Most Popular
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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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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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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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In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
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Minimum wage hike rate lowest under Lee
The nation’s minimum wage has risen at the lowest-ever rate under the incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the labor ministry, the nominal minimum wage has increased 5 percent on average since 2008 when Lee began his five-year term.It is half the level seen under the preceding Roh Moo-hyun administration when the minimum wage went up by 10.6 percent, and the lowest since 1988 when South Korea introduced the system, the data show
July 3, 2012
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Obama to send delegation to Yeosu Expo
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― U.S. President Barack Obama will send a delegation to the Yeosu Expo in South Korea this week, the White House announced Monday.The five-member presidential delegation plans to attend the U.S. National Day celebration Wednesday at the expo in southwestern South Korea, it added.The U.S. marks Independence Day on July 4.The team will be led by Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who also serves as under secretary of comme
July 3, 2012
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New family-care leave program starts in Aug.
A program allowing “family-care” leave takes effect as of Aug. 2, allowing workers to take up to 90 unpaid days off to care for ill or elderly family members, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday.A parent with a preschool child in need of his or her attention will also be able to choose to reduce their working hours instead of taking parental leave, the ministry said.The Cabinet endorsed a set of executive orders to implement new measures to help employees balance work and family an
July 3, 2012
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Researchers discover new way to make flexible electronics
A team of Korean and U.S. researchers have invented a new technology that will allow electronic materials to stretch like rubber while maintaining conductivity. The finding published in the online journal Nature Communications marks major progress in developing wearable computers and flexible display devices. Current technologies in the field are limited to produce only thin sheets of materials. Also, one of the key remaining technical challenges is to find materials that can endure the repeated
July 3, 2012
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KAIST professor to receive top microbiology award
Lee Sang-yup, professor of bioengineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, has been selected to receive the 2012 Charles Thom Award, the university announced on Tuesday.The Charles Thom Award is one of the most prestigious awards for microbiologists. The Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology each year selects a recipient who has made an outstanding research contribution to the field.Lee is the first Korean to receive the award since its establishment in
July 3, 2012
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Park vows to share know-how globally
Mayor says Seoul will set up city management research centerSeoul City is to embark on a project to spread its urban development and management know-how overseas, especially to developing countries.The metropolitan government plans to establish a new institution in charge of cooperation with foreign cities in areas including environment, transport, infrastructure and information technology-based governance. The globalization program is also aimed at helping developing countries boost the compet
July 3, 2012
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Lee's elder brother appears before prosecutors over suspected bribery
President Lee Myung-bak's elder brother appeared before prosecutors Tuesday morning for questioning over allegations that he took bribes from troubled savings banks and several others in return for peddling influence.Lee Sang-deuk, 77, formerly a six-term legislator with the ruling Saenuri Party, entered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul at 10:00 a.m., accompanied by his lawyer."I
July 3, 2012
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Former president hospitalized after showing cold symptoms
Former President Kim Young-sam has been hospitalized after showing signs of a cold, his aides and hospital officials said Tuesday.The 85-year-old Kim, who served as president from 1993 to 1998, was admitted to Seoul National University Hospital in downtown Seoul on Monday afternoon due to light cold symptoms, according to the former president's chief secretary and hospital officials.The former pre
July 3, 2012
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Japan reports death of 2 crewmen of S. Korean vessel
Two crew members of a South Korean vessel sailing off Japan's southwestern coast have died, a Japanese media report said Monday.Japan's maritime police received an emergency call from the 994-ton "Chemhana" at about 3:05 p.m. stating two crew members were in critical condition after apparent gas inhalation, Kyodo News said.The two -- one a 56-year-old Korean and the other a 28-year-old from Myanma
July 3, 2012
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President misses Sejong City launch
After a decade of controversy, a new administrative city officially opened in South Chungcheong Province on Monday. Government officials and lawmakers, including Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, attended the event to celebrate the birth of Sejong City. But President Lee Myung-bak was absent from the ceremony.Spanning over 465 square kilometers of land, about 75 percent the size of Seoul, Sejong City will be home to 36 central government offices, including nine ministries and 16 state-run organizati
