Most Popular
-
1
Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
-
2
Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
-
3
[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
-
4
S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
-
5
[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
-
6
Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
-
7
On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
-
8
Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
-
9
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
10
[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
-
[Photo News] Year of horse
Dec. 30, 2013
-
Expensive imported padded jackets stir up controversy
The sweeping popularity of expensive winter jackets from foreign brands among students is becoming a social issue in South Korea. The premium padded jumpers made by foreign apparel companies like Canada Goose and Moncler usually cost more than 1 to 2 million won ($947 to $1,893). Despite their price tags, the jackets became a huge hit among Korean students this year. The jackets were initially imported in limited quantities for high-income consumers in Gangnam and other posh areas but are now be
Dec. 30, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Korean middle class shrinking: report
Korea’s middle class has steadily decreased from 74.47 percent of the population in 1990 to 67.33 percent in 2010, while the percentages of high-income and low-income earners have increased 2.23 and 4.9 percentage points, respectively, to 20.43 percent and 12.24 percent over the last 20 years, according to a report released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs Monday.
Dec. 30, 2013
-
Rail union agrees to end strike
Leaders of unionized rail workers agreed to end their prolonged strike after the ruling and opposition parties promised to form a parliamentary subcommittee aimed at preventing privatization of rail services, lawmakers said Monday.The union confirmed the agreement, saying there are only internal procedures left before its members return to work, ending the 22-day walkout."The union decided to withdraw the strike," Choi Eun-cheol, a spokesman for the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) union, told Yonh
Dec. 30, 2013
-
Railway strike set to bring transport chaos
The ongoing strike by railway workers is likely to cause major disruptions to transport services ahead of the New Year holiday as labor and management showed no signs of compromise. Korea Railroad Corp.’s labor union continued its strike Sunday for the 21st consecutive day and the major labor confederation threatened a second sympathy walkout and wider antigovernment protest. They pledged to escalate action after the government on Friday issued a license for a new high-speed train affiliate of K
Dec. 29, 2013
-
[Photo News] What lies ahead
Dec. 29, 2013
-
Ex-KB Tokyo managers indicted for illegal loans
The prosecution has indicted two former managers of KB Kookmin Bank’s Tokyo branch for extending illegal loans worth 400 billion won ($379 million), officials said Sunday. The prosecutors are further investigating whether the two suspects, identified by the surnames Lee and Ahn, received kickbacks from the borrowers and used them to create a slush fund at home. They were arrested earlier this month on charges of breach of trust. Lee, former branch chief, and Ahn, former deputy chief, were found
Dec. 29, 2013
-
Cargo ship collides with chemical tanker, 91 rescued
A cargo ship collided with a chemical-laden tanker off South Korea's southeast coast early Sunday, causing the tanker to catch fire, but all 91 crew members on the two vessels were rescued safely, coast guard officials said.The 55,000-ton freighter Gravity Highway was on a test-run when it collided with Maritime Maisie, a tanker carrying 29,337 tons of inflammable chemicals, in waters about 9.2 nautical miles off the southeastern port city of Busan around 2:15 a.m., officials said.The impact cau
Dec. 29, 2013
-
Two Kookmin Bank employees to stand trial over massive illegal lending
Two employees of Kookmin Bank's unit in Tokyo have been indicted on charges of extending illegal loans worth 400 billion won (US$380 million) to Korean companies operating in Japan, state prosecutors said Sunday.The Tokyo branch of South Korea's leading bank has been investigated by prosecutors over suspicions that it lent more than permitted to Japan-based firms to secure returns used to amass massive slush funds.The suspects, including a 57-year-old former Tokyo branch manager only identified
Dec. 29, 2013
-
KORAIL receives license to establish Suseo KTX affiliate
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday issued a license for the state-run rail operator to establish an affiliate to run a new branch of the KTX line, despite fierce opposition from labor unions and others.The issuance is expected to increase pressure on the 27 percent of KORAIL’s 20,443 employees who have been on strike since Dec. 9 against what they claim to be a move to privatize the railroads.“The Daejeon District Court on Friday evening approved the registration of the
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Sending off a year with a bang
The final day of the year is a big day in most cultures but Koreans take things a step further, seemingly dedicating the entire month of December to wrapping up the year. In the run up to the Dec. 31 ringing of the Boshingak bell, December is packed with year-end events that range from heavy drinking with colleagues and friends to fortune-telling. The Korean word for end of year events “songnyeonhoe” literally means “send off for the year” and many choose to send the year off in a sea of alcohol
