Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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[Newsmaker] Poll shows increase in conservatives among S. Koreans for 3rd straight year
A poll released by a state research body on Sunday showed an increase in conservatives among South Koreans for a third consecutive year. The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) also said the number of those who consider themselves liberals fell for the second straight year. KIPA polled 8,336 South Koreans, aged 19 and over, from September to October last year on their political leanings. The results showed that 25.7 percent of the polled said they are conservatives, up 1 percentage
PoliticsApril 4, 2021
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[Newsmaker] After 2 years into 5G world, smartphone users still hungry for wider coverage, faster speeds
When 5G networks were first rolled out in South Korea in April 2019, telecom operators claimed that their ultrafast mobile speeds and low latency would usher in a new era for smartphone users and even power future technologies from autonomous vehicles to virtual reality (VR) content to cloud gaming. Fast forward to 2021, self-driving cars are still a way off and cloud games still work on previous 4G LTE networks. The next-generation networks have instead faced user disappointment due to slower
Social AffairsApril 3, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Moon's approval rating drops to another record low of 32%: Gallup
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has fallen for the third consecutive week, reaching an all-time low of 32 percent, due mainly to his government's unpopular housing policy, a poll showed Friday. In Gallup Korea's survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted from Tuesday through Thursday, only 32 percent gave a positive assessment of Moon's presidency, down 2 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest since his inauguration in 2017. But 58 percent negatively assessed Moon's p
PoliticsApril 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Shinhan Bank employee shot in Myanmar, sends jitters across Korea’s finance sector
A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at
MarketApril 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Rival parties try to drum up turnout as early voting for by-elections set to begin
With one day left before the start of the early voting for next week's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, rival parties on Thursday strived to encourage more of their supporters to go to the polls. The advance polling is set to begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations in Seoul, Busan and other regions ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Both sides believe turnout of their supporters for the early voting will be a prime determinant in the elections
PoliticsApril 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Minor Seoul mayoral candidates pledge to support women, LGBTQ people
As the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor approaches, a fierce battle is ongoing between the ruling and main opposition parties. At the same time, 10 minor parties and independent candidates are appealing to voters by talking about gender equality, LGBTQ rights, basic income and the environment. The 10 candidates, whose combined approval rating is less than 5 percent, are getting voters’ attention with issues that major candidates haven’t paid much attention to.
PoliticsMarch 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Poll shows opposition Seoul mayoral candidate has commanding lead over his ruling rival
The conservative main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon is leading his rival from the ruling Democratic Party Park Young-sun by an overwhelming margin of nearly 30 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, a week ahead of the election day. According to the survey conducted on 842 voters in Seoul from Sunday-Monday by Hangil Research, 60.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Oh in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. Only 32.5 percent
PoliticsMarch 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Korea pins high hopes on ‘K-syringes’
Despite taking an early leadership in COVID-19 diagnosis and epidemic response, South Korea has been months behind in the global race to either develop vaccines or secure jabs already developed and inoculate its citizens. While playing catch-up, the government is hoping to draw attention to its achievements elsewhere -- their syringes. Low dead-space syringes, which local firm PoongLim Pharmatech developed in partnership with the government, has allowed the country to inoculate 1,880 more p
TechnologyMarch 30, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yellow dust blankets S. Korea for 2nd day
Harmful yellow dust originating mostly from northern China continued to blanket South Korea for a second day Tuesday, prompting authorities to take emergency emissions reduction measures against spikes in fine dust levels. Hit by the powerful dust storm from the island deserts in northern China and Mongolia, South Korea issued yellow dust warnings for almost all parts of the country for the first time in a decade on Monday. According to weather authorities, the density of fine dust particles
Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Seoul mayor election campaign descends to mud slinging
With the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor just around the corner, the election campaigns are becoming marred by mudslinging and personal insults between candidates, which may lead to political distrust and apathy among voters. About a week to go before the election, both the ruling and opposition parties appear to be focusing more on raising personal negative issues about rival candidates than discussion of policies and pledges. Although there are several candidates, the
PoliticsMarch 29, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Approval rating for conservative main opposition party tops 40% in Seoul: poll
