Most Popular
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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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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[Feature] Liberal Constitutional Court triggers hopes, concerns
With the recent appointment of two Constitutional Court justices whose views are considered liberal, hopes and concerns are growing surrounding the court’s upcoming rulings on socially divisive issues, including the death penalty and the national security law.Since taking office, President Moon Jae-in has appointed eight justices, including Lee Mi-son and Moon Hyung-bae in April. The appointment of so many justices under a single president is unprecedented, but came about because former Presiden
May 7, 2019
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[News briefs] Prosecution begins probe on parliamentary brawl
Nearly 100 lawmakers are now under investigation in connection with clashes that occurred at the National Assembly over the fast-tracking of contentious bills, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday. (Yonhap)According to the prosecutors’ office, 14 criminal complaints have been filed in relations to the developments, and 97 lawmakers have been implicated. Of the lawmakers, 62 are from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, 25 are from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea
May 7, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Top prosecutor holds meeting on investigation rights bill
The contention over revising the investigative powers of police and the prosecutors’ office appears set to intensify, with Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il holding a senior prosecutors’ meeting Tuesday. According to reports, Moon reiterated his stance that the bill on altering the investigative rights of the police agency and the prosecutors’ office violated fundamental principles of democracy at the meeting. Moon Moo-il. YonhapThe bill, which has been put on the fast track by the ruling Democrati
May 7, 2019
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No need to be overly pessimistic about economy: minister
Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap said Tuesday there was no need for excessive pessimism about the economy as the economy and hiring conditions will improve in the second half of this year. During a meeting on employment policy in central Seoul, Lee mentioned the 6.7 trillion-won revised supplementary budget that the government submitted to the National Assembly, and said he believes increased fiscal spending, recovery of exports and investment in plant and equipment would help improve the economy and
May 7, 2019
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[News Focus] Seoul population falls to level of mid-1980s
Over the past eight years, despite sinking fertility rates, South Korea’s population continued to grow. Now decidedly an aged society, the country stands at No. 28 in the global population rankings.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the population reached 51.83 million as of April 2019, up 0.09 percent from 51.79 million a year earlier.Since April 2011, when the population was 50.59 million, it has grown 2.45 percent. In other words, the number of Koreans increased 1.24 million.Bu
May 6, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Tension mounts over police-prosecution investigative rights reform
Tension is rising over plans to redistribute investigative rights between the prosecution and police in South Korea, in the wake of a public denunciation from the country’s top prosecutor. (Yonhap)Last week, Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il publicly criticized the recent parliamentary decision to approve the fast-tracking of reform bills, backed by the ruling Democratic Party and three minor opposition parties, saying the bills would undermine democratic principles mandating a system of checks and
May 6, 2019
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Police to probe reporters for sharing spycam footage of sexual assault victims
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday its cybercrime investigation unit has begun internal investigation of reporters for allegedly sharing spycam footage via a messaging app group chat. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul (Yonhap)The group chat history, leaked by a whistleblower on April 19 to a digital sex crime eradication organization DSO, shows evidence of distribution of illicit footage of women who were filmed without their knowledge. The video clips are of inciden
May 3, 2019
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Housing crisis, low marriage rate correlated for millennials: study
Unaffordable housing is a major factor keeping millennials from tying the knot, especially for men, a study showed Friday.The Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs surveyed 3,002 unmarried men and women aged between 25 and 39 and found a high correlation between inability to afford housing and delaying or giving up marriage. Men showed a stronger intention to marry than women, with 42.2 percent of those surveyed responding affirmatively as opposed to 29.1 percent of women.Among women, the
May 3, 2019
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Culture minister vows to find optimal measures to ban screen monopolies
The culture minister has vowed to come up with optimal ways to ban screen monopolies by conglomerate-financed big-budget films."Through simulations, (I) will come up with an optimal ceiling on cinema screens," Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo told reporters Thursday in the southern heritage city of Jeonju after attending the opening ceremony of the 20th Jeonju International Film Festival. Since taking office a month earlier, the minister has pledged to introduce cinematic re
May 3, 2019
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Singer Park Yoo-chun has used drugs since last summer: police
Park Yoo-chun, a now-jailed actor and former member of boy band JYJ, has used drugs since last summer and begun to use the banned substances out of curiosity, police said Friday.The 33-year-old Park confessed to the alleged drug use Monday as he faces allegations that he took drugs together with the granddaughter of the founder of a dairy producer.His confession came after holding a press conference last month to flatly deny his allegations. (Yonhap)"I apologized to many people for lying (about
