Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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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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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] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Newsmaker] Over half of young Seoulites can’t afford buying house without parents’ support: survey
Over half of young people living in Seoul say they couldn’t buy a home without the help of their parents, data showed Friday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Institute, a think tank under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 53 percent out of 676 Seoul citizens ranging in age from 18 to 34 said that it would be impossible to purchase a house without financial support from their parents. The nationwide average is 46 percent. While 44 percent of respondents said that they would
MarketOct. 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Prosecutors arrest key suspect in Seongnam land development scandal
A key figure in the snowballing land development scandal in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, was arrested Friday for questioning over allegations that Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party's leading presidential contender, gave business favors to certain developers. Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., was apprehended by prosecutors at a hospital Friday morning and was taken to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. He was asked to appear
PoliticsOct. 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] COVID-19 cashback scheme criticized over fairness
South Korea’s new cashback scheme, designed to encourage private spending, has rather unusual criteria for coverage. Money spent at Emart Every Everyday stores is eligible for rewards, but not at Emart outlets. Businesses covered by the scheme include Ikea, Starbucks, small supermarket chains, hotels, movie theaters, restaurants as well as delivery apps. But purchases made at big supermarket chains such as Emart, Costco and Homeplus as well as department stores and duty-free stores do n
ConsumerSept. 30, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Assimilation programs begin for Afghan evacuees in S. Korea
The government on Wednesday started assimilation programs for Afghan evacuees who settled in South Korea in August upon fleeing their country after it was taken over by the Taliban. Various programs, offered by relevant ministries, are aimed at helping them learn the language, get familiar with the culture and more easily assimilate into Korean society. The Ministry of Justice runs the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) with a goal to teach them Korean culture and language, along w
Social AffairsSept. 29, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Transport ministry lays out plans for ‘flying taxis’ in 2025
Urban air mobility, which has been described as ‘flying taxis,’ is on course to become a reality in Korea in 2025 as the Transport Ministry outlined the timeline in a white paper released on Tuesday. According to the paper, an air corridor will be built for drone taxis to fly between Seoul and the outskirts of the city, including Incheon International Airport, during the early stages of the project. The UAM aircraft will be allowed to fly at an altitude of 450 meters with a margin
MobilitySept. 28, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Netflix unveils 10 upcoming Korean dramas, shows after ‘Squid Game’ success
Days after “Squid Game” became the first Korean drama series to rank first on Netflix’s US top 10 TV show list, the global streaming service has unveiled its line-up of Korean programming for the upcoming months, spotlighting 10 drama series and reality shows. Netflix Korea introduced the shows during Tudum, Netflix’s global fan event, on Saturday, which was streamed on Netflix Korea’s YouTube channel. The real-time fan event was moderated by K-pop band Super J
TelevisionSept. 26, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Moon says BTS helped spread awareness of climate change, other global issues
WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in thanked and praised South Korean superband BTS for using their powerful influence in encouraging people to act on various global issues such as climate change and COVID-19. "Since BTS represents the younger generation and many young people relate to them, I believe they can spread awareness and empathy," Moon said in an interview with U.S. TV network ABC. The interview, also attended by the seven members of BTS, took place on Tuesday,
PoliticsSept. 25, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Mergepoint saga sparks flood of complaints in Aug.
