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] Father checks into quarantine center to look after 2 kids
The father of two children who were airlifted from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, voluntarily checked into the quarantine center in Asan to look after the kids, authorities said Sunday. The children, aged 8 and 10, were among the hundreds of Korean residents who were flown in from the city in Hubei province on Jan. 31 and are currently staying in isolation at two locations. Their mother could not accompany them for the trip because of her Chinese nationality. A
Social AffairsFeb. 2, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Despite doctors’ assurances, public uneasy over use of Wuhan evacuation plane
After the government flew the first chartered flight using Korean Air’s B747 to Wuhan and brought 368 South Koreans here on Friday morning, the future use of the plane has come under public scrutiny, despite assurances by doctors about very low possibility of getting infected. According to the real-time air traffic tracker Flight Radar 24, Korean Air’s 22-year-old B747 which has tail number HL7461 was used to evacuate Koreans based in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbrea
MobilityJan. 31, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Explosion at leather factory kills at least 2, injures 8 others
A fire caused by an explosion broke out at a leather processing factory north of Seoul on Friday, killing at least two and injuring eight others, fire fighters said. The accident occurred at 11:25 a.m. at the factory in Yangju, 25 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the fire service. The eight injured people, including four foreign workers, were taken to a nearby hospital. Two of them are said to be seriously wounded. A total of 13 people, including one who was believed to have gone miss
Social AffairsJan. 31, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Asan, Jincheon residents continue to protest accommodating evacuees from Wuhan
Residents of Asan and Jincheon continued on Thursday to protest the government’s plan to use facilities in their towns to quarantine some 700 Korean evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The evacuees -- first batch scheduled to be flown out of Wuhan Thursday night -- will be housed at a public officials training center in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and a police training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, for monito
Social AffairsJan. 30, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ahn quits own Bareunmirae party, likely to create new one
Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said Wednesday he has decided to leave the party he co-founded two years ago, in an apparent move to create a new group for the April general elections. The former chief of the Bareunmirae Party, who returned from abroad last week after more than a year’s absence from the political scene, said he was giving up on the minor opposition party, blaming party leaders for failing to present a vision for new politics. The move came after the party&rsq
PoliticsJan. 29, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ex-presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo defects from minor opposition party
Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate, announced Wednesday that he will defect from the minor opposition party that he previously co-founded, as he has resumed political activity ahead of the April elections. The decision came as the minor Bareunmirae Party is on the verge of being split amid his deepening rifts with Sohn Hak-kyu, the incumbent party chief over reform measures. "I am leaving the BP with a bitter heart. I gave up the dream of reviving the party after seeing Sohn'
PoliticsJan. 29, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Will Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold replace Note series?
Amid rumors that the next edition of Galaxy Fold will feature a bigger screen and S Pen, speculations that it could replace the 10-year-old Galaxy Note series are gaining ground, according to industry sources Tuesday. Responding to news reports based on a recent tweet that the Galaxy Fold 2 will feature an 8-inch main display, ultrathin glass and S Pen support, parts suppliers here said they are preparing for mass production of the device scheduled for the second half of the year. However, t
TechnologyJan. 28, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Reshuffle of prosecutors draws backlash
The Justice Ministry’s latest decision to replace prosecutors involved in investigating President Moon Jae-in’s associates has drawn strong criticism from all opposition parties. Following the first round of shakeup on Jan. 8 that ousted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s closest aides from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the ministry last Thursday reassigned senior prosecutors who led the probes into former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and people in the presidential offi
Social AffairsJan. 27, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Union protest over Moon-appointed IBK chief set to intensify
Protests outside the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea are expected to intensify, with the union’s fight against the top-down appointment of CEO Yoon Jong-won gaining support from powerful national labor associations in recent weeks. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the two largest umbrella labor organizations here, announced Wednesday that it was joining the IBK unionists in protesting what they see as excessive government meddling in the organization’s personnel affai
MarketJan. 23, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Transgender sergeant forcibly discharged from military
A Korean transgender sergeant was forcibly discharged Wednesday from the military after undergoing sex reassignment surgery while enlisted, despite her wish to continue service as a female officer. What the solider has done “falls into reasons deemed unfit” for military service in accordance with related laws, the Army said Wednesday in a statement after a committee convened to decide on the sergeant’s discharge, among other items on its agenda, earlier in the day. Staff
