Most Popular
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Yoon interacts with public for 1st time since election defeat
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[Weekender] Pet food makers bet big on ‘recession-free’ pet food market
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N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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State-led adoption system to be established to ensure adoptees' well-being, minimize overseas adoption
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[Drama Tour] Romantic trip to ‘Queen of Tears’ filming spots
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Leader of doctors' group continues to spark controversy after 'racism' dispute
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Business moguls attend concert by Helene Mercier, wife of LVMH CEO
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[Newsmaker] Air Force legal offices raided over death of sexually abused soldier
Defense ministry investigators raided the offices of the Air Force's legal affairs department Wednesday over the suicide of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer as part of a sprawling investigation into what led the victim to take her own life. The raid took place one day after the prosecutors grilled a military public defender accused of failing to provide adequate help to the master sergeant, surnamed Lee, who allegedly suffered groping and other abuse by her colleague during a car rid
DefenseJune 16, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Opposition leader says ex-chief prosecutor must show ability to run state affairs
The new leader of the main opposition party said Tuesday that former chief prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl, who has topped polls on presidential preference, should start talking about his ability to run state affairs. “Other than his image of resistance against the Moon Jae-in administration, (Yoon) must answer people’s questions on whether he can run state affairs,” Lee Jun-seok, the newly elected chief of the People Power Party, said in a YTN radio interview Tuesday morning. &ldq
PoliticsJune 15, 2021
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[Newsmaker] 10 Air Force members questioned over suicide of sexually harassed soldier
Military prosecutors questioned 10 Air Force service members and officials in connection with the suicide of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer amid suspicions they mishandled the sexual abuse case or attempted to hush it up, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The ministry also said that about 100 people at the two Air Force units, where the victim had worked, went through internal probes last week in an indication that more people would be formally called in for questioning. The fema
DefenseJune 15, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Man fined for running unauthorized school teaching US curriculum
A person who ran an unauthorized school teaching US curriculum in Gangnam was fined 3 million won ($2,700) for violation of the elementary and secondary education law. The school, set up in July 2018, taught subjects such as English language, American history and biology under a US curriculum to about 110 students from ninth to 12th grades from 8:30 a.m. until 3:10 p.m. for a tuition fee of 12 million won per semester, and ran after-school club activity programs as well. The accused insisted t
Social AffairsJune 14, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Support for opposition party grows, driven by rise of young leader
Support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) continued to grow last week, apparently driven by the ascent of a new leader, widening its gap with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to nearly 10 percentage points, a poll showed Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted from June 7-11, the PPP scored 39.1 percent of backing, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous week. It is close to its highest-ever point of 39.4 percent posted during the first week of April. The DP's support fell 0.
PoliticsJune 14, 2021
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea’s first Vatican prefect looks forward to arranging pope’s visit to NK
South Korean Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the newly appointed Vatican prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, said he will work toward arranging a visit to North Korea for Pope Francis if he is given the opportunity to do so. “The pope had expressed his willingness to go to North Korea,” You, 69, said at a press conference held Saturday at the Daejeon Diocese in Sejong, following the Vatican’s announcement of his appointment Friday. “If North Korea invites the
Social AffairsJune 13, 2021
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[Newsmaker] In-person attendance at middle schools in greater Seoul to increase ahead of full reopening
Middle schools in the greater Seoul area are set to increase the portion of students attending in-person classes starting Monday ahead of the government's plan to fully resume classes from the fall semester, according to educational officials. Under the plan, the cap on in-person attendance will increase from one-third of registered students to two-thirds under the Level 2 social distancing guidelines, enabling more students to take part in in-person classes, the education ministry and local ed
Social AffairsJune 13, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Panel kicks off to review mishandling of sex crime probe
A committee comprising civilian experts kicked off Friday to advise the military on its handling of a sex crime investigation that is believed to have led to the suicide of a sexually assaulted soldier. An Air Force master sergeant took her life in late May after her complaint had gone unanswered for months because of what her family claims is an “extensive cover-up” by the Air Force. The head of the Air Force has since resigned, taking responsibility for her death. The outside pan
DefenseJune 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] New sex crime claims hit military amid expanding investigation
A commanding Army officer is under investigation over allegations that he sexually assaulted subordinates at his unit in Gangwon Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The Army took over the case and is looking at whether there were more victims, it added. “A commander is facing serious charges and we thought it would be more prudent for us to ask our team to pursue the case rather than have the unit run its own probe,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan
DefenseJune 10, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Ex-prosecutor general leads presidential hopefuls' poll with record high support rate: Realmeter
