Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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Opposition parties, civic groups allign to reform chaebol
Opposition parties, labor unions and civic groups launched a committee on Tuesday to spearhead a movement to reform what they see as family-owned conglomerates’ abuse of power and illegal business practices. During a press briefing in central Seoul, the committee, consisting of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, the Justice Party, the nation’s two biggest umbrella labor unions and progressive civic groups, urged the government to abolish polices that favor the personal interests of f
July 12, 2016
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Education Ministry dismisses official over ‘dogs and pigs’ remarks
The Education Ministry said Tuesday that it has decided to dismiss a high-ranking official over his controversial remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs,” in an apparent attempt to ease public outrage. “The Education Ministry decided to expel the ex-head of policy planning for making inappropriate remarks as a public servant and hurting the public,” Vice Education Minister Lee Young said during a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex on Tuesday afternoon. Na Hya
July 12, 2016
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Songdo bridges set to be renamed in October
The names of all bridges linked to South Korea's Songdo international town in Incheon, west of Seoul, will be renamed around October to improve user accessibility to the business town, the authority overseeing the town said Tuesday. The State Toponym Committee under the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration will make a final decision on the new names of the five bridges during its meeting in October, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said. The new names have been drawn up v
July 12, 2016
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Naked N. Korean defector attempts robbery, gets arrested
A North Korean defector was arrested after he attempted to rob a house stark naked, a local media report said Tuesday. The man, 24, entered the house of a female resident at an apartment complex after dark. The man had a weapon with the intentions of carrying out a robbery, YTN said. (123RF)He was caught in the act by the police who came to the scene after receiving a distress call.He told the police that he had shed all of his clothes in the hopes of thwarting any police search based on his clo
July 12, 2016
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House of senior prosecutor raided over suspicious stock purchases
Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the house of a senior prosecutor who has come under public scrutiny for suspicious stock transactions.An ad hoc probe team investigating the case said it raided the house of Jin Kyung-joon, as well as the home and offices of Kim Jung-ju, founder of South Korea's leading online game maker Nexon Co., and the incumbent chairman of its holding firm NXC Corp.The case involving Jin came to light early this year as the senior prosecutor reported a whopping increase in his
July 12, 2016
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2 S. Korean men indicted over alleged security law breach
Two South Korean men have been indicted on charges of contacting North Korean agents and producing reports to send information on domestic affairs to Pyongyang, prosecutors said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the suspects, identified only by their surnames Lee and Kim, are accused of meeting with North Korean intelligence agents in Vietnam in March 2014 and August 2015 and returning home with instructions.They allegedly made reports on South Korea's key affairs and w
July 12, 2016
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King Sejong Institute hosts 8th World Korean Educators Conference
The King Sejong Institute, South Korea's state-supported Korean language training organization, hosted the 8th World Korean Educators Conference on Tuesday to further promote overseas understanding of the Northeast Asian country. A total of 300 attendees are in Seoul to attend the four-day conference that runs till Friday and is designed to educate Korean teachers and improve global cooperation in Korean education, said the institute and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In the openi
July 12, 2016
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Survey finds unwed people opposed to traditional notions about marriage
Majority of yet-to-marry men and women are against virtually all traditionally accepted notions about marriage, from financial arrangements to having children and divorcing, according to a survey released on Tuesday.Seventy-nine percent of the men and 72.3 percent of the women disagreed with the conventional idea that men finance the housing and the women all the things that go in it. The survey found 60.4 percent of the men and 74.3 percent of the women believe it's better to get divorced if th
July 12, 2016
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More mothers, especially public workers, using childcare leave
Some 75 percent of female public workers and public schoolteachers used childcare leave after having their first child, but less than half of their counterparts working at private companies did so, a study said Tuesday. The gap was even wider between female workers hired in permanent positions (46.9 percent) and those working on temporary basis (1.9 percent), according to the study by the Korea institute for Health and Social Affairs.The institute surveyed 788 women aged 15 to 49 who had their f
July 12, 2016
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[Newsmaker] Official apologizes for ‘dogs and pigs’ remarks
A high-ranking official from the Education Ministry made a tearful apology on Monday amid growing controversy over his remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” Na Hyang-wook, the director general of the ministry’s policy planning bureau, apologized for “making inappropriate remarks as a public servant, distressing Korean people and causing a stir,” during a parliamentary meeting in the afternoon.Na was initially absent from the parliamentary meeting held in the morning,
