Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Trial into ousted Park to gain speed
The trial involving former President Park Geun-hye, who is on trial over a series of corruption allegations, will accelerate starting this week, with the court adding one more hearing per week.The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to hold four hearings every week to look into the alleged bribery allegations involving Samsung Group on Mondays and Tuesdays, and SK and Lotte Group on Thursdays and Fridays. Park, who remains in detention, is on trial over a total of 18 charges including brib
June 11, 2017
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Hospital charges for children to be slashed
The government plans to push to slash hospital charges for children aged 15 and younger, the Health Ministry said Sunday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it had launched a discussion on the plan to expand the coverage of health insurance as part of efforts to reduce financial burdens facing parents. (123rf)When children in the age group are hospitalized, the government will support 95 percent of medical fees through the health insurance, falling in line with one of the key election pled
June 11, 2017
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Massive blackout occurs in Seoul‘s southwestern areas, satellite cities
A power substation malfunctioned Sunday, causing a massive blackout in some southwestern districts in Seoul and regions just south of the capital, South Korea's state-run electricity monopoly said.Yeongseo Substation, located in Gwangmyeong, near Seoul, suffered a partial breakdown around 12:53 p.m. causing a disruption in the electrical power supply, according to the Korea Electric Power Corp. and the city government.This provided photo on June 11, 2017, shows the dark interior at Techno Mart d
June 11, 2017
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Audit agency likely to launch probe into 4 rivers refurbishment project
South Korea's state audit agency is expected to soon announce the launch of its probe into a controversial project ordered by a former president to refurbish the country's four main rivers, sources said Sunday.The move comes as President Moon Jae-in on May 22 ordered a "policy inspection" on the decision-making process of the 22 trillion-won ($20 billion) project. (Yonhap)In 2008, the project was launched under the Lee Myung-bak administration to clean up rivers, and mitigate seasonal floods and
June 11, 2017
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Female army officer bashed for not covering for sex offender
A female Army major was ordered to intervene to settle a sexual harassment case on behalf of a male officer by pretending to be the suspect’s sister, reports from the South Korean Army and National Human Rights Commission showed Sunday.According to a petition filed by the major who was unnamed, she had worked as a professor at the Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and faced career disadvantages after defying a colonel’s request in 2015 to settle a sexual harassment cas
June 11, 2017
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South Korea’s energy industry at crossroads
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approach toward energy production is raising hopes for the end of coal and nuclear power plants in the country.The liberal leader -- an advocate of nuclear-zero Korea -- and his administration have unveiled a roadmap to reduce reliance on nuclear and coal energy, citing public concerns over air pollution and nuclear safety.At present, 25 reactors are in service and the Moon administration aims to begin by shutting down aged facilities and eventually phasing o
June 11, 2017
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‘KAIST most innovative university in Asia’
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology has topped the “Asia-Pacific region’s Most Innovative Universities” list for advanced science. Located in Daejeon, Seoul and Busan, South Korea’s top science and engineering university has come in first on the list two years in a row, according to an announcement Thursday released by Reuters in partnership with research firm Clarivate Analytics.Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon (Photo courtesy of KAIST)Key criteria
June 11, 2017
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Moon Jae-in thanks Twitter CEO
South Korean President Moon Jae-in showed his gratitude to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Sunday in a tweet after the chief congratulated the presidential office's new Twitter account. “Thank you, @jack. I very much look forward to communicating with people through twitter,” Moon said in a tweet in English through the presidential office’s official account. (Screen captured from Twitter)The tweet comes after Dorsey left a tweet in Korean to congratulate Moon on the launch of the Blue House’s new Tw
June 11, 2017
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Near half of households suffer some kind of crisis: poll
Nearly half of South Korean households have suffered some kind of crisis, with financial difficulties cited as the prime culprit, a poll showed Sunday.According to the survey of 1,500 people aged 20-64 taken by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in July last year, some 46 percent said they have endured a family crisis during their lifetime.The state think tank carried the results of the telephone survey in a recently published report titled "Characteristics of Family Crises in a C
June 11, 2017
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Former defense official draws jail term for bribery
A former defense ministry official has been sentenced to five years in jail for receiving bribes in connection with military facility construction projects, the Seoul Central District Court said Saturday.The court handed down the hefty punishment to the former head of the Ministry of Defense's Defense Installations Agency, identified only as a 64-year-old Kim, after convicting him of pocketing 80 million won ($71,000) in bribes from a special door manufacturer in return for helping it be chosen
June 10, 2017
