Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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S. Koreans shocked but life goes on
South Koreans were hopeful, shocked and worried, but most of all, skeptical about the news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Monday that came like a bolt of lightning.Life went on as usual on the streets of Seoul, but, within, citizens were quietly pondering the truth of the news and its implications both good and bad.North Korea’s state media Korean Central News Agency announced that Kim Jong-il, 69, had died of a heart attack while riding a train within the country on Saturday
Dec. 19, 2011
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S. Koreans stunned by news of Kim Jong-il's abrupt death
South Koreans were shocked by the news of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Monday, with some voicing concern over potential escalation of tensions on the peninsula.(Yonhap News)At noon, North Korea's state media (North) Korean Central News Agency announced the country's leader died of
Dec. 19, 2011
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North Koreans rally around Kim's heir
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) _ North Korea on Monday urged its 24 million people to rally behind 20-something heir-apparent Kim Jong Un as the nation mourned the death of supreme leader Kim Jong Il.South Korea, meanwhile, put its military on high alert, while people in the streets of Pyongyang broke
Dec. 19, 2011
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SK chairman summoned over suspected embezzlement
SK Group's chairman appeared before prosecutors Monday morning to be grilled over suspicions that he embezzled a massive amount of group funds in collusion with his younger brother. Chey Tae-won entered the prosecutors' office in southern Seoul around 9:25 a.m., after getting the notice of the summo
Dec. 19, 2011
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Seoul pushing to fine street smokers
Seoul is seeking to expand its non-smoking zones to include sidewalks and pedestrian roads, city officials said Sunday.The city council of the nation’s capital said it has introduced an ordinance on amending the current regulation that curbs second-hand smoking on streets. The ordinance is expected to reach the relevant standing committee at the council in February at the earliest. Under the revision, the city’s non-smoking areas will include sidewalks and pedestrian pathways as defined by the t
Dec. 18, 2011
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Court to toughen punishment for child sex offenders again
The local court is expected to further increase its recommended jail terms for child sex offenders early next year, complying with growing social calls for tougher punishments against violent and inhumane crimes, officials said Sunday.The measure, if implemented, would follow two similar moves over the past two years and is expected to additionally deter sex crimes against children, said the officials. The Supreme Court is scheduled to convene its sentencing committee on Monday to discuss revisi
Dec. 18, 2011
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Korea’s icebreaker Araon to join rescue mission
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s first icebreaker, the Araon, is set to embark on a rescue mission to help save a Russian boat trapped in the Antarctic, ship operators said Saturday.The Korean ship, currently anchored at New Zealand’s second-largest city of Christchurch, will set sail later Saturday to head for the 500-ton Russian fishing boat, they said. The Russian ship is said to be slowly sinking since its hull was punctured in a collision with an iceberg. The ship is carryi
Dec. 18, 2011
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Seoul City passes cuts in foreign teacher funding
Seoul City’s budget committee passed funding cuts Saturday for all of its high school foreign English teachers next year, while funding for them at elementary and middle schools will fall about 7 percent.But the city hinted at further cuts in the middle of next year.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will not renew funding for 255 foreign English teachers in high schools due to the cuts passed Saturday. Previous reports had said about 30 teachers would be spared.The budget, passed by the
Dec. 18, 2011
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Police seek revision of law for independence
The chief of the state police agency on Friday vowed to seek the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code to guarantee police independence and authority in investigations. He also disowned earlier remarks that he would resign should the prosecution and the administration refuse to reflect the police’s request in the upcoming presidential decree on criminal investigation.According to the National Police Agency, its Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh sent an e-mail to all police officers last Friday
Dec. 18, 2011
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Number of households exceeds 20 million
The number of households in Korea has surpassed 20 million while the average number of people per household has dropped in recent years, a government report showed Sunday.The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said the number of households exceeded 20 million for the first time in October and reached 21.98 million as of November.The ministry said the total population was 50.71 million, and there was an average of 2.53 people living in each household. Compared to November 2008, the to
