Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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Will China's self-sufficient dream in HBM come true?
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New U.S. envoy notes Lee’s optimism on FTA
The new top U.S. envoy to South Korea, Sung Kim, paid his first visit to Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Tuesday after taking office.The first Korean-born U.S. ambassador to Seoul expressed anticipation for the passage of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement at the National Assembly.“There’s great anticipation on passage of the FTA,” the ambassador said in response to the foreign minister’s comments that Lee was at the National Assembly to seek parliamentary approval of the agreement. The caree
Foreign AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Oh asks for global help to save his family in North Korea
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A teary old Korean man appealed Monday to legislators from around the world for help in his desperate efforts to meet his wife and two daughters who he hopes are alive in North Korea.“I believe they are alive. Otherwise, I don’t have a reason to live,” Oh Kil-nam, a 69-year-old retired economist, said at an international forum held on Capitol Hill.He was testifying at the eighth general meeting of the International Parliamentarians’ Coalition for North Korean Refugees
North KoreaNov. 15, 2011
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S. Korea adopts more flexible N.K. stance
Seoul sends hepatitis B vaccines to Pyongyang, halts flying propaganda leafletsThe South Korean government has been taking a more “flexible” approach to North Korea since Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik took office in September. The Unification Ministry said Tuesday it had finished sending 1 million hepatitis B vaccines for North Korean children with the help of international aid group Caritas Germany and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. The vaccinations are worth 1.06 billion w
North KoreaNov. 15, 2011
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Seoul City revamps tourism homepage
The capital will revamp its homepage for tourists, improving its search ability to better suit foreigners that visit the city each year, said officials on Tuesday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city’s homepage will be upgraded to offer an easier way for tourists to search for and access information through various multimedia devices, which will be launched on Wednesday.The revamp will also streamline information so that users may access all of Seoul’s seven separate tourist
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Defense Ministry to donate to Turkey earthquake victims
The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will make a donation to victims of recent earthquakes in Turkey, a close military partner for South Korea.The ministry said its employees and those working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other branches of the service collected about 26 million won ($23,090) in relief aid for Turkey. On Oct. 23 and again last Thursday, Van province in the eastern part of the country was ravaged by huge earthquakes that killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless.A
DefenseNov. 15, 2011
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Korea to force convicted draft dodgers to complete duty
The Cabinet passed a bill that would force those convicted of cheating on their physical to avoid military duty into mandatory service.Under the revised enforcement ordinance for the military service law, those who receive prison terms for injuring themselves or cheating at physical tests to avoid their mandatory military duty will no longer be eligible for military exemption.The bill also would also end military exemption for those who did not finish middle school.In South Korea, all able-bodie
DefenseNov. 15, 2011
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First alternative school to open in Seoul for ethnic minority students
South Korea’s first alternative elementary school for children from multicultural families will open in Seoul next year with flexible programs centered on cultural and language courses, the local education office said Tuesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it has approved the license for the School of Global Sarang, founded by Rev. Kim Hae-sung, who has worked with migrant workers in South Korea over the last two decades. “Sarang” means love in Korean.The school, set to open in
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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S. Korea certifies new stem cell research center
South Korea’s health watchdog said Tuesday it has certified a new stem cell research institute to help the country expand its knowhow in the cutting-edge scientific field.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Stem Cell Research Center at Jeju National University has been authorized to conduct tests on somatic embryos.Headed by bioengineering professor and renowned stem cell researcher Park Se-pill, the center is the sixth institute to be given permission to carry out crit
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Employment gender gap narrows
More women and fewer men in their 20s land jobs during past 15 years“While men have had a hard time looking for jobs after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, which forced many businesses to undergo sweeping restructuring and downsizing programs, women have shown a small but ongoing increase,” the report said. The reason for the decline in employment is the growing number of university graduates creating hectic competition, Seong explained.While only 34 percent of those aged 20 and 21 were unive
