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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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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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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Forensic report falsified in Hwasong murder case: prosecution
The prosecution on Monday demanded a retrial for a man who may have been wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in 1988, in light of new evidence and a series of flaws in the original investigation.The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office has reopened the decades-old case after Lee Chun-jae, who is already serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of his sister-in-law in 1994, confessed to the crime in October. A recent DNA breakthrough has pinpointed Lee as th
Dec. 23, 2019
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Gwangju archbishop hopes for justice for missing victims of 1980 military crackdown
Archbishop Kim Hee-joong of Gwangju wished justice would be served for victims of atrocities committed during martial law in May 1980 in a Christmas message issued Monday.Speaking about the recently unearthed human remains at a former prison site in Gwangju, a city with a history of pro-democratic struggles, the archbishop said he hoped perpetrators of the violent crackdown on civilian protesters would come forward and bring truth to light.He said he hoped those who were involved “would sp
Dec. 23, 2019
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Motel arson suspect admits guilt, to face psychiatric assessment
The suspect in a Sunday arson attack at a motel in Gwangju that killed two people and injured 31 others will undergo profiler questioning, police said Monday.Police on Sunday arrested the 39-year-old, identified only by the surname Kim, who was initially sent to a hospital after being found at the scene by a fire official. He was released from the hospital after medical staff confirmed he sustained no serious injuries.Kim later told police he set the bedding on fire in a third-floor room at the
Dec. 23, 2019
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Arrest warrant sought for ex-justice minister
The prosecution on Monday sought an arrest warrant for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk over allegations he abused his power to end a presidential inquiry into a former Busan vice mayor. The Seoul Eastern District Court will hold a hearing Thursday morning to decide whether to arrest him on a charge of abuse of power, and a decision is expected later in the day or early Friday morning. Cho, then-presidential secretary for civil affairs, faces suspicions that he ordered the susp
Dec. 23, 2019
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[News Focus] Men’s population in Korea falls for 4 consecutive months
SEJONG -- South Korea’s sex ratio -- ratio of males to females in a population -- has been showing drastic changes in recent years.The female population in Korea came to 25.98 million as of November 2019, which is higher than the figure for men by 120,000, according to the data of the Ministry of Interior and Safety.Women began outstripping men on June 2015, with 25.7157 million female Koreans as against 25.7153 million for males.The latest data suggests that women, who have longer lifespa
Dec. 23, 2019
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Seoul to increase taxi supply to meet seasonal demand
The Seoul government said Monday it will increase the supply of taxi services in anticipation of a spike in transportation demand around the end of the year and strengthen a crackdown on taxi drivers refusing passengers.The municipal government said it will increase the number of privately owned taxis operating on Fridays by 2,000 by temporarily lifting as many taxis from their regulatory off days.Under the current system, all private-owned taxis in Seoul are divided into four groups and take tu
Dec. 23, 2019
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Police investigate protest at National Assembly premises
Police are investigating whether the chairman and floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the chairman of the minor conservative Our Republican Party encouraged conservative protesters to stage a mass rally in front of the National Assembly a week ago. On Dec. 16, around 2,000 demonstrators surrounded the National Assembly, demanding the parliament drop contentious fast-tracked bills on new election rules and prosecution reforms. The protesters refused to disperse, and some
Dec. 22, 2019
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Think tank proposes child porn sting operations
The National Assembly Research Service, the legislature’s think tank, proposed that the country’s law enforcement system adopt sting operations to combat child pornography. In a report published Wednesday, the think tank argued that undercover operations could effectively deal with perpetrators on the dark web, an area of the internet that users can enter using special software and maintain anonymity. Sting operations could help reduce the extensive harm caused by child pornograph
Dec. 22, 2019
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Unidentified human remains found in Gwangju
The bones of some 80 people, 40 of them unidentified, were found Thursday at a former prison site in Gwangju, rekindling suspicions that victims of the 1980 military crackdown on democratic protests were buried en masse there by authorities.A foundation established in memory of the democratic movement, which took place from May 18-27, 1980, has suggested the unidentified human remains may belong to hundreds of protesters who went missing.In total, 448 missing person reports related to the G
Dec. 22, 2019
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[Newsmaker] At least 2 killed in Gwangju motel fire, death toll expected to rise
At least wo people were killed and 31 others injured in an early morning fire at a motel in Gwangju, Sunday. Authorities said the fire, which broke out at 5:45 a.m. at the motel in the northern part of the city, was extinguished within 22 minutes at 6:07 a.m.The death toll could rise, as 13 people sustained serious injuries, including smoke inhalation and burns, according to authorities. Most of the 32 rooms of the five-story accommodation were occupied at the time of the fire.Police arrest
