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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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Naver Q1 net income soars 1,171.9% on growth of major businesses
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Kyohak mulls not publishing history textbook
Kyohak Publishing Co. said Thursday it may not publish its controversial Korean history textbook amid protests over its content.The textbook authored by conservative scholars was accused of distorting historical facts, sparking disputes among progressives. Criticism of the book was especially focused on the depiction of Japan’s colonial rule (1910-1945), which described it as making a positive contribution to Korea’s modernization.An official from the Kyohak company said, “The president of the c
Sept. 12, 2013
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S. Korean soldier files petition over sexual assault
A South Korean soldier on Wednesday filed a petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea against his fellow servicemen for alleged sexual assault and physical abuse.According to the commission, a 20 year-old man who enlisted in the military in Gangwon Province in October 2012, asked for help, claiming that he was sexually harassed and beaten for six months by his fellow soldiers in the unit.The victim attempted to commit suicide several times and was hospitalized and diagnosed with
Sept. 12, 2013
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Man-made island on Hangang soon to be opened to public
Seoul City and Hyosung Group signed an agreement Thursday to normalize an artificial resort island on the Hangang River that has been idle for two years due to corruption and contract irregularities. The city government said Floating Island, called sebitdungdungseom in Korean, would partially open within the year before entering full-fledged operations next year. It will be run by FLOSSOM, owned by Hyosung, for 30 years and then transferred to the city. The 20,382-square-meter landmark was built
Sept. 12, 2013
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Chae to file suit against newspaper
Chief prosecutor Chae Dong-wook said Thursday he will file for correction with the court against the Chosun Ilbo which accused him of having an extramarital son in its recent report.The prosecutor general will forgo the extra step of mediation by the Press Arbitration Commission and take the case straight to the court for immediate resolution, said Koo Bon-seon, spokesman for the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Aside from filing the suit, Chae will also look into taking a paternity test as soon as
Sept. 12, 2013
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Prison term confirmed for ex-President Lee's confidant over bribery
The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a two-year prison term for Park Young-june, a former vice commerce minister under the previous Lee Myung-bak administration, for bribery.Park was convicted of taking some 160 million won ($148,000) in kickbacks from a local property developer in exchange for helping him win a construction permit for a major trade center in southern Seoul.The 53-year-old, known as one of the closest confidants to then-President Lee, was also found guilty of ordering surveil
Sept. 12, 2013
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1.1 mil. U.S. residents use Korean language at home, report says
A total of 1.1 million people in the United States spoke Korean at home in 2011, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Wednesday.Korean was among eight languages used by at least 1 million people, along with English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog (Philippines), Vietnamese, French and German.The number of Korean speakers in the U.S. grew by 327 percent from 1980 to 2010, the bureau said in the American Community Survey.In 1980, fewer than 300,000 people spoke Korean.Only 45 percent of Kor
Sept. 12, 2013
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Former presidential spokesman to be indicted: report
U.S. authorities investigating the alleged sexual abuse case involving former presidential spokesperson Yoon Chang-jung have decided to indict him on misdemeanor sexual abuse charges and are waiting for the issuance of an arrest warrant from the court, Segye Ilbo reported Thursday.“The investigators have effectively wrapped up their probe and are in the final stage of warrant examination on his arrest,” reported the local daily, citing officials from the Metropolitan Police Department of the Dis
Sept. 12, 2013
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Ex-Daewoo chief Kim among next targets ...to collect unpaid fines
The prosecution is expected to move ahead in collecting unpaid fines from disgraced business magnates after it recently succeeded in forcing two ex-presidents to pay overdue bills. Authorities are likely to target Kim Woo-joong, former chairman of the now-defunct Daewoo Group, who owes nearly 22.9 trillion won ($20 billion) to the state. In 2002, the Supreme Court ordered the former business tycoon and another five executives of the group to pay a combined 23 trillion won, on charges of accounti
Sept. 11, 2013
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Report of prosecution chief’s love child untrue: mother
The controversy over allegations that prosecution chief Chae Dong-wook had a son out of wedlock took a new twist as the child’s mother broke the silence and claimed that the boy is unrelated to him. The mother, identified only by her surname Lim, sent a letter to liberal newspaper Hankyoreh and said her relationship with him was no more than a bar owner and customer. Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook has denied a report by the conservative daily Chosun Ilbo that he met a woman in 1999 and father
Sept. 11, 2013
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[Education Column] Debate on educational visions, university admissions system
In June 2013, President Park Geun-hye expressed concerns over a survey result that indicated about 70 percent of high school students in Korea believed that South Korea invaded the North and started the Korean War. Some experts doubted students denied the history; instead, many suspected that the survey participants were simply confused with semantics between “bukchim” and “namchim.” The unintended consequence of this episode came when President Park expressed some discomfort with how history is
