Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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In Korea, over-70s now outnumber 20-somethings
The number of people aged over 70 has surpassed the number of those in their 20s for the first time since national demographics have been compiled, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Wednesday. According to the ministry, as of Dec. 31, 2023, South Korea’s total population was 51.32 million, a 0.22 percent decrease from the year before. The population numbers for those aged 70 and up stood at 6,319,402, while those in their 20s stood at 6,197,486. Until 2022, the number of
Jan. 10, 2024
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Woman gets jail term for stalking superstar couple
A South Korean court on Wednesday handed a six-month prison term to a woman who was convicted of stalking a local celebrity couple, singer and actor Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee. The Seoul Western District Court also ordered 40 hours of psychological treatment for the defendant in her 40s, who was found to be suffering from mental illness. "The defendant is a first-time offender and it does not appear as if she intended to harm the victims," the court said in its verdict, adding that s
Jan. 10, 2024
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Man fined for erasing over 4,000 company files before quitting
A man who erased thousands of digital files owned by his former employer has been fined 5 million won ($3,800), a South Korean court said Wednesday. The Seoul Eastern District Court assessed the punishment for a 35-year-old former employee of a local online retailer. The former employee was indicted on interference with business charges for erasing 4,216 files the company had saved to Google Drive in April 2021. He had been feuding with the company over distribution of profit, and quit the compa
Jan. 10, 2024
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No. of depression patients surpasses 1m in Korea: data
The number of patients with depression in Korea surpassed the 1-million mark in 2022, data showed Wednesday. According to data released by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients treated for depression has increased every year in the past five years. In 2018, 753,011 patients were treated for depression, 799,038 patients in 2019, 832,329 patients in 2020 and 915,294 patients in 2021. In 2022, the number surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time, recordi
Jan. 10, 2024
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Seoul mayor in Vegas to promote city's vision, cooperation with MLB
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Charlie Hill, Major League Baseball's vice president of international strategy, in Las Vegas on Tuesday, pledging the city’s full support to help the MLB globalize baseball and vowing plans to build a domed baseball stadium and convention center, as previously announced. The meeting took place on the sidelines of CES 2024, the world's largest technology show. Oh arrived in Las Vegas early Tuesday to host the Seoul Pavilion and promote Seoul’s
Jan. 10, 2024
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Half of Busan residents over 50 years old
Nearly half of the population in Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, is over age 50, a report compiling statistics on those over 50 in Busan showed, Wednesday. The report by Busan Metropolitan City revealed that, as of 2022, 46.5 percent of the city’s population, totaling 1.53 million, belongs to the age group of 50 and above. The figure breaks down into two subgroups: approximately 830,000 residents who are age 50 to 65, and the remaining 702,000 residents who are aged 65 or
Jan. 10, 2024
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Sejong University tourism professor most cited researcher
Han Hee-sup, a professor in the department of hospitality and tourism management at Sejong University, has been selected as one of the world's most influential researchers in 2023. Organized by Clarivate, a global information analytics company, the "Highly Cited Researchers" list recognizes the top 1 percent of researchers in 21 fields based on the number of times their papers have been cited over the past decade. Han was selected as a highly cited researcher for a fifth consecuti
Jan. 10, 2024
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Permission policy to be implemented for raising fierce dogs
People wishing to raise dogs with fierce traits in South Korea will be required to get permission from mayors or provincial governors, beginning in April, as part of efforts to reduce fatal attacks involving such dogs, officials said Wednesday. Owners of fierce dogs will also be required to hold a liability insurance program and have their dogs neutered or spayed, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. People who have already raised such dogs must receive permission wi
Jan. 10, 2024
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Govt. vows to boost public housing supply, lift green-belt restrictions
The government on Wednesday announced a set of measures to boost new housing and development projects, including the lifting of green-belt restrictions around the capital area, to reinvigorate recently dwindled housing projects across the country. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the measures centered around the housing policy for 2024 at a government policy debate forum attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol in Goyang, northwest of Seoul. The ministry said it plans to
Jan. 10, 2024
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Jobs in manufacturing sector, for youths decline in 2023 despite overall gains
South Korea's on-year employment grew at a slower pace in 2023 as the number of newly employed fell in the manufacturing sector and among young people, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people rose 327,000 in 2023 from a year earlier, or 1.2 percent, to come to 28.41 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the third consecutive year that the country added jobs on-year, following job losses in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the job growth
Jan. 10, 2024