Dec. 18, 2011
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Opposition urges probe into Lee aides over NEC attack
The largest opposition Democratic Unified Party on Sunday urged the prosecution to investigate whether the presidential office had ordered the police to conceal important evidence that could identify the mastermind of the cyber attack on the National Election Commission website during the Oct. 26 by-elections. “If Cheong Wa Dae is revealed to have been involved in the attack against the constitutional institution, the president should be impeached,” said Rep. Ooh Che-Chang, calling for a tougher
Dec. 18, 2011
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Seoul pushing to fine street smokers
Seoul is seeking to expand its non-smoking zones to include sidewalks and pedestrian roads, city officials said Sunday.The city council of the nation's capital said it has introduced an ordinance on amending the current regulation that curbs second-hand smoking on streets. The ordinance is expected
Dec. 18, 2011
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Employees of ex-comedian win suit over unpaid wages
Former employees of Shim Hyung-rae have won a lawsuit over wages that the disgraced comedian-turned-director failed to pay at his bankrupt movie production company, court officials said Sunday.The Seoul Southern District Court ordered Shim, head of Younggu-Art Entertainment, to pay his employees 891
Dec. 18, 2011
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Lee visits Japan amid tensions over wartime sexual slavery
OSAKA, Japan -- President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Japan on Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, overshadowed by fresh tensions arising from Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.Lee's two-day trip to Japan was originally expected to be largely an occasion
Dec. 17, 2011
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Gay man‘s objection to service sheds light on sexual abuse in military
An openly gay South Korean man’s reception of refugee status in Canada in objection to the South‘s mandatory military service, recently revealed two years after the fact, has shed light on abuse and discrimination against gay men in the armed forces.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Friday released reports on plight of gay soldiers in South Korea. The first report told the story of one man, only identified as A, who came out in 2004 during a counseling session at an Army boot camp
Dec. 16, 2011
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Gwangju uprising included in textbook guidelines
The government on Friday included descriptions of the May 18, 1980 Democratic Movement and several other important events in Korea’s modern history in a draft of its new writing guidelines for textbooks to be used at high schools across the country.The guidelines, if finalized, will serve as a key reference for textbook writers.The move came after the education ministry triggered strong protests from liberal historians and related organizations last month for failing to include descriptions of t
Dec. 16, 2011
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Pimps to be banned from entry to Korea
The government said it will ban foreign nationals engaged in sex trade activities involving Korean women from entering the country.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it prohibited a 50-year-old Korean-Australian, who has been advertising the sex trade on a Korean information leaflet in Australia, from entering Korea on Tuesday.It is the first time that the government imposed an entry ban on a foreign national for this reason. Korean immigration law allows the government to prohibit e
Dec. 16, 2011
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Foreign nationals make up 3 percent of population
The number of foreign nationals in Korea hit an all-time high this year, making up 3 percent of the country’s total population. According to statistics from the Justice Ministry on Friday, 1.41 million foreign nationals were present in the nation as of September this year, with Chinese taking the lion’s share.“The increase has to do with the economic recovery since last year to first half of this year,” said Gwak Jae-seok, director of the Migration and Diaspora Research Institute.About 600,000 o
Dec. 16, 2011
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N.K. currency sustains steep fluctuations
The North Korean currency has recently gained 20 percent against the Chinese yuan, a rare development blamed on rumors of the North’s counterfeiting, a source familiar with the issue said Friday.The North Korean won was traded at 1,000 won to 1 Chinese yuan a week ago, but 1 yuan is now worth only 800 won in the country’s major northeastern city of Chongjin.The source said, on condition of anonymity, that the demand for foreign currencies has surged on rumors a week ago that a lot of North Korea
Dec. 16, 2011
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SK chairman to be summoned next week
The chairman of SK Group will be summoned next week for interrogation over allegations that he embezzled a massive amount of company funds in collusion with his younger brother, prosecutors said Friday. Prosecutors have given notice to Chairman Chey Tae-won to appear at the prosecutors’ office in southern Seoul around 9:30 a.m. on Monday for questioning, they said.Chey had initially been scheduled to undergo interrogation last week, but prosecutors postponed the summons so they could better prep
Dec. 16, 2011