Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Seoul women’s centers report counseling cases double
The number of victims seeking counseling at women’s support centers has seen a large increase over the years, but some centers have closed because of funding problems.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday, the number of women seeking counseling for domestic violence and sexual assault has doubled from 40,208 in 2005 to 90,197 in 2010.While those seeking counseling for sexual violence rose from 19,065 to 23,956. Domestic violence counseling has rocketed over the same period fro
Jan. 30, 2012
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Seoul to invest W27 billion for Korean studies
The Education Ministry announced it will invest 27.3 billion won ($24 million) in the promotion of Korean studies this year. The project, launched in 2007, aims to foster research on Korea, highlighting the significance of Korean studies at home and abroad as well as continuing to strengthen the basis for research by supporting major institutions and scholars in the field.Korean studies focus on a broad range of topics related to Korea including its history, culture, anthropology, society, polit
Jan. 30, 2012
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MBC workers strike for resignation of station chief
Unionized workers of the nation’s second-largest terrestrial broadcaster, MBC, staged a general strike on Monday, demanding their president Kim Jae-chul resign because of his alleged political bias and unilateral decision-making.The walkout is expected to halt nearly all programs at the station except for dramas and programs produced through outsourcing.The union said that out of 1,010 members, 83.4 percent participated in the vote and 69.4 percent of them supported the strike. From 6:30 a.m. Mo
Jan. 30, 2012
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Education office pushes rights rules
Ministry says action violates law guaranteeing schools’ independenceThe Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education ordered schools in the capital to revise their student conduct rules according to the ordinance on the enhancement of students’ rights proclaimed last week, officials said Monday. The SMOE has distributed guidelines to all elementary and secondary schools as a reference to revise their school rules last week, they said. But the Education Ministry, which has opposed to the student right
Jan. 30, 2012
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Minister reiterates push for shorter working hours
Labor Minister Lee Chae-pil on Monday reiterated his determination to end long working hours in Korea, saying the ministry aimed to revise laws to regulate weekend work. “It is abnormal to have no regulation in place on weekend work,” the minister said. Last week, he said the ministry would push for a revision of labor laws to include weekend and holiday work in calculation of overtime work which is by law capped at 12 hours a week. Currently, it is not illegal to have an employee work on the we
Jan. 30, 2012
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Women’s centers see counseling cases double in five years
The number of victims seeking counseling at women’s support centers has seen a large increase over the years, but some centers have closed because of funding problems.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday, the number of women seeking counseling for domestic violence and sexual ass
Jan. 30, 2012
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Gov't to spend 27.3 billion won in 2012 to promote Korean studies
The education ministry announced on Monday that it will earmark 27.3 billion won (US$24.3 million) this year to promote Korean studies both at home and abroad.As an academic discipline focusing on the study of Korea, areas of Korean studies include Korean history, culture, society and economics.The
Jan. 30, 2012
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Diamond firm probe extends to alleged lobbying with bonds
The prosecution on Sunday said it is tracking 59 accounts thought to have been used for bonds with warrant trading of CNK International, a mineral mining company accused of stock rigging and insider trading. The investigators are now looking into whether the bonds were used by company chief Oh Deok-hyun as a tool to lobby politicians and businessmen. According to Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, 30-50 people are suspected of holding such bond accounts, suggesting that a large group of people h
Jan. 29, 2012
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36% of young defectors born outside of N. Korea
More than a third of all children of North Korean defectors here were born in another country. The Korean Educational Development Institute, a Seoul-based think tank, said in a report released Sunday that children born in China or other countries during their parents’ defection into South Korea require educational approaches different to other young North Korean refugees.The study found that 36 percent of 1,681 student defectors in primary and secondary school were born outside of North Korea.Ot
Jan. 29, 2012
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Ramid chairman summoned over GNP vote-buying scandal
The prosecution has summoned Ramid Group chairman Moon Byong-wook to report to its office Monday to explain whether he provided money for National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae’s cash-for-vote scheme during the Grand National Party’s 2008 leadership race. It also summoned Park’s secretaries, Lee Bong-geon and Koh Myeong-jin, over allegations receiving bribes and distributing them. The summons came as investigators of Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday raided the headquarters
Jan. 29, 2012
