Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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Justice minister nominee vows to push ahead with prosecution reform
Justice minister nominee Choo Mi-ae on Monday pledged a swift and thorough implementation of prosecution reform, one of the most controversial reform initiatives of President Moon Jae-in and his ruling Democratic Party. Speaking at her parliamentary confirmation hearing, Choo, a five-term ruling Democratic Party lawmaker and former judge, expressed her support for an envisioned independent investigation body to probe corruption of senior government officials, including the president, public pros
Dec. 30, 2019
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Govt. to grant special pardons to over 5,000 people to mark new year
The government on Monday said it will grant special pardons to 5,174 people, including conscientious objectors, minor offenders and activists, ahead of the new year.The move, set to go into effect Tuesday, includes 1,879 conscientious objectors, 267 who have been convicted for breaching the election law, as well as three political and labor activists, the justice ministry said in a press release. The government said the special pardon is aimed at relieving the burden of convicts whose livelihood
Dec. 30, 2019
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[Newsmaker] 3.5 magnitude quake hits southeastern city
A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit the country's southeastern region early Monday in the seventh-strongest quake to occur on the Korean Peninsula this year, the weather agency saidThe quake occurred shortly after midnight at 00:32 a.m. at some 15 kilometers northeast of Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province, with a depth of 20 km, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.Tremors were felt across the province, but there were no reported damages. The local fire office received 26 calls on w
Dec. 30, 2019
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[News Focus] Final vote expected on new corruption investigation body
A bill on setting up an independent body tasked with investigating corruption of high-ranking officials was expected to be put to vote Monday amid fierce opposition from the prosecution and the main opposition party. The nearly 27-hour filibuster, which the main opposition Liberty Korea Party began Friday to stop the bill’s passage, ended at midnight Sunday as the extra parliamentary session ended. A new session was called for Monday, where lawmakers are expected to vote on the contentious
Dec. 29, 2019
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No constitutionality dispute in Seoul-Tokyo deal on WWII sex slavery: court
South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday said it found no apparent points of constitutional contention in the 2015 Seoul-Tokyo deal over Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean girls and women during World War II.The court said it would dismiss the constitutional complaint filed by 29 survivors of sexual slavery at Japanese military brothels and 12 family members of deceased victims.The court’s decision came after three years and nine months of deliberation.“The agreemen
Dec. 27, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Prosecutors request arrest warrant for Ulsan vice mayor over election-meddling allegations
Prosecutors here said Friday they have requested an arrest warrant for an Ulsan vice mayor suspected of illegally intervening in the 2018 mayoral election in the southeastern metropolitan city.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it asked the court Thursday evening to issue a pre-trial warrant to detain Song Byung-gi, Ulsan's vice mayor for economic affairs, on charges of conspiring with several presidential aides to influence the city's mayoral poll last year in violation of the P
Dec. 27, 2019
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[Weekender] A look back at 2019
As we approach the end of the year, it is time to look back at some of the major events and memorable moments of 2019. From trade wars between the US and China and then Korea and Japan, to the unrest in Hong Kong and rival rallies in Seoul over then-Justice Minister Cho Kuk, 2019 had plenty of conflict and discord to take note of. There were also memorable milestones achieved this year, such as the first-ever image of a black hole captured by scientists. Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite
Dec. 27, 2019
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Suit over 2015 sex slavery deal settled in court arbitration
A lawsuit filed by several South Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery over a 2015 agreement between the two countries was settled Thursday in a court arbitration in which the government in Seoul agreed to deny the deal's validity and vowed continued efforts to help regain the victims' honor, legal sources said.Kang Il-chul and eight other surviving South Korean victims filed the suit against the government in August 2016 demanding 100 million won ($86,000) per person in compensation
Dec. 27, 2019
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Arrest warrant rejected for Cho Kuk in power abuse case
A Seoul court on Friday rejected an arrest warrant for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk in a probe into his suspected role in ending an inspection into bribery allegations involving a former Busan vice mayor.Earlier this week, prosecutors filed for an arrest warrant for Cho, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, on charges of abuse of authority in connection with the bribery case of now-arrested Yoo Jae-soo.After an hourslong hearing, Judge Kwon Deok-jin of the Seoul Eastern Dis
Dec. 27, 2019
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Seoul to welcome 2020 with ringing of Boshingak bell
The Seoul metropolitan city government said Thursday it will welcome the new year with a traditional bell-ringing ceremony.The bell will be rung 33 times at Boshingak Pavillion in downtown Seoul at midnight on New Year's Eve by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and 11 civic representatives, according to the city.The bell-ringing ceremony, broadcast live across the country, has been held every year since 1953. The ringing of the bell bids farewell to the old year and is an expression of hope, happiness a
Dec. 26, 2019
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Childbirths down 3.1% in Oct.
