Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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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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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Public backlash against division of Gyeonggi Province under 'corny' name
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Petition to block free school meals starts
Conservative civic groups will start a signature-gathering campaign Wednesday, and aim to have a plebiscite vote on the controversial free school meals at schools issue, Seoul city officials said Tuesday.The Commission for Anti-Welfare Populism, an association of some 160 conservative civic groups, filed a petition Tuesday ahead of collecting signatures from Seoul citizens. Despite Seoul City Coun
Social AffairsFeb. 8, 2011
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One-third of imprisoned N.K. defectors in for narcotics
More than a third of imprisoned North Korean defectors here were sentenced for drug trafficking, highlighting a lack of screening and reintegration policies for defectors, according to the Korean Institute of Criminology on Monday.Professor Jang Joon-oh, director of the International Center for Criminal Justice, said 17 of the 48 defectors incarcerated in the South were charged with trafficking op
Social AffairsFeb. 8, 2011
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New heads for National Museum, Cultural Heritage Administration
Choe Kwang-shik, the current director-general of the National Museum of Korea, has been designated as the new administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, replacing Yi Kun-moo, who was removed from the position Tuesday. Choe Kwang-shik, new administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration. (Yonhap News)Choe, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Korea University, had served as the presi
PoliticsFeb. 8, 2011
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Fair-haired island no blonde joke in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) -- Empowering blondes or stereotyping them? The jury is out on a Lithuanian company that plans to build a ``fantasy resort'' staffed only by blondes in the Maldives. Olialia (pronounced Oh-la-LA) has created a business empire in Lithuania, using its troupe of glitzy models with platinum hair to market just about anything from potato chips to pop music. There's Olialia pizz
InternationalFeb. 8, 2011
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Protest held near Berlusconi's villa in Milan
A demonstrator wears a mock mask of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, dressed as a pink rabbit with handcuffs during a protest outside Berlusconi's private residence, in Arcore, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, to demand Premier Silvio Berlusconi's resignation following allegations he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and used his office to cover it up. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)MILAN (AP) _ Critics of
InternationalFeb. 8, 2011
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Public puffing increasingly difficult in Korea
Choi Hak-young, a 37-year-old office worker in Seoul, grew up seeing people smoking just about everywhere in South Korea, including at subway stations and even on city buses and airplanes.Today, South Korea is no longer a smokers’ haven. The social environment of smoking has changed so much over the years, and smokers like Choi too often find themselves unwelcome almost everywhere in the country.
InternationalFeb. 8, 2011
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France to return ancient Korean books by May
Some 297 volumes of Korean royal books taken by France during their war in the 19th century will be returned by the Paris government by May, the Seoul government said Monday. One of the Joseon-period royal books set to return from France (Yonhap News)South Korea and France officially forged a pact Monday over the return of centuries-old “Oegyujanggak books” as follow-up to French President Nicolas
PoliticsFeb. 8, 2011
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Koreas start preliminary military talks: official
Military officers from South and North Korea Tuesday began preliminary talks to lay groundwork for a higher-level meeting, a defense ministry official said, the first meeting since the North's deadly bombardment of a border island. "The working-level military talks started at around 10:00 a.m. as scheduled in the Demilitarized Zone," said an official at the Defense Ministry.The colonel-level talks
North KoreaFeb. 8, 2011
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Koreas set for first military talks since island attack
Military officers from South and North Korea were set to hold working-level talks on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a meeting of higher-level officials, the first such cross-border meeting since the North's deadly artillery attack on a border island last November, officials here said. The colonel-level talks to be held at the border truce village of Panmunjom separating the two Koreas are a
North KoreaFeb. 8, 2011
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Concerns rise that cull may cause disaster
Minister Lee says reckless burial of infected livestock may result in widespread contaminationThe reckless burial of cattle in an attempt to prevent the further spread of foot-and-mouth disease could trigger a massive environmental disaster, Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee said. The minister called for a thorough examination of the effect of the burials on the surrounding soil and environment to
