Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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[Editorial] Opaque accounting
The nation’s two largest labor groups, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, are found to have received 152 billion won ($117 million) in subsidies over the past five years from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and 17 regional governments -- eight cities including Seoul and nine provinces. According to data disclosed by Kweon Seon-dong, a People Power Party lawmaker, the groups received 17.7 billion won in subsidies from the ministry and 13
Feb. 22, 2023
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[Editorial] A tricky decision
The Bank of Korea is scheduled to announce its benchmark interest rate on Thursday, following heightened attention on the market and growing concerns over their tightening monetary policy. Last month the central bank raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, a seventh straight rate increase since April last year. It also marked the 10th rate hike, totaling a combined 3 percentage points, since August 2021, when the BOK started “normalizing” the low rate. Opinions ar
Feb. 21, 2023
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[Editorial] Let the court judge
The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea declared “war” on the prosecution for requesting a warrant to arrest its leader Lee Jae-myung. It is bracing up for the battle to vote down the request for the National Assembly’s consent to Lee's arrest. If the prosecution asks for a warrant to arrest a lawmaker, the court sends a request to the prosecution to seek the National Assembly's consent to the arrest. The prosecution forwards the request to the National As
Feb. 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Temporary fix
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday the government would freeze the price of public utilities, at least for the first half of the year, in a bid to ease the growing financial burden on the public following outcry over soaring heating bills and high inflation. At a meeting of economic ministers, Yoon requested the central government freeze public utility bills -- road, railroad and postal fees -- for the first half of this year. He also asked provincial governments to cooperate in stabilizing
Feb. 17, 2023
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[Editorial] Salaried workers' blues
The government collected 57.4 trillion won ($45.3 billion) in earned income tax last year. The revenue increased 21.6 percent or 10.2 trillion won in a year. Compared with five years ago or 2017, it swelled 68.8 percent or 23.4 trillion won. Revenues from overall national taxation and general income tax increased 49.2 percent and 49.4 percent, respectively, over the five-year period. Total withholding income tax levied on salaried employees increased much faster than both general income tax an
Feb. 16, 2023
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[Editorial] Fatal child abuse
In back-to-back incidents, two young children have been found dead in Incheon this month in connection with alleged abuse and negligence by their parents, igniting criticism over the repeated failures of child protection services to safeguard children. On Feb. 2, a 2-year-old boy was found dead. Incheon Police Station took a 24-year-old woman into custody on suspicion of leaving her son at home alone for three days. Police suspect that the boy died of starvation, though investigations are still
Feb. 15, 2023
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[Editorial] Public role of banks
The top four commercial banks in South Korea posted record-breaking profits last year, greatly helped by the wide gap in deposit and lending rates following a steady rise in interest rates amid raging disputes over their “easy” profits and their public role. Shinhan Bank led the pack by posting 4.64 trillion won ($3.66 billion) in net profit last year, followed by KB Kookmin Bank with 4.41 trillion won, Woori Bank at 3.17 trillion won and Hana Bank's 3.62 trillion won. The stell
Feb. 13, 2023
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[Editorial] Political abuse
The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea and two minor parties pushed a motion to impeach Interior Minister Lee Sang-min through the National Assembly on Wednesday. It is the nation’s first-ever impeachment of a Cabinet member. He was suspended from his duties immediately. There were great concerns that the impeachment was inappropriate in many respects, but the Democratic Party shut its ears. The relationship between the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party will
Feb. 10, 2023
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[Editorial] Dispute on start of old age
How old is old? In South Korea, there is one simple measure. If you turn 65, you are officially identified as a senior citizen and are eligible for free subway rides. But the age of 65 that delimits “old age” here might be raised to 70 in the near future, something that could force many poverty-stricken elderly people to stay home. More important, raising the eligibility age for free subway rides involves more than the perception of older adults in Korea. It is a complex matter linke
Feb. 9, 2023
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[Editorial] Absurd bills for Lee
The Democratic Party of Korea is said to be preparing a horde of bills to pressure prosecutors and restrict their rights, as the prosecution is on the brink of indicting its leader, Lee Jae-myung, in connection with an array of alleged irregularities that transpired when he was the mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and the governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lawmakers of the majority opposition party took to the streets last Saturday and condemned the "prosecutors' tyranny" -- an
Feb. 8, 2023
