Most Popular
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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Education Ministry moves to shield kids from air pollution
Primary to high schools here without indoor gyms are now required to create indoor spaces for sports in preparation for days when air quality is poor, South Korea’s Ministry of Education said Thursday, as it strengthens efforts to protect young students from worsening air pollution. The ministry has announced a set of anti-air pollution guidelines that include restricting the outdoor activities of students when the concentration of airborne pollutants is high.The capital blanketed in a gray haze
April 27, 2017
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[Election 2017] Gender biased language backfires on campaign trail
Most of the major presidential candidates have referred to themselves as “feminists” and have made big promises to tackle gender discrimination and violence. However, questions linger over whether they can deliver, as some of the contenders are mired in controversy for using language critics say shows their subconscious gender stereotypes. Often compared to US President Donald Trump for his outspoken rhetoric, Hong Joon-pyo, the firebrand flag-bearer of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, has
April 27, 2017
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Busan to remove objective tests from elementary schools
BUSAN -- The education office of South Korea's second-largest city of Busan said Thursday it will abolish multiple-choice objective tests in elementary schools starting next year. Students from an elementary school in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, run from the school grounds as summer vacation starts. (Yonhap)Kim Seok-joon, superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education, said it made the unprecedented decision to help boost students' abilities to think and solv
April 27, 2017
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Koreans worried 4th industrial revolution will threaten jobs
More than 70 percent of South Koreans fear that the advent of the fourth industrial revolution will threaten their jobs, but a greater number of them see it as a positive development that will benefit mankind, a survey showed Thursday.The poll conducted by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation said 89.9 percent believe the job market will shrink due to the next industrial revolution, up 24.3 percentage points from the same survey a year ago. While 76.5 percent worry that their
April 27, 2017
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Police to crack down on overcharging tourists during holiday season
Police said Thursday they will strengthen a crackdown on the acts of overcharging or cheating foreign tourists and improve security efforts in areas frequented by travelers in time for the extended holidays of neighboring countries next week.An influx of foreign visitors is anticipated here, as both Japan and China will enjoy lengthy holidays from the end of this month to the first week of May -- Japan's so-called golden week holiday from Saturday to May 7 and China's Labor Day holiday from Satu
April 27, 2017
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55% of fine dust in Seoul comes from abroad: report
Over half of the fine dust particles in Seoul come from abroad, the municipal government said Thursday, amid the city's struggle to fight worsening air quality.The Seoul Metropolitan Government, citing a study conducted by the Seoul Institute, said the portion of the capital's fine dust pollution from China and other foreign countries has increased to 55 percent compared to 49 percent tallied in the previous report released in 2011. The capital blanketed in a gray haze caused by fine dust in the
April 27, 2017
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Top court confirms four-year term for ex-Navy chief for bribery
The country's top court on Thursday dismissed a former Navy chief's appeal to a sentence of four years in prison for taking kickbacks from defense contractors.Jung Ok-keun, chief of naval operations from 2008 to 2010, was indicted in March 2015 for pressuring two affiliates of the now-defunct STX Group in 2008 into offering 770 million won ($671,726) to his son's yacht firm in return for business favors. Jung Ok-keun, chief of Naval Operations from 2008 to 2010, arrives at the Seoul Central Dist
April 27, 2017
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Defectors' group proposes designating April 15 as world N. Korean refugees' day
A Seoul-based North Korean defectors' group on Thursday called for the designation of April 15, the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's birthday, as a commemorative day for defectors worldwide.Ahn Chan-il, the head of the private World Institute for North Korean Studies, made the proposal at a press conference in Seoul. (Yonhap)"It's about time we had a day for people who fled North Korea," he said.He said Kim's birthday, called the Day of the Sun, is observed as the biggest national holiday
April 27, 2017
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LGBT groups blast Moon for anti-homosexuality remarks
A group of South Korean gay rights activists were apprehended Wednesday while staging a protest at the National Assembly against presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in over his remarks against homosexuality. A total of 13 people were taken to police stations for investigation after they tried to approach Moon, demanded his apology and chanted slogans while the candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea was addressing his supporters on a podium. Protesters hold a surprise demonstration in
April 26, 2017
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Lax rules on fine dust call for revision: experts
South Korea has far too lenient regulations on fine dust measurement and needs to toughen the threshold to better inform the public of the air quality amid the worsening climate here, experts here said Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Environment, a daily average of over 50 micrograms of ultra-fine dust is the threshold for South Korea to call bad weather for the day, whereas the minimum level for the United States and Japan stands at 35 micrograms. (Yonhap)The ministry said the measurem
April 26, 2017
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[Election 2017] Gay rights neglected on Korea campaign trail
With only two weeks to go before the May 9 presidential election, candidates are busy wooing voters of various ages, backgrounds and religions. But there is one particular group that they are not competing to win over -- sexual minorities.While homosexuality is not a crime in South Korea, LGBT people -- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender -- live largely on the fringes of society as the majority of Koreans remain either indifferent to or intolerant of homosexuality.Knowing this, most candidat
April 26, 2017
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Top universities to apply higher standards for admission of athletes
South Korea's two leading universities said Wednesday they will strengthen the eligibility requirements in the selection of student athletes amid criticism over unfairness and loopholes in the current system.Kim Yong-hak, president of Yonsei University, and Yeom Jae-ho, president of Korea University, held a joint press conference in Seoul and said student athletes aspiring to enter their schools will be required to meet certain academic standards starting in 2021. The heads of Yonsei University
April 26, 2017
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Korea's childbirths continue to decline in Feb.
