Most Popular
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Iran’s president found dead at helicopter crash site
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Seoul rolls out W250b package in bid to lure foreign talent
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N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
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Korea's increasing US investment mutually beneficial: report
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AI Seoul Summit to discuss ways to make AI equitable in Global South
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Minister warns against trusting NK stated intentions, says Moon misguided
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South Korea bans viral North Korea propaganda video praising Kim
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Yoon vetoes bill for special probe into young Marine's death
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Hermes celebrates craftsmanship
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After 6-year hiatus, Kia to return to Paris Motor Show in Europe push
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Marine found shot to death on island bordering N. Korea
A non-commissioned officer was found dead on Thursday with an apparently self-inflicted bullet wound in his head at a Marine Corps unit on a western border island near North Korea, military investigators said.The body of the 23-year-old staff sergeant, whose name was withheld, was discovered about 5:43 a.m. near the unit's gym by his comrade, who left the barracks to patrol the coast of Yeonpyeong Island.When the comrade found the soldier dead, the staff sergeant had a K-1 rifle in his left hand
Aug. 18, 2016
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Korea confirms 35 additional victims of toxic humidifier sterilizers
South Korea's government said Thursday it has confirmed 35 additional victims of toxic humidifier disinfectants, including 17 deaths, as a series of trials is under way against the manufacturers of the product and company executives.Following the Ministry of Environment's announcement, the total number of victims confirmed by the government rose to 256.The ministry has been reviewing the cases after receiving 752 applications last year. It was the third time for the ministry to go through the vi
Aug. 18, 2016
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Former Navy chief acquitted of corruption allegations
A local court on Thursday acquitted a former Navy chief who was indicted on charges of unlawfully granting favors to a local firm in the process of supplying parts to the country's indigenous salvage ship, citing a lack of evidence. The Seoul Central District Court found the former Navy chief Jung Ok-keun, not guilty of allegations that he pressured his subordinates to forge a document to help the firm win the contract.Jung held the top naval post from 2008 to 2010, The 3,500-ton Tongyeong was f
Aug. 18, 2016
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User satisfaction of public transportation dips in 2015
Users of South Korea's public transportation system became less satisfied with overall services from a year earlier in 2015 with many pointing to overcrowding as a major problem, a survey showed Thursday.In the annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the country's public transportation system scored 4.78 points out of a possible 7 in terms of user satisfaction, compared with 4.84 points in the previous year.The outcome was based on points given by 83,600 pe
Aug. 18, 2016
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Gov't kicks off antisuicide campaigns
South Korea's health ministry on Thursday said it launched a set of campaigns to prevent suicides in an effort to cope with an uptrend in the number of people taking their own lives.The campaigns aim to create a "life-respecting culture" to ward off suicide attempts and help people who have attempted to kill themselves by asking them if they are "fine," the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.The "Postbox Campaign" will encourage people to write letters and post them on social networking service
Aug. 18, 2016
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ASEAN-Korea Centre to hold essay contest
The ASEAN-Korea Centre will hold the 1st ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest with the Korean Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, organizers said Wednesday.The center, incepted in 2009, aims to promote exchanges among the students on issues related to the region.The contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students in ASEAN and Korean schools. Applicants can choose one of the three themes. They include: ASEAN in the past 50 years, and ASEAN-Korea relations in the next 50 years; where the AS
Aug. 17, 2016
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Blistering summer causes highest hot weather death toll
The heat wave has claimed 16 lives in South Korea as of this month -- the highest number since 2011 when the government started documenting such deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average temperature in Seoul from Aug. 1-15 was 29.8 degrees Celsius this year, the highest since the nation started documenting daily weather in 1907. As of Aug. 15, 16 Koreans have died of heat-related causes, such as heat stroke. In 2012, 15 people died of heat-released di
Aug. 17, 2016
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Migrant workers oppose Employment Permit System
South Korea’s migrant workers called for the abolishment of the Employment Permit System and an end to human rights abuse at workplaces Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the foreign worker policy. Depicting the EPS as a “modern-day slavery” system, an association of more than 100 lawyers, foreigners and labor rights groups urged the government to amend the labor policy to protect migrant workers’ labor rights and human dignity. “The government promotes the Employment Permit System as an advance
Aug. 17, 2016
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Korea to declare itself bird flu-free this week
South Korea is to declare itself free of bird flu later this week as it has not reported any confirmed cases of the virus for the past three months, the government said Wednesday.The declaration slated for Thursday is in accordance with guidelines set by the World Organization for Animal Health and follows detailed tests conducted on 11,738 poultry farms throughout the country in the past three months, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs said. "We've met the OIE requirements to
Aug. 17, 2016
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Authorities warn of rise in lethal mites
