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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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Top prosecutor orders speedy investigation into first lady's alleged acceptance of luxury handbag
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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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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Thai military leader, South Korean defense officials discuss military cooperation
Thailand's military leader has met with senior South Korean defense officials in Seoul to discuss ways to bolster bilateral military cooperation, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.Thai Chief of Defense Forces Sommai Kaotira met with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and JCS chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin for separate talks, which Seoul officials say served as an opportunity to further strengthen the two countries' military exchanges and cooperation in the defense industry.The Th
May 9, 2016
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Allies' military leaders to visit Panmunjom Thursday
Top military officials from South Korea and the United States will visit the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom this week, the allies' Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Monday, in an apparent show of their resolve to deter Pyongyang's potential provocations. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and new U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Vincent Brooks will jointly visit Panmunjom on Thursday, the CFC said.Their visit will come amid growing speculation t
May 9, 2016
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No. of visitors on Jeju tops 5 mln
The number of tourists who have visited South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju this year has surpassed the 5 million mark, data showed Monday.As of Sunday, 5,029,215 people had visited Jeju, the fastest pace ever, according to the Jeju Special Self-Government Provincial Tourism Association. Last year, it was not until May 23 that the number of visitors hit 5 million.Out of the total visitors in 2016, some 4 million were South Koreans, and the rest were foreign nationals. "The number of gro
May 9, 2016
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Level of education to be deleted from public officials' personnel records
South Korea's government said Monday that information on the level of education will be deleted from public officials' personnel records starting this month in a bid to promote a merit-based personnel management system. The Ministry of Personnel Management said information with low relevance to duty, such as academic background, height, weight and marital status, will be deleted from the personnel records. Still, the officials' college majors will remain recorded.The ministry has finished modify
May 9, 2016
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Graduate student rises as developer of Korea's longest-running online game
In 1990, South Korea-based Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIST) opened a computer room wit 25 PCs, when the country was only taking its first steps towards emerging as the world's leading player in information and communications (ICT) technology.Song Jae-kyung, then a young graduate student in his 20s, was in charge of managing one of the country's first Internet cafes.Only a few years later, Song, now 49 years old, changed the history of South Korea's gaming industry by developing the co
May 9, 2016
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Seoul steps up defense as Pyongyang reasserts nuclear prowess
South Korea's military is moving quickly to improve its defense systems after North Korea vowed to continue its nuclear armament as a self-proclaimed nuclear weapons state, the government said Monday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made it clear during a rare gathering of the ruling Workers' Party over the weekend that he will stick to his signature "byeongjin" policy, which calls for developing the country's nuclear weapons and economy in tandem.He also said his country, as a "responsible nucle
May 9, 2016
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Former CEO resummoned in Oxy probe
The prosecution resummoned Monday former chief executive Shin Hyun-woo of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser who oversaw the sales of more than 4.5 million toxic humidifier sterilizers from 2001, reportedly seeking a warrant for his arrest.In late April, Shin appeared for a 17-hour-long prosecution investigation on suspicion that he pushed ahead with the sales of toxic humidifier sterilizer even after being aware of the toxicity of PHMG in the humidifier sterilizer.While he is believed to be chiefly responsi
May 9, 2016
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Park's approval rating up after trip to Iran
President Park Geun-hye's job approval rating edged up after her recent groundbreaking visit to Iran and amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a new poll showed Monday.A poll released by polling agency Realmeter on Monday showed 35.9 percent of people approved of the job Park is doing, up 4.9 percentage points from a week earlier.Those who disapproved of Park's job performance came to 59.9 percent, down 4.5 percentage points from a week before.Realmeter said conservatives -- the key s
May 9, 2016
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1 in 10 school children addicted to smartphones
About one in 10 children in elementary, middle and high schools in South Korea are addicted to smartphones, a government survey showed Monday.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family polled 1.46 million children in fourth, seventh and 10th grades and found 138,385 of them to be spending too much time on the electronic device.About one-tenth of the children addicted to smartphones were categorized as "seriously" addicted, the survey also showed.Only the three grade levels were surveyed because
May 9, 2016
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Bar owner dupes drunk customers into paying 100 times more
A 42-year-old bar owner in Daejeon surnamed Kim was detained last week for charging drunk customers 100 times more than they owed. Most of them failed to recognize the scam in their inebriated state, until the next day by which time the money had already been transferred. Kim procrastinated on canceling the transactions. (123RF)One of the victims, a 60-year-old man surnamed Lee, recalls the shock he experienced upon finding an automated text message from his bank alerting him that he had spent 2
