Most Popular
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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US Air Force blames power loss, weather for F-16 crash in S. Korea in May 2023
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Samsung expected to introduce new Exynos processor in next Galaxy series
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Ex-president Moon recalls in memoir NK leader voiced will not to use nukes
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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[FROM THE SCENE] Hansen's patients testify at on-site court hearing
GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- The South Korean appeals court visited Sorokdo Island on Monday to hear a case involving people with Hansen disease who were allegedly forced to undergo sterilizations and abortions by the government.In a compensation suit filed against the government by 139 leprosy patients, judges from the Seoul High Court traveled to the island off the southern coast to conduct an on-site inspection and hear the victims and witnesses testify. The courtroom temporarily set up
June 20, 2016
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Former senior prosecutor indicted over lobbying scandal
A prosecutor-turned-lawyer suspected of peddling influence for his client and evading taxes was indicted Monday as part of a probe into a snowballing corruption scandal that is rocking the country's legal sector.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted Hong Man-pyo over allegations he received some 300 million won($251,000) from the chief of local cosmetics brand Nature Republic, Jung Woon-ho, to cover up his overseas gambling charges in August 2015.Before the businessman was indi
June 20, 2016
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French man abandons 2-year-old son in local park
A French national who tried to abandon his 2-year-old toddler son was arrested on Monday on charges of violation of the children’s welfare law, according to the Incheon Seobu Police. The 39-year-old is being accused of leaving the boy at a bench in a park in Seo-gu, Incheon-si on June 2 at 4:30 p.m. (Yonhap)According to the police, the man had met the Korean mother of his son in France through an online chatting platform. They had maintained a three year de facto marriage during which time the
June 20, 2016
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Pimp rescued from forced labor
A 42-year-old pimp was rescued from forced labor on a fishing boat, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police said Monday. The victim, originally a restaurant owner, introduced a woman to a prostitution bar run by a trio of gangsters in Changwon-si, South Gyeongsang Province in March 2015. (123RF)Within a week, the woman ran away with 5 million won ($4,300) in advance payment.The victim was forced by the gang to sign a contract to work on a fishing boat in the southern coast of Korea for 10 million won, o
June 20, 2016
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Vietnamese fishermen kill Korean captain, engineer aboard fishing vessel
Two drunk Vietnamese crewmen aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel operating in the Indian Ocean killed a South Korean captain and a chief engineer on Monday, the Coast Guard said.The two suspects, whose identities were withheld, allegedly attacked the 43-year-old captain of the Kwang Hyun 803, surnamed Yang, and the 42-year-old engineer, surnamed Kang, at around 2 a.m. in waters near the Seychelles archipelago between the east coast of Africa and southern India, it said. The vessel in question (Yonh
June 20, 2016
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Korean,USFK bases among IS targets: NIS
The Islamic State group has called for an act of terrorism against a Korean citizen as well as U.S. Air Force installations based here, the state run spy agency said Sunday.“ISIL -- Islamic State of Iraq and Levant -- has recently incited terrorism against the 77 military and NATO air bases across the world and civilians from 21 countries, by spreading the information about them via a messenger service Telegram,” the National Intelligence Service said via a press release. In the message, reporte
June 19, 2016
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Toxic humidifier sterilizer probe nears end
South Korean prosecutors will be wrapping up the five-month investigation into toxic humidifier disinfectants that left at least 140 dead and hundreds more affected since 2011, according to officials on Sunday.The special probe team of Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office is expected to press charges against some 20 people related to the incident, including 12 already arrested on charges varying from professional negligence to false advertising that products were safe. The subjected compani
June 19, 2016
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Korea entering monsoon season
Korea is entering the annual summer monsoon season starting Saturday on Jejudo, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.Heavy rain is expected across most of the peninsula next week, with the seasonal rain front climbing up from the south to Seoul. Forecast for Wednesday (Naver)Monsoon season in Korea generally happens from late June to late July. During this period, people planning summer excursions to the beach and camping near the mountain valleys are advised to take account of
June 19, 2016
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Peeping Tom gets 5 months in prison
A 34-year-old man was sentenced to five months in prison on Sunday for looking into a cubicle in a female toilet. The Gwangju District Court said the man had a previous record of being fined for similar misconduct and that he showed no regrets on this occasion. (123RF)The man claimed in court that he had only gone into the female bathroom to look for a woman he had met on the streets. However, the court decided the man was guilty based on how he had climbed onto a stool to look inside the occup
June 19, 2016
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Korean siblings become valedictorians at top Turkish university
Two South Koreans have graduated at the top of their classes at the prestigious Bilkent University in Turkey.Kwon Tae-young and his little sister Min-ah were awarded Bachelor's degrees in interior architecture and environmental design, and graphic design, respectively, at a ceremony held last Saturday.The older Kwon says he decided to study in Turkey when he was preparing to re-take South Korea's college entrance exam in 2011.He convinced Min-ah to come with him to the country where their father
