Most Popular
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5 days to US election, North Korea fires ICBM with longest flight yet
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Controversial US YouTuber faces travel ban, police investigation
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Thai K-pop fans’ online protest against Hybe intensifies
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Looking for love, and drama? 'I am Solo' now casting foreign residents
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Samsung vows to boost AI chip sales after earnings miss
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N. Korea fires ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS
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Opposition accuses Yoon of favoritism, election meddling
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Will 'APT.' revive Korean drinking games? We asked Korean drinkers
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Group cancels scattering leaflets in NK amid security risks
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Korean serial killer 'haunted by victims' ghosts' in prison, TV show reveals
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[Editorial] Trump risk at large
South Korea faces a plethora of risks this year, and among the most chilling is Donald Trump’s probable election as US president. Given his history as US president from 2017-2021, the gist of his foreign policy is clear: America will cut its spending on collective defense with its allies, unless they significantly increase their share of the funding. This will likely include less military drills with South Korea and Japan. During a campaign rally last Saturday, Trump complained about what
Feb. 16, 2024
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[Editorial] Fast-paced AI race
The South Korean government seems to be aware that artificial intelligence increasingly plays a crucial role in diverse technology sectors and it is imperative to invest more in related industries through research and development. In a sign of its awareness, the Ministry of Science and ICT focused on digital transformation and job creation through AI initiatives Tuesday when it unveiled its major yearly plans for this year. As with other state-run policies with budget limitations, however, the S
Feb. 15, 2024
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[Editorial] A third party
A whirlwind merger among different political parties ahead of the general elections is nothing new in South Korea, but it reached a whole new level this time. Former leaders of the two main parties who are miles apart on the ideological spectrum teamed up amid growing voter disorientation with the rival parties. Four parties and factions led by lawmakers who recently quit the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea agreed to unite as a single party over the Lu
Feb. 14, 2024
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[Editorial] Hasty push for platform act
Regulators around the world are keen to keep dominant market players from abusing their overwhelming power to eliminate smaller and nascent rivals. South Korea’s top antitrust regulator attempted to legislate an act to prevent such unfair practice, only to face fierce protests -- even from small startups the agency had intended to protect. Last week, the Fair Trade Commission publicly admitted it needs more in-depth and extensive discussions with industries and stakeholders in pushing the
Feb. 13, 2024
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[Editorial] Greater cause
Medical schools across the country will admit 2,000 more students starting from the next school year, raising the total annual quota to 5,058, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The planned increase in the number of people trained as physicians comes as South Korea suffers from a deadly shortage of doctors outside the greater Seoul area and in life-saving specialties such as pediatrics, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and emergency medicine. The government plans to revise t
Feb. 10, 2024
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[Editorial] Diverging trends
South Korea’s policymakers on Wednesday received two positive signals that share largely the same conclusion: A recovery in exports continues to ease the economic slowdown. The first piece of good news came from the Bank of Korea, whose preliminary data shows the country recorded a current account surplus for the eighth month in a row in December, helped by an increase in trade surplus and dividends from overseas. The second piece of upbeat news was reported by the state-run Korea Developm
Feb. 9, 2024
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[Editorial] Project financing debacle
South Korea’s financial regulators remain jittery about growing risks linked to real estate project financing loans. No wonder, then, that financial officials have been actively issuing more warnings with more details. One notable change is that their warnings are now coming with more explicit expressions. For instance, Lee Bok-hyun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, called real estate PF risks a “detonator” hooked up to the Korean economy at a press conference hel
Feb. 7, 2024
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[Editorial] Medical reform
The government unveiled a set of measures on Sunday to revamp the national health insurance system to raise the compensation for general surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, emergency physicians, pediatricians and obstetricians in a bid to ease the shortage of doctors in those lifesaving fields. As the dearth of physicians has reached deadly levels in provincial regions, the Ministry of Health and Welfare also plans to announce this week a major increase of the annual medical school admission quot
Feb. 6, 2024
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[Editorial] Gap in economic growth
The US and Europe have long been deemed the twin pillars driving prosperity in the Western world. Recent trends, however, suggest the center of gravity is shifting toward the US, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea. In the report titled “Background and Implications of Differential Growth Trends in the US and Europe," the BOK analyzes the key factors that resulted in different paces of growth in the two economic heavyweights, and offers takeaway points for a Korea that
