Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Court rules unfaithful spouses cannot file divorce lawsuits
The nation's top court ruled Tuesday that unfaithful spouses are not allowed to file divorce lawsuits, in accordance with the no-fault law. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed a divorce suit filed by a husband responsible for the breakup of his marriage, against his wife. The identities of the two have been withheld.Seven of 13 sitting judges ruled that it is yet early to change the law, which would allow such cheating spouses to file divorce lawsuits.The court noted th
Sept. 15, 2015
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One-year jail term sought for civilian supervisor over diver's death
Prosecutors sought a one-year prison term on Tuesday for a civilian diver accused of professional negligence that led to the death of another civilian diver.The defendant, identified only by his family name Kong, was in charge of managing other divers during search operations of the sunken ferry Sewol last year.Prosecutors demanded the sentence during a trial against Kong over the death of the 53-year-old civilian diver, identified only by his family name Lee, who died during search operations.T
Sept. 15, 2015
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S. Koreans rank No. 1 among OECD in hospital visits: data
South Koreans rank first among the citizens of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries in terms of visits to hospitals per year, data showed Tuesday.According to the Health Data 2015 provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the OECD, South Koreans visited the doctor's office an average of 14.6 times in 2013, much higher than the average of 6.7 times for all member countries.Japan came in second with 12.9 visits, with Hungary, the Czech Republic and Sl
Sept. 15, 2015
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Court upholds gov't order to amend history textbooks
A request from the authors of six history textbooks to nullify a government order to amend them for containing ideological bias was turned down again by an appeals court Tuesday.In December 2013, the Ministry of Education had ordered the publishers of the books to revise 41 parts of their descriptions because they contained expressions and views that could "negatively affect students' perspective of history."The authors of the books filed a lawsuit against the order a few days later, claiming th
Sept. 15, 2015
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S. Korean named head of int'l engineering body
A South Korean engineer has been appointed as the new chief of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, marking the first time for an Asian to head the global organization. Lee Jae-wan, the chairman of the Korea Engineering & Consulting Association in South Korea, was inaugurated as the 31st president of the FIDIC in Dubai earlier in the day along with some 1,000 FIDIC members from 90 countries attending.FIDIC is a federation consisting of engineering groups from 101 countries with
Sept. 15, 2015
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Biz lobbies vow to seek law for more sweeping labor reforms
South Korea's business lobby groups said Tuesday that they will file a petition with lawmakers to enact a law intended for more sweeping labor reforms, saying that the recently agreed-upon deal falls far short of expectations.On Sunday, the tripartite committee consisting of government, business and labor leaders agreed to cooperate in resolving such issues as differentiated salaries for regular and non-regular workers, improving jobless benefits, clarifying the definition of customary salary an
Sept. 15, 2015
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Watchdog says ministers did not violate election laws
The election watchdog has decided that separate comments made by the home affairs minister and the finance minister, allegedly in favor of the ruling party, did not violate election laws.The National Election Commission reached the decision for Minister of Security and Public Administration Chong Jong-sup and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan during its plenary meeting on Monday.The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy had asked the commission to determine whether the recent commen
Sept. 15, 2015
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Kia Motors unionists set to hold vote on strike this week
Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker, will hold a vote this week to decide whether to go on strike after their leaders failed to hammer out a deal with the management over working conditions, labor officials said Tuesday.Kia Motors' labor union will have a yes-or-no vote, asking around 34,000 members whether to go on strike, the officials said.The vote will be held Wednesday afternoon.The labor and management have failed to produce a breakthrough in their
Sept. 15, 2015
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Trade union group endorses labor reform deal
The nation’s largest trade union group has endorsed the labor market reform deal reached by a tripartite committee of labor, business and government representatives, paving the way for the government to push ahead with measures to ease restrictions on lay-offs and company rules. Kim Dong-man, head of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, exits the meeting room after the executive committe approved the labor reform plans on Monday in Seoul. YonhapThe Federation of Korea Trade Unions approved the
Sept. 14, 2015
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Labor market reforms gain momentum
The Seoul government is set to push for reforming the labor market following a deal reached at the trilateral committee on labor, business and government on Sunday, despite vehement opposition from some unionists and a grueling process ahead at the National Assembly. Some members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions stage a rally opposing the compromise reached on labor reforms during a cetral executive committee meeting Monday in Seoul. YonhapThe compromise came after months-long negotiatio
Sept. 14, 2015
