Most Popular
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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[Graphic News] How much do Korean adults read?
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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Korean firms target EV charging market in US
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Five men jailed for gang rape of woman
The Busan High Court on Sunday upheld the appellate ruling on five men in their 20s charged with the aggravated rape of a woman they met through a mobile messaging app. The top court upheld the conviction of the five men and reaffirmed their sentences of five to eight years in prison, highlighting the necessity of strict punishment to prevent repeat offense. Along with the prison sentence, the court ordered 120 hours of sexual offender treatment, identities to be revealed for five years and rest
Aug. 5, 2018
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Cult leaders face prosecution on suspicion of assaulting, confining believers
Police said Friday they have arrested a female pastor and three others on charges of relocating hundreds of followers to the Pacific island country of Fiji and using violence against them as part of a religious rite. Police launched the investigation in September last year after receiving tips that a religious group transferred followers to Fiji after promoting the island as the "last paradise," and assaulted them while preventing them from leaving the island.On Friday, the International Crime
Aug. 3, 2018
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Gov't affirms next year's minimum wage raise won't be changed
South Korea's labor ministry said Friday that the country's 2019 minimum wage will be set as earlier decided, rejecting calls from businesses for the sharp raise to be reconsidered.The ministry posted next year's minimum wage in the government's official gazette, reaffirming the state-commissioned council's recent decision to hike the wage by 10.9 percent to 8,350 won ($7.44) per hour after a 16.4 percent rise this year.The move indicated that the government will not review it in response to com
Aug. 3, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Police widen probe into ‘treasure ship’ scam
Police are widening their investigation into Shinil Group, which claimed to have found a sunken Russian warship carrying gold in an alleged attempt to attract capital.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Sophisticated Crime Investigation Unit took over the case involving the imperial Russian navy cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi which was scuttled by her crew in a 1905 battle with Japan.Choi Yong-seok, CEO of Shinil Group, speaks during a press conference held in Seoul last week. Choi is now banned fro
Aug. 3, 2018
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Former girl group idol investigated for fraud
Former girl group member Shoo of S.E.S. is under investigation for failing to pay back hundreds of millions of won in debt which she used to gamble.The criminal division of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday they are looking into allegations that Shoo, whose real name is Yoo Soo-young, borrowed money from two people at a casino at Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul in June.Former girl group member Shoo of S.E.S. (Herald DB)The two people who lent her 350 million won and 250 millio
Aug. 3, 2018
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Woman found dead after sleeping inside coffin in ‘spiritual ritual’
A woman in her 40s was found dead in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, reportedly after sleeping in a coffin as part of a spiritual ritual, regional police have said. According to police, the woman’s body was found inside a wooden coffin at about 6:30 a.m., Friday. The cause for her death may be suffocation or heat-related given the ongoing heat wave, authorities added. Police believe the woman participated in a religious ritual aimed at bringing good fortune by “getting rid of the bad spirits
Aug. 3, 2018
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Seoul’s nighttime lows hit record high for two consecutive days
Seoul’s nighttime temperature hit a record high for two consecutive days amid the country’s prolonged heat wave, the state weather agency said Friday. The city’s overnight lows hit 30.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday night -- marking the highest nighttime low since the Korean government began recording weather data in 1907, the warmest in 111 years, authorities said. Thursday’s nighttime lows broke the record from the previous night, which recorded 30.3 degrees Celsius. (Yonhap) Seoulites have bee
Aug. 3, 2018
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[KH Explains] Why is ‘appellate court’ at center of judiciary scandal?
