Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Energy drink commercials to be restricted
Television commercials for energy drinks, which are high in sugar and caffeine, will be restricted from next year, the country’s food watchdog said Monday.Under revised guidelines, TV advertisements for foods containing high levels of caffeine are banned from airing during children’s viewing time from 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.Energy drinks, a type of beverage containing large amounts of stimulants like caffeine, have gained popularity in South Korea
Sept. 16, 2013
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2 Malaysians arrested over forged credit cards
Two Malaysian nationals were arrested for using forged credit cards to pay for hotel bills and luxury items bought at upscale stores in South Korea, police said on Monday. The suspects are estimated to have charged a total of 8.6 million won ($7,591) on their counterfeit cards.“Caution is needed when foreign customers do not know the spending limit of their own cards or when their cards don’t get accepted repeatedly,” said Jo Jung-hyuk, a police official in Busan.The suspects tried to escape Kor
Sept. 16, 2013
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S. Korean man shot dead in attempt to cross border to N.K.
South Korean soldiers fatally shot a man who attempted to cross the Imjingang River to North Korea on Monday, the military said.The incident occurred about 5 kilometers west of Imjingak, a pavilion near the Panmunjeom border village, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.The troops fired at the man, believed to be a civilian in his 40s, at 2:23 p.m. after he ignored warnings to return to the south side, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.He jumped into the river and was holding onto the buoy at the tim
Sept. 16, 2013
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Court overturns acquittal of ex-prime minister over bribery
A Seoul appellate court on Monday overturned the acquittal of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and sentenced her to two years behind bars for bribery.The Seoul High Court, however, did not put the country's first female prime minster under custody, taking into consideration that she is a sitting lawmaker.Han, who was prime minister between 2006 and 2007 under the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, was found guilty of receiving 880 million won (US$760,000) as political funds from a head of
Sept. 16, 2013
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Top presidential, intelligence officials spy on chief prosecutor: lawmaker
An opposition lawmaker claimed Monday that a senior presidential secretary had colluded with a top intelligence official to spy on Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook, suggesting they had masterminded the scandal over Chae's alleged illegitimate son.Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition Democratic Party raised the allegations at a meeting of the parliamentary legislative and judiciary committee, claiming Chae was put under constant surveillance during the month of August.The scandal surrounding
Sept. 16, 2013
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Gov't, ruling party agree to raise soldiers' pay by 15 pct next year
The government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed Monday to increase soldiers' monthly pay by 15 percent next year as part of President Park Geun-hye's push to double their salary during her five-year term, the party's policymaker said. Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok, Saenuri Party's policy maker Kim Ki-hyun and other senior officials held a meeting to fine-tune the 2014 budget proposal, which will be announced later this month. The move comes after Park promised to double soldiers' pay during
Sept. 16, 2013
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‘Project Cheonan Ship’ to be screened at National Assembly
Opposition lawmakers on Monday will show a controversial film about the 2010 sinking of a South Korean naval corvette at the National Assembly amid protests against the discontinuance of its screening by a major film distributor.Democratic Party lawmaker Rep. Choi Min-hee said they decided to screen “Project Cheonan Ship” to protest “external pressure intervening in the creative arts.”Megabox, the only conglomerate-sized film distributor to initially screen the documentary, decided to take the 7
Sept. 15, 2013
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History textbook authors vow to reject ministry’s revision orders
Authors of seven high school history textbooks, which have been accused of conservative bias along with another right-wing textbook, said Sunday they won’t comply with Education Ministry orders to revise their texts.Education Minister Seo Nam-soo said last week that the ministry will conduct an in-depth review of the eight recently licensed textbooks and order them to make revisions if necessary, after one of them, published by Kyohak Publishing Co., sparked ire for containing a conservative bia
Sept. 15, 2013
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[Photo News] Ready for Chuseok
Sept. 15, 2013
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History textbook authors vow to reject ministry's revision orders
Authors of seven high school history textbooks, which have been accused of ideological bias along with a right-wing textbook, said Sunday they won't comply with education ministry orders to revise their texts.Education Minister Seo Nam-soo said last week that the ministry will conduct an in-depth review of the eight recently licensed textbooks and order them to make revisions if necessary, after one of them, published by Kyohak Publishing Co., sparked ire for containing a conservative bias.The m
