Most Popular
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Hybe's multilabel system tested amid conflict with Ador
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day
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SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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Pianist Cho Seong-Jin named Berlin Philharmonic's artist-in-residence
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San Francisco has heart
In the good news department, San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to install a memorial in honor of the “comfort women,” who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. The passage of the highly contested resolution was a remarkable feat, and living proof that San Francisco has heart. Lee Yong-soo (in hanbok) sits in the San Francisco Board of Supervisors chamber, where a memorial to the “comfort women” was approved unanimously Tuesday.Th
Sept. 24, 2015
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Debate brews over decriminalization of sex trade
Jang Se-hee was just 23-years-old when she started working as a sex worker. Her father had just passed away after being hospitalized for seven years. “The medical bills were just enormous,” the 40-year-old said. “My siblings were too young, and my father had divorced my mother. I was the de-facto breadwinner of the family.” Jang was one of some 1,000 South Korean sex workers who gathered in central Seoul on Wednesday asking for the abolishment of the controversial anti-prostitution law, which ha
Sept. 24, 2015
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Why elderly women are more vulnerable to colorectal cancer
Women in or post-menopause are the most vulnerable to colorectal cancer among the Korean population, while the number of female patients who develop the disease is on rise nationwide, a hospital report showed. According to the report released by the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, colorectal cancer was the most common cancer among Korean women aged 65 or older this year. For women in all age groups, it was the third most common cancer, following breast and thyroid cancer. According to
Sept. 24, 2015
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‘Ministry fails to rein in kindergarten tuition hike’
The South Korean government has failed to take appropriate measures to suppress the billowing tuition for English kindergartens, despite its pledge to reduce the increasing costs for private education, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday.The Education Ministry rolled out sweeping measures to reduce the country’s private education spending in December, which included inducing private education institutions -- including kindergartens -- to cut their fees.“I’ve found that the ministry didn’t do so
Sept. 24, 2015
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Wives do 80% of married couples’ housework
Korean wives spend nearly five times more of their day on housework than their spouses, a survey showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, women spent about 3 1/2 hours on daily housework on average, while men spent only 43 minutes last year, showing a 4.6-fold difference.For women, the housework time accounted for 41 percent of their daily duties -- hours they spend on obligatory activities such as career work or domestic affairs. The women’s duty ti
Sept. 24, 2015
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Former KT chief acquitted of corruption charges
A Seoul court Thursday acquitted the former head of local telecom giant KT Corp. of embezzlement and malpractice in the management of the company. The Seoul Central District Court found Lee Suk-chae not guilty of charges he caused financial losses worth some 10 billion won ($8.4 million) to KT, the country's top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, through a poor business decision before stepping down in November 2013. Prosecutors alleged that the bureaucrat-turned-executive purchased
Sept. 24, 2015
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Court rules email dismissal notice legitimate
The nation's top court Thursday ruled giving pink slips via email is legitimate as long as the grounds and timing for dismissal is clearly stated. The Supreme Court, upholding a lower court's decision, ruled against a plaintiff who filed a suit against the National Labor Relations Commission, stating his dismissal was unfair as he received the notice through email. The plaintiff, who was fired in July 2013 for alleged negligence, disobedience and overuse of the company credit card, claimed the
Sept. 24, 2015
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Firefighters to control traffic in emergency
Firefighters will soon be able to control traffic in urgent situations in order for ambulances and fire engines to move quickly, police said Thursday. The National Police Agency said they are planning to announce the details of a bill revision next month that will allow firefighters to order pedestrians and cars to stop or pass in an emergency. When citizens violate these instructions, they will be ordered to pay a fine of 60,000 won ($50) and receive 15 penalty points. With the proposed cha
Sept. 24, 2015
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Seniors make up 13.1 pct of S. Korean population
The ratio of senior citizens aged 65 and over to all South Koreans has hit a record high in 2015, government data showed Thursday, a clear sign that the population is aging at a fast pace. According to the data by Statistics Korea, 13.1 percent of the country's population of 50.61 million are aged 65 or older, higher than the 12.7 percent tallied in 2014. This marks the highest ratio ever. In 1960, when related data started to be compiled, the ratio stood at just 2.9 percent. The agency expe
Sept. 24, 2015
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Ex-diplomat acquitted of masterminding escape of late sunken ferry owner
The nation's top court Thursday found a former South Korean ambassador to the Czech Republic not guilty of helping the late owner of a sunken ferry evade a massive police manhunt.The Supreme Court, upholding a lower court's decision, acquitted Oh Gab-riel of masterminding the plan to help Yoo Byung-eun, Oh's brother-in-law, hide out from the police manhunt that started after the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol on April 16, 2014.Oh was charged with keeping the fugitive informed of the latest ne
Sept. 24, 2015
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Asylum seekers struggle for refugee status in Korea
With risks and challenges faced by refugees across the world having become one of the greatest global issues of today, the status and conditions of the asylum seekers in South Korea have also been highlighted. The Korea Herald will publish a series of articles shedding light on refugees in Korea, their hardships, the systematic fallout, the country’s own history and ways to go forward. The following is the first installment. – Ed.The afternoon was sunny and peaceful, as the crisp wind signaled t
Sept. 23, 2015
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Families of Sewol victims sue state, ferry company
Families of Sewol ferry tragedy victims on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the government and the ferry company to seek compensation and urge the state to clearly investigate the cause of the accident. Familes of 131 victims, including 20 survivors, sued the state and ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine Co. for compensation of 100 million won ($84,000) for each victim, totaling 13 billion won in compensation. “It’s been 526 days since the tragedy took place, but nothing has been revealed so far.
