Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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[Editorial] Democratic Party's way to go
The majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea is grappling with the aftermath of the National Assembly’s vote on the prosecution’s request for consent to a pretrial detention hearing on its leader Lee Jae-myung. Before the vote, the party leadership was confident of an overwhelming rejection of the request, but the result jolted them. The request was thrown out as the number of yes votes fell short of the minimum required to hold the hearing. But unexpectedly, the secret vote spl
EditorialMarch 2, 2023
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[David C. Logan] Why Putin suspended START
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would suspend implementation of New START, the last remaining treaty between Russia and the United States limiting deployed nuclear weapons. New START limits the number of “strategic” nuclear warheads that Russia and the United States can deploy to 1,550 and the number of deployed strategic nuclear-capable missiles and bombers to 700. The agreement, like its predecessors, was important in limiting arms race pressu
ViewpointsMarch 1, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] Living dangerously in this apocalyptic moment
Recently, one of my American friends sent me an insightful article by John Semley, “We’re All Living under Gravity’s Rainbow.” Semley writes engagingly about our current historical moment in light of Thomas Pynchon’s groundbreaking novel, "Gravity’s Rainbow": “Looming apocalypse, paranoid conspiracies, rocket-obsessed oligarchs. As Thomas Pynchon’s novel turns 50, it’s world feels unnervingly present.” Indeed, though publish
ViewpointsMarch 1, 2023
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[Editorial] Embattled chip industry
South Korean chipmakers are likely to face not only a slowdown in demand for semiconductors but also critical restrictions from the US over production in China -- collateral damage from the intensifying friction in US-China trade. The US is reportedly planning to limit the level of advanced chips that Korean chip manufacturers can produce in China in the name of blocking the transfer of its advanced semiconductor technology to adversaries. "We are now in a world where technology is the driv
EditorialMarch 1, 2023
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Slovakia eyes more battery, EV cooperation with Korea
Celebrating 30 years of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Slovakia, the European country's top envoy in Seoul said the country expects more cooperation in the field of battery and electric vehicle production in the near future. Noting the rapidly developing automotive industry in the country, Slovakia's Ambassador to Korea Jan Kuderjavy said Korean companies could take advantage of a regional financial incentive scheme and a preferential tax regime for research and development. &
Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2023
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Kuwait recalls Korea’s support during Gulf War on 62nd National Day
Kuwait’s top envoy to Seoul recalled the firm stance of Korea to support Kuwait during the 1990-1991 Gulf War while celebrating his country’s 62nd National Day in Seoul last week. Korea supported Kuwait's rights during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 by sending troops to Kuwait to help liberate the Gulf state. Kuwait’s national day, which falls on Feb. 25, marks the commemoration of the day Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah became the ruler of Kuwait in 1950. Al-Sabah
Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2023
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[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Who stands for freedom in US party politics?
The Republican Party has long wrapped itself in the American flag, claiming to be the defender of “freedom.” The party believes individuals should be free to carry firearms, spew hate speech, and eschew vaccines and face masks. The same goes for corporations: Even if their activities destroy the planet and permanently change the climate, the “free market” should be trusted to sort things out. Banks and other financial institutions should be “liberated” from re
ViewpointsFeb. 28, 2023
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[Editorial] Fostering healthy competition
The Fair Trade Commission recently ordered the Korean Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association to lift a ban on their member lawyers’ use of LawTalk, a legal counseling platform, and fined each association 1 billion won ($760,000). It is the largest possible fine imposed by the commission on a business association. The commission judged that the prohibition of lawyers’ advertisements on the platform restricts free competition among lawyers and consumer choice of lawyers. It al
EditorialFeb. 28, 2023
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[Elizabeth Shackelford] Ukraine’s outsized reliance on US is a risk for the world
One year into Russia’s assault on Ukraine, a few things are clear. Ukraine remains highly motivated, punching well above its weight against a far bigger and more experienced foe. The Russian military, meanwhile, has underperformed to nearly the same degree, though it continues to muster bodies and ammunition to throw at the front. It is also clear that the US role has been essential in giving Ukraine a fighting chance. Thanks to a successful American campaign to become the indispensabl
ViewpointsFeb. 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Pattern of shameless acts
You don’t have to be a Stoic to understand what Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said: “Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” Some South Korean elites, however, are doing the exact opposite to defend their wayward children. A striking example is the controversy surrounding Chung Sun-sin, 57, who was appointed Friday to head the National Office of Investigation, only to resign Saturday over his son’s bullying in high school that had reportedly caused the victim t