The number of childbirths in South Korea fell for the 15th month in a row in February amid a deepening trend of late marriage and a rapidly aging population, a government report showed Wednesday.About 30,600 babies were born in February, down 12.3 percent, or 4,300, from 34,900 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Childbirths have been on a decline since a 3.4 percent on-year gain in November 2015. (Yonhap)The latest number also marked the lowest number of new chil
April 26, 2017
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Korea finalizes measures to prevent fires in traditional markets, reduce fine dust
The South Korean government on Wednesday finalized a series of additional measures to prevent fires in traditional markets and reduce fine dust pollution as part of efforts to enhance public safety.During a meeting of Cabinet ministers, Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn confirmed the measures and called for enhanced inter-agency cooperation in implementing them.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of ministers on public safety at the central g
April 26, 2017
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Rights watchdog calls for equal disability benefits for refugees
Refugees with disabilities are entitled to the same social security benefits as Korean nationals, South Korea's human rights watchdog said Wednesday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said that it has asked the minister of health and welfare to revise the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act and related guidelines to ensure disabled refugees living in South Korea are treated equally with handicapped Korean citizens. This photo, taken on Jan. 23, 2017, shows Lee Sung-ho, the chairperson of
April 26, 2017
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Women's groups demand Hong drop out amid 'pig stimulant' controversy
South Korea's women's groups on Tuesday demanded that Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party drop out of the presidential race, following a controversy surrounding his self-professed involvement in a past sex crime."Hong's past act constitutes conspiring in a sexual assault and was a clear and grave crime," the Korean Women's Association United said in a statement.Hong Joon-pyo, presidential candidate of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, explains his oil tax policy on April 25
April 26, 2017
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Arsonist gets jail term for fire at birthplace of late President Park
DAEGU -- A man who set a fire at a memorial hall of late President Park Chung-hee, father of South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-hye, last year was sentenced to four and a half years in prison Tuesday.The Daegu District Court convicted the 48-year-old, identified only by his last name Baek, of setting the fire with paint thinner at the late Park's birth home in Gumi, some 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in December, based on seven jurists' unanimous decision to find him guilty.The memorial
April 25, 2017
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Korea mulls over reducing coal power plant operations to cope with fine dust: minister
SEJONG -- The South Korean government is considering a move to reduce operations at coal-fired power plants to cope with excessive levels of fine dust particles in the air, the energy minister said Tuesday."As people are deeply worried about fine dust, (the government) is reviewing a plan to restrict power production at coal-fired plants when particle levels become serious," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan said during a ground-breaking event in Cheongju. Minister of Trade,
April 25, 2017
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Koreans think 67.2 is appropriate age to be considered old: poll
The age at which South Koreans think a person can be considered old has been pushed back to reflect the general aging of the population, a new poll showed Tuesday.The survey released by Hyundai Research Institute, a private think tank, showed respondents believed 67.2 should be viewed as the age at which a person can be seen as being old. Those in their 20s said they consider people aged 65.7 years as old. In comparison, people over 60 thought those above 69 should be considered old.A separate p
April 25, 2017
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Korea to honor former US lawmaker for speaking for sex slavery victims
South Korea will confer an order of merit on a former US lawmaker who has long fought for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, Seoul officials said Tuesday. This photo, taken on July 7, 2016, shows former US lawmaker Mike Honda speaking during a conference in Washington DC. (Yonhap)The Cabinet approved a proposal to give the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit to Mike Honda who has been at the forefront of efforts to get Tokyo to recognize its past misdeeds and a
April 25, 2017