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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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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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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Court upholds 3-year prison term for ex-head of Lone Star Korea
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s three-year prison term for the former head of U.S.-based buyout fund Lone Star Funds’ Korean unit on Thursday for manipulating stock prices of the credit card unit at Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in 2003 in order to buy up the card firm on the cheap.The Seoul High Court delivered the prison sentence for Yoo Hoe-won, also known as Paul Yoo, in October for announcing a false plan. He said Lone Star would carry out capital reduction on the credit card firm in 2
Feb. 9, 2012
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Seoul City to require days off at retailers
Seoul City plans to crack down on major discount retailers here to ensure that they take days off, to protect the commercial rights of smaller retailers.The plan comes after the council of the southwestern city of Jeonju recently passed an ordinance requiring large retailers in the city to take days offs in a bid to protect smaller stores.A Seoul City official told reporters Wednesday that it will set the guideline on ordinance revision, requiring two days off and a closing time of midnight to 8
Feb. 9, 2012
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One in four pieces of fire equipment expired: gov‘t data
Firefighters in South Korea are ill-equipped, as a large amount of their overstretched safety equipment has expired, the disaster management agency said Thursday.According to data compiled by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 17.3 percent of apparatus for firefighters and 19.4 percent of fire engines across the country had outlived their usefulness as of the end of last year. Nearly 25 percent of fire-proof overalls, gloves, and helmets have expired, while 16.8 percent of safety s
Feb. 9, 2012
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Prosecutors indicate possible criminal punishment for teacher suspected of ignoring school violence
Prosecutors have recently directed police investigating a middle school teacher suspected of ignoring a bullied student to examine whether the school authority did all it could to help the student, police said Thursday, an indication that the teacher may face criminal punishment.The bullied student jumped from a high-rise apartment in Seoul to her death in November last year after months of beatings and insults by school peers. Police booked the student‘s homeroom teacher on Monday for allegedly
Feb. 9, 2012
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Seoul City tougher on civil servants’ drunk driving
Seoul City plans to implement a three-strike rule for civil servants caught for drunk driving, officials said Thursday.Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will dismiss civil servants who have their driver’s license suspended or revoked three times for driving under the influence.The new rule is part of a revision of regulations for the capital’s civil servants.Civil servants who receive tickets for their first and second DUI will be reprimanded and have their pay reduced, respectively.A strict
Feb. 9, 2012
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Teachers’ group cries foul on school violence probe
The country’s largest teachers’ group on Thursday visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to denounce the escalating investigation of teachers over allegedly lax management of student violence on campus. The visit by the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Association is expected to deepen conflict between the two parties over whether teachers bear sole responsibility for school violence that has been blamed for student suicides.According to the conservative teachers’ group, its president Ahn Ya
Feb. 9, 2012
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Vote-buying probe reaching Lee’s senior aide
Speaker’s ex-aide confesses he reported returned bribe to then campaign strategistPublic prosecutors probing an alleged vote-buying scheme by one of the ruling Saenuri Party’s former chiefs during its internal leadership race have reportedly secured a statement implicating Kim Hyo-jae, a senior aide to President Lee Myung-bak. With the statement, made by Koh Myung-jin, a former aide to the former party chief, Rep. Park Hee-tae, investigators were expected to accelerate their probe to shed light
Feb. 9, 2012
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Ministry to give work permits to 16,300 more migrant workers
The government decided Thursday to give work permits to an additional 16,300 foreign workers in the first half of this year to meet an acute shortage of labor at small workplaces. The country has already given E-9 visas to 29,700 workers so far this year, using up all of its quota for the first half. The E-9 visa is issued to migrant workers under the work permit system. Every year, the government sets the quota. Under the system, those with E-9 visas can work here for up to five years if they e
Feb. 9, 2012
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Prosecutors confirm new findings in ruling party bribery scandal
Prosecutors investigating the election bribery suspicions engulfing National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae have confirmed that Park's election camp cashed 50 million won ($44,830) worth of checks right before he was elected as the ruling party's chairman in 2008, a new piece of evidence which could
Feb. 8, 2012
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KF to hold third Global Seminar
The Korea Foundation said it will host the third Global Seminar from Feb. 9-12 at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, inviting scores of international experts to discuss reforming global economic governance and achieving sustainable growth.Under the theme “Reforming Global Economic Governance: Concerted Efforts for International Cooperation,” the forum will gather more than 60 experts from 18 countries as well as South Korean government officials.Participants include the Brookings Ins
