Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Thousands of singles gather in Christmas Eve blind date
Braving the freezing cold and safety concerns, thousands of young singles gathered at a recreational park in central Seoul to find their Mr. and Ms. Rights on Christmas Eve.Korea’s largest outdoor blind date called “Solo Battle” was held in Yeouido Park, though there were fewer-than-expected participants amid the chilly weather. In the morning, the mercury hit minus 14 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter. “I am looking forward to finding a date. I have a little hope that I can find the one
Dec. 24, 2012
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‘Private education costs for preschoolers surge’
Despite increased state support for child care, many parents are spending more money on private education for children under age 6, a report showed on Monday.According to research by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, the country’s private education market for preschool children is estimated to be 2.7 trillion won ($2.5 billion), which accounts for 0.2 percent of gross domestic product. Private education for infants includes “play schools” taught both in Korean and English, culture
Dec. 24, 2012
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Korea eyes 3,000 social enterprises by 2017: ministry
The government aims to increase the number of social enterprises to 3,000 from the current 774 by 2017, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday. Under the ministry’s five-year plan starting next year, the government will expand support of social enterprises throughout their entire business cycle, from start-ups, marketing and sales strategies to financial consulting. Social enterprises are for-profit yet social mission-driven companies such as a bakery hiring disabled persons as bakers
Dec. 24, 2012
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Mass blind date held on Christmas Eve
Braving the freezing cold and safety concerns, thousands of young singles gathered at a recreational park in central Seoul to find their Mr. and Ms. Rights on Christmas Eve.Korea’s largest outdoor blind date called “Solo Battle” was held in Yeouido Park though there were fewer-than-expected participants amid the chilly weather. In the morning the mercury hit minus 14 degrees Celsius, the lowest this winter. “I am looking forward to finding a date. I have a little hope that I can find the one am
Dec. 24, 2012
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Seamen from sunken freighter rescued by H.K. vessel
A Hong Kong-registered merchant ship has rescued all of the 17 South Korean and Myanmarese seamen from a sunken South Korean vessel early Sunday, South Korean maritime police said.All the 17 crewmen of the 2,518-ton South Korean vessel were moved to a lifeboat late Saturday when the vessel sank in waters 185 miles northeast of the Philippines, a maritime police spokesman said.Upon getting a distress report, a South Korean patrol plane rushed to the scene and asked for help from the Hong Kong fre
Dec. 23, 2012
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Seoul recruits experts on foreign languages
The South Korean government has recruited seven experts on foreign languages other than English to help promote the country’s image abroad.The seven, two experts on Chinese, and one each on Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic, will translate and interpret for officials of various government agencies while engaging in jobs on international relations and promotion of the national brand of South Korea, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said Sunday.Their annual salary ra
Dec. 23, 2012
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Japanese Dokdo expert dies
Naito Seichu, a Japanese historian well known for his research against Japan’s claims to Dokdo, died on Dec. 16 due to illness, Yonhap News reported. He was 82He was emeritus professor at Shimane University in Japan. Japan claims the official document dated 1905 from Japan’s Shimane prefectural government shows that the islets, called Takeshima in Japan, were pronounced as its territory.But Seichu pointed out that in 1696, the ruler of Japan acknowledged that the islets were Korean territory. (5
Dec. 23, 2012
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Number of workers with degrees nearly doubles
The number of workers with university degrees nearly doubled while the average age of the workforce got older in the past decade, data from Ministry of Employment and Labor showed on Sunday.There were a total of 17.39 million salaried workers in 2011, up 27.4 percent from 12.65 million in 2001. Among them, 30 percent, or 5.4 million workers, have a four-year college degree, up by 88 percent from 2.87 million in 2001.And 2.58 million of those workers have a two-year college degree while the major
Dec. 23, 2012
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Seoul caps college tuition rise at 4.7%
The Ministry of Education announced a set of plans to restrict the increase in college tuition fees to no more than 4.7 percent next year to counter rising education costs that have contributed substantially to the nation’s heavy household debt. The government’s measure is expected to induce universities to freeze or lower their tuition fees next year, officials said. The state limit on tuition fee hikes was 5 percent this year and 5.1 year in 2011.College tuition fees have increased at almost d
Dec. 21, 2012
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Growing number of people think marriage is not a must: survey
The ratio of people in South Korea who think they should get married has been declining over the past decade, a survey showed Thursday, pointing to a growing trend here to delay or give up on marriage.According to the survey by Statistics Korea, the number of people who said that marriage is a must in their life stood at 62.7 percent. It is the lowest since the statistics agency started to unveil related polls in 1998 when the ratio was 73.5 percent.The ratio has been on the decline over the pas
Dec. 20, 2012
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Panel nears conclusion on alleged plagiarism by IOC member-lawmaker