May 9, 2016
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Seoul reiterates it will never accept Pyongyang as nuclear-armed state
South Korea and the international community will never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, Seoul's Ministry of National Defense said Monday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang to renounce its nuclear ambitions through "strong" sanctions.The ministry also dismissed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's proposal for cross-border military talks as "insincere," urging the communist state to stop its provocative behavior and move toward its denuclearization.During its ongoing congress of the North's W
May 9, 2016
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Former chief of Oxy Korea summoned in toxic sterilizer probe
A former chief of the South Korean unit of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser was summoned for the second time by Seoul prosecutors on Monday to face questioning over suspicions that the British firm sold humidifier sterilizers that resulted in numerous deaths and illnesses here.Former chief executive officer (CEO) Shin Hyun-woo appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul as a suspect in the snowballing case that involves numerous deaths since 2011, including some pregnan
May 9, 2016
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Korea to hold regular high-level talks with China's Jiangsu Province
South Korea and China's Jiangsu Province, one of the most popular Chinese destinations for Korean investors, agreed to set up a regular high-level consultative channel to discuss ways to enhance bilateral economic and commerce cooperation, the trade ministry here said Monday.South Korean Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and Jiangsu Province Gov. Shi Taifeng signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on trade cooperation in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Jiangsu Prov
May 9, 2016
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Study shows birth defects on increase
Cases of congenital anomalies have been increasing among newborns, with defects in the urinary system showing a marked rise, study results by a team that has been tracking the issue indicated Monday.Out of 100 babies born, 5.5 were found to have birth defects, according to the research team at Inha University's College of Medicine. The team studied 403,250 babies born in 2009-2010 in seven major cities, based on health insurance applications. The findings were published in the newest edition of
May 9, 2016
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Korea dismisses Kim's calls for inter-Korean military talks as insincere
South Korea on Monday dismissed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's proposal for cross-border military talks as "insincere," urging Pyongyang to move toward its denuclearization.During a key congress of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea late last week, Kim made the overture, saying "talks and negotiations" between the two militaries are needed for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula."It is hard to believe that there is sincerity in its offer of military talks given that the No
May 9, 2016
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Ukrainian arrested for maritime hit-and-run
A 63-year-old Ukrainian captain was detained on Sunday for a hit-and-run case at sea. According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security’s Yeosu maritime branch, the man is being accused of sailing a 62,000-ton Singaporean oil tanker that collided with a four-ton fishing vessel on Thursday, 17 kilometers east off Ando-ri, Nam-myeon, of South Jeolla Province’s Yeosu City.The 62,000-ton oil tanker. (Yonhap)The fishing vessel’s captain fell into the sea due to the collision and was found dead
May 9, 2016
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Pimps extort money from Chinese prostitute
Two Korean pimps who extorted money from a Chinese prostitute after she expressed her desire to quit her job were detained on Monday in Busan. According to the Busanjin police, the two 27-year-old pimps, surnamed Kim and Yeo, had allegedly deceived the 37-year-old Chinese woman by saying that they would help her get to the airport and instead driving her to a rural mountain in Jinju city, South Gyeongsang Province, where they took 18 million won ($15,430) from her. (123RF)The woman spent the nig
May 9, 2016
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False alarm over white powder on Mount Daemosan
A false biochemical terrorism alarm was raised Sunday after a foreigner was spotted sprinkling white powder on Seoul’s Mount Daemosan. However, the powder was found to be flour, which the foreigner was using to marking the path for a cross-country run. According to the Suseo police, a middle-aged Korean man reported the case around midday, saying, “A foreigner sprinkled white powder on trees and rocks at the mountain peak and ran down. The powder looks like anthrax I saw on TV.”(123RF)The man h
May 9, 2016
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Humidifier sterilizers raise risks for lung damage by 116 times
Years of exposure to humidifier sterilizers increased the risk for severe lung damage in users by 116 times more than in those not exposed to the chemicals, a state health agency said Sunday. In August 2011, when the government acknowledged a connection between lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began a survey to investigate the levels of lung damage in 16 people who argued their condition was due to the hu
May 9, 2016
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Korea, U.S. to hold talks on energy security Tuesday
South Korea and the United States will hold working-level talks on energy security in Washington D.C. this week, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Sunday, a move to enhance the allies' coordination over their energy and climate change policies.The third "Energy Security Dialogue" will be held on Tuesday (Washington time), led by Lee Hyung-jong, director-general for climate change, energy and environmental affairs at the Foreign Ministry, and Mary Warlick, U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of
May 9, 2016