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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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Seoul City to focus on boosting economy for next four years
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that it will prioritize the revitalization of the economy for the next four years under Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon by building an environment for new growth engines, creating jobs and expanding assistance for young people.(Yonhap)The city government unveiled a 2019-22 plan that has five goals and 25 core tasks with a focus on resolving Seoul citizens’ bread-and-butter issues. The goals are to make Seoul future-oriented, safe, welfare-friendly, balan
Jan. 10, 2019
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Ex-special investigator files complaint against Cheong Wa Dae officials over spying claims
A former special investigator at the presidential office filed a complaint against an incumbent presidential secretary Thursday amid an ongoing probe into Cheong Wa Dae’s alleged surveillance of civilians.(Yonhap)Kim Tae-woo, who was dismissed from Cheong Wa Dae, appeared before the prosecution as a witness for the third time to be questioned over allegations that his superiors at the presidential office had instructed him to surveil civilians and to create a blacklist of officials critical of t
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Weekender] Apartments - a national obsession
Apartments are everywhere in Korea. The country’s first apartment block was built as housing for employees of a construction materials maker in 1956. At the time, this type of building was a sight most had only heard or read about. Apartment construction sites were unusual enough to warrant a visit by the president in the 1950s.Since then, apartments have become the most visible, preferred and coveted form of residence. The skylines of most major cities have long been dominated by apartment buil
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Graphic News] Korean teens spend 2 hours daily on online broadcasts
South Korean teenagers spend two hours a day watching online broadcasts streamed by individual creators, a survey showed, with YouTube being the most popular platform. According to the survey of 1,058 respondents conducted by the Korea Communications Standards Commission, South Korean teenagers spend 114.9 minutes every day watching such online video content. By platform, YouTube accounted for 36.4 percent of the content, followed by AfreecaTV with 16.8 percent and Twitch with 16.6 percent. V
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Weekender] How Seoul became apartment-ized
The success of high-rise apartment complexes has been a unique phenomenon in Seoul. Widely spread throughout the city, dense apartment complexes have shaped Seoul, more than a third of whose residents live in apartments.A 1977 photo shows one of the early apartment complexes build in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Seoul Museum of History)In Europe and the US, particularly after the War ll, the need for housing drastically increased. Modern architects such as Le Corbusier pioneered in developing
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Weekender] Surging apartment prices frustrate Seoul residents
When looking down at Seoul up in the sky, the capital is filled with square-shaped apartment clusters and gray sky-high office buildings.South Korea’s rapid economic development centered on Seoul has made the country’s capital one of the most populous cities in the world, with skyrocketing housing prices.Over-the-top housing prices have become a major social problem here, amid widespread public outcry for the government to tackle the issue. Among various types of housing in the nation, apartment
Jan. 10, 2019
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Seoul court fines BMW $12.9 million over falsified emissions documents
A Seoul court on Thursday slapped BMW Korea with a 14.5 billion-won ($12.9 million) fine and sentenced six workers to prison for violating the customs law and Clean Air Conservation Act.The German luxury carmaker was indicted in March last year for importing some 29,000 vehicles with falsified emissions documents since 2011. Prosecutors demanded a 30 billion-won fine for BMW Korea and up to 1 1/2 years in prison for six employees in November.“The government has mandated a strict authorization pr
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Second cab driver dies after self-immolation protesting Kakao carpool service
In the midst of heightened tensions between the country’s taxi union, information technology market players and the government over ride-sharing and ride-hailing services, a taxi driver surnamed Lim, 65, died early Thursday morning after setting himself on fire to protest the launch of Kakao’s carpool service, police said. Lim’s death is expected to further fuel conflict between the concerned parties, who have locked horns since a similar incident last month involving another taxi driver, 57, wh
Jan. 10, 2019
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More skaters come forward with sexual abuse allegations
Additional allegations of sexual abuse in Korea’s skating community were revealed as two more skaters came forward following Olympic short track gold medalist Shim Suk-hee’s claim against her former coach on Tuesday.The Young Skaters Association released a statement Wednesday claiming that there were more sexual abuse cases in Korea’s skating community yet to be disclosed. The Young Skaters Association leader Yeo Jun-hyeong speaks at a press conference on Thursday. (Yonhap)“The association has
Jan. 10, 2019
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4,000 tons of garbage sitting on Songdo
An estimated 4,000 tons of garbage are sitting in Songdo International City, Incheon, pending lawsuits, after a separate case in which a container full of plastic waste was found to have been illegally exported to the Philippines. Garbage illegally exported to the Philippines (Greenpeace)According to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, the 4,000-ton heap of waste, including plastic and wood, has been left on an around 7,900-square-meter site owned by the Incheon Port Authority.A waste exp
