Most Popular
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Hybe's multilabel system tested amid conflict with Ador
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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SNU profs to suspend treatment for one day
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SK hynix pledges W20tr to ramp up DRAM production at home
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Over-50s, men, single-person households take up majority of those filing for bankruptcy
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Pianist Cho Seong-Jin named Berlin Philharmonic's artist-in-residence
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Bike pervert nabbed in Seoul
A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of groping pedestrians while riding his motorcycle, police said Wednesday.According to Seoul Gangseo police, the suspect had randomly molested pedestrians at least 13 times over the last three months. The suspect allegedly approached young women on his motorcycle, touched them inappropriately and fled. He mainly preyed on young women wearing skirts, although police added a middle school student was among his victims. The suspect is believed to have com
March 13, 2013
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Controversy grows over revised law on public indecency
A revised law on public indecency approved by the Cabinet on Monday has caused an instant stir with citizens denouncing the act, saying it restricts freedom of expression.The enforcement ordinance listed a number of misdemeanors including stalking, public indecency and concealing weapons. It also set the amount of fines, including a 50,000 won penalty for flashers and 80,000 won for stalkers caught for the first time.However, some say that the regulation reminds them of police crackdowns on mini
March 12, 2013
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Judge criticizes defense nominee on Facebook
A sitting senior judge on Tuesday publicly opposed the appointment of President Park Geun-hye’s defense chief nominee through a social networking site, raising questions over his moral standards.Choi Eun-bae of the Seoul Eastern District Court said on his Facebook page that it would be best not to name Kim Byung-kwan, who has been accused of various ethical lapses, as the country’s next minister of defense.“An honorable person should be appointed as the head (of the military) to inspire respect
March 12, 2013
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MBC chief fined for not attending Assembly audits
A Seoul court has imposed 8 million won ($7,300) in fines on a chief of local broadcaster MBC for not attending parliamentary audits, court officials said Tuesday.The Seoul Southern District Court found Kim Jae-chul, the chief of the major broadcaster, guilty of not responding to the government’s call to appear at the hearings and audits of the National Assembly in October of last year, they said.The audits were held as part of the government’s drive to probe into a six-month strike by hundreds
March 12, 2013
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Prosecutors demand 7-year prison term for pro-North spy
Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a seven-year prison term for a South Korean man suspected of spying for North Korea.The 59-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Jang, is accused of voluntarily receiving spy training from a North Korean agent and handing over military secrets."Severe punishment is necessary because (the suspect) voluntarily handed over military secrets to a North Korean spy but denies the crime and does not repent," prosecutors said during a hearing at the Suwon Distri
March 12, 2013
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Seoul to compensate overcharged foreign tourists
Seoul City plans to form a public fund to compensate foreign travelers overcharged by stores and taxi drivers beginning as early as June, city officials said Tuesday. The city government is studying detailed rules including the amount, criteria and method of payment. The city is considering raising funds of 200 million won ($183,000) to 300 million won in cooperation with tourism organizations.Mayor Park Won-soon recently directed city officials to come up with measures to prevent rip-off practi
March 12, 2013
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Burmese activists see lessons to be learned from Korea’s history
There are now more foreign nationals in South Korea than at any other time in its history. People are coming here from all over for work, education, love or to explore their interest in Korean culture. Nay Tun Naing is one of the some 1.4 million foreigners in Korea, but his reason for coming, and the motivation to stay, sets him apart from others.Naing, 44, came to Korea in 1994 from Burma, also known as Myanmar, fleeing out of fear for his freedom and safety. Naing’s pro-democracy activism got
March 12, 2013
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S. Koreans learn to live with N. Korean war threats
Nearly two decades ago, South Koreans cleared store shelves after a North Korean threat to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire” raised war panic. On Saturday, South Koreans expressed some fear but mostly apathy and restraint after a week of warlike rhetoric from the North, including another “sea of fire” vow. Many South Koreans have grown up with a steady drumbeat of over-the-top threats from the North. So while they are aware of soaring tensions as North Korea reacts with anger to major U.S.-South K
March 12, 2013
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Sex offenders target female smartphone users
Several female smartphone users in South Korea have been the targets of sexual assault, raising alarms about the use of the devices on the streets.According to the police, sex offenders targeted women using smartphones or wearing earphones.Police arrested a man who sexually harassed three women listening to music or surfing the Internet through their mobile devices on their way home at night. The 22-year-old man, surnamed Cho, victimized women in their 20s in Anyang and Uiwang, both in Gyeonggi
March 12, 2013
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Man fakes ‘kidnap plot’ to get hired by Samsung
