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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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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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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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[Newsmaker] Convicted sex offenders banned from taking teacher recruitment exam
Anyone convicted of sexual offenses will be barred from taking the teacher recruitment exam, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday, as the relevant law has been revised under the government's drive to stamp out sexual violence. The Cabinet meeting approved the revision of the Decree on the Appointment of Public Education Officials in the morning, providing the legal grounds for prohibiting people punished for sexual crimes from applying for teaching positions at local schools, the ministry sa
Social AffairsApril 28, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea’s ‘walk-thru’ testing booth goes global
About two months ago, a South Korean doctor came up with the idea of a coronavirus testing booth that would allow health workers to wear minimal protective equipment as they swabbed patients. A local medical device company realized the idea and put it to use. The booths have caught on at medical institutions across the country, including the National Medical Center and Jeju International Airport. Now they are being deployed abroad. Korea Kiyon, the company that co-developed the testing facili
Social AffairsApril 27, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Quarantine violators to wear wrist bands starting April 27
Those who break compulsory home quarantine rules will be asked to wear electronic wristbands starting Monday, authorities said Friday, as part of efforts to curb violations. Due to privacy concerns, wearing it will not be mandatory, raising questions over the effectiveness of the policy. Violators who do not agree to wearing the location-tracking wristbands will be required to stay at state facilities during quarantine, instead of at their homes, the authorities said. They must also pay fo
Social AffairsApril 24, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Busan mayor resigns over sexual harassment allegations
Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don stepped down from his post Thursday, admitting to “unnecessary physical contact” with a female subordinate. “I realized the contact that occured during a short meeting that lasted five minutes could be taken as sexual harassment,” Oh said in a press briefing, adding that what he had done -- however light or heavy -- could not be forgiven. “As a responsible public servant, I apologize to victims and will spend the rest of my life repenti
PoliticsApril 23, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Devastating oil glut sends prices into negative
NEW YORK (AFP) -- US oil prices crashed to unprecedented lows Monday as futures in New York ended in negative territory for the first time amid a devastating supply glut that has forced traders to pay others to take the crude off their hands. With space to store oil scarce, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery closed at -$37.63 a barrel. The futures contract for May closes Tuesday, meaning traders who buy and sell the commodity for profit needed to find someone to take physi
EconomyApril 21, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Viewers allege sexual objectification of women in KBS drama
The producers of KBS2’s weekend drama series “Once Again” apologized following criticisms that Saturday’s episodes sexually objectified women. In the two consecutive episodes that aired Saturday, three female characters who opened a kimbab eatery appear in skimpy dresses wearing heavy make-up. The women flirt with the men outside the store to lure them inside, while the male customers stare at the women and comment on the women’s appearance. The controversial epis
TelevisionApril 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Not just lungs: Coronavirus can damage other organs
South Korea reported over the weekend the first case of a heart disease linked to novel coronavirus infection, suggesting the virus most commonly known to cause respiratory distress may have a wider spectrum of complications. In Daegu, Korea’s worst affected city with 64 percent of the total virus tally, a 21-year-old woman without preexisting medical conditions suffered an acute myocarditis from COVID-19. The young patient initially exhibited typical symptoms of the virus including a c
TechnologyApril 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Identity of 18-year-old suspect in Telegram sexual abuse case disclosed
The identity of an 18-year-old suspected of running an online abuse ring that victimized dozens of women and girls was disclosed to the public Friday. Kang Hun, known by his internet alias “Butta,” is South Korea’s first criminal suspect to have his identity revealed while still a minor. The age of majority is 19 in Korea. Kang is a key accomplice of 24-year-old Cho Ju-bin who allegedly led a group that blackmailed women and girls into sharing sexual videos of themselves, a
Social AffairsApril 17, 2020
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[Newsmaker] MBC apologizes for sexist comment during election coverage
Network broadcaster MBC apologized Wednesday night for a demeaning comment about two female candidates during its general election coverage, which drew public outrage. The incident took place as MBC was delivering poll results in real time for a constituency in Dongjak, Seoul, where two female candidates -- Lee Soo-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Na Kyung-won of the United Future Party -- were leading the pack. While covering the match between the two judges-turned-politicia
TelevisionApril 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Amb. Harris says S. Korea's record-high voter turnout shows 'dedication to democratic ideals'
US Ambassador Harry Harris said Thursday that South Korea's record-high voter turnout in this week's parliamentary elections demonstrates its "dedication to democratic ideals" despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. "Record high voter turnout yesterday is a testament to South Korea's dedication to democratic ideals even in the face of the #COVID19 crisis. Congratulations on the general elections #ROK!," he tweeted. In Wednesday's quadrennial elections, the ruling Democra
