Most Popular
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Do Korean doctors make too much money?
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Korean industries gauge impact of Biden's steep tariffs on China
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Is FTC's conglomerate listing a boon or bane for Hybe?
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NewJeans to headline palace show
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Coupang's Kim Bom escapes chaebol chief designation again
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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S. Korea on highest alert for foot-and-mouth outbreak
The South Korean government Thursday raised the country’s foot-and-mouth disease watch level to “serious,” the highest in the country’s disease control system, after two different virus strains were confirmed. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs issued a travel ban for all livestock in the country, while ordering tougher quarantine and sterilization measures. Eighty-six livestock markets across the nation will be closed while the ban is in place. It comes less than two days after
Feb. 9, 2017
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Korea confirmed to have 47,000 indigenous species of animals, plants
South Korea is confirmed to have more than 47,000 indigenous species of animals and plants for the first time in 20 years, with more than 100,000 native species presumed to exist on the entire Korean Peninsula, a state-run think tank said Thursday.The National Institute of Biological Resources, affiliated with the Environment Ministry, put the number of the country's indigenous biological species at 47,003 as of December last year, which it has listed as part of a project to establish a comprehe
Feb. 9, 2017
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Son of sunken ferry owner ordered to compensate govt.
A Seoul court on Thursday ordered the eldest son of the late owner of a ferry, which sank in 2014 killing more than 300, to pay 75 million won ($65,000) in compensation to the government for its handling of the disaster.The ferry Sewol sank in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast on April 16, 2014.The government sued Yoo Dae-kyun, son of the ferry's late owner Yoo Byung-eun, for 3.54 billion won for the cost involved in handling the disaster, including compensation to the families of the
Feb. 9, 2017
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Husbands more satisfied with marriages than wives: survey
Husbands are more satisfied with their marriages than wives in South Korea, a survey showed Thursday, indicating that married men's involvement in household work is still insufficient. The survey of 476 married men and 576 married women, conducted between June and November last year, showed that 72.2 percent of the husbands described their marriages as "positive," compared with53.7 percent of the wives who said so. The survey was jointly conducted by the state-run Korea Institute for Health and
Feb. 9, 2017
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Park's confidante answers summons for questioning
Special prosecutors questioned the jailed friend of President Park Geun-hye on Thursday after she answered a summons in an unexpected move ahead of a face-to-face interrogation of the president. Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal rocking the country, appeared before Independent Counsel Park Young-soo's team at its office in southern Seoul. It was the first time in weeks for her to comply with a summons voluntarily.Choi Soon-sil appears before the Independent Cou
Feb. 9, 2017
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Korea to build 900 kilometers in new roads in 2017
South Korea will extend national roads by over 900 kilometers this year, greatly improving the accessibility of the entire nation while also helping boost the local economy, the government said Thursday.Also, more than 60 percent of 7.3 trillion won ($6.37 billion) in government budget earmarked for the construction of new roads will be utilized in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.In total, the ministry plans to build 918 kilometers of n
Feb. 9, 2017
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Doctors could face punishment for posting cadaver photo
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has begun to review whether to punish a group of doctors for publicly posting a photo of them posing with a cadaver during training for surgical techniques, ministry officials said Wednesday.The five medical professionals, including an orthopedic surgeon from an unspecified university hospital, posted the photograph on the Internet Tuesday after taking part in a cadaver dissection workshop at a Seoul hospital on Saturday, drawing flak from the general public.On
Feb. 8, 2017
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Quarantine agency to overhaul cow vaccination system
The state quarantine agency said Wednesday it will revise its livestock vaccination system after an animal disease outbreak revealed unrealistic sampling that allowed farm owners to disregard necessary prevention.Two cases of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed at cattle farms in the southern part of the country this week, raising alarm against what could lead to mass culling if not contained quickly.The outbreak also raised questions after the government announced that very few of the cows at
Feb. 8, 2017
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Appeals court backs expulsion of Korean-American over pro-NK remarks
A Seoul appeals court on Wednesday rejected a suit filed by a Korean-American woman to nullify the government's expulsion of her for making pro-North Korea remarks during her talk shows in 2014.The Seoul High Court upheld last year's lower court ruling in favor of the government decision, citing concerns that she could harm the country's national interests. Shin Eun-mi was accused in late 2014 by conservative civic groups of violating the National Security Law by making comments sympathetic to t
Feb. 8, 2017
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Court ruling casts questions on South Korea's other aged nuclear reactors
