Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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Govt. to expand telemedicine services if trainee doctors go ahead with strike
The health ministry said Thursday that it will fully expand telemedicine services and mobilize assistant nurses if a major association of trainee doctors pushes ahead with a nationwide strike in protest of a plan to boost the number of medical students. Tension between doctors and the government has grown over last week's decision to add 2,000 to the country's medical school enrollment quota next year, a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo
Feb. 15, 2024
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Scandal-ridden ex-fiance of Olympic fencing medalist gets 12-yr prison sentence
A Seoul court sentenced the scandal-ridden former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee to 12 years in prison on Wednesday on fraud and forgery charges. The 28-year-old former fiance, Jeon Cheong-jo, was charged with swindling a total of about 3 billion won ($2.25 million) from 27 people under the pretext of investment between 2022 and 2023. Jeon presented herself to the victims as a secret heir to the high-end Paradise Hotel chain, enticing them with false investment opportunities tha
Feb. 14, 2024
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Man found dead after setting fire to British woman's face
A man in his 20s who set fire to the face of a female exchange student in December was found dead, closing the police investigation into the case, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on Wednesday. The suspect had sprayed volatile material into the face of a British woman and ignited it with a cigarette lighter on Dec. 15 near the dormitory building of a university in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. His whereabouts were unknown after fleeing the scene of the crime, until his body was found on th
Feb. 14, 2024
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Over half of population resides in Seoul metropolitan area: data
More than half of South Korea’s total population was found to reside in the capital city of Seoul and surrounding metropolitan cities, according to official data released by the government on Wednesday. As of December 2023, the registered populations in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province recorded up to 26.1 million residents, which made up 50.7 percent of the country's total population. Out of the 26.1 million, 9.39 million were registered in Seoul, 3 million were registered in Inch
Feb. 14, 2024
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Seoul to help more women to freeze eggs
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will double the number of subsidies it provides women to cryopreserve their eggs, said the city government on Wednesday, as part of the city government’s measure to tackle falling birth rates in the capital city. In September 2023, the city government proposed to provide up to 2 million won ($1,496) to 300 women between the ages of 20 and 49 who have resided in Seoul for more than six months. Starting in 2024, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide
Feb. 14, 2024
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Teenagers souring on marriage: survey
Teenagers in South Korea are becoming less keen to get married, while more than half believe that having children out of wedlock is acceptable, a study suggested Wednesday. According to the National Youth Policy Institute's recent research on teenagers' values conducted among some 7,718 students from elementary school to high school last year, 29.5 percent agreed that "marriage is a must." This is less than half the percentage 11 years ago, compared to 2012, when 73.2 percent
Feb. 14, 2024
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Man calls police 399 times 'because he was lonely'
South Korean police on Wednesday said they were investigating a man in his fifties for obstruction of public duties after he prank-called the police hundreds of times "just because he was lonely." The suspect was taken in by police after he called the 112 emergency service twice for no reason at around 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday. The man was drunk at the time, and told the officers who arrived on the scene the first time that he called "just because." Thirty minutes later he calle
Feb. 14, 2024
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Hwasun, county of dolmen colony in South Jeolla Province, aims to become younger
Famous for the Hwasun Dolmen Remains, the world's only dolmen colony registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Hwasun County in South Jeolla Province is now setting its sights on the future, according to Gu Bog-gyu, the county’s governor, pointing to the city's 10,000 won ($7.50) apartments. “Outside the capital region, many rural areas face a serious population decline problem, and Hwasun was no exception. However, by offering 10,000 won apartments to younger generations
Feb. 14, 2024
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Plant construction workers oppose foreign labor
Hundreds of plant construction workers held a rally Wednesday to urge the government not to allow plant construction companies to hire foreign workers. The Korean Plant Construction Workers’ Union, under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, staged rallies across the country, including in Seoul, Yeosu in South Jeolla Province and Ulsan. “Many Koreans are facing difficulties finding jobs at plant construction sites as construction business continues to stagnate. We condemn the Yoo
Feb. 14, 2024
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Med students mull strike over student quota expansion
With doctors groups still mulling a strike, incumbent medical students are also mulling collective action in protest of the government’s announcement last week of an increase in the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 from the current 3,058. The Korea Association of Medical Colleges, a group of current medical students, held an all-night online meeting earlier in the day, attended by representatives of each university’s medical school, to discuss submitting for leave of absence,