The approval rating for the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has topped 40 percent in Seoul, expanding its lead over the liberal ruling Democratic Party (DP) in the runup to next week's Seoul mayoral by-election, an opinion poll showed Monday. According to the Realmeter survey conducted on 2,516 voters nationwide from last Monday through Friday, the approval rating for the PPP came to 41.2 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from a week ago. This marks the first approval rat
PoliticsMarch 29, 2021
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[Newsmaker] SBS ‘Joseon Exorcist’ writer, cast apologize for historical controversy
The writer and cast of SBS ‘Joseon Exorcist’ on Saturday released apology statements for taking part in the show that depicts Korean history inaccurately. “I sincerely apologize for the trouble my inconsiderate script has caused to viewers over the past few days,” writer Park Kye-ok said in a statement. “I should have learned from my past mistakes and presented a better story as a writer, I made viewers angry with my lack of judgment.” The apology statement
TelevisionMarch 28, 2021
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[Newsmaker] JCS chairmen from 12 countries issue joint statement condemning violence in Myanmar
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul has joined his counterparts from 11 countries, including the United States, in adopting a statement condemning Myanmar's military using "lethal force against unarmed people." The 12 military chiefs also include those from Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, according to the statement that was made available on the website of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on Satur
DefenseMarch 28, 2021
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[Newsmaker] SBS cancels ‘Joseon Exorcist’ after historical controversy
Broadcaster SBS announced it will cancel “Joseon Exorcist” after the drama faced controversy over historical inaccuracies in just two episodes. “Joseon Exorcist,” about zombies appearing in the Joseon era, was criticized by many Koreans for using Chinese-style costumes and props, especially at a time when Chinese claims to kimchi and hanbok in recent months have angered the public here. Although the production team -- Crave Works, YG Studioplex and Lotte Cultureworks --
TelevisionMarch 26, 2021
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[Newsmaker] ‘Imprisoned Samsung chief Lee hospitalized for burst appendix’
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong had part of his large intestine removed after his appendix burst, local reports said Thursday. The de facto chief of the nation’s largest conglomerate, who is currently in jail for bribing former President Park Geun-hye, had a partial colorectal resection last week, the reports said, after a case of acute appendicitis was diagnosed too late and resulted in complications. They said Lee, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, endured th
IndustryMarch 25, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Coupang says deceased courier new on the job and had health problems
Local e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. said Thursday that its parcel delivery worker who died the previous day while working was suffering from heart-related abnormalities and was only on his second day on duty. The 43-year-old Coupang courier, whose identity was withheld, was found unconscious at a residential area in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, at 12:57 p.m. Wednesday and pronounced dead while being transferred to a hospital. The courier's death immediately triggered speculation that
IndustryMarch 25, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Former Seoul mayor far ahead of ruling candidate: poll
Two weeks before the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor, Oh Se-hoon, a former mayor and the sole candidate from the opposition bloc, is far ahead of Park Young-sun, former minister of SMEs and startups and the sole candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a poll showed Wednesday. According to a Realmeter survey of 1,042 Seoulites aged 18 or older on March 22 and 23, Oh gained 48.9 percent support and Park stood at 29.2 percent support of respondents in the two-w
PoliticsMarch 24, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Online vigil to honor victims of deadly Atlanta shootings
WASHINGTON -- A vigil will be held this week to honor the victims of recent deadly shootings in Atlanta and to call for a stop to hate crimes in the United States that are increasingly targeting people of Asian descent, organizers said Tuesday. The solemn event will be held in Atlanta on Friday and streamed live at www.326vigil.org, according to KA Vote, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting Korean American civic engagement and representation. The move comes in the wake of shooting
Foreign AffairsMarch 24, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Kia union fears job cuts over online preorders
Like many global carmakers, Kia Corp. plans to take preorders online for EV6, its first all-electric vehicle built on an exclusive EV platform, slated for release here in July. But its labor union is opposing the idea, sensing a potential threat it poses to the job security of conventional sales staff. “The online preorder system introduced for the upcoming EV6 will infringe on the employment security of the sales workforce,” the Kia branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Uni
IndustryMarch 23, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Rights watchdog urges end to 'discriminatory' coronavirus testing requirement for foreign workers
The state human rights watchdog on Tuesday urged local governments to withdraw their orders for migrant workers to undergo mandatory coronavirus testing, calling it "discriminatory against foreigners." Some local governments, including Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, issued such administrative orders earlier this month amid spikes in infections in areas and workplaces with a large number of foreign nationals. The city of Seoul revised the order Friday amid protests from t
Social AffairsMarch 23, 2021