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[Graphic News] Policies fail to boost South Korea’s fertility rate
South Korea’s demographic policies have failed to boost the nation’s critically low fertility rate despite spending 81 trillion won ($69 billion) to implement the measures since 2006.According to Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party, the nation’s fertility rate, which stands at 1.21 children per woman this year, in fact decreased from 2006 -- 1.25 children per woman. The number of newborns also dropped from 448,200 in 2006 to 435,300 this year, according to the lawmaker.The budget for
Sept. 14, 2015
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Defense company researcher jumps from apartment in apparent suicide
A researcher for a defense company jumped from an apartment building on Monday in an apparent suicide, prosecutors said, amid an investigation over his alleged involvement in shady defense equipment dealing.The 43-year-old Kim, who was working for LIG Nex1, was found by his wife at 2:45 a.m. in the apartment complex where he lived in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, 55 kilometers south of Seoul, prosecutors said.Before he was found, Kim left a text message to his wife saying he got involved in a probe o
Sept. 14, 2015
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S. Korea pushing to relink inter-Korean railway: minister
South Korea has been working to relink an inter-Korean railway to open a path to the Eurasian continent, Seoul's top official handling inter-Korean ties said Monday."If (the Koreas are) reunified, the Gyeongwon Line will link the South and the North and become a path of unification and hope extending to the world," Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in an address marking his train journey from Seoul to the central border county of Cheorwon.Last month, South Korea began work to restore the G
Sept. 14, 2015
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American professor 'uncommon,' but big step for Korean linguistics
Jeffrey Holliday began his "uncommon" class with an attendance check, matching the names of his students with their faces. A few latecomers entered the classroom, apparently trying to be unobtrusive.At first glance, it may look like just one of those routine college classes offered in English that have become popular in South Korea.But Holliday, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, was lecturing on an unexpected subject: the linguistics of Korean, more specifically "sociolinguistics," a study of dialect
Sept. 14, 2015
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Body found near site of capsized boat
The body of a passenger missing from a capsized fishing boat was recovered Monday off the southern coast near the site of the accident, raising the death toll to 12, Coast Guard officials said.The body, which was found 5 kilometers southeast of Chuja Island at around 9:00 a.m., was identified as that of a 53-year-old man surnamed Chang, according to the Korea Coast Guard. The island is located about halfway between the mainland and the southern resort island of Jeju.The body was transferred by h
Sept. 14, 2015
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Day care owner gets 6-year jail term for baby trafficking
The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a lower court’s six-year prison sentence for a day care owner who tried to sell a baby, born to an unwed, single mother, for illegal adoption online. The woman, surnamed Kim, brought the baby girl to her center in July of last year, after the biological mother reportedly gave up custody of the child shortly after giving birth at a Busan-based hospital. Soon after the infant arrived at her center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Kim tried to sell the child
Sept. 13, 2015
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‘Pregnant woman punched for sitting on subway seat for elderly’
An online post claiming that a pregnant woman was punched several times by a man on a subway has sparked public outrage at the violence. “My wife, who was returning home from work on subway Line 4, was attacked by a man around 7:10 p.m. on Sept. 1,” a man posted to his Facebook account. In the post, the man says his 30-year-old wife, 10 weeks pregnant, was sitting on the seat reserved for the elderly and the weak when the man, surnamed Jang, 66, hit her on the shoulder after she refused to give
Sept. 13, 2015
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Controversy flares over kid-free zones in Korea
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Kim Min-jin, 24, visited a cafe in Samcheong-dong, a quaint neighborhood in Seoul tucked among tourist hot spots, to seek refuge from the bustle of the metropolitan city. As Kim and her friends started to chat over a cup of coffee, a mother turned up with three children at the posh premises and sat next to them, as the kids continued screaming, playing games and running around. “It could have been fine if the kids were under control, but they were creating such a
Sept. 13, 2015
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Mothers lash out at day care service changes
The South Korean government’s plan to charge households with full-time housewives for the currently free day care service should they utilize it for more than seven hours daily is stirring controversy nationwide, with some critics calling it misogynistic and discriminatory. “The government is discriminating against full-time housewives by doing this,” said Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. “Every mother, regardless of their employment status, should be
Sept. 13, 2015
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Labor reform talks in stalemate
The prospects for labor market reforms remained grim over the weekend as a trilateral panel continued to lock horns over contentious issues, despite the government’s de facto ultimatum last week that it would push ahead with its own bill even without the committee’s compromise. As the trilateral committee of labor, business and the government failed to meet a deadline, the authorities and the ruling Saenuri Party pledged to initiate the legislative procedures to press ahead with the market refor
Sept. 13, 2015