Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Education collegians protest plan to cut teacher recruitment
Hundreds of education college students in Seoul on Friday protested a government plan to sharply reduce the recruitment of new elementary school teachers next year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said the previous day the teacher hiring will be cut by 88 percent because of decreases in the number of students and retiring teachers.Nationwide, new teacher positions in primary schools will decline by 40.2 percent next year, according to the education ministry. "It's preposterous. The po
Aug. 4, 2017
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National health insurance rate expected to go up next year
Health authorities are expecting a higher increase in the national health insurance rate in 2018 compared to previous years as the government and insurance operators begin adjustment talks, officials said Friday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare is scheduled to convene a meeting of the national health insurance policy review committee to set the rate within this month, according to the officials. The rate for this year had been frozen at 6.12 percent of monthly salary or income. (Yonhap)The ra
Aug. 4, 2017
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Liquid nitrogen treat forms hole in boy's stomach
A 12-year-old boy ended up with a perforated stomach after gulping down a liquid nitrogen-chilled treat at a water park in central South Korea, medical sources said Thursday.The boy finished the cupful of puffy cereal soaked in nitrogen bought from an eatery at the water park in Cheonan, a city in the central province of North Chungcheong, on Tuesday. The dessert, called Dragon's Breath, makes the people who eat it exhale smoky nitrogen vapor.His father, who visited the resort with him, rushed h
Aug. 3, 2017
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State spy agency’s election smear campaign confirmed via internal probe
South Korea's National Intelligence Service was involved in far-reaching illicit political operations aimed at manipulating voters several years ago, an internal probe team announced Thursday.The agency operated up to 30 "extra-departmental teams," many involving Internet-savvy civilians, for such activities beyond its official role and authority, according to the task force created weeks after the inauguration of liberal president Moon Jae-in.The task force put the blame on Won Sei-hoon, who le
Aug. 3, 2017
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Park rebuked me for not helping equestrian body: Lee
Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Group’s heir apparent on trial over an alleged money-for-political favors deal with former President Park Geun-hye, said Thursday that he was scolded by Park for not offering enough support for equestrian sports during a one-on-one meeting in 2015. During his trial at a Seoul court Thursday, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee denied the bribery charges, saying he had never expected or asked for favors from the Park administration in return for donations to foundations co
Aug. 3, 2017
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Nudist club’s online membership rises after crackdown
The number of people who have joined or applied to join the online cafe of a controversial nudist club in North Chungcheong Province has increased after a battle with local residents increased awareness of it. Screen capture of the official homepage of the resort used for the gatherings of a private naturists’ club in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.A local media reported Thursday that at least 66 people joined the online cafe for the naturists’ club this week, with 12 more waiting to be acc
Aug. 3, 2017
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Govt. has no plans to raise power rates for 5 yrs
The South Korean government has no plan to raise power charges in the next five years amid its efforts to phase out all nuclear plants, a senior official said Thursday."The nuclear-free plan will not directly bring an increase in electricity prices in the coming five years," Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee In-ho said in a press briefing. Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee In-ho in a press briefing (Yonhap)"After the five-year period, there will be limited pressure fo
Aug. 3, 2017
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Commission on nuclear reactors to play role of advisory organ, not decision maker
A state commission formed to gauge public opinion on the construction of two nuclear power reactors in South Korea said Thursday it will play the role of an advisory organ coming up with a recommendation, rather than a final decision maker, on whether to continue or call off the project. In an effort to reduce South Korea's dependence on nuclear energy, the government of President Moon Jae-in proposed scrapping the project to build the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 reactors in the southeastern city
Aug. 3, 2017
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Jeju braces for typhoon Noru
A powerful typhoon moving up from the waters south of Jeju Island, is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to southern parts of South Korea over the weekend, Korea’s weather agency said Thursday. (Yonhap)Typhoon Noru, packing gusts of up to 176 kilometers per hour, is not projected to make landfall on the peninsula, instead heading east to Japan. As of Thursday, the typhoon was moving toward Seogwipo on Jeju Island from 730 kilometers east of Japan’s Okinawa Island, the Korea Meteorol
Aug. 3, 2017
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Seoul City to provide free nutritional supplements to elderly, homeless
Seoul City announced Thursday that it will provide free nutritional supplements to some 1,000 elderly, underprivileged and homeless people every month. The city decided to expand the program in partnership with social enterprise Vitamin Angels, after a two-month pilot that ended in July. Starting this month and for over the next two years, nutritional supplements worth 100 million won ($88,700) will be given to residents living in shanty towns in old districts such as Dongja-dong in Yongsan-gu a
