Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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Prosecution grills Chun’s brother-in-law
The prosecution on Monday questioned former President Chun Doo-hwan’s brother-in-law in a widening probe into the former military strongman’s hidden assets. Investigators believe that Lee Chang-seok, brother of Chun’s wife Lee Soon-ja, played a crucial role in concealing massive slush funds of the former president’s family for nearly 30 years. Not only is he suspected of managing Chun’s slush funds, Lee also allegedly helped Chun’s children amass fortunes through illegal transfers of wealth.Lee
Aug. 12, 2013
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S. Korea faces possible power shortage
South Korea may be forced to take extreme measures to avoid a nationwide blackout Monday with six nuclear reactors still out of work for maintenance, the government said.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy earlier said the country's power reserve was expected to drop to as low as 1.8 million kilowatts during the peak hours of 2-5 p.m., far below what is considered a safe level of 4 million kilowatts.Conditions worsened after a 500,000-kw generator at a thermal power plant in Dangjin halte
Aug. 12, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Victim of Japan’s sexual slavery dies
Lee Yong-nyeo, one of the few surviving victims of Japan’s military sex slavery and a leading activist who sought for truth, an apology and compensation, has died Sunday.The House of Sharing, a shelter for the “comfort women” in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, said Lee died at a hospital early Sunday morning. She was 87.At the age of 16, Lee was shipped from Busan to Yangon, Myanmar, where she was forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during World War II.Since 1995, after moving to
Aug. 11, 2013
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Seoul city’s $7.7b light rail plans embroiled in dispute
Seoul City’s plan to build new light rail lines is mired in controversy as questions grow about its feasibility, cost-effectiveness and even the mayor’s political intentions. Seoul Metropolitan Government in July unveiled the project to lay nine rail transit routes in 10 years to reduce gaps in the city’s public transportation network. The total cost of construction is estimated at 8.553 trillion won ($7.69 billion). The city plans to fund half of it from municipal and central government coffers
Aug. 11, 2013
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[Photo News] Breaking the ice
Aug. 11, 2013
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Gov't urges nation to save power amid possible blackout
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy called on the nation Sunday to reduce power consumption amid a looming power shortage stemming from a sweltering heat wave in the country."All factories, public institutions, households and shops must refrain from using electricity between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. for three days starting Monday," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jik said in a statement.The call came after South Korea issued a warning for a possible power shorta
Aug. 11, 2013
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Court writes off debt of 'Last Godfather' director
A Seoul court has written off 17 billion won ($15.2 million) owed by comedian-turned-director Shim Hyun-rae after his latest movie failed to recover production costs, according to court officials Sunday.The 55-year-old director of "The Last Godfather" (2010) fell into heavy debt after the film disappointed at the box office. In the English film, which was shot in the U.S., Shim plays the orphaned love-child of a 1950s mafia boss, played by the famous American actor Harvey Keitel, and is called t
Aug. 10, 2013
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Forced laborers seeking justice 70 years on
Nearly seven decades after the Korean Peninsula was liberated from Japan’s colonial rule, the matter of Tokyo’s compensation for Koreans conscripted into forced labor and military service remains unresolved. After annexing Korea in 1910, Japan used the peninsula as a pantry full of resources, for labor and as a forward base for its military ambitions.Japan’s exploitation of Korean labor took off in earnest in 1939 when the National Service Draft Ordinance was added to the National Mobilization L
Aug. 9, 2013
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‘Diplomacy only solution for forced laborers’
Reaching a diplomatic agreement with the Japanese government is the only way to revolve issues regarding the forced mobilization of Koreans, according to Park In-hwan, chief of the Commission on Verification and Support for the Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Colonialism in Korea. “Ultimately, the two governments must reach a political, diplomatic resolution,” Park said. He added, however, that as the Japanese government claimed that it no longer had any responsibility, the victims
Aug. 9, 2013
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Test introduced for medical tour coordinators
The first state-run qualification test for medical tour coordinators will be held in September, a government agency said Thursday.Human Resources Development of Korea will hold the preliminary qualification exam on Sept. 28 for medical tour coordinators who provide foreign patients with transportation, accommodations and general information on their treatments. Along with the new plan, the Ministry of Justice will simplify the process for medical tourists to receive electronic visas, officials s
Aug. 9, 2013
