Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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US expert says N. Korea might ignore Trump if he returns to White House
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[Photo News] Seoul seeks 'best sleeper'
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Yoon vows to advance freedom, welfare to uphold spirit of 1980 pro-democracy uprising
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Ex-spy chief grilled again over alleged political activity
The former chief of the nation’s main intelligence agency was questioned by prosecutors again over suspicions that he directed spy agents to influence public opinion ahead of last year’s presidential election, according to officials Tuesday.Won Sei-hoon, who headed the National Intelligence Service for about four years until early this year, is under suspicion of intervening in domestic politics by ordering agents to post a slew of politically sensitive comments on the Internet in order to sway
May 28, 2013
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Korea develops vehicle fueled by ammonia
South Korea on Tuesday unveiled its first vehicle partly fueled by ammonia, an alternative to fossil fuel that produces no greenhouse gases.The vehicle, developed by the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), uses a mixture of ammonia and gasoline that is 70 percent ammonia, which reduces the car’s emissions of carbon dioxide by up to 70 percent, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, which produces only the two materials
May 28, 2013
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Deaths from chemical accidents jump in 2012
The number of deaths from chemical accidents soared nearly 40 percent in 2012 from a year earlier amid a spate of fires, explosions and gas leaks at industrial plants across the country, government data showed. A total of 98 people were killed in chemical accidents last year, up 38 percent from 71 a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The number marked the highest level since 2008 when 112 such deaths were reported. The annual death toll from chemical acc
May 28, 2013
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Seoul’s elderly employment up 50% in last decade
The number of elderly Seoulites with jobs has leaped 50 percent over the past 10 years, while that of working youth has plunged more than 20 percent, data showed Tuesday.A total of 513,000 Seoul citizens aged 60 or older were employed in 2012, compared with 342,000 people in 2002, according to the data by a municipal-run think tank. The annual growth rate averaged 4.1 percent over the 10-year period.In contrast, the capital city’s employed population in the 15-29 age group tumbled 25.1 percent f
May 28, 2013
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High school students don‘t sleep enough: survey
South Korea’s high school students sleep as little as five hours a day, according to research data released by Gyeonggi Educational Research Institute on Monday.A GERI survey attempted to identify the average sleeping hours of Gyeonggi Province students through data gathered from 11,834 students from 212 elementary, middle and high schools in the province.According to the data, more than 80 percent of high school students wake up before 7:00 a.m. and sleep on average 5-7 hours a day. Most high s
May 28, 2013
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Korea‘s college students ‘unhappy’: survey
The majority of South Korean college students are leading “unhappy” lives on campus due to concerns over heavy tuition and bleak job prospects, data showed on Tuesday.The results are based on a survey of 528 students in their senior year across the nation by Job Korea, in which 50.6 percent of respondents said they are “not happy with university life.”As the source of unhappiness, 44.2 percent of those who are not happy picked “tuition.”Of all the respondents, only 12.1 percent turned out to be
May 28, 2013
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Middle school students to enjoy test-free semester
The education ministry said Tuesday it will initiate a pilot test-free semester program for middle school students this year to provide them with chances toexperience a wide range of learning activities for their future career. In March, the Ministry of Education announced its plan to implement the so-called free semester system for middle school students, where schools shift the focus away from test scores and teach students through such diverse engaging methods as discussion, experiments, ou
May 28, 2013
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Prosecution tracks down CJ’s stock trade records
Prosecutors said Monday that they are tracing stock trading records of CJ Group as part of its investigation into the conglomerate suspected of amassing illegal funds and evading taxes. Investigators suspect that the food and entertainment giant may have used offshore slush funds and disguised itself as a foreign fund to repeatedly purchase and sell shares of its affiliates in recent years. The share values of CJ subsidiaries have been inflated during this process of alleged stock manipulation,
May 27, 2013
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Korean researchers develop SNS suicide forecast system
A team of Korean researchers has developed a system for predicting when suicides are more likely to occur using data available on social networking services.This is the first time SNS posts have been used to predict suicide rates, according to professor Kim Doh-kwan of Samsung Medical Center, who led the research in collaboration with the data analysis company Daumsoft“Using suicide forecasting systems could make prevention programs more effective and ultimately contribute to shedding the title
May 27, 2013
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Police agency under fire for covering up NIS scandal
Seoul’s police agency is under fire for trying to conceal evidence related to its alleged attempt to whitewash a probe into national intelligence officials.Prosecutors believe the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber crime unit deliberately erased investigation data of the National Intelligence Service’s illegal interference in the presidential election last December.According to the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, a head of the cyber unit, whose name was undisclosed, is currently under i
May 27, 2013
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Sex crime prevention programs mandatory for public officials
All public offices, schools and municipalities will be obliged to provide educational programs to prevent sex crimes starting from June 19, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday. Under a revised law on prevention of sex-related crimes and protection of the victims, educational programs will be offered at least once a year at about 67,000 public offices and educational institutions nationwide including central and provincial government offices, and state-run firms and institutes.
