Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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[Newsmaker] Concert accident refocuses parties on safety
Public safety has once again gripped the National Assembly with the recent ventilation shaft accident making the ruling and opposition parties hone in on related issues.On Friday, grates covering a ventilation shaft collapsed under the weight of people watching a K-pop performance in Techno Valley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The accident killed 16 people, and injured 11, eight of whom are said to be in critical condition. Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s interim leader R
PoliticsOct. 20, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Vent shafts accidents waiting to happen
The innumerable ventilation shafts around the country may be accidents just waiting to happen, with no regulations to ensure their structural integrity. With thousands of ventilation shafts, covered by metal grates, located in Seoul alone, their construction is subject to almost no safety regulation, often leaving it up to the construction companies to build according to their internal regulations. The related construction regulation simply states that the ventilation outlet should be located 2
Social AffairsOct. 19, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Why did N.K. chief join inter-Korean talks?
The appearance of North Korea’s military spy chief Kim Yong-chol at rare inter-Korean military talks on Wednesday has left many observers wondering what message Pyongyang wanted to convey through sending the hawkish figure.Some analysts argued that the head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, well-known for spearheading provocations against the South, attended the talks to show Pyongyang’s resolve to reconcile and improve cross-border relations.Others said that the appearance of the spy chief
North KoreaOct. 16, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Ebola infections may hit 10,000 a week: WHO
GENEVA ― The World Health Organization said Tuesday the Ebola infection rate could soon reach 10,000 a week as world leaders prepared to hold talks on the crisis at the United Nations.WHO assistant director general Bruce Aylward, describing his figures as a working forecast, said the epidemic “could reach 5,000 to 10,000 cases per week by the first week of December.”The latest death toll is 4,447, from 8,914 recorded infection cases, Aylward said as the worst-ever Ebola outbreak spirals in the t
World NewsOct. 15, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Tirole honored for firms' market power study
PARIS ― French economist Jean Tirole is a master of game theory and industrial organization, who on Monday added a Nobel prize to a gleaming heap of honors for his work.The 61-year-old was hailed by the Nobel Economics Prize jury as “one of the most influential economists of our time” for his analysis of big companies, market power and regulation.The professor at the Toulouse School of Economics has long been tipped as a potential economics laureate, an award that has been largely dominated by e
World NewsOct. 14, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Homeplus faces torrid Assembly audit
Homeplus, one of South Korea’s largest grocery chains, will have to explain during a parliamentary inspection what seems like an intentional leakage of its customers’ private information to third parties.Its alleged wrongdoings come at a time when public criticism is growing against the country’s weak security protection systems, following a series of information theft, leaks and monitoring.Homeplus executives, including chief executive Do Sung-hwan, as well as its multinational owner U.K.-based
TechnologyOct. 13, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Anti-N.K. leaflets: Double-edged sword
Steered by North Korean defectors and activists, civic groups and their anti-Pyongyang leaflets have long goaded the Kim regime into fury at what it calls an act of hostility. The two Koreas traded fire Friday after the North began shooting heavy machine guns, apparently aiming at balloons launched by two organizations which were filled with flyers denouncing the communist regime, $1 bills, mini radios and other items. A group of North Korean defectors living in South Korea sends balloons carry
North KoreaOct. 12, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Young writers debut on global literary scene
When people think of Korea, many identify the country with K-pop, TV dramas and, to a lesser extent, films. As the Korean wave, or Hallyu, has been shaped around the popular Korean culture, the country is taking the chance to prove the excellence of other aspects of Korean culture. This time, young Korean writers and editors have gathered to introduce contemporary Korean literature. Under the title “K-fiction,” the project has released Korean-English translations of short stories by young, emerg
BooksOct. 9, 2014
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[Newsmaker] LED: Light-bulb moment reducing carbon
PARIS ― Just over 20 years ago, three physicists working in two laboratories in Japan cracked a problem that had stumped rivals for decades ― how to prise blue light from a semiconductor.The feat paved the way to a low-energy source of light for illuminating homes, buildings, computers and mobile phones.On Tuesday, it earned Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura the 2014 Nobel Physics Prize, and a flow of tributes for providing the world with a weapon against global warming.By the time
World NewsOct. 8, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Nobel shows importance of location
PARIS ― Generations of scientists have pored over a seemingly basic but ultimately complex skill: how are humans able to find their way from one spot to another?Little by little, the fog of mystery is beginning to dissipate, thanks to work revealing the key areas in the brain that enable us to orientate ourselves and navigate.On Monday, the 2014 Nobel Prize for Medicine went to a trio of scientists who identified the brain cells essential to this task.In the early 1970s, John O’Keefe, a British-
