Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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OECD urges Korea to increase grants to poor nations
Members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday recommended that South Korea increase the size of grants it offers as development aid to nations with high levels of poverty and debt. The recommendation by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, which groups donor nations in the northern hemisphere, was a result of the first “peer review” of South Korea’s development aid policies since the committee endorsed Seoul as its 24th member in 2009. Wrapping up the ei
Jan. 29, 2013
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Asia’s gambling apartheid via foreigner-only access
The casino industry is booming across Asia, offering anyone looking for high-stakes action a wide choice of venues, from high-tech South Korea to the Himalayan nation of Nepal and communist Vietnam.Anyone, that is, except South Koreans, Nepalese or Vietnamese.For conservative Asian countries, the financial pros and social cons of casino gambling pose something of a dilemma ― one that several have chosen to resolve by adopting a foreigner-only access policy.The upsides are obvious in a region whe
Jan. 29, 2013
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Korea to honor Japanese-born scholar for Dokdo research
South Korea has decided to give a state medal to a Japanese-born scholar who is one of the vocal critics of Japan’s claim to the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, an official said Tuesday. Yuji Hosaka, a naturalized Korean and head of the Dokdo Research Institute of Sejong University in Seoul, has been credited with having helped South Korea increase awareness of its sovereign control of Dokdo worldwide, the Foreign Ministry official said. “The government decided to award a state medal to Pro
Jan. 29, 2013
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Korea awards medal to ex-U.S. Sen. Lieberman
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The South Korean government bestowed a medal Monday on former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in recognition of his works for the alliance between the two nations.He received the Gwanghwa Medal, South Korea’s highest order of diplomatic service merit, in a ceremony held at the official residence of the South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Choi Young-jin, according to the embassy.Lieberman retired from more than two decades of service at the Senate early this month.He was ini
Jan. 29, 2013
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Probe launched into Samsung chip plant gas leak
Police said Tuesday they have launched a probe into the cause of a fatal hydrofluoric acid gas leak that killed one worker and injured four others at the main plant of the world's largest memory chip maker Samsung Electronics Co. Up to 10 liters of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and even affect the nervous system, leaked from one of the pipes at the Samsung plant in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sunday, officers said.The leak occurred around 1:30
Jan. 29, 2013
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Conscientious objection remains social conundrum
Son In-cheol, a 27-year-old freelance translator, feels hopeless and scared at the thought of having to live in prison with those convicted of homicide, rape, drug abuse, fraud and other crimes unthinkable for him.While awaiting a Supreme Court decision over his refusal to serve in the military due to his religious beliefs, he is also frustrated about social disadvantages and prejudice against so-called “conscientious objectors.”“I feel like I’m leading a limited life as it is certain that unles
Jan. 28, 2013
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Number of men taking paternity leave soars
The number of male workers taking paternity leave surged nearly 30 percent last year, government data showed Monday.A total of 1,790 male employees took paternity leave last year, a 27.6 percent increase from the previous year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said in its report.The number of men temporarily leaving the office to take care of their children, however, was far below that of female workers. Of 64,069 workers taking parental leave, men accounted for just 2.8 percent in 2012. The
Jan. 28, 2013
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Gas leak kills worker at Samsung plant
SUWON (Yonhap News) -- Highly poisonous hydrofluoric acid gas leaked at the main plant of the world‘s largest memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co., killing one worker and injuring four others, police said Monday.Some 2 to 10 liters of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system, leaked from one of the pipes at the Samsung plant in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sunday, they said.The leaks affected five subcontracted workers who
Jan. 28, 2013
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Labor Ministry to expand E-Mart probe
The Ministry of Employment and Labor will expand its probe of E-Mart over its alleged abuses of labor rights to 24 branches across the country, officials said Monday.E-Mart, the country’s largest supermarket chain, is facing allegations that it had illegally monitored its workers to prevent them from joining labor unions.The Labor Ministry conducted its probe into the head office of E-Mart last week, but decided to look into 24 branches nationwide to see whether they had also violated labor-rela
Jan. 28, 2013
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Hydrofluoric acid gas leak kills one at Samsung chip plant
SUWON (Yonhap News) -- Highly poisonous hydrofluoric acid gas leaked at the main plant of the world's largest memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co., killing one worker and injuring four others, police said Monday.Some 2 to 10 liters of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system, leaked from one of the pipes at the Samsung plant in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sunday, they said.The leaks affected five subcontracted workers who
