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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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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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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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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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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday said it will put more responsibility on non-custodial mothers and fathers to bear child-rearing expenses by having them pay the government directly for the expenses covered by the state in advance. Under the advance payment of child-rearing expenses system, the state pays unpaid child support to the custodial parent first and then collects the outstanding amount from the non-custodial parent later. As early as next year, the new single-paren
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Korea enters full election mode
South Korea shifted into full-scale election mode Thursday, with political parties launching their official campaigns to stretch until the general election on April 10 that is expected to shape the political landscape for the next four years. For the next 13 days, eligible candidates representing their parties are allowed to use loudspeakers and trucks with megaphones for campaigning activities in open spaces from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the National Election Commission on Thursday. The t
PoliticsMarch 28, 2024
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Voluntary subscribers for state pension service declining
The number of South Koreans who voluntarily subscribe to the National Pension Service continued on a downward trajectory last year, according to the NPS on Thursday. As of November of 2023, 858,829 of those subscribed to the state-run pension plans were categorized as voluntary subscribers. The National Pension Act mandates that anyone living in South Korea with a fixed income -- including foreign nationals -- between the age of 18 and 59 must be subscribed to the NPS, but a number of people cho
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Financial struggles leading trigger for suicidal ideation
Stress related to financial difficulties was the primary cause of suicidal ideation among Koreans across all age groups, a survey on national public perception of suicide released by the Health Ministry showed Thursday. Nearly 45 percent of respondents pointed to money issues as the main trigger of suicidal ideation, while 42.2 percent said family problems. Other causes included physical illness, emotional difficulty, intimate partner problems and alcohol addiction. Of the 2,807 people who parti
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Formerly outspoken billionaire takes down social media posts
Chung Yong-jin, the recently appointed chairman of Shinsegae Group, had deleted nearly all of the posts from his Instagram page as of Thursday, fanning speculations that he may be quitting his stepping back from his activities on social media. Chung's page, which has some 843,000 followers, only has a few posts remaining that contain only photos and no text. The photos are of nature, of him reading or holding presentations or of him meeting famous people like former New York Yankees shortst
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Far-right lawmaker candidate forcefully detains migrant workers
Police have initiated an investigation into a candidate for the National Assembly who has taken it upon himself to forcefully detain and inspect migrant workers, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. Police in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and Daegu received multiple complaints alleging that Park Jin-jae, a candidate for the Liberty Unification Party, has been accosting people who appear to be migrant workers, according to a report by the Kyunghyang Shinmun. The Liberty Unification P
PoliticsMarch 28, 2024
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Man on trial after driving wife to suicide, by forcing her to shoot sex videos
A South Korean man on trial for driving his wife to suicide by forcing her to film adult content and sex videos has denied accusations of illegally confining the victim, local court said Thursday. During the court hearing on Wednesday at Incheon District Court, the 37-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to the charges of distributing "obscene content" and intimidation against the victim, but said he did not hold her against her will. He did not elaborate on his claims. The defendant has
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Strike halts Seoul buses; which ones are still operational?
Unionized Seoul bus drivers on Thursday kicked off an indefinite strike, as 97.6 percent of the buses in the nation's capital ceased operations. With 7,210 of the 7,382 buses grounded, here are some of the Seoul buses that remain operational as of Thursday morning. All 'maeul' buses The strike involves the Seoul Bus Labor Union, which is affiliated with the Korea Automobile & Transport Workers' Federation. As such, drivers of "maeul" buses ("village&q
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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Russia's foreign intelligence chief visits N. Korea this week
Russia's foreign intelligence chief visited North Korea earlier this week to discuss ways to bolster cooperation in responding to spying and plotting activities by hostile forces, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. Sergei E. Naryshkin, director of the External Intelligence Bureau, visited Pyongyang between Monday and Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Naryshkin met with Ri Chang-dae, the North's state security minister, and working-level talks were als
North KoreaMarch 28, 2024
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
Official campaigning kicked off Thursday for the April 10 general elections, with the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party vying fiercely for control of the National Assembly. The quadrennial race holds significant importance for the ruling party as failure to regain a majority could potentially render President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for the remaining three years of his single five-year term. The main opposition Democratic Party aims to retain its parliamentary