Aug. 3, 2017
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Govt. to draw up guidelines to limit off-hours work orders via SNS
The labor ministry plans to draw up guidelines on the after-work use of mobile messaging and other forms of social networking services, an official said Thursday, amid growing complaints about companies giving work-related orders via social media during off hours. (Yonhap)A growing number of people have complained about getting work-related orders via mobile messenger Kakao Talk and other messaging services after working hours. A Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey last year showed tha
Aug. 3, 2017
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Gap in inbound, outbound travel grows from drop of Chinese visitors
A heavy drop in the number of Chinese visitors to South Korea nearly doubled the gap between inbound and outbound travelers, the Korea Tourism Organization said Thursday.The January-June tally this year showed that some 6.75 million foreigners came to South Korea, down 16.7 percent from the same period last year, according to KTO. The number of outbound South Koreans totaled over 12.62 million during the same months. The last time that the gap neared twofold was in 2007. (Yonhap)The imbalance ap
Aug. 3, 2017
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More Koreans choose personal life over work
Just seven years ago, Cho Soo-kyung, a public relations agency worker, hardly had time for herself as her job demanded nearly every moment of her waking hours. A sense of devotion and achievement were her rewards, or at least that's what her company wanted her to believe."Then, I was happy when my clients were happy. There often were many unfair or unreasonable demands that I would have said no to had it not been for my company or my colleagues who had a stake in what I did," the 39-year-old rec
Aug. 3, 2017
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Missing Korean climber found dead in Alps
A French rescue team has found the body of a South Korean man who went missing in the Alps earlier in the week, the South Korean Embassy in France said Thursday. The regional rescue squad found the body of the 34-year-old, only identified by his last name Lee, in the alpine zone of Mont Blanc, some 4,300 meters above sea level, at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday (France time), according to the embassy. Lee was climbing the highest mountain in the Alps, with his 44-year-old acquaintance, also surna
Aug. 3, 2017
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Riding subway tops list of things-to-do in Seoul
The Seoul Metro was listed as the No. 1 tourist attraction for Seoul on global travel review platform TripAdvisor.Using top-rated, user-submitted “Things to Do” in each country, the site curated an exhaustive travel itinerary featuring top tourist attractions of the world.Scoring 4.5 out of 5 points average from 9,327 reviewers, Seoul Metro ranked No. 1 on “Things to Do,” followed by the War Memorial of Korea and the palace Gyeongbokgung, which ranked second and third, respectively. (Yonhap)A ne
Aug. 2, 2017
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Samsung heir denies knowledge of controversial merger
Lee Jae-yong, widely perceived as the de facto chief of the Samsung Group, on Wednesday denied his part in the top conglomerate’s key decisions, in his defense against bribery charges. During his trial at a Seoul court, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee shifted responsibility for controversial decisions -- ranging from a merger of the group’s two affiliates to an alleged donations-for-favors deal with former President Park Geun-hye -- to Choi Gee-sung, former vice chairman of Samsung Group a
Aug. 2, 2017
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Gyeonggi tops in administrative services
Gyeonggi Province received the highest marks for two years in a row in a joint evaluation of provincial and municipal governments conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other government agencies, the province said Wednesday. The evaluation assessed the quality of administrative services provided by each district governments in such areas as general administration, social welfare, health and hygiene, regional economy, culture and family affairs, safety management and environment
Aug. 2, 2017
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[Herald Interview] South Koreans yet to discover true joy of volunteering
When Ahn Seung-hwa started her career in volunteer management as chief program manager of South Cheungcheong Volunteer Center in 1999, she had no office or budget to run. “Me and two other colleagues literally started from scratch,” Ahn recalled in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Ahn Seung-hwa, CEO of Seoul Volunteer Center, speaks during an interview with The Korea Herald in her office in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The center was among several community-level facilities t
Aug. 2, 2017
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Controversial nudist resort faces crackdown
A nudist facility on private property in a rural village in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, faces a crackdown after villagers staged a protest calling for its permanent closure, sparking public controversy in South Korea’s traditionally conservative society. On the main road leading to a nudist resort in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, graffiti written by villagers reads “Go away you nudists.” (Yonhap)Public nudity is illegal here, but naturists are free to gather in their birthday su
Aug. 2, 2017
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Seoul City to inject W80b to reduce emissions from aged diesel cars
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday its plan to inject a total of 80 billion won ($70 million) by the year-end to reduce the number of old diesel cars to fight air pollution in the metropolitan area.The city government’s plan is in line with the government’s effort to reduce the emissions from diesel engine cars, blamed as a major source of fine dust. (Yonhap)With the money, the city will subsidize the early scrapping of old diesel cars, installation of exhaust reduction device
Aug. 2, 2017