Most Popular
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Chuseok still is a headache for couples
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Students suffer sleep deprivation, fatigue, suicidal thoughts
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N. Korea launches trash balloons toward S. Korea for 2nd day: JCS
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Heat wave watch issued for Seoul; latest on record
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Yoon's approval rating hits new low: poll
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Lime green plates deepen slump in Korea’s luxury car sales
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Popular tourist destinations beckon Chuseok holidaymakers
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Nearly 2,000 aging separated family members die in first 8 months of year: gov't data
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Koreans do things quickly. Is it efficiency or lack of patience?
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Calories that stalk the Chuseok table
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[Newsmaker] Socialite scandal shows dangers of flirting
The Florida socialite and honorary consul for South Korea whose emails led to the resignation of CIA chief Gen. David Petraeus has found herself at the center of another scandal involving a leading military man.The email investigation has uncovered emails between Kelley and Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan, which raised suspicions of another affair.Kelley called for an investigation after receiving harassing emails by an anonymous sender. Those emails turned out to b
InternationalNov. 14, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Tibetan unrest in shadow of leaders’ meeting in Beijing
As the eyes of the world focused on the once-in-a-decade change of power in Beijing last week, a story of bitter protest against Chinese rule played out in the country to considerably less attention.Nine Tibetans set themselves on fire in the span of a week, with the latest case reported to have taken place on Monday. The protestor, a 20-year-old man in a village in the county of Tongren in northwest China’s Qinghai province, later died from his injuries. The deaths, along with rallies for great
Foreign AffairsNov. 13, 2012
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[Newsmaker] BBC struggles with crisis upon crisis
The BBC, one of Britain’s most enduring and well-respected institutions, is in crisis. In a case of controversy following controversy, an episode of the broadcaster’s investigative program “Newsnight” on Nov. 2 wrongly implicated Alistair McAlpine, a Thatcher-era treasury minister of the Conservative Party, in allegations of child sex abuse.This came just a month after revelations that the BBC had canceled a “Newsnight” investigation into abuse allegations against the late Jimmy Savile, one of t
Foreign AffairsNov. 12, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Fall of an American ‘hero’
The illustrious career of one of the most widely respected military leaders in modern U.S. history came crashing down over the weekend as David Petraeus abruptly offered his resignation as CIA chief, citing “poor judgment” in engaging in an extramarital affair.The 60-year-old former army commander had been the trusty ground man for two presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, owing to his military reputation for strategy, to lead the 2007 “surge” in Iraq and 2010 operations in Afghanistan. I
InternationalNov. 11, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Puerto Rico votes to become state
Puerto Ricans voted to become a U.S. state Tuesday, but as pundits pick apart the results of the referendum, the actual implications of the vote become more unclear.The inhabitants of the U.S. territory are already U.S. citizens, but statehood would give the island’s 4 million people the right to vote in the presidential election and representation in the Senate and House of Representatives ― something already enjoyed by the 5 million Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland.The switch has been
InternationalNov. 8, 2012
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[Newsmaker] 4 retail chiefs shirk assembly hearing
Four chiefs of major retail giants were ordered to attend a parliamentary hearing Tuesday. But none of them showed up, citing overseas business trips.Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin was visiting Indonesia for business talks with government officials there, while Chung Ji-sun, Hyundai Department Store Group chairman, was in China to discuss establishing a joint venture home shopping channel, according to company officials.Shinsegae Group vice chairman Chung Yong-jin also was said to have left
IndustryNov. 7, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Nuclear plant fiasco a matter of public trust
Distrust with the government is deepening following the shutdown of two nuclear reactors on Monday for using 230 substandard components. Although the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the move was a preventive measure to exchange all unsuitable parts by the end of this year, people who remember the nuclear disaster in neighboring Japan last year are concerned over their safety. There is also anger stemming from the fact that the supply of substandard parts to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., th
Nov. 6, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Hu to leave China stronger, but less certain
As Chinese President Hu Jintao prepares to leave office, his likely successor Xi Jinping faces pressure to bring change that never came under Hu. During his time in office, Hu has seen China grow in stature, particularly in terms of its economic and military profile. He has appeared keen to increase China’s involvement in international issues, notably by hosting the six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea. But the form of that increased involvement has not always been welcome by other worl
World NewsNov. 5, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Bloomberg blinks on NYC marathon
A call to carry on as normal in a time of crisis can be taken as an invocation of hope and strength. Or it can be interpreted as insensitivity to others’ plight. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg learned the latter on Friday when a public outcry forced him to cancel this year’s New York City Marathon in the city still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. Just hours earlier, Bloomberg had pledged the world’s biggest marathon would go ahead as planned.The billionaire mayor had argued that holding
Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Wen becomes headache for party