July 11, 2016
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Civil servant fired for photos of colleagues’ underwear
A civil servant in his 50s was dismissed from his position at Namyangju City Hall after it was found that he had secretly taken photos of female colleagues’ underwear by wedging a mobile phone inside his shoes. The police investigation took place following a report of the man’s suspicious behavior. They had found an upskirt video of women taken between May and June. (123RF)Namyangju City Hall had dismissed the accused on July 4 after he was booked without detention by the police. Eleven victims
July 11, 2016
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Korean universities studying ways to make inroads abroad
South Korean universities, which are worried about their futures due to dropping birthrates, are studying ways to make inroads abroad, local school sources said Monday. Ewha Womans University in Seoul recently disclosed its plan to branch out into the United States and China. National universities not in Seoul, which are dealing with an ever-falling number of entrants, are also showing deep interest in setting up schools in foreign countries. According to the Education Ministry, the number of hi
July 11, 2016
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Nonghyup chief indicted over alleged illegal electioneering
Prosecutors indicted the president of South Korea's state-run farmers' cooperative on Monday over allegations he was elected through illegal campaigning.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Kim Byeong-won is suspected of getting involved in irregularities committed during the January election where he was named the head of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup).During the latest election, three candidates, including Kim, ran for the presidency. Choi Deok-gyu,
July 11, 2016
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Living in small towns more stressful than cities: study
South Koreans who live in small towns are more stressed and have a higher prevalence rate of illnesses than those living in cities, a study showed Monday.The study, organized and released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, analyzed the national health insurance data of some 197,000 Koreans. On a scale of zero to four -- with four being the most stressed -- those who live in non-city regions, such as farming or fishing villages, on average rated 2.90, higher than the average fo
July 11, 2016
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Humidifier disinfectant probe to target government
The South Korean prosecution said Monday that it will expand the probe into the toxic humidifier disinfectant case targeting government ministries.It also temporarily delayed the announcement of the final result of its five-month-long investigation into the disinfectant case involving four companies.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Monday that it has started to summon and question ministry officials related to the case on how they managed and responded to the onset of the toxi
July 11, 2016
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Minister apologizes for official's 'dogs and pigs' remarks
The Education Minister Lee Joon-sik on Monday apologized and vowed strong punishment over the controversy caused by a high-ranking official who described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” During a parliamentary meeting held in the morning, Lee apologized for “greatly disappointing the people” with the ministry official’s “inappropriate” remarks. Lee said that he plans to take stern action in accordance with the result of the investigation into the case. “There cannot be any excuse for t
July 11, 2016
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Ministry could cancel certification of 79,000 VW vehicles upon probe
The Ministry of Environment said Monday that it will ban sales and cancel the certification of approximately 79,000 disputed Volkswagen models sold here, if the suspected cheating on its authentication tests is proven.The ministry said Monday that it has received from the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office a list of 32 types of diesel and gasoline models of Volkswagen vehicles -- including the VW Golf and Audi A8 -- that are suspected to have fabricated reports submitted to the National Institute
July 11, 2016
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8 out of 10 use SMS for Internet identification
More than eight out 10 people use texts provided by mobile carriers for verifying their identities on the Internet, a survey showed Monday.According to the survey on 4,000 people aged over 15 conducted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency, 84 percent of the respondents say they have used short message services for authenticating their IDs.The SMS authentication process is when a user types in their birthday, name and cellphone number and then inputs a security number received through the text
July 11, 2016
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Two decades of Seoul in photos
Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday released some 23,000 photos of Seoul taken over 20 years. The photos, compiled in collective efforts with research agency The Seoul Institute, shows how the capital city has changed from 1995 to 2015. The intersection at Gangnam subway station (The Seoul Research Data Service)As long as due credit is given, the photos can be freely altered for commercial use, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who holds the copyrights. Photos with resolution o
July 11, 2016
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SNU students under fire for misogynistic language
Eight male students from Seoul National University’s liberal arts college are being slammed for using sexually abusive language toward fellow female students in a private mobile messenger room. On Monday, SNU’s minority human rights committee and victims’ task force put up a poster accusing eight students of exchanging borderline “rapist” talks about women between February to August in 2015. (Yonhap)The poster by the student committee called for the accused to give a written apology with their f
July 11, 2016