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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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Govt. vows not to backtrack increased medical school admission quotas despite doctors' walkout
The government's ongoing push for medical reform is for the people, and it cannot be subject to negotiations, the health ministry said Friday, effectively rejecting the medical community's call for modifying the state plan to markedly raise medical school enrollment quota. More than 90 percent of the country's 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations since Feb. 20 to protest the government's decision to increase the medical school enrollment
March 29, 2024
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Yellow dust advisories issued for parts of S. Korea
The environment ministry said Thursday it has issued yellow dust advisories for parts of the country, including the greater Seoul area, as fine dust caused by sandstorms is expected to blanket the country. The ministry said the advisories have been issued at the "attention" level, the lowest in its four-notch warning system, for the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon, South Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces as of 5 p.m. The national weather agency said yellow dust has been de
March 28, 2024
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Seoul bus drivers' brief strike ends in 11 hours, after agreement reached on wages
Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on their first general strike in 12 years Thursday morning, but withdrew the protest later the same afternoon after reaching an agreement with the city over wages. At 3:20 p.m., the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announced it had reached a new wage deal with the union and the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. According to the deal, the drivers will see a 4.48 percent wage increase and receive up to 650,000 won ($480) in holiday benefits.
March 28, 2024
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for the assault and attempted murder of his former girlfriend, who broke up with him before the attack. The defendant in his 30s was found guilty of attempted murder, special bodily injury on another, special intimidation, stalking and intrusion upon habitation, and was also ordered to complete 40 hours in a stalking treatment program. The court dismissed the appeals made by the defendant, who cl
March 28, 2024
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
Local police on Thursday said it is investigating a South Korean man in his 50s on suspicion of murdering his wife, a Vietnam-born woman who had become a naturalized Korean following her marriage. The suspect is believed to have stabbed the victim to death while she was sleeping in their home in Yangsang, South Gyeongsang Province, at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Yangsan Police Station. The suspect then drove his car to the downtown area and turned himself in to the police at 7:43
March 28, 2024
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday said it will put more responsibility on non-custodial mothers and fathers to bear child-rearing expenses by having them pay the government directly for the expenses covered by the state in advance. Under the advance payment of child-rearing expenses system, the state pays unpaid child support to the custodial parent first and then collects the outstanding amount from the non-custodial parent later. As early as next year, the new single-paren
March 28, 2024
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Voluntary subscribers for state pension service declining
The number of South Koreans who voluntarily subscribe to the National Pension Service continued on a downward trajectory last year, according to the NPS on Thursday. As of November of 2023, 858,829 of those subscribed to the state-run pension plans were categorized as voluntary subscribers. The National Pension Act mandates that anyone living in South Korea with a fixed income -- including foreign nationals -- between the age of 18 and 59 must be subscribed to the NPS, but a number of people cho
March 28, 2024
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Financial struggles leading trigger for suicidal ideation
Stress related to financial difficulties was the primary cause of suicidal ideation among Koreans across all age groups, a survey on national public perception of suicide released by the Health Ministry showed Thursday. Nearly 45 percent of respondents pointed to money issues as the main trigger of suicidal ideation, while 42.2 percent said family problems. Other causes included physical illness, emotional difficulty, intimate partner problems and alcohol addiction. Of the 2,807 people who parti
March 28, 2024
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Formerly outspoken billionaire takes down social media posts
Chung Yong-jin, the recently appointed chairman of Shinsegae Group, had deleted nearly all of the posts from his Instagram page as of Thursday, fanning speculations that he may be quitting his stepping back from his activities on social media. Chung's page, which has some 843,000 followers, only has a few posts remaining that contain only photos and no text. The photos are of nature, of him reading or holding presentations or of him meeting famous people like former New York Yankees shortst
March 28, 2024
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Man on trial after driving wife to suicide, by forcing her to shoot sex videos
A South Korean man on trial for driving his wife to suicide by forcing her to film adult content and sex videos has denied accusations of illegally confining the victim, local court said Thursday. During the court hearing on Wednesday at Incheon District Court, the 37-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to the charges of distributing "obscene content" and intimidation against the victim, but said he did not hold her against her will. He did not elaborate on his claims. The defendant has
March 28, 2024
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Strike halts Seoul buses; which ones are still operational?
