Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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[Weekender] After K-pop, Korea eyes ‘K-cop wave’
With Korean pop culture, known as K-pop, enjoying steady popularity around the globe, South Korea is looking to export its homegrown policing tactics and equipment in the hope that it can spur what they call the “K-cop wave.”Putting aside controversy at home over the excessive use of police equipment such as water cannons and pepper spray at rallies, South Korean police’s security capabilities have received the spotlight given its long years of experience in keeping public order through turbulen
Dec. 4, 2015
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[Weekender] Tech plays bigger role in fighting crime
As crimes become more complex, the role of technology has been ever more crucial in nabbing and indicting suspects. From autopsies and fingerprint recognition to DNA and psychological analyses, the Korean police have improved over the years.Korea Crime Scene Investigation agents demonstrate how they secure evidence and investigate a crime scene. (Yonhap) Among the technologies that have been developed, the advancement of fingerprint analysis is especially noticeable since its introduction to Ko
Dec. 4, 2015
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S. Korea to offer US$3 mln in refugee aid
South Korea will offer a total of US$3 million in aid to Greece, Serbia and Croatia to help them cope with the growing refugee crisis in the region, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.The number of people fleeing to Europe from conflict-torn nations, such as Syria and Iraq, has reached 850,000 this year, according to the ministry. In 2012, that number was 330,000, while in 2013, it was 430,000. Last year, 620,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.South Korea will provide Greec
Dec. 4, 2015
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Massive anti-gov't rally to be staged this weekend
An association of 118 civic groups will hold a street demonstration in central Seoul this weekend, police said Friday, following a court ruling that overturned the police ban on the rally.It is the second rally after one in mid-November, which brought tens of thousands of demonstrators to the streets in downtown Seoul to protest the government's decision to adopt state history textbooks for secondary students and push for labor reforms. The rally turned violent as some protesters brandished meta
Dec. 4, 2015
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Gov't to sponsor unification education at universities
The government plans to choose a handful of universities to lead education on inter-Korean reunification, a Unification Ministry official said Friday.The ministry will allocate 1.8 billion won ($1.56 million) to the new project under next year's government budget plan passed by the National Assembly on Thursday, according to the official. The project was not originally part of the budget plan."We plan to receive applications from universities in the first half of next year and then choose three
Dec. 4, 2015
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Top court rejects unfaithful spouse's divorce claim
The nation's top court dismissed a suit filed by an unfaithful spouse seeking a divorce from his wife, officials said Friday.Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Supreme Court ruled against the 70-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, for being responsible for the shattered marriage. The couple tied the knot 42 years ago but has been separated since 1984, following the plaintiff's series of affairs. He started to live with his mistress in the mid-1990s.Without any economic support from the
Dec. 4, 2015
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Court allows second mass rally this weekend
The court ruled on Thursday that the police ban on the second mass anti-government rally planned for this weekend is "unjust," giving the event the greenlight.The Seoul Administrative Court said that one cannot assure that the protest will pose a threat to the public safety simply because the event will be led by some of the groups who were in charge of last month's violent protest.Following the ruling, police said that it will respect the court decision but will take stern measures if the rally
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to maintain bar exam until 2021
The government announced Thursday it would hold off on plans to abolish the state-run bar exam until 2021, as controversy persists over the current law school system that was originally introduced to widen the pool of legal professionals. But the decision was scorned by both proponents and opponents of the bar exam, who said it would only extend confusion in the judiciary sector.The Ministry of Justice said it would delay scrapping the bar exam, initially set to be abolished in 2017, citing publ
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea targets 500,000 foreign patients
With the latest passage of a set of bills to support easier overseas advances of the medical industry, the government said Thursday it will aim to attract some 500,000 foreign patients in 2017, while also creating new jobs for young Koreans. The National Assembly late Wednesday night passed a string of medical-related bills that would, among other things, allow distance consultations between Korean doctors and overseas patients and job training programs for interpreters and medical coordinators
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korean police team launched for joint probe in Philippines
A special police team of 63 officers has been formed to help with criminal cases involving South Koreans in the Philippines as a bilateral effort to better protect Korean citizens there, officials said Tuesday.The National Police Agency said the special team, comprised of police officers and forensic experts, would be sent to Manila whenever Koreans are victims of crimes such as murder, kidnapping, robbery or rape. All are capable of speaking English, the authorities said.Public concerns have es
Dec. 3, 2015
