Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs
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Actors involved in past controversies return first via streaming service originals
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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Korea set to finalize medical school expansion plans
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Seoul City to open 'hotel' on river bridge
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Yoon, first lady celebrate return of Buddhist relics after century
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Court allows second mass rally this weekend
The court ruled on Thursday that the police ban on the second mass anti-government rally planned for this weekend is "unjust," giving the event the greenlight.The Seoul Administrative Court said that one cannot assure that the protest will pose a threat to the public safety simply because the event will be led by some of the groups who were in charge of last month's violent protest.Following the ruling, police said that it will respect the court decision but will take stern measures if the rally
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to maintain bar exam until 2021
The government announced Thursday it would hold off on plans to abolish the state-run bar exam until 2021, as controversy persists over the current law school system that was originally introduced to widen the pool of legal professionals. But the decision was scorned by both proponents and opponents of the bar exam, who said it would only extend confusion in the judiciary sector.The Ministry of Justice said it would delay scrapping the bar exam, initially set to be abolished in 2017, citing publ
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea targets 500,000 foreign patients
With the latest passage of a set of bills to support easier overseas advances of the medical industry, the government said Thursday it will aim to attract some 500,000 foreign patients in 2017, while also creating new jobs for young Koreans. The National Assembly late Wednesday night passed a string of medical-related bills that would, among other things, allow distance consultations between Korean doctors and overseas patients and job training programs for interpreters and medical coordinators
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korean police team launched for joint probe in Philippines
A special police team of 63 officers has been formed to help with criminal cases involving South Koreans in the Philippines as a bilateral effort to better protect Korean citizens there, officials said Tuesday.The National Police Agency said the special team, comprised of police officers and forensic experts, would be sent to Manila whenever Koreans are victims of crimes such as murder, kidnapping, robbery or rape. All are capable of speaking English, the authorities said.Public concerns have es
Dec. 3, 2015
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Police to ban another massive rally
Police said Thursday that they have decided to prohibit civic groups from staging a massive rally in downtown Seoul this weekend, as it appears to be led by the same groups who were in charge of last month's violent protest. In mid-November, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in downtown Seoul to protest the government's decision to adopt state history textbooks for secondary students and reform the labor market. The rally later turned violent as some protesters brandished m
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to suspend abolition of state bar exam until 2021
The government announced Thursday it will delay the abolition of the state-run bar exam until 2021, amid continued controversy over the recently adopted law school system. The Ministry of Justice decided to delay the abolition for four years from the planned 2017, citing public opinion poll results that called for improvement of the current law school system and retention of the state-run exam, its officials said during a press briefing. Law schools were first introduced at universities seven
Dec. 3, 2015
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Life expectancy of Koreans tops 82 years in 2014
South Korean babies born in 2014 are expected to live more than 82 years as medical advances and efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle reduce death risks, a government report showed Thursday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of babies born last year averages 82.4 years, up from the previous year's 81.9 years. Male and female babies are expected to live 79 years and 85.5 years, respectively. The figures are higher than the previous year's tally of 78.5 years a
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korea to start work on airports on 2 remote islands in 2017
South Korea will start building two small airports on two remote islands starting in 2017 that will greatly improve convenience for residents and fuel tourism, the government said Thursday.Once built, the two airports can connect Ulleung and Heuksan, located in the East Sea and Yellow Sea, respectively, to Seoul, with a travel time of about one hour, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.At present, travelers from the capital city can expect to spend 5-9 hours transferring from
Dec. 3, 2015
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Korean fathers can get longest paid leave in OECD
South Korea offers the longest paid paternal child care leave among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the organization’s 2015 report.Based on the OECD family database, Korean fathers were entitled to up to 52.6 weeks of paid leave in 2014, well above the OECD average of nine weeks. Japan and France followed with 52 and 28 weeks, while nine offered no specific paid leave for fathers at all.Countries with shorter paid leaves generally paid higher wa
Dec. 2, 2015
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Korean court, college blasted for dating abuse lenience
A local court has come under fire for “lenient” punishment on a dating abuse perpetrator, a medical student who was slapped with a fine after being charged for locking up and beating his then-girlfriend in March. The Gwangju District Court handed down on Nov. 30 a fine of 12 million won ($10,300) in consideration that a jail sentence could “heighten his chances of getting expelled” from his school, Chosun University. The case was thrust into the media spotlight this week and soon went viral on
