Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Hangeul Day becomes public holiday again
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security on Wednesday released an advanced notice that Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, will be re-designated as a public holiday. The reinstatement was made at the Cabinet meeting 21 years after it was scrapped as a the public holiday due to complaints from businesses that the number of bank holidays was damaging productivity. Hangeul Day was first designated as a public holiday in 1946 honoring the promulgation of the writin
Nov. 7, 2012
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670,000 to take college entry test
undreds of thousands of students will sit the day-long college entrance exam nationwide on Thursday. The College Scholastic Ability Test for the 2013 school year will be taken at 11,191 places from 8:40 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. Applicants must arrive 30 minutes before the test starts, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.The number of applicants dropped some 3 percent from a year earlier to 668,522. The government plans to increase operation of the subway and buses in the morning rush
Nov. 7, 2012
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S. Korean student in Melbourne suffers racist assault
A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials."When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 white teenagers came to
Nov. 7, 2012
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Lee: Keep N. Korea from affecting Dec. election
President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet on Tuesday to ensure South Korea is thoroughly prepared not only for armed provocations by North Korea, but also any attempts by Pyongyang to affect next month’s presidential election.North Korea is one of the most divisive issues in South Korean society, with liberals calling for greater reconciliation efforts and conservatives calling for stands on principle, and Pyongyang often attempts to influence elections in the South by criticizing or praisi
Nov. 6, 2012
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Special prosecutor says first lady questioning to be voluntary
The special counsel team investigating President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home scandal said Tuesday that they do not intend to follow through with a plan to question first lady Kim Yoon-ok if she refuses to cooperate. “The first lady, as she is just a witness in this case, may choose not to respond to our request for an interview. In that case, we have no means, and no intention, to force her,” assistant special counsel Lee Chang-hoon said in a press briefing. A day earlier, Lee had told repor
Nov. 6, 2012
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47 parents indicted in foreign school admissions scam
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they had indicted 47 parents on charges of forgery as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive admission fraud case involving several international schools here.Prosecutors said they took a 36-year-old, surnamed Kwon, into custody and indicted another 46 parents without physical detention for forging passports to help their children gain admission to international schools in Seoul and Incheon. Under the current law, only children with a parent with foreign citi
Nov. 6, 2012
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Korea's elderly suicides highest among OECD members
South Korea's elderly suicide rate was the highest among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Tuesday, prompting the country to come up with measures to counter the rise of suicides among economically strapped senior citizens.According to the data compiled by the OECD, 81.8 per 100,000 South Korean elderly citizens under 74 years of age committed suicide in 2010, while 160 out of 100,000 people took their own lives among those aged 7
Nov. 6, 2012
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Controversial welfare law for artists to go into effect this month
The government will push for various policies to promote welfare of artists normally struggling to make ends meet as related laws are set to come into force this month, the culture ministry said Tuesday.A controversial law aimed at protecting occupational rights of artists and promoting their creative activities will go into effect on Nov. 18 along with two enforcement ordinances that passed the Cabinet Tuesday, the ministry said.Under the laws, the government has earmarked 7 billion won ($6.4 m
Nov. 6, 2012
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3-yr prison term sought for lawmaker for money-for-nomination
Prosecutors on Monday demanded three years in prison for independent lawmaker Hyun Young-hee for bribing a former ruling party official in return for her nomination ahead of the April general elections.Hyun was indicted in September on suspicion of giving 50 million won ($45,766) to Cho Ki-moon, who worked at Saenuri Party's branch office in the southern port city of Busan, in return for securing her a spot on the proportional representation ticket ahead of the elections, according to the prosec
Nov. 5, 2012
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Moon pledges to curb education costs
Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in pledged Monday to introduce a package of reforms to curb soaring private education costs and competition.“In recent years, the competition for private education has expanded from middle and elementary schools to kindergartens,” Moon told reporters.The presidential candidate said that so-called prestigious high schools in the nation have “significantly” contributed to the rising cost of private education. He suggested Monday a ban on univ
Nov. 5, 2012
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Prosecutors to question reporter over Jeongsu foundation report
