Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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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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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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[Editorial] Indispensable control
Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said on Monday that he will create a “police bureau” within the ministry as early as possible. If the bureau is established, it would mark the first time in 31 years for the Interior Ministry to exercise direct control over police since the law enforcement agency was spun off as an outside organization of the ministry in 1991 as part of efforts to ensure its independence and neutrality. Lee also said in a press conference that he wi
June 29, 2022
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[Editorial] NATO summit
President Yoon Suk-yeol departed Seoul on Monday to participate in the upcoming NATO summit scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday in Madrid, amid a mix of hopes for and concerns about Korea’s diplomatic relations. It is hoped that Yoon will not only make his in-person debut on the multilateral stage through 14 meetings during the summit, but also explore ways to improve South Korea’s relations with other nations at a critical juncture related to the war in Ukraine. The trip marks th
June 28, 2022
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[Editorial] Imperative reform
Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik announced “directions for labor market reform” on Thursday. The most significant innovation concerned the country‘s 52-hour workweek. The ministry will review an option of allowing employers to calculate overtime on a monthly basis. Currently, it is calculated by the week. This scheme is not mandatory, but premised on labor agreements at individual places of work. The existing Labor Standards Act stipulates a workweek cannot
June 27, 2022
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[Editorial] Taking off
South Korea made a major step forward in the intensifying space race by successfully launching its homegrown space rocket, Nuri, and setting the stage for more ambitious space projects going forward. The 200-ton Nuri space rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and an hour later the science minister described the launch as a “monumental moment” not just in the nation’s push to advance its science and technology pr
June 24, 2022
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[Editorial] Probe needed
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is said to be considering an investigation into the previous administration’s forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen despite their intention to defect to South Korea. President Yoon said Tuesday that many people wonder why the Moon Jae-in administration sent them back to North Korea, saying many questions have been raised. He said that calls for investigation are under review. The repatriation incident exposed serious problems and sparked calls for
June 23, 2022
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[Editorial] Taming inflation
High-ranking government officials are often quick todraw up as rosy an outlook as possible but slow to admit a looming crisis. But there are some exceptions, such as the comment made by President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday. Yoon admitted that there are few fundamental solutions to the current economic challenges as countries across the world are raising interest rates to rein in rising inflation. In a striking move to tame inflation, the US Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark rate by three-quarte
June 22, 2022
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[Editorial] Uncover truths
A probe has been launched into the previous administration’s questionable handling of a tragic incident in which Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean fisheries official, was shot to death and burned by the North Korean military near the western sea border in 2020. At the heart of the dispute is whether the Moon Jae-in administration had distorted facts regarding the death of the official. There are rising suspicions about why Cheong Wa Dae archived key documents as part of Moon’s classified
June 21, 2022
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[Editorial] Obstacle to new course
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration last week announced an outline of its economic policies for the next five years, but they were stalled immediately due to opposition by the Democratic Party of Korea. The administration said it will scrap the previous administration’s government-led growth paradigm and encourage the private sector, particularly companies, to take the lead in revitalizing the Korean economy. It will lower the top rate of corporate income tax and relax business regulations
June 21, 2022
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[Editorial] Wrong signal
The 22,000-strong Cargo Truckers Solidarity, in affiliation with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, have put an end to their walkout eight days after going on a general strike, much to the relief of manufacturers and consumers alike. To some, economic conditions at home made a settlement in this strike inevitable. The move, however, could set a bad precedent for this government of compromising its own principles of sticking to a market economy and the rule of law. The government and the
June 17, 2022
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[Editorial] Strong headwinds ahead
Alarming signs about the South Korean economy are popping up everywhere. Inflation is soaring, stock markets tumbling, the local currency’s value dropping. Growth outlook is turning gloomier while investors across the world are turning jittery as the US Federal Reserve is speculated to hike interest rates at a faster pace. The combination of ominous signs is dreadful enough to spook both policymakers and investors. But being aware of impending economic pitfalls is not enough; decisive an
