Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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14 children still missing amid child abuse suspicion
About a dozen Korean children are still missing in suspected cases of child abuse, the government said Monday in its progress report on eradicating violence against children.The Education Ministry said the whereabouts of 12 elementary and middle school students and one child under school age remain unknown, with eight of the middle school students suspected of having run away from home. The number totals 14 when counting another child looked for in the first round of searches conducted earlier t
April 25, 2016
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Toxic disinfectant probe gains momentum
The probe into toxic humidifier disinfectant is quickly gaining momentum, as the prosecution is set to start consultations with the victims on compensation this week. Questions, however, persist over the direction of the investigation, the current legal system and the government’s role in the tragedy that has led to more than 200 deaths allegedly caused by using the products.“We are going to help them with practical compensation, by discussing with representatives of the victims group within thi
April 25, 2016
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Korea to cut class size of high schools
South Korea will reduce the size of high school classes to match international standards as part of an effort to provide a better educational environment, the government said Monday.Under the envisioned plan, the class size of an average high school will be reduced to an average of 24 students by 2022 from last year's 30, the Ministry of Education said.Also, the ratio of high school students to teachers will be cut from 16.6 to 13.3, according to the plan.The plan is in line with standards set b
April 25, 2016
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Korean-Chinese arrested for lewd video blackmail
A key member of a scam ring operated by ethnic Koreans from China was arrested Monday, according to Busan Haeundae police.The suspect had blackmailed Korean men with videos of them performing lewd acts. (Yonhap)Police said the scam group, based in China, had a few of its members enter Korea in November 2015 to for the illicit activity. The members stayed at rented homes on Jejudo Island. A female member would contact the Korean men over smartphone dating applications and invite them to a video c
April 25, 2016
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South Africans arrested for theft
Two South African nationals were booked without detention on Monday for stealing from Korean banks. The Busan Yeonje police said one of the man, a 23-year-old, had asked to see a bundle of 50,000 won ($40) notes from a bank in Busan to decide how much currency he wanted to exchange. While holding the money in front of the bank’s teller, he took nine notes from the bottom of the stack without being detected. Busan Yeonje police station (Yonhap)The teller later discovered the theft and reported th
April 25, 2016
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Man detained for forcing bank tellers to smile
A man who caused a disturbance by demanding tellers at a local bank to smile while working was ordered five days of detention in a rare ruling.The Seoul Central District Court said Monday it sent down the order against the man identified by his surname Huh, 35, who was indicted for obstruction of business and assault.Huh was brought to the summary court after visiting a bank in Seoul a number of times on April 8, accusing the female bank tellers there of being “unpleasant.” He demanded the clerk
April 25, 2016
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[FEATURE INTERVIEW] For young immigrants, life in Korea can be constant struggle
When Kim Eun-hyung arrived in South Korea from China in 2008, at age 14, he didn’t speak a word of Korean. Prior to his arrival, he had been living alone with his maternal grandfather in China’s Fushun, Liaoning province, as his mother had moved to Korea by herself upon her marriage to a South Korean national.“My biological father died about five months after I was born,” the 22-year-old said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “My mother and I moved a lot while living in China. As a result I
April 24, 2016
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Man cuts himself, files false report to win back ex
A 22-year-old man identified by his surname Kim cut himself and pretended to have been robbed in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, police said. He was arrested for obstruction of official duties on Sunday. According to Seodaemun police, Kim thought that if he was a victim of crime, his ex-girlfriend would return to him out of pity.He purposefully visited Seodaemun-gu, the northwestern area of Seoul where his ex-girlfriend lives, and cut himself on the left side of the abdomen. (Yonhap)He
April 24, 2016
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Habitual drunk drivers to have vehicles confiscated
Prosecutors and police announced Sunday stronger punishments for drunk driving, including confiscating the vehicles of habitual drunk drivers.The measures, to be enforced from Monday, include intensified criminal charges against passengers and applying additional punishment against drivers that have killed or seriously injured others by driving under the influence. (Yonhap)The move comes as the number of accidents involving drunk driving remains high. According to the National Police Agency, whi
April 24, 2016
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Oxy suspected of watering down report
Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, which has been blamed for the deaths of at least 221 humidifier disinfectant users, was found to have countered the government’s health probe with their own research that suggested the deaths may have been caused by other factors, sources said Sunday.Victims of the toxic humidifier disinfectant, meanwhile, held a press conference followed by a closed-door meeting Sunday to discuss future measures and condemn the product manufacturers and distributors for their “manipulatio
April 24, 2016
