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] Myungsung Church's father-to-son succession practically approved
An order of the Korean Presbyterian Church on Thursday practically approved the father-to-son succession by a megachurch affiliated with the order, a move expected to fuel the heated debate over hereditary leadership in Korean Protestant churches.Myungsung Church, one of the biggest Presbyterian churches in the world with a membership of 100,000, has been at the center of controversy in South Korea since its founder Rev. Kim Sam-hwan named his eldest son, Rev. Kim Ha-na, to succeed him in 2017.
Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019
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[Newsmaker] 1980s serial rape-murder suspect may be linked with additional crimes
Police are looking into the possibility that more unsolved crimes might be linked to a 56-year-old man surnamed Lee, who has been identified as a prime suspect in cold case rape-murders from the 1980s and early 1990s.Police said Tuesday that there might be another set of rapes involving Lee, who is already a suspect in at least eight rape-murders that took place between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Police tied Lee to the case after DNA evidence from three of the rape-murders mat
Social AffairsSept. 25, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Another suspected African swine fever case reported in S. Korea
South Korea reported a new suspected African swine fever case on Wednesday, adding to concerns over the potential spread of the deadly animal disease despite massive disinfection efforts.The suspected case was reported at a farm on Ganghwa Island in Incheon, around 60 kilometers west of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry confirmed the fifth ASF case from the same location a day earlier.If confirmed, it would mark the sixth ASF case confirmed in
Social AffairsSept. 25, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Petition urging for punishment of teenage violence reaches 200,000 signatures
A petition calling for the punishment of five teenagers who allegedly assaulted a 13-year-old in Suwon has garnered over 200,000 signatures.As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, more than 210,000 people had signed the online petition posted Monday on the Cheong Wa Dae website, urging for the punishment of the five girls, who are accused of beating the teenager in a karaoke room in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. As more than 200,000 signatures have been collected, the Blue House is required to issue an official
Social AffairsSept. 24, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police summon K-pop star Seungri over gambling charges
Seungri, a former member of the K-pop boy band BIGBANG, was questioned by police on Tuesday over his alleged overseas gambling.Dressed in formal attire, the disgraced K-pop star arrived at a police investigative unit in eastern Seoul at 10:40 a.m.Seungri quickly walked past some journalists, who asked him about allegations that he regularly gambled in foreign countries and illegally secured gambling funds. It was his second interrogation following one on Aug. 28, when he apologized for "cau
Social AffairsSept. 24, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Doctor performs abortion on wrong patient
A pregnant woman here lost her child when a doctor performed an abortion after medical staff mixed up her medical chart with that of another patient.Seoul Gangseo Police Station on Monday said they booked a gynecologist and a nurse for conducting an abortion on a six-week pregnant woman by failing to check the patient’s information before the operation.According to investigators, the alleged victim -- a Vietnamese national -- who was six weeks into her pregnancy was prescribed nutritional
Social AffairsSept. 23, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Professor under fire for comparing ‘comfort women’ to prostitutes
A professor at a prestigious university in Seoul has come under fire for reportedly likening Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement to prostitutes, triggering calls for his expulsion from the political circle and his alumni. During a lecture, Ryu Seok-chun, a sociology professor at Yonsei University, said that the victims of Japan’s sexual slavery sold sex because they needed to earn a living, and dismissed a civic organization advocating on behalf of them as
Social AffairsSept. 22, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Fire at Dongdaemun fashion market injures 2, fumes continue for hours
A fire that started around midnight Sunday at a fashion wholesale market in central Seoul continued to burn Sunday afternoon, with two people injured.Fire authorities have been fighting the blaze for more than 14 hours as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday at a six-story building located in Jeil Pyunghwa Clothing Market in Sindang-dong.While the fire was mostly contained, the surrounding area was thick with black fumes still rising from the building on Sunday afternoon.Two women who were inside the building wh
Social AffairsSept. 22, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police decide to drop pimping charges against former YG chief
Police have dropped pimping charges against Yang Hyun-suk, an idol-turned-K-pop guru who was head of YG Entertainment, one of the biggest K-pop management firms, police officials said Friday.The officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said police investigators failed to verify suspicions that Yang arranged sex services for foreign investors in 2014 and sent his case to the prosecution with a recommendation that he not be indicted on pimping charges.The 49-year-old Yang was booked in Ju
Social AffairsSept. 20, 2019
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea, US to launch negotiations on defense cost sharing next week : source
South Korea and the United States will launch negotiations in Seoul next week on sharing the cost of upkeep for American troops here, a source with knowledge of the matter said Friday. Seoul and Washington will likely hold the first round of negotiations on the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, the source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. James DeHart of the State Department will lead the US delegation, the source said. Se
DefenseSept. 20, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Gwanghwamun restructuring put on hold in face of strong opposition