Amid the snowballing fiasco of prepaid discount service Mergepoint that played out in August, the number of consumer requested consultations regarding the scandal marked more than 16,000, according to data provided by the Korea Consumer Agency and Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations Friday. The consumer consultation center operated by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission received 16,188 inquiries from consumers requiring consultations about their complaints and damages over t
MarketSept. 24, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Korea raises electricity price for first time in 8 years
A family of four in South Korea will see electricity bills rise as much as 1,050 won ($0.89) per month starting October as the Korea Electric Power Corp. decided to raise utility prices for the first time in eight years to mitigate skyrocketing fuel costs. According to the state-run utility firm Thursday, the electricity bill will go up 3 won per kilowatt-hour, the first increase since November 2013. For an average four-member household that consumes 350 kW of electricity per month, this would
IndustrySept. 23, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Kakao Pay faces renewed scrutiny ahead of IPO
Ant Group-backed financial technology firm Kakao Pay is facing renewed scrutiny ahead of its upcoming initial public offering as South Korea’s tech crackdown shows no signs of abating. Regulators’ tightening grip on online financial platforms puts Kakao Pay, known for its mobile payment app interoperable with Korea’s popular messenger app KakaoTalk, under mounting pressure to revise its prospectus again to scale down its fintech service. The stock market debut of Kakao Pay,
MarketSept. 22, 2021
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[Newsmaker] More than 30 crypto exchanges expected to announce shutdown on Friday
Time ran out Friday for cryptocurrency exchanges to announce the closure of their services if they would not be operable after Sept. 24, marking a critical time that will decide the fate of many cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. More than 30 cryptocurrency exchanges were expected to give notice for a service shutdown by the end of Friday, as 24 exchanges have not applied for the Information Security Management System and 10 failed to acquire a certificate, according to industry source
MarketSept. 17, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Compensation to pandemic-hit merchants to begin in late Oct.: official
South Korea plans to start to compensate pandemic-hit small merchants from late October for their losses incurred by anti-virus restrictions, a senior government official said Friday. The government set aside 1.03 trillion won ($873 million) to operate a state scheme to compensate small merchants for losses that have been generated since July due to state orders to shut down or suspend business over the pandemic. "The government is making seamless preparation to provide compensation to the
Social AffairsSept. 17, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church Rev. Cho Yong-gi dies at 85
Pastor Cho Yong-gi, the founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, died at the age of 85 at Seoul National University Hospital on Tuesday. He had been hospitalized since July 2020 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. The pastor emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church is known for establishing and developing Yoido Full Gospel Church as the world‘s largest church. Cho started a church in Bulgwang-dong, western Seoul, on May 18, 1958, with the late Rev. Choi Ja-sil, who died on Nov. 9, 1989. Throug
CultureSept. 14, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Seoul Metro union calls off planned walkout on last-minute deal
The unionized workers of Seoul Metro, operator of the Seoul subway system, called off a planned walkout that was set to take place Tuesday as they reached a last-minute deal with the management. The deal was reached shortly before midnight following a marathon negotiation that began at 3 p.m. Under the agreement, Seoul Metro withdrew its earlier plan to lay off 1,539 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce. The parties also agreed to establish a consultation body between the management and the u
Social AffairsSept. 14, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yoon Seok-youl allegations threaten to push political arena
The allegations surrounding conservative presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl are expanding, with Yoon accusing the head of the National Intelligence Service of meddling in a presidential election. On Monday, Yoon reported NIS chief Park Jie-won and informant Cho Sung-eun to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, in a countermove for coming under investigation for allegations raised by Cho. Yoon has accused Park and Cho of violating the National Intelligence Service Ac
PoliticsSept. 13, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Retail investors sweep W1tr Kakao shares hit by short attack, regulation
Retail investors bought more than 1 trillion won ($854 billion) worth of Kakao shares for three days from Wednesday to Friday, when they fell 15 percent amid record short-selling triggered by mounting concerns over tightening regulations. The country’s fifth-biggest in market capitalization has been targeted for massive short selling due to a rapid price fall last week over the political move to regulate platform giants, Foreign investors also dumped shares worth 749.8 bill
MarketSept. 12, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Opposition party files complaint against CIO over alleged illegal raid
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday filed a complaint with the prosecution over what it called an illegal raid against one of its lawmakers in a snowballing political meddling scandal. The complaint accuses Kim Jin-wook, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), and five investigators of abuse of power and an illegal raid on the office of PPP Rep. Kim Woong on Friday. Rep. Jun Joo-hyae, a PPP spokeswoman, delivered the complaint to the
PoliticsSept. 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Demand for apartments on rise despite loan restrictions
Demand for apartments in South Korea’s capital and the surrounding areas continued to rise for two consecutive weeks, despite the central bank’s latest rate hike and financial institutions’ efforts to cut back lending, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the index measuring supply and demand for apartments in Seoul and the surrounding area inched up 0.4 points on-week to 112.1 as of Monday, extending gains for two consecutive weeks. It had gained 0.9
MarketSept. 10, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Wireless EV charging service and 9 others approved under regulatory sandbox
Hyundai Motor’s plans to develop a remote charging system for battery-powered electric vehicles has been given a go-ahead from the Korean government, it was announced Thursday. The wireless EV charging system is among the 10 pilot projects granted a regulatory sandbox, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the sandbox support center at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The regulatory sandbox measure, introduced in 2019, seeks to foster new business
MobilitySept. 9, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Disney+ arrival heralds fiercer competition in Korean streaming market
After years of courtship by mobile carriers, Disney+, another US-based content giant, is to arrive in South Korea in November, raising expectations of a new phase of growth for the local streaming market after Netflix’s entry years ago. The Walt Disney Co. Korea announced Wednesday its mobile content streaming app would be available here from Nov. 12, promising a wide-ranging library of content. Content available for streaming will include that produced by Disney, Pix
BusinessSept. 8, 2021