Feb. 5, 2024
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[Editorial] Rules of the game
With under 70 days left to the general election on April 10, South Korea's two main parties are yet to decide on the rules of the game. As separate splinter parties formed by former leaders of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea may or may not join forces, the process of setting election rules is likely to drag on until the last minute. The key question is over the method of proportional representation, through which 47 lawmakers are elected to the 300-member National A
Feb. 2, 2024
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[Editorial] Deepfakes pose real threat
Sexually explicit fake images of Taylor Swift, widely believed to have been generated by artificial intelligence tools, spread on social media last week at a dizzying pace, deeply alarming government officials, security experts, actors and many others. The high-profile incident might be blamed on the widely expected side effects of generative AI, which is capable of creating fake photos using real images circulating on the internet. This creates an environment in which "deepfakes," fak
Feb. 1, 2024
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[Editorial] Rush of retakers
Any change related to college admissions is an issue of paramount interest in South Korea, as it concerns not only pupils in middle and high schools, but also hundreds of thousands of high school graduates who plan to retake the annual state-administered exam. The retakers, known as “jaesusaeng” (second-timers), “samsusaeng” (third-timers) and “N-susaeng” (those sitting for the Suneung for the Nth time), are either already enrolled in colleges or are not regis
Jan. 31, 2024
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[Editorial] Slow growth concerns
When the Bank of Korea announced last week that the country’s real gross domestic product inched up just 1.4 percent in 2023, the reaction from policymakers and the media remained largely the same: dismay and concern. Although the figure is technically in line with earlier projections from the government and the central bank, it is disappointing that Korea’s economic growth hit the lowest level in three years -- even though there was no profound crisis like the pandemic. The key econ
Jan. 30, 2024
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[Editorial] Politics of hatred
It is certainly one of the most harrowing beginnings to a year. Just 23 days after main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by a man who approached him asking for an autograph, Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the ruling People Power Party was struck on the head multiple times by a 14-year-old boy on Thursday. The boy, born in 2009, reportedly said he was a criminal minor, but he is not, as the Criminal Act exempts only those under 14 years of age from punishmen
Jan. 29, 2024
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[Editorial] Scrapping outdated rules
The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Monday announced it would push for a set of reform measures designed to lift regulations that hinder people’s livelihoods or cause inconvenience. Among the measures, two plans stand out: scrapping a handset subsidy ban and doing away with big retailers’ mandatory Sunday closures. These regulations have long been criticized for their questionable effects while placing extra burden on the public. Behind the government's attempt to abolish the Mo
Jan. 26, 2024
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[Editorial] The handbag quandary
First lady Kim Keon Hee’s alleged acceptance of a designer handbag from a Korean American pastor in September 2022, caught on spy cam, has become something the presidential office must address. The pastor, Choi Jae-young, conspired with a YouTube channel called Voice of Seoul to film his meeting with Kim using a camera on his watch, without informing Kim that she was being filmed. Choi said in a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday that he decided to “collect evidence&
Jan. 25, 2024
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[Editorial] Workplace safety matters
Concerns are mounting as the two-year grace period for small firms on a workplace safety law is set to expire this week, after major parties failed to agree on granting an additional grace period. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party sought an additional two-year grace period for the enforcement of the Serious Disasters Punishment Act for firms with fewer than 50 employees. The ruling party held a series of negotiations with the main opposition Democratic Party of K
Jan. 24, 2024
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[Editorial] K-drama in reality
President Yoon Suk Yeol threads through the packed indoor venue for a ceremony, shaking hands and greeting participants. One of them, a lawmaker, holds the president’s hand for a few seconds like many Koreans do when greeting each other, and tells him that he must change the way he runs state affairs. The president moves on to others, but Rep. Kang Sung-hee of the minor opposition progressive Jinbo Party keeps repeating something at him, video footage from Thursday shows. Members of the Pr
Jan. 23, 2024
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[Editorial] More signs of risks
Last week, South Korea’s policymakers noted their alarm at the risks of military clashes in the Middle East that spin out of control, dragging more nations in the region into complex conflicts and hurting weakened supply chains further. On Tuesday night, Iran carried out a missile and drone attack on what it called “terrorist” targets in Pakistan. In response, Pakistan struck militant targets inside Iran on Thursday. The tit-for-tat attacks, the biggest cross-border intrusions
Jan. 22, 2024
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[Editorial] Upgrade intelligence capabilities
South Korea, the US and Japan staged their largest-ever joint naval exercise in international waters south of Jeju Island for three days through Wednesday, following North Korea’s launch of a hypersonic missile. Nine warships including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson with F-35C stealth fighters and F-18 Super Hornets on board, South Korean Aegis combat system-equipped destroyers and Japanese Kongo-class destroyers took part in the drill. The maritime exercise began a d
Jan. 19, 2024