Sept. 11, 2013
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Ministry to reexamine history textbooks
Education Minister Seo Nam-soo announced Wednesday that the ministry will reexamine all the eight recently approved history textbooks including one authored by conservative scholars. His remark came as an academic debate over the text from Kyohak Publishing Co. is quickly spiraling into a political and ideological battle. “Together with the National Institute of Korean History, the ministry will conduct an in-depth analysis of the textbooks and, if necessary, will complete revision and supplemen
Sept. 11, 2013
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Gov't to revise controversial history textbook
The education minister said Wednesday the authority will review a controversial high school textbook criticized by opposition lawmakers and left-leaning historians for containing a conservative bias, along with seven other new textbooks, and revise them if necessary."We will, by late October, modify and supplement eight types of high school history textbooks that were approved by the National Institute of Korean History on Aug. 30," Seo Nam-soo said in a press conference at the ministry in Seoul
Sept. 11, 2013
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Divorce rates up after holidays: report
The divorce rates tend to go up shortly after couples go through major holidays such as Chuseok or Lunar New Year’s Day, a report showed on Wednesday. “More people sign up for divorce counseling sessions after the holidays and many end up going their separate ways,” said Park So-hyun, a consultant of Korea Legal and Aid Center for Family Relations.The higher divorce rate suggests that Korean couples are likely to fight with each other during the holidays as they have to handle more household cho
Sept. 11, 2013
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Mother denies report of chief prosecutor's extramarital child
Days after allegations emerged that the chief prosecutor had been hiding a son born from an extramarital affair, the child's mother on Tuesday denied the report and claimed she used the influential official's name to protect her son. The Chosun Ilbo, the largest-circulation daily, reported on Friday that Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook met a woman in 1999 and they gave birth to a son in 2002. Chae, who has a daughter and a wife, denied the report as "groundless" and demanded the daily issue a
Sept. 10, 2013
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Actor Ryu Si-won ordered to pay 7 mln won fine for assaulting wife
A local court ordered actor-singer Ryu Si-won Tuesday to pay 7 million won ($6,450) in fines for assaulting his wife and tracking her whereabouts with a GPS device.Ryu, 40, was charged with planting a GPS tracking device on his wife's car and tracking her whereabouts for eight months starting in May 2011. He was also indicted on charges of slapping his 29-year-old wife in the face several times when she protested the surveillance."Based on the sound of flesh clashing with flesh in the recording
Sept. 10, 2013
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Chun family to pay all fines
Former President Chun Doo-hwan’s family announced on Tuesday that they will pay the 167.2 billion won ($154.2 million) remaining in fines and offered a public apology for causing public concern.“I apologize on behalf of our family for causing concerns for the people over the problems with collecting unpaid fines,” eldest son Chun Jae-kook said in front of Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.“I am sorry for delaying the decision due to my inadequacy and realistic problems even though my fa
Sept. 10, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Prosecution fulfills mission impossible
It has been mission impossible for 16 years: collecting 167.2 billion won in overdue fines from a former strongman who claimed to have only 290,000 won at hand and is notoriously at home with brinkmanship. So, many observers were skeptical when the prosecution began a whirlwind investigation into former President Chun Doo-hwan’s family nearly four months ago with an aim to force him to pay the bill stemming from his misdeeds while in office in the 1980s.Chun’s family finally announced Tuesday th
Sept. 10, 2013
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[Graphic News] Foreign residents growing
The number of Seoul districts and provincial cities with more than 10,000 foreign residents stood at 44 as of Jan. 1, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration data showed Tuesday. The data also showed that foreign residents accounted for more than 5 percent of the population in 22 regions, with the figure being highest in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo-gu where 13.7 percent of the population was of non-Korean nationality.
Sept. 10, 2013
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Navy ship's engine room catches fire at sea, restoration underway
The generator room of the Navy's 14,000-ton ship caught fire while the ship was sailing off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula Tuesday, causing a duty officer to suffer second-degree burns. Restoration work is currently underway. A fire broke in the engine room of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship which was sailing near the western port of Gunsan around 10:45 a.m. Crew members immediately put out the fire, but a 23-year-old petty officer first class, who was on duty in the engine room,
Sept. 10, 2013
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Vice culture minister resigns over document forgery
A vice culture minister offered to resign Tuesday over suspicions of document forgery, the culture ministry said.The resignation, if accepted, comes only six months after Park Jong-gil, the vice minister in charge of sports at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, assumed the post in March.The move came after local media raised suspicions that he forged a public document in the process of handing over the ownership of a shooting range in Seoul's western residential area to his wife."I'm r
Sept. 10, 2013