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Korean NGOs in full bloom
Korea had to wait until after the military-backed authoritarian regime collapsed in the late 1980s to see nongovernmental organizations in full bloom.Under three decades of dictatorial rule, it was not expected for a civil society independent of the government’s sway to come into existence.The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice set up in 1989 was the first major nongovernmental organization in the country. In the 1990s, more civic groups with influential voices, including the Korean Federa
PoliticsNov. 15, 2011
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Civic activists make inroads into politics
Discontent with establishment tears down wall between political circle, civil societyHundreds of participants looked upbeat about the prospects of the organization they were launching in Seoul last Thursday.Having named their group the “Country I Dream Of,” they pledged to realize the dream through active political participation. Their immediate concern was apparently next April’s parliamentary elections, in which many of the participants are planning to run.The group, which often goes by the Ko
PoliticsNov. 15, 2011
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Economics professor Jeong nominated as Yonsei president
Jeong Kap-young, economics professor at Yonsei University, has been nominated as president of the university, the school said Monday. The university’s board selected Jeong from five candidates recommended by the presidential search committee. “After the board reviewed possible violations of research ethics among the five candidates, their financial statuses, criminal and hospital records and other conditions in the nomination process, the board members picked Jeong after the final interview on M
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Seoul mayor attacked by conservative activist
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was attacked by a 62-year-old woman Tuesday during a civil defense exercise in a subway station but was not hurt, witnesses said.The woman, only identified by her last name Park, hit the mayor on the neck while the liberal mayor was watching a pub
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Comedian-turned-director indicted over unpaid wages
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- Disgraced comedian-turned-director Shim Hyung-rae was indicted without physical detention Tuesday on charges of not paying workers of his own movie production house, prosecutors said.Shim, the head of Younggu-Art Entertainment, was accused of failing to pay 891 million won
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Lee says will seek ISD revision
(Yonhap News)President tells opposition Seoul will ask U.S. to revise disputed FTA clause if Assembly passes billPresident Lee Myung-bak offered Tuesday to open a new round of negotiations with the U.S. on a set of controversial clauses in the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, once the parliament ratifies the treaty. Lee made the proposal to Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, during a meeting with party leaders at the National Assembly. “The president said he wo
PoliticsNov. 15, 2011
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First alternative school to open in Seoul for multicultural students
South Korea's first alternative elementary school for children from multicultural families will open in Seoul next year with flexible programs centered on cultural and language courses, the local education office said Tuesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it has approved the licens
Social AffairsNov. 15, 2011
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Ahn Cheol-soo says he acted on long-dreamed goal of donation
Star computer software entrepreneur Ahn Cheol-soo said Tuesday his decision to make a massive donation of personal wealth was a long-held dream of his but declined to comment on whether the decision is related to his political ambitions.Ahn, the founder of South Korea's No. 1 anti-virus software fir
PoliticsNov. 15, 2011
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Ahn Cheol-soo to donate 150b won to society
A prominent computer software entrepreneur said Monday he will donate about 150 billion won ($133 million) to help educate children of low-income families. "I plan to use about half of my shares of AhnLab for the society," Ahn Cheol-soo said in an e-mail announcement to employees of AhnLa
PoliticsNov. 14, 2011
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Lee calls free trade pact with U.S. 'survival strategy' for Korea
HONOLULU/SEOUL (Yonhap News) -- President Lee Myung-bak made yet another pitch for parliamentary ratification of the free trade agreement with the United States, stressing that the pact is a "survival strategy" that will help the country tide over global economic crises.Lee and his ruling Grand Nati
PoliticsNov. 14, 2011
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Korean tourist killed in boat crash in Philippines
A Korean tourist was killed this week in a boat crash off the eastern coast of the Philippine island of Cebu, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Monday.A banana boat carrying three South Korean tourists, including a 50-year-old woman identified only by her surname Ji, collided with an outrigger canoe on Sunday morning, causing all three to fall into the water, the ministry said in a statement.The tourists were soon rescued and taken to a nearby hospital, where Ji died and the other two are receiving
Foreign AffairsNov. 14, 2011