Sept. 23, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Itaewon murder suspect denies 18-year-old charges
After nearly two decades including a botched initial investigation and series of trials, a movie and a reinvestigation, the murder that took place at a fast-food joint in Itaewon returned to the spotlight Wednesday with the extradition of the key U.S. suspect.Arthur John Patterson, handcuffed and donned in all white, arrived at Incheon International Airport to face charges of murdering 22-year-old Korean student Cho Joong-pill in 1997.Patterson denied the allegations and said his Korean-America
Sept. 23, 2015
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S. Korea to go all-in to create jobs for young people
South Korea will concentrate all of its available resources on helping create new jobs for young people who find it really hard to get hired, the top economic policymaker said Wednesday. The country remains dogged by high youth unemployment. In August, the jobless rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 hit 8 percent, much higher than the headline rate of 3.4 percent. Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the government will make full use of its budget and taxation policies to help creat
Sept. 23, 2015
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Veteran arrested for fleeing with hand grenade
A 50-year-old veteran who disappeared with a hand grenade, saying he would kill his ex-wife's boyfriend, was arrested here Wednesday, police said. The Cheorwon Police Station reported that they arrested the retired soldier, surnamed Lee, at 7:08 a.m. on a mountain in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, 88 kilometers northeast of Seoul, after receiving a report from a mountain climber. The hand grenade in Lee's possession was also reclaimed safely. (Yonhap)Lee, while drunk, allegedly had a quarrel wit
Sept. 23, 2015
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U.S. citizen accused of murdering S. Korean student extradited
A U.S. citizen accused of murdering a South Korean college student in 1997 was extradited to South Korea on Wednesday. Arthur Patterson arrived at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, Wednesday morning. He is suspected of stabbing a college student, identified by his surname Cho, multiple times at a Burger King in the popular foreigner district of Itaewon in central Seoul 18 years ago. Arther Patterson, a U.S. citizen accused of murdering a South Korean college student in 1997 was extradited to S
Sept. 23, 2015
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More elderly women infected with STDs in Korea
The number of elderly South Korean women who have been infected with sexually transmitted diseases increased significantly from 2010-2014, a report showed Tuesday. The report, published by private think tank Pharmscore, analyzed government data on STD patients who sought help at medical institutions over the last five years. According to the findings, the number of women aged 80 or older who were treated for an STD increased by an average of 21.6 percent yearly from 2010 to 2014, from 662 to 1,4
Sept. 22, 2015
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Yonsei professors campaign against state history textbook
Professors at Yonsei University on Tuesday joined a nationwide move against the government’s attempt to reinstate state-published history textbooks for secondary education. The move came a week after over 15,000 educators across the country had protested what they claimed was a policy that “downplays democracy and creative education.”Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea has been pushing to give the government the exclusive rights to publish school history textbooks. Currently, eight local publishers
Sept. 22, 2015
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Sex scandal swirls around Japanese bank’s Seoul branch
A Seoul branch of a Japanese bank is embroiled in a sex scandal involving several Korean female workers and a Japanese executive, according to local reports and sources.Local prosecutors have been investigating a claim by a female employee of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation that she was sexually harassed by an executive from the company’s Tokyo headquarters. The incident occurred in April and the report was filed with the Seoul Regional Ministry of Employment and Labor in May.The prosecution
Sept. 22, 2015
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Rapid temperature changes raise death risk: study
When temperatures between day and night range by as much as 10 degrees Celsius, it doubles the risk of death, especially among those suffering from respiratory and circulatory diseases, an international study showed Tuesday.According to a joint study on 30 cities in four countries -- Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan, the death risk rose by 0.58 percent on average for every degree Celsius increase in the daily temperature range. The study, led by public health professor Kim Ho at Seoul National Uni
Sept. 22, 2015