Most Popular
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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
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Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats
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Samsung doubles down on Vietnam
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In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
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NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
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Controversy brews over shakeup of prosecutors amid probe of first lady
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Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
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Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal
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Govt. to regulate synthetic nicotine as tobacco through legislation
The government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to designate synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco in order to regulate the product category seeing growing popularity among young smokers, according to officials Wednesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to push for a revision of the law to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco under the Tobacco Business Act, according to officials. In South Korea, tobacco-related laws are man
May 15, 2024
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[Graphic News] 1 out of 5 restaurants closed last year
The closing rate of restaurant businesses in South Korea exceeded 20 percent last year, higher than during the height of the COVID-19 period. According to the FinTech company Pinda's big data business analysis platform, “Open Up,” 176,258 out of 818,867 restaurants closed last year, with a closing rate of 21.52 percent. This means that more than 1 out of 5 restaurants closed. The number of restaurants that closed last year surged by 82.6 percent from 96,530 in 2020. The closin
May 15, 2024
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Another suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested in Cambodia
A South Korean man has been arrested in Cambodia for his alleged involvement in the murder of a South Korean tourist and abandoning his body in Thailand, officials said Tuesday. The suspect, 27, was nabbed at a lodging in Phnom Penh at around midnight following a tip-off that a South Korean suspected of involvement in the case was spotted in the area. Police have been tracing the whereabouts of the man after confirming that he had fled to Cambodia. He is one of three South Koreans suspected
May 14, 2024
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Guidelines introduced to prevent deaths from extreme summer weather
The government will focus its efforts on preventing further loss of human lives during periods of heavy rain and heat waves for the upcoming summer season, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Tuesday. The Interior Ministry convened a joint meeting on the same day with officials from the Ministry of Environment, the National Fire Agency, the Korean National Police Agency and local governments to discuss strategies for preventing human casualties from natural disasters during the summer seaso
May 14, 2024
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S. Korea to inject $70m into AI-powered public education
The South Korean government said Tuesday that it would inject 96.3 billion won ($70 million) into improving digital infrastructure and developing digital textbooks at public schools in a bid to kickstart teaching and learning powered by artificial intelligence. Initiating the project for third and fourth-graders at elementary schools and first-grade students at middle and high schools, the government aims to alleviate the burden placed on schools and teachers for administrating and managing digi
May 14, 2024
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Ministry, doctors clash over decision process of expansion plan
The government and doctors continued their fight Monday over whether the expansion plan to have 2,000 more students starting next year has been determined through appropriate procedures ahead of a court's ruling set for this week. The medical community lashed out at the document presented by the government, claiming it shows the decision was made "arbitrarily without logical justification." The document showed that Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong proposed having 2,000 more medical s
May 13, 2024
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[Herald Interview] S. Korea, EU embrace 'great opportunities' for advancing climate action: envoy
South Korea and the European Union share great opportunities for further cooperation in addressing climate change and its impacts not only on a bilateral level but also across the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond, EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez said. "For the EU, the Republic of Korea is one of the key like-minded partners in the context of climate and environment, with the shared values and common goals against the climate crisis," Castillo Fernandez sai
May 13, 2024
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Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
Police in South Korea arrested a man under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, according to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency on Monday. According to police officials, a Korean man in his 20s was apprehended at his home in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on Sunday evening and placed under emergency arrest for allegedly murdering a man and abandoning his body. The police had been tracking the suspect’s whereabouts after learning that he had
May 13, 2024
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Seoul Metro seeks solutions to scare away pigeons
Seoul Metro has installed spikes to keep pigeons from roosting in its stations and will introduce more such measures, it said Monday. The operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1 through 8 announced that it has introduced spikes and would soon adopt other measures to deter pigeons and other birds, including nets, bird repellent gel and ultrasonic bird repellers. These measures have come as complaints about birds have increased. Seoul Metro said it received 131 total complaints about pigeons specific
May 13, 2024
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Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal
