Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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N. Korea says Kim guided simulated nuclear counterattack drill
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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Suspect in murder of girlfriend's mugshot, name made public
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Seoul court orders review of compensation ruling on defoliant victims of Vietnam War
South Korea's top court on Friday partly reversed a lower court ruling that said two U.S. producers of a toxic chemical should compensate most of the South Korean Vietnam War veterans who sued the firms for their exposure to the defoliant.Sending the case back for review, the Supreme Court said the Seoul High Court should reconsider its 2006 verdict of a combined 63 billion won ($61 million) in damages awarded to 6,795 South Koreans.In a ruling, the court did not recognize epidemiological correl
July 12, 2013
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Asiana passenger calls begged for help
Passengers who called emergency services minutes after a Boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco International Airport said not enough help had arrived and they were doing their best to keep the critically injured alive, according to the calls that portray a scene of desperation.Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash-landed Saturday when it came in too low and too slow, killing two passengers and injuring many others as it skittered and spun 100 feet (30 meters). Most of the injured suffered minor injurie
July 12, 2013
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90% of Seoulites exposed to second-hand smoke every day
Nearly 91 percent of citizens in Seoul are exposed to second-hand smoking everyday with their daily exposure time averaging 13 minutes, a poll showed.According to the survey of 1,000 citizens aged 19 years or older, 90.8 percent experienced passive smoking each day as of end-December last year, down by 1.6 percentage points from four years earlier. They were exposed to second-hand smoking 1.4 times per day for 13 minutes on average.While their involuntary exposure came more frequently in outdoor
July 11, 2013
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Police to step up probe over sex bribery scandal
Police said Thursday that they will launch a full-fledged investigation into allegations that a detained local construction contractor hired women to provide sexual favors to a number of high-profile figures in return for business benefits.On Wednesday night, the 52-year-old construction contractor, surnamed Yoon, was put under detention immediately after a Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for the businessman who has been at the center of a massive sex scandal
July 11, 2013
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Military to establish surveillance cameras in female barracks
The defense ministry said Thursday it will require surveillance cameras to be installed in all female barracks for better monitoring and enforcing stronger punishment of soldiers who commit sex crimes.The ministry reviewed the discipline and security of military troops in a meeting with senior officers and came up with a string of measures aimed at curbing sex crimes and suicides in barracks. "The ministry will appoint a sexual harassment counselor for each unit and require the establishment of
July 11, 2013
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Ex-spy chief arrested on bribery charges
Former spy agency chief Won Sei-hoon was arrested on charges of taking bribes from a local construction company in exchange of business favors. The Seoul Central District Court approved the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for Won, a close associate of former President Lee Myung-bak.In a separate case, the former head of the National Intelligence Service was indicted last month on charges of masterminding an online smear campaign against opposition parties to sway public opinion ahead
July 10, 2013
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Court orders Nippon Steel to compensate Korean ex-laborers
An appellant court on Wednesday ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate four former Korean employees forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule. In a retrial, the Seoul High Court ruled that the steel giant (formerly Nippon Steel Corp.) should pay 100 million won ($88,000) each in delayed salary, and additional damages. “Then a key defense contractor, Nippon Steel committed anti-humanitarian, illegal acts together with the Japanese government such as mobilizing manpower for
July 10, 2013
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Prosecution raids arms dealers over alleged tax evasion
The prosecution raided five locations including Daewoo International headquarters on Wednesday in a widening investigation into offshore tax evasion and money laundering allegedly attempted by weapons brokers here.Investigators believe that the arms dealers illegally transferred billions of won they received in kickbacks to a paper company overseas and brought the money back to Korea.Brokers allegedly took kickbacks from an Indonesian aircraft manufacturer that won a 150-billion-won bid to sell
July 10, 2013
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‘Four-river project pushed to revive Grand Canal scheme’
The former Lee Myung-bak administration pushed the four-river refurbishment project with the intention to build a cross-country canal network, the state auditor said Wednesday.The hidden long-term plan caused a number of serious problems such as bid rigging, increased costs and poor water quality management, the Board of Audit and Inspection said in its report.Later in the day, Cheong Wa Dae said that the previous administration caused great damage to the state if the BAI’s report was true.“(The
July 10, 2013
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Seoul to offer job training to migrant women
Seoul City said Wednesday it is to provide job training and entrepreneurship programs for marriage migrant women.The one- to three-month courses on beauty care, hotel room assistance and SNS marketing will be run in seven women career centers in various districts, including Jungnang, Gwanak and Seongdong.A government survey showed that 41.5 percent of migrant women in the country were unemployed last year. Applications will be received through each center starting Thursday. (rene@heraldcorp.com)