Social AffairsJan. 22, 2020
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[Newsmaker] 8,093 foreigners in Korea without permission leave voluntarily
The Justice Ministry said Tuesday that 8,093 foreign nationals who had been staying in Korea illegally voluntarily left in the period of one month, thanks to new incentives that exempt them from penalties if they leave by June 30 and allow them to reenter the country on short-term visas.The daily average number of those leaving Korea more than doubled after the incentives were introduced on Dec. 11, the ministry said.From March 1, those found to have overstayed their visas will be slapped with f
Social AffairsJan. 21, 2020
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[Newsmaker] US envoy say it's his mustache; South Koreans say otherwise
SEOUL (AP) -- The US ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he's faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan's former colonial domination of Korea? Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris' struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it's got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude. Since arriving in Seou
Foreign AffairsJan. 21, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Opposition leader sends beef jerky to Buddhist monks
South Korea’s opposition leader accidentally sent beef jerky to the Jogye Order of Buddhism as a Lunar New Year’s gift, bewildering the country’s largest Buddhist group, which practices vegetarianism.Gift sets containing beef were delivered to several of the group’s senior officials earlier last week under the name of Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn. The main opposition party learned about the mistake Friday and retrieved the gift sets the same day. It sai
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ulsan mayor questioned in election-meddling probe
SEOUL/ULSAN -- Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was questioned Monday over an ongoing probe into allegations that some presidential officials conspired to help him win the mayoral seat in a 2018 election.Song, 71, was being questioned at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office this morning for the first time regarding the election-meddling allegations, according to political and legal sources with knowledge of the matter.The mayor, who successfully ran as a ruling Democratic Party candidate for t
Social AffairsJan. 20, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Main opposition lawmaker found not guilty in daughter’s hiring scandal
A Seoul court on Friday cleared main opposition lawmaker Kim Sung-tae of bribery charges, clearing a hurdle for him to run in the upcoming April 15 general elections. The Seoul Southern District Court found Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the Liberty Korea Party not guilty of receiving bribes from Lee Suk-chae, former chief of telecom firm KT. Lee was also cleared of offering bribes to Kim. Based on testimony from former KT President Seo Yu-yeol, prosecutors indicted Lee for inappropriately asking Lee
Social AffairsJan. 17, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Transgender sergeant seeks to continue serving in military
A South Korean transgender sergeant faces a possible discharge from the South Korean Army after undergoing sex reassignment surgery while enlisted, despite his wish to continue the service as a female officer. The trans person, a 20-something tank driver in a unit in Gyeonggi Province, underwent sex reassignment surgery in December in Thailand after gaining approval from his unit. The staff sergeant, while recovering at a national Army hospital, had applied for a legal gender change and expresse
Social AffairsJan. 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Active-duty soldier undergoes sex reassignment surgery, voices hope for continuing service
An Army non-commissioned officer underwent gender reassignment surgery last year and has expressed a desire to continue to serve in the military as a female solider, officers said Thursday.The serviceperson, whose identity was withheld, visited a foreign country while on furlough last year for the surgery. After an examination, a military medical team declared her "a handicapped person," which requires the authorities' evaluation to decide whether to discharge her or not. The officer r
DefenseJan. 16, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Of kids bullied at school, 1 in 3 targeted ‘as a joke’: survey
One in 3 victims of school violence in South Korea has been bullied “as a joke,” a report from the Education Ministry showed Wednesday. Some 0.6 percent of students enrolled at Korea’s elementary, middle and high schools admitted that they had bullied fellow students, according to a survey conducted in September involving some 130,000 students. The most common reason behind the bullying was “just as a joke” (29.4 percent). Some 19.2 percent of the bullying took pl
Social AffairsJan. 15, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Another class-action suit filed against Japanese firms over forced labor
Victims of wartime forced labor and their descendants based in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province filed a class-action lawsuit against Japanese firms on Tuesday, seeking financial restitution amid soured Seoul-Tokyo relations over the colonial-era issue. Two surviving victims forced to work at Japanese steel mills during Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of Korea and 31 bereaved family members of late victims participated in the suit against six Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mit
Social AffairsJan. 14, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Court denies arrest warrant for ex-Big Bang member Seungri
A Seoul court on Monday again denied an arrest warrant for Seungri, the disgraced former Big Bang member accused of overseas gambling and procuring prostitutes for investors.The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the prosecution's request to detain Seungri, who was at the center of a major sex and drug scandal that roiled the K-pop industry last year. It is the second time the court has turned down law enforcement authorities' bid to detain the 29-year-old. A similar attempt by police i
Social AffairsJan. 13, 2020