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[Graphic News] S. Korea’s population set to dip to 36.2m by 2072 amid low birth rate
South Korea’s current population of around 51.6 million is expected to decline significantly to 36.2 million by 2072 due to critically low birth rates, a statistics report showed. The portion of seniors aged 65 and above in the population, which came to 17.4 percent in 2022, is expected to soar to 47.7 percent in 2072, according to the biennial report released by state-run Statistics Korea. Regarding the state of the population, the agency predicted an annual fall of 0.16 percent fo
Jan. 10, 2024
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National Assembly passes dog meat consumption ban
The National Assembly on Tuesday decided to completely root out the practice of butchering dogs for consumption by passing a special bill that punishes such activities. The bill seeks to impose a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,800) or a maximum jail term of three years on dog farmers or butchers who are caught killing dogs for consumption. Those who are caught illegally farming, breeding and distributing dogs will face a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
Jan. 9, 2024
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Police decide against revealing identity of Lee stabbing suspect
Police decided not to disclose the personal information of the suspect who stabbed Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung during the opposition leader’s visit to Busan on Jan. 2. Following a Personal Information Disclosure Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency decided that the 67-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Kim, did not meet the legal conditions for disclosure. Kim was formally arrested by the police on charges of attempted murder
Jan. 9, 2024
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Seoul Metro's Line 4 to operate seatless cars from Wednesday
Seats will be removed from some Line No. 4 subway cars from Wednesday as a pilot project to relieve congestion during morning rush hour, Seoul Metro announced Tuesday. The organization decided to test its new seating plan on Line No. 4 as it often experiences high congestion levels during rush hour. After comprehensive reviews regarding subway car congestion levels and the subway cars' surrounding environment, seats will be removed from the third subway car on Line No. 4 trains. In November
Jan. 9, 2024
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Seoul to add furnaces to meet soaring demand for cremation
The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday announced a set of plans to deal with soaring cremation demand, including adding furnaces and providing extra manpower. These measures are a response to address a deepening shortage of crematorium services, according to the Seoul city government. Currently, the city of Seoul runs two municipal cremation facilities, including Seoul Memorial Park in Yangjae-dong and Seoul Municipal Funeral Home (Byeokje Crematorium) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. At thos
Jan. 9, 2024
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Heavy snow advisory issued across greater Seoul; more snow expected through evening rush hours
Snow began coating parts of the country early Tuesday, with up to 3 centimeters of snow per hour forecast to hit the greater Seoul area during the evening rush hour, the state weather agency said. A heavy snow advisory was issued across the greater Seoul area as of 9 a.m., with up to 10 cm of snow expected to accumulate in the region. The advisory is given when the snowfall is expected to reach 5 centimeters or more within 24 hours. As of 10 a.m., the interior ministry had upgraded its snow aler
Jan. 9, 2024
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Parliamentary committee passes bill to end dog meat distribution, consumption
The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee passed a bill Monday banning the butchering and distribution of dog meat in a step to end the traditional practice that has fallen out of favor in recent decades. Under the bill, raising or slaughtering dogs for meat consumption and distributing or selling dog meat will be banned, with those butchering dogs facing a maximum prison term of three years or a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,768). Those who raise dogs for meat or distribute them
Jan. 8, 2024
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Selling Kim Jong-un T-shirt isn't national security crime: police
Seoul police on Monday said that they have decided not to press criminal charges against those accused of violating the National Security Act by selling T-shirts bearing a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "The T-shirts (with Kim's smiling face) cannot be regarded as an expression that benefits the enemy, or that threatens the safety and existence of the state... We (the police) determined the distributors were merely selling them for profit," the Seoul Metropolitan Police
Jan. 8, 2024
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Police seek to arrest college students for forcing entry into presidential office grounds
South Korean police said Monday it has requested an arrest warrant for 16 college students for attempting to enter the presidential office grounds while demanding a special investigation into allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. The National Office of Investigation chief Woo Jong-soo told reporters that officials are conducting investigation on 20 college students on charges of breaking and entering and violating law on demonstration, seeking arrest warrants for 16 of them. He said warra
Jan. 8, 2024
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9 out 10 S. Koreans say they won't eat dog meat: survey
Over 90 percent of South Korean respondents said they would not eat dog meat, the results of a survey showed Monday, as the government seeks to pass a bill prohibiting dog meat consumption in the country. In a Dec.12-17 survey on 2,000 adults across the country conducted by local animal rights group Aware, 93.4 percent of respondents answered that they have no intention of eating dog meat in the future, up from 88.6 percent in a survey conducted by the same group the year before. The survey al
Jan. 8, 2024