June 16, 2022
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[Editorial] A brake on government
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed a bill that will strengthen the National Assembly’s control of government decrees. The proposed revisions to the National Assembly Act were authored by Cho Eung-cheon, a lawmaker from the party. It would allow standing committees of the Assembly to request relevant administrative agencies modify or revise their decrees and enforcement ordinances if the Assembly judges them inconsistent with the purpose of laws. If asked to modify dec
June 15, 2022
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[Editorial] Higher education mismatch
President Yoon Suk-yeol recently asked the Education Ministry to recast its policies in order to train more semiconductor engineers at universities, a topic that draws keen attention amid the protracted shortage of chips. South Korean chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are eagerly searching for graduates with expertise relevant to the semiconductor technology. Given the two top-ranked chipmakers’ clout on the global market and US President Joe Biden’s high-profile
June 14, 2022
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[Editorial] Uncomfortable cohabitation
More than two-thirds of the heads of government-funded institutions have over a year in office left until their terms expire, based on an analysis of public institution information disclosed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Of the 370 heads of government-funded institutions, 256, or 69 percent, have more than a year left in office, the Ministry data showed. This means almost seven out of ten heads of government-funded institutions who were appointed by the President Moon Jae-in administr
June 13, 2022
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[Editorial] Silencing dissent
President Yoon Suk-yeol officially reversed the nuclear phase-out policy of his predecessor, former President Moon Jae-in, in a bid to resolve the controversy that is closely linked to electricity rates. Unfortunately, the dispute is flaring up again. Shortly after the Moon administration was launched in 2017, the National Planning Committee was mapping out major policy plans, one of which was to phase out the country’s nuclear power plants. The plan itself was fraught with uncertainty a
June 10, 2022
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[Editorial] Untenable strike
The South Korean economy is beset by unfavorable factors including an unstable global supply of goods, surging prices of materials and “three highs” -- high interest rates, high inflation and high exchange rates -- plaguing the Korean currency. Then yet another issue looms large: an industrial strike. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, went on an indefinite general strike on Tuesday -- six months after their last strike. Genera
June 9, 2022
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[Kim Seong-kon] Seven types of politicians we should be wary of
These days, South Korea is enjoying fame as a global leader in many areas. Aside from being one of the top 10 global economies, Korea has internationally acclaimed pop singers, films and television dramas, not to mention advanced technology. Unfortunately, however, Korea is not lucky enough to have great politicians. Our politicians, whose mental clocks appear to have stopped half a century ago, frequently become an embarrassment, especially in the eyes of foreigners. Of course, not all poli
June 8, 2022
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[Editorial] Tit-for-tat response
Tensions are mounting on the Korean Peninsula due largely to North Korea’s latest and biggest single missile test. Pyongyang’s new provocation is deeply worrisome, since it heralds an imminent nuclear test as well as the beginning of a firepower demonstrations race. On Monday, South Korea and the United States launched surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System missiles into the East Sea. The rare show of firepower came as a rare tit-for-tat response to North Korea’s lat
June 8, 2022
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[Editorial] Price shock
Consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent in May from a year ago. It was the highest figure in 13 years and nine months after August 2008 when prices rose 5.6 percent. Surging international prices of crude oil and grains among others pushed consumer prices up sharply. The future looks dismal. The Bank of Korea expected prices to keep climbing in a 5 percent range in June and July. The government has suppressed fees of public utilities such as electricity and gas but if they are readjusted to a reali
June 7, 2022
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[Editorial] Second reckoning
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea suffered a crushing defeat in the local elections. The ruling People Power Party won by a landslide in the race for 17 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, which was the highlight of the June 1 local polls. The conservative People Power Party took 12 constituencies including Seoul, while the liberal Democratic Party won in five regions, four of them being traditionally supportive of the party. In the first nationwide poll held 22 days afte
June 3, 2022
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[Editorial] Cultivating chip industry
The South Korean government plans to nurture more than 3,000 skilled experts for the semiconductor industry by 2027, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday, a move that follows the high-profile visit of US President Joe Biden to a Samsung Electronics facility amid the global shortage of chips. The announcement of the plan itself is timely for the domestic semiconductor industry, which is home to the world’s biggest memory chipmaker Samsung and the second-largest DRAM supplier SK hyni
June 2, 2022