Most Popular
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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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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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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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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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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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korean media stress importance of improving inter-Korean relations
North Korean media outlets stressed Monday the importance of improving inter-Korean relations and the need to resolve all outstanding issues in the spirit of self-determination.Articles carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, and Uriminzokkiri, the communist country's main Internet-based media and propaganda website, called for ending confrontation and mistrust that has plagued South-North Korean relations in the past.The reports come as cross-border relatio
Aug. 19, 2013
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Korean worker in Saudi Arabia tests negative for MERS
The body of a Korean man suspected to have died from a new coronavirus in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 11 has tested negative for the deadly virus, health authorities here said Monday.The Korea Centers for Disease Control said it received notification from a center in the Middle Eastern country that collaborates with the World Health Organization that the man did not carry the virus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.The 53-year-old man, who worked at an aluminum factory construction site, die
Aug. 19, 2013
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Sharp rise in suppliers of illegal psychoactive drugs: prosecution
SEOUL -- South Korea saw crimes of supplying illegal psychoactive drugs increase by over 33 percent in the first half of this year from a year ago as an increasing number of foreigners used the country as a route to circulate illegal drugs, prosecutors said Sunday.The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said they caught 4,601 people using or circulating locally banned psychoactive drugs, including methamphetamines and marijuana, in the first six months of this year. The number marks a 4.8 percent increa
Aug. 18, 2013
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Prosecution aims to collect W160b from Chun
Prosecutors said Friday they aim to collect most of unpaid fines amounting to 167.2 billion won ($149.6 million) from former President Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted for taking bribes while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the nation’s top court in 1997 to return to state coffers some 220 billion won he illegally accumulated through bribery from big businesses during his military rule in 1980-88. So far, the former dictator has paid only a quarter of the total, with some 167.2 billio
Aug. 16, 2013
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Actor found dead, apparently drowned
Actor and theater director Baek Won-gil was found dead Friday in an apparent drowning accident, fire officials said. Gangwon Fire Headquarters said they found Baek’s body in meter-deep water at Namdae Stream in Gangneung, Gangwon Province at 9 a.m. Rescuers had been conducting a search operation after Baek’s friend reported him missing Thursday. Police officials think Baek drowned while on a fishing trip. According to local news reports, Baek had recently moved to Yangyang County and had spent t
Aug. 16, 2013
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Ex-Seoul police chief refuses to swear at parliamentary hearing
A former Seoul police chief accused of meddling in last year's presidential election refused to take an oath at a parliamentary hearing Friday, citing an ongoing trial on the case.Kim Yong-pan is one of two key witnesses in a parliamentary probe into allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) conducted an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling Saenuri Party ahead of December's presidential election.Kim, the then Seoul police chief, has been accused of r
Aug. 16, 2013
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[Graphic News] Minimum cost of living
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has raised its assessment of the minimum monthly cost of living for four-member families for 2014 by 5.5 percent year-on-year to 1.638 million won. The increase, the third-highest since 2000, would lead to more government spending on subsidies for poor households in line with the Park Geun-hye administration’s policy of boosting welfare.
Aug. 15, 2013
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Hundreds detained for street protests
About 300 people were detained on Thursday as police and protesters clashed in several Seoul areas after a mass rally to mark the 68th Liberation Day. Thousands of activists and politicians took to the streets demanding President Park Geun-hye apologize for the National Intelligence Service’s alleged interference in last year’s presidential election, and engage North Korea more actively.Police fired water cannons to disperse demonstrators who illegally occupied roads while marching through the c
Aug. 15, 2013
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KEPCO senior executive arrested in nuclear plant graft probe
A court in Busan on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Lee Jong-chan, the senior executive vice president of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. implicated in a snowballing corruption scandal. The court issued the warrant out of concerns that the suspect could destroy evidence or flee, officials said. The prosecution on Tuesday detained the 53-year-old executive and requested a warrant against him.Lee, who heads KEPCO’s overseas business division, allegedly conspired with parts suppl
Aug. 15, 2013
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Ministry streamlines funding for graduate students
The Ministry of Education has slimmed down its funding program for graduate students, concentrating support on promising researchers. The ministry said on Thursday it finalized the recipients of the Brain Korea 21 grants aimed at enhancing graduate schools. Over the next seven years, it will provide financial support totaling 252.6 billion won ($226 million) per year to more than 18,000 students in 64 graduate schools. Graduate students from the schools will receive research scholarships of 600,
Aug. 15, 2013
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Climate change may affect birth weight: study
An ongoing rise in global average temperatures may be causing a decrease in birth weight, a study showed Thursday.According to a study by Lee Seung-jae, a graduate school student at Sogang University in Seoul, the average weight of newborns decreased 0.46 grams when their mothers were exposed to hotter temperatures during the second trimester. “With average temperatures increasing 1 degree Celsius during the second trimester, birth weight decreased 0.46 grams on average,” wrote Lee in his study.