Dec. 27, 2013
-
No year-end excitement for police officers
Peaceful silence is broken. The two police officers, Han Ji-hyun and Choi Jong-min turn on their patrol car’s siren and accelerate to an old building near Hongik University as the navigation system directs them to the scene of the crime. They quickly run up to the jewelry shop to see if someone broke into the shop. It was a false alarm. “When reports come in one after another at night, we are actually thankful for false alarms because then we can quickly move on and handle the next report,” 28-y
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Peak season returns for fortune-tellers
Kim Ye-ji, a 26-year-old job-seeker worriedly looks at eight Chinese characters and carefully listens to what the fortune-teller tells her. The predictor stares at the characters with a serious face and contemplates for awhile. “Around March and April next year, you’re going to find a job. Until then, no good news,” the fortune-teller says. “And you’re likely to meet a guy around autumn. He will probably be younger than you.” Kim finally feels relieved.Their discussion, which lasted for an hour,
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Looking for a New Year to sing for: Minorities in Korea
The New Year is about wishing for a better year, or perhaps, about repeating a good one. But it is also about saying goodbye and letting go of the year past. For those on what some call the outskirts of Korean society, however, sending away the year means, for the most part, wanting a better year than the one gone by. And so, for these minorities ― North Koreans living in the South, foreign laborers who work in Korea’s burgeoning factories, or 20-somethings striving to beat over-competitive nati
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Winding up the year with more value, less alcohol
Korea is beginning to see new trends emerge for “sending the year off,” perhaps to complement the nation’s health habit trends, some analysts have said.Year-end celebrations in Korea, which have been traditionally dominated by drinking, are now embracing various cultural, artistic and recreational activities. Similar to the drinking campaigns that quickly caught on among domestic firms to help moderate excessive indulgence in alcohol at their year-end gatherings, more people each year are pursui
Dec. 27, 2013
-
N.K. recalls Jang’s aide from Sweden
BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) ― North Korean ambassador to Sweden, Pak Kwang-chol, was called back to Pyongyang on Friday, a diplomatic source said, marking the latest recall of North Korean diplomats following the recent execution of leader Kim Jong-un‘s uncle. Pak, one of close aides to the purged uncle, Jang Song-thaek, returned to North Korea via an Air Koryo flight after making a brief stopover in Beijing earlier in the day, the source said on the condition of anonymity. Escorted by North Korea
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Celebrities get suspended terms for illegal sports gambling
Three celebrities, including TV personalities and a former K-pop singer, received suspended prison sentences Friday for betting on illegal sports gambling websites.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced comedian Lee Soo-geun, singer Tak Jae-hoon and Tony An, a former member of the popular 1990s boy band HOT, to six months in prison, suspended for one year.The three were found guilty of wagering hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars) on football teams in the Engli
Dec. 27, 2013
-
KORAIL, union talks deadlocked
Negotiations to end a drawn-out rail walkout broke down Friday, with the state-run rail operator issuing an ultimatum for thousands of strikers to get back to work by midnight or face punitive measures.Labor and management of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) gathered at the negotiating table earlier in the day after resuming the second round of their working-level negotiations to discuss key issues, including a government plan to establish a subsidiary to run some high-speed train ser
Dec. 27, 2013
-
Rail workers join temple-brokered talks
Korea Railroad Corp. and its union resumed talks Thursday, raising hopes to resolve the railway workers’ strike that has crippled the nation’s cargo transport for 18 days. The first working-level negotiation in 13 days was arranged during a meeting between its chief executive Choi Yeon-hye and union deputy chief Park Tae-man at Jogyesa Temple, where union leaders have holed up since Tuesday.Both labor and management expressed optimism after the 30-minute meeting brokered by Ven. Dobeob., chief o
Dec. 26, 2013
-
[Newsmaker] Jogye back in spotlight over rail strike
The country’s largest Buddhist order Jogye on Thursday took the side of railway workers in their ongoing strike, putting the government in a dilemma after last week’s botched police raid on the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. “(The Jogye Order) cannot look away when laborers have come in to the folds of the Buddha in desperation,” the order said in a statement on Thursday. The statement also said that helping and protecting those who are seeking refuge was the only right thing to do. “(The
Dec. 26, 2013