Jan. 10, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Two Korean students die of unknown cause while volunteering in Cambodia
Two South Korean college students have died of an unknown cause in Cambodia while doing volunteer work, officials said Thursday. The Konyang University students had been treated at a hospital in the capital city of Phnom Penh since Tuesday, after they had acute stomach pains, according to the university officials. Cambodia(AP)They returned to the lodge the next day, only to start showing the same symptoms and be again transferred to the hospital. One of the two died Wednesday night and the oth
Jan. 10, 2019
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Ex-Woori Bank chief gets 18-month jail term for illegal hiring of employees
A Seoul court sentenced a former chief of Woori Bank Co. to 1 1/2 years in prison Thursday for giving favors to jobseekers who have ties with the bank's VIP clients or ranking government officials. The Seoul Northern District Court handed down the verdict to Lee Kwang-goo, who headed the lender from 2015-2017, finding him guilty of "obstruction of business." (Yonhap)Lee was immediately taken into custody following the ruling, as the bench issued a writ on grounds that the defendant presents a f
Jan. 10, 2019
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Korea announces blueprint of regulatory sandbox program
The South Korean government on Thursday announced its blueprint for the so-called regulatory sandbox program, which centers on encouraging local companies to seek innovation and new opportunities by providing them with more freedom and less control."A regulatory sandbox is a policy that seeks balance between fostering new technologies or industries along with promoting public values, such as lives and the safety of the people. (Yonhap)Eventually, it aims to set up a precise and safe regulatory p
Jan. 10, 2019
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Cabbie in apparent self-immolation protest dies
A cabbie presumed to have set himself and his taxi on fire in yet another apparent suicide protest over a planned commercial ride-sharing service, died in hospital early Thursday, police said. A sedan taxi near Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul caught fire on Wednesday night. The driver, only identified by his last name Lim, was moved from his vehicle with severe burns on much of his body. (Yonhap)Lim's death makes the second case in which a taxi driver apparently killed himself to protest t
Jan. 9, 2019
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Prosecution seeks 4-year jail term for ex-governor in sexual abuse trial
The prosecution on Wednesday sought a four-year jail term for former South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung in an appeals court hearing over his sexual abuse charges, following a lower court's not-guilty verdict last year. (Yonhap)An, once considered a potential presidential candidate of the liberal bloc, was indicted in April last year on charges of having sexually abusing his secretary multiple times between August 2017 and early last year. The case was brought into the open after Kim Ji-eun, the
Jan. 9, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Short track gold medalist sues ex-coach over alleged sexual assault
Olympic short track gold medalist Shim Suk-hee has sued her former coach Cho Jae-beom over alleged sexual assault, police said Tuesday. Cho, who has been serving jailed for committing violence toward short track speedskaters including Shim, denied the allegation. Short track skater Shim Suk-hee (Yonhap)According to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Shim filed the complaint against Cho on Dec. 17, which includes the allegation that Cho had raped and sexually molested her since the summer o
Jan. 9, 2019
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Japanese firm asset seizure over forced labor ruling takes effect
The seizure of Korean assets of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal over Japan’s wartime use of South Korean forced labor went into effect Wednesday, prompting the Japanese government to summon South Korean ambassador to Tokyo in protest. The Daegu District Court’s Pohang branch approved the seizure last week, as the firm has refused to follow the Oct. 30 ruling by the top court here to compensate four South Koreans forced into labor during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean
Jan. 9, 2019
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[News Focus] Complaints grow over housing benefit for newlyweds
SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in administration has introduced a housing benefit for married couples in an effort to promote marriage and raise the nation’s fertility rate, which is among the lowest in the world. Those who have been married for less than seven years are favored in apartment subscription, regardless of whether they have children. Public and private-sector constructors are respectively required to provide 30 and 20 percent of newly built apartments to newlyweds.However, this measure has
Jan. 9, 2019
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Man gets 30-month jail term in YouTuber sex abuse case
A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 2 1/2 years in jail for molesting a YouTube celebrity and leaking semi-nude photos of her on the Internet. The Seoul Western District Court found the 46-year-old defendant, only identified by the surname Choi, guilty on charges of sexual molestation and circulating photographic material banned by the sex crime act. (Yonhap)The court said the evidence was sufficient to acknowledge the charges and that there were a few reasons to suggest the defendant
Jan. 9, 2019
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Soranet co-founder sentenced to four years in prison
A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a woman who co-founded South Korea’s largest pornography website, Soranet, to four years in prison for aiding and abetting the distribution of obscene material. The Seoul Central District Court also fined the 46-year-old woman 1.4 billion won ($1.25 million) and ordered her to attend 80 hours of sexual violence prevention education. (Yonhap)The woman, surnamed Song, was suspected of having operated the file-sharing site, whose server was located abroad, with
Jan. 9, 2019