PoliticsMarch 28, 2024
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on a general strike Thursday to demand a wage hike, halting the operation of nearly 98 percent of buses running across the capital and causing delays for commuters in the morning rush hour. In their last-minute wage negotiations conducted from Wednesday till early Thursday morning, the Seoul Bus Labor Union and their employers failed to strike a deal over the union's demand for a 12.7 percent increase in hourly wages. The union, which has about 18,000 mem
Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024
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US slaps new sanctions against 6 N. Koreans, 2 entities for financing NK WMD programs
The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on six North Korean nationals and two third-country entities for their role to help finance Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction programs, the Treasury Department said. In coordination with South Korea, the department announced sanctions targeting agents of designated North Korean banks as well as companies that employ North Korean IT workers abroad, as it accused them of helping generate revenue for the recalcitrant regime in Pyongyan
North KoreaMarch 28, 2024
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Yoon receives JFK Profile in Courage Award from late president's daughter
President Yoon Suk Yeol met US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy on Wednesday and received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, five months after being honored by the US foundation, the presidential office said. The ambassador, honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the daughter of the late US president, handed over a sterling silver lantern symbolizing the award to Yoon during their meeting at the presidential office. The delivery comes after the founda
Foreign AffairsMarch 27, 2024
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Navy sailor dies overboard during drill in East Sea
A Navy sailor died after falling overboard while attending a maritime drill in the East Sea on Wednesday, the Navy said. The Navy sergeant aboard a fast patrol boat fell into the water during a live-fire exercise in the East Sea in the afternoon, the Navy's 1st Fleet said. He received first aid treatment and was sent to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead, the armed service said. The Navy said it is looking into the cause of the accident. He is known to have fallen into the water as h
DefenseMarch 27, 2024
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Story of runaway ostrich bears similarities to Sero the escaped zebra
A runaway ostrich caught Tuesday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is thought to have escaped from its enclosure due to loneliness, according to the owner of the farm where the ostrich was housed. Scenes of the male ostrich, named Tadori, running around busy roads were reminiscent of Sero the zebra, who escaped from a Seoul zoo in March 2023. Tadori has been alone in his enclosure since his mate Tasuni died last month. The pair had been kept at a nature experience farm in Seongnam since July 2020
Social AffairsMarch 27, 2024
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
On a rainy Monday afternoon in Dongjak-gu, southwestern Seoul, four-term lawmaker and star politician Na Kyung-won stepped inside the underground Sadang Station around 5:50 p.m. to greet tired commuters returning home from work. Faces of several Dongjak-gu residents who spotted the 60-year-old former judge-turned-politician lit up as they approached her to shake hands. Some even took photos with her, acting like excited fans who finally met their rock star. Greeting commuters returning from wo
PoliticsMarch 27, 2024
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Ruling party leader pledges to relocate National Assembly to Sejong
The ruling party interim leader pledged Wednesday to relocate the National Assembly to the administrative city of Sejong to balance out the political power currently concentrated in the nation’s capital. Han Dong-hoon, the interim chief of the People Power Party, revealed plans to push for “complete relocation of the National Assembly to Sejong to end an era of Yeouido politics,” in a press conference held some two weeks ahead of the April 10 legislative election. Yeouido, an
PoliticsMarch 27, 2024
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Unification Ministry nurtures hope for detainees in N. Korea
South Korea's Ministry of Unification has intensified efforts to raise awareness, both domestically and internationally, regarding South Koreans who have been abducted, detained forcibly and held as prisoners of war in North Korea. At the heart of the campaign is the distribution of symbolic badges adorned with three forget-me-not flowers, both at home and abroad. This emblem symbolizes the "right to not be forgotten" for abductees, detainees and POWs, reflecting the government
North KoreaMarch 27, 2024
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
The Korean Medical Association, a group that represents some 140,000 doctors, said it has picked a pediatrician, known as a hardliner toward the government’s policy, as the group’s new head, dampening hopes for a dialogue to resolve the prolonged medical standoff. Having been elected, the new KMA head Lim Hyun-taek demanded President Yoon Suk Yeol apologize for pushing ahead with the medical student quota expansion plan and fire health minister, saying both are prerequisites for talk
Social AffairsMarch 27, 2024
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[Community Discovery] Songpa-gu sets stage for cherry blossoms
As the season of cherry blossoms approaches in Seoul, the Songpa-gu district office is gearing up to host its annual cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake Park from Wednesday to Sunday. The park, which spans 2.6 kilometers, is filled with almost 1,100 cherry blossom trees. According to the district office of Songpa-gu, the lake has been around for 50 years, with cherry trees donated by Lotte -- which operates establishments in the district including a theme park on an island in the lake -- an
Social AffairsMarch 27, 2024