Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Civic group asks prosecution to investigate alleged 'staged rally'
A coalition of youth civic groups lodged a complaint with state prosecutors Tuesday over allegations that a presidential aide asked a conservative civic group to 'stage' a pro-government rally.The weekly magazine Sisa Journal earlier said that an official handling public communications at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae sent a text message to a secretary general of a conservative civic group to hold a rally in support of Seoul's agreement reached with Tokyo late last year on the sexual sla
April 26, 2016
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Drunk man attacks people at motel
A man who assaulted other unrelated people at a motel without provocation while under the influence of alcohol was arrested in Jin-gu, Busan on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The 33-year-old, identified by his last name Kim, grabbed a 47-year-old female motel worker by her hair and threw her to ground as she left work at around 5:10 a.m. When she ran back to the motel for help, Kim followed the victim and hit the motel owner, also female, and a 45-year-old man who was a long-term guest at the establishment.
April 26, 2016
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Korea‘s childbirths retreat for 3rd straight month in Feb.
The number of childbirths in South Korea dropped for the third month in a row in February amid a low birth and late marriage trend, government data showed Tuesday.About 34,900 babies were born in February, down 2.2 percent, or 800, from 35,700 a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea.The February figure also marked a 0.8 percent slip from 39,500 the previous month, but the rate of drop slowed from a 5.7-percent on-year cut tallied in January."It is part of a nationwide trend in So
April 26, 2016
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FBI arrests drunk Korean doctor for disorderly conduct on plane
A South Korean doctor, who was on a flight from Busan to Guam, was arrested by the FBI for getting drunk, smoking and throwing a fit inside the plane, reports said Tuesday.The passenger, identified as Kwon, 40, was taken by the FBI immediately after the Korean Air flight touched down at Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on April 16. Guam is part of U.S. territory.Reports said Kwon, after drinking five cans of beer during the flight, smoked inside a restroom. When approached and war
April 26, 2016
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Korean attitudes to marriage changing: think tank
The use of Korean word “bihon” -- referring to people who choose to remain unmarried -- has increased sevenfold on social media over the past five years, reflecting the people’s changing attitude toward marriage, said a private think tank Monday. (123RF)According to big data analyst company Daumsoft, its research on 700 million blog posts and 8.9 billion tweets by Koreans on the topic of marriage between Jan. 1, 2011, and April 20, 2016, showed an abrupt surge in the use of the word beginning fr
April 26, 2016
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Ex-Oxy chief summoned over toxic sterilizer probe
A former chief of the South Korean unit of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser was summoned by Seoul prosecutors Tuesday to face questioning over suspicions that the British firm manufactured humidifier sterilizers that resulted in numerous deaths and illnesses.The summons came five years after the government confirmed there is a connection between people who died of lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers. Former CEO Shin Hyun-woo showed up at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor
April 26, 2016
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Woman arrested for counterfeiting notes
A 26-year-old woman who created counterfeit notes for her living expenses was arrested on Monday, according to the Daegu Dalseong police. The woman, identified by her last name Choi, had used a color printer to forge three 50,000 won notes and 36 1,000 won notes. She spent the fake money at small bakeries and buses, where the notes’ shoddiness could go unnoticed. (123RF)“The notes were easily identifiable as counterfeit,” said the Dalseong police.A number of police reports prompted the investiga
April 25, 2016
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Education Ministry vows to cut class size
The government vowed to gradually reduce the maximum number of students in high school classrooms to improve education quality and prepare for the declining population of students, officials said Monday. The Education Ministry said it would cut the number of students per classroom at high schools to 24 -- the average of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries -- by 2022. Korea’s current average is 30 students per classroom, as of last year.YonhapThe ministry said i
April 25, 2016
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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