Dec. 2, 2015
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Police raids labor union for staging violent protest
Police raided the local branch offices of an umbrella labor union Wednesday as part of their ongoing probe into a violent anti-government rally held last month.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided three regional offices of the plant construction labor union affiliated with the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions in South Chungcheong Province and one in South Jeolla Province.The members of the union are suspected of preparing iron pipes for the rally, as well as brandishing them against po
Dec. 2, 2015
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Foreign native hired as nat'l museum director amid censorship controversy
The national contemporary art museum has hired a foreign director for the first time, amid protests of his history of censorship.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Bartomeu Mari, former head of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, will now head the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Mari is the first foreign-born figure to head any institute under the auspices of the culture ministry.The ministry said Mari will take over from acting director Kim Jeong-bae as early
Dec. 2, 2015
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Soldier who lost leg in land mine blast completes rehabilitation
A South Korean solider left a hospital on Wednesday with a new prosthetic leg after completing rehabilitation treatment for the injury suffered in a land mine blast blamed on North Korea in August, the Defense Ministry said.The 23-year-old Kim Jung-won is one of the two South Korean soldiers who were seriously injured by the mine explosion blamed on North Korea near the inter-Korean border on Aug. 4.Following four months of treatment, the staff sergeant was discharged from a hospital in Seoul wi
Dec. 2, 2015
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New chief prosecutor vows stern action against violent protesters
Kim Soo-nam vowed on Wednesday to take stern actions against violent protesters as he was sworn in as the country's new prosecution chief."(We should) break the vicious cycle by thoroughly investigating not only the violent protesters but also those who instigate and protect them," the prosecutor general said in his inauguration ceremony at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul.The remarks were made ahead of a massive rally planned for this coming weekend, after an association of lib
Dec. 2, 2015
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Court rules manufacturer liable for explosion of decade-old fridge
A local court ordered a fridge manufacturing company to compensate an insurance firm for damages incurred by an explosion of a kimchi refrigerator that was purchased more than 10 years ago, officials said.Upholding the previous ruling, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of an insurance company, which filed a suit against Dayou Winia Co. seeking compensation for some 43 million won ($37,210) it paid to the victims. It was in March 2014 that the fridge, manufactured and purchased in 2
Dec. 2, 2015
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Ministry to create free medical school
South Korea plans to set up a state-run medical school that would exempt its students from tuition fees and require graduates to serve 10 years at public medical institutions to meet the demand for health care in remote regions, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.The ministry has earmarked some 327.8 billion won ($282 million) to establish the school by 2020, offering a six-year degree program for 100 medical students each year. Students who do not fulfill the 10-year duty after graduation must pa
Dec. 1, 2015
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Korea to create free medical school
South Korea plans to set up a state-run medical school that would exempt its students from tuition fees and require graduates to serve 10 years at public medical institutions to meet the demand for health care in remote regions, the Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry has earmarked some 327.8 billion won ($282 million) to establish the school by 2020, offering a six-year degree program for 100 medical students each year. Students who do not fulfill the 10-year duty after graduation must p
Dec. 1, 2015
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Doctors, med students indicted over security law breach
Nine oriental medicine doctors and three medical students have been indicted on charges of promoting North Korean ideologies in breach of an anti-North Korea law, prosecutors said Tuesday.The Busan District Prosecutors' Office said they are suspected of publishing a number of books between 2010 and 2013 with pro-North content such as the North's guiding philosophy "juche ideology."A 42-year-old doctor, whose identity was withheld, is also charged with possessing a total of 527 articles that are
Dec. 1, 2015
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Korea lowers MERS alert to lowest readiness level
South Korea lowered its Middle East Respiratory Syndrome alert level to its lowest readiness posture Tuesday with no new infections being reported in nearly five months, the government said.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the decision to lower the readiness level from "yellow" to "blue" comes after local disease experts reached agreement that there is no chance of new cases occurring in the country. The downgrade took effect as of noon. The respiratory disease which was first confirmed o
Dec. 1, 2015
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PM vows stern measure against masked protesters
Prime Mister Hwang Kyo-han on Tuesday vowed to take stern measures against those committing violent acts while hidden behind face masks during street rallies."Those committing illegal acts and (taking part in) violence while hiding behind anonymity with face masks should be sternly punished after gathering evidence during rallies," Hwang said during a Cabinet meeting.The comment came after a massive anti-government rally in downtown Seoul last month led to violent clashes as protesters brandishe
Dec. 1, 2015