation of conflict with Korea. Some 15,000 people took to the streets to join the candlelight vigil in swelterin
Aug. 4, 2019
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PM says Japan 'crossed line' with removal of S. Korea from whitelist
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Saturday blasted Japan for its decision to remove South Korea from a whitelist of trusted trading partners, saying that it "crossed a line it should not have." "(The decision), is the second retaliation after the country imposed export restrictions on key chip materials," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting. He also said such moves could "jeopardize bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan, international free trade and interdepe
Aug. 3, 2019
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National Assembly passes W5.8tr extra budget bill
South Korea's parliament passed a 5.83-trillion won ($4.9 billion) extra budget bill Friday, supporting the government's efforts to prop up the slowing economy and tackle Japan's export curbs against Seoul.During a plenary meeting, the National Assembly approved the budget bill in a 196 to 12 vote, with 20 abstentions. Rival parties earlier agreed to cut the proposed fiscal spending by a net 860 billion won from the government's April proposal of 6.7 trillion won.The extra budget -- more than ha
Aug. 2, 2019
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Parliament passes resolution urging Japan to withdraw export curbs
The National Assembly on Friday passed a resolution calling on Japan to immediately withdraw its export curbs against South Korea in a unanimous vote during a plenary meeting. The parliament also passed a resolution condemning an air incursion by Russian and Chinese warplanes and Japan's territorial claim to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo.The move came after Tokyo approved the removal of South Korea from a "whitelist" of trusted trading partners at a Cabinet meeting earlier in
Aug. 2, 2019
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S. Korean political parties rebuke Japan's 'whitelist' decision
South Korean political parties strongly condemned Japan's decision to remove South Korea from a list of preferred trade partners Friday, with the ruling party calling the move an "economic invasion." But rival parties differed over the government's future response to Japan's move. The ruling Democratic Party raised the possibility of South Korea scrapping its military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan while the main opposition party stressed the need to seek diplomatic solutions.Ear
Aug. 2, 2019
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S. Korean political circle in emergency mode to tackle Japan's 'whitelist' decision
South Korea's parliament and political parties held emergency meetings Friday to draw up measures to tackle Japan's decision to remove South Korea from a list of trusted trading partners.Earlier in the day, Japan's Cabinet approved a proposal to strip South Korea from the "whitelist" of countries subject to preferential trade status in additional economic retaliation over a row surrounding Japan's wartime forced labor.National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang expressed "deep regret&
Aug. 2, 2019
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Moon to hold emergency Cabinet meeting on Japan's 'whitelist' decision
President Moon Jae-in called an emergency Cabinet meeting shortly after Japan pressed ahead with the removal of South Korea from a list of trusted importers on Friday, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon plans to hold the session at 2 p.m. to discuss countermeasures.Moon's opening remarks will be broadcast live, according to Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)
Aug. 2, 2019
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Moon holds meeting with top officials on Japan's export curbs
President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with top government officials Thursday over Japan's expected move to expand export restrictions on South Korea, his office said. Moon was briefed by related ministers on the status of the dispute and discussed Seoul's possible countermeasures during the session that was held for 2 hours and 15 minutes from 10:30 a.m., presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a brief press release. On Friday, Japan's Cabinet is expected to approve a bill to drop South Kor
Aug. 1, 2019
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Report linking Korea-Japan conflict with election stokes criticism
The ruling Democratic Party was hit with a barrage of attacks from opposition parties over a report by its think tank on South Korea’s conflict with Japan over Tokyo’s export restrictions and how the responses of the various political parties might affect the parliamentary elections next year. The Institute for Democracy distributed the report to DP lawmakers Wednesday, and then said in a statement Thursday that “inappropriate content was distributed in an inappropriate way.&rd
Aug. 1, 2019
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S. Korean parliamentary delegation visits Japan over trade row
A group of 10 South Korean lawmakers visited Japan on Wednesday to help resolve a monthlong trade row between the two countries. During a two-day stay, they will meet leading politicians and call for a diplomatic resolution to the dispute sparked by Japan's curbs on exports to South Korea of three industrial materials early this month. Japan is expected to go further and pass a bill Friday to drop its neighbor from a list of 27 countries given preferential trade status."We will have sincere
July 31, 2019
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Democratic Party invites NK delegation to late President Kim Dae-jung anniversary event
South Korea’s ruling party has invited a North Korean delegation to an event marking the 10th death anniversary of former President Kim Dae-jung on Aug. 18, a lawmaker said Tuesday. Rep. Kim Han-jung of the Democratic Party delivered the invitation to the delegation -- including Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister -- to Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korea Asia-Pacific Committee, during a peace forum in Manila, the Philippines. The two met during the Inter
July 30, 2019
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Rival parties reach deal on full parliamentary session
Rival parties agreed Monday to hold a plenary parliamentary session this week to vote on an extra budget bill and parliamentary resolutions condemning Japan’s export curbs and an air intrusion by China and Russia.The meeting will be held Thursday under the deal reached by the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and two major opposition parties. It would be the first full floor session since early April.An extraordinary session was held in June following months-long partisan tensio
July 29, 2019
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Consultative group on Japan’s trade curbs to launch this week amid parliamentary stalemate
Five South Korean political parties agreed to launch a consultative body on Japan’s export regulations this week, made up of officials from the government, private and public sectors, officials said Monday.The launch of the group comes as the National Assembly remains plagued by differences over the terms of an extraordinary parliamentary meeting.The development is part of a consensus reached during party leaders’ recent meeting with President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae on a commit
July 29, 2019
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NPS invested W5.6 trillion in Japanese companies linked to forced wartime labor
The National Pension Service invested some 5.6 trillion won ($4.73 billion) between 2014 and 2018 in Japanese companies linked to Japan’s forced wartime labor, raising questions about the service’s investment decisions. The figures were released by Rep. Kim Kwang-soo of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace, who is a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee.The figures show that a total 87.5 billion won had been invested in Japan’s Mitsu
July 26, 2019