July 2, 2012
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Rights chief under mounting pressure
Critics bolster campaign against head of National Human Rights CommissionOpposition parties and civic activists are up in arms against the government’s attempt to grant a second term to Hyun Byung-chul, the controversial chief of the National Human Rights Commission. They cited his past record of racist remarks, ignorance of minorities in politically sensitive situations and violation of public servant rules.While Hyun awaits the National Assembly’s approval through the first-ever confirmation h
July 2, 2012
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Women may outnumber men from 2015: survey
The number of females in South Korea is expected to exceed that of males starting in 2015 due mainly to the country’s rapidly aging population, government data showed Sunday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of women in South Korea will likely reach 25.31 million in 2015, slightly surpassing the male population of 25.30 million.The female population is projected to continue to outnumber that of males and reach 26.26 million in 2031, with the number of men likely to decline af
July 1, 2012
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Korea to raise minimum wage 6.1% in 2013
A trilateral council comprised of the government, labor and management on Saturday agreed to raise the country’s minimum wage by 6.1 percent to 4,860 won ($4.24) per hour next year.Representatives of the Minimum Wage Council reached the deal in a 10-8 vote with 9 abstentions at the end of overnight negotiations, the council said.The decision will increase the monthly salary of those who work 40 hours a week to 1.02 million won, according to the council. It is expected to benefit roughly 2.58 mil
July 1, 2012
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‘Learning how to learn is vital’
Bob Pike, a leadership expert, says training should begin with opening the minds of people and teaching them how to learn.“What we need to do in training is probably stop doing 50 percent of training we do now,” said Pike, who has consulted on training development since 1969.The 65-year-old training expert noted that companies should reconsider their traditional training methods.“We have for many years been focusing on delivering content, but you don’t think about how people learn the best,” he
July 1, 2012
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Student volunteers help envoys cross language, culture barriers
Lim You-nam, a third-year student majoring in communications at Yonsei University, visits the U.S. Yongsan Army Garrison once every week to teach a diplomat’s wife Korean.The 22-year-old is participating for the second year in “Friends of Diplomats,” an organization made up of university students from around Seoul to give one-on-one Korean language and culture classes to foreign diplomats. The group is part of the Gangnam Volunteer Center, which has been operating the program for five years.Volu
July 1, 2012
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S. Korea to raise minimum wage 6.1 percent in 2013
A trilateral council comprised of the government, labor and management on Saturday agreed to raise the country's minimum wage by 6.1 percent to 4,860 won ($4.24) per hour next year.Representatives of the Minimum Wage Council reached the deal in a 10-8 vote with nine abstentions at the end of overnight negotiations, the council said.The decision will increase the monthly salary of those who work 4
June 30, 2012
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Opposition leader, Saenuri lawmaker face bribery probe
The prosecution’s probe into a bank-lobbying scandal is set to implicate a key opposition leader, igniting a political firestorm with the presidential election just six months away. Local media reported Friday that Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party, is under investigation on suspicions that he received money from a jailed banker in exchange for peddling influence. Rep. Chung Doo-un of the ruling Saenuri Party is also suspected of similar charges, they
June 29, 2012
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Sejong City readies a charm offensive
This is the second in a series of articles on Sejong City, a new multifunctional administrative city to be launched on July 1. ― Ed. As the official opening of Sejong City draws near, Song Ki-sup’s days are getting busier as he tries to make things right and ready. Much of the new city is still under construction and is expected to remain so for some years to come, as its development plan spans decades. Yet, the city is readying a charm offensive that highlights its unparalleled living environme
June 29, 2012
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Korean pimps caught trafficking in Australia
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that it arrested 18 Korean pimps without detention who lured Korean women into working as prostitutes in Australia.The police said the owner of a brothel, surnamed Jang, 32, together with other brokers brought the Korean women to Australia on working holiday visas. Jang has reportedly been bringing them to his brothel in Sydney since 2009.He also held drug orgies where he took drugs such as MDMA,commonly known as ecstasy, and forced the women to u
June 29, 2012
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Seoul City to introduce mobile app for civil service
Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it will develop a smartphone application by 2014 through which citizens can process their civil affairs.The city will invest more than 250 million won ($216,000) in the development of the application equipped with antivirus programs and password protection for the security of personal information.Citizens will be able to use all the services with the mobile app that are currently available on the city’s internet website such as paying taxes and issu
June 29, 2012