Dec. 22, 2019
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Remains of 40 people discovered at former prison site in Gwangju
The remains of about 40 people have been discovered at the site of a former prison in the southwestern city of Gwangju, the government said Friday, with some claiming that they may belong to victims of crackdowns during the pro-democracy movement in the 1980s.The remains were uncovered Thursday when the government undertook work to move a graveyard where deceased prisoners with no family ties were buried, according to the Ministry of Justice.Their identities are not known."We will cooperate
Dec. 20, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Young parents sentenced for murder over death of infant
A teenage mother and a father in his 20s were sentenced to prison for the neglect of their newborn baby for five days and leaving it to starve to death. Incheon District Court on Thursday ordered 20 years of imprisonment to the 21-year-old father on charges of murder, abandonment of a body and negligence of a child. The 18-year-old mother faces a minimum of seven years to a maximum of 15 years of prison on the same charges. In Korea, where the age of adulthood is 19, juvenile law states tha
Dec. 20, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Detained PDs of scandal-ridden audition show admit charges
A lawyer for two producers of a high-profile K-pop audition show admitted most of their charges involving vote-rigging during a preparatory hearing on Friday. Ahn Joon-young, a director of Mnet cable TV's "Produce X 101," and the program's chief producer, Kim Yong-beom, were detained early last month after they were accused of having tampered with mobile text message-based voting results of the high-profile show in favor of certain contenders.In July, a vote-rigging scandal hit hard th
Dec. 20, 2019
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Suspended jail terms upheld for Korean Air family in smuggling case
An appellate court on Friday upheld suspended prison terms for the widow and eldest daughter of late Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho for smuggling luxury items.The appellate division of the Incheon District Court sentenced Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of the late chairman and a former vice president of Korean Air, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered her to conduct 80 hours of community service.The same court also sentenced the late chairman's wife, Lee Myung-hee,
Dec. 20, 2019
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Prosecutors probe Aekyung scion over propofol abuse allegation
Chae Seung-seok, son of the Aekyung Group founder and himself formerly CEO of Aekyung Development, is being investigated by prosecutors over alleged abuse of propofol, a highly addictive and short-acting anesthesia.According to legal sources on Friday, Chae, the third son of the group’s Chairwoman Chang Young-shin, was recently interrogated by the prosecution over nonmedical use of propofol. The powerful sedative, a general anesthetic commonly used for surgery, has been the source of contr
Dec. 20, 2019
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Government pledges harsher punishment for online child pornography crimes
The government said Thursday that it would introduce a fresh set of regulations to clamp down on operators and users of child pornography websites.Responding to an online Cheong Wa Dae petition, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok said the administration would support the parliamentary motion to revise laws on child and juvenile protection to raise the maximum penalty for child pornography crimes.The revised laws would subject selling or distributing child pornography to a prison
Dec. 19, 2019
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Suspended sentence upheld for SK Group scion on drug charges
An appellate court on Thursday maintained a lower court's suspended jail sentence against a scion of SK Group, one of the country's largest conglomerates, for use of marijuana. Earlier, Chey Young-geun, a grandson of SK Group founder Chey Jong-gun, was indicted of having bought and habitually consumed some 81 grams of marijuana in the form of cookie or by using cartridges for about a year from March last year. In early September, the Incheon District Court sentenced the 31-year-old Chey to
Dec. 19, 2019
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Stalked by fans, Twice gets police protection
JYP Entertainment on Monday said it has requested police protection for the K-pop girl group Twice over concerns of stalkers.The music label released an official announcement on its website, stating the protective measures have already taken effect in the area surrounding the label’s building in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. The label added the members will be escorted by guards on all their activities. “We are currently reviewing all applicable legal actions (against the stalkers), and whe
Dec. 19, 2019
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National fine dust info center opens
A national fine dust information center opened Thursday as part of government efforts to more systematically and comprehensively manage data related to particulate pollution. Set up under the Ministry of Environment, then National Fine Dust Information Center is tasked with analyzing, gathering and managing data on the causes and sources of particulate pollution, amount of emissions from different sources and the impact of the government’s anti-fine dust policies. The establishme
Dec. 19, 2019
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Sejong University ranks 10th among Korean universities in survey
Sejong University ranked No. 401 in the 2020 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education, the university said Thursday. The Seoul-based university placed 10th among South Korea’s universities, climbing one notch from a year prior. Seoul National University ranked highest in the university league table among Korean universities. The World University Rankings 2020, published in September, evaluated almost 1,400 universities across 92 countries based on 13 performance indicators that
Dec. 19, 2019