A university ethics committee made a tentative judgment on allegations that Moon Dae-sung, former Olympic athlete and once ruling party lawmaker, plagiarized his 2007 doctoral dissertation. A report said the Kookmin University panel found him guilty of research fraud after its nine-month investigation. But its head denied the report, saying it has yet to finalize the decision. “At this point, we can’t tell anything. We have not yet reached final conclusions,” Lee Chae-sung, head of the school’s
Dec. 19, 2012
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Man gets 4 years in jail for pouring acid on his wife’s face
A district court on Wednesday sentenced a man to four years’ imprisonment for pouring acid on his wife.The man, identified with his surname Kim, allegedly had a grudge against his wife, 47, after she filed for divorce in April.His wife also asked for a restraining order against him in May. In June, Kim was indicted on charges related to pouring sulfuric acid on his wife’s face, leaving her with severe burns that required six weeks of medical treatment.“He committed a crime, even though the court
Dec. 19, 2012
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I came, I voted, I told the world
With the presidential election under way, many voters are posting online pictures of themselves after voting.“This is the first time I voted. I am so happy to vote for someone I support!” exclaimed a 19-year-old student on her Twitter account. With the comment, she posted a picture of herself standing next to a polling station.Such photos are called “injeung shot,” referring to a photo shot to confirm that he or she has completed a certain activity. “Injeung” is a Korean word meaning certificati
Dec. 19, 2012
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S. Korean pastor released on bail in China after 5 months of detention
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean pastor has been released on bail after spending more than five months at a detention center in eastern China for allegedly helping North Korean defectors there, a Seoul official said Tuesday. The 51-year-old pastor, Jeon Jae-gwi, was arrested by Chinese authorities on July 9 at an airport in Harbin on charges of sheltering five North Korean defectors and has been held at the detention center in Yantai of northeastern Shandong Province. "To my kno
Dec. 18, 2012
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Five Hyundai Heavy workers kidnapped in Nigeria
Four Korean and one Nigerian employee of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the nation’s top shipbuilder, were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group at Brass Island in the state of Bayelsa, Nigeria, on Monday (local time), an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Tuesday.“No contact has been made with the kidnappers yet. The ministry has launched an emergency team with the related governmental agencies in Seoul and Nigeria, including the Ministry of Land, Transport and M
Dec. 18, 2012
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Sex crimes rise more than 60% over five years
Reported sex crimes in Korea increased by 61.6 percent in five years to 22,034 cases in 2011, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Monday. Seoul City recorded the highest rate of sex crimes per capita in the nation with 61.4 sex offenses per 100,000 people, followed by Bucheon with 60.9, and Suwon with 56.9.The number of sexual assault and abduction cases against children under the age of 13 years was 1,054 and 89, respectively.Among sex crimes against children, 23.8 percent and 32.6 percent wer
Dec. 17, 2012
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Seoul City issues plea on celebrity liquor ads
Seoul Metrolitan Government has asked alcohol, advertisement and entertainment firms to refrain from using pop stars in alcohol advertisements. The city will send out letters to liquor makers, advertisement companies and entertainment agencies Tuesday, asking them to reconsider their marketing strategies, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. “Becoming a pop star is ranked as the No. 2 future dream of our children. We believe that hiring pop stars, who exert great influence on teens, for alcoh
Dec. 17, 2012
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Regionalism still dominant in presidential election
The 18th presidential election will be decided Wednesday but its outcome remains unclear as ever with the country divided evenly over the two main candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in.According to an opinion poll conducted by Realmeter for The Korea Herald on Dec. 13, the Saenuri Party’s Park had 47.8 percent of support, while Democratic United Party’s Moon had 47.7 percent.By region, Park and Moon’s main supporter bases appear unchanged, with the Gyeongsang provinces in the southeast showin
Dec. 17, 2012
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Prosecutor indicted without detention in sex scandal
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office indicted a trainee prosecutor involved in a sex scandal without detention on Monday.The prosecution’s internal inspection team charged prosecutor Jeon Jae-mong with bribery and abuse of power.“His inappropriate behavior caused anger and criticism among the public and tainted the reputation of prosecutors,” said an SPO official, adding that the prosecution would seek the dismissal of Jeon.The internal inspection committee at the SPO last week recommended seeking ch
Dec. 17, 2012
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YouthECA provides online platform for young people
YouthECA, a website dedicated to students, has launched an online platform for young people to find information on contests and prizes.The company is in partnership with nine government offices including the Ministry of Environment, as well as various nonprofit organizations including the Korea Junior Leadership Center.The site (www.youtheca.com) provides up-to-date information to help students participate in competitions and contests, divided into 10 categories.YouthECA currently runs a special
Dec. 17, 2012