Most Popular
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Naver’s Line ownership in jeopardy as Japan ups pressure
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South Korea to launch space security center under spy agency
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More med professors to take day off each week while govt. urges them to stay
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Hybe refutes Ador CEO Min's denial of breach of trust
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S. Korea, Japan could consider simplified entry agreement: Seoul official
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Parliament remains deadlocked over FTA bill
The chief of the Korean parliamentary trade committee on Friday hinted at the possibility of the ruling party going ahead with a vote on the free trade pact with the U.S.The National Assembly was deadlocked for its third consecutive day Friday, as members of the main opposition Democratic Party staged a sit-in protest to stop the Grand National Party from railroading the agreement through. The bill awaits a trade committee vote before heading to the final vote in the 299-member unicameral house
PoliticsNov. 4, 2011
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Seoul City expands non-smoking areas
One fifth of capital to be designated smoke-free zones by 2014Smokers will find it harder to light up in Seoul, as smoking will be banned in a fifth of the capital’s total area by 2014, city officials said Friday.Seoul Metropolitan Government will expand non-smoking areas from the current 23 locations ― three squares and 20 parks ― to some 9,000 places covering 21 percent of the city within the next two years.For commuters like Lim Hae-sun, 25, this is a welcome change. “When I’m waiting for bus
Social AffairsNov. 4, 2011
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U.S. House panel OKs bill on tougher sanctions on N. Korea
A U.S. House committee has approved a bill on toughening sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Syria with all three accused of being involved in proliferation activities, congressional sources said Thursday.The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Non
North KoreaNov. 4, 2011
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$13.5 mln fraud implicates hundreds of S. Koreans
Police said Friday they had uncovered South Korea's largest insurance fraud, involving more than 400 people and 15 billion won ($13.5 million).The fraud was carried out by three hospitals, insurance workers and residents of Taebaek, a mining town in the eastern province of Gangwon, police said in a
Social AffairsNov. 4, 2011
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Bill Gates praises S. Korea in development report to G20 summit
Microsoft founder Bill Gates praised South Korea on Thursday for increasing assistance to developing nations as he appealed to world leaders to carry out their commitments to help needy nations.Assistance to developing nations is one of the key agenda items for a two-day summit of the G20 major and
InternationalNov. 4, 2011
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Sung Kim sworn in as U.S. ambassador to S. Korea
Sung Kim is scheduled to take up the post as U.S. ambassador to South Korea next week, a diplomatic source here said Thursday after his swearing-in ceremony.Wendy Sherman, under secretary of state for political affairs, officiated at the ceremony at the State Department in lieu of Secretary of State
InternationalNov. 4, 2011
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Seoul seeks 'stable dialogue channel' with Pyongyang: minister
South Korea is trying to establish a "stable dialogue channel" with North Korea, Seoul's top policymaker on the communist neighbor said Thursday, adding the alliance with the U.S. is the cornerstone of the effort.In a round-table meeting with U.S. experts on Korea, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik als
North KoreaNov. 4, 2011
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U.S. FTA ratification faces delay
The parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement is unlikely for another week at least, after rival parties on Thursday failed to move the bill forward for a floor vote. A plenary session, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was called off by the National Assembly speaker, amid a tense standoff between ruling and opposition lawmakers. “The FTA issue is too tangled up (to be handled today). Other than that, there are just a few agenda for today’s session,” explained an official
PoliticsNov. 3, 2011
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Views differ on the role of civic groups
Some regard Park’s election as threat to civic activism, while others as evolutionThe election of activist Park Won-soon as Seoul mayor has brought civic groups into the political arena, raising both expectations and concerns at the same time.Park, Seoul’s first mayor elected as an independent, is considered a leading figure the history of civil activism in Korea.One of the founding members of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a leading liberal watchdog, he also set up and led
PoliticsNov. 3, 2011
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Universities doctor books to hike tuitions: auditor
Private and public universities in South Korea have engaged in creative accounting practices resulting in excessive hikes in tuition fees, the state audit agency said Thursday.Wrapping up an investigation into 35 randomly chosen universities, including nine public institutions, the Board of Audit and Inspection said the institutions had habitually manipulated their accounting books over the past five years to justify steep rises in tuition expenses.The BAI estimated the creative bookkeeping prod