Aug. 15, 2013
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[Photo News] Liberation Day flash mob
Aug. 15, 2013
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Activists seek funds to retrieve Joseon Dynasty artifacts
A group of civilian activists is raising funds for a campaign to return a Joseon Dynasty (1392―1910) royal suit of armor and helmet from the Tokyo National Museum.The artifacts were worn by Joseon kings as military attire for generations, according to Rev. Hyemin, who leads the campaign. They were taken out of the country by a Japanese businessman during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910―1945).The NGO working to return the looted cultural artifacts began fundraising efforts on Aug. 7 and pl
Aug. 14, 2013
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Ministry to overhaul elite private schools
The Park Geun-hye administration is introducing a set of reforms for elite private schools amid criticism of their irregularities and gaps in education between the rich and poor.The Ministry of Education announced on Wednesday it would revise the legislation on specialized middle and high schools to revoke permits for admissions fraud or other illegalities. The ministry said it would submit a related bill to the National Assembly in September.On Tuesday the ministry said it would change the admi
Aug. 14, 2013
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KEPCO executive detained over corruption scandal
Prosecutors detained Lee Jong-chan, senior executive vice president of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., on Tuesday as part of a probe into a corruption scandal involving the company, parts suppliers and certifiers.Busan District Prosecutors’ Office is looking into allegations that JS Cable, a signal cable supplier, colluded with Saehan Total Engineering Provider Co., a certifier suspected of forging test certificates for parts used in nuclear reactors. Officials from KEPCO and its subsi
Aug. 14, 2013
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Unions of Hyundai Motor, Kia authorize strikes in vote
Tens of thousands of unionized workers of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have voted in favor of striking, officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for a costly walkout after just one year since their last strike that cut into the carmakers’ vehicle output.Still, the unions are not allowed to down tools immediately as they were to meet with managements later in the day as part of the mandatory mediation by a state-run labor body.By law, a union cannot go on strike during mediation by t
Aug. 14, 2013
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Chinese kidnapper of S. Korean boy gets 10-year jail term
A Chinese man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly kidnapping a South Korean boy and demanding ransom, a news report said Wednesday. The 31-year-old Chinese man, Huang Xinghai, was sentenced for the kidnapping of the 10-year-old boy last December, with two other accomplices receiving eight and seven years in prison each by a local court in Beijing, the Beijing-based Jinghua News reported. The Korean boy was released shortly after his parents reported the kidnapping to local pol
Aug. 14, 2013
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Ex-President Chun's nephew nabbed over assets under borrowed names
Prosecutors said Wednesday that they have apprehended a nephew of former President Chun Doo-hwan for questioning as part of their efforts to find concealed assets of the former military dictator convicted of taking bribes while in office in the 1980s.Lee Jae-hong, 57, a son of Chun's elder sister, is accused of managing Chun's properties worth 6 billion won ($5.36 million) hidden under borrowed names while running a mid-sized landscaping company, prosecutors said.Chun was ordered by the nation's
Aug. 14, 2013
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Daewoo Engineering executive detained over alleged slush fund creation
An executive of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., one of the country's leading builders, has been detained for further questioning on charges of creating huge slush funds while participating in a project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, prosecutors said Wednesday. The director-level executive, only identified by his surname Ok, was locked up Tuesday night shortly after a Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant, they said.Ok is suspected of siphoning
Aug. 14, 2013
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S. Korea to pilot digital textbook program at schools next year
South Korea plans to conduct a pilot program to use digital textbooks at hundreds of elementary and middle schools around the country during the 2014 school year, the education ministry said Wednesday.Digital social studies and science textbooks are being developed for third- and fourth-year students of elementary schools and first- or second-year middle school students, it said.Some 150 elementary and 300 middle schools around the country have been chosen to use the new type of textbooks in the
Aug. 14, 2013