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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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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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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[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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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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[Newsmaker] Ex-Ulsan mayor questioned over Cheong Wa Dae’s alleged election meddling
Former Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon, who raised allegations about Cheong Wa Dae’s suspected meddling in regional elections last year, appeared before the prosecution Sunday to be questioned as a witness. Kim, who is affiliated with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, says that the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency deliberately investigated suspicions surrounding his brother and close aide a few months ahead of the elections last year, to sway the vote in favor of the ruling Democratic
Social AffairsDec. 15, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Singer Kim Gun-mo sues woman who filed rape suit
Singer Kim Gun-mo, 51, on Friday countersued a woman who accused the singer of sexual assault, denying all allegations made against him. On the same day, Kim’s agency Guneum announced the cancellation of the singer’s nationwide concert tour that was to take place Dec. 24 to Feb. 29, 2020.On Monday, the woman, surnamed Kim, sued the singer, claiming he had sexually assaulted her in August 2016 at a bar in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where she worked. “Kim Gun-mo does not know the woman a
Social AffairsDec. 13, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Korean Air recognizes same-sex Korean couple as family
A same-sex couple of Korean nationality were recognized as family members by Korean Air’s membership rewards program, South Korea’s flag carrier said Thursday, a step hailed by sexual minorities’ rights advocates. The female couple, who are in their 40s, completed registering as family members in Korean Air’s SkyPass program on Monday after the country’s largest airline accepted their marriage certificate, which had been issued in Canada. The couple, who have b
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Male rapper convicted of sexually insulting female singer in lyrics
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower courts' conviction of a male rapper indicted for sexually insulting a female rapper in his songs and concerts.Black Nut, the defendant rapper whose real name is Kim Dae-woong, was sentenced by the top court to an imprisonment of six months, suspended for two years, and ordered to conduct 160 hours of social service.Lower courts had previously handed out the same guilty verdict and sentences to Black Nut, who was accused of inserting controversial words
Social AffairsDec. 12, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Singer Kim Gun-mo to be investigated on sexual assault allegation
A sexual assault allegation against singer Kim Gun-mo will be investigated by the Gangnam Police Station, according to the prosecutors’ office Tuesday.Lawyer Kang Yong-seok filed a case Monday at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on behalf of a woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the singer. In the complaint, Kang accused Kim of raping his client. Kim’s agency denied the sexual assault allegation and said it would take legal action for defamati
Social AffairsDec. 11, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Big Hit denies rumored disputes with BTS
Big Hit Entertainment has denied a recent report that the agency and BTS have been in dispute over profit distribution and the renewal of a contract. On Monday, broadcast station JTBC’s “News Room” aired a report that said the band and its members’ parents have been looking into taking legal action against the agency. A few hours after the news was broadcast, the agency released a statement saying, “The report is groundless.” “BTS and the members&rs
PerformanceDec. 10, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Third body retrieved 20 days after Jeju boat capsizes
Two of the 11 bodies missing after a Jeju boat capsized last month were discovered Sunday afternoon.The Jeju Regional Coast Guard on Monday confirmed the bodies had been located by a remotely operated vehicle of the Navy’s submarine rescue ship Cheonghaejin.While one body assumed to be that of a Vietnamese national was recovered Sunday, another body was lifted from the water Monday afternoon. Around 7 a.m. on Nov. 19, a 29-ton fishing boat with 12 crewmen aboard -- six South Koreans a
Social AffairsDec. 9, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Centrist third party on course to split
Minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, formed in February last year to challenge the bipartisan establishment, is on the verge of splitting.The party’s meeting for “nonpartisan initiative” has launched a committee to prepare for the formation of a new party with “a centrist reform agenda.”Heading the committee is Rep. Ha Tae-keung, a conservative politician who helped integrate factions supporting two former third-party presidential candidates, Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoo Se
PoliticsDec. 8, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Leader of drug-trafficking ring gets 9-year prison term in appeals trial
The Seoul High Court on Sunday sentenced the leader of South Korea's largest drug-trafficking syndicate to nine years in prison for distributing about 730,000 doses of methamphetamine smuggled from Taiwan.The 63-year-old leader, identified by his surname, Yoon, and an accomplice, surnamed Woo, 53, were charged with distributing 22 kilograms of methamphetamine. That amount was part of a total of 112 kg of methamphetamine smuggled by a Taiwanese crime ring in July and August last year. Woo was sen
Social AffairsDec. 8, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Political parties to withdraw filibuster, postpone fast-track bills
Major political parties on Friday reached a tentative agreement to normalize parliament through the withdrawal of the main opposition party's filibuster and the postponement of contested fast-track bills.The floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party, main opposition Liberty Korea Party and minor opposition Bareunmirae Party reached a consensus and are set to finalize and soon announce the details at a meeting led by the National Assembly speaker, according to party officials.Under the agreeme