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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USFK extends off-base curfew
The curfew for U.S. military personnel here will be extended another two months.U.S. Forces Korea Commander General James Thurman chief announced the move Tuesday, citing the need to assess the current operational environment.Thurman said the curfew, originally intended to end at the beginning of this month, would be extended to Jan. 6.The USFK said the move was a temporary measure to ensure the continued mission readiness of the command.“I firmly believe that military discipline is the foundati
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Court rules against dismissal of cloning scientist from SNU
A Seoul appellate court ruled Thursday that the top national university’s 2006 dismissal of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk was illegal, overturning a lower court’s previous decision.Hwang, a former veterinary professor at the Seoul National University, filed a suit against the school chief in November 2006, demanding his dismissal from the school be rescinded. “The dismissal was made in violation of the proportionality principle or beyond (the school’s) discretion,” Seoul High Court
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Universities come under fire for doctoring accounting books to hike tuitions
Private and public universities in South Korea have engaged in creative accounting practices resulting in excessive hikes in tuition fees, the state audit agency said Thursday.Wrapping up an investigation into 35 randomly chosen universities, including nine public institutions, the Board of Audit an
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Court rules against dismissal of cloning scientist from SNU
A Seoul appellate court ruled Thursday that the top national university's 2006 dismissal of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk was illegal, overturning a lower court's previous decision.Hwang, a former veterinary professor at the Seoul National University (SNU), filed a suit against the sch
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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U.S. lawmakers urge S. Korea to pass FTA
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- While celebrating the recent passage in the U.S. Congress of a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, lawmakers here on Wednesday voiced bipartisan demand for their counterparts in Asia to follow suit.“We’ve all waited enough. I hope it will take into effect as soon as practicable,” Rep. David Camp (R-Michigan), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, told Yonhap News Agency.He was attending a reception to celebrate the passage of the FTA in the U.S. last
Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Seoul toughens disciplinary actions against diplomats
The foreign ministry has decided to toughen up disciplinary measures against its diplomats overseas who conduct themselves without regard for good manners or moral standards, officials said Thursday. The move came after two senior diplomats were summoned home in the past month for behaving disorderly under the influence of alcohol in two separate incidents: one at a public dinner and one involving allegations of drunk driving. “Diplomats overseas must keep their dignity and prestige no matter wh
Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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USFK extends off-base curfew
The curfew for U.S. military personnel here will be extended another two months, the U.S. Forces Korea chief said Tuesday, citing the need to assess the current operational environment.According to USFK Commander General James Thurman, the curfew, originally intended to last until the beginning of this month, will be extended to Jan. 6.The USFK said the move was a temporary force protection measure to ensure the continued mission readiness of the command.“I firmly believe that military disciplin
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Korea, EU leaders agree to deepen strategic partnership
President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday agreed with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, to deepen the strategic partnership between Korea and the European Union during their summit talks in Cannes, France.Lee and the EU leaders exchanged views on how to tackle the eurozone fiscal crisis, the G20 summit and bilateral relations. They also assessed in addition to assessing the immediate results of the Korea-EU free trade agreement that ten
Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Views differ on the rise of civic groups
Some regard Park’s mayoral election as threat to civil activism, while others an evolutionUpon the election of liberal activist Park Won-soon as Seoul mayor, civic groups stepped forward into the political arena out of their conventional role as watchdogs, raising both expectations and concerns at the same time.The Seoul mayor, the first elected as an independent and also as an activist, is dubbed the living witness to the history of civil activism in Korea.One of the founding members of the Pe
PoliticsNov. 3, 2011
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Korean, EU lawmakers launch leaders’ forum
Over 100 lawmakers, and diplomatic and academic dignitaries from Korea and the European Union gathered to discuss how best to raise the effectiveness of their free trade agreement, in Seoul on Thursday.At the first ROK-EU Leaders Forum, topics centered on the FTA were discussed to fully utilize the deal, which has already been in effect for four months.Representing the two sides were Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Kang-rae, president of the ROK-EU Parliamentarian Diplomacy Council of the National
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011