Most Popular
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Jimin of BTS, actor Song Da-eun suspected to be dating, again
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What's next for the government's push in quota hike?
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Woman falls to death from acquaintance's home after exhibiting ‘unexplained' behaviors
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‘Malice should not undermine the system, social order,’ says Hybe's Bang
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N. Korea slams planned S. Korea-US military drills, warns of 'catastrophic aftermath'
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N. Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea: JCS
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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Korean firms target EV charging market in US
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Seoul sees further jump in cost of dining out
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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S. Korea's overseas arrivals, departures hit record high in 2013
The number of locals and foreigners going in and out of South Korea rose 9.2 percent on-year in 2013, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday.The tally came to some 54.96 million, with the number of locals reaching 33.49 million and that of foreigners coming in at 24.61 million, the ministry said.Some 3.92 million Chinese visited South Korea last year, a 44 percent jump from a year earlier, the ministry added.The ministry attributed the sharp increase to streamlined procedures in issuing visas to
Jan. 15, 2014
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Six-year jail term sought for CJ chairman
Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a six-year prison term for food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group chairman for alleged corporate crimes.Lee Jay-hyun was indicted on charges of embezzling around 165.7 billion won (US$156 million) to create slush funds and evade taxes in the process.Prosecutors also demanded that the chief of the country's 14th-largest conglomerate pay a fine of 110 billion won. The 53-year-old tycoon is currently standing trial without being detained after a Seoul court exte
Jan. 14, 2014
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[Graphic News] Organ donor pledges pass 1m
The number of people pledging to donate their organs surged to a fresh high last year, exceeding 1 million for the first time. According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.05 million people registered to become organ donors as of last year. This means 1 out of 48 Koreans is willing to donate organs if they die or become brain-dead. About 400 brain-dead patients donated their organs last year, saving more than 1,600 people in need of a transplant.
Jan. 14, 2014
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Troubled college student murders former teacher
Prosecutors said Tuesday a psychologically distressed college student was indicted for murdering his former high school teacher.The suspect, identified only by his surname Yu, is charged with stabbing to death his former guidance counselor, who remains unnamed. According to prosecutors, Yu was suffering from erotomania. Sufferers of the psychological disorder falsely believe that another individual is in love with them.Yu first met his alleged victim in 2009 during his second year of high school
Jan. 14, 2014
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Seoul to host global math meet
Seoul is to host the 27th International Congress of Mathematicians, the largest gathering of mathematicians in the world, in August.The ICM will recognize important accomplishments in the field made over the past four years and serve as a venue for discussions and lectures. Park Hyung-ju, chairman of the Seoul ICM 2014 Organizing Committee, said Tuesday that he hopes the event will boost the public’s interest in the field. “People should know that knowing math can help you do many things,” Park
Jan. 14, 2014
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Prosecution raids district office over love child scandal
Late Monday, the prosecution raided one of Seoul’s district offices as part of its investigation into the leak of personal information of the former prosecution chief’s alleged love child. Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office seized several surveillance cameras at the Seocho-gu Office to identify a staffer who contacted a spy agency official surnamed Song and reportedly divulged the child’s information via phone at the office, officials said. The prosecution confirmed the phone records ahe
Jan. 14, 2014
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Record numbers of tourists visit Korea in 2013
Inbound tourism to South Korea reached its highest level in 2013, according to data released by the Ministry of Justice on Monday, despite a weakening yen and a new Chinese law raising travel costs.More than 12 million foreigners came to South Korea, with those from China and Japan topping the list. Chinese tourists outnumbered their Japanese counterparts for the first time, increasing by 44 percent from 2012 to 3.92 million. The number of Japanese travelers decreased by 22 percent to 2.71 milli
Jan. 14, 2014
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Korea to greatly expand public libraries by 2018
The government on Tuesday announced a plan to greatly increase the number of public libraries, their book collections and staff capacity as part of efforts to realize its goal of building a culturally thriving country.By 2018, the government will gradually increase the number of public libraries to 1,100, from 828 as of the end of 2012, and make 2.5 books available per eligible user, up from 1.53 books per user in 2012, the presidential committee on library policy said during a press briefing he
Jan. 14, 2014
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Tong Yang chief arrested for fraud
The head of the embattled Tong Yang Group was put behind bars with a court-issued warrant on Monday for further investigation on allegations of fraud and malpractice in issuing and selling financial products.The 65-year-old chairman Hyun Jae-hyun has been probed by prosecutors for allegedly leading the issuance of fraudulent corporate bonds and commercial paper worth over 2 trillion won ($1.89 billion) since around 2007 and deliberately filing for court receivership of its five affiliates last O
Jan. 14, 2014
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Rail union leaders voluntarily appear for questioning
