Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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S. Korea issues power shortage alert
South Korea's state-run electricity distributor issued a power shortage alert Friday due to a surge in electricity consumption caused by cold temperatures.The Korea Power Exchange issued the "watch" warning, the fourth-highest level, at 11:25 a.m. as the country's electricity reserve dropped below 4 million kilowatts for more than 20 minutes.The company's "attention," the third-highest level, comes when the reserve level drops to between 2 million and 3 million kilowatts. The second-highest warn
Dec. 7, 2012
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Female suspect in sex scandal sues Internet users for leaking photo
A female criminal suspect, accused of offering sex to a prosecutor questioning her in return for leniency, sued three people for circulating her photo on the Internet, the woman's lawyer said Thursday.A photo of the 42-year-old woman began to spread on the Internet when the sex scandal was reported by news media in late November. More photos of her were later put online.The woman asked the police to investigate those who had leaked and circulated her photo on Nov. 28 for the first time, the lawy
Dec. 6, 2012
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Prosecutors find evidence in fake Iran trade case
Korean prosecutors’ inquiry into suspicions that a Korean firm carried out fake intermediary trade with Iran is expected to move forward with the emergence of circumstantial evidence.There is a big gap between the amount of money the firm received from Iran for its marble exports last year and the amount Tehran appears to have actually paid, according to Yonhap News.Some observers suspect that the Islamic republic used the Korean firm to launder money deposited in the Iranian central bank’s won-
Dec. 6, 2012
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Parents in nerve-wracking battle to grab spots in kindergartens
It’s been one hectic and nerve-wrecking morning for Hwang Jin-ah. Four of her family ― Hwang with her 3-year-old daughter, husband, and her 71-year-old mother ― were mobilized to take part in three lotteries on Wednesday morning, taking place at different locations between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. They briefed each other through cell phones about the size of the crowd gathered and how the draw was processing. “Thankfully, my husband picked the lucky number in a draw that he attended. We are so reliev
Dec. 6, 2012
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S. Korea’s corruption index falls
South Korea’s transparency ranking has slipped for the second consecutive year, placing the country 45th among 176 nations analyzed by Transparency International.According to the Transparency International, Korea’s Corruption Perceptions Index came in at 56 points out of a possible 100. Last year the country scored 5.4 out of 10 to come in at 43rd. In 2009 and 2010, the country was perceived as the 39th least corrupt country.The fall in South Korea’s ranking is thought to have been caused by cor
Dec. 6, 2012
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Education office candidates stray into politics, ideology
Ideological divides and political accusations eclipsed policy debate in the first and only televised discussion in the by-election for Seoul education chief Thursday. Five candidates led by conservative former Education Minister Moon Yong-lin and former teachers’ union chief Lee Soo-ho sparred over a range of issues including private education costs, the public education system and students’ and teachers’ rights. The three others are law professor Lee Sang-myun, Seoul education bureaucrat Nam Se
Dec. 6, 2012
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UNHCR holds symposium on Korea’s new refugee act
The Korean office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the National Assembly Human Rights Forum will hold a symposium next Wednesday to discuss ways to successfully implement the new Refugee Act.The legislation, which was passed by the National Assembly in December 2011, will come into force on July 1, 2013.Experts and officials, including UNHCR Korea Representative Anne Mary Campbell and NAHRF Chairman Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, will discuss refugee policies under the new law.This
Dec. 6, 2012
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Heavy snow disrupts air traffic in Korea
Heavy snowfall that hit the central part of South Korea disrupted dozens of domestic and international flights on Wednesday, the state-run airport operator said. At least 15 international flights and two domestic flights bound for the Incheon International Airport were canceled as the weather agency issued a warning for snow earlier in the day, the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) said.Heavy snow forced 29 flights bound for Incheon and 66 flights departing from the main gateway to be delayed, it
Dec. 5, 2012
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SNU confirms research fraud
Seoul National University concluded Wednesday that its professor Kang Soo-kyung, a leading stem cell researcher, fabricated much of her research.The university announced following an ethics committee meeting that Kang, associate professor at the college of veterinary medicine, had fabricated data in 14 papers published in journals from 2010-2012.She admitted earlier that there were some “simple mistakes” in her papers, but claimed that she had no intention of distorting the data.The ethics commi
Dec. 5, 2012
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College student to host massive Christmas Eve matchmaking event
For many singles, Christmas is not exactly a day to celebrate but to suffer. To save those worrying about spending the romantic day at home, a 26-year-old college student came up with one striking idea.Titled “Solo Battle,” Yoo Tae-hyung, a student at Kwangwoon University said he will host instant matchmaking event at Yeouido Park, central Seoul on Christmas Eve. The event, currently being promoted on Facebook, has already drawn about 35,000 people signing up for the event, including celebrities
Dec. 5, 2012
