Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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Loans of self-employed swell 50% in four years
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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Police to summon key figures in growing sex-for-favors scandal
Police will question a local contractor and other key figures allegedly involved in a snowballing sex-for-favors scandal. The construction firm executive is suspected of arranging banquets and sexual services for high-ranking officials and public figures in return for their influence.Officials at the National Police Agency said Wednesday that they summoned three witnesses overnight and secured statements on the businessman’s illegal lobbying activities and secretive meetings. “We have secured th
March 20, 2013
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U.S. schools embrace ‘immersion’ Chinese lessons supported by Beijing
VENICE, California (AFP) ― Susan Wang couldn’t speak English when she arrived in California from Taiwan, aged 16.Now 49, she heads a school offering U.S. children a similar experience, plunging them into a Chinese world.And her establishment is part of a rapid expansion of “immersion” Mandarin language programs in the United States, helped notably by Beijing providing low-cost native-speaker teachers to cash-strapped U.S. schools.Pupils as young as five at her Broadway Elementary School in Venic
March 20, 2013
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Malware causes massive computer network paralysis: watchdog
South Korea's communication watchdog said Wednesday that massive computer network failures at major broadcasters and banks were caused by hacking attacks using malignant code.Officials said they could not find any evidence to link the attacks to North Korea but stressed that does not mean that they are ruling out such a possibility.At around 2 p.m., broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN and four banks -- Shinhan, Nonghyup, Woori and Jeju -- reported to the National Police Agency (NPA) that their compute
March 20, 2013
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Broadcasters, banks hit by computer systems failure
The websites and computer networks of South Korea’s major broadcasters and banks were paralyzed Wednesday afternoon in an apparent concerted cyber attack. The simultaneous shutdown at 2 p.m. of KBS, MBC, YTN, Nonghyup and Shinhan Bank systems came after North Korea threatened cyber attacks. Jeju Bank and two insurance subsidiaries of Nonghyup were also affected. The latest mass cyber attack is thought to have used malicious code that changes the URL, or internet address, of the affected organiza
March 20, 2013
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Police investigate sex-for-favors scandal
Police have opened a preliminary investigation into alleged sex-for-favors cases involving a number of high-ranking officials and public figures. Officials at the National Police Agency said they obtained intelligence that a local contractor bought sexual services for social elites in return for business favors. The list of influential figures involved in the case reportedly includes an official who serves in a vice ministerial post and the head of a large hospital.The 51-year-old contractor, id
March 19, 2013
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Daelim headquarters, factory raided over fatal explosion
YEOSU -- Police raided the head office of a Seoul-based major chemical company and its plant in this provincial city on Monday as part of efforts to determine the exact cause of an explosion last week that killed six workers and wounded 11 others.All of the victims are contract workers who were doing welding work on a storage tank at Daelim Industrial's plant in Yeosu, a port city on the nation's southern coast.The exact cause of the March 14 blast has yet to be determined, with surviving worker
March 18, 2013
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Lawmaker claims NIS chief ordered election interference
An opposition lawmaker unveiled internal documents of the National Intelligence Service Monday as evidence backing allegations that the spy agency engaged in illegal activity during the presidential election last year. Police are investigating an NIS official suspected of waging an online slander campaign against opposition groups during the election. Jin Sun-mee, a lawmaker from the Democratic United Party, revealed a document containing chief Won Se-hoon’s orders to counter antigovernment argu
March 18, 2013
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Ministry pushes to redress damage to river ecosystem
The government is drawing up a new bill to evaluate and restore the ecosystems of rivers or streams amid allegations that the former government’s massive river cleanup and development project has damaged the aquatic environment.The Ministry of Environment said Monday that it plans to establish a legal framework within the year for systematic and comprehensive measures to redress the ecosystem when deemed seriously damaged.The plan has drawn attention as it is in line with the new administration’
March 18, 2013
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Students admit bullying teenager
Two South Korean students have admitted to bullying a 15-year-old student who killed himself on March 11, Gyeongsan police said.The students said they hit the victim on the head, according to the police investigation. The two 15-year-olds, however, made conflicting claims on who sexually harassed the teenager.Police searched through the victim’s mobile handset, tracking down phone calls and text messages from March 2013, but no evidence of bullying was found. Police plans to analyze the students
March 18, 2013
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Korea expands use of chemical castration
Courts will now be able to order chemical castration for all rapists from Tuesday, as part of imposing tougher penalties against sex crimes.Until now the hormone treatment has been a sentencing option only for child sex offenders, but can now apply to all convicted rapists through the legal revision, according to the Ministry of Justice Sunday. The treatment can also be ordered by a committee operating under the Ministry of Justice.The bill, which was passed in December, comes into effect after
March 17, 2013
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Police seek warrant for man accused of stabbing U.S. soldiers
DONGDUCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Police said Sunday they will request an arrest warrant for a Korean man for allegedly stabbing three American soldiers during a fight near a U.S. Army base here the previous day.The stabbing happened at 6:20 a.m. Saturday during a fight in front of a club in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, police said.Two victims were taken to a nearby hospital before being released later. One was being treated at a military hospital at Yongsan Army Garrison in central Seoul for a l
March 17, 2013
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UPP chief investigated for N.K. remarks
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Sunday it has launched an investigation into left-wing Unified Progressive Party chairwoman Lee Jeong-hee on the charge of violating the National Security Act.Conservative civic groups including Hwalbindan filed a complaint against Lee last week with allegations that her party supported Pyongyang by defining the joint military drills by South Korea and the United States as an attempt to invade and seize the North and that it criticized the U.N.
