Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Korea enters full election mode
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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[Herald Interview] Son Suk-ku chooses to be swayed by others in navigating life
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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‘Proud’ Saudi women win seats
RIYADH (AFP) ― At least 14 women won municipal council seats in Saudi Arabia’s first ever election open to female voters and candidates, officials said Sunday, far exceeding expectations in the ultra-conservative kingdom.“Even if it was only one woman, we’re really proud of that. Honestly, we weren’t expecting anyone to win,” said Sahar Hassan Nasief, a women’s rights activist in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.But with 2,106 seats up for election in Saturday’s polls, the 14 women will comprise less
Dec. 16, 2015
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‘Long way’ to reforms, but Saudi vote a start for women
RIYADH (AFP) ― The election of at least 20 women to local councils in Saudi Arabia for the first time could indirectly lead to longer-term reforms in discriminatory policies, activists said Monday.They said Saturday’s vote in the ultraconservative Islamic kingdom is a step toward improving the rights of the Gulf nation’s roughly 10 million females.But it will not directly help end a ban on women driving ― the only prohibition of its kind in the world ― or the “guardianship” system, they said.Mal
Dec. 16, 2015
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Business leaders, officials pledge family-friendly corporate culture
In tune with the government’s recent plan to tackle the nation’s record-low birthrate, business leaders said Tuesday that they would help firms create a family-friendly culture for their employees.“We share the view that the problem of marriage and births no longer belongs to individuals only, but is an urgent task that needs to be solved together with the government, businesses and individuals,” said representatives from South Korea’s five major business lobby groups in a declaration read durin
Dec. 15, 2015
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Graduate job seekers to outnumber employment openings for next 10 years
A government report showed Tuesday that the number of university and college graduates will exceed demands in the job market by 792,000 from 2014 to 2024.According to a Labor Ministry report on job prospects by college degree, 3.02 million four-year university graduates and 1.72 million two-year college graduates are expected to enter the job market from 2014-2024. But the number of available jobs for them in that time will be roughly 2.69 million and 1.25 million, respectively.The report pointe
Dec. 15, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Ahn’s ‘new politics’ slogan fades out after NPAD exit
“New politics” is a catchphrase that has helped Ahn Cheol-soo become the political figure he is today.This vision for new politics was the reason voters welcomed Ahn with open arms in the 2012 presidential election campaigns, despite his total lack of political experience. It was also a title he clung to when merging with the opposition camp last year.But now that years have passed since his grand political debut, the information technology guru-turned-politician leaves crucial questions to obse
Dec. 15, 2015
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Ford’s Schuldt named new AMCHAM chief
John SchuldtThe American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Tuesday named John Schuldt as the new president replacing incumbent Amy Jackson. Schuldt, who serves as the vice president and chief marketing officer at Ford Motor Korea, is currently the chairman of the golf committee and cochairman of auto committee of the business lobby group. He will start his term on Jan. 7 as a full-time AMCHAM executive, .“John comes to AMCHAM with a wealth of private sector experience that will serve him well in h
Dec. 15, 2015
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CJ chairman receives jail term in retrial
On Tuesday afternoon, CJ Group chairman Lee Jae-hyun showed up at the Seoul High Court in a wheelchair, armed with a bulky winter coat, a muffler and a face mask.It was the day of his retrial for embezzlement, breach of conduct and tax evasion. Much to his dismay, he was found guilty and handed a 2 1/2-year prison term and a 25.2 billion won ($21.2 million) fine. Lee was charged with creating a 620 billion-won slush fund by embezzling 160 billion won from the company coffers, thus dodging 54.6 b
Dec. 15, 2015
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City, ministry in a flap over flag
The war of words is heating up between the government and Seoul City over the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ plans to raise the national flag at the heart of downtown in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Japan this year. The tit-for-tat over how long and where the giant flag pole should be installed represents a fresh standoff between the conservative government of President Park Geun-hye and the progressive municipality run by Mayor Park Won-soon
Dec. 15, 2015
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Kona I collaborates with Lenovo for wearable tech
Smart card solutions developer Kona I said Tuesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the world’s largest PC maker Lenovo to join forces to develop security technologies for wearable devices and mobile payment.One of the security technologies to be deployed for the products of the Beijing-based PC maker is called the secure element, which is used to protect data stored in credit cards and smart cards, according to the Seoul-based smart card solutions firm.The Korean firm has r
Dec. 15, 2015
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‘Journey matters more than destination’