A Korean American pastor accused of gifting a luxury Christian Dior handbag valued at 3 million won ($2,210) to first lady Kim Keon Hee in September 2022 was summoned and questioned by prosecutors for the first time Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sought to investigate the motive behind Choi Jae-young’s decision to hand the luxury bag to Kim, while using a spy cam to secretly film the meeting, according to officials. Whether Choi violated the nation’s Improper S
May 13, 2024
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Resources to protect kids on way to school inadequate: report
Despite South Korea witnessing an alarming average of over 89,000 children involved in traffic accidents annually for the past three years, recent data unveiled on Monday that Seoul suffers from inadequate resources to safeguard them from such accidents within school zones. Typically, elementary schools need at least six people per school to guide and direct students at crosswalks near schools. However, across the country's 565 public elementary schools, a total of 767 staff responsible for
May 13, 2024
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Ice cube alert: Viral YouTube video exposes dangers of unclean ice machines
Frequently used but unclean ice-making equipment at cafes and restaurants has stirred concern online due to a YouTube video that went viral, drawing attention to the potential health risks posed by ingesting ice cubes from such machines. In an April video posted on the Korean YouTube channel, I am a Businessperson, (direct translation) featuring salespeople and other businesspeople, a cleaning service provider in his 50s, specializing in air conditioning and ice maker maintenance, underscores
May 13, 2024
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More than quarter of young couples have no kids: study
More than a quarter of Korean couples aged between 25 and 39 were childless in 2022, a study showed Monday, with a substantial increase in the ratio of DINK -- double income, no kids -- couples among young South Koreans. The Korea Labor Institute report analyzed the trend of young married couples, particularly related to households with the head of the family aged between 25 and 39. The study showed that the percentage of couples without kids in the 25-39 age group came to 27.1 percent, up almos
May 13, 2024
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Autopsy confirms man beaten to death, allegedly by wife, daughter
An autopsy has confirmed that a man in his 50s was beaten to death, with local police suspecting the perpetrators to be the man's wife and teenage daughter. The National Forensic Service conducted an autopsy on the victim on Saturday and submitted its opinion on the victim's cause of death, according to Yangju Police Station in Gyeonggi Province. The NFS will perform toxicology tests on the victim to check for drugs, the results of which will take another two to three weeks. The vict
May 13, 2024
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Woman jailed for swindling multiple men in romance scam
A South Korean woman has been sentenced by a court to three years in prison for swindling 670 million won ($490,000) from three male victims by pretending to be in a romantic relationship with them, although investigators believe there may be more victims. The defendant was found guilty of fraud by the Ulsan District Court, officials said Monday. She was accused of extorting money from three male victims, each in their 30s, 40s and 50s, from September of 2018 to October 2023, while posing as a
May 13, 2024
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Seoul fires civil servant for poor performance for first time
The concept of the "iron rice bowl" -- a Korean term signifying lifetime job security for civil servants -- appears to be cracking, as the Seoul government fired an employee on the basis of poor performance for the first time. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s official gazette, released Monday, the employment contract of the official, among the four who received the lowest grade in performance, has been terminated after the person received the lowest possible rat
May 13, 2024
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[Graphic News] Over 80% of people filing bankruptcy in Seoul in their 50s and older
More than 8 out of 10 people who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were in their 50s and older, with many of them found to be male and people living alone, data showed. Of the 1,361 valid applications filed with the Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center last year, 86 percent were from those in their 50s or older, and 83.5 percent were recipients of basic living allowances from the government, according to survey results from the center. Of them, 64.4 percent were male, while single-p
May 13, 2024
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1 passenger dies after falling overboard on cruise ship
A passenger died after falling overboard on a cruise ship operating in the East Sea, authorities said Sunday. The 65-year-old passenger was transported to a nearby hospital after being rescued at 2:30 p.m., where the victim later died, according to the Gangwon State Fire Headquarters and the Korea Coast Guard. Two crew members also jumped into the sea to rescue the victim, with one of them being treated at the hospital for symptoms of hypothermia. The ship departed from Jumunjin, a port on the e
May 12, 2024
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
The Korean government's plan to increase the number of medical students starting next year will soon take shape as the Seoul High Court is expected to deliver its decision this week on the medical circle's request to suspend the implementation of the planned medical student quota hike. If the court rejects the appeal filed by medical professors, students and junior doctors against the government's hike in the medical school quota in 32 medical schools, the government will likely a
May 12, 2024
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
The South Korean prosecution is gearing up to summon Korean American pastor Choi Jae-young whose spy camera footage shows him meeting with first lady Kim Keon Hee and giving her a Christian Dior handbag valued at 3 million won ($2,210). The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office is scheduled to question Choi officially on Monday for the first time. It comes in the wake of the video's public disclosure last November by local media outlet and YouTube channel Voice of Seoul. The outle
May 12, 2024