Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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S. Korea's housing market stabilizing, Yoon says
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday touted his administration's policy efforts as the reason behind the recent signs of the housing market stabilizing. Yoon said his conservative administration will spare no efforts to further stabilize the housing market, as the interest rate and the cost of construction remain high, posing hurdles for the housing supply in Seoul, which is suffering a shortage of affordable housing for prospective homeowners. "Now is the (optimal) time to normalize the housi
PoliticsApril 8, 2024
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[New Analysis] Why does Kishida still want to meet Kim Jong-un?
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's steadfast pursuit of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, despite Pyongyang's unequivocal public refusals to engage with Japan and address the abduction of Japanese citizens, is primarily intended to resonate with the domestic audience, experts in Seoul said Monday. Another objective for Japan could be preparing for the potential revival of a summit between the United States and North Korea if Donald Trump is elected president in the No
Foreign AffairsApril 8, 2024
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Political satire strikes back ahead of election
Watching "Saturday Night Live Korea" on his laptop with a bowl of popcorn is how 33-year-old office worker Im Tae-ho unwinds after work. "I love that political satire sketches on 'SNL Korea' have returned stronger than ever this season," Im told The Korea Herald. "I feel like 'SNL Korea' is the only comedy show that dares to poke fun at politicians so brazenly in Korea. It's the only show that does political satire the right way," he added.
PoliticsApril 8, 2024
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Presidential office denies deferring med student hike
The presidential office said Monday that it has no plan to defer the medical school admissions quota hike, fueling confusion both in the government and medical community, which briefly saw the possibility for dialogue over the matter. “The government has never reviewed postponing the plan for a year, nor will it do so in the future,” an official from the presidential office told reporters during a closed-door briefing, reiterating that the government remains unchanged on its medical
PoliticsApril 8, 2024
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S. Koreans shoulder slightly less than W1m a year for medical services
South Koreans paid an average of 960,000 won ($709) in 2021 for medical services, excluding state health insurance coverage, government reports showed Monday. In a joint report, the National Health Insurance Service and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs analyzed the data of 12,874 adults across the country, out of whom 11,844 used medical services in 2021. South Korean law subsidizes the costs of medical services through the National Health Insurance program, to which all citizen
Social AffairsApril 8, 2024
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Stray bullet injures American, state to pay compensation
A South Korean court recently ordered the state to pay 209 million won ($154,000) as compensation to a US national who police mistakenly injured with a gun while trying to take down a dog on a rampage. The civil case division of the Seoul District Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the 68-year-old American, who demanded compensation for injuries he sustained in the unintended attack. "The accident occurred as a result of a police officer's illegal actions, which is beyond the degree o
Social AffairsApril 8, 2024
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Seoul's transit pass hits 1 million issuance milestone
Seoul’s all-inclusive monthly transit pass, the "Climate Card," surpassed 1 million issuances last week, just 70 days since its debut, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. According to the city's data, the number of climate cards issued as of Friday had reached 1,008,000, since its launch on Jan. 27. Of the total, mobile-only cards accounted for approximately 49 percent, while the remaining 515,000 issuances were for physical cards, a city official said. The number
Social AffairsApril 8, 2024
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[Bills in Focus] Display of in-game items, future car development
Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act Proposed by Rep. Park Dae-chul (People Power Party) ●This amendment proposes canceling the planned implementation of the financial income tax system next year, which imposes a 20-25 percent tax on capital gains from investments in financial investment products, such as stocks, bonds and funds, that are worth 50 million won ($38,230) or more. The financial investment income tax, also known as the “geumtuse,” is a system that levi
PoliticsApril 8, 2024
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S. Korea, US to hold regular defense talks on deterrence against N. Korea
South Korea and the United States will hold regular defense talks this week to discuss ways to bolster security cooperation and deter North Korean nuclear and missile threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. The Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue will take place in Washington on Thursday for discussions on a range of alliance issues ahead of the allies' Nuclear Consultative Group session in June. South Korean Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Cho Chang-rae, Ely Ratner, US assi
DefenseApril 8, 2024
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N. Korea's Kim sends message to Putin over flooding in Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message consoling Russian President Vladimir Putin over heavy floods that hit Russia's southern region, state media said Monday. Kim's message came in response to media reports that Russia declared a federal emergency after heavy floods in the country's Orenburg region forced thousands of people to evacuate. "Kim Jong-un, on behalf of the DPRK government and people and on his own behalf, extended deep consolation to the Russian presi
North KoreaApril 8, 2024