PoliticsDec. 6, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Revision bill on banning Tada's taxi business passed at parliamentary committee
A National Assembly committee on Friday passed a revision bill on effectively outlawing the controversial taxi business of Tada, a South Korean ride-hailing service operator.The revision to the passenger transport service act, approved by the parliamentary transportation panel, restricts the outsourcing of drivers for the use of rental vans with 11-15 seats to tour purposes only. Cars must be rented for at least six hours and users are required to possess boarding passes if vehicles are rented o
IndustryDec. 6, 2019
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[Newsmaker] 2 military intelligence officers investigated for alleged rape of N. Korean defector
Two Defense Intelligence Command officers are being investigated by the military prosecution for allegedly raping a North Korean defector multiple times, the Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday. The North Korean defector brought charges against a first sergeant surnamed Kim and a lieutenant colonel surnamed Sung, both working for the DIC, for repeated offences that took place over a period of more than a year. The Defense Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Command in late November ref
DefenseDec. 5, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Actor Kang Ji-hwan gets suspended prison sentence in rape case
Actor Kang Ji-hwan, who was indicted in July on charges of raping a woman and molesting another at his home, was given a suspended prison sentence by a local court on Thursday.The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court sentenced 42-year-old Kang to an imprisonment of two and a half years, suspended for three years, after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting two female production staffers.He was also ordered to conduct 120 hours of social service, undergo 40 hours of sexual offender tre
Social AffairsDec. 5, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Verdicts vary for Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing conscription
Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing mandatory military service have regularly been found guilty or not guilty of evading conscription based on whether they had “true faith.”A 24-year-old Jehovah’s Witness received a notice of enlistment from the Daejeon-South Chungcheong Regional Military Manpower Administration in September 2017, and refused conscription citing religious grounds.He submitted to the authorities papers stating that he belongs to the religious group and that he re
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Eight people indicted in audition show vote-rigging scandal
Eight people were indicted on Tuesday in connection with a widening vote-rigging scandal involving the high-profile audition show “Produce X 101,” prosecutors said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors‘ Office said it has indicted Ahn Joon-young -- a director at entertainment giant CJ ENM’s K-pop-oriented music channel, Mnet -- and the program‘s chief producer, Kim Yong-beom, with physical detention. The two are charged with fixing the final vote result in
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Welfare minister apologizes for controversial comment on child-on-child sexual abuse
The Ministry of Health and Welfare apologized Tuesday for a comment from the minister regarding a child-on-child sexual abuse case that has drawn public outrage. Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said Monday morning that a recent incident of a prepubescent child’s molestation of another child at a kindergarten in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was part of “natural behavior over stages of development.”“But it poses a problem when that behavior is expressed in excess,” he
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Former President Park to return to detention center from hospital
Former President Park Geun-hye is expected to be sent back to a detention center as early as Tuesday, after 2 1/2 months in a hospital for shoulder treatment, sources said.The 67-year-old, jailed in March 2017 over a massive corruption case, underwent an operation for a rotator cuff tear at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in mid-September. She has since received rehabilitation treatment. "(She) will be discharged at 2:00 p.m. today," said Hong Moon-jong, co-chair of Our Republican Party, a r
Social AffairsDec. 3, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Tada claims legitimacy by adding mobile tech to existing service
Top executives of van-hailing service Tada, which is owned by car-sharing company SoCar, argued in court on Monday that their operations are fully within the ambit of current laws.They claimed during the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court that the company has only upgraded an existing business model with a mobile application platform. SoCar CEO Lee Jae-woong and CEO Park Jae-wook of its subsidiary and Tada operator VCNC attended the trial after they were indicted by prosec
MobilityDec. 2, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Investigator believed to be involved in election-meddling row found dead
An investigator who worked at the presidential office was found dead Sunday, police said, amid a prosecution probe into alleged attempts by Cheong Wa Dae officials to influence last year's local elections.The official, who was dispatched to the civil affairs office from the prosecution, was found dead at an office in southern Seoul, according to police. The investigator reportedly left a note to his family before the death. Police said they are investigating to determine the exact cause of the d
Social AffairsDec. 1, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police to beef up traffic safety in school zones
The National Police Agency on Sunday announced measures to step up traffic safety near schools, effective Monday.According to police, around 620 traffic police officers will be relocated to school zones during rush hour. They will be deployed in areas prone to accidents, including places without surveillance cameras and where sidewalks and roads are not separated. Police will phase in limiting the maximum travel speed to 30 kilometers per hour in all school zones. Currently, cars can travel
Social AffairsDec. 1, 2019