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Court issues arrest warrant for daughter of Sewol ferry owner
INCHEON -- A local court issued an arrest warrant on Friday for a daughter of a late businessman who controlled the operator of a sunken ferry that killed hundreds of passengers in 2014.The Incheon District Court issued the warrant for Yoo Sum-na, the daughter of Yoo Byung-eun, the de facto owner of Cheonghaejin Marine Co., in light of risks that she "might flee or destroy evidence." Yoo Sum-na, the daughter of the late Yoo Byung-eun, the de facto owner of the Sewol ferry, arrives at the Incheon
June 9, 2017
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Ex-President Park’s sister indicted for fraud
Former President Park Geun-hye’s sister is facing a criminal trial of her own, accused of fraud. The Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office said on Friday it has arraigned Park Geun-ryoung, the younger sister of the former leader, for receiving 100 million won ($89,100) in total from the head of a social welfare organization on a false promise of helping them land governmental contracts in 2014. Park Geun-ryoung (Yonhap)The prosecution, however, did not seek her physical detention. The 63-year-old
June 9, 2017
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Korea to shut down oldest nuclear reactor
South Korea will close down its oldest nuclear reactor in mid-June, after four decades of operations. The state-run Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved the permanent shutdown of Kori No. 1, the first nuclear reactor set up in the country in 1977. Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan (Yonhap)Kori No. 1, located in the southern port city of Busan, will cease operations at midnight on June 18. Officials will then relocate spent nuclear fuel stored inside the rector to a liquid sodium-coole
June 9, 2017
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More than half of S. Koreans not brushing teeth after lunch: study
More than half of adults in South Korea do not brush their teeth after lunch, a survey revealed Friday. According to the data, released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the country’s oral health day, 51.7 percent of people aged 19 and older who participated in the annual Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey said they skip brushing their teeth after lunch. (123rf)Only 16.6 percent said they had their teeth cleaned by a dentist in 2015. The ministry said it aims to increa
June 9, 2017
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Number of foreign students learning Korean tops 115,000
The number of foreign students learning the Korean language outside the Korean Peninsula swelled by over 50,000 from 2011-2016 to top 115,000, government data showed Friday.A total of 1,309 elementary and secondary schools in 27 foreign countries were operating Korean language courses as of 2016, up 88.3 percent from the 695 schools in 22 countries in 2011, according to Ministry of Education data analyzed and released by the Seoul-based Haneul Education Corp. (Yonhap)The number of students enrol
June 9, 2017
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Osteoarthritis patients more susceptible to suicidal impulses: survey
Patients suffering from degenerative joint disease are two times more susceptible to suicidal impulses than healthy people, a survey showed Friday.Male osteoarthritis patients have stronger impulses to take their own lives, the poll on 8,271 people taken by professors at Korea University Medical Center said. The medical center collected the data between 2010 and 2012. (Yonhap)Comparable numbers for female patients suffering from osteoarthritis was 1.5 times higher than ordinary people.Male oste
June 9, 2017
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Ex-President Park's sister indicted on charges of fraud
Former President Park Geun-hye's sister has been indicted on charges of fraud, the prosecution said Friday.Park Geun-ryoung, a younger sibling of the ousted former president, is accused of receiving 100 million won ($89,000) in checks from the head of a social welfare organization in 2014 after promising to secure a supply contract for its products with a public corporation.According to prosecutors, Park had no connections to the relevant person at the public corporation and was not in a positio
June 9, 2017
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‘Comfort women’ victims support Kang Kyung-wha for FM
Victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery voiced their support for Kang Kyung-wha as foreign minister of South Korea on Thursday. “(Nominee) Kang Kyung-wha should be appointed as foreign minister,” said Lee Yong-soo, one of the three victims present at the conference held in Seoul. “Kang visited (on Friday) and consoled us with tears in her eyes. She promised to solve the comfort women issue, if appointed.” (Yonhap)Last week, Kang visited the House of Sharing in Gwangju, a shelter for the former “
June 8, 2017
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6 in 10 Koreans oppose same-sex marriage
Six in 10 South Koreans still oppose the legalization of same-sex marriages, a local poll showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted on 1,004 adults by Gallup Korea, 34 percent of the respondents supported same-sex marriages, while 58 percent of them opposed it. Some 8 percent reserved their answers. The findings showed a huge generational gap on the issue: The older they were the more likely they were to hold a negative view.(123rf)A majority of 20-something people, or 66 percent, were in
June 8, 2017
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Policy advisory panel to put highest priority on tackling low birthrate
The head of South Korea's presidential policy advisory panel said Thursday that he will put the highest priority on tackling the country's chronic low birthrate in order to bolster growth potential."Solving the sluggish birthrate is the pressing task that will decide the future of South Korea," Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of the State Affairs Policy Planning Committee, said before being briefed by related ministries including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
June 8, 2017