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S. Korea successfully launches 2nd spy satellite into orbit
South Korea successfully launched its second indigenous spy satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida on Monday, according to the defense ministry. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 7:17 p.m. from the John F. Kennedy Space Center and sent the reconnaissance satellite into orbit approximately 45 minutes after the launch, the ministry said. It succeeded in communicating with an overseas ground station at 10:57 a.m., it noted. It is the second military sate
DefenseApril 8, 2024
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Senior doctors positively assess Yoon-junior doctors meeting, vow 'unified' response hike plan withdrawal
A major doctors' association on Sunday assessed positively the recent meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the chief of a striking trainee doctors' group despite criticism by some junior doctors, vowing a unified response with trainee doctors and medical professors to the government's medical school quota hike plan. Last week, Yoon met with Park Dan, the head of an emergency committee at the Korea Intern Resident Association, to discuss the ongoing standoff over the plan to
Social AffairsApril 7, 2024
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Teen's death in online suicide inducement case results in suspended sentence
A South Korean who gave instructions to a teen concerning suicide has been given a 10-month prison term, suspended for two years, after the teen died using the information, a local media outlet reported Sunday. The Uijeongbu District Court recently found the defendant guilty of violating the Act for the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of Culture of Respect for Life, according to a report by the Seoul Economic Daily. It bans distribution of information that shows specific methods of suicid
Social AffairsApril 7, 2024
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[KH Explains] Political leeks: Scallions become election attack line
The green onion, a beloved vegetable among South Koreans, has unexpectedly become the latest political weapon for opposition parties to attack President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party. It all started with Yoon's visit to a hypermarket in southern Seoul on March 18, just before he rolled out measures to tame food prices in the country. There, Yoon noticed that a bundle of green onions weighing 1 kilogram was selling for 875 won ($0.65), significantly lower than the usual price of between
PoliticsApril 7, 2024
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86-year-old woman who donated life savings dies alone
A Busan district office on Saturday announced the death of an 86-year-old woman who had recently donated 50 million won ($37,000) that she saved up while working as a housekeeper. Gweon Ok-seon donated her life savings in January to three welfare organizations in the southern port city -- the regional branch of the Red Cross, the Community Chest of Korea and the welfare center of her local Mandeok 3-dong -- according to the Buk-gu Office in Busan. She passed away alone at a hospital in Mandeok-d
Social AffairsApril 7, 2024
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[Election 2024] Will S. Korea's political regionalism crumble?
South Korean politics has long been marked by a sharp east-west divide in its southern regions. In the southeast, Daegu, Busan, Ulsan and the Gyeongsang Provinces have been a conservative stronghold for decades, while the country’s southwest, including Gwangju and the Jeolla Provinces, has been a bastion for the left wing. In the 2020 legislative election, the center-left won in 27 out of 28 seats in Korea's southwest, while the conservatives won 56 out of 65 constituencies in the sou
PoliticsApril 7, 2024
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No shirt, no shoes or dressed for mourning: Candidates' campaign gimmicks
As South Koreans go to the polls to elect the 300 members of the National Assembly on Wednesday, political candidates have fully ramped up efforts to court voters. Walking down practically any main street at the moment, one will easily spot rallies of candidates and supporters singing theme songs with politically tweaked lyrics and flamboyant dance routines. Others have taken more unconventional turns in the outreach. One candidate was seen barefoot greeting visitors at the red clay road in Gumi
PoliticsApril 7, 2024
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Assembly race heats up as early voters turn out in record numbers
More registered voters than ever turned out for early voting on Friday and Saturday, further heating up the election race, with the Democratic Party of Korea claiming that it points to their advantage. According to the National Election Commission, the early voter turnout rate was 31.2 percent -- the highest since early voting was introduced in 2016. In the Democratic Party's turf, namely the Jeolla Provinces, the rate was highest with around 40 percent showing up to vote early. By contrast
PoliticsApril 7, 2024
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Ministry to study how much repeat Suneung-takers spend on tutoring
The Ministry of Education said Sunday it has ordered a study on private education spending of those taking state-administered college entrance exam multiple times, in a bid to figure out a more accurate estimate of the private education sector in South Korea. According to the ministry, 31.7 percent of college entrance exam takers in 2023 had already graduated from high school, an increase from 23.2 percent in 2017. South Korean students take the annual exam, known as Suneung, in the last Novembe
Social AffairsApril 7, 2024
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Reports of workplace abuse double over past 5 years
Over 10,000 cases of workplace abuse were reported to authorities last year, the Labor Ministry said Sunday, marking a steep increase every year since the government first started compiling such reports in 2019. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, it received 10,028 reports of workplace abuse in 2023, up 12 percent from 8,961 the year before. South Korea in 2019 revised the Labor Standards Act to stipulate in Articles 76-2 and 76-3 the prohibition against workplace harassment and
Social AffairsApril 7, 2024