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Historical sites illegally used for weddings
A local wedding company owner has been accused of illegally using historical sites in Jongno, Seoul, for traditional wedding ceremonies, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday.The Jongno District Office filed a complaint against the owner, identified by his surname Lee, in June for allegedly attracting customers to hold weddings in Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan without the Cultural Heritage Administration‘s approval for more than two years, officials said. The two properties are together des
Aug. 9, 2013
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‘Youth mentor’ admits lying about career
Kim Won-gi, a 28-year-old college student who was recently hoisted by media as a “student mentor,” admitted that he lied about being hired by Samsung SDS and his alleged master’s degree from Yonsei University.“It’s (the accusations of lies) all true. I had to lie in order to succeed,” he told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on Friday. On Thursday, Yonsei University announced that Kim had been expelled for poor academic performance and disciplinary actions were being sought against him. “The student in
Aug. 9, 2013
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S. Korea issues preliminary warning for power shortage
South Korea issued a warning for a possible power shortage Friday as high temperatures led to a large increase in power consumption for cooling.Friday's warning was the second of its kind issued this year.The preliminary warning was issued at 1:39 p.m. after the country's power reserves dipped to below 3.5 million kilowatts, the Korea Electric Power Corp. said in a released statement.A light warning is issued when the power reserves fall below 4.5 million kilowatts, followed by a preliminary war
Aug. 9, 2013
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Court commutes prison term of ex-baseball player
A Seoul appellate court on Friday commuted the sentence of a pro-baseball player-turned-entertainer, charged with fraud, from 18 months to one year.Kang Byeong-gyu, 40, was found guilty of failing to return 300 million won ($273,822) that he borrowed from an acquaintance."A jail term is inevitable as the damage has not yet been reimbursed, although (Kang) came to an agreement with the victims,"Lee Jong-un, a judge of the Seoul Central District Court, said in his ruling.In the same ruling, the co
Aug. 9, 2013
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Heat wave bakes country
Record heat waves have been gripping most of the country for the past week, prompting the government to issue a preliminary warning of power shortages Thursday. Heat alerts were issued for a broad swath of the nation with peak temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius. No relief is in sight for the next week, weather officials said.In Ulsan the mercury reached a 30-year high at 38.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the hottest day since the Korea Meteorological Administration began keeping rec
Aug. 8, 2013
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Children spend two hours a day online: survey
An Internet watch group survey has shown that the country’s young children spend an average two hours online a day.A poll of 5,000 people by the National Information Society Agency found that children aged 6 to 9 sit in front of a computer screen or use the Internet via smartphones for an average two hours per day. The 20s age group spends the longest time online with an average 3.4 hours per day, followed by those in their 30s and 40s with 3.2 and 2.7 hours, respectively. The average time for t
Aug. 8, 2013
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Gwangju mayor’s office raided over forgery scandal
The prosecution on Thursday raided the office of Gwangju Mayor Kang Un-tae, who is alleged to have been involved in a forgery scandal that allowed the city to win a bid for an international sports event.The Gwangju City government has been under fire for fabricating signatures of then-Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik on bidding documents submitted to the governing body of the 2019 World Swimming Championships.The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office sent investig
Aug. 8, 2013
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Watchdog suspends sales of anti-diarrheal medications
South Korea‘s drug watchdog said Thursday that it has temporarily suspended sales of several dozen anti-diarrheal medications, the first such move in more than two decades.The move by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety comes as Dongwha Pharm Co., one of major South Korean drugmakers, was found to have used a combination of two different strains of lactobacillus in making Lacteol than the one that was originally approved by the government in 1988.Lacteol is a brand name of lactobacillus acidoph
Aug. 8, 2013
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Gwangju mayor’s office raided over forgery scandal
The prosecution on Thursday raided the office of Gwangju Mayor Kang Un-tae, who is alleged to have been involved in a forgery scandal that allowed the city to win a bid for an international sports event.The Gwangju City government has been under fire for fabricating signatures of then-Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik on bidding documents submitted to the governing body of the 2019 World Swimming Championships.The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office sent investig
Aug. 8, 2013
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[Photo News][Photo News] Baduk battle
Aug. 7, 2013