Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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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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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
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Conservative critic indicted on charges of defamation
A conservative critic has been indicted without physical detention on charges of defaming pro-democracy fighters in a 1980 civil uprising, prosecutors said Friday.The prosecution said Jee Man-won, 74, referred to four citizens who appear in a photo taken in the bloody crackdown in the city of Gwangju, 330km southwest of Seoul, in May 1980 as members of the North Korean army's special forces in a Web site post in June last year.Tens of thousands of citizens rose up in Gwangju against the military
April 22, 2016
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Train derailment leaves one dead, eight injured in port city of Yeosu
A passenger train derailed in southern South Korea early Friday, leaving the engineer dead and eight passengers injured, police and rescue workers said.A total of 23 people were aboard the Mugunghwa train when it went off the track in the southern port city of Yeosu around 3:41 a.m., officials said. The number of those injured could rise, they said. Police said they are trying to determine what caused the accident.Korea Railroad Corp. said it has suspended operations of all rail services between
April 22, 2016
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Intelligence official acquitted of engaging in elections
A local court acquitted a South Korean intelligence official on Thursday over suspicions that he took part in political activities in violation of the National Intelligence Service Act.The Seoul Central District Court found the 42-year-old, whose identity was withheld, not guilty of engaging in unlawful election activities by posting articles and comments on a portal site and online community from 2011 to 2012.Under the country's law, government officials or policymakers are forbidden from suppo
April 21, 2016
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Fingerprint determines identity of slain Chinese woman: police
Police said Thursday they have been able to verify the identity of a Chinese woman found dead on South Korea's resort island of Jeju last week thanks to a fingerprint of her left index finger.Investigators at the Seogwipo Police Station said the fingerprint, about 1 centimeter and invisible to the naked eye, was lifted from the badly decomposed body of the woman, whose name has been withheld. The body of the dead woman, 22, was discovered by a man gathering bracken near a barley field in the cit
April 21, 2016
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Jeju murder suspect freed, investigation to continue
The suspect who had been arrested by the police on suspicion of murdering a Chinese woman whose body was found deserted on Jejudo Island was freed late Tuesday due to lack of evidence. The man had been a prime suspect as he had been a frequent visitor to the bar where the victim had worked. His cellphone showed records of text messages exchanged with the victim. He had also privately met with her at nighttime prior to her disappearance.(Yonhap)However, further police inquisition revealed the man
April 21, 2016
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Sex slavery victims offer funds for quake-hit Japan
Two South Korean victims of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II on Thursday offered humanitarian assistance totaling 1.3 million won ($1,150) to quake-hit regions in Japan. Kim Bok-dong, 90, and Kil Won-ok, 87, offered the money to aid Japan’s rescue and restoration efforts for the disaster-stricken Kumamoto prefecture.The first quake on April 14 and the larger magnitude-7.3 quake 27 hours later left 48 people dead and more than 1,100 injured, with aftershocks continuing to strike the are
April 21, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Reckitt Benckiser apologizes, offers funds
Amid the prosecution’s widening probe into Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea and other companies related to their toxic humidifier disinfectants, the British firm apologized on Thursday to victims and unveiled a plan to offer an additional 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in humanitarian assistance. In a letter released Thursday afternoon, the company addressed its “social responsibility” in deaths and diseases caused by its humidifier sterilizers, saying it would cooperate with investigators to solve the
April 21, 2016
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Korea to celebrate Earth Day
The South Korean government and municipalities reaffirmed their efforts to contribute to global initiatives to cut carbon use as the country joins in the 46th Earth Day celebrations Friday.To raise awareness on the urgency to save the Earth, the government and municipalities have been holding events throughout the week. Designating April 20-26 as Climate Change Week, the Environment Ministry has annually promoted environment-related events ranging from campaigns for using public transportation t
April 21, 2016
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Korea’s pet culture evolves with more adoption, tailored care
Daniel Kim, who lives in Incheon, is a father of two -- both adopted and with their ages unknown. One of them is a shitzu, presumably 6 years old, that he found on the beach while traveling in Jebudo Island four years ago. Another is a black poodle, found abandoned near his apartment before being adopted by him last year.“My family started to have more conversations and bonding time thanks to these two that we vowed to love and take good care of,” Kim said. As the shitzu -- named Casso after the
April 21, 2016
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W400m in drugs smuggled as hand sanitizer
A group of eight Korean men were caught for illegally trafficking hallucinogenic drugs worth 400 million won ($350,000) from the U.S., the Seoul police said Wednesday. The men smuggled in 4.5 liters of the drug disguised as hand sanitizer over eight international mail deliveries between August and December 2015. Each 4-milliliter vial was later sold for 350,000 won at nightclubs in Gangnam and on the Internet, raking in 120 million won over five months. (123RF)The smuggled drug, called “Tear of
April 21, 2016
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Pandas from China unveiled to the general public
A pair of Chinese panda bears that arrived here last month as part of a joint research project were officially unveiled to the public on Thursday at the country's largest amusement park south of Seoul.After some 50 days of allowing the animals to get used to their new environment, Samsung Everland in Yongin, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, held an opening ceremony for "Panda World" and showed the pandas to the public.The two, named Ai Bao and Le Bao, were sent from the Chinese southwestern p
April 21, 2016
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Celebrity sex brokers admit all charges
The stakeholders of an entertainment management agency admitted to taking part in celebrities’ overseas prostitution at a public hearing held on Wednesday. The Seoul central court said the three accused, each identified by their last names Lim, Yoon and Oh, had connected a female celebrity and a trainee to a Korean entertainment company that owed them investment money. (123RF)The company’s CEO and chairman, surnamed Kang and Park, were under financial pressure to repay the trio for their invest
April 20, 2016
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Korea aims to ease commutes with more double-decker buses
At 6:50 a.m., a group of people with eyes half-closed make a long line outside Seoul Station.“This is quite usual (to wait in a long line). Even if the bus is packed, I will still hop on and ride the bus standing for the entire 40 minutes,” said Jeong Hye-ryoung, who commutes to Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province for work every day.Like Jeong, as many as 24,000 or 12.5 percent of bus commuters in the metropolitan region travel crammed into a bus daily, barely standing up and holding onto the seat for s
April 20, 2016