June 19, 2016
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S. Korean, Chinese business leaders agree to reduce fine dust emissions
Dozens of South Korean and Chinese business leaders agreed Saturday to work together to try to reduce fine dust emissions amid growing health concerns in South Korea.Fine dust -- particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter -- is believed to pose the greatest health risks to the respiratory system.Fine particles can lodge deeply into the lungs due to their small size -- approximately 1/30th the average width of a human hair, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The business
June 18, 2016
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Operator to remove billboards from subway platforms
Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit, the operator of subway lines No. 5 to 8, said Friday that it will remove billboards from subway platforms in response to claims that they hamper emergency exits for passengers during safety accidents.Of the 3,180 billboards at some 145 stations on subway lines No. 5-8, a total of 1,093 or 34 percent will be removed by the end of August, according to the operator. Instead, some 6,200 emergency exits will be installed by 2020.Billboards, which expose advertising c
June 17, 2016
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Recovery of sunken Sewol ferry postponed
The recovery of the sunken Sewol ferry has been delayed until August due to unexpected damage caused during the lifting operation which began this week.But considering the heavy rain and typhoons that are common in late summer and early fall, observers noted, the timeline may further be delayed until September.According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Thursday, the damage to the ferry‘s bow section has dimmed prospects of the salvage operation by the target date of July.Two out of fiv
June 17, 2016
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Psychiatric test sought for Gangnam murder suspect
Prosecutors on Friday said that they will further look into the mental condition of the murder suspect who stabbed a woman to death near Gangnam Station, to identify whether the crime was driven by hatred toward women or a mental disorder. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office requested a state-run hospital in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, to carry out a psychiatric test on the suspect’s state of mind before and after the crime, its officials said. “The hospital will keep experts
June 17, 2016
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Reasons for divorce have changed since ’50s in South Korea: study
The reasons for divorce in South Korea have varied significantly each decade since the 1950s, changing from spouses that have gone missing to basic unhappiness, a study by the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relation showed Friday.The study, which analyzed a total of 1,469,900 pre-divorce counselling cases from 1956-2015, found that historical events and the social climate of each decade, such as the Vietnam War and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, influenced couples’ decisions to part ways. F
June 17, 2016
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2 men lock up runaway teen, force prostitution
Police requested arrest warrants for two men who locked up a runaway teenager and allegedly forced her into prostitution, Wednesday. The Gwangju Dong-bu Police said the men, aged 20 and 18, had invited a 17-year-old runaway they befriended via a chatting app to live with them, then turned violent once she moved in. The victim stayed with them for 12 days.(123RF)During the time, she claims she was coerced into more than ten counts of prostitution, whereupon the men took the money. One of the men
June 16, 2016
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Court orders release of information on U.S. military base pollution
A Seoul court ordered the South Korean government to release information about the level of pollution on the U.S. military base in Seoul on Thursday, ruling in favor of an association of environmental civic groups. The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court comes nearly a year after civic groups, including Green Korea United and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, filed a suit against the Environment Ministry to demand the result of the inspection be revealed to the public.The Environment Mi
June 16, 2016
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Women's health policies questioned
The South Korean government recently launched a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program for young girls, but many women and activists in South Korea have mixed feelings about it.Starting June 20, the Health Ministry is to offer free vaccinations against HPV -- known to be the major cause of cervical cancer -- for girls aged 12. The vaccines, which are given in two shots over six months, are currently not covered by the national health insurance, and cost about 360,000 won ($307). While th
June 16, 2016
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Ilbe members charged for identifying wrong woman as rape victim
Members of an extreme right online community were charged for defamation after a failed attempt to reveal the identity of the victim of an island rape case recently in the news, Seoul police said Thursday. Five men from the infamous website had wrongly identified a different teacher from the same school as the victim, and circulated her photo as acquired from the school’s website. (Yonhap)The teacher has since resigned from the school, citing severe psychological distress from the false identifi
June 16, 2016
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Korea seeks new technology to fight fine dust
South Korea will soon craft a concrete plan for the development of technology to tackle fine dust particles that have emerged as a major health threat, according to a related ministry on Thursday.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it will mobilize "all national R&D capability" on resolving the problem in a "fundamental and innovative" manner.In the first step, the government plans to map out a concrete action plan by September to develop technology that will curb fine dust.A d
June 16, 2016