One of the major power abuse allegations that Yang Sung-tae, the former Supreme Court chief justice, faces is his use of “politically sensitive” trials as bargaining chips to gain presidential approval for establishing an appellate court in the country’s judiciary. Questions have been raised as to why Yang, along with other judges at the Supreme Court, was so desperate to create the new court that he would lobby lawmakers, Cheong Wa Dae staff under then-President Park-Geun-hye and even journalis
Aug. 2, 2018
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Koreans experience electricity supply failure amid prolonged heat wave
Amid the prolonged heat wave, some 2,000 households in southern Seoul experienced a blackout for about two hours Wednesday, the day Seoul hit a record high of 39.6 degrees Celsius -- the city's highest level in 111 years.The electrical failure occurred in an apartment complex, Eunma Town, which consists of some 4,400 units. The complex was built in the 1970s. A similar incident took place in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where 580 units in an apartment complex lost electricity. (Yonhap) “We will d
Aug. 2, 2018
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Spy-cam footage of teenage girls traded via Tumblr
Hidden-camera clips showing teenagers’ legs and other body parts are being traded on Tumblr, adding to a series of digital sex crime reports to spark public debate and rallies demanding a wider police investigation.Teenage girls wearing the uniform of a high school in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, are filmed in a short video clip posted on a Tumblr account, with a message reading: “Teaser clip for OO high school. For sales or exchange, please message me.” (Yonhap)The seven-second clip shows the girl
Aug. 2, 2018
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UN rules Korea’s mandatory HIV, drug test for foreign teachers violated human rights
The UN Human Rights Committee recently concluded that South Korea had violated the international human rights law in mandating foreign teachers take HIV and drug tests to be issued or granted the extension of visas.In a finding dated July 31, the committee ruled in favor of a petition filed in 2013 by an American teacher, and requested the government to provide adequate compensation to the petitioner. The policy was introduced in December 2007. The HIV testing part was scrapped in 2017, followin
Aug. 2, 2018
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Cases of taking heat wave-stricken people to hospitals triple in July
The number of cases in which rescuers drove ambulances to take people hit by a heat wave across South Korea to hospitals tripled from a year earlier to 1,066 in July, government data showed Thursday. The data from the National Fire Agency also revealed the agency's rescuers were dispatched to deal with drowning accidents 226 times in the month, up from 106 times in the same month last year. During the month, there were 883 cases of rescuers supplying water to areas stricken with drought, a sev
Aug. 2, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Kim Kyoung-soo’s office and home raided in Druking probe
The independent counsel looking into the Druking scandal searched the home and office of South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on Thursday, as it gears up to summon him for questioning. Kim has been implicated in the case since the beginning, but his status in the investigation was changed to that of a suspect just this week. According to reports, Kim could be questioned as early as the weekend. Investigators on Thursday collect materials from the National Assembly office used by South G
Aug. 2, 2018
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Heat-related health incidents spike amid record high temperatures
The number of people suffering from heat-related health conditions is expected to skyrocket this year to well over 20,000 as record high temperatures grip most parts of South Korea, the government said Thursday.According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, 20,964 people visited hospitals for various reasons, including heatstroke and heat exhaustion, in 2016, with numbers falling to 8,819 people last year. (Yonhap)The average mercury stood at 26.7 C in August 2016, lower than the 26.8 C
Aug. 2, 2018
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Seoul sees one of its hottest nights in century
The capital of South Korea experienced one of its hottest nights Wednesday evening since records began in 1907. The continuing heat wave once again broke records after temperatures reached a low of 30.3 degrees Celsius between 6:01 p.m. on Wednesday and 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, the hottest in 111 years.Wednesday’s temperatures in Seoul reached 39.6 C at one point, becoming the hottest day in history.(Yonhap)The scorching heat wave will continue across the country Thursday, with temperatures reach
Aug. 2, 2018
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Sex crime reports rise despite decrease in overall crimes
Sex crime reports are continuing to increase in Korea despite a decline in overall crimes.One of the reasons is because more people are speaking up amid a changing social perception of sex crimes.“Sex crimes are the most underreported crimes,” according to an official the National Police Agency. (123rf)“Previously, many women were reluctant to report that they were victims of sex crimes, but now more people are reporting, and this is one of the reasons of the increase in the number of cases.”Whi
Aug. 1, 2018
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Panel allows recovery of citizenship after faltered marriage
An administrative appeals panel under the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog ruled against the Justice Ministry’s refusal to reinstate the Korean citizenship of a woman whose marriage to an Iranian man faltered as the husband was banned from re-entering Korea due to his criminal record.The Korean woman married an Iranian man in January 2015, registered their marriage the following month and automatically became an Iranian citizen under Iranian law, which grants citizenship to women who marry Iran
Aug. 1, 2018
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Floor leader says Liberty Korea Party falsely accused of collaborating with martial law plan
Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said Tuesday that his party has been falsely accused by the Moon Jae-in administration of having been complicit with the Defense Security Command’s recently revealed plan to declare martial law in 2017, involving the deployment of tanks and special forces. The recently disclosed document was apparently drawn up in the event the Constitutional Court ruled against the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye. Massive mo
Aug. 1, 2018
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[Graphic News] More than 50% of seniors engage in economic activity
Over 50 percent of South Korea's elderly are engaged in economic activity due to lack of preparation for retirement, and many are doing so for a living, government data showed. According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, Koreans aged 55 to 79 numbered 13.44 million as of May this year, up 512,000 from a year earlier. The employment rate was 55.2 percent, up 0.2 percentage points over the same period.
Aug. 1, 2018
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1 Korean, 3 Filipinos held captive for nearly a month in Libya
A South Korean man and three Filipinos have been held captive in Libya for 27 days by an unidentified armed group, a Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday. The four were abducted at a water plant in Jabal Hasouna in western Libya on July 6, according to the official. The Foreign Ministry said it had been making all-out efforts to secure the release of the Korean man. But it has asked the Korean press to refrain from reporting the case out of fear that the publicity could adversely affect the
Aug. 1, 2018