Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Human rights body to fund research on foreign workers' conditions
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced Monday that it plans to fund research on the working conditions of migrant workers, to expand the statistics available specifically on migrant worker deaths and potential support systems. The commission will be accepting research proposals for related studies with a maximum funding award amount of 50,000,000 won ($37,374) per project from March 7, 10 a.m. through March 10, 10 a.m. via their website. “Various factors make migrant worke
Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024
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Putin's car gift to Kim showcases 'special' bond, defying UN sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a gift of a Russia-produced car exclusively "for his personal use," North Korean state media reported Tuesday. The South Korean government decried the gift as a breach of UN Security Council resolutions. The Rodong Sinmun, which primarily targets internal audiences as North Korea's most widely circulated newspaper, featured the news on its front page without disclosing specifics about the vehicle gifte
North KoreaFeb. 20, 2024
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Nearly half of special medical equipment over 10 years old
The South Korean government on Tuesday said it will revamp the supervision and maintenance system for the medical equipment in the country, as recent data shows that some 42.6 percent of what is deemed "special medical equipment" here has been in use for 10 years or more. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's recently-announced second comprehensive state health insurance program for the 2024-2028 period kicked in this year, which includes plans to shorten the term for regular inspe
Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2024
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Dozens of KAIST alumni accuse presidential security of violence
Dozens of alumni from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday accused the presidential security of abusing its power and exerting violence by forcibly removing a student from the graduation ceremony venue. The bodyguards of President Yoon Suk Yeol ejected an attendee, named Shin Min-gi, from the ceremony in Daejeon when he protested the budget cut in scientific technology research and development for this year during Yoon's commencement remarks on Friday. The alumni, co
PoliticsFeb. 20, 2024
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DP floor leader says democracy has regressed under Yoon govt., calls for support in general elections
Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Tuesday that democracy has regressed under the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for voter support for the party in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Hong made the remarks during an address at the National Assembly as representative of the largest parliamentary negotiating bloc, asserting that the Yoon administration has failed to uphold fairness and common sense as previously promised. "In ju
PoliticsFeb. 20, 2024
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'Accommodating 2,000 new med students impossible': deans of med schools
Some 40 medical universities have called for governments to retract their original decision to add 2,000 seats to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year from the current 3,058, claiming that "the plan is impossible to accommodate considering the conditions of current education in a short period." The Korean Association of Medical Colleges (KAMC), on behalf of the deans of 40 medical schools and medical specialty schools nationwide, released such a statement on Mon
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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S. Korea, Netherlands launch semiconductor dialogue
South Korea and the Netherlands on Monday launched a dialogue on the semiconductor industry in an effort to boost bilateral cooperation on the advanced sector, the industry ministry here said. The two nations held the inaugural meeting of the director-level Korea-Netherlands Semiconductor Dialogue in the Dutch city of Eindhoven on the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The meeting was held as the two sides agreed in December to establish a working-level dialogue channe
Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Yoon calls for utmost efforts to protect people's lives amid threat of doctors' walkout
President Yoon Suk Yeol called on the government Monday to make utmost efforts to protect the people's lives and health amid a looming walkout by doctors protesting a planned increase in the medical school enrollment quota, his office said. Yoon issued the call during his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. "Please make utmost efforts in the response to protect the people's lives and health," he was quoted as
PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024
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Trainee doctors take collective action against gov't medical policy
Trainee doctors began submitting their letters of collective resignation Monday in protest against the government's plan to boost the number of medical students, while the health ministry ordered all of them to keep providing medical treatment. Worries mounted as doctors warn of a large-scale strike and other responses in opposition to the government's decision to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seat
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Reality check: How diverse is Korea really? LGBTQ+ and society (9)
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2020, there has been a notable shift in public opinion in South Korea regarding the acceptance of homosexuality. The survey revealed that the percentage of individuals who believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society increased from 25 percent in 2002 to 44 percent in 2019. This shift suggests growing openness and changing attitudes towards LGBTQ+ issues within South Korean society over the years. However, it's impo
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Man indicted for false testimony, evidence rigging over girlfriend's rape
