Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Government funds mandatory air purifiers at schools
The South Korean government on Tuesday passed a revised school health act to improve quality of air and safety at preschools and primary and secondary schools. The revised law was one of five fine dust-related legislations that passed the same day. The revised law requires the installation of air-cleaning systems and air quality sensors in classrooms and allows the use of state funds to cover the costs. School councils and parents of students are also permitted to attend classroom air quality mo
March 27, 2019
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[Newsmaker] KCTU stages protest urging approval of key ILO conventions
Some 10,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions on Wednesday held a protest urging the government to adopt key conventions of the International Labor Organization in continuation of its efforts to allow temporary and dismissed workers to join labor unions. The rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, follows a recent statement by the Korea Employers Federation opposing the conventions, rebutting the union’s key arguments.Some 10,000 members of the Korean Confede
March 27, 2019
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Ex-KT chairman to be questioned over hiring irregularities
The prosecution is set to call in Lee Suk-chae, former chairman of telecom firm KT Corp., for questioning over allegations that job favors were given to a high-profile opposition lawmaker’s daughter.(Yonhap)Lee is at the center of allegations that preferential treatment was given to job applicants with ties to powerful figures -- including the daughter of Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the Liberty Party Korea -- in hiring at KT. The Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday that nine cases of
March 27, 2019
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Ban on disposable plastic bags to take effect April 1
Use of disposable plastic bags will be banned at large retailers nationwide, starting next month, as part of the government's efforts to reduce waste and conserve the environment, the Ministry of Environment said Wednesday.The ministry said about 2,000 hypermarkets and approximately 11,000 big supermarkets with sales floor space of 165 square meters or more will be prohibited from offering disposable plastic bags to their clients from April 1. (Yonhap)Department stores and large shopping malls a
March 27, 2019
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Study says young students' physical health deteriorating
The obesity rate for young South Korean students swelled to 25 percent last year from 21.2 percent in 2014, marking the fifth straight annual increase, the Ministry of Education said Wednesday.The overall health statistics of elementary, middle and high school students were also found to have deteriorated in recent years, as youths have reduced exercise and sleep and increased consumption of fast food, the ministry said, citing a recent study of physical health. (Yonhap)The ministry said its ann
March 27, 2019
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Belgian king becomes honorary Seoul citizen
King Philippe of Belgium was awarded honorary Seoul citizenship on Tuesday, becoming the 25th head of state to be granted the symbolic status by South Korea's capital city.During a four-day state visit to South Korea, the Belgian king held a meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to discuss ways to cooperate on a smart city project. King Philippe toured a digital mayoral system that provides information about major situations, including fires, disasters and traffic conditions, in real time. (Yo
March 26, 2019
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Seoul to plant 30 million trees by 2022 to fight fine dust
A total of 30 million trees will be planted in Seoul by 2022 and two large forests will be formed as part of efforts to mitigate worsening air pollution and urban heat, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)The city government plans to plant an additional 15 million trees, having already planted 15 million trees between 2014 and last year. Thirty million trees would have the effect of reducing particulate pollution generated by 64,000 aged diesel ca
March 26, 2019
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Owner of nightclub linked to Burning Sun scandal arrested
An owner of a nightclub linked to the sex-drug scandal involving a member of K-pop boy band Big Bang has been arrested on charges of tax evasion, a Seoul court said Tuesday. (Yonhap)The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant for the arrest of a man surnamed Kang over suspicions he underreported sales at the nightclub, Arena, in southern Seoul and inflated the salaries of employees from 2014 to 2017, dodging a tax bill that totaled 16.2 billion won ($14.3 million).Police say Kang named a
March 26, 2019
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Memorial service held to mark death anniversary of Korean independence hero
A memorial service was held in Seoul on Tuesday to mark the 109th anniversary of the death of Ahn Jung-geun, a revered Korean independence hero who assassinated a prominent Japanese colonial leader more than a century ago.The Association for the Commemoration of Patriotic Martyr Ahn Jung-geun hosted the memorial service at the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Museum in central Seoul, with an attendance of about 500 citizens, including Ahn's relatives. A cadet of the Korea Military Academy salutes after re
March 26, 2019
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Five dead after car falls into sea on east coast
Five teens died when the vehicle carrying them crashed into a guardrail and fell into the sea in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, police and firefighters said Tuesday. It appears to have struck the structure before falling into the waters on a coastal road in Okgye county, Gangneung, 237 kilometers east of Seoul, according to the district police. (Yonhap)A 119 call came in at about 6:30 a.m. that a car was drifting in the waters.The Coast Guard pulled a white Hyundai Kona out of the sea,
March 26, 2019
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[Graphic News] Number of marriages lowest in over 40 years
