Most Popular
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May
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[Graphic News] Beer the most favored alcoholic drink by Koreans
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Haeundae Beach to become sand art museum in late May
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Suzy, Park Bo-gum star in AI fantasy romance ‘Wonderland’
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Dog goes on incredible journey to make it back home, 41 days after going missing
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Stalled pension bill likely to dominate May extra session
Prospects for the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly remain bleak as rival parties lock horns over the stalled bill on civil servants’ pension reform, even as the presidential office is adding pressure on both to swiftly pass it.Lawmakers are to hold a 30-day extra session starting Monday to pass a package of pending bills awaiting their approval. But the partisan standoff over the pension reform bill is likely to be a stumbling block as the rival parties continued to wrangle ove
PoliticsMay 10, 2015
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Park’s special envoy meets with N. Korean ceremonial leader
President Park Geun-hye’s special envoy has met North Korea’s ceremonial head of state at a ceremony in Russia marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, Seoul officials said Sunday. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling Saenuri Party had a “brief encounter” with Kim Yong-nam, president of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly as they laid a wreath on the graves of unknown soldiers alongside other world leaders and top officials on Saturday. “The encounter took place naturally durin
North KoreaMay 10, 2015
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Visa-free entry for travelers to Jeju via Gimpo
The Korean government said Sunday it would waive visas for foreign travelers planning to visit the southern resort island of Jejudo via Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, as part of its efforts to boost tourism.According to officials at the Justice Ministry, foreigners bound for Jejudo Island will be allowed to stay for five days without a tourist visa starting next month if they make a transfer at Gimpo in western Seoul. It is the seventh Korean airport designated as a visa-waiver airport fo
Social AffairsMay 10, 2015
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Prosecution presses Hong over alleged bribery
The prosecution said Sunday that it had secured evidence to prove that South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo met a former aide of deceased businessman Sung Woan-jong that counters the politician’s denial that the meeting took place.Sung’s aide, surnamed Yoon, has claimed to have delivered illicit money from the businessman to Hong in 2011 when he was running for chairmanship of the Grand National Party, the precursor to the ruling Saenuri Party.An official at the special investigative tea
PoliticsMay 10, 2015
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Violent crime rate surges among seniors
Violent crimes committed by people aged 65 or more soared nearly 40 percent over the past two years, with poverty, illness and loneliness cited as the major reasons, data showed Sunday. Seniors have increasingly committed more crimes in recent years than before, with the total number of cases reaching 77,260 in 2013, up 12.2 percent from 2011, according to data by the Korean National Police Agency. In particular, the increase in the number of violent crimes including murder, robbery, rape and ar
Social AffairsMay 10, 2015
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EU goes to school to court Korea’s youth
The European Union Embassy kicked off its “EU Goes to Schools 2015” program, designed to promote awareness of Europe among Korean high school students, with the first lecture at the Kyungbok Business High School in western Seoul on Friday. EU Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski and 20 other ambassadors from EU member states will visit 42 schools this year, and present European history, politics, economy and culture, as well as their career. The program started last year in collaboration with the Seoul E
Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2015
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Indonesia introduces new streamlined FDI process
The Indonesia Investment Board, in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy, held a reception last week to woo Korean investors in infrastructure, manufacturing, maritime industries and tourism, while explaining the country’s latest regulatory changes. Franky Sibarani, the chairman of the board, gave a presentation on simplified investment license processing and new opportunities at the gala dinner “New Government and New Hope: Investment Plan 2015-19” at Conrad Hotel in Seoul last Thursday.Ind
Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2015
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New Canadian ambassador takes over with eye on trade ties
Canadian Ambassador Eric Walsh had prior postings likely coming into his new position as Canada’s top envoy to Korea. Before being appointed in February, Walsh was the director of East and North Asia relations in the Canadian government in Ottawa, and had been posted in Berlin, Bucharest and Geneva.As relations between Canada and Korea become increasingly intertwined through free trade, immigration and education, Walsh said he had reason to be optimistic about the future. “Things are going well
Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2015
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Kazakhstan celebrates unity within diversity
Kazakhstan’s national holiday ― the Day of Unity of Kazakh People ― celebrates diverse nationalities and ethnicities that peacefully coexist in Kazakhstan. The country has more than 130 ethnic groups and nationalities ― Kazakh, Russian, Uzbek, Ukrainian, Tatar, Uyghur, German, Azeri and Belarusian ― including some 100,000 third- and fourth-generation ethnic Koreans who were deported to Central Asia from Soviet Union in the 1930s. They did not relocate based on their own will, but were driven by
Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2015
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Presidential office urges swift passage of pension reform bill