World NewsOct. 7, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Counting cost of college application
With Korean universities continuing with their early admission programs for 2015, the nonrefundable application fees for higher education institutes have become topic of discussion as the sky-high fees deal a significant financial blow to poor students.A total of 24 colleges across the country are currently charging 80,000 won ($74) or more for each applicant, according to Education Ministry data recently revealed by Rep. Han Sun-kyo of the Saenuri Party. The data showed that students had to pay
Social AffairsOct. 6, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Visit by N.K. officials hogs limelight
The 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 that ended on Saturday surprised the world ― not just for its spectacular K-pop performances or medals dominated by China, but because of an unprecedented visit by top officials from North Korea.The North Korean delegation consisted of the three confidants to North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un. They are known as the secretive state’s political and military heavyweights who buttress the leadership of the young ruler, who took over the reclusive regime in De
PoliticsOct. 5, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Daum Kakao eyes growth as platform provider
Daum Communications and Kakao Corp. have joined forces and are looking ahead to an era in which everything is connected to the Internet.After five months of consolidating the two entities and their corporate cultures, the newly merged 12 trillion won ($11 billion) company will henceforth be called Daum Kakao.With a new black-and-white logo and the new slogan “Connect Everything,” Daum Kakao chief executives Choi Sae-hoon and Lee Sir-goo say the company aims to grow as a platform service provider
TechnologyOct. 1, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Korea takes aim at mobile subsidies
On Oct. 1, South Korea will enforce a revised law governing the sales and subsidies of mobile devices such as smartphones in an effort to eradicate long-standing malpractices by telecommunications operators.Consumers will no longer be discriminated against on the basis of age, place of residence or monthly subscription plan when using their existing mobile phones, buying a new phone or switching their mobile carriers.Everyone, regardless of their class and status, will be entitled to a subsidy s
TechnologySept. 30, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Pro-democracy protests expand in Hong Kong
HONG KONG ― Pro-democracy protesters wearing surgical masks and holding up umbrellas to protect against tear gas expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong on Monday, defying calls to disperse in a major pushback against Beijing’s decision to limit democratic reforms in the Asian financial hub.Police officers tried to negotiate with protesters camped out on a normally busy highway near the Hong Kong government headquarters that was the scene of tear gas-fueled clashes that erupted the evening b
World NewsSept. 29, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Faltering opposition pins hopes on Moon
Interim opposition leader Rep. Moon Hee-sang proposed high-level talks with the ruling Saenuri Party on Sunday, to end the ongoing political deadlock over the special Sewol bill.The ruling party refused, putting the opening of Tuesday’s plenary session as a precondition for any new negotiation with the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.The Saenuri Party’s rejection is likely to put the already-embattled NPAD in a catch-22.How well the party can escape its predicament will depend largely on Moo
PoliticsSept. 28, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Hagino wins his fourth swimming gold
Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won his fourth swimming gold but China ruled the pool as they shot out to a big lead on the medals table at the Asian Games Thursday.Hagino, 20, put in a strong final freestyle leg to add the 400 metres medley to his 200m medley, 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle titles in Incheon.“That was hard work, I felt like I could be in a bit of bother,” Hagino told reporters. “I didn’t expect to feel that tired but I kept it together somehow. Obviously the freestyle (leg) did bail
More SportsSept. 25, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Park confidante named Red Cross chief
The Korean Red Cross on Wednesday elected Sungjoo Group chairwoman Kim Sung-joo as its next president, triggering criticism that the election of a confidante of President Park Geun-hye’s is yet another parachute appointment.The organization, which mainly deals with inter-Korean humanitarian issues, held a session of its decision-making Central Committee to select its 28th president for a three-year term to begin from Oct. 8. After Park’s approval, Kim will take office as the youngest Korean Red
Social AffairsSept. 24, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Putin foe’s Kremlin bid sparks hope, jeers
MOSCOW ― For a project whose end goal might be the removal from power of President Vladimir Putin, it had a very inauspicious start. During a low-key ceremony broadcast online from Paris, exiled ex-billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky announced on Saturday he was re-launching his Open Russia charity to promote civil society in Russia.Few had expected any political statements, and there was little interest in the event from Russian media and the general public. But then things got interesting. Khodo
World NewsSept. 23, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Ex-aide probed for college misconduct
A former senior presidential secretary who left a lot of questions in the wake of his abrupt resignation was found to have been under police investigation on suspicions of operating an unauthorized course while serving as a university president, reports said on Monday.Song Kwang-yong, former senior presidential secretary for education and culture, tendered his resignation on Saturday, only three months after he took the post. His departure raised a flurry of speculations as he left without givin
PoliticsSept. 22, 2014