The number of marriages in Korea has dropped to the lowest level in more than 40 years in 2018, as young people delay marriage amid a weak economic picture, according to government data. The number of couples tying the knot came to 257,622 in 2018, compared with 264,455 in 2017, according to Statistics Korea. The figure is the lowest since 1972, when the number of couples who got married came to 244,780. Some young people delay marriage, or give up on marriage altogether, and having babies as t
March 25, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police book Hotel Shilla CEO’s doctor amid propofol abuse allegation
Police investigation of the alleged propofol abuse by Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin gathered steam, with the head of a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul where she is claimed to have taken the injections was booked without detention Friday.The clinic, located in Cheongdam-dong, is suspected of having administered the highly addictive anesthetic injections in 2016 to Lee, daughter of Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee.Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (Yonhap)The police booked the doctor on charges of vi
March 25, 2019
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[Newsmaker] More than 500 drug offenders busted in one-month crackdown
Police said Monday that they have arrested over 500 people, for using or trafficking narcotics, in their latest crackdown on drug crimes. On Feb. 25, police declared a total war against drug crime in the wake of a nation-rocking drug and sex scandal at Burning Sun, a nightclub in southern Seoul.(Yonhap)Police busted a total of 523 people for using or distributing drugs over the past one month, with 216 of them detained. The figures were up 30 percent and 65 percent from a year ago, respectively.
March 25, 2019
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[Herald Interview] Early English education a necessity: Daejeon education chief
As countries become ever more interconnected and globalized, English proficiency becomes a necessity if a nation and its people are to succeed on the global stage. Therefore early English education is a must, according to the chief of the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education.“The merit of our country, which has a small territory and is short of resources, is Koreans’ diligence and education fervor. Early English education will be a means to solidify Koreans’ standing in the global market,” D
March 24, 2019
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Court to rule on warrant for ex-minister over blacklist
Former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung is to be questioned by the court in an arrest warrant hearing Monday. Kim faces allegations of pressuring heads of public organizations under the Ministry of Environment to step down to make room for individuals with ties to the Moon Jae-in administration. A file photo shows former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung at a Cabinet meeting in July 2018. YonhapThe request for the warrant was filed by the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office on Fr
March 24, 2019
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Seungri saga grows amid police corruption, supposed link with the mob
Recently retired K-pop singer Seungri on Saturday denied that he was involved in the operation of the Burning Sun nightclub or that he brokered prostitution for his investors. But new revelations by local media are increasing the pressure on the singer, alleging connection between the disgraced celebrity, local law enforcement, and a Taiwanese mogul believed to be related to a Chinese Triad gang. In an interview with Korean daily the Chosun Ilbo, Seungri reiterated his previous claim that he was
March 24, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Police raid surgeon's office in possible probe against Samsung heiress
The police raided a plastic surgery clinic on Saturday in a possible probe into allegations that Lee Boo-jin, a daughter of Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, may have abused an addictive substance.Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided the clinic in Seoul's plush Gangnam area.The police earlier said they were simply checking facts regarding the drug abuse allegation brought up by a local news outlet.(Yonhap)Reports suggested Lee, currently the chief executive officer o
March 24, 2019
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Koreans remember prominent independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun
A memorial service was held Saturday to remember a prominent anti-Japanese Korean independence fighter, with North Korea‘s Catholic Church also delivering a eulogy to Ahn Jung-geun (1877-1910). This year marks the 109th anniversary of the death of Ahn, one of Korea’s most honored independence fighters who assassinated the Korean Peninsula‘s first Japanese governor-general, Hirobumi Ito, in Harbin, China, in October 1909. Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (Yonhap) The assassination was
March 23, 2019
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Ex-vice minister barred from leaving Korea amid sex crime probe
Former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui has been barred from traveling overseas amid a fresh probe into allegations of a sex crime in 2013, officials said Saturday. Kim, who retired from public service in March 2013 amid allegations that he attended a sex party hosted by local contractor Yoon Jung-cheon at his villa in Wonju, 120 kilometers east of Seoul, had attempted to leave South Korea on Friday at Incheon International Airport, according to officials at the justice ministry. The ministry
March 23, 2019
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Seoul ranks as 7th most expensive city in the world: survey
South Korea‘s capital city, Seoul, ranks as the seventh most expensive city in the world to live in this year, a survey showed Saturday. The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, measures the prices of more than 150 items in 133 cities across the globe, with the index for New York set as a benchmark of 100. A view of Seoul from the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul (Yonhap News) According to the latest WCL poll, Seoul ranked seventh, on a pa
March 23, 2019