EditorialFeb. 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Population disaster
South Korea's total fertility rate fell to 0.78 last year, down from 0.81 a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime. Experts believe the rate should be at least 2.1 to keep South Korea's population stable. The country's rate last year is the lowest since 1970, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. In 2018, the country’s total fertility rate dropped below 1 for t
EditorialFeb. 24, 2023
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'We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes'
A year ago today, Russia’s tanks rolled into Ukrainian territory, artillery shells fell on Ukrainian civilians, and Russia’s troops headed for Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Many expected for Ukraine’s president to flee and for Ukraine’s resistance to break. It hasn’t. A year on, Ukraine has fought back, regained control over half of the territory that Russia captured, and will not stop until it has defeated the full-scale invasion. We will stand with Ukraine for
ViewpointsFeb. 24, 2023
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[Robert J. Fouser] Joe Biden visits Kyiv
Today marks one year since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. US President Joe Biden marked the occasion by making a surprise visit to Kyiv to underscore the depth of the US commitment to Ukraine. The day after Biden’s visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech saying that Russia will continue the war indefinitely. He also stated that Russia would suspend the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the US that caps its number of intercont
ViewpointsFeb. 24, 2023
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[Wang Son-taek] Manage crisis and more to ease tension with NK
Military tensions on the Korean Peninsula have sharply risen to a dangerous level as North Korea launched the Hwasong-15 missile, one of the intercontinental ballistic missiles, on Feb. 18. North Korea's launch of long-range ballistic missiles was a severe provocation against international norms and order, as the UN Security Council’s resolutions on North Korea prohibit. Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and deputy department director of the Workers
ViewpointsFeb. 23, 2023
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[Hal Brands] Ukraine’s future is not in NATO
During World War II, the Allies started planning for the postwar era before victory was anywhere in sight. One year into Ukraine’s struggle against Russia, it's time for Kyiv and the West to do likewise. Ukraine certainly hasn’t won the war, and in view of Russia’s unfolding offensive, a settlement may be months or even years away. But whenever peace breaks out, Ukraine will still have to ensure its security against a Russian regime that barely acknowledges its right to ex
ViewpointsFeb. 23, 2023
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[Editorial] Fighting drug crimes
South Korean prosecutors launched a special investigation unit Tuesday to fight growing drug crimes including large-scale drug trafficking and the spread of drug sales through internet channels. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said the special unit is made up of four investigation teams at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and district prosecutors' offices in Incheon, Busan and Gwangju, respectively. The special teams represent the country’s latest attempt to co
EditorialFeb. 23, 2023
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[Cho Sung-hun] Joint probe needed for the issue of Vietnam War's civilian victims
On Feb. 7, the Seoul Central District Court said, "In February 1968, in the village of Phong Nhi, Quang Nam province, Vietnam, she lost her family and was seriously injured in the civilian massacre by the Korean Army." It ruled that the Korean government is responsible for compensation for Nguyen Thi Thanh, a survivor of the killings. The ruling marks the first time that the South Korean judiciary has recognized government responsibility for such an atrocity, and is a new milestone tow
ViewpointsFeb. 22, 2023
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[Kim Seong-kon] War with fascism, communism, populism
Recently, I came across an intriguing article by a professor of sociology at Yonsei University. In that persuasive essay, the writer claimed that humans fought and won the battle with fascism in the early 20th century and with communism in the late 20th century. According to him, the great war of humanity is now against populism in the 21st century. Indeed, populism is seriously undermining democracy and human civilization these days. The term “populism,” which originally developed i
ViewpointsFeb. 22, 2023
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[Editorial] Opaque accounting
The nation’s two largest labor groups, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, are found to have received 152 billion won ($117 million) in subsidies over the past five years from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and 17 regional governments -- eight cities including Seoul and nine provinces. According to data disclosed by Kweon Seon-dong, a People Power Party lawmaker, the groups received 17.7 billion won in subsidies from the ministry and 13
EditorialFeb. 22, 2023
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[Doyle McManus] Biden’s 2024 bid harks back to the past
When the 1996 presidential campaign approached, Bill Clinton faced an uphill struggle to win a second term. His biggest legislative proposal, a sweeping health care bill, had failed. His party had lost the House of Representatives to Republicans led by a fiery conservative, Newt Gingrich. Clinton's poll ratings were sagging. So he tacked toward the center. He battled Gingrich to a standstill over GOP plans to cut spending on Medicare. He championed modest but popular proposals such as the
ViewpointsFeb. 22, 2023