Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Comedian faces charges for illegal gambling
Kim Yong-man, a popular comedian and television show host, is facing charges of illegal gambling, according to prosecution officials.The prosecution questioned Kim Tuesday over allegations that he bet more than 1 billion won on at least two illegal sports betting sites from 2008. Kim admitted to most of his charges, the prosecution said.The news came as the government is stepping up a campaign against illegal online gambling, including plans for a special crackdown next month.The 46-year-old Kim
March 21, 2013
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Court rules emergency decrees 1,2,9 unconstitutional
In a landmark ruling, the Constitutional Court on Thursday declared a series of emergency decrees based on the Yushin Constitution, which was declared by the military regime of the late President Park Chung-hee in 1970s in an attempt to remain in power, as unconstitutional.Park, who ruled the nation from 1961-1979 after seizing power in a military coup, introduced a new constitution, known as the Yushin (revitalizing reform) Constitution. The father of incumbent President Park Geun-hye then proc
March 21, 2013
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NHRC slams school for sexual discrimination
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has ruled that a school’s refusal to hire a female applicant because she could become pregnant was discrimination.A woman, surnamed Jang, applied for a teaching position at a high school in Gyeonggi Province. Jang was expecting to get hired, since she was the only applicant for the job. However, the school did not hire the 34-year-old as she “was a newlywed and might become pregnant in the near future.” Jang filed a petition to the NHRC regarding thi
March 21, 2013
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Malicious code in NongHyup system came from Chinese IP: gov't
Part of the malicious code that paralyzed network systems at South Korean banks and TV broadcasters came from a Chinese Internet Protocol (IP) address, Seoul's communications watchdog said Thursday.Local TV broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN along with Shinhan, NongHyup and Jeju banks suffered a massive network failure on Wednesday that halted financial services and crippled operations.Following an analysis of source codes, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced that the incident was cau
March 21, 2013
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Parents sue their kids over support in old age
Filial piety is a big thing in South Korea, a country which has long valued Confucian ethics. Parents willingly spend the bulk of their time, energy and money raising and educating their kids; in return, they get looked after by their children after retirement. At least, that was how parent-child interdependence was normally accepted and practiced here. In recent years, however, the bond is noticeably wearing thin as more Korean parents are suing their children for failing to offer proper care a
March 20, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Celebrity speaker accused of plagiarism
Celebrity instructor, cable TV host and education entrepreneur Kim Mi-kyung has become the latest in a string of public figures accused of plagiarism.The 48-year-old who hosts a talk show under her name at tvN is alleged to have copied at least four papers by others for the master’s degree she earned from Ewha Womans University in 2007.The university said that it was investigating the allegations that several paragraphs and footnotes in her paper are the same as other master’s degree theses publ
March 20, 2013
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Korea struggles to save students from bullying
Going to school was like a nightmare for Lee Su-in. The 15-year-old was habitually bullied by her peers for no other reason than that they did not like her appearance. When she reported it to her teacher, things got worse. The teacher only told them off once in front of her. “That was it, and after that they abused me even more severely,” she recalled. “I had no choice and decided in the end to transfer to an alternative school.” School bullying is grabbing national attention after a 15-year-old
March 20, 2013
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Seoul to revive Hangang River
Seoul City will consider removing and refurbishing artificial weirs and structures in the Hangang River as part of plans to revive its ecosystem, officials said Wednesday.It will also replace artificial levees with sand banks and natural levees in areas that have no flooding risk. The city government laid out plans to improve the environment of the river and make it more accessible to citizens. The water quality indexes for most parts of the river indicate satisfactory levels, but improvements a
March 20, 2013
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Police to summon key figures in growing sex-for-favors scandal
Police will question a local contractor and other key figures allegedly involved in a snowballing sex-for-favors scandal. The construction firm executive is suspected of arranging banquets and sexual services for high-ranking officials and public figures in return for their influence.Officials at the National Police Agency said Wednesday that they summoned three witnesses overnight and secured statements on the businessman’s illegal lobbying activities and secretive meetings. “We have secured th
March 20, 2013
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U.S. schools embrace ‘immersion’ Chinese lessons supported by Beijing
VENICE, California (AFP) ― Susan Wang couldn’t speak English when she arrived in California from Taiwan, aged 16.Now 49, she heads a school offering U.S. children a similar experience, plunging them into a Chinese world.And her establishment is part of a rapid expansion of “immersion” Mandarin language programs in the United States, helped notably by Beijing providing low-cost native-speaker teachers to cash-strapped U.S. schools.Pupils as young as five at her Broadway Elementary School in Venic
March 20, 2013