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Building trust key to ending school violence
Students, teachers stress more talk and caring atmosphere in schoolsThe following is the last of a series of articles on school violence brought into the public spotlight following recent student suicides. ― Ed.A Seoul-based middle school has seen the number of incidents of school violence fall from five to one last year as a result of a three-year effort to reach out to troubled students ― both bullies and those being bullied. It is a typical public school in Korea, under the same stressful sys
Jan. 29, 2012
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Police officer relieved of duty over stock manipulation scandal
A senior police officer has been temporarily relieved of his duty for his alleged links with a scandal-ridden company involved in a diamond mining project in Cameroon, officials said Saturday.The officer, whose name was not released, received 100,000 shares of CNK International in 2009 by investing
Jan. 29, 2012
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Prosecutors raid firm suspected of illegally funding parliamentary speaker
(Yonhap) -- Prosecutors have searched the headquarters of a tourist and leisure business suspected of having provided illegal funds to National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae to help him win a party leadership race in 2008, a prosecution official said Saturday. The raid on the headq
Jan. 28, 2012
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Ex-GNP lawmaker convicted again
A disgraced former ruling party lawmaker was sentenced to another suspended prison term on Friday for receiving illegal political funds from a troubled savings bank struggling to avoid regulatory penalties.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Gong Sung-Jin, 59, to a six-month prison term, suspended for one year. The court also ordered the former lawmaker forfeit nearly 172 million won ($153,000) he received from Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank before the bank had its business suspended by the f
Jan. 27, 2012
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Energy ambassador loses post over stock scandal
Kim Eun-seok, the foreign ministry’s ambassador for energy and resources, was relieved of his post Friday over allegations that he played a key role in a stock manipulation scandal related to a diamond mining project in Cameroon, a ministry official said.The move came one day after the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) demanded Kim’s dismissal, saying the ambassador had contributed to driving up the stock prices of CNK International, a mineral development company involved in mining diamonds in
Jan. 27, 2012
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Lee calls for fundamental solution to school violence
President Lee Myung-bak called for rooting out school violence and exercising greater parental oversight during a meeting with education groups after a series of bullied students killed themselves in recent months.“Parents, schools and students should all unite in strength. It seems we haven’t paid attention to the problem of children so far.I was shocked a lot (by the recent cases). We were oblivious when victimized students and their parents were suffering,” Lee said at the start of the meetin
Jan. 27, 2012
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Police officer reprimanded over text message to Lee
A senior police officer has been reprimanded after he replied to President Lee Myung-bak’s New Year’s text message with a warning that he will judge the president on a recent law revision seen as limiting the investigative rights of the police. President Lee sent a thank-you message to all police officers last Saturday, a day before the Lunar New Year holiday, saying, “I am grateful for your hard work and the fulfillment of your responsibility while others are resting. Korea relies on you and tr
Jan. 27, 2012
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Movie triggers debate on justice system
Judges emphasize need to let public know facts in ‘crossbow terror’ caseA courtroom movie tracing the conviction of a professor for shooting a crossbow at a judge has sparked a fresh round of debate on the judiciary. The newly released film, “Unbowed,” depicts the trial and conviction of Kim Myung-ho, a mathematics professor dismissed from Sungkyunkwan University, who attacked Park Hong-woo, then a Seoul High Court judge, with a crossbow.The film, which drew more than 1 million viewers in the fi
Jan. 27, 2012
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Korea to expand support for hiring foreign workers
The government will expand financial support for small- and medium-sized enterprises that find it difficult to hire highly educated foreign workers due to budget constraints.The Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday that it finalized this year’s policies regarding foreigners in a meeting with the related committee of 14 ministers and seven civilians. The office said the government will raise the maximum subsidy for small and mid-sized companies that hire highly qualified foreigners from 10-20 mi
Jan. 27, 2012
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Frozen Han could be history: Seoul
Sledding and ice fishing on the Han River may become history as the river running through Seoul is less likely to freeze during winter due to climate change. The river froze over for as long as 80 days in the 1900s, but due to climate change the period was shortened to an average of 14.5 days in the 2000s, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday in a report on the Han River history. This year, the river first froze on Jan. 14, a day later than usual and 12 days later than last year.Last ye
Jan. 27, 2012