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Park to hold talks with newspaper, TV editors, gauge public opinion
President Park Geun-hye will hold talks with chief editors of leading newspapers and TV stations in South Korea next month to better gauge public opinion following the parliamentary election, the presidential office said Sunday.Cheong Wa Dae said the luncheon meeting will be held Tuesday and will be the first such gathering since the chief executive met with senior editorial writers in July 2013. In April 2013, two months into her administration, Park met chief editors of major news outlets to e
April 24, 2016
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Gov't push to directly compensate companies forced out of Kaesong
South Korea's government is pushing to directly compensate firms that were forced out of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex following the spike in cross-border tensions, an official source said Sunday.The government is considering direct compensation for finished goods and materials left behind by South Korean companies, instead of providing loans, the official said, declining to be identified.On Feb. 10, the Seoul government ordered the shutdown of the industrial park just north of the
April 24, 2016
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Police, prosecutors to intensify crackdown on drunk driving
South Korean authorities said Sunday they will cut the high number of alcohol-related driving accidents by implementing harsh measures, such as confiscating vehicles of habitual drunk drivers or those who cause fatal accident while under the influence of alcohol. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) and the National Police Agency (NPA) said the measures, which will begin Monday, include confiscating vehicles of habitual offenders and strengthening punishment on fellow passengers.Prosecutors sa
April 24, 2016
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School swindles part-time teacher with offer of full employment
A private school administrator who took money from a staff member using a promotion as bait was sentenced to a year in prison with two years probation, Sunday. Changwon provincial court said the 63-year-old identified by his surname Jeon had convinced a part-time teacher to give 100 million won ($87,000) “for the school chairperson’s son’s business” in 2011, in return for which he promised a promotion to a full-time position. Changwon provincial court (Yonhap)Jeon’s influence peddling continued
April 24, 2016
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Taxi driver gets 3 years for sexually assaulting mentally disabled passenger
A taxi driver who sexually assaulted a mentally disabled female passenger was sentenced to three years in prison Sunday by the appeals court, a year shorter than the original sentence of four years.(Yonhap)According to the Daegu high court, the driver, who is in his 60s, sexually assaulted his passenger in her 20s after realizing her condition when she failed to clearly state her destination. She had a second-degree mental disability, the second most severe category. People in the second-degree
April 24, 2016
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Korea FM offers to halt nuclear tests if U.S. suspends military exercises with Korea
North Korea is ready to halt nuclear tests if the United States suspends military exercises with South Korea, Pyongyang's Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong was quoted as saying in a rare interview Saturday.Ri made the remark in an interview with The Associated Press while on a visit to New York for U.N. meetings, renewing the North's long-running claims that the country was compelled to develop nuclear weapons to cope with what it calls U.S. nuclear threats and hostile policy toward Pyongyang."Stop th
April 24, 2016
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Official seeks court injunction over alleged staged rally
A presidential official has sought a court injunction to ban the publication of a weekly magazine over its report that the official instructed a conservative civic activist to stage a rally in favor of the government, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.Sisa Journal reported that Huh Hyun-joon, an official handling communications with the public at the presidential office, sent a text message to Chu Sun-hee, secretary general of a conservative civic group, to hold a rally on Jan. 4 in support of South Kor
April 22, 2016
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1 dead, 8 injured in train derailment
A South Korean passenger train derailed early Friday in the southern port city of Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, leaving one engineer dead and eight passengers injured, according to the state-run railway operator.The overnight train was traveling from Seoul to Yeosu when its locomotive and four of the train’s seven passenger cars came off the tracks near Yulchon Station at around 3:40 a.m., the Korea Railroad Corporation said. Officials of state-run railway operator KORAIL perform rescues and res
April 22, 2016
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Oxy investigation widens to U.K. headquarters
Following Oxy Reckitt Benckiser’s first-ever public apology for its toxic humidifier disinfectant blamed for the loss of 103 lives, the prosecution said Friday that it will investigate related officials in the U.K.-based headquarters.According to the special probe team, executives and researchers at the U.K. headquarters were found to have ordered the Seoul office to destroy evidence related to the toxicity of the disputed humidifier disinfectant.The prosecution will closely look into emails exc
April 22, 2016
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Professor indicted over alleged attempted rape
Prosecutors said Friday they have indicted a South Korean professor who works at a renowned university in Hong Kong on charges of attempted rape and inflicting bodily harm on the victim.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the 42-year-old professor, identified only by his surname Jung, is accused of beating and attempting to rape a graduate student at Seoul National University after having a drink with some colleagues.He dragged the victim, whose identity was withheld, to a constr
April 22, 2016