Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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Cho’s death brings copycat fears
After the death on Sunday of Cho Sung-min, the ex-husband of late actress Choi Jin-sil and former professional baseball player, there are worries that interest in the story may lead to copycat deaths. Cho, 39, was found dead in an apparent suicide on Jan. 6 at around 3:40 a.m., at his girlfriend’s apartment in Dogok-dong, Seoul, according to Suseo Police Station. This shocking news is feared to encourage other people to attempt copycat suicides. When suicide is frequently talked about on the Int
Jan. 7, 2013
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KORAIL to start Seollal reservations Jan. 15-16
The state-run railway operator KORAIL said Monday that ticket reservations for this year’s Lunar New Year holidays would start on Jan. 15 or 16, depending on the route.The reservations are for train services including KTX, Saemaul, Mugunghwa, Nuri, and ITX trains, KORAIL announced.Tickets for the Gyeongbu Line, which connects Seoul and Busan, will go on sale on Jan. 15 and Honam Line tickets, bound for South Jeolla Province, will be released on Jan. 16.Unlike previous years, Internet reservation
Jan. 7, 2013
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Spurned lover arrested for setting fire to his ex’s house
A college student has been arrested for setting fire to the house of his girlfriend, who wanted to finish the relationship, police reported.Yangcheon police station in central Seoul said that the suspect had been arrested for committing arson on Dec. 29, resulting in severe burns inflicted on the woman’s disabled father.Police investigation revealed that the 20-year-old suspect had thrown a burning cigarette butt into his ex-girlfriend’s window when he failed to contact her after waiting for hou
Jan. 7, 2013
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Low birth rate to cut youth population by half in 2060: report
South Korea could see the younger population aged between 9-24 decrease by more than 50 percent from now in 2060 if the country's low birth rates continue, a government report showed Monday.The nation's youth population reached its peak at 14 million in 1980, but it has since steadily declined to 10.2 million last year, accounting for 20.4 percent of the total population, census data by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family showed.The number of young people aged 9-24 is expected to dwindle
Jan. 7, 2013
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Choi Jin-sil’s former husband found dead
Cho Sung-min, the ex-husband of late actress Choi Jin-sil and a former star baseball player, was found dead early Sunday morning in an apparent suicide, police said. The body of Cho, 39, was discovered by his girlfriend, hanged in the bathroom of her apartment in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul, at around 5:26 a.m. according to Suseo Police Station, which is investigating the case. “We have found no signs yet of a break-in or any injuries to suspect his death to be a homicide,” the police said a pres
Jan. 6, 2013
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No family-accompanied stay of troops: USFK
The U.S. military in South Korea said Friday it will again be unable this year to normalize tours of its troops here where more troops will be accompanied by their family members.The U.S. military has been trying since 2008 to increase the number of troops on “normal” or family-accompanied tours to about half of its 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea by 2020, but it has been unable to begin the process largely due to lack of funds.The U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement that its commande
Jan. 6, 2013
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Former organized crime boss Kim Tae-chon dies in hospital
Kim Tae-chon, former boss of South Korea’s noted criminal syndicates in the 1970s and 1980s, died early Saturday at a hospital in Seoul after about a year of treatment for diseases. He was 64. The cause was said to be heart failure, according to officials at Seoul National University Hospital, where Kim had been admitted since December 2011 for treatment of a type of thyroid disease. Kim had been under intensive care since March because of difficulty breathing. Kim “died early today after being
Jan. 6, 2013
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Ministry cracks down on illegal overseas study programs
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has filed a complaint with the prosecution against 12 private agencies involved in illegal overseas study programs. The accused agencies have been luring students who seek to obtain an overseas degree by allowing them to transfer to foreign colleges without requiring tests, the ministry said Sunday.Under their special admission programs, students study English for one or two years in local colleges and transfer as second or third-year students to
Jan. 6, 2013
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Ministry cracks down on illegal overseas study programs
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has filed a complaint with the prosecution against 12 private agencies involved in illegal overseas study programs. The accused agencies have been luring students who seek to obtain an overseas degree by allowing them to transfer to foreign colleges without tests, the ministry said Sunday.Under their special admission programs, students study English for one or two years in local colleges and transfer as second or third-year students to foreign c
Jan. 6, 2013
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S. Korea‘s overseas arrivals, departures top 50 million in 2012
The number of locals and foreigners going in and out of South Korea rose 10.8 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, surpassing the 50-million mark last year for the first time, the Justice Ministry said Sunday.The tally came to some 50.32 million, with the number of locals reaching 28.14 million, while that of foreigners came in at 22.18 million, the ministry said.Some 3.49 million Japanese visited South Korea last year, followed by China with 2.48 million, according to the ministry. The Korean w
