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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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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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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Big names flock to SNU to give lectures
Political bigwigs, prominent scholars and tycoons visited Seoul National University in droves last year for a chance to lecture in front of its students, the university said Monday.According to SNU, over 100 university chiefs and 80 high-ranking officials from around the world have asked to speak at the school, widely considered the top university in South Korea.Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Goo
Jan. 27, 2014
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KORAIL responsible for screen door death: court
A Seoul court said Korean Railroad Corp. should be held accountable for the death of a man after it failed to take necessary safety measures. The Seoul Central District Court ordered KORAIL to pay 76 million won ($70,000) in damages to compensate the man’s family. The verdict is based on the fact that the death of the victim was linked to the absence of safety doors on the platform. While making a phone call and texting, the man, who was intoxicated, slipped and fell onto the tracks at Yangsu St
Jan. 27, 2014
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Cancer-causing substance found in Seoul subway
A total of 30 subway stations in the capital city of Seoul contained higher-than-allowed levels of cancer-causing substances over the last decade, the municipal government said Monday. The city’s regular checks between 1998 and 2004 found that the level of radon in 30 out of 285 stations in Seoul from Line No. 1 through 7, including Gwanghwamun Station in downtown Seoul, exceeded the standard of 4 picocuries at least once, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.A picocurie is one trillio
Jan. 27, 2014
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Civic group calls on financial heads to resign over data leak
The country’s chief economic policymaker and top financial regulators should resign over the recent unprecedented theft of confidential data of 20 million people, a leading civic group demanded Monday.Early this month, the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator, revealed that some 20 million card and bank users’ personal data, including bank account numbers, addresses and credit ratings, had been leaked from KB Kookmin, Nonghyup and Lotte. A leak also occurred at a bank
Jan. 27, 2014
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[Graphic News] AI spreads nationwide
Korean authorities are grappling with an increasing number of avian influenza cases, as the virus has continued to spread to chickens and migratory birds across the country since the first outbreak in Gochang, North Jeolla Province on Jan. 17. Up to six areas were confirmed to be infected with the pathogenic H5N8 strain.
Jan. 26, 2014
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Tobacco firms, NHIS bicker over planned lawsuit
Tension escalated over the state-run health insurance agency’s planned lawsuit against cigarette makers, as tobacco firms criticized the plan as an attempt to solve budget issues.The Korea Tobacco Association, a group of tobacco companies here, said Saturday that the plan would have “little legal merit” and is being planned to force taxpayers to pay extra money for health care costs.“Litigation against a lawful and highly taxed industry is a reckless attempt to solve the National Health Insuranc
Jan. 26, 2014
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Samsung’s new hiring method stirs controversy
Samsung Group’s new recruitment program has come under fire as it allegedly puts students from a few favored universities and particular regions at an advantage.According to reports, Samsung, one of the most coveted workplaces in South Korea, has recently notified about 200 universities the number of students they can each recommend as prospective applicants for the company’s recruitment process.Samsung has asked the universities to select a total of 5,000 students, but the number differs at eac
Jan. 26, 2014
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Ex-sex slave for Japanese troops dies
A former sex slave for Japanese troops during World War II died Sunday, bringing the total number of living South Korean victims of the atrocity to 55.Hwang Kum-ja died of old age at a hospital in Seoul, an activist group said. She was 90.Hwang, who was born in 1924, was forced into a glass factory at age 13 and then transferred to China for sexual slavery three years later. She came back home after Korea was freed from the 1910-45 colonial rule but lived alone for the rest of her life.Hwang mad
Jan. 26, 2014
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Health authorities confirm bird flu in chicken, feces of migratory birds
Health authorities said Saturday they've confirmed a case of avian influenza (AI) in a chicken at a southern region farm and another in feces of migratory birds in the central part of the country, amid ongoing quarantine efforts to contain the bird flu virus since earlier this month.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will try to determine whether the infected poultry contains the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of the virus and will announce its findings on Sunday. It said
Jan. 25, 2014
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Veteran judge nominated as Supreme Court justice
A veteran chief judge of a local court was nominated to become a Supreme Court justice Saturday, the top court's officials said.They said Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae has picked Cho Hee-dae, the top judge at the Daegu District Court, as the candidate to replace outgoing Supreme Court justice Cha Han-sung.Cho, 56, became a judge in Seoul in 1986. The Supreme Court said Cho beat out four others to earn his candidacy. The nomination is pending approval by President Park Geun-hye, follo
Jan. 25, 2014