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has been the focus of international scrutiny since the New York Times last week reported that his family had squirreled away a fortune in business deals. The revelations could make next month’s sweeping power transition in Beijing, and the inevitable jockeying for position among the country’s elite, more fraught.Few would be shocked by the revelations, but that they were openly reported in such detail has apparently damaged Wen’s image as a grandfatherly figure with a
InternationalNov. 1, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Nami Island foreign visitors hit 500,000
Nami Island, the small half-moon-shaped island in Chuncheon, is rising as one of the must-visit tourist destinations in Korea, attracting more than 500,000 foreign tourists so far this year. The island officials expect the number will reach over 600,000 by the end of the year. The number of foreign and Korean visitors is expected to be 2.5 million. “It’s the number of foreign visitors who come on group tours, and does not include the visitors who come individually,” said Minn Kyung-hyuk, executi
TravelOct. 31, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Lawmaker in hot seat for sexual remarks
Kim Kwang-jin, 30, stepped into the limelight when the activist from the remote southern city of Suncheon became the 19th National Assembly’s youngest member in April. The baby-faced rookie legislator was also a boon to the main opposition Democratic United Party badly in need of an image makeover. Within less than a week, the party’s best asset turned into its biggest nuisance for retweeting curses against President Lee Myung-bak and hints at kinky sexual preferences. The controversy forced par
PoliticsOct. 30, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Key questions surround president’s eldest brother
Lee Sang-eun, President Lee Myung-bak’s eldest brother, will be summoned by special investigators on Wednesday in a widening investigation into a property scandal surrounding the first family. On Wednesday morning, the 79-year-old chairman of automotive seat maker DAS will become the second member of Lee’s family to be questioned by the independent counsel over alleged irregularities in connection with the president’s now-scrapped retirement home project. Lee’s son Si-hyung was grilled on Thursd
Social AffairsOct. 29, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Berlusconi defiant after conviction
After giving up prime ministerial ambitions Wednesday, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi responded to his conviction for tax fraud Friday with typical defiance, vowing to stay in politics. The court sentenced him to four years in jail, reduced to one year under a law ― introduced, ironically by his political opponents ― to reduce prison overcrowding.He may never serve a day. Berlusconi is entitled to two appeals before the sentence can take effect, a process that could last beyond
InternationalOct. 28, 2012
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[Newsmaker] President’s only son probed as suspect
President Lee Myung-bak’s only son will face questioning by a team of independent investigators Thursday as part of an escalating probe into his father’s now-scrapped retirement home plan.Lee Shi-hyung, 34, will be greeted by an army of TV cameramen, photographers and journalists anxious to catch the moment the president’s son faces the music. Confronted by the special investigative team, which his father reluctantly agreed to, he now must fight to clear his and his father’s name in a corruption
Social AffairsOct. 24, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Yahoo’s latest CEO hopes to break cycle of failure
Marissa Mayer wants to revive the flagging fortunes of Yahoo Inc. by returning to its roots. The recently appointed CEO, a former Google executive who joined Yahoo in July, has been signaling a new technology-focused strategy for the company through her hires and acquisitions. Moving away from her predecessors’ focus on media content, Mayer has pledged to revamp the company’s email and search engine services, and tailor more services to mobile devices. Yahoo’s plan for revival pits it squarely a
Social AffairsOct. 23, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Climate fund boosts hopes for Songdo City
After years reeling from a lack of foreign investment and a moribund property market, Songdo is brimming with fresh vigor and a new vision as it was picked to house the secretariat of the Green Climate Fund. Long known for its seaside amusement park, the reclaimed island is the centerpiece of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, launched in 2003 with an aim of developing a leading business, logistics and tourism center in Northeast Asia.The ambition, however, was dented by doubts of its advantages ag
Foreign AffairsOct. 22, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Jeongsu Foundation’s legacy too big to ignore
It was perhaps what the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Rep. Park Geun-hye has been dreading the most. Following her successful presidential nomination in August, her aides have been bracing for the opponent’s anticipated attack against her purported ties to the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, one of the prominent remnants of her father’s, former President Park Chung-hee, authoritarian rule.Jeongsu Foundation was initially the Buil Scholarship Foundation, which was set up by Busan-
PoliticsOct. 21, 2012
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[Newsmaker] A fall from loyal aide to heaviest burden
Choi Phil-lip, the 84-year-old chairman of the board for the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, has become seen as a public enemy.Son of a slain independence activist and former aide to late President Park Chung-hee, Choi has endured his opponents’ ceaseless calls for resignation as the foundation’s chief in succession to Park Geun-hye, the Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, since 2005.His headstrong position that the foundation, considered a remnant of Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian rule, is
PoliticsOct. 18, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Japan’s risk-taking mogul makes another gamble
Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Japanese Internet and telecoms venture SoftBank Corp., is no stranger to playing the odds. The Japanese ethnic Korean has the distinction of losing more money than any other individual in history, having seen some $70 billion of his personal wealth evaporate during the dotcom crash of 2000. For Son, though, risk continues to bring great reward: Son remains Japan’s second-richest person, worth over $7 billion. In keeping with his reputation, Son, who recently
Foreign AffairsOct. 16, 2012