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Malware causes massive computer network paralysis: watchdog
South Korea's communication watchdog said Wednesday that massive computer network failures at major broadcasters and banks were caused by hacking attacks using malignant code.Officials said they could not find any evidence to link the attacks to North Korea but stressed that does not mean that they are ruling out such a possibility.At around 2 p.m., broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN and four banks -- Shinhan, Nonghyup, Woori and Jeju -- reported to the National Police Agency (NPA) that their compute
March 20, 2013
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Broadcasters, banks hit by computer systems failure
The websites and computer networks of South Korea’s major broadcasters and banks were paralyzed Wednesday afternoon in an apparent concerted cyber attack. The simultaneous shutdown at 2 p.m. of KBS, MBC, YTN, Nonghyup and Shinhan Bank systems came after North Korea threatened cyber attacks. Jeju Bank and two insurance subsidiaries of Nonghyup were also affected. The latest mass cyber attack is thought to have used malicious code that changes the URL, or internet address, of the affected organiza
March 20, 2013
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Police investigate sex-for-favors scandal
Police have opened a preliminary investigation into alleged sex-for-favors cases involving a number of high-ranking officials and public figures. Officials at the National Police Agency said they obtained intelligence that a local contractor bought sexual services for social elites in return for business favors. The list of influential figures involved in the case reportedly includes an official who serves in a vice ministerial post and the head of a large hospital.The 51-year-old contractor, id
March 19, 2013
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Daelim headquarters, factory raided over fatal explosion
YEOSU -- Police raided the head office of a Seoul-based major chemical company and its plant in this provincial city on Monday as part of efforts to determine the exact cause of an explosion last week that killed six workers and wounded 11 others.All of the victims are contract workers who were doing welding work on a storage tank at Daelim Industrial's plant in Yeosu, a port city on the nation's southern coast.The exact cause of the March 14 blast has yet to be determined, with surviving worker
March 18, 2013
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Lawmaker claims NIS chief ordered election interference
An opposition lawmaker unveiled internal documents of the National Intelligence Service Monday as evidence backing allegations that the spy agency engaged in illegal activity during the presidential election last year. Police are investigating an NIS official suspected of waging an online slander campaign against opposition groups during the election. Jin Sun-mee, a lawmaker from the Democratic United Party, revealed a document containing chief Won Se-hoon’s orders to counter antigovernment argu
March 18, 2013
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Ministry pushes to redress damage to river ecosystem
The government is drawing up a new bill to evaluate and restore the ecosystems of rivers or streams amid allegations that the former government’s massive river cleanup and development project has damaged the aquatic environment.The Ministry of Environment said Monday that it plans to establish a legal framework within the year for systematic and comprehensive measures to redress the ecosystem when deemed seriously damaged.The plan has drawn attention as it is in line with the new administration’
March 18, 2013
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Students admit bullying teenager
Two South Korean students have admitted to bullying a 15-year-old student who killed himself on March 11, Gyeongsan police said.The students said they hit the victim on the head, according to the police investigation. The two 15-year-olds, however, made conflicting claims on who sexually harassed the teenager.Police searched through the victim’s mobile handset, tracking down phone calls and text messages from March 2013, but no evidence of bullying was found. Police plans to analyze the students
March 18, 2013
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Korea expands use of chemical castration
Courts will now be able to order chemical castration for all rapists from Tuesday, as part of imposing tougher penalties against sex crimes.Until now the hormone treatment has been a sentencing option only for child sex offenders, but can now apply to all convicted rapists through the legal revision, according to the Ministry of Justice Sunday. The treatment can also be ordered by a committee operating under the Ministry of Justice.The bill, which was passed in December, comes into effect after
March 17, 2013
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Police seek warrant for man accused of stabbing U.S. soldiers
DONGDUCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Police said Sunday they will request an arrest warrant for a Korean man for allegedly stabbing three American soldiers during a fight near a U.S. Army base here the previous day.The stabbing happened at 6:20 a.m. Saturday during a fight in front of a club in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, police said.Two victims were taken to a nearby hospital before being released later. One was being treated at a military hospital at Yongsan Army Garrison in central Seoul for a l
March 17, 2013
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UPP chief investigated for N.K. remarks
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Sunday it has launched an investigation into left-wing Unified Progressive Party chairwoman Lee Jeong-hee on the charge of violating the National Security Act.Conservative civic groups including Hwalbindan filed a complaint against Lee last week with allegations that her party supported Pyongyang by defining the joint military drills by South Korea and the United States as an attempt to invade and seize the North and that it criticized the U.N.
March 17, 2013