Foreign AffairsApril 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Single-use plastic gloves at polls raise eyebrows
All voters must wear plastic gloves at the polling stations during Wednesday’s general election as a precaution against the coronavirus, but many people are voicing concerns about their impact on the environment. Mask-clad voters, upon arriving at one of 14,330 polling stations across the nation, first have to disinfect their hands with the hand sanitizer that is provided by election officials and then put on disposable gloves before casting their ballots. After voting, the plastic glo
Social AffairsApril 15, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Quarantined voters to cast ballots under strict guidelines
In Wednesday’s general elections, even those in quarantine can vote. South Korea will pick 300 members of the National Assembly in the first nationwide election to take place during the pandemic. According to the National Election Commission, there are about 50,000 eligible voters under self-quarantine. Not all can vote. Only those who express their intent to vote by 6 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to step outside their places of isolation to visit polling sta
Social AffairsApril 14, 2020
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[Newsmaker] US grateful to S. Korea for supplying virus test kits: official
The United States is grateful to South Korea for supplying COVID-19 testing kits, a senior US government official said Monday ahead of the planned arrival of a shipment of Korean-made kits. Two South Korean companies were set to load their test kits on a US cargo flight Tuesday (Seoul time) after getting interim approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. "We are grateful to our Republic of Korea partners for assisting the United States in procuring COVID-19 tests, and for its sup
Foreign AffairsApril 14, 2020
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[Newsmaker] COVID-19 concealed president’s missteps: Ahn
Ahn Cheol-soo, chief of the minor People’s Party, said Monday that President Moon Jae-in’s missteps have been concealed by the COVID-19 crisis, appealing to voters to support his reformative center-right party in the April 15 general elections. Referring to a news article published by Bloomberg headlined “Virus helps bury controversy in South Korea’s pandemic election,” Ahn said the Moon administration and the Democratic Party of Korea were fortunate to rebuild
PoliticsApril 13, 2020
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[Newsmaker] SsangYong Motor to receive W40b from Mahindra & Mahindra
SsangYong Motor will receive 40 billion won ($32 million) in special funds this month from its major shareholder, Indian carmaking conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, to urgently address liquidity issues, the Korean automaker said Sunday. SsangYong said it finalized its plan to raise 40 billion won in new funds at an extraordinary general meeting Friday. Mahindra will first invest in SsangYong as a loan, which will be converted to equity later upon Indian and Korean government agencies&rs
MobilityApril 12, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Bill Gates calls for funding from G-20 members to develop vaccine against coronavirus
In order for the world to better contain the spread of the coronavirus, leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies should provide more funding to develop a vaccine, Bill Gates said. In an opinion piece provided in South Korea exclusively to Yonhap News Agency on Sunday, Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, noted that COVID-19 has not yet affected many low- and middle-income countries, and said world leaders, particularly G-20 members, must step up to keep it that way because it is "like
World NewsApril 12, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Football legend's son given suspended sentence for drunk driving
South Korean football legend Cha Bum-kun's second son Cha Se-jji, indicted for causing a traffic accident while drunk driving last December, was given a suspended sentence Friday. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the junior Cha to 1 1/2 years in prison with a stay of execution for three years after finding him guilty of dangerous driving. The 34-year-old was also given two years of probation and ordered to attend a 40-hour compliance driving lecture. Cha was accused of ramming into
Social AffairsApril 10, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Animal Crossing exposes Korea’s selective boycott of Japanese products
The explosive demand for Nintendo Switch video game console in South Korea has reignited debate about the selective approach to boycott of Japanese products by local citizens. According to Korean game distributor Daewon Media on Tuesday -- which retails more than half of Nintendo’s products here -- demand for the console has spiked following the recent release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo is a multinational video game giant headquartered in Japan, with offices in the US a
IndustryApril 10, 2020
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[Newsmaker] US ambassador to South Korea is discussing plans to resign: sources
US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris has said privately that he does not plan to stay on beyond the November US presidential election, regardless of whether President Donald Trump wins another term, five sources told Reuters. Harris, a 40-year veteran of the US Navy who started in Seoul in 2018 after Trump appointed him, has expressed increasing frustration with the tensions and drama of his tenure, the sources said, all speaking on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensiti
Foreign AffairsApril 9, 2020
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[Newsmaker] COVID-19 makes case for universal health care
Easy access to health services is helping South Korea better navigate through the novel coronavirus crisis, experts suggest. More hospital beds mean more patients will likely recover from COVID-19, says preventive medicine professor Shin Ae-sun of Seoul National University College of Medicine. In a recent analysis of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states with over 3,000 confirmed virus cases, those with greater hospital bed capacity tended to have a higher
Social AffairsApril 8, 2020