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South Korea falls to 45th in global corruption awareness ranking
South Korea dropped two notches in a global corruption awareness ranking to place 45th among 176 nations in 2012, an international watchdog said in its annual report on Wednesday.According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2012 issued by the non-governmental agency Transparency International (TI), South Korea scored 56 out of 100.The index, based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, is an aggregate indicator that combines different sources of information about corruption. It
Dec. 5, 2012
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S. Korean sailors freed by Somali pirates return home
Four South Korean sailors who were freed last week by Somali pirates after more than 19 months of captivity returned home Wednesday. They were kidnapped by Somali pirates on April 30, 2011 with the tanker MT Gemini and set free on Saturday after the Singapore-based owner of the ship paid an unspecified amount of ransom, according to Seoul officials said.The freed sailors underwent medical checkups at a hospital on the Kenyan island of Mombasa and arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of
Dec. 5, 2012
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Top officials replaced at crisis-ridden prosecution
The Justice Ministry on Tuesday replaced top-level prosecution officials in the wake of bribery and sex scandals and internal feuds over organizational reform.The reshuffle affected the No. 2 position at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the chief of a powerful investigation arm in charge of high-profile corruption and crime.The shakeup followed the resignation of Prosecutor-General Han Sang-dae Friday.Kim Jin-tae, chief of Seoul High Public Prosecutors’ Office was appointed as deputy prosecut
Dec. 5, 2012
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Seoul toughens smoking ban in restaurants
Smoking will be prohibited in restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops and bars with a surface area of 150 square meters or larger nationwide starting from Dec. 8, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. Indoor as well as outdoor areas of public buildings such as hospitals, libraries, day-care centers, government offices and commercial complexes will also be designated as smoke-free zones, the ministry said. The amendment to the National Health Promotion Act was endorsed at the Cabinet meeti
Dec. 4, 2012
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Prosecution makes efforts to regain public trust
The prosecution picks up the pace in rebuilding its tarnished reputation and cutting the Gordian knot of corruption inside the prosecutorial body. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday that it will fire trainee prosecutor Jeon Jae-mong who was involved in a sex scandal.Jon was accused of having sex allegedly in return for favors with a female suspect whom he was interrogating.Choi Jaek-kyung, the head of the SPO’s Central Investigation Unit, on the same day was acquitted of accusations he
Dec. 4, 2012
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Food poisoning suspected at top five-star hotel
The Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel in Samseong-dong, Seoul, is in hot water after a group of guests who dined at a private function there fell ill. This is the third time this year that the five-star hotel has been involved in an incident concerning food safety.On Nov. 27, more than 80 people attended a private dinner where, according to participants, at least 10 of them fell ill during or after the event. One of those taken ill was a Korea Herald reporter. “I had sashimi, red wine, c
Dec. 4, 2012
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Hundreds of cardholders under hacking attack
Police said Tuesday they have launched an investigation into the hacking of a widely-used online payment service operated by two major South Korean credit card firms.The so-called Internet Secure Payment (ISP) is a password-encrypted service used when making credit card payments online of less than 300,000 won ($276). The system is managed by KB Kookmin Card Co. and BC Card Co.The investigation comes after 199 cardholders who use the service had their accounts hacked, which resulted in losses es
Dec. 4, 2012
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Another prosecutor implicated in corruption case
Internal inspectors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office are investigating another corruption case involving a prosecutor who allegedly introduced a suspect he was investigating to a law firm where his brother-in-law worked.The inspectors raided the prosecutor’s office Monday and are looking into whether he took any illegal benefits in exchange for favorable treatment of the suspect, they said.“The SPO is currently investigating a prosecutor suspected to have been involved in influence peddling,”
Dec. 3, 2012
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Sailors describe 19 months of ‘animal-like’ life in cage
South Korean sailors who were recently freed by Somali pirates said on Monday that they were locked up in cages and treated like animals for nearly two years. Park Hyun-yeol, captain of the MT Gemini, a tanker highjacked by Somali pirates on April 30, 2011, said he and his three Korean crewmates survived 582 days by filtering bugs and worms from rain water with their undershirts. “We were put in a cage and lived like animals. The only human thing we were allowed to do was use the toilet,” he sai
Dec. 3, 2012
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What do you think of no alcohol on campus?
It was this summer when a newspaper agency ran a special feature on the drinking culture of Korea that people started to voice their thoughts on the matter. Not long after that, the Ministry of Health and Welfare proposed the pre-announcement of legislation on smoking and drinking, including compulsory display of alarming pictures on cigarette boxes and restricting the places where alcohol could be advertised.However, criticism started to fly, especially among university students. Under Article
Dec. 3, 2012