Social AffairsFeb. 8, 2011
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Boat carrying 31 N. Koreans towed into South Korea
Thirty-one North Koreans crossed the tense sea border and arrived on a frontline South Korean island at the weekend, but it is unlikely they are defectors, the Seoul government said Monday. The North Koreans, consisting of 11 men and 20 women, arrived on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island on a 5-ton fishing boat on Saturday. Their ship has been towed to a nearby port city for investigation, the South
PoliticsFeb. 7, 2011
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Police corroborate Somali pirate’s shooting charges
Investigators have corroborated charges that a Somali pirate shot the captain of a seized Korean freighter using ballistics evidence, maritime police in Busan said Monday. The evidence includes a bullet removerd from the injured captain and bullet traces on the ship’s wheel house.In addition, the rescued Korean crewmembers of the Samho Jewelry told police that they saw Arai Mahomed shoot the capta
PoliticsFeb. 7, 2011
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Rival parties at odds over Assembly session
Pro-Lee Myung-bak faction pushes for discussion of constitutional revisionRival parties are at odds over holding an extraordinary National Assembly session this month and a meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and opposition party leader, while a group of governing party lawmakers push for Constitutional amendment. Floor leaders Kim Moo-sung of the ruling Grand National Party and Park Jie-won o
PoliticsFeb. 7, 2011
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Wounded captain of rescued freighter to return home Saturday
SALALAH/MUSCAT, Oman -- The captain of a rescued South Korean freighter, who was wounded during a naval raid on Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea last week, will be airlifted home Saturday, officials here said Friday.The 58-year-old Seok Hae-kyun was shot three times by pirates during the rescue operation by South Korean commandos for the Samho Jewelry. He was the only one wounded among the 21-mem
Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2011
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Seoul will be flexible with new emissions trading scheme: Lee
President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his government will introduce a carbon emissions trading system in a flexible way, taking impact on businesses into account.“The government is planning to introduce the emissions trading scheme at an opportune time after thoroughly sounding out the opinions of industries,” Lee said in his biweekly radio address.“A business that emits greenhouse gases more t
PoliticsFeb. 7, 2011
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Taiwanese man gets one-year prison term for phone fraud
A Seoul court sentenced a Taiwanese man to a one-year prison term for swindling money from a Korean family through a fake kidnapping telephone scam, court officials said Monday.The 31-year-old defendant, whose name was withheld, had been indicted on charges of receiving 2 million won ($1,800) in July of last year from Korean parents by claiming their son had been kidnapped with a fake voice of a b
Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2011
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Chinese New Year, Vegas-style
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) ― Brian Wu hoisted his six-year-old daughter onto his shoulders at The Mirage hotel-casino so the delighted little girl could get a better look at the leaping dragons shimmying to a boisterous drumbeat.For Wu’s daughter, Yvonne, this is what Chinese New Year is all about. The Wu family, who live near Los Angeles, have celebrated the holiday on the Las Vegas Strip every year
InternationalFeb. 7, 2011
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Plan to produce home-grown medicine Nobel winner by 2030
An ambitious plan to produce home-grown medical scientists who could win the Nobel Award in Physiology or Medicine by 2030 was unveiled by the government Monday.The plan, tentatively called “Nobel Project in Physiology or Medicine,” will support young medical scientists in their 20s or 30s for their own long-term research work, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in its annual budget for healt
Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2011
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State watchdog pushes for education on human rights
Human rights education will be mandatory for officials and employees of public institutions in an effort to prevent the prevalence of civil rights violations, state human rights watchdog said Monday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea plans to propose a bill regarding the education of civil liberties after they review the draft. “If the human rights education act is put into effect, it w
Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2011
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31 N. Koreans arrive in S. Korea by boat, but no wish to defect
Thirty-one North Korean people crossed the tense Yellow Sea border by boat and arrived in South Korea two days ago, but they have not expressed any wishes to defect to the South, a military official said Monday. The North Koreans, consisting of 11 men and 20 women, arrived on Yeonpyeong Island by a wooden fishing boat in thick fog at around 11 a.m. Saturday and were towed away to the western port
North KoreaFeb. 7, 2011