The number of babies born in South Korea fell 3.1 percent in October from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, in the latest evidence underscoring the low birthrate that has plagued Korea's economy for more than a decade.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 25,648 infants were born in October, compared with 26,474 tallied in the same month of 2018.It marks the lowest number of newborns for any October since 1981, when the statistics agency started compiling monthly data on newborns
Dec. 26, 2019
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Ex-justice minister denies power abuse allegations
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk denied allegations on Thursday that he had abused his power to suspend a presidential inquiry into a former Busan vice mayor, as he attended an arrest warrant hearing in connection with the case. After the hearing, Cho said through his lawyer that he had neither abused his power nor stopped the internal inquiry into Yoo Jae-soo, who was suspected of taking bribes. Cho also denied attempting to destroy evidence. At the hearing, which laste
Dec. 26, 2019
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7 in 10 Seoulites say Korean unification needed: survey
More than 7 out of 10 residents of Seoul said the reunification of South and North Korea was necessary despite soured inter-Korean relations, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the survey of 2,000 Seoul citizens by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 74.2 percent of the respondents said reunification of the Koreas was necessary, whereas 26 percent said it was not.The liberal Moon Jae-in administration has focused its efforts on improving relations between the two Koreas, which remain technica
Dec. 25, 2019
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5 injured in Posco plant explosion
GWANGYANG -- Five employees were injured in an explosion at a plant operated by South Korean steelmaker Posco on Tuesday, fire officials said.Two explosions occurred within five minutes, starting at 1:14 p.m., at the steelmaker's plant in Gwangyang, 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul.Five employees working at the plant have been transported to nearby hospitals. The degree of their injuries was not immediately known.The fire was extinguished at around 2 p.m. after 173 firefighters and Posco safety
Dec. 24, 2019
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[Graphic News] Number of multiple homeowners reaches record high in 2018
The number of people who own more than 10 homes in South Korea climbed to a new high last year, marking a turnaround from a slight drop the previous year, data showed. As of end-2018, the number of people with 10 or more homes here came to 37,487, up 2.1 percent from 36,731 a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)
Dec. 23, 2019
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Forensic report falsified in Hwasong murder case: prosecution
The prosecution on Monday demanded a retrial for a man who may have been wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in 1988, in light of new evidence and a series of flaws in the original investigation.The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office has reopened the decades-old case after Lee Chun-jae, who is already serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of his sister-in-law in 1994, confessed to the crime in October. A recent DNA breakthrough has pinpointed Lee as th
Dec. 23, 2019
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Gwangju archbishop hopes for justice for missing victims of 1980 military crackdown
Archbishop Kim Hee-joong of Gwangju wished justice would be served for victims of atrocities committed during martial law in May 1980 in a Christmas message issued Monday.Speaking about the recently unearthed human remains at a former prison site in Gwangju, a city with a history of pro-democratic struggles, the archbishop said he hoped perpetrators of the violent crackdown on civilian protesters would come forward and bring truth to light.He said he hoped those who were involved “would sp
Dec. 23, 2019
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Motel arson suspect admits guilt, to face psychiatric assessment
The suspect in a Sunday arson attack at a motel in Gwangju that killed two people and injured 31 others will undergo profiler questioning, police said Monday.Police on Sunday arrested the 39-year-old, identified only by the surname Kim, who was initially sent to a hospital after being found at the scene by a fire official. He was released from the hospital after medical staff confirmed he sustained no serious injuries.Kim later told police he set the bedding on fire in a third-floor room at the
Dec. 23, 2019
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Arrest warrant sought for ex-justice minister
The prosecution on Monday sought an arrest warrant for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk over allegations he abused his power to end a presidential inquiry into a former Busan vice mayor. The Seoul Eastern District Court will hold a hearing Thursday morning to decide whether to arrest him on a charge of abuse of power, and a decision is expected later in the day or early Friday morning. Cho, then-presidential secretary for civil affairs, faces suspicions that he ordered the susp
Dec. 23, 2019
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[News Focus] Men’s population in Korea falls for 4 consecutive months
SEJONG -- South Korea’s sex ratio -- ratio of males to females in a population -- has been showing drastic changes in recent years.The female population in Korea came to 25.98 million as of November 2019, which is higher than the figure for men by 120,000, according to the data of the Ministry of Interior and Safety.Women began outstripping men on June 2015, with 25.7157 million female Koreans as against 25.7153 million for males.The latest data suggests that women, who have longer lifespa
Dec. 23, 2019