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl saw his support rating reach a fresh record high in the latest poll of potential presidential candidates released Thursday, amid signs of his imminent political debut. In the Realmeter survey on 2,013 voters nationwide conducted from Monday to Tuesday, 35.1 percent picked Yoon as their most favored candidate for next year's presidential election, up 4.6 percentage points from last month. It is the highest support that Yoon has received in Realmeter's mo
PoliticsJune 10, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Defense chief vows strict punishment in sex crime probe
Defense Minister Suh Wook on Wednesday promised strict punishment of anyone who helped bury a sex crime investigation whose handling is believed to have led to the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant. The Air Force is accused of sitting on the case and engaging in a systematic cover-up. “I express my sincere apologies to the bereaved family and to fellow citizens … the investigation will be thorough and bring everyone involved in the cover-up to justice, regardless of rank,&r
DefenseJune 9, 2021
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[Newsmaker] US lowers travel advisory for S. Korea to lowest Level 1
The United States on Tuesday lowered its travel advisory for South Korea to the lowest level, which advises people visiting the Asian country to exercise normal precaution. The State Department said the latest update reflected a low level of COVID-19 infections in South Korea. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for South Korea due to COVID-19, indicating a low level of COVID-19 in the country," it said. The US had maintain
Foreign AffairsJune 9, 2021
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[Newsmaker] 12 ruling party lawmakers implicated in real estate corruption
The ruling Democratic Party convened an emergency meeting of its leadership Tuesday to discuss how to respond to a government report indicating that 12 of its lawmakers were implicated in illegal real estate transactions. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Monday that 12 Democratic Party lawmakers or family members of Democratic Party lawmakers were suspected of violating the law on real estate trade. The anti-corruption watchdog looked into the real estate transactions of 17
PoliticsJune 8, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Tower crane operators launch general strike over safety fears
Unionized tower crane operators on Tuesday began a general strike nationwide over safety fears, putting nearly 90 percent of domestic construction sites at risk of being halted. The operators belonging to the Korean Construction Workers' Union (KCWU) went on strike, accusing the government of failing to take sufficient measures to protect citizens and construction workers despite a recent spate of accidents involving tower cranes. The KCWU, affiliated with the militant Korean Confederation of
Social AffairsJune 8, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Distrust of police and media, and fake news fuel outcry in medical student’s death
Lee Jin-ah, 43 and the mother of a 13-year-old son, has been following the updates of the death of Sohn Jung-min, a medical student who died in the Han River, every day, through news articles and YouTube videos. “Because I have a son, I am emotionally attached to Jung-min’s father. I feel so sorry for him. It is so terrible to think that my child could be dead like that,” she said. Lee does not know why Jung-min died, but does not trust the police investigation. “I
Social AffairsJune 7, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Late Air Force sexual assault victim suffered multiple abuses over year: lawyer
Colleagues of the late Air Force noncommissioned officer, whose suicide sparked a public uproar over sexual abuse in the military, had abused her for about a year repeatedly after watching her unable to speak up about such cases, a lawyer for the bereaved family said. The claim suggests that additional members of her unit could have abused the victim, identified only as Master Sergeant Lee, besides the lastest case in March in which she was groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague in a ca
DefenseJune 7, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Tech firms under fire for toxic work environment
The South Korean IT powerhouses nestled in Pangyo Techno Valley, a tech hub modeled after Silicon Valley in the US, are best known for a progressive workplace culture shaped by young founders and their employees, something rare among traditional big companies. That reputation has drawn the nation’s brightest IT minds south of Seoul to Pangyo in recent years, but the IT and tech startup cluster is now under increasing scrutiny after a series of reports suggested a reality contrary to th
IndustryJune 6, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Moon visits funeral home of sex assault victim in military
President Moon Jae-in on Sunday met with the bereaved families of a female Air Force officer, sexually assaulted by a male colleague, and apologized to them for failing to protect her. Moon headed to her funeral home shortly after attending a national ceremony to mark the 66th Memorial Day. The annual event was held at Seoul National Cemetery. Speaking to the victim's parents at Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of the capital, the president said he was sorry that the count
PoliticsJune 6, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Baby girl remains in coma a month after adoptive father's abuse
A 2-year-old girl has been in a coma for nearly a month since her adoptive father abused her to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. Doctors say she is unlikely to wake up given the extent of the trauma she suffered when her father, 36, allegedly slapped her face and knocked her down a total of four times at their home in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 8. An investigation revealed that the adoptive father had abused the girl multiple times prior to M
Social AffairsJune 4, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Military investigators raid Air Force offices over sexual harassment case
Military prosecutors carried out a series of raids on the Air Force headquarters and other locations in connection with an investigation into the suicide death of a female noncommissioned officer following sexual harassment by a colleague. At around 10 a.m., investigators raided the police corps of the Air Force headquarters as well as the police squadron of the 15th Special Missions Wing that the victim was affiliated with, the defense ministry said in a release. Military prosecutors are loo
Social AffairsJune 4, 2021