July 10, 2013
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Court upholds prison term for conscientious objector
The Supreme Court has finalized the jail term for a man who refused to perform compulsory military service due to his religion, court officials said Wednesday.The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced the 21-year-old man, identified only by his surname Choi, to one and a half years behind bars after he failed to participate in South Korea’s mandatory military conscription last September, citing his religious conviction.“Conscientious objectors should not be exempt from punishm
July 10, 2013
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Students grapple with soaring room costs
College students in Seoul, pressed by skyrocketing rent and limited dormitories, have difficulty finding a stable place to live. Without enough money for quality housing, most settle for substandard quarters. “This is a very old town, so facilities are run down and there is mildew everywhere,” said Yang Eun-hyuk, a student at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Imun-dong, northern Seoul. “Even for a dilapidated building, the year-long lease is 10 million won and the monthly rent is high. I d
July 10, 2013
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ETS provides TOEFL scholarship
The Educational Testing Service, the U.S.-based firm that administers TOEFL and TOEIC tests, announced on Monday that it awarded $72,000 to students in Korea through its annual TOEFL Scholarship program.ETS said that it awarded 24 Korean students each with a $3,000 scholarship to fund their undergraduate or graduate studies overseas.Since the inception of the ETS scholarship program, the organization has awarded $560,000 to Korean TOEFL and TOEIC test takers to support undergraduate or graduate
July 10, 2013
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A trailblazer in fire protection education
Lee Chang-woo is credited with a number of inventions that helped fight fire more effectively, safely and in environment-friendly ways. The most counterintuitive of his creations may be the online education course for fire and disaster prevention at Korea Soongsil Cyber University.Since its launch in 2005, the department has been increasingly popular in line with growing demands for disaster response and safety management experts.“Our department is the only four-year course in this country to te
July 10, 2013
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Universities violate rules on wastewater
Nearly half of Korean universities with laboratories have taken advantage of loopholes in supervision and broken wastewater discharge regulations, with some releasing toxic chemicals, the Ministry of Environment said Wednesday.The ministry and local governments conducted an inspection of wastewater disposal at 215 universities across the country between March 20 and April 2.The inquiry found that 105 universities, or 49 percent, have dumped contaminants which were either unauthorized or in exces
July 10, 2013
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Ministry orders improved education on Korean War
The Education Ministry has instructed schools nationwide to strengthen education on the 1950-53 Korean War, municipal and provincial education offices said Wednesday.The move follows controversy over students’ knowledge of history, as a recent survey by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration found that 53 percent of 1,000 students failed to answer what year the war broke out.In a separate survey of 506 high school students nationwide by the local daily Seoul Shinmun, seven out of 10
July 10, 2013
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Seoul, Washington begin joint analysis of flight data from crashed jet
A joint investigation to identify the exact cause of the crash of a South Korean passenger jet in San Francisco got underway with an analysis of the flight data recorder (FDR) from the crashed jet, the government said Wednesday.A joint investigation of the FDR began shortly after two South Korean investigators arrived in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday (U.S. time), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.Two pilots from Asiana Airlines Inc., the South Korean operator of the
July 10, 2013
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Half of stores illegally sell alcohol to teenagers
Nearly half of “super supermarkets” and convenience stores in Seoul are illegally selling alcohol to teenagers, a survey by the city government showed Tuesday.The city government announced the result of its one-month undercover inspection of retail stores, in which 40 teenage volunteers and college students participated.A total of 43.5 percent of 200 SSMs and 55.2 percent of 1,000 convenience stores violated the Juvenile Protection Act that prohibits the sale of alcohol to those under 19.They us
July 9, 2013
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Park offers condolences for deaths of teens in jet crash
President Park Geun-hye offered condolences Tuesday over the deaths of two Chinese schoolgirls in the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash and instructed the Cabinet to clearly determine what caused the crash and take preventive steps.“I offer words of condolence to the Chinese students killed in the airliner crash and to their families. The most important thing I think of is the safety of people, and it is truly regrettable that this accident has happened,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting. (Yonh
July 9, 2013
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Park urges stricter anti-graft checks on nuclear industry
President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday the industry ministry should actively exercise its oversight of nuclear power plant operators to prevent corruption amid a widening probe into suspicions that plant operators used a number of substandard reactor parts in exchange for money.“We should make this case an opportunity to root out nuclear power plant corruption,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting. “First of all, we should strictly conduct the prosecution investigation and the inspection by the Boa
July 9, 2013