Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Ex-presidential secretary faces investigation over Choi scandal
South Korean prosecutors plan to summon former Presidential Secretary An Chong-bum on Wednesday on his alleged connection to the scandal that President Park Geun-hye allowed her old friend Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs, officials said Tuesday.Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Coordination An is believed to have played a part in raising funds worth some 80 billion won ($70 million) for Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation, which was then illegally channeled to Choi.Choi, the d
Nov. 1, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Choi scandal explained
Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a scandal dominating South Korean politics, is now in custody and faces allegations of exerting undue influence over President Park Geun-hye in state policies and projects. The scandal is South Korea’s biggest political crisis in years, with citizens demanding Park’s removal from office. Here’s what we know so far. Q. Who is Choi Soon-sil?A. She is a 60-year-old woman who has never held a government post. She has been a close friend of President Park fo
Nov. 1, 2016
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Startups at state-run incubation center hit hard by Choi scandal
A major state-run incubation center designed to help startups is struggling to survive amid the widening influence-peddling scandal involving Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye. The unfolding scandal is also hurting dozens of fledgling venture startups whose previous high hopes are now seriously endangered. The government-run project for startups, named “Cultural Creation and Convergence Belt,” or “cel,” was launched in December last year. The project was one of President Par
Nov. 1, 2016
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Prosecutors broadening probe into Choi Soon-sil scandal
Prosecutors are broadening their probe into Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who is currently at the center of a political scandal rocking the country.Late on Monday, prosecutors arrested the 60-year-old woman, after grilling her for hours on allegations of interfering in state affairs and peddling influence. Authorities decided to detain the suspect because she was a flight risk and could try to destroy evidence. Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park Geun-hye who is at the cente
Nov. 1, 2016
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Excavator rams into prosecutors' office, injures security officer
A 45-year-old man drove his excavator into the country's top prosecution building in Seoul on Tuesday, injuring a security guard and destroying facilities, police said.The construction vehicle rammed into the Supreme Prosecutors'Office at around 8:20 a.m., according to police. The guard, 60, was injured while attempting to stop the vehicle by firing a gas gun and was rushed to a nearby hospital. (Yonhap)The entrance door of the building, as well as other facilities, were destroyed in the process
Nov. 1, 2016
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Prosecutors raid banks related to Choi Soon-sil
Prosecutors have raided the offices of eight banks to secure information on financial transactions related to President Park Geun-hye's confidante, who is at the center of a massive influence-peddling scandal, to look into any irregularities, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a cult leader who has a decades-long connection with Park, is embroiled in a series of allegations that she strong-armed conglomerates to make massive donations to two nonprofit f
Nov. 1, 2016
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Prosecutors place Choi Soon-sil under emergency detention after questioning
Prosecutors on Monday placed Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of President Park Geun-hye, under emergency detention after grilling her for hours on allegations of interfering in state affairs and peddling influence.Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has 48 hours in which to decide whether it will seek a warrant to formally arrest the 60-year-old, who appeared for questioning earlier Monday. She'd returned from Europe on Sunday after nearly two months. (Yonhap)Under criminal law, investigative
Nov. 1, 2016
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Temperature to dip below zero
The temperature in Seoul is set to drop below zero on Tuesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Affected by the continental anticyclone from China, the sky will be clear in most of the country, while the central area and some parts of southern peninsula will face a cold morning with the temperature dipping below zero.The morning will see lows of minus 7 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, while it is expected to reach up to 13 degrees Celsius during the day. “The day temperatu
Oct. 31, 2016
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Education Ministry probes Choi's daughter
The Ministry of Education said Monday that it had launched a two-week special inspection into allegations that Ewha Womans University gave special treatment to the daughter of President Park Geun-hye’s embattled confidante. The ministry dispatched an on-site inspection team comprising 12 ministry officials to the Seoul-based university. The inspection centers on Chung Yoo-ra, a horseback rider and the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, the woman accused of meddling in state affairs through her ties to P
Oct. 31, 2016
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Korea ranks bottom in OECD for welfare spending
South Korea is spending a smaller proportion of its gross domestic product on social welfare compared than other developed economies, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Monday.According to the OECD’s report on the Social Expenditure Database, South Korea ranked No. 34 out of 35 member countries, spending 10.4 percent of its GDP on social welfare. The figure was based on data collected from January to October this year.This marks less than half of the OECD