Feb. 8, 2012
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CIA chief to visit Seoul to discuss N.K., security
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus will visit South Korea to discuss developments regarding North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-il.According to reports, Petraeus is scheduled to visit Seoul at the end of the week and meet President Lee Myung-bak and South Korean intelligence officials. Government officials Petraeus is reportedly planning to meet include National Intelligence Service Chief Won Sei-hoon, Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin and Senior Presidential S
Feb. 8, 2012
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Seoul mayor visits Japan’s disaster prevention facilities
By Lee Woo-young Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon began a tour of disaster prevention centers and new renewable energy facilities in Japan to learn from its disaster preparedness and efficient use of energy, which he plans to use in developing a safety plan for Seoul.Park embarked on a three-day official visit on Wednesday, arriving in Yokohama. He will visit Tokyo on Thursday and Friday. He observed the flood control reservoir on the Tsurumi River in Yokohama. The reservoir stores rainwater during rai
Feb. 8, 2012
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Seoul to collect used cooking oil to make bio-diesel fuel
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it plans to collect used cooking oil from across the city to produce bio-diesel fuel as part of efforts to protect the environment and cut sewage treatment costs.Bio diesel, a liquid fuel composed from renewable substances like soybean oil, is emerging as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. It burns cleaner than fuels derived from fossil fuels, while emitting no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Under the envisioned plan, the city gover
Feb. 8, 2012
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teacher investigated
Another teacher investigated for allegedly ignoring school violencePolice have opened an investigation into another local teacher on suspicions of neglecting a bullied student, police said Wednesday, two days after launching an unprecedented investigation into a teacher on similar suspicions. The Gangseo Police Station in western Seoul said the investigation was launched after the father of a middle school student submitted a petition for the investigation into the teacher, who the father said
Feb. 8, 2012
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Court overturns conviction for ‘murder without corpse’
An appellant court on Wednesday found not guilty a woman formerly convicted of homicide in a sensational case known as “the murder without a corpse.” The 40-year-old woman was arrested in June last year for killing a 26-year-old woman and cremating the body in Busan. She disguised the corpse as hers to receive money from her life insurance, which would have amounted to 2.4 billion won ($2.1 million). She signed up to the insurance policy two months before the alleged crime.She admitted she faked
Feb. 8, 2012
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Over 5,000 cases of alien objects in food detected
The state food safety agency detected a total of 5,631 cases of alien objects including mold, metals, bugs or plastic materials in food last year. It marked a 34.5 percent decrease from the previous year, according to the Korea Food and Drug Administration. Bugs accounted for 50.3 percent of the incidents, followed by mold at 9.9 percent, metals at 9.8 percent and plastics at 5.5 percent.Processed noodle products made up 24.4 percent of the total with 10.3 percent of detections in coffee, 10.1 p
Feb. 8, 2012
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Military to screen all mobile apps
The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that it would screen all smartphone applications and renew the blacklist of pro-North Korean or anti-government mobile apps.It will be the first full-scale crackdown by military authorities on smartphone programs. The ministry said it would base its list on the Korea Telecommunications Commission’s guidelines. It will either have to find technological methods to block soldiers from accessing such applications or forcibly delete the applications from
Feb. 7, 2012
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Average Korean child starts English studies at age 4.3
Korean children start learning English at age 4.3 on average, and the more educated the mother the earlier a child begins, according to a survey by Yoon’s English School, a local private English institute, on Tuesday. A poll of 667 mothers conducted from Dec. 28 to Jan. 5 found that 42.7 percent said they started their children’s English education when they were between the ages of three and four.About 28.6 percent said they had their children begin learning English at between five and six years
Feb. 7, 2012
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Seoul mayor seeks pardon for evictees
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon asked President Lee Myung-bak to pardon residents arrested for violently defying eviction in Yongsan in 2009, city officials said Tuesday. Park sent an official letter to President Lee, asking for the pardon of all eight people arrested amid a deadly standoff between then-tenants and police over the forced eviction from Yongsan District 4 three years ago. The conforontation led to a fire that killed five evictees and one police officer. Park, who took office last year,
Feb. 7, 2012
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S. Korean hotels ignorant of ban on shark fin dishes
South Korean hotels are not heeding international calls to ban shark fin dishes on their menus that may cause local animal rights groups to stage a boycott, sources said Tuesday.The country’s top-rated hotels including the Lotte, Shilla, Westin Chosun, Sheraton Walker Hill and Plaza all serve the delicacy at their respective Chinese restaurants, a source in the hotel industry said.He said the ingredients are all imported from Hong Kong with some non-soup dishes costing up to 100,000 won ($90) pe
Feb. 7, 2012