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday its plan to restructure Gwanghwamun Square would be put on hold to gather public opinion in the wake of opposition from the relevant ministry and some civic groups. However, the government still plans to restructure the current square, which has been compared to an isolated, gigantic traffic island, but it will revisit the current blueprint and take more time to draw up a final scheme to reflect public opinion, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said.&ldquo
Social AffairsSept. 19, 2019
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[Newsmaker] B.I admits drug use, ex-YG chief to be summoned over alleged cover-up
The ex-chief of YG Entertainment, the label that represents the K-pop band iKON, will soon be summoned after the band’s former leader admitted to some of the drug allegations against him, police said Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said B.I, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, admitted to past drug use during an interrogation Tuesday. Kim was grilled for some 14 hours on suspicion of buying marijuana from an acquaintance in 2016 and smoking it. The investigators will con
Social AffairsSept. 18, 2019
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[Newsmaker] National Cancer Center strike ends after 11 days
An 11-day health workers’ strike at the National Cancer Center ended Monday morning after the labor union and the hospital management reached an agreement on pay and working conditions. The hospital’s operations will return to normal Tuesday at 6 a.m.The management and the union agreed to a 1.8 percent pay hike, overtime pay in 10-minute increments, transportation allowances for night-shift workers and other welfare support for hospital workers. The management also vowed not to take
Social AffairsSept. 16, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Main opposition leader to have head shaved to demand dismissal of justice minister
The chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party will have his head shaved Monday to call for the dismissal of the justice minister, whose family is embroiled in corruption allegations, party officials said.LKP chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn plans to shave his head in front of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae at 5 p.m. to call on President Moon Jae-in to sack Justice Minister Cho Kuk, according to the conservative party.In South Korea, politicians often have their heads shaved publicly in a sho
PoliticsSept. 16, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Moon issues 'grave warning' against public agencies for wrong naming of East Sea
President Moon Jae-in ordered disciplinary action against three government-affiliated agencies Monday for their description of the waters between Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan, not the East Sea.The East Sea is South Korea's official name for the waters, and the country is campaigning hard to publicize that name internationally.But the three organizations, under the wing of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, were found to have used the name, the Sea of Japan, on their Kore
PoliticsSept. 16, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police to summon K-pop band iKON's ex-leader over drugs allegation
Police plan to summon B.I, former leader of K-pop band iKON, next week to question him about an allegation of drug use, officials said Saturday.The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency is accelerating its probe into the drugs allegation facing the former iKON member, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, as well as related suspicions over Yang Hyun-suk, the former chief of the band's music label. Kim will be grilled over whether he bought marijuana from an acquaintance in 2016 and smoked it, accord
Social AffairsSept. 14, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Working-level nuclear talks aimed at drafting summit agreement: pro-Pyongyang paper
Working-level talks expected to take place between the United States and North Korea late this month are part of a process to draft an agreement to be signed at the next summit of the two countries, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Thursday. Earlier this week, the North expressed a willingness to hold working-level talks with the U.S. in late September in what would mark a resumption of the negotiating process that reached a deadlock with February's no-deal summit between U.S. President D
North KoreaSept. 12, 2019
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[Newsmaker] NK’s test-firing of new rocket launcher likely failed
North Korea said Wednesday it test-fired its “super-large multiple rocket launcher” the previous day, however there is speculation in Seoul that one of the projectiles failed to reach its target in the sea. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong-un guided the weapons test. It is the second test of the super-large multiple rocket launcher after Aug. 24, and the 10th launch of projectiles conducted by the regime this year.“The Supreme Leader l
North KoreaSept. 11, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Bolton’s exit may add flexibility to NK talks but could hinder full denuke efforts
Hawkish US national security adviser John Bolton’s departure may bring flexibility to the upcoming nuclear talks with North Korea but could undercut efforts to achieve the regime’s complete denuclearization, analysts said Wednesday.US President Donald Trump announced in a surprise tweet Tuesday that he has fired the conservative advisor and that he will name a replacement next week. He cited strong disagreements with many of Bolton‘s foreign policy suggestions.Bolton’s re
North KoreaSept. 11, 2019
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea’s short-range projectiles possibly ‘super-large MRLS’ or ATACMS: experts
North Korea on Tuesday fired two short-range projectiles from its northwestern area toward the East Sea, its 10th launch this year, South Korea’s military said. According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang fired the projectiles from Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, at 6:53 a.m. and 7:12 a.m., with one of the projectiles flying 330 kilometers east. The JCS did not provide further details such as the altitude and speed of the projectiles launched, saying it is analyzing the in
North KoreaSept. 10, 2019