Jan. 6, 2013
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S. Korea‘s labor productivity decline larger than OECD countries
South Korea‘s labor productivity fell by the second-largest margin in the third quarter of last year among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), due mainly to a drop in economic growth, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the OECD, South Korea’s labor productivity declined 0.4 percent in the July-September period of last year from three months earlier, the second-largest drop among the 22 OECD member countries after Norway, which suffer
Jan. 6, 2013
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Prosecution questions Shinsegae vice chairman
Prosecutors questioned Chung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae Group, Wednesday over his rejection of parliamentary summons to attend a hearing in October.The National Assembly accused Chung and three other heads of major retail giants here of abandoning their duties to attend the hearing session during a parliamentary inspection. They were ordered to appear at the National Assembly and answer questions by lawmakers but none of them did, citing business trips. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ O
Jan. 5, 2013
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Former gang boss Kim Tae-chon dies in hospital
Kim Tae-chon, former boss of South Korea's noted criminal syndicates in the 1970s and 1980s, died early Saturday at a hospital in Seoul after about a year of treatment for diseases. He was 64.The cause was said to be heart failure, according to officials at Seoul National University Hospital, where Kim had been admitted since December 2011 for treatment of a type of thyroid disease. Kim had been under intensive care since March because of difficulty in breathing.Kim "died early today after being
Jan. 5, 2013
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Seoul City halts plans for foreign school in Gangnam
Seoul City put a brake on a plan to build a foreign school in Gaepo, southern Seoul, due to decreased demand and a possible oversupply of foreign schools. The city government had a project to build three foreign schools since 2008 to increase the city’s global competence by providing a better educational environment to children of foreign businesspeople and attracting more investment in the city. The city government currently runs two foreign schools, Dulwich College Seoul in Banpo, southern Seo
Jan. 4, 2013
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Chemical castration ruling sparks controversy
Civic groups on Friday criticized a court’s sentence of forced chemical castration for a repeat rapist of teenage girls, saying it violates human rights.The Seoul Southern District Court ruled on Thursday that a 31-year-old convict should be put under hormonal treatment for three years to shut down his sexual desire.It was the first chemical castration order by a court since the National Assembly passed in 2011 a bill allowing the administration of anti-sex hormone medication for convicted child
Jan. 4, 2013
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Poet acquitted of charges of infringing national security
Kim Ji-ha, 72, a renowned poet, has been acquitted after 39 years of charges of violating the National Security Act and the presidential emergency rule, and inciting rebellion.Kim was convicted for publishing a poem “Ojeok” or “Five Enemies,” which criticized political and financial elites during the iron-fisted rule of late President Park Chung-hee, President-elect Park Geun-hye’s father, and participating in a students’ democracy movement in 1974. He received the death penalty, but was freed a
Jan. 4, 2013
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S. Korean police questioned American for alleged sexual harassment
South Korean police have questioned an American for alleged sexual harassment of three flight attendants aboard a flight bound for Incheon from New York, an official said.The American, identified only by his family name Rakowski, allegedly got drunk and hugged three crew members and hit two other crew members, the police official in Incheon said late Thursday.A crew member overpowered the suspect by using a taser gun and later handed him over to South Korean police upon arrival at Incheon Intern
Jan. 4, 2013
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Court issues 1st chemical castration sentence
A Seoul court on Thursday ordered the forcible “chemical castration” of a repeated rapist of teenage girls in the first such ruling since the measure was introduced in 2011. The Seoul Southern District Court ruled that the 31-year-old should be put under hormonal treatment for three years to curb his libido. The measure was on top of 15 years’ imprisonment, 20 years of electronic monitoring through an ankle bracelet, 200 hours of mandatory rehabilitation and online disclosure of personal informa
Jan. 3, 2013
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NIS official suspected of online posting over poll
Police have summoned a National Intelligence Service official again to investigate allegations that she vilified opposition candidate Moon Jae-in in online comments during the election period. Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul said its investigators found that the agent reportedly clicked an approval/objection button attached to Internet posts regarding the presidential candidates. “Comments or posts that support a certain presidential candidate have not been found. The police, however, wil
Jan. 3, 2013
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Migrant worker supply plan confirmed to ease shortage
The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday confirmed a detailed plan to grant E-9 visas to 46,000 migrant workers under the employment permit system.According to the plan, 17,650 workers will be allowed in during the first quarter of this year to ease the acute labor shortage in the manufacturing, farming and fishing sectors. In the second quarter, another 13,350 workers will arrive. The rest will be hired in the third and fourth quarters, the ministry said in a statement. On top of the 46
Jan. 3, 2013