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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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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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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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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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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S. Korea to stack up 7.23m COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk groups this winter
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday said it would secure some 7.23 million doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines for winter this year for individuals at a higher risk of developing the illness as variants of the virus continue to pose a risk to public health. Additionally, the government has decided to convert a portion of homegrown COVID-19 vaccines into NovaVax’s synthetic antigen vaccine, totaling between 300,000 to 500,000 doses. The synthetic antigen vaccine ha
April 4, 2024
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Seoul to provide free breakfast after morning exercise
Starting in late April, students from schools that operate morning exercise classes will be provided with free breakfast, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Thursday. Launched in October last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has initiated morning physical education activities to revitalize student exercise. Some 573 schools currently holding morning workout sessions that apply for the breakfast plan will benefit from the project. Elementary schools will be
April 4, 2024
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Korea has most 'skinny fat' young women: report
South Korea has the highest percentage of "skinny fat” women in their 20s out of 17 countries surveyed, according to a report. According to InBody, a South Korean maker of body composition analyzers, a person is described as "skinny fat" when they have a low body weight but are high in their body fat percentage and low in their muscle mass. Data collected between January 2018 and December 2022 showed 15.8 percent of South Korean women in their 20s fall within this category
April 4, 2024
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[Graphic News] International marriages up 18%
The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign national spouses rose more than 18 percent in 2023, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The number of international marriages fell sharply to some 15,300 cases in 2020 from the previous year's 23,600 and further to about 13,000 the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the figure bounced back to over 17,000 in 2022 and further to nearly 20,000 last year. Vietnamese women took up the largest share of all wives of
April 4, 2024
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Constitutional Court to halt impeachment trial of senior prosecutor
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday decided to temporarily halt the impeachment trial of a senior prosecutor in a political meddling scandal. The court said the decision was made under a provision of the court's governing law, which allows for the suspension of trial proceedings if a related criminal case is ongoing. However, it did not provide a specific reason for the decision. Son Jun-sung, deputy chief prosecutor of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office, was accused of meddling in the las
April 3, 2024
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Almost half of schools join state-backed after-school programs
Students and schools' participation in before- and after-school care programs, a new state-backed child care initiative, has increased over a month into the launch, the Ministry of Education reported Wednesday. Dubbed "Neulbom" which directly translates to "always caring," a total of 2,838 out of 6,175 elementary schools have joined the government-run child care education, accounting for 46 percent of the total number of elementary schools nationwide, Education Minister
April 3, 2024
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Prospect for dialogue grows as senior doctors welcome Yoon’s offer
Eyes are on whether junior doctors would engage in talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol to seek a breakthrough in the ongoing medical standoff and the expansion plan, as senior doctors on Wednesday encouraged them to accept his offer of dialogue. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Korean Medical Association -- the country’s largest doctors’ group with some 140,000 members -- said it “gladly welcomes” the decision and “believes the possibility of talks is high.&
April 3, 2024
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Govt. approval to be required for owning 'dangerous dogs'
Are you considering raising a pit bull terrier? Then you will soon need to get approval from the local authorities, according to a government plan unveiled Wednesday. Starting April 27, government approval will be required to own certain dog breeds considered dangerous under the Animal Protection Act, which specifies five dangerous breeds including tosa inu, pit bull terriers and rottweilers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The decision comes in response to a s
April 3, 2024
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Govt. open to change in medical school quota hike if better option is proposed: minister
The government is open to the possibility of changing its policy to increase the medical school admission quota if a better option is proposed, the interior minister said Wednesday, as the walkout by protesting trainee doctors continued for the seventh week. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min made the remark during a government response meeting amid no signs of a breakthrough in the prolonged standoff between the government and the medical community over the plan to add 2,000 more medical school sea
April 3, 2024
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[Graphic News] Damages from phishing scams jump over 35%
