Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Unification minister pledges to start filling fund for Koreas' reunification
Seoul's top policymaker on North Korea pledged Friday to start filling a fund aimed at preparing for reunification with the North, calling on the South Korean people to also take part. Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik, on a trip to the United States,said he plans to launch a campaign to ra
North KoreaNov. 5, 2011
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Lee arrives home after trip to Russia, France
President Lee Myung-bak returned home Saturday from a trip to Russia and France that included talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on a gas pipeline project and a G-20 summit aimed at tackling the eurozone debt problems. In a two-day visit to Russia's second-largest city of Saint
PoliticsNov. 5, 2011
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21 N. Koreans cross sea border into South: officials
A group of 21 North Koreans was found drifting aboard a boat off South Korea's west coast earlier this week, officials said Saturday, the latest in a string of defections by North Koreans. The boat carrying the North Korean family members, includingchildren, was spotted by sailors on a S
North KoreaNov. 5, 2011
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GNP divided over Park taking the lead
Calls for an early party convention to drag the Grand National Party out of the gloom are increasing a week after its defeat in the Seoul mayoral by-election, as Park Geun-hye’s stature rises in the party. Park, who typically maintains a discreet, low profile, broke her silence on the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, following up on her campaigning for the GNP in last week’s by-elections. She told reporters Thursday that the FTA should be passed immediately, as further delays would harm national
PoliticsNov. 4, 2011
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Lee bashes Greek leader for referendum on bailout deal
CANNES, France (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sharply criticized Greece’s prime minister for putting a bailout plan to a referendum, saying he was shocked the Greek leader made the decision without agreement with other European leaders, officials said Friday.Lee issued the unusually strong rebuke during the first day of discussions at the G20 summit in the southern French city of Cannes on Thursday, which was overshadowed by the eurozone debt crisis, according to presidenti
PoliticsNov. 4, 2011
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Parliament remains deadlocked over FTA bill
The chief of the Korean parliamentary trade committee on Friday hinted at the possibility of the ruling party going ahead with a vote on the free trade pact with the U.S.The National Assembly was deadlocked for its third consecutive day Friday, as members of the main opposition Democratic Party staged a sit-in protest to stop the Grand National Party from railroading the agreement through. The bill awaits a trade committee vote before heading to the final vote in the 299-member unicameral house
PoliticsNov. 4, 2011
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Seoul City expands non-smoking areas
One fifth of capital to be designated smoke-free zones by 2014Smokers will find it harder to light up in Seoul, as smoking will be banned in a fifth of the capital’s total area by 2014, city officials said Friday.Seoul Metropolitan Government will expand non-smoking areas from the current 23 locations ― three squares and 20 parks ― to some 9,000 places covering 21 percent of the city within the next two years.For commuters like Lim Hae-sun, 25, this is a welcome change. “When I’m waiting for bus
Social AffairsNov. 4, 2011
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U.S. House panel OKs bill on tougher sanctions on N. Korea
A U.S. House committee has approved a bill on toughening sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Syria with all three accused of being involved in proliferation activities, congressional sources said Thursday.The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Non
North KoreaNov. 4, 2011
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$13.5 mln fraud implicates hundreds of S. Koreans
Police said Friday they had uncovered South Korea's largest insurance fraud, involving more than 400 people and 15 billion won ($13.5 million).The fraud was carried out by three hospitals, insurance workers and residents of Taebaek, a mining town in the eastern province of Gangwon, police said in a
Social AffairsNov. 4, 2011
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Bill Gates praises S. Korea in development report to G20 summit
Microsoft founder Bill Gates praised South Korea on Thursday for increasing assistance to developing nations as he appealed to world leaders to carry out their commitments to help needy nations.Assistance to developing nations is one of the key agenda items for a two-day summit of the G20 major and
InternationalNov. 4, 2011
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Sung Kim sworn in as U.S. ambassador to S. Korea
Sung Kim is scheduled to take up the post as U.S. ambassador to South Korea next week, a diplomatic source here said Thursday after his swearing-in ceremony.Wendy Sherman, under secretary of state for political affairs, officiated at the ceremony at the State Department in lieu of Secretary of State
InternationalNov. 4, 2011
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Seoul seeks 'stable dialogue channel' with Pyongyang: minister
South Korea is trying to establish a "stable dialogue channel" with North Korea, Seoul's top policymaker on the communist neighbor said Thursday, adding the alliance with the U.S. is the cornerstone of the effort.In a round-table meeting with U.S. experts on Korea, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik als
North KoreaNov. 4, 2011
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U.S. FTA ratification faces delay
The parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement is unlikely for another week at least, after rival parties on Thursday failed to move the bill forward for a floor vote. A plenary session, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was called off by the National Assembly speaker, amid a tense standoff between ruling and opposition lawmakers. “The FTA issue is too tangled up (to be handled today). Other than that, there are just a few agenda for today’s session,” explained an official
PoliticsNov. 3, 2011
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Views differ on the role of civic groups
Some regard Park’s election as threat to civic activism, while others as evolutionThe election of activist Park Won-soon as Seoul mayor has brought civic groups into the political arena, raising both expectations and concerns at the same time.Park, Seoul’s first mayor elected as an independent, is considered a leading figure the history of civil activism in Korea.One of the founding members of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a leading liberal watchdog, he also set up and led
PoliticsNov. 3, 2011
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Universities doctor books to hike tuitions: auditor
Private and public universities in South Korea have engaged in creative accounting practices resulting in excessive hikes in tuition fees, the state audit agency said Thursday.Wrapping up an investigation into 35 randomly chosen universities, including nine public institutions, the Board of Audit and Inspection said the institutions had habitually manipulated their accounting books over the past five years to justify steep rises in tuition expenses.The BAI estimated the creative bookkeeping prod
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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USFK extends off-base curfew
The curfew for U.S. military personnel here will be extended another two months.U.S. Forces Korea Commander General James Thurman chief announced the move Tuesday, citing the need to assess the current operational environment.Thurman said the curfew, originally intended to end at the beginning of this month, would be extended to Jan. 6.The USFK said the move was a temporary measure to ensure the continued mission readiness of the command.“I firmly believe that military discipline is the foundati
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Court rules against dismissal of cloning scientist from SNU
A Seoul appellate court ruled Thursday that the top national university’s 2006 dismissal of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk was illegal, overturning a lower court’s previous decision.Hwang, a former veterinary professor at the Seoul National University, filed a suit against the school chief in November 2006, demanding his dismissal from the school be rescinded. “The dismissal was made in violation of the proportionality principle or beyond (the school’s) discretion,” Seoul High Court
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Universities come under fire for doctoring accounting books to hike tuitions
Private and public universities in South Korea have engaged in creative accounting practices resulting in excessive hikes in tuition fees, the state audit agency said Thursday.Wrapping up an investigation into 35 randomly chosen universities, including nine public institutions, the Board of Audit an
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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Court rules against dismissal of cloning scientist from SNU
A Seoul appellate court ruled Thursday that the top national university's 2006 dismissal of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk was illegal, overturning a lower court's previous decision.Hwang, a former veterinary professor at the Seoul National University (SNU), filed a suit against the sch
Social AffairsNov. 3, 2011
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U.S. lawmakers urge S. Korea to pass FTA
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- While celebrating the recent passage in the U.S. Congress of a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, lawmakers here on Wednesday voiced bipartisan demand for their counterparts in Asia to follow suit.“We’ve all waited enough. I hope it will take into effect as soon as practicable,” Rep. David Camp (R-Michigan), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, told Yonhap News Agency.He was attending a reception to celebrate the passage of the FTA in the U.S. last
Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2011