South Korean prosecutors recently indicted a man for providing false testimony and rigging evidence related to the alleged rape of his girlfriend by another man. The man reportedly tried to convince his girlfriend that she had not been assaulted. Investigators have pushed for charges of perjury, instigation of perjury, and forging of evidence against the 20-something suspect, according to officials. The suspect, who was in a romantic relationship with the victim, was approached by a friend of
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Police vow to probe doctors’ joint action
The police will investigate doctors who undertake joint action in protest of the government’s plan to increase the annual student enrollment quota at medical schools from 2025, Yoon Hee-keun, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency told reporters Monday. Yoon said that the police would investigate any joint action taken by doctors that were reported to law enforcement agencies, adding that arrest warrants would be issued for individual doctors who are “clearly in vi
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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First lady resumes duties after 2-month hiatus
Kim Keon Hee appeared to have resumed her engagements as South Korea's first lady, albeit unofficially, for the first time in over two months. Kim reportedly joined a lunch meeting with Netflix Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos and "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, who had been received by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday at the presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The initial statement from the presidential office about the meeting did not indicate that Kim was presen
PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024
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More universities gear up for bigger tuition hikes
Four-year universities in South Korea are gearing up to raise tuition fees, going away from the so-called "half-price" tuition policy that encouraged them to freeze the price since 2012. Out of 137 universities that have set the amount of their tuition fees, 19 have decided to raise the expenditure. Keimyung University raised its tuition fee for the first time in 16 years, while Chosun University and Dong-Eui University raised them for the first time in 15 and 13 years, respectively.
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Decade after UN report, NK human rights 'worst in world': Turner
The human rights situation in North Korea has remained the worst in the world, even 10 years after the UN released its first report unveiling systematic human rights abuses and violations by the North Korean regime, the US special envoy for North Korean human rights said Monday. One defector, however, asserted that North Korean people have started to adopt the notion of "human rights violations," attributing this shift to the international community's concerted efforts to shed lig
North KoreaFeb. 19, 2024
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[Bills in Focus] Stock investment promotion, wind power distribution
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation Proposed by Rep. Park Dae-chul (People Power Party) ● In consideration of the high interest rates and rising number of stock investors in the current economic landscape, this amendment proposes to cancel the upcoming implementation of the financial income tax system and maintain the current capital gains tax system. This bill is in line with President Yoon Suk Yeol's push to abolish the finan
Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Korea had over 100 quakes above magnitude 2.0 in 2023: KMA
More than 100 earthquakes with a magnitude above 2.0 were recorded on the Korean Peninsula in 2023, marking a slight increase compared to previous years, according to a report by the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. Through its annual report on earthquake occurrences, the KMA noted that a total of 106 earthquakes above magnitude 2.0 were recorded on the peninsula last year, more than the annual average of 70.8. This figure is calculated based on the number of earthquake occurrences
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024
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Election watchdog busts political deepfakes ahead of April general election
The South Korean constitutional agency overseeing election administration said Monday it formed a task force aimed at fighting artificial intelligence-generated deceitful content related to the general election in April. The National Election Commission said in a release that it busted a total of 129 deepfakes that were deemed to violate the laws on elections of public officials between Jan. 29 and Feb. 16. The “politically motivated” deepfakes were caught by the watchdog through a s
PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024
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Democratic Party recruits ex-official suspected in 2019 forced return of North Koreans
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea recruited a former National Intelligence Service official who was suspected of alleged wrongdoing in the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in 2019, when former President Moon Jae-in was in office. Kim Joon-hwan was Moon’s deputy director at the NIS at the time the Democratic Party administration decided to return the two North Korean fishers forcibly. Several at the NIS, including then-director Suh Hoon, and the Moon
PoliticsFeb. 19, 2024
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Patients on edge as doctors prepare for hospital walkout
Medical institutions were in a frantic dash Monday morning as junior doctors at Seoul’s “Big Five” hospitals moved to tender their resignation letters en masse Monday and walk out of their jobs on Tuesday at 6 a.m. in protest against the government’s planned hike in medical school enrollment quota. With a face full of worry, a woman in her 60s grabbed onto medical personnel at the main lobby of Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, western Seoul, asking if she would be able
Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2024