Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Ex-justice minister's wife seeks bail
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife, who was arrested over allegations related to their daughter's college admission and a financial investment, has applied for bail on grounds of failing health and her right to defense, the court said Wednesday. Chung Kyung-sim, a university professor, filed the request at the Seoul Central District Court.She was arrested in late October and faces trial on 15 counts related to her involvement in a dubious private equity fund and alleged fabrication of her da
Jan. 9, 2020
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S. Korea reports suspected case of mysterious pneumonia
Korea on Wednesday reported a suspected case of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness that has been spreading in China, the public health and safety agency said.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 36-year-old Chinese woman who had visited the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province last month showed symptoms of the illness.The patient has been isolated and is undergoing treatment after going into a local hospital in Dongtan, some 50 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday.Ch
Jan. 8, 2020
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Human rights commission asks government to improve housing quality, affordability
South Korea’s public human rights watchdog asked the government on Wednesday to improve basic residential standards and increase the availability of housing for disadvantaged groups.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said in a report addressed to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that the country’s minimum requirements for housing needed revisions in order to ensure better protection of housing rights. In the report, the commission quoted the United N
Jan. 8, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Prosecutors seek 23-year prison term for ex-President Lee
Prosecutors have asked an appeal court to increase the jail term for former President Lee Myung-bak to 23 years on charges of bribery and embezzlement, and sought a fine of 32 billion won ($27.3 million). The Seoul High Court heard appeals from the disgraced president and prosecutors over a lower court’s October 2018 ruling that sentenced Lee to 15 years in prison on convictions of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, and ordered him to pay a fine of 13 billion won. Charges against Le
Jan. 8, 2020
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Prosecution steps up probe into 2015 Samsung merger
Prosecutors on Tuesday summoned a former CEO of Samsung C&T, as part of its ongoing investigation into the firm’s alleged accounting fraud during its 2015 merger with its sister company Cheil Industries.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office initially planned to question Kim Shin, who headed Samsung C&T from 2010 and 2018, on details of the controversial merger but sent him back due to an attorney issue. The prosecution suspects that Samsung C&T deliberately
Jan. 7, 2020
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Warm winter continues in Korea
Unusually warm weather continued in South Korea on Tuesday, with the country not yet having witnessed the first freezing of the Han River and the record-low snowfall disrupting municipalities’ plans for winter events. Seoul had received 23 milliliters of rain as 3 p.m. on Tuesday alone, with more rain expected through Wednesday. The daily low on the southern resort island of Jeju rose to an all-time high of 18.5 degrees Celsius, higher than the island’s 30-year January average of 14
Jan. 7, 2020
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[News Brief] Seoul Light draws nearly 1 million people
Nearly 1 million people made their way to “Seoul Light,” a nighttime light show held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Dec. 20 to Friday, the city government said Tuesday. The event, which featured a mix of colorful light projected onto public buildings, as well as cultural events, exhibitions and food trucks, attracted 866,603 people, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation. The estimate, based on surveillance camera footage, was up 59 perc
Jan. 7, 2020
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[News Focus] Korea sees widening income disparity
SEJONG -- South Korea saw income polarization between the haves and have-nots continue to widen over the past few years.Some research analysts say the nation’s middle income bracket has collapsed and a large portion of middle-income households should be reclassified as part of the low income bracket.Comparison data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for the past decade backs up their arguments.The OECD compared the poverty rates of 35 of its 36 members as of 201
Jan. 7, 2020
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Cho Kuk quizzed by prosecutors again in ex-vice mayor's bribery case
Cho Kuk, former justice minister and senior presidential secretary, was again questioned Monday over his suspected role in ending an inspection into bribery allegations involving a former Busan vice mayor.Cho underwent a 10-hour interrogation as a suspect at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office before he was sent home at 8:30 p.m. Prosecutors are looking into suspicions that presidential officials deliberately closed an inquiry into bribery allegations of former Busan Vice Mayor Yoo Jae
Jan. 7, 2020
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[News Brief] FDI in Seoul exceeds $10b for first time in 2019
Seoul attracted more than $10 billion in foreign direct investment for the first time last year on the back of growing popularity of K-beauty products, the city government said Monday.The amount of FDI in Seoul totaled $10.1 billion, a 12 percent increase from $9 billion in the previous year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The previous record was set in 2016 when the city received $9.6 billion worth of investment commitments. Seoul accounted for 44 percent of the total FDI in So
Jan. 6, 2020
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Prosecution demands arrest of ex-Coast Guard chief in Sewol probe
State prosecutors said Monday they have requested a court formally detain a former Korea Coast Guard chief for alleged mishandling of one of the country's worst maritime disasters, in which more than 300 people died.A special unit tasked with the probe said it has requested the arrest of Kim Suk-kyoon, former Korea Coast Guard chief, as well as five other key officials, including those who supervised the western coastal unit and the southwestern port city of Mokpo, according to the prosecution.
