Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Over 9,000 hotline calls made by stalking victims in 2023
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Monthly users on local streaming platforms outpace Netflix, Disney+
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[Hello India] Hyundai Motor vows to boost 'clean mobility' in India
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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Appeals court upholds stripping teachers’ union of legal status
The Seoul High Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the government’s decision to strip the Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union of its legal status, dealing it yet another blow in its two-year legal fight. The left-leaning group has been engaged in a bitter battle with the Labor Ministry since October 2013, when it was no longer deemed a legal entity. The ministry cited a violation of a labor law clause that bans dismissed education workers from joining trade unions. According to the Educat
Jan. 21, 2016
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Pets no longer considered ‘waste’ under new law
Pet owners are no longer required to dispose of the bodies of their beloved pets in the trash, as a revised animal protection law came into effect Thursday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, pets treated at animal cremation facilities will no longer be classified as waste under the revised law. Animals not treated at cremation facilities will still be subject to the waste management law, which requires pet owners to dispose of the bodies as waste.Before the law wa
Jan. 21, 2016
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Korea's power demand hits new high amid cold wave
South Korea's power demand soared to an all-time high on Thursday as people turned up their heaters amid a severe cold wave, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Power Exchange said electricity demand rose to 82.97 million kilowatts as of 11 a.m., breaking the previous record of 82.12 million kilowatts set two days earlier.The spike came as the average temperature for all of South Korea fell below freezing, with Gimhwa in Cheorwon County, 88 kilom
Jan. 21, 2016
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Korea to focus on structural, labor reform to fuel growth in 2015
South Korea will focus on pushing forward much needed structural reforms this year in order to create quality jobs for the younger generation and strive to revive domestic demand and exports as part of overall economic policy plan, the government said Thursday."We will do our best to create jobs by producing tangible results of structural reform and economic renovation," the finance ministry said in a follow-up of the 2016 economy policy plan released last week.It said the measures are aimed at
Jan. 21, 2016
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Court acquits South Korean for following pro-North Twitter account
A local court has acquitted a 73-year-old former journalist accused of following a Twitter account praising North Korean ideology, court records showed Thursday.The Seoul Western District Court found the defendant, identified only by his surname Lee, not guilty of following the account of North Korea's main propaganda website, Uriminzokkiri, which means "only by Korean ourselves."Prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of following the account and posting pro-Pyongyang writings on his blog in Novemb
Jan. 21, 2016
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Four in 10 Korean households unprepared for old age
Approximately four in 10 South Korean households have no concrete plans to cope with life after retirement, a report showed Thursday.The report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs on circumstances facing senior citizens showed 38.5 percent of local households are unprepared for old age, while those who claim they are ready expect difficulties in maintaining current living standards."Many South Koreans don't have plans for life after retirement because they have to educate their
Jan. 21, 2016
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Court upholds jail sentence of ex-parliamentary chief over harassment
A local court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a former parliamentary leader accused of sexually harassing a golf caddie.The appeals department of the Chuncheon District Court sentenced Park Hee-tae to six months in jail with a one-year suspension for inappropriately touching a 24-year-old female caddie several times at a golf course in Wonju, Gangwon Province, some 132 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2014. Park led the National Assembly from 2010 to 2012.The court also ordered Park, 77,
Jan. 20, 2016
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Koreans nabbed in Vietnam for running online gambling ring
A group of South Koreans operating an illegal high-stake sports gambling website in Vietnam has been apprehended in the Southeast Asian country, the South Korean police said Wednesday.The seven-member ring, including a 39-year-old surnamed Joo, were to be extradited to Seoul later in the day by the local police in Hanoi, the National Police Agency said. The extradition is the first since South Korea and Vietnam agreed to strengthen cooperation in investigations last month.South Korean authoritie
Jan. 20, 2016
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Gov't to increase student enrollment for vocational high schools
The government will expand the ratio of student enrollment for vocational high schools up to 30 percent of all high school students in the country in a bid to resolve youth unemployment. In a report to President Park Geun-hye, the education ministry said Wednesday it will also decrease by 160,000 the enrollment quota of the nation's university students by 2022 by restructuring universities nationwide.Instead, it will increase the enrollment of students majoring in technology and engineering scie
Jan. 20, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Professor stands trial for defaming ‘comfort women’
Only a week after a Seoul court ordered a university professor to compensate the nation’s sex slavery victims on defamation charges, she appeared in court again on Wednesday to face a criminal trial. Park Yu-ha, a professor at Sejong University, was brought to the court after prosecutors indicted her in November on charges of defaming former “comfort women” -- the euphemistic term for Korean women coerced into sex slavery for the Japanese military during World War II -- with her book “Comfort W
