Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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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 Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Gong loses Assembly seat on conviction of illegal funding
Rep. Gong Sung-jin of the ruling Grand National Party lost his parliamentary seat Thursday as the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision to convict him of receiving illicit political funds.The top court confirmed the appellate court’s ruling that sentenced the 58-year-old politician to eight months in jail ― suspended for two years ― and fined him 158.38 million won ($146,133). Gong Sung
PoliticsJune 9, 2011
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DP pushes 3-step plan tuition fee cut
As students vowed to stage a candlelight protest on Friday calling for tuition cuts, the main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday announced its three-stage plan toward that goal.“We will first restore the scholarship system for the low-income bracket, which the ruling party ruled out last year through budget reduction,” said Rep. Park Young-sun, the party’s policy chairperson.“The next steps w
PoliticsJune 9, 2011
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Latvia P.M. promotes wood exports to Korea
Latvia raised eyebrows this year by emerging from its crippling economic recession to slowly take its place as an economically viable country. To increase the country’s momentum, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is in Seoul until June 11 with representatives in logistics, financial services, wood processing and tourism to meet with Korean entrepreneurs and senior officials to find ways to
Foreign AffairsJune 9, 2011
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GNP turns against probe unit closure
Lawmakers increasingly oppose plan to shut Central Investigation DepartmentA parliamentary committee’s move to abolish the prosecution’s core investigation unit faced an obstacle as the majority of ruling party lawmakers opposed the plan, after Cheong Wa Dae urged the party to consider the matter prudently.The Grand National Party held a general meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to close down
PoliticsJune 9, 2011
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Rainy season may trouble water management
Concerns are mounting over the safety of the four-river refurbishment sites as well as the burial pits for slaughtered animals as the country enters into its rainy season Friday. Whether the government-led projects, both blamed for being ineffectual and reckless, cansustain the large amount of hheavyrainfall is drawing attention. According to the Korea Water Resources Corporation, an agency in cha
Social AffairsJune 9, 2011
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Three possible causes pinned down for Naro rocket launch failure
Korean investigators on Thursday pinned down three possible causes for last year’s failed launch of Korea’s first space rocket, saying that there might have been problems with both the upper and lower parts of the two-stage rocket.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology also said that the Seoul and Moscow governments would form a new 30-person civilian probe team within the month to iden
Social AffairsJune 9, 2011
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[News Focus] Students, parents pin hopes on fee cuts
Number of student defaulters swells eightfold in 5 years to top 35,000 as of AprilWhen he returned home from military service, Chung Jae-young, then 22, found out that his father had failed in business and the family was bankrupt. After giving up on going back to school, he did everything he could to feed the family. But what dragged him down the most, he said, was a student loan of 10 million won
Social AffairsJune 9, 2011
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N.K. threatens to disclose voice recordings of secret contact
North Korea threatened Thursday to disclose voice recordings of a secret meeting it had with South Korea last month, during which Seoul allegedly proposed holding a series of inter-Korean summits.In a surprise move earlier this week, North Korea reported that the two Koreas held a secret meeting, during which Seoul negotiators had "begged" for three inter-Korean summits, the first in late June at
North KoreaJune 9, 2011
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Lee names new top aides
President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday replaced some of his aides, including senior presidential secretaries for political affairs and public relations.Rep. Kim Hyo-jae of the Grand National Party was named to succeed Chung Jin-seok as senior presidential secretary for political affairs.The presidential office also appointed Kim Du-woo, executive presidential secretary for planning and management, to
PoliticsJune 9, 2011
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A jackpot of 100 wild ginsengs
Wild jinseng jackpot found in Jeonnam Province About 120 roots of wild ginseng were found in Jeonnam Province, which may be worth up to $100,000.Wild ginseng is very rare and traditionally considered sacred -- according to legend it can only be found by those with a pure heart. It is also invaluable to Oriental medicine, often referred to as a “cure-all,” or symbol of longevity.Two men, known by t
Social AffairsJune 9, 2011
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S. Korea finds environmental hormone in Taiwanese food products
(Yonhap) -- South Korea's food safety watchdog said Wednesday that two imported Taiwanese food products have been found to contain a potentially health-threatening environmental hormone. The products, manufactured by Taiwanese firms Yungshin Pharm and Tosaka International, were taken off shelves immediately for containing DEHP, according to the Korea Food and Drug Administration. The KFDA, how
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Deposit insurance corp. investigates employees at Busan savings bank’s SPC
The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation is investigating some 570 employees at a special purpose company of the distressed Busan savings bank group to find out whether they are responsible for its financial troubles, officials said Wednesday. It has also discovered some 4,000 real estate properties owned by the employees and plans to seize them should they be found to have committed any wrongdoin
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Korea to boost benefits for foreign patients
Foreign patients who have accidents while being treated at Korean medical facilities will be able to receive compensation guaranteed by the government. Hospitals will also be able to sell drugs to foreign patients directly without having to refer their prescriptions to nearby pharmacies, and foreign medical staff visiting Korea for training purposes will be able to participate in clinical procedur
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Ministry chided for over-the-counter drug restriction
Pharmacists say monopoly on OTC drugs needed to ensure public safetyMinister of Health and Welfare Chin Soo-hee is in hot water over the issue of selling over-the-counter drugs outside pharmacies. While pharmacists claim exclusive management rights for any drugs for safety reasons, a majority of doctors and pharmaceutical companies, along with the presidential office are calling for the expansion
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Accounting firms next to face scrutiny
Prosecutors suspect lax or corrupt auditing worsened savings banks problemsProsecutors investigating corruption at mutual savings bank are set to scrutinize accounting firms which they say stood by while the lenders engaged in massive illegal lending and cooked books to conceal their true financial status. Investigators on Wednesday raided an office of Deloitte Anjin LLC in Gwangju, South Jeolla P
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Records agency to mark International Archives Day
The state archives agency will hold the country’s first ceremony on Thursday marking International Archives Day in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, officials said.The ceremony will take place at the Nara Repository, a high-tech records management facility of the National Archives of Korea, and is expected to draw about 200 people including NAK president Lee Gyeong-og.Separately from the ceremony, the
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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Justice Ministry ban mulled for prosecutors
Amid debate over recent demands to close down the prosecution’s core investigation unit, the parliamentary subcommittee on judicial reform is considering banning prosecutors from working in the Justice Ministry.The committee met on Wednesday to discuss the possible revision of the current prosecutor’s office law, officials said.The bill would forbid prosecutors from working in the ministry and est
PoliticsJune 8, 2011
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Seoul unveils plan to make life ‘smarter’
The Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled Wednesday a road map to make life “smarter” by expanding IT services.Currently, free wireless Internet services are available in 83 percent of the city, with the number of smart device users exceeding the 10 million mark in March. The South Korean capital, one of the most-wired cities in the world, plans to extend the free Wi-Fi network at all public buil
Social AffairsJune 8, 2011
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DP proposes tuition cut legislation
Ruling bloc prefers fees help tailored toward disadvantaged studentsDebate over college tuition cuts once again picked up momentum in the parliamentary interpellation on social, education and culture issues on Thursday.The opposition parties called for an immediate tuition cut, whereas the ruling party claimed that an unconditional cut could lower the education level.“Some 7 trillion won or half o
PoliticsJune 8, 2011
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U.S. Congress proposes another bill on tougher sanctions against N.K.
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bipartisan bill on reinforcing sanctions on North Korea, along with Iran and Syria, for their proliferation activities, a senior congresswoman said Tuesday.The bill, co-drafted by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California) calls for the expans
North KoreaJune 8, 2011