A court ruling overturning a government decision to extend operation of a nuclear reactor has brought the country's other aged reactors back into the spotlight, about a third of them due to expire in lifespan within 10 years.South Korea has 25 reactors currently running as of Wednesday.According to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, eight of them have expiry dates in the years between 2023 and 2027. While most of the reactors were initially given 40 years of operational license, two wer
Feb. 8, 2017
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Gay rights groups call for LGBT-inclusive education at school
Civic groups in support of sexual minorities on Wednesday called for the abolishment of the Education Ministry’s sex education policy which excludes any mention of sexual minorities, calling it “discriminatory.”“The Education Ministry should discard the sex education guidelines which only promote discrimination and prejudice against sexual minorities and should opt to give LGBT-inclusive education,” they said during a press conference held in front of the government complex in central Seoul.The
Feb. 8, 2017
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Foot-and-mouth disease reported in capital area
A cow farm in the capital area reported a suspected case of the foot-and-mouth disease Wednesday, officials said, following a series of outbreaks earlier in the week.Ten cows were reported to show symptoms of the virus, such as drooling and blisters, at the farm in Yeoncheon County, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the local officials. They said they will carry out an inspection of the farm where some 100 milk cows are being raised. (Yonhap)It marks the first time the disease has been
Feb. 8, 2017
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Concierge services expand to ordinary expats
What do you do if you need to leave the country before your money does?It’s a common conundrum, even if it shouldn’t be: The last paycheck comes in after someone leaves the country for good. But one US citizen found the solution in a local concierge service.“He asked us to help recover the money in the account and transfer it to him in USA,” said Angie Kang of We Can Help in Korea. (We Can Help in Korea)“It was not an easy task and required a great deal of work, including creating power of attor
Feb. 7, 2017
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Court metes out prison term to ex-cybercommand official for political postings
An appeals court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior official of South Korea's cyberwarfare command to 18 months in jail for posting illegal political comments during the 2012 presidential election.The 63-year-old man, identified only by his surname Lee, was indicted in 2013 on charges of colluding with fellow agents of the defense unit to create more than 12,000 online postings against liberal politicians in breach of their duty to maintain political neutrality.President Park Geun-hye won the
Feb. 7, 2017
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High court upholds 4-year jail term for Korean for Yasukuni bombing
The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a South Korean man to four years in prison for detonating a time bomb in a public restroom at a controversial Tokyo war shrine in 2015.The 28-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Chon, was found guilty in July last year by the Tokyo District Court of breaking into the premises of the Yasukuni Shrine on Nov. 23, 2015, and setting up the bomb in a public restroom. The incident, which resulted in no loss of life
Feb. 7, 2017
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Court orders govt. to halt nuclear reactor
A Seoul court ordered the government Tuesday to cancel its decision to extend the operation of a nuclear reactor that was supposed to go offline in 2012.The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of an injunction sought by a group of local residents to annul the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's approval of a 10-year extension of the lifespan of the Wolseong-1 reactor in Gyeongju, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The court cited the failure of the state-run nuclear watchdog to f
Feb. 7, 2017
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Special counsel indicts Kim, Cho over blacklist
The special counsel team investigating the President Park Geun-hye scandal indicted four more of her former aides on Tuesday, including the chief of staff and a culture minister, on charges that they were involved in the creation of a blacklist of artists deemed critical of the Park administration. With the indictments of Kim Ki-choon, Cho Yoon-sun, Kim Sang-ryul and Kim So-young, the team is close to wrapping up its inquiry into the blacklist allegation, part of its multifaceted investigation i
Feb. 7, 2017
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2nd foot and mouth case confirmed
South Korea reported this year’s second foot and mouth disease infection at a cattle farm in North Jeolla Province, a day after the first outbreak was reported.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday that about 50 cows at the farm in North Jeolla Province were confirmed to have contracted the virus. All infected livestock were culled. According to the investigation, the affected cows had been infected by the O-type strain of foot and mouth, the most common type of the di
Feb. 7, 2017
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Ex-minister, ex-presidential chief of staff indicted over artists blacklist
A former culture minister and an ex-presidential chief of staff were indicted Tuesday over allegations they created a blacklist of cultural figures deemed critical of the Park Geun-hye administration, investigators said.The probe team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, said ex-Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former top presidential secretary Kim Ki-choon have been charged with abuse of authority and coercion for allegedly interfering in ministry officials' duties by creating and managing the
Feb. 7, 2017
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33 companies nabbed for illegal sales of toxic chemicals
Thirty-three local chemical manufacturers were caught illegally producing and selling toxic chemicals that were tied to the country’s worst chemical scandal over humidifier disinfectants, the Environment Ministry said Tuesday. In breach of the Chemicals Control Act, the companies did not win prior government approval to manufacture and distribute polyhexamethylene guanidine, or PHMG, a toxicoid listed by the ministry as a toxic chemical substance as forbidden or restricted for use in some househ
Feb. 7, 2017