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Police to ban another massive rally
Police said Thursday that they have decided to prohibit civic groups from staging a massive rally in downtown Seoul this weekend, as it appears to be led by the same groups who were in charge of last month's violent protest. In mid-November, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in downtown Seoul to protest the government's decision to adopt state history textbooks for secondary students and reform the labor market. The rally later turned violent as some protesters brandished m
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to suspend abolition of state bar exam until 2021
The government announced Thursday it will delay the abolition of the state-run bar exam until 2021, amid continued controversy over the recently adopted law school system. The Ministry of Justice decided to delay the abolition for four years from the planned 2017, citing public opinion poll results that called for improvement of the current law school system and retention of the state-run exam, its officials said during a press briefing. Law schools were first introduced at universities seven
Dec. 3, 2015
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Life expectancy of Koreans tops 82 years in 2014
South Korean babies born in 2014 are expected to live more than 82 years as medical advances and efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle reduce death risks, a government report showed Thursday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of babies born last year averages 82.4 years, up from the previous year's 81.9 years. Male and female babies are expected to live 79 years and 85.5 years, respectively. The figures are higher than the previous year's tally of 78.5 years a
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to start work on airports on 2 remote islands in 2017
South Korea will start building two small airports on two remote islands starting in 2017 that will greatly improve convenience for residents and fuel tourism, the government said Thursday.Once built, the two airports can connect Ulleung and Heuksan, located in the East Sea and Yellow Sea, respectively, to Seoul, with a travel time of about one hour, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.At present, travelers from the capital city can expect to spend 5-9 hours transferring from
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korean fathers can get longest paid leave in OECD
South Korea offers the longest paid paternal child care leave among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the organization’s 2015 report.Based on the OECD family database, Korean fathers were entitled to up to 52.6 weeks of paid leave in 2014, well above the OECD average of nine weeks. Japan and France followed with 52 and 28 weeks, while nine offered no specific paid leave for fathers at all.Countries with shorter paid leaves generally paid higher wa
Dec. 2, 2015
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Korean court, college blasted for dating abuse lenience
A local court has come under fire for “lenient” punishment on a dating abuse perpetrator, a medical student who was slapped with a fine after being charged for locking up and beating his then-girlfriend in March. The Gwangju District Court handed down on Nov. 30 a fine of 12 million won ($10,300) in consideration that a jail sentence could “heighten his chances of getting expelled” from his school, Chosun University. The case was thrust into the media spotlight this week and soon went viral on
Dec. 2, 2015
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Police raids labor union for staging violent protest
Police raided the local branch offices of an umbrella labor union Wednesday as part of their ongoing probe into a violent anti-government rally held last month.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided three regional offices of the plant construction labor union affiliated with the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions in South Chungcheong Province and one in South Jeolla Province.The members of the union are suspected of preparing iron pipes for the rally, as well as brandishing them against po
Dec. 2, 2015
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Foreign native hired as nat'l museum director amid censorship controversy
The national contemporary art museum has hired a foreign director for the first time, amid protests of his history of censorship.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Bartomeu Mari, former head of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, will now head the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Mari is the first foreign-born figure to head any institute under the auspices of the culture ministry.The ministry said Mari will take over from acting director Kim Jeong-bae as early
Dec. 2, 2015
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Soldier who lost leg in land mine blast completes rehabilitation
A South Korean solider left a hospital on Wednesday with a new prosthetic leg after completing rehabilitation treatment for the injury suffered in a land mine blast blamed on North Korea in August, the Defense Ministry said.The 23-year-old Kim Jung-won is one of the two South Korean soldiers who were seriously injured by the mine explosion blamed on North Korea near the inter-Korean border on Aug. 4.Following four months of treatment, the staff sergeant was discharged from a hospital in Seoul wi
Dec. 2, 2015
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New chief prosecutor vows stern action against violent protesters
Kim Soo-nam vowed on Wednesday to take stern actions against violent protesters as he was sworn in as the country's new prosecution chief."(We should) break the vicious cycle by thoroughly investigating not only the violent protesters but also those who instigate and protect them," the prosecutor general said in his inauguration ceremony at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul.The remarks were made ahead of a massive rally planned for this coming weekend, after an association of lib
Dec. 2, 2015