Feb. 14, 2024
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Shaman scams victim to pay for 'Lotto numbers from beyond'
South Korean court recently handed down a four-year jail term to a shaman who had swindled money from someone by pretending to speak to the victim's deceased mother. The 66-year-old defendant surnamed Jang claimed to the victim in April 2019 to have heard from the victim's late mother, who supposedly revealed the five winning numbers of the weekly South Korean Lotto. Jang said to the victim that an offering would be necessary to know the last number, and received 276 million won ($206,
Feb. 14, 2024
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Impeached ex-president's supporters lose bid for compensation
The appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday ruled against supporters of former President Park Geun-hye, denying their request for compensation for their psychological pain due to what they claim was the "unjust impeachment of Park." The plaintiffs, including a former reporter of the local Monthly Chosun magazine, filed a civic lawsuit against the state and eight justices of the Constitutional Court at the time of Park's impeachment in March 2013. The Co
Feb. 14, 2024
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Nurses support med school quota hike
The Korean Nursing Association on Wednesday pledged its support for the government plan to boost the enrollment quota at medical schools, in light of the doctors threatening a strike in protest of the plan. The Korean Nursing Association held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Seoul at which they expressed full support of the medical school overhaul and called for the normalization of the country's medical field. "Currently the people's lives are threatened du
Feb. 14, 2024
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Delivery workers demand strong penalty for drunk driving DJ
South Korean delivery workers on Tuesday submitted a joint petition to the local police demanding punishment for a 20-something DJ, who killed a 54-year-old delivery man when she was driving while drunk. The delivery workers' union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said a petition signed by 1,500 people had been submitted to Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, calling for a thorough investigation. "For delivery workers, the road is our place of work. And drunk dr
Feb. 14, 2024
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S. Korea sees warmest-ever February morning temperatures
South Korea recorded the warmest-ever February morning temperatures Wednesday, with morning lows in many parts of the nation exceeding 10 C, the weather agency said. The daily minimum temperature in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, reached 11 C, marking the highest morning low for February recorded since modern weather observations began in 1904, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The previous record was 8.5 C registered on Feb. 25, 2010. Highest-ever February morning lows
Feb. 14, 2024
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S. Korean kids' screen time 3 times WHO recommendation: study
South Korean kids aged between three and four spend about 184.8 minutes a day watching screens of electronic devices such as smartphones, TVs and computers, which is three times more than the recommended amount for the same age group by the World Health Organization, a recent study showed. The Korea Press Foundation surveyed 2,675 children aged between three and nine around the country from Oct. 26 to Dec. 8, and they found that children aged 3-4 spend an average of 80.4 minutes watching TV, 52.
Feb. 13, 2024
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Seoul to subsidize W1m for mothers' postpartum care
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide mothers who give birth in Seoul with a subsidy of 1 million won ($753) per child in 2024, said the city government through a press release on Tuesday. From September 2023, the city government subsidized newborn mothers' postpartum care in the form of voucher points, which were distributed to their credit or debit cards. Within just four months since the subsidy was introduced, up to 15,907 mothers signed up to receive the subsidy. However, at
Feb. 13, 2024
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4 out of 10 young adults forgo health care
More than 4 out of 10 young adults in South Korea have been unable to go to the hospital when they were sick because they were too busy or did not have enough money, a recent study showed. A report on young adult poverty and self-reliance released by the National Youth Policy Institute on Tuesday found that 41.6 percent of 4,000 young adults aged 19 to 34 said they had been unable to go to the hospital when they should have in the past year. The most common reason for not being able to go see th
Feb. 13, 2024
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Under pressure, junior doctors leave strike decision hanging
Tensions continued to build Tuesday between doctors and the government, with a group of over 10,000 junior doctors ending their first discussion about joining the nationwide strike without reaching a conclusion. Instead, they decided to forge an emergency committee in an apparent move to escalate their offensive against the government plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota. The Korea Intern Resident Association, consisting of thousands of junior doctors essential to the critical ca
Feb. 13, 2024
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Fire station that lost two firefighters had been understaffed: report
The fire station which lost two of its firefighters in a Jan. 31 fire had been understaffed when the deaths occurred, local media outlets reported Tuesday. It was recently found that two of the three teams at the Mungyeong Fire Station in North Gyeongsang Province had been running with five members instead of the mandated six. The two deceased firefighters, 27-year-old Kim Su-gwang and 35-year-old Park Su-hun, had been members of the understaffed team 1. The exact circumstances of how the two fi
Feb. 13, 2024