Unionized Seoul bus drivers on Thursday kicked off an indefinite strike, as 97.6 percent of the buses in the nation's capital ceased operations. With 7,210 of the 7,382 buses grounded, here are some of the Seoul buses that remain operational as of Thursday morning. All 'maeul' buses The strike involves the Seoul Bus Labor Union, which is affiliated with the Korea Automobile & Transport Workers' Federation. As such, drivers of "maeul" buses ("village&q
March 28, 2024
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on a general strike Thursday to demand a wage hike, halting the operation of nearly 98 percent of buses running across the capital and causing delays for commuters in the morning rush hour. In their last-minute wage negotiations conducted from Wednesday till early Thursday morning, the Seoul Bus Labor Union and their employers failed to strike a deal over the union's demand for a 12.7 percent increase in hourly wages. The union, which has about 18,000 mem
March 28, 2024
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Story of runaway ostrich bears similarities to Sero the escaped zebra
A runaway ostrich caught Tuesday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is thought to have escaped from its enclosure due to loneliness, according to the owner of the farm where the ostrich was housed. Scenes of the male ostrich, named Tadori, running around busy roads were reminiscent of Sero the zebra, who escaped from a Seoul zoo in March 2023. Tadori has been alone in his enclosure since his mate Tasuni died last month. The pair had been kept at a nature experience farm in Seongnam since July 2020
March 27, 2024
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
The Korean Medical Association, a group that represents some 140,000 doctors, said it has picked a pediatrician, known as a hardliner toward the government’s policy, as the group’s new head, dampening hopes for a dialogue to resolve the prolonged medical standoff. Having been elected, the new KMA head Lim Hyun-taek demanded President Yoon Suk Yeol apologize for pushing ahead with the medical student quota expansion plan and fire health minister, saying both are prerequisites for talk
March 27, 2024
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[Community Discovery] Songpa-gu sets stage for cherry blossoms
As the season of cherry blossoms approaches in Seoul, the Songpa-gu district office is gearing up to host its annual cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake Park from Wednesday to Sunday. The park, which spans 2.6 kilometers, is filled with almost 1,100 cherry blossom trees. According to the district office of Songpa-gu, the lake has been around for 50 years, with cherry trees donated by Lotte -- which operates establishments in the district including a theme park on an island in the lake -- an
March 27, 2024
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Woman jailed for framing Bangladeshi man for rape
A South Korean woman was recently sentenced to one year in prison for falsely accusing a Bangladeshi man of raping her, a local court said Wednesday. Ulstan District Court found the defendant, in her 60s, guilty of false accusation and stalking, based on her sending 2,459 text messages to the victim from January to July of last year. She was also ordered to complete 40 hours in a stalking treatment program. "This crime inflicted great psychological damage to the victim and caused considerab
March 27, 2024
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
Unionized Seoul bus drivers said Wednesday that they were planning to strike over pay starting Thursday, if no agreement was reached at last-minute negotiations with their employers. The Seoul Bus Labor Union, which has nearly 18,133 members across 61 companies, voted Tuesday on a plan to strike at 4 a.m. Thursday. According to the union, 16,317 members participated in the vote, and 16,046 of them voted in favor of the strike. The union, which is part of the Korean Automobile and Transport Worke
March 27, 2024
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BTS fan extorted for W738m, lured by promise of working with the band
A 41-year-old man was recently sentenced to four years in prison for fraud after he extorted around 738 million won ($550,000) from a BTS fan by pretending he could arrange for the victim to work with the K-pop group, officials said Wednesday. The defendant approached the victim in July 2021 and said that he was in charge of a video production team making content for BTS' agency, Hybe. He promised that he could arrange for the victim to participate as a member of staff in a BTS video shoot
March 27, 2024
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Regular exercise twice a week reduces insomnia: studys
Regular exercise at least twice a week significantly reduces sleep disorders, according to a recent study conducted by an Icelandic college. A research team led by Erla Bjornsdottir from the University of Reykjavik, Iceland, disclosed a link between physical activity and insomnia. The study analyzed data from 44,000 participants over a decade across nine European countries, with findings published in The BMJ, a British medical journal, Wednesday. The team analyzed data from 4,399 individuals who
March 27, 2024
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Former K-pop star in treatment after possible suicide attempt: reports
Lee A-reum, a former member of K-pop girl group T-ara, is currently receiving medical treatment after pan apparent suicide attempt, local media outlets reported Wednesday. The 29-year-old was reportedly found earlier today with what appeared to be a will, according to her representatives, although its content has not been made public. Lee, who was a member of T-ara for a year starting July 2012, recently made headlines by claiming Monday that she had been a victim of domestic abuse by her estran
March 27, 2024