The presidential office called Sunday for the swift passage of a controversial bill to reform the public employee pension system as the National Assembly is set to open an extra session this week.The bill to restructure the debt-ridden pension plan for government employees has been at the center of the Park Geun-hye government's recent reform drive. The much-awaited passage of the bill, however, fell apart in parliament on the last day of the preceding extra parliamentary session last week as ri
PoliticsMay 10, 2015
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S. Korean special envoy meets N.K.'s No. 2 man in Moscow
A South Korean special envoy has met with a top North Korean official in Moscow during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, diplomatic sources here said Sunday. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling Saenuri Party encountered Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state, during the Saturday ceremony in Moscow's Red Square, they said. Kim attended the ceremony on behalf of leader Kim Jong-un. Yoon and Kim exchanged just pleasantri
North KoreaMay 10, 2015
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N. Korea boosts cyber operations capabilities
North Korea has significantly beefed up its human resources to boost its cyber warfare capabilities, the South Korean military said Sunday."A total of 6,800 hackers -- some 1,700 experts and 5,100 supportive members -- have been assigned to hacking and other cyber provocations," a senior military officer told reporters, requesting anonymity. The latest figure is 900 more than what Seoul's Military Cyber Command reported to the National Assembly in October."North Korea appears to have been concen
North KoreaMay 10, 2015
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U.S. says N. Korea's alleged launch of submarine missile violates U.N. resolutions
The United States said Saturday it is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions for North Korea to launch ballistic missiles after the communist nation claimed it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. "We closely monitor North Korean activities and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, especially North Korean military activities," a State Department spokesperson said. "Launches using ballistic missile technology are a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Co
Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2015
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US says 'It's receptive to nuclear talks with North Korea'
After three years of diplomatic deadlock, the Obama administration says it is open to holding preliminary talks with North Korea to probe its intentions and assess the prospects of ridding the country of nuclear weapons.A senior South Korean envoy traveled to Washington and Beijing this past week as nations involved in long-stalled aid-for-disarmament negotiations consider their diplomatic options. Tensions have eased a little on the Korean Peninsula following the completion of annual U.S.-South
Foreign AffairsMay 9, 2015
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N. Korea test-fires underwater ballistic missile: KCNA
North Korea carried out an underwater test-fire of a submarine ballistic missile, watched by its leader Kim Jong-un, the state media said Saturday, in an apparent move to boost its underwater missile capabilities that could pose a fresh threat in the region. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the mouthpiece of the communist state, reported that Kim issued an order for the test-fire and watched the ballistic missile from the submarine "soar into the sky from underwater."The article did not s
DefenseMay 9, 2015
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NPAD hit by factional fight
A senior lawmaker of the main opposition party bowed out of its decision-making Supreme Council on Friday, urging the party leadership to resign en masse to take responsibility for its electoral debacle late last month. The resignation of Rep. Joo Seung-yong dealt yet another blow to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, which has been faltering under deepening factional infighting that was aggravated by the party’s defeats in parliamentary by-elections on April 29. His decision to step down
PoliticsMay 8, 2015
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More elderly living alone
The number of elderly living alone increased over the past five years, a report showed Friday, adding to growing concerns over Korea’s rapidly aging population and its negative impact on the economy.The report said the number of senior citizens living alone in Korea hit almost 1.37 million in 2015, nearly a 20 percent increase from 2011, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report, which was released by Rep. Hwang In-ja of the Saenuri Party. Senior citizens refer to those aged 65 or
Social AffairsMay 8, 2015
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Governor questioned in corruption scandal
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo was questioned Friday by the prosecution in Seoul over his alleged involvement in a high-profile graft scandal, becoming the first to be questioned among eight political heavyweights mired in the case.The bribery allegations have dealt a serious blow to Hong’s reputation as a “corruption buster” that he built while working as a state prosecutor in the 1980s and 1990s. “I feel sorry for having caused public concern. I am here to offer my explanation (c
Social AffairsMay 8, 2015
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‘Korea’s Fabre’ dedicates life to saving endangered insects
It was some 18 years ago when Lee Kang-woon, then an employee of a top Seoul-based media firm, renounced his promising career to follow his heart and take an uncharted path: to become an entomologist, a rare profession in highly urbanized Korea.Mesmerized by the tantalizing movements of colorful insects, Lee developed an insatiable desire to live with them in a serene forest and dedicate his life to researching and preserving the endangered species.“I couldn’t resist my desire for insects. I jus
Social AffairsMay 8, 2015
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Park calls for unhindered probe of bribery scandal
President Park Geun-hye Friday called for a unhindered investigation into a bribery scandal as the prosecution summoned a provincial governor for questioning over the scandal involving some of Park's key aides."I am determined to capitalize on this opportunity to clear people's suspicions over the recent affairs through an investigation without sanctuary and to make our society and the political circle be born again completely," Park said during her meeting with representatives of volunteer orga
NationalMay 8, 2015