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Tobacco body 'disappointed' with potential lawsuit against industry
A national interest group for tobacco companies said Saturday it was "disappointed" with a public agency's plan to sue cigarette manufacturers, calling the move a misguided attempt to solve budget issues.In an English-language statement, the Korea Tobacco Association (KTA) said the tentative decision by the state-run National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) to file a suit against the tobacco industry "with little legal merit" wouldn't be in the best interest of taxpayers.The NHIS said on Friday
Jan. 25, 2014
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Taxi driver sets himself on fire after killing a woman
A body part of a woman believed to have been murdered was found in a reservoir in Naju, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. The discovery came after a local taxi driver identified by the surname Jeong revealed he had killed a woman and then set himself on fire Thursday night. He’s now in critical condition. According to the police, the 48-year-old suspect told his grandmother that he had killed and buried the woman’s body before apparently committing suicide.Jeong, who was recently divorced, report
Jan. 24, 2014
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Health agency to sue tobacco makers
South Korea’s public health insurance agency decided Friday to start a legal battle against the tobacco industry to take back health costs allegedly caused by smoking-related diseases. The state-run National Health Insurance Service held an executive board meeting Friday evening and the majority of its members voted for filing a lawsuit against tobacco makers. The decision marks the first case of a South Korean public agency mounting a legal attack against the tobacco industry, which includes th
Jan. 24, 2014
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Wage guideline sparks backlash
Feuds between labor and management escalated Thursday as the government said it would exclude regular bonuses paid only to employees currently at work from ordinary wages.The Ministry of Labor issued new guidelines for labor-management negotiation that would only count bonuses paid to all workers, including those on leave, as ordinary pay.The announcement came a month after a landmark ruling by the nation’s top court that ordered that regular bonuses be classified as part of ordinary wages. The
Jan. 23, 2014
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Foreign visitors to Seoul exceed 10 million in 2013
The number of foreign tourists to Seoul surpassed 10 million last year to set a new high, a municipal report showed Thursday.Officials from Seoul Institute said the Chinese made up the largest group of visitors to the metropolis, pointing out that Seoul appears to have become an attractive destination due in part to Beijing’s eased travel regulations and the local cultural attractions.According to the report, around 10.04 million foreign visitors made a trip to the capital, up 9.3 percent from 2
Jan. 23, 2014
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Gangnam clinic under fire for displaying human bones
A plastic surgery clinic overdid a marketing job when it decided to display human remains in its lobby, touching off a wave of criticism on social media against the booming cosmetic surgery industry in South Korea.Oin Plastic Surgery, a hospital located in the affluent Gangnam district in southern Seoul, had installed two transparent towers filled with the remains of human jawbones, which were left over from jaw surgeries according to the clinic website.“We exhibit the bones cut from our surgeri
Jan. 23, 2014
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Celebrities lose ‘publicity’ suit against Naver
Local celebrities lost on Wednesday in a lawsuit that they collectively filed against major portals to seek compensation for their names being used for commercial purposes, according to the Suwon District Court.Fifty-nine celebrities filed the lawsuit against South Korea’s biggest online portal Naver and its affiliate company in May last year, claiming the right of publicity. They asked for damages worth 1.2 billion won ($1.1 million) in the high-profile suit joined by Jang Dong-gun, Bae Yong-jo
Jan. 23, 2014
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Man keeps dead girlfriend’s body in room for days
The police on Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly beating his teenage girlfriend to death and keeping the corpse in his room for over a week. The 20-year-old suspect, surnamed Han, is believed to have killed his girlfriend, aged 17, after an argument at his house in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, the local police said, adding a formal arrest warrant would be sought for the suspect. The body was found on Han’s bed covered in a blanket, and the police confirmed that he had been living with the c
Jan. 23, 2014
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Court rejects compensation suit against MBC unionists for 2012 strike
A Seoul court on Thursday dismissed a compensation suit filed by the country’s second-largest television network, MBC, against its union for losses allegedly incurred from a 2012 strike.About 500 journalists and producers of MBC went on strike in January 2012, demanding the resignation of a former company chief for biased coverage of politically sensitive issues and the normalization of the company’s role as a major public broadcaster.After the 170-day-long walkout, the management launched the s
Jan. 23, 2014
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Elite schools still popular despite changes
In South Korea, getting diplomas from top-tier universities is seen as crucial to a successful life. To raise the odds, the majority of high school students fiercely prepare for the annual college entrance exam. For younger students, getting into elite high schools is a top priority, as those schools are believed to offer easier access to elite universities.Aside from regular high schools with long histories and good reputations, there are two types of elite schools in Korea: autonomous private
Jan. 23, 2014