Oct. 31, 2016
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Reward system for caputring wildlife to change
A local government is considering changing a reward system for hunting harmful wild animals due to growing criticism the current system is unethical and against animal welfare. As part of efforts to control the number of wild animals that cause harm to crop fields and villagers, authorities have been providing since 2014 cash rewards to hunters based on the number of animals captured. The problem is the hunters were asked to submit evidence -- for instance, a tail of a wild pig or an ear of an e
Oct. 31, 2016
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Choi gets 'shadow president' grilling
Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a scandal rocking South Korea, appeared before prosecutors Monday afternoon to be questioned on the allegations that she exercised influence over President Park Geun-hye in state affairs.Upon her arrival at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at 3 p.m., she was surrounded by reporters and a mob of angry protestors. Covering her face with her hands, the tearful Choi uttered, “I’m sorry, please forgive me,” before hurrying inside the building. C
Oct. 31, 2016
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Prosecution probe's integrity questioned
Opposition politicians Tuesday cried foul over the accelerating investigation by state prosecutors on the Choi Soon-sil scandal, saying the probe lacks sincerity and may even be a show to appease public censure. A whirlwind of events have taken place in the past few days: the return from overseas of Choi’s key men and herself on Sunday, the prosecution’s “search by voluntary cooperation” of Cheong Wa Dae and finally Choi’s appearance Monday at the prosecution some 32 hours after her arrival in S
Oct. 31, 2016
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Ko Young-tae claims tablet PC is not his
Ko Young-tae -- one of the closest figures to the controversial presidential confidante Choi Soon-sil accused of meddling with state affairs -- returned home Monday afternoon after a second probe that lasted 24 hours. Ko has surfaced as a key figure in the corruption scandal that is shaking the nation after Choi denied ownership of the tablet PC in which confidential documents including unedited manuscripts of the president’s speeches were found. Choi, 60, claimed the laptop was Ko’s, saying she
Oct. 31, 2016
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Choi scandal puts spotlight on phones under borrowed names
Phones under another person’s name, or “daepo phone,” are attracting attention after it was revealed that a number of high ranking officials involved in the Choi Soon-sil scandal have used them for clandestine communications. Former senior policy secretary Ahn Jong-beom, one of the government officials suspected of helping establish illegally funded sports foundations where the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil is known to be the de facto head, had used the daepo phone to keep in contact with
Oct. 31, 2016
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Korean worker killed in robbery in Botswana
A South Korean worker in Botswana has been found dead and another wounded in an apparent robbery, the foreign ministry here said Monday.The worker was found dead on Sunday (local time) in his temporary house in Palapye, 270 km northeast of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, according to the ministry.The man, whose identify has not been confirmed, died from a gunshot wound apparently sustained during a home invasion that took place around 2 a.m.stock image (123rf)Another Korean worker was also wo
Oct. 31, 2016
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[From the scene] Angry protesters demand Park step down
Thousands of people took to the streets in Seoul on Saturday evening, calling for President Park Geun-hye to step down over allegations her longtime friend meddled in state affairs, in the first major anti-government rally since the Choi Soon-sil scandal came to the fore last week. Breaking away from typical rallies dominated by civic groups and labor unions, Saturday’s protest saw a more diverse crowd, from families and couples to friends and even former supporters of President Park taking part
Oct. 30, 2016
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Korean youth first try smoking at age 12.7: report
South Korean youth who have smoked cigarettes took their first puff at the age of 12.7 as of last year, a government report showed Sunday.The Korea Health Promotion Foundation said in the report that the average age when domestic youth first tried smoking dropped from 12.8 in 2011 to 12.7 in 2015. The foundation said the report was based on a poll of middle and high school students who have smoked before.The report noted that Korean youth are much younger when they first smoke compared with chil
Oct. 30, 2016
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Police drop plan to conduct autopsy on dead farmer
Police have decided to drop their plan to push for an autopsy on Baek Nam-gi, an activist farmer who died 10 months after being knocked out by a police water cannon at a street rally. “We have decided not to seek the renewal of a warrant (for an autopsy) after consultation with the state prosecutors,” Jongno Police Station said in a press statement late Friday. Civic activists block police from entering the Seoul National Hospital's funeral building in Seoul on Tuesay. (Yonhap)Baek’s body, stil
Oct. 28, 2016
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[EYE INTERVIEW] Spreading ‘green virus’
In the early 90s, Yoon Ho-seob was at the peak of his career as an advertisement designer. At the very front of the money-spinning marketing world, he designed logos for global companies like Pepsi Co. and international events such as 1988 Summer Olympics. Then one day, a thought struck him that he may be on a train running at full speed toward the edge of the cliff. Civilization, consuming resources at an ever-accelerating pace, had reached a point of no turning back, he thought. “I couldn’t li
Oct. 28, 2016