Prosecutors have summoned a reporter who revealed a recorded conversation by the chairman of a private scholarship foundation linked to Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. The journalist, Choi Sung-jin, working for the Hankyoreh newspaper, is accused of illegally eavesdropping on the talks between Choi Phil-lip, chairman of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, and senior officials from MBC. He reported on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 that they met at the foundation chairman’s office in cen
Nov. 5, 2012
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Education is now a global issue
There is an exclusive set of issues that is regarded as “global.” War, humanitarian disasters, international development and economics are issues where people think, act and care beyond the borders of their own state. In a few weeks’ time, at the Qatar National Conference Center in Doha, innovators from a wide variety of sectors around the world will come together to add another issue to this exclusive set: education. That is education ― not as a bolt-on to international development programs, wo
Nov. 5, 2012
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Korean schools embrace multicultural society
GIMPO, Gyeonggi Province ― English teacher Jenny Alfaro shows pictures of vegetables and fruits on the blackboard at an elementary school on the outskirts of Seoul. “I guess everyone knows what it is,” she said, pointing to a picture of a tomato.“Yes, it’s a tomato, but in the Philippines we call it ‘kamatis,’” the 27-year-old Filipina said, the students repeating the word.“How about this? We call it ‘talong’ and in English it’s an eggplant.” This time, some students struggle to pronounce the Fi
Nov. 5, 2012
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Foreign students at SNU increase 27% over 3 years
The number of foreign students studying at Seoul National University has increased 27 percent over the last three years.According to Seoul National University International Cooperation Headquarters, its international enrollment totaled 2,401 as of October, breaking down into 2,080 full-time students and 321 part-time students including exchange students.It marks a 27 percent increase from 1,891 registered in 2009. The number of foreign students has been increasing steadily every year, and the na
Nov. 5, 2012
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Two nuclear reactors shut down for substandard parts
The government shut down unit 5 and unit 6 of the nuclear power plant in Yeonggwang County, South Jeolla Province, on Monday, after finding a number of “substandard” components in the two nuclear reactors. The government’s announcement of the use of unapproved parts in the nuclear power plants shocked the public, raising concerns over safety and power shortages during the upcoming winter. Speaking at a press briefing, Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo said eight part suppliers have faked 6
Nov. 5, 2012
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Yeongdeungpo has most foreigners in Seoul
Itaewon has long been seen as a foreigner zone but a recent report showed that Yeongdeungpo, a southeastern residential and business district in Seoul, has the highest rate of foreign residents.According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Yeongdeungpo topped the list with more than 57,000 foreigners registered in January. The number of foreigners in Yeongdeungpo accounted for 14.4 percent of the district’s population. Meanwhile, one out of every 10 residents in Geumcheon and
Nov. 4, 2012
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Lee secretary changes story on retirement home scandal
The special counsel team investigating suspected malpractice in the scrapped retirement home project for President Lee Myung-bak questioned Kim Baek-joon, the former presidential secretary for administrative affairs, on Saturday.Kim returned home at around 12:50 a.m. Sunday after 10 hours of questioning at the counsel’s office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.On his way out, the former aide took back an earlier statement and answered “No” to reporters’ questions about whether the Presidential Secu
Nov. 4, 2012
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Stricter security checks at schools
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced Sunday that it will strengthen security checks at primary and secondary schools as part of measures against school violence and crimes.From early next year, all visitors including parents at elementary, middle and high schools across the country must show their personal IDs and obtain a visitor pass to enter.Faculty members and students will also need to wear badges indentifying themselves at all times when on school sites, and those wi
Nov. 4, 2012
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N. Korea attempts to intervene in S. Korean election
North Korea on Saturday openly called for an opposition victory in South Korea's upcoming presidential election, accusing President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government of ruining inter-Korean relations.The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a powerful party organization, denounced South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party as a "disaster" that brews "all sources of misfortune" for Koreans."If Saenuri Party, a group of obsolete conservatives, takes the office, it would make th
Nov. 4, 2012
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Ex-aide quizzed over land deal for Lee's retirement home
Special prosecutors summoned a former close aide to President Lee Myung-bak for questioning Saturday over alleged irregularities on a deal to purchase land for Lee's now-scrapped retirement home project.Kim Paik-joon, a former senior secretary to the president for administrative affairs, denied any involvement in the controversial project in which critics say taxpayer money was used, as he appeared before prosecutors. "I was not involved," the 72-year-old Kim responded to a reporter who asked ab
Nov. 3, 2012