Damages from phishing scams jumped on-year in 2023 despite growing awareness of the crime, data showed. Damages from phishing crimes came to 196.5 billion won ($147.8 million) last year, up 35.4 percent from 145.1 billion won in 2022, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The number of people who fell victim to the crime dropped 10.2 percent to 11,503 from 12,816 over the cited period. Phishing is a crime where victims are conned into transferring money to scammers or s
April 3, 2024
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Court dismisses med professors’ request to avert expansion plan
The Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction request filed by 33 representatives of the Medical Professors Association of Korea against the government’s planned hike in medical school enrollment quotas, as well as the administrative lawsuit against the health and education ministers, respectively. The court said in its ruling that the medical professors are not eligible to file an injunction request, but the presidents of universities can. The economic damage asserted
April 2, 2024
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Govt. to expand range of E-9 visas
The South Korean government announced on Tuesday that it would begin accepting applications from business owners that want to hire workers from 16 designated countries eligible for E-9 visas starting later this month. Owners of Korean restaurants, hotels and resorts, forestry and mining companies will now be able to apply for permission to employ workers from these countries, the government said. From April 22 to May 3, business owners can apply for permission to employ workers from the 16 count
April 2, 2024
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Seoul Metro to switch subway seats from fabric to plastic
Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 8, announced Tuesday that it will replace all fabric seats on its subway trains with reinforced plastic chairs by 2029 to keep the trains clean from bedbugs and other pollutants. According to Seoul Metro, fabric chairs account for 54 percent, or 1,955 subway cars of all seats on Seoul’s subway trains. On the other hand, reinforced plastic chairs account for 29 percent of Seoul’s subway trains, while stainless steel seats account for 17 p
April 2, 2024
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Bakery giant SPC chief detained for questioning
Prosecutors arrested Hur Young-in, chair of South Korean bakery giant SPC Group, after he repeatedly failed to comply with being summoned for an investigation. The 74-year-old is under investigation for his suspected involvement in forcing bakers at PB Partners to quit their membership in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions umbrella labor group, between 2019 and 2022. PB Partners is SPC's subsidiary in charge of recruiting and training bakers for bakery chain Paris Baguette. Prosecut
April 2, 2024
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Foreigners must stay in S. Korea for 6 months to be eligible for state health insurance as dependents
Foreigners and overseas Koreans can only become eligible for the state health insurance coverage as dependents if they reside in South Korea for at least six months, according to the health ministry Tuesday. The tightened rule, which goes into effect Wednesday, comes as some foreigners have reportedly exploited the nation's health insurance system. Media reports have said some foreign nationals working in South Korea register siblings and other relatives as dependents and arrange temporary
April 2, 2024
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Air Force explores replacing patrol dogs with robot dogs
South Korea's Air Force on Monday revealed that it is exploring the possibility of replacing patrol dogs with four-legged robots or robotic dogs, as the number of military dog handlers is expected to decrease due to a reduction in troops. The Air Force intends to initiate a feasibility study to assess whether robotic patrol dogs can effectively supplant traditional breeds such as shepherds and Labrador retrievers at major air base facilities, while maintaining the integrity of the patrol an
April 1, 2024
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Seoul education office to support same-sex schools to turn coed
Seoul plans to boost fiscal support to encourage single-sex schools in the city to transition to coeducational schools, which refers to schools where male and female students are taught together, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Monday. Same-sex schools that register to change to coed will receive 600 million won ($445,000) for six years. Schools can use the funds for educational programs and activities suitable for each school. Schools will also receive 90 million won
April 1, 2024
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Police vow to take strict action against false reports
The Korean National Police Agency stated Monday that it will begin to strictly respond to false police reports that waste police resources by increasing fines. Currently under the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act, making a false police report through the 112 hotline is punishable by a fine of up to 600,000 won ($445), imprisonment or both. False police reports are also punishable as obstruction of justice under the criminal code. Additionally, if a false police report results in a significant wa
April 1, 2024
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Private physicians, med professors start reducing work hours
Patient anxiety over health care disruptions is growing as medical professors and private physicians started reducing their work hours to protest against the medical school quota expansion plan on Monday, shrugging off the government’s efforts to facilitate talks. The Medical Professors Association of Korea said medical professors, who are senior doctors at major hospitals, began shortening their work time to 52 hours a week to cope with fatigue from trainee doctors’ walkouts. They p
April 1, 2024
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Seoul City uses rabies vaccine bait to protect wildlife
Seoul City has started disseminating vaccine-laced fish cakes to wildlife as a measure to curb the spread of rabies, the city government said on Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said 37,000 square pieces of fishmeal-based bait containing rabies vaccine, each measuring 2-3 centimeters, will be distributed near mountains and rivers from Monday until May 15. This initiative aims to enhance the immunity of wild animals, such as raccoons, badgers and wild dogs, against the viral disease. T
April 1, 2024