May 27, 2013
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Third patient suspected of tick virus infection dies
A 77-year-old man in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, who had shown symptoms of a killer tick virus died Monday, health authorities said.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control, the man was suspected to have been bitten by a tick and showed signs of thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS. The KCDC will conduct an epidemiologic investigation to define the cause of the death, officials said. Currently, a total of 31 patients are suspected of having been infected by the virus, with two o
May 27, 2013
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Health Ministry official joins WHO board
Jeon Man-bok, assistant minister for planning and coordination at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has become a member of the executive board of the World Health Organization, officials said Monday. Jeon, 53, will represent the West-Pacific region for the United Nations’ public health arm and will participate in its decision- and policymaking processes. The board members are given a three-year term and requested to attend meetings twice a year, the ministry explained.The technocrat is qualifi
May 27, 2013
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Seoul police agency denies wrongdoing in spy agency scandal probe
The Seoul police agency on Monday denied allegations that it had destroyed evidence and hampered a probe into the national spy agency's alleged attempt to influence public opinion ahead of last year's presidential election.Prosecutors on Sunday said that a mid-ranking official of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), whose identity has been withheld, had allegedly permanently deleted data on a computer hard disk ahead of a prosecution raid into the agency's headquarters.A team of prosecut
May 27, 2013
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Childbirths decline for 3rd straight month in March
Childbirths in South Korea fell for the third straight month in March amid worries over the country's chronically low birthrate, a report showed Monday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the number of babies born in March came to about 38,800, down 10.2 percent or 4,400 from the same month a year earlier. The decline followed 0.4 percent and 9.1 percent falls in January and February.The latest childbirth report comes as South Korea is pushing to raise its chronically low birthrate, whi
May 27, 2013
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Seoul education office steps up fight against U.S. SAT cheaters
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to permanently remove hagwon operators from the industry when they are found to have leaked U.S. Scholastic Aptitude Test questions, officials said Sunday.The measures come as the public prosecutors investigate allegations that 12 local hagwon, or private institutions leaked SAT questions.The College Board, which organizes the U.S. university entrance examination, canceled the test scheduled to take place in Korea in May. In addition, the board has pr
May 26, 2013
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Korea gripped by tick virus scare
Concerns about a killer tick virus spread nationwide over the weekend as health authorities reported more patients who are thought to have been infected.The Korea Centers for Disease Control said on Saturday that a 61-year-old woman in Gwangju has shown symptoms of the tick virus that has killed two people in Korea so far.The state-run disease control agency last week confirmed that two people in Gangwon Province and Jeju died after showing signs of a high severe fever with thrombocytopenia synd
May 26, 2013
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Ex-health minister to head pension service
President Park Geun-hye has named former Health Minister Choi Kwang to head the National Pension Service, the country’s pension fund operator, officials said Friday.Choi, 66, replaces outgoing chairman Jun Kwang-woo who led the public pension service since 2009.Choi is known as one of the country’s leading free market economists who has been calling for public policies to be formulated under market-based principles. He served as health minister for the Kim Young-sam administration from 1997 to 1
May 26, 2013
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One-time users of pirated software ordered to pay full compensation
A Seoul court has ruled that users of pirated computer software are obliged to fully compensate their manufacturers, regardless of the period of illegality, court officials said Sunday. The ruling by the Seoul High Court was delivered to seven software firms, including Microsoft and local firm Hancom, which filed lawsuits against two local medium-sized companies for illegally using rip-offs of their computer software, the court said Sunday.The two companies installed pirated Windows XP computer
May 26, 2013
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Start of Korean summer comes 15 days earlier than in 1950s
Summer starts a half month earlier and lasts longer compared with 50 years ago due possibly to global warming, the weather agency said Sunday. Summers in the 2000s started on average on May 27, 15 days earlier than those during the 1950s, the Korea Meteorological Administration said, citing previous data.With the early start of summer, the length of summer has been extended by 20 days for a total of 121 days on average since 2000 compared with the 1950s, the weather agency said. The agency defin
May 26, 2013