May 3, 2019
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First civilian forum on Seoul-Beijing security cooperation to be held
The first civilian forum dealing with South Korea-China cooperation in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula will be held, the Korea-China City Friendship Association said Thursday. The event, co-hosted by the China Association for International Friendly Contact, will be held in Beijing on Tuesday. Kwon Ki-sik. Korea-China City Friendship AssociationIt will include a panel discussion on Seoul-Beijing cooperation in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, and a welcoming dinner hosted b
May 2, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Ex-Korean Air vice president admits to illegally hiring Filipino maids
Former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah admitted Thursday to illegally hiring Filipino maids as the trials began for her and her mother Lee Myung-hee, who faces the same charges. Cho, 45, and Lee, 70 -- the daughter and wife of recently deceased Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho -- were indicted for hiring Filipino women as maids after inviting them under the guise of employment at Korean Air between 2013 and early last year, in breach of immigration law. (Yonhap)Cho, who earned global infa
May 2, 2019
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Police probing singer Seungri over alleged embezzlement, pimping
olice said Thursday they are investigating former BIGBANG member Seungri on allegations that he embezzled funds from a night club embroiled in drug and sex scandals.He is suspected of having misappropriated money at Burning Sun, a club in southern Seoul where he worked as a public relations director. The club closed down in February after it came under investigation over drug use, sexual violence and corrupt ties with district police. (Yonhap)The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it has sum
May 2, 2019
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Special committee on Sewol ferry tragedy targets main opposition leader Hwang for investigation
A special committee on the sinking of the Sewol ferry on Tuesday decided to investigate main opposition Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn for allegedly hampering investigation of the tragic incident.Hwang had served as justice minister at the time of the tragedy, which claimed more than 300 lives on April 16, 2014.The special investigative committee has the authority to look into what it deems necessary in fact-finding and when a victim or the victim’s family requests investigation. “Upon
May 1, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Labor Day rallies held nationwide, ILO conventions at issue
Tens of thousands of South Korean workers marked Labor Day with a rally in central Seoul on Wednesday, urging the government to adopt major international regulations on promoting labor rights.Commemorating International Workers' Day simultaneously, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella labor union, said it's urgent for the country to ratify key conventions of the International Labor Organization. (Yonhap)But business lobby groups here have claimed it's premature to do so, citing
May 1, 2019
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Suicide No. 1 cause of death for S. Korean teens, youths
Suicide remained the No. 1 cause of death among young people in South Korea in 2017, a report showed Wednesday, a chronic problem that has plagued the Asian country for more than a decade.The suicide rate per 100,000 people aged between 9 and 24 stood at 7.7 in 2017, down from 7.8 in 2016. Suicide has been the No. 1 cause of death for young people since 2007, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It peaked in 2009, when the suicide rate came to 10.3.Traffic accidents came in second at 3.4
May 1, 2019
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[News Focus] Number of jobless men grows by 62,000 in 2 years
SEJONG -- Unemployment is among the major social issues that President Moon Jae-in set out to resolve when he took office in May 2017.Despite Moon’s continual pledges to prioritize job creation throughout his term, South Korea’s employment numbers have remained lackluster compared with those seen in other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.Whereas 27 of the 36 OECD member nations recorded on-year declines in unemployment in 2018, Korea saw its jobless rate rise
April 30, 2019
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Club VIPs under probe for illegally sharing sex videos
Police have begun reinvestigating allegations that VIPs of a Gangnam club illegally shared via group chat rooms both sex videos and lascivious photos of women.Fourteen VIPs of the club, including actors, a promoter of the club Arena and children of wealthy people, are suspected of sharing illegally filmed sex videos and photos of women taken without their consent through two KakaoTalk group chats between 2014 and 2015. (Yonhap)An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday they
April 30, 2019
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Fine dust sensor in DMZ to monitor pollutants from China, N. Korea
A monitoring system to measure levels of particulate pollution will be installed near the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea to analyze the amount of toxic pollutants coming from China and North Korea, the government said Tuesday. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of National Defense signed a memorandum of understanding to reduce particulate pollution earlier in the day. Under the memorandum, the ministries will work together to analyze the amount of emis
April 30, 2019
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Overtime hours on steady decline at companies subject to 52-hour workweek
The overtime hours average has been on a steady decline at South Korean companies affected by the mandatory 52-hour workweek, a government report said Tuesday.According to the report by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the average overtime hours per person at manufacturing companies with more than 300 employees was 19.2 hours in February, down 0.2 hours from a year earlier.The reduction of overtime hours was particularly noticeable among manufacturers of the top-five sectors in terms of ove
April 30, 2019