Sept. 15, 2013
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Telecom operators offer more user data to authorities
The amount of user telecom data that South Korea’s telecom operators provided to authorities spiked in the second half of last year, coinciding with the presidential election, a report showed. Local telecom operators provided a total of 425,379 user communications data to police and other state agencies in the latter half of 2012, up 31.2 percent from the preceding six-month period, according to the report by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. “The ministry should keep an eye on t
Sept. 15, 2013
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34 pct of Korean women opt for cesarean: report
About a third of pregnant women in the country chose to have a cesarean section over natural childbirth, a poll showed Sunday.The survey of 951 married women aged between 15 and 44 by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs showed that 34.3 percent underwent C-section, while the remaining 65.7 percent chose natural childbirth as the delivery method.C-section was more common among older women and among first-time mothers, the poll found.It also showed that 22.3 percent of thos
Sept. 15, 2013
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Authorities set to crack down on sky-high repair costs for imported cars
The sky-high repair charges for imported cars, which have long angered Korean consumers, will likely fall starting next year, as the government is set to toughen oversight on car importers and other relevant industries through legislation, officials said Sunday.The average repair cost for imported vehicles reached 2.33 million won ($2,145) last year, about 4.3 times the average of 540,000 won for domestic cars, according to industry data.Owners of accident-damaged imports were paid an average of
Sept. 15, 2013
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LIG Group chairman, son given jail terms for fraud
A lower court on Friday handed down prison sentences to Koo Cha-won, chairman of embattled LIG Group, and his eldest son following convictions for fraud.Seoul Central District Court sentenced Koo to three years in prison for inflicting losses on minor shareholders by fraudulently issuing commercial papers. The 77-year-old chairman was put in prison immediately after the verdict.Koo Bon-sang, his first son and the vice chairman of LIG Nex1, was given eight years in prison on the same charge. They
Sept. 13, 2013
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Prosecution resummons ex-President Chun's eldest son
The eldest son of disgraced former President Chun Doo-hwan was questioned by prosecutors Friday as part of an ongoing probe into huge slush funds his father stashed away while in office in the 1980s, prosecutors said.The senior Chun, then an army major general, seized power in a 1979 coup. In 1997, he was ordered by the Supreme Court to return to state coffers around 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he illegally accumulated in bribes while in office from 1980-88.Chun has yet to pay some 167.2
Sept. 13, 2013
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[Photo News] Job Fair for over-50s
Sept. 12, 2013
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[Newsmaker] KEPCO to restart power-line project soon
The Korea Electric Power Corp. is set to resume its stalled power-line project in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, after next week’s Chuseok holidays despite continued resistance from some residents. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won visited the county saying that resumption was an “unavoidable choice” and announced a revised 18.5 billion won ($17 million) compensation plan. The compensation package also includes plans to build the country’s largest solar power generation facility i
Sept. 12, 2013
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Seoul City upgrades traffic control system
Seoul City’s transport control office on Thursday unveiled a major upgrade of information technology-based services to provide traffic information more accurately and quickly. The city government plans to merge its traffic control center and disaster response team into a new entity called the Seoul Safety Control Center. It will begin operations later this year. They will share real-time digital videos and monitor traffic situations and disasters at the same time. A total of 1,141 pieces of traf
Sept. 12, 2013
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Publisher hints at canceling controversial history book
The publisher of a controversial Korean history textbook said Thursday it would consider canceling publication amid growing criticism of its allegedly slanted depiction of the country’s modern history.“We’re looking at all possibilities, including the cancellation of publication,” an official from Kyohak Publishing Co. was quoted as saying by Yonhap News.“We’ll announce our official decision next week.”The announcement came amid progressive lawmakers and scholars’ request to cancel the authoriza
Sept. 12, 2013
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Head of panel on river project probe quits
The chief of a newly launched investigative committee on a highly controversial river refurbishment project offered Thursday to resign over a dispute over his alleged impartiality.Chang Sung-pil, a former civil engineering professor at Seoul National University, was appointed last week to lead the commission tasked with resolving suspicions surrounding the 22.2 trillion won ($20 billion) river refurbishment project. The previous Lee Myung-bak government‘s signature project had been aimed at prev
Sept. 12, 2013