Jan. 6, 2020
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State pension payouts rise 18% in 10 years
State pension payouts increased by about 18 percent over the last 10 years. According to the National Pension Service, this is because the consumer price index was used to calculate the amounts to be paid out in each successive year. Korea has seen positive inflation rates of 0.8 percent in 1999, 3.6 percent in 2003, 4.7 percent in 2008, 1.3 percent in 2013, 1.3 percent in 2014, 0.7 percent in 2015, 1 percent in 2016, 1.9 percent in 2017 and 1.5 percent in 2018.The NPS will increase this year&rs
Jan. 6, 2020
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Schools unite, call Moon's anti-elitism policy 'unconstitutional'
Sixteen of Korea’s elite private high schools have united to oppose the Moon Jae-in administration’s plan to strip them of their administrative autonomy, calling it “unconstitutional” in a joint statement to be submitted to the government Monday.“Abolishing the private school system undermines the diversity and autonomy of education -- a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution -- and forces students into a uniform educational system without r
Jan. 5, 2020
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Law enforcement adopts measures to protect children of prisoners
Law enforcement authorities are introducing measures to better protect the rights of children of incarcerated people.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said Sunday the Supreme Court, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice have decided to implement the commission’s instructions for protecting children of prisoners.Last May, the state human rights commission issued a set of recommendations advising the highest court to take into account defendants’ children i
Jan. 5, 2020
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S. Korea records lowest-ever December snowfall due to warm weather
Last month, relatively warm weather led South Korea to record the lowest monthly snowfall on record for December, the meteorological agency said Sunday.The amount of snowfall reached 0.3 centimeter in December 2019, the lowest since weather authorities began to compile December data, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.The previous record-low snowfall was 0.5 cm in December 1998.The data was compiled by measuring the depth of the most accumulated snow over the past 24 hours.The agency s
Jan. 5, 2020
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[News Focus] South Korea’s population declines in December
SEJONG -- State demographic data for last month indicates that South Korea is on the threshold of the era of population decline.According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the nation’s population fell by 1,566 to record 51.849 million as of December, compared to the previous month’s figure of 51.851 million.This marked the first time in more than 10 years since April 2009 (when it posted minus 2,716) that the monthly figure fell. While the drop in April 2009 was a sporadic occu
Jan. 5, 2020
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UN panel regrets S. Korea having no timeframe for ratifying key ILO conventions
A United Nations committee on social rights has pointed out that South Korea has no specific timeframe in ratifying key international labor conventions, government officials said Sunday.The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made the assessment in its response to the government's report on its efforts to implement the panel's April 2017 recommendations on labor issues, including the approval of core International Labor Organization conventions.The committee assessed South Kor
Jan. 5, 2020
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Chinese boat seized for alleged illegal fishing
South Korea seized a Chinese fishing boat on charges of illegal fishing in its waters in the Yellow Sea, the Korea Coast Guard said Saturday.The 15-ton fishing boat invaded the Northern Limit Line by 4 kilometers near the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong. The Coast Guard said it will carry out further investigations on seven Chinese fishermen on board.Another 22 Chinese fishing boats were also evicted from the area.Chinese fishing boats are often caught poaching in South Korean waters, a
Jan. 4, 2020
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Prosecutors raid Ulsan gov‘t office amid election-meddling scandal
Prosecutors raided the Ulsan government office on Saturday amid rising allegations that the city’s vice mayor colluded with the presidential office to help the president‘s close friend in the 2018 mayoral election.The raid of Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall, some 400 kilometers southeast of the capital city, came amid suspicions that Song Byung-gi, Ulsan’s vice mayor for economic affairs, conspired with several presidential aides to influence the city‘s mayoral poll last yea
Jan. 4, 2020
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S. Korea 'closely watching' safety of some 1,600 S. Koreans in Iraq
South Korea is keeping close tabs on the safety of some 1,600 South Koreans staying in Iraq, where political instability is rising after the death of the top Iranian defense commander, the foreign ministry here said Friday.The Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport upon the authorization of United States President Donald Trump. The Iranian commander was leading the powerful Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary
Jan. 3, 2020