Jan. 20, 2016
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Authorities play chicken over ‘child care crisis’
Even as payday for kindergarten teachers across the country looms, the impasse between government and regional education authorities over financing the country’s free child care “Nuri” program persisted Wednesday as both sides insisted the other back down. Five education chiefs are at loggerheads with the Education Ministry over the funding of the Nuri program, which subsidizes child care costs for children aged 3-5.Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, North Jeolla Province, Seoul and Gwangju ha
Jan. 20, 2016
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[Reporter’s Column] Shattering Korea’s family fantasy
Following last week's gruesome case of a father who mutilated the dead body of his 7-year-old child -- he also confessed to neglecting his injured son leading to his death -- the South Korean media have seemed rather obsessed with two words: “why?” and “mystery.”At first, many reports pointed out that he was proven not to be a psychopath according to examination results released by mental health professionals. And then it was revealed that the father had no record of violent crimes. At this poin
Jan. 20, 2016
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More than half of S. Koreans buy lottery tickets
More than half of South Koreans bought a lottery ticket at least once last year, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, 56.5 percent of 1,000 respondents answered that they have had experience with tombola games last year.A lottery buyer purchases an average of 14.2 tickets per year, or once every four weeks, the survey showed.More than 93 percent of them say they spend less than 10,000 won in buying a lottery ticket. The findings sho
Jan. 20, 2016
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Cold wave sweeps most parts of Korea for three consecutive days
Most parts of the country were hit by a severe cold wave early Wednesday morning, with South Korea's weather service issuing a cold wave advisory for the third consecutive day.As of 5 a.m., temperatures had dropped to minus 13.9 degrees Celsius in Seoul, minus 18.3 degrees in Paju, minus 11.6 degrees in Suwon, minus 12.1 degrees in Incheon and minus 17.2 degrees in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.The mercury also dropped below zero in the central and southern parts of the country, with minus 11.8 de
Jan. 20, 2016
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Cold wave pushes up power demand to record high
South Korea's power demand soared to an all-time high on Tuesday as the country was hit by a severe cold wave, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said electricity demand hit 82.12 million kilowatts as of 11 a.m., breaking the previous record of 80.15 million kilowatts set on Dec. 17, 2014.The spike came as the average temperature for all of South Korea fell to minus 10 degree Celsius. In Seoul, the mercury fell below 15 degrees early in the morning.The country
Jan. 19, 2016
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Park calls for fundamental measures against child abuse
President Park Geun-hye instructed officials Tuesday to come up with fundamental measures to prevent child abuse following the arrest of a couple over the death of their son.She called on school and other relevant authorities to quickly confirm and take necessary actions if a student remains absent from school for a long time."Many people could have been shocked over the child abuse,"Park said at a Cabinet meeting as she called for fundamental measures to ensure child abuse won't recur.Four days
Jan. 19, 2016
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Umbrella union walks out of talks with gov't, management
South Korea's major umbrella labor union declared Tuesday the breakdown of a trilateral deal on labor reform, citing the government's "unilateral" push for a plan to make the labor market more flexible.It also said it will not participate in future talks with management and the government to address major labor issues. Last month, the government announced draft guidelines to allow companies to formally sack underperforming employees and amend employment rules more easily even without consent fro
Jan. 19, 2016
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Korea shuts down nuclear reactor due to warning signal alert
South Korea shut down one of its nuclear reactors on the east coast Tuesday after a warning signal went off indicating a possible problem, the country's atomic energy operator said.The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. said the 950,000 kilowatt Hanul No. 1 was shut down at 11:39 a.m. after a "reactor warning light" went off at the plant located in Uljin, some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul.It said preliminary checks showed no radioactive contamination near the reactor and that there is no imm
Jan. 19, 2016
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Schoolboy‘s death raises alarm over child protection system
Last week’s arrest of a man who mutilated his dead son‘s body divulged gaping holes in Korea’s child protection system, as officials took belated measures to investigate the cases of children who have missed school for prolonged periods.The ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday said that it is pushing to conduct an investigation into all 220 elementary school students who have missed school for three months or more without a specific reason given.This comes in response to a case uncovered last week of
Jan. 19, 2016
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Ministry files suit against Volkswagen Korea
South Korea’s Environment Ministry filed a criminal suit with the prosecution Tuesday against the local unit of Volkswagen over the global automaker’s emissions rigging scandal. The suit was filed against Johannes Thammer, managing director of Audi Volkswagen Korea, after the world’s largest automaker failed to satisfy the nation's legal requirements in its recall plan, the ministry said. Thammer was accused of violating the Clean Air Conservation Act, which can carry a prison term of up to five
Jan. 19, 2016