South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that the heat wave nationwide is leading to an increased number of virus infections caused by mites that can be lethal.A total of 41 patients have contracted thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), which has a 30 percent fatality rate, from mites this year. This is a 30 percent rise from last year.The surge is caused by the sweltering heat, during which the mites, named Haemaphysalis longicornis, become more active.The SFTS virus infection was first reporte
Aug. 16, 2016
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Education Ministry hints at review of free meal program
Nearly seven in 10 students in Korea benefit from a free school meal program led by municipal education offices, the Education Ministry said Monday, adding that the scheme may be leading to the “worsening quality” of student lunches. According to a report by the ministry, 67.6 percent of elementary, middle and high schools in the nation provide free meals to all students regardless of their families’ income, as of 2016. The proportion was 46.8 percent in 2011. The free lunches cost the schools a
Aug. 16, 2016
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Finance expert to head Environment Minister
Cho Kyeung-kyu, the deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister’s Office, was nominated as the new environment minister Tuesday.Cho is to steer the Environment Ministry, which is responsible for dealing with pending issues such as the toxic humidifier disinfectant tragedy, Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal and fine dust countermeasures.Cho is considered an economic and state policy expert as he served in various government posts dealing with econom
Aug. 16, 2016
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Top court justice nominee espouses security law, abolition of death penalty
Supreme Court justice nominee Kim Jae-hyung on Tuesday espoused the National Security Law, alternative services for faith-based draft objectors and the abolition of capital punishment.In his written answers to questions raised by Saenuri Party Rep. Kim Jin-tae, the top court nominee said that the National Security Law has a role to play, particularly at the time of a continuing military standoff between the two Koreas.Kim, currently a professor at Seoul National University's School of Law, noted
Aug. 16, 2016
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Unclaimed lotto prizes top 100 bln won over 3 yrs
Unclaimed lottery prizes have topped 100 billion won over the past three years in South Korea, government data showed Tuesday.According to the lottery committee of the finance ministry, a total of 138.3 billion won ($125.8 million) in prize money from Lotto, the most popular offline lottery ticket, has been unclaimed by lottery winners in the 2013-2015 period.Out of the 18 million prizewinners who failed to receive their winnings, 13 people won the top prize, with their prizes standing at 21.8 b
Aug. 16, 2016
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South Koreans work more, earn less: OECD report
South Koreans worked the second most hours, but earned less than average compared to other countries last year, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report showed Monday. Out of the 35 OECD member countries, a South Korean laborer worked 2,113 hours on average last year, 347 hours more than the OECD average of 1,766 hours. This amounted to 43 extra working days, considering eight working hours per day based on the law here. According to prices and purchasing power parities, d
Aug. 15, 2016
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[NEWSMAKER] South Korea hit by abnormal heat wave
Seoul has seen the most heat wave days this summer since 1994, while southern port city Busan has recorded its highest temperature in more than a century, according to the state weather agency.Over the weekend, Seoul continued to see daily high temperatures of around 33 degrees Celsius that began last week and daily lows of over 25 degrees Celsius, according to the Korea Meteorological Agency.The temperature soared to 37.3 degrees Celsius in Busan on Sunday, a record high since 1904. Its morning
Aug. 15, 2016
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[FEATURE] DNA test reunites Korean adoptee with birth mother
Kyung Eun Davidson’s earliest memories are of missing her birth mother. Born in 1983 in South Korea, she grew up in Oregon after being adopted by a couple in the U.S. in 1986. Ever since she was 3, Davidson would constantly daydream about her birth mother throughout her childhood.“I remember wishing every night she would come back,” the 33-year-old, who currently lives in Everett, Washington, told The Korea Herald. “I’ve never remembered a time that I did not miss her and want to be with her. My
Aug. 15, 2016
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Group of Korean lawmakers visits Dokdo
A group of South Korean lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties visited their country's easternmost islets of Dokdo on Monday as the nation celebrated the 71st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.The group of 10 lawmakers, led by Saenuri Party Rep. Na Kyung-won, said the trip was intended to reassert South Korea's sovereignty of the islets and was an "inherent" part of their parliamentary activities.It is the first such trip by South Korean lawmakers sin
Aug. 15, 2016
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Prosecutors indict two South Koreans on charges of aiding N.K. operatives
State prosecutors have indicted two South Koreans on charges of aiding North Korean operatives who attempted to smuggle a large number of second-hand tires for military vehicles into the reclusive state, officials said Monday.According to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office, the two people allegedly helped the operatives of the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North's top military intelligence agency, in the smuggling scheme between November 2014 and June last year, in breach of the
Aug. 15, 2016
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National flag to take center stage in Seoul Liberation Day celebrations
South Korea's national flag will take center stage in this year's Liberation Day celebrations, the Seoul metropolitan government said Sunday.The municipal authorities and ward officials said they will prominently use the Taegeukgi, South Korea's flag, to highlight the people's love of their country and liberation from the oppressive Japanese colonial rule (1910-45)."The goal is to cover the city with a wave of Taegeukgi to mark the national holiday that falls on Monday," a Seoul city official s
Aug. 15, 2016