Leaders of a rail union wanted by police for leading last month‘s intensive strike voluntarily turned themselves in to police for questioning Tuesday.The eleven leaders of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. union, including the head of the union, Kim Myung-hwan, showed up at Yongsan Police Station in central Seoul later in the day.For the past one month, they have been defying police summons and taking refuge in two groups in the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more
Jan. 14, 2014
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S. Korea to greatly increase public libraries by 2018
The government on Tuesday announced a plan to greatly increase the number of public libraries, their books and manpower as part of efforts to realize its goal of building a culturally thriving country.By 2018, the government will gradually increase the number of public libraries to 1,100 from 828 as of the end of 2012 and make 2.5 books per eligible user available, up from 1.53 books per user in 2012, the presidential committee on library policy said during a press briefing here.Public libraries
Jan. 14, 2014
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Ministry to tighten textbook scrutiny
The South Korean government announced Monday that it had reached an agreement with the ruling Saenuri Party to improve the factual accuracy of history textbooks.The decision came as a dispute over alleged bias in a textbook by Kyohak Publishing Co. intensified into an ideological war. Nearly all the schools that initially selected the Kyohak textbook were pressured to withdraw their selection by students, parents and left-leaning civic groups.Last week, a governmental probe found that certain ci
Jan. 13, 2014
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Seoul City to ban overcharging taxis
Seoul City will expel dozens of overcharging international taxis and take measures to crack down on similar cabs in the city, officials said Monday. The city said it would weed out 52 international taxis that have ripped off in-city passengers by secretly pressing the 25 percent intercity surcharge button when traveling only within the capital.International taxis are allowed two options: surcharging 20 percent for having foreign passengers or adding a 25 percent surcharge for heading outer-city.
Jan. 13, 2014
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Prosecutor suspected of illicit deals in drug case
A prosecutor is under investigation for making illegal deals with a defendant in a drug case, raising concerns of corruption by law enforcement officials.A Supreme Prosecutors’ Office internal audit team suspects a prosecutor to have given favors to a 32-year-old celebrity identified only by her surname Lee. She was sentenced by a prosecutor to eight months in prison for illegal propofol use in 2012.After serving her sentence, Lee reportedly had plastic surgery free of charge and received 15 mil
Jan. 13, 2014
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Korean researchers identify cause of lung cancer
South Korean researchers have identified one of the causes of squamous-cell carcinoma, which makes up 30 percent of all lung cancers. The research team led by Park Keun-chil, professor at the Samsung Medical Center, analyzed the genomes of 104 patients suffering from the disease, of whom 99 had smoked for more than 20 years.The result demonstrated that FGFR3-TACC3 gene fusion is expressed when smoking takes place for a long period of time, the researchers said. The fusion of the two genes is kno
Jan. 13, 2014
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Fire burns hanok roof at Hahoe folk village
A fire broke out Monday at Hahoe folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. The blaze started around 4:50 p.m. at a “hanok,” or traditional Korean house – one of several preserved in the village -- and burned about 30 square meters of its thatched roof before being extinguished about 5 minutes later, Yonhap News reported.No casualties were reported. Firefighters suspect a cigarette discarded by a tourist caused the fire.By Lee Sun-young(milaya@heraldcorp.c
Jan. 13, 2014
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Cardinal Yeom vows efforts to actualize a church for poor
South Korea's newly appointed cardinal, Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, on Monday vowed efforts to realize Pope Francis' vision of a church serving the poor.The 71-year-old archbishop of Seoul was one of the 19 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on Sunday. He is South Korea's third-ever cardinal after late Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) and Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk."I will make efforts to realize Pope Francis' vision of a church toiling for the poor and those on the margins of society and to make it a c
Jan. 13, 2014
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Archbishop of Seoul to be appointed cardinal
Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the current Korean Roman Catholic Archbishop of Seoul, has been included in the list of 19 new Cardinals to be named by Pope Francis next month. The 70-year-old is the third Korean to be appointed to the position, following the late Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) and Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk, who also served as Archbishop of Seoul until last year. Born in 1943 in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, Yeom graduated from the Catholic University of Korea with a degree in theology in
Jan. 12, 2014
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Male infertility rate on the rise
More Korean men in their late 30s and early 40s are hit by infertility, data showed Sunday. According to the National Health Insurance Service’s statistics, the number of male patients receiving infertility treatment jumped to around 190,000 last year, up 4.2 percent from 2008. The age group between late 30s and early 40s saw an increase of 16.2 percent, the highest among the surveyed.By gender, female infertility cases rose by 2.5 percent while those for male sufferers surged by nearly 12 perce
Jan. 12, 2014
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Doctors threaten to strike in March
The Korea Medical Association vowed Sunday to go on an all-out strike on March 3 if the government pushes ahead with its plan to allow telemedicine and for-profit medical subsidiaries.The move by the country’s largest group of doctors is to pressure the government to abandon its plan, which doctors see as a step toward commercializing the country’s medical sector. The announcement prompted the government to say it would actively negotiate with the group to prevent the country’s medical sector fr
Jan. 12, 2014