March 17, 2013
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Public medical spending for seniors soars in 2012
Medical expenses for senior citizens represented more than 30 percent of all medical spending covered by South Korea's national health insurance program last year, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service, the country's state-run health insurance firm, medical expenses for people aged 65 or older accounted for 34.4 percent of all medical spending by the firm in 2012.The ratio has been increasing since 2005 when it registered 24.4 percent. A total of 47.84
March 17, 2013
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Man jailed for 7 years for sexual assault of daughter
The Seoul High Court sentenced a South Korean father to seven years in prison for habitual sexual assault of his daughter. The court’s decision overturns that of last year’s original trial, when he was found not guilty.According to the court, the daughter’s testimony was not consistent at the time, and it was thought that she was trying to win attention from adults by making false statements. The court said the suspect, 40, assaulted the daughter for a year by groping her in her sleep or forcing
March 17, 2013
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Police seek arrest warrant for Korean for allegedly stabbing U.S. soldiers
DONGDUCHEON -- Police said Sunday they will request an arrest warrant for a Korean man for allegedly stabbing three American soldiers during a fight near a U.S. Army base here the previous day. The stabbing happened at 6:20 a.m. Saturday during a fight in front of a club in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, police said. Two victims were taken to a nearby hospital before being releasedlater. One was being treated at a military hospital at Yongsan Army Garrison in central Seoul for a life-threaten
March 17, 2013
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Korea's labor participation rate to peak in 2021: report
South Korea's labor force participation rate is expected to decline after peaking in 2021 due to fast population aging, a state-run think tank said Saturday.Korea's labor force participation rate, or the share of working-aged people in the labor force, is likely to hit 61.6 percent in 2021 and will likely steadily drop afterwards, according to a report by the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).The report said that the participation rate is expected to stay in the low 61 percent range be
March 16, 2013
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Seoul City looks for SNS promoters
Seoul City is recruiting new members for Global Seoul-Mate, a program that introduces the city to the world through social networking. Anyone who has a good command of English, Japanese, or Chinese regardless of their current country of residence can participate in the program. Those with an established presence on SNS channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks are preferred. Last year 211 people joined the program and the city will pick 150 this year.The activities will inclu
March 15, 2013
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Inequality holds back Korea in human development index
South Korea is among countries that have shown the fastest improvement in human development over the past 12 years but deepening inequality is impeding its progress, according to a U.N. report.Korea ranked 12th for three consecutive years in 2012 in the annual human development index released Thursday by the U.N. Development Program. Norway once again topped the overall list, followed by Australia, the U.S., Netherlands and Germany in the assessment of 187 countries in terms of health, education
March 15, 2013
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U.S. soldier under investigation on suspicion of sexually harassing S. Korean woman
U.S. soldier under investigation on suspicion of sexually harassing S. Korean womanA 22-year-old American soldier was under investigation Thursday on suspicion of sexually harassing a South Korean woman in an elevator, South Korean police said.The Army private fist class, known only by his initial Q from the US K-55 Air Base, allegedly forced the 27-year-old woman to look at obscene photographs shown on his cellphone in an apartment elevator in Pyeongtaek, a provincial city 70 kilometers south o
March 15, 2013
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Blast in Yeosu plant kills six, injures 11
A fire broke out at the Yeosu Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province Thursday night, leaving six dead and another 11 severely injured. According to local police, an explosion was detected at the high-density polyethylene storage tank at the Daelim Industrial plant within the complex around 8:59 p.m. The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes, the authorities said. “We suspect a particle explosion during the welding process to have caused the tragedy. The deceased were repairing the electr
March 14, 2013