By Kim Young-wonGoogle chief executive Sundar Pichai urged Korean engineering students, would-be entrepreneurs and start-ups to shoot for the moon to achieve innovation.“Outcomes do not matter as much as people think,” the CEO said in a meeting held at Google’s start-up incubation center Campus Seoul in Gangnam, Seoul, on Tuesday. “If you look at stories and failures in Silicon Valley, it is important to understand that a journey matters much more than the outcome,” he added. It was his first vi
Dec. 15, 2015
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Ahn defection deja-vu for opposition camp
The defection of Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and the looming split of the party is a heavy blow to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, with only four months remaining until the next parliamentary elections.But it is also a repetition of history for a party that has experienced countless divisions and mergers over the past six decades.All through the years, the opposition camp has had an unwritten rule: Integration leads to victory and division to defeat.It is for such reason that the ongoing split o
Dec. 15, 2015
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Textbook controversy spills over to selection of authors
With the government postponing the announcement of the criteria for government-issued history textbooks for the third time Monday, the dispute over the selection of authors fueled the debate over the plan that the Park Geun-hye administration had vowed to keep transparent.The National Institute of Korean History, in charge of the publication process of the history textbook, is unclear on when it will reveal the criteria, the Education Ministry said. The NIKH initially was slated to make the anno
Dec. 15, 2015
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Ssangyong, union likely to settle 6-year dispute
Ssangyong Motor’s management and labor union have reached a tentative agreement to rehire a group of dismissed workers, a move widely seen here as a major breakthrough to end their six-year labor dispute. “The company took a critical step to end the prolonged labor conflict,” a company official said Monday. The agreement was made during tripartite talks among Ssangyong CEO Choi Johng-sik, union leader Hong Bong-seok and Kim Deuk-jung, a representative from the Korea Metal Workers’ Union. Kim has
Dec. 15, 2015
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Korean economy mired in growing debt, slowing exports
In a meeting with reporters last week, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan dismissed warnings that the Korean economy may be facing its worst ever conditions as exaggerated.“Some have said our economy is heading toward a grave crisis, but all data are showing Korea is doing better than most of its peer countries under difficult situations,” he said.Choi, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, argued that if exports had not fallen, Asia’s fourth-largest economy could
Dec. 14, 2015
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Depression symptoms gender-specific: study
Depression symptoms such as physical fatigue and loss of sexual desire have been shown to be significantly gender-specific in South Korea, according to a study on Monday.In the joint study by Seoul National University, Inha University and Kyungpook National University, the number of Korean women who experienced physical fatigue when clinically depressed was 2.8 times higher than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, the number of depressed men who experienced diminished sex drive was twice as high
Dec. 14, 2015
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Yum may sell Pizza Hut Korea
Yum Brands is reportedly exploring the sale of Pizza Hut Korea after the Korean unit converted its self-operated outlets to franchised stores and cut thousands of jobs, sources said Monday.There has been wide speculation after Pizza Hut Korea’s labor union said that the Kentucky-based franchise giant is seeking to sell a master franchising license to a third party company. Yum owns fast food restaurant chains like Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell. “The company is laying the groundwork for its master
Dec. 14, 2015
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Poland awaits investment as Europe’s transport hub
Poland is modernizing its roads, railways, airports and seaports to be a “pan-European” transportation hub. The Central European powerhouse is well positioned for the European Union’s infrastructure policy ― the Trans-European Transport Network ― unveiled by the European Commission in January last year, aimed at boosting East-West and North-South linkages across the continent. Covering both passengers and freight, the ambitious initiative will close transport capacities between 28 member states,
Dec. 14, 2015
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Keys to happiness in Denmark
The United Nation’s World Happiness Report listed Denmark as the world’s happiest nation in 2013 and 2014, while it came in at third place behind Switzerland and Iceland this year. When Koreans think of the Nordic nation, they conjure up ideas of work-life balance, plentiful welfare and fancy lifestyles, an egalitarian utopia far from “Hell Joseon,” a phrase Korean youth have recently used to describe Korea’s structural malaise. In the same report, Korea was ranked 47th of 158 countries for this
Dec. 14, 2015
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Australia, South Korea mark free trade pact anniversary
Marking one year of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement that entered into force on Dec. 12 last year, the Australian Embassy held a press conference last week to reflect on the deal’s positive impacts and gauge potentials for growth. The comprehensive agreement covers a broad spectrum, including trade in goods and services, investment, technology and information sharing. Korea agreed to a 94 percent tariff reduction on goods imported and Australia consented to a 100 percent elimination. (F
Dec. 14, 2015