Jan. 28, 2013
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Working mothers hire college students as ‘study-sitters’
Korean college students are rushing to grab a new type of part-time job called “study-sitter,” a phenomenon linked to the steady growth of working Korean mothers.Study-sitters -- a portmanteau of “study” and “babysitter” -- both babysit and help children with their homework.Korean working mothers are said to prefer female students for study-sitters for security reasons and because they can pay them less. “My client chose me as a study-sitter since I am a female student who lives near her apartm
Jan. 28, 2013
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Ads on online news sites crowded with provocative images
About 70 percent of ad images posted on Korean Internet news websites are “overly suggestive,” according to a consumer group study.The Korea Consumer Affairs Institute, a nonprofit organization, released the results of a study on Monday, based on 501 ads on online news media posted in May and June last year. The research showed that 205 of the 501 ads had photos, 69.9 percent of which included “lewd images.”Among the 174 ad photos considered lewd, 36.8 percent featured close-ups of specific body
Jan. 28, 2013
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Older male workers surpass younger people: data
South Korean male workers in their 60s or older outnumbered those in their 20s last year, data showed Monday, suggesting that the country's labor market is getting older amid chronically low birth rates and a rapidly aging population.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of male workers aged 60 or older came to about 1.8 million at the end of last year, up 6.3 percent from 1.69 million tallied a year earlier. The figure exceeded the 1.72 million male workers in their 20s last yea
Jan. 28, 2013
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Korea 4th-largest source for adoptees in U.S.
Korea sent the fourth largest number of adoptees to the United States in 2012 for the second consecutive year, even though the number has been on the decline since 2005.U.S. parents adopted 627 Korean babies or children, taking up 7.2 percent among the total of 8,668 international adoptees to the U.S., according to 2012 U.S. Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption released by the Department of State last Thursday. China sent 2,589 children, the largest number, to the U.S., followed by Ethiopia wi
Jan. 27, 2013
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CJ CheilJedang employees booked for giving kickbacks to doctors
Police have sought an arrest warrant for a CJ CheilJedang Corp company executive and booked 14 others for investigation on charges of giving kickbacks to doctors.The sales executive, 50, whose name is withheld, allegedly offered doctors kickbacks worth around 4.5 billion won ($4.2 million). The company officials are suspected of giving corporate credit cards to 266 doctors across the nation, according to the National Police Agency on Sunday. They purportedly offered the illegal kickbacks to the
Jan. 27, 2013
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Korea’s fertility rate edges up in 2012
South Korea’s fertility rate is expected to have risen slightly last year but is still far from a safe level, a government commission said Friday.According to the presidential commission on birth rate and aging society, the country’s fertility rate is believed to have risen to 1.3 children per woman in 2012.The fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime. The rate needs to be at over 2.01 for the population to grow, but South Korea’s fertility rate has re
Jan. 25, 2013
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Murderer of two sisters receives death penalty
A South Korean court on Friday sentenced a 25-year-old man to death for killing his girlfriend and her sister.Kim Hong-il was arrested in September 2012, two months after stabbing his 27-year-old girlfriend and her 23-year-old sister to death in their home. Kim went to his girlfriend’s house after hearing that she wanted to end their relationship. He stabbed the woman and her sister multiple times over a period of five minutes. The Ulsan District Court in the southeastern industrial city sentenc
Jan. 25, 2013
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HUFS alumni to award two
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Alumni Association named its president Park Chul and Lotte Hotel CEO Song Yong-dok the winners of its “2013 Proud Alumni Award” on Thursday. The presentation ceremony will be held at the Seoul Grand Intercontinental Hotel on Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. (sjlee370@heraldcorp.com)
Jan. 25, 2013
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Two S. Koreans nabbed for illegally circulating US military trailer
Two South Korean men have been arrested on charges of illegally circulating on the local market a U.S. military trailer used for counter-terrorism missions, police here said Thursday. One of the suspects, surnamed Kim, is accused of selling the ZBV military trailer without government permission to another suspect who is an exporter of heavy equipment after purchasing it from a U.S. military arms dealer in June 2010, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said. The ZBV military trailer, equi
Jan. 24, 2013
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Actress questioned over alleged propofol abuse
Prosecutors summoned a TV actress Wednesday on suspicion of misusing propofol, a short-acting sedative and anesthetic.The actress is suspected of receiving propofol injections for non-medical purposes at dermatologists and cosmetic surgery clinics in southern Seoul, according to the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office. The drug is blamed for the death of pop legend Michael Jackson. It is commonly dubbed “the milk injection” due to its color. Propofol is used as an anesthetic for cosmetic surgerie
Jan. 24, 2013