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[Editorial] Price debacle
Soaring energy bills, led by gas and electricity, are hitting South Korean households, already saddled with rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation that erode into disposable income amid few signs of an economic recovery. The latest energy price figures released Sunday by the Korean Statistical Information Service shows how big increases have been made for the prices of essential utilities such as gas and electricity in a year -- and is an indicator of how painful it is for Koreans t
Feb. 7, 2023
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[Editorial] Time for self-reflection
The prison sentence given to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk is founded on a court judgment that those who undermine the fairness of our society should be punished severely. The court sentenced him to two years in jail. The ruling came three years and two months after he was indicted for forging his daughter's credentials to facilitate her admission into a medical school and abusing his power when he was senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. Cho strongly denied the charges, but t
Feb. 6, 2023
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[Editorial] Chip slump hits exports
South Korea suffered a record-high trade deficit in January, hammered by the sluggish demand for semiconductors, a major export item, amid worries about a global economic slowdown that could further depress the country’s exports in the coming months. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Wednesday, the country's outbound shipments dropped 16.6 percent on-year to $46.27 billion in January. Imports shrank by 2.6 percent on-year to $58.96 billion, a relatively small
Feb. 3, 2023
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[Editorial] Remittance connection
Kim Seong-tae, the former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, allegedly said he gave North Korea $3 million in 2019 to facilitate then-Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung's visit to the North. Lee is the leader of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Previously, Kim told prosecutors that he handed a total of more than $5 million to North Korea to obtain economic cooperation rights involving the North. However, grilled by prosecutors recently over the group's addition
Feb. 2, 2023
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[Editorial] Soaring utility bills
Many South Koreans were deeply shocked to see their heating bills for December as a result of gas price hikes and more cold waves this winter. The so-called “heating bill bomb,” however, is not the last one. The heating bills for January will be equally, if not more, painful for most households. Worse still, other utility rates, led by electricity, are scheduled to be raised, putting more burdensome pressure on households and companies at a time when the country is still mired in an
Feb. 1, 2023
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[Editorial] Unjustifiable silence
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung appeared at the prosecutor's office to be questioned as a suspect Saturday in connection with allegations over a property development project. It was the second time for the chair of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea to appear before the prosecutor for questioning after being interrogated in a separate corruption probe 18 days earlier. The questioning started at 10:30 a.m. and ended at 9 p.m., then Lee reviewed the interrogation report on hi
Jan. 31, 2023
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[Editorial] Fixing pension crisis
South Korea’s national pension is on track to be depleted by 2055, unless drastic and painful reforms are taken by the government. The question is whether policymakers can pull off a consensus on this sensitive issue in time. The National Pension Service (NPS) announced temporary projections about the fund at a press conference Friday at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The fund is set to swing into deficit starting from 2041, and will be completely drained in 2055, the NPS said. The ne
Jan. 30, 2023
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[Editorial] Price of populism
Soaring heating bills and high inflation are fanning worries over the cost of living. The retail price of city gas rose about 38 percent last year as a consequence of the international price of liquefied natural gas, mostly used for heating, surging 128 percent. The cold has been unusually severe this winter. The government has frozen gas rates for the first quarter but says that additional hikes are unavoidable after the second quarter. To make matters worse, Seoul is currently taking procedure
Jan. 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Broadening market access
South Korean financial authorities have announced a set of changes aimed at attracting more foreign investors by removing outdated restrictions and making the local market more accessible. If successful, the country would be able to move closer to join the top grade of global market indices. Whether the new revisions will indeed draw more foreign investors, however, depends on a mix of other related reform measures on a broader scale. The Financial Services Commission said Tuesday it will revise
Jan. 26, 2023
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[Editorial] Strengthen spy probe
Four former and current executive officials of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions are under investigation by the National Intelligence Service on suspicion of spying for North Korea. The agency and the police searched the headquarters office of the nation’s major labor group last week. The search and seizure warrant issued by the court is said to have contained concrete grounds for suspicions that the service has secured for a long stretch of time. They are suspected of contacting a
Jan. 25, 2023