A man was indicted for an attempt to defraud the family of Samsung executive Kim In-ju, in which he faked a kidnap plot to get hired by Samsung, Seoul prosecutors said Tuesday,.According to Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the 34-year-old suspect contacted Kim’s wife over the phone last October and told her there had been a kidnap attempt on her. He told her that someone had offered him 1 billion won ($910 million) for the abduction.The suspect even met her at her apartment in Gangnam
March 12, 2013
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U.S. soldier confesses to attacking S. Korean police officer in car chase
An American soldier, who has been under investigation over shooting a BB gun at pedestrians and fleeing police in a car along with two other service members, confessed on Monday that he was driving the vehicle and had attacked a South Korean police officer last week.The 26-year-old staff sergeant, who serves in the 8th U.S. Army at Yongsan Garrison, voluntarily appeared before South Korean police with his lawyer and a U.S. representative to give the testimony over the March 2 late-night car chas
March 11, 2013
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Popularity of English kindergartens grows under free child care policy
President Park Geun-hye may wish for all preschoolers to have universal and free child care services under her ambitious welfare plans.However, for some rich parents, the state program is meaningless as they choose to send their kids to private “English kindergartens.”In stark contrast to state-run or supported child care centers now offered for free under Park’s administration, these English-learning institutes can cost up to 2 million won a month.Despite the high price, demand is high as many
March 11, 2013
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Two nabbed for alleged U.S. visa application fraud
Two brokers have been booked without physical detention on suspicion of producing fraudulent documents to help about 100 South Koreans get U.S. visas, police here said Monday.The suspects, including a 43-year-old broker surnamed Cheong, are accused of fabricating the documents such as proof of employment, so that the visa applicants, who were ineligible for issuance for various reasons, could submit the falsified papers to the United States embassy in Seoul, according to the Seoul Metropolitan P
March 11, 2013
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Indonesian actress dedicated to promoting Korea
An Indonesian actress, who was appointed last year as a “Goodwill Ambassador for Public Diplomacy” for South Korea, said Monday that she aims to “make a difference” in developing people-to-people links between the two nations. Actress Revalina S. Temat, 27, took the post last September after she starred in the first joint Korean-Indonesia TV drama, “Saranghae, I Love You.” She is visiting Seoul this week as part of her activities marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the t
March 11, 2013
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Ministry assigns schools to teach about Dokdo
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has designated 60 schools to teach the history of Dokdo amid Japan’s enhanced territorial claims to the easternmost islets.The schools will offer educational programs for students and family members and also conduct guided tours of exhibitions and field trips to Dokdo. The ministry started the Dokdo School project in support of the Northeast Asian History Foundation in 2008. The ministry has made it mandatory for all elementary, middle and high s
March 11, 2013
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U.S. Army mechanic nabbed for wielding knife
PYEONGTAEK (Yonhap News) ― A U.S. Army mechanic working in South Korea was caught by police for threatening a South Korean citizen with a knife during a road dispute, officers here said Saturday. A 48-year-old aircraft maintenance crew member from the 8th U.S. Army, identified only by the initial J, allegedly threatened a 42-year-old South Korean citizen, known as Choi, with a knife the previous day while having an argument over a near accident involving their cars on a street in Pyeongtaek, som
March 10, 2013
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Nine people killed, one missing in fishing boat fire
GUNSAN (Yonhap News) ― Nine fishermen were killed and one was missing when their boat caught fire and sank off South Korea’s central west coast Saturday, maritime police said.The fire started at about 4:30 a.m. on the 20-ton fishing boat in waters about 24 kilometers southwest of Gunsan, according to the police. Gunsan, a port city, is 274 kilometers southwest of Seoul.The police said they received a distress call from the boat at about 5:20 a.m.The boat’s only survivor so far said the fire star
March 10, 2013
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One dead, 14 injured in forest fire in Pohang
POHANG (Yonhap News) ― One South Korean was killed and 14 others injured in a mountain fire that spread to residential areas in this southeastern coastal city of Pohang.Police said they are interrogating a middle school student as a suspect. The fire that started on a hill around 4 p.m. Saturday was almost extinguished by Sunday morning after burning nearly 5 hectares of mostly residential areas, according to firefighters.The fire killed an 80-something person and left 14 others injured, the fir
March 10, 2013
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More than 100 doctors face indictment for bribery
A joint government investigation team looking into illegal kickbacks said Sunday that it booked more than 100 doctors on charges of receiving bribes from Donga Pharmaceutical Co., the largest pharmaceutical firm in the nation.The bribery case involving an unprecedented number of doctors prosecuted is based on a fledgling law that bans both giving and receiving kickbacks in the medical and drug fields. Doctors and drug makers have long been alleged to have close and secretive ties. The joint team
March 10, 2013
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Koreans learn how to play as they retire faster
It’s been just a year and a half since Suk Jae-yul started learning how to play the bass guitar, but he is already the leader of a band. It’s a non-professional band of beginners like him and he doesn’t even believe it’s going to last long, as all the members are full-time employees and are under constant pressure to find spare time.Still, Suk, a 40-year-old project manager for an Internet company, makes sure he spends every other Friday night practicing with his six other band members. What fre
March 10, 2013