Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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Hotline opens to protect medical students from peer bullying
The education ministry opened a hotline on Tuesday to protect medical students wanting to return to classes from peer bullying from other students boycotting classes in protest of the government's increase of the medical school quota. The move came amid reported cases of medical students unwillingly joining the ongoing collective action of boycotting or staying away from classes due to coercion or threats of future disadvantages by protesting students or student groups. Nearly half of the c
March 26, 2024
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Police investigating message vowing to kill opposition lawmaker
Police are tracking down the writer of a message vowing to kill Rep. Ko Min-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party, officials said Tuesday. The message was posted in an online game chatroom Monday morning, vowing to kill Ko, who is seeking parliamentary reelection in her constituency of Seoul's Gwangjin district, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. Police launched an investigation upon receiving a report on the threat. They plan to trace the writer by locating the IP ad
March 26, 2024
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Doctors' group to pick new leader amid tense standoff over increased enrollment quota
A major lobby group of community doctors is set to elect a new leader Tuesday, with a prolonged walkout by junior doctors over the increased medical school enrollment quota continuing to disrupt public health services at major hospitals. The Korean Medical Association, which represents some 100,000 community doctors, plans to announce a new chairman later in the day, a move certain to further intensify the standoff with the government. The two candidates are Lim Hyun-taek, head of the Korean Ped
March 26, 2024
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VIP patron of internet celebrity dies; family presses charges for fraud
A South Korean internet celebrity has recently been accused of fraud by the bereaved family of a South Korean man who died last year after spending large sums of money in support of the celebrity. The deceased, whose body was found inside his car in May last year, had been a VIP patron of the female's celebrity's online show, spending as much as 50 million won ($37,000) a day in sponsorships. An investigation found that his donations were largely made via borrowing, as he was around 15
March 25, 2024
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Divorced men and women have differing views on physical intimacy
Men and women who have experienced divorce each have differing interpretations of physical intimacy in their new relationship, a joint survey by local matchmaking agencies showed Monday. The companies Only U and Bien-Alle conducted a survey of 516 men and women who wish to get remarried to ask about physical contact with romantic connotations with their new romantic partners. The survey generally showed that female respondents attribute slightly more meaning to physical intimacy than male respon
March 25, 2024
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Man sends narcotics to wrong address, gets 8-year jail term
A South Korean man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for smuggling a large quantity of illegal drugs into the country, a local court said Monday. The defendant in his 30s has been accused of having brought in the drugs, hidden inside bags of snacks, from Hawaii between December 2018 and October 2021. He smuggled a total of 405 pills of ecstasy, 16.35 grams of cocaine and 2.79 kilograms of cannabis. South Korea's Narcotics Control Act bans the possession, transaction or use of what
March 25, 2024
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Professors tender resignations despite Seoul’s offer of dialogue
Medical professors on Monday said they would proceed with their plan of tendering their resignations, a day after the ruling party chief offered to open a dialogue between the government and the medical community. Announcing the plan, the Medical Professors Association of Korea said the government’s unilateral decision to raise the admission quota and allocate new student seats led to the resignations. “The discussions regarding the quota are scientific, so I knew I wouldn’t be
March 25, 2024
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Bank refusal to open account for resident from 'high-risk country' discriminatory: rights commission
A South Korean bank's refusal to open an account for a foreign national resident from a designated "high-risk country" is discriminatory, the country's human rights watchdog agency said Monday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea's recommendation was made in response to a complaint lodged by the Korean spouse of a bank customer whose application to open an account was rejected on the grounds of their nationality. The bank said in August 2022 that because the re
March 25, 2024
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Ophthalmologist who covered ER to fill staff void found dead
An ophthalmologist in his 40s from Pusan National University Hospital died in his home early Sunday morning, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday. On Sunday at 4:30 a.m., police officials received a call that the doctor was found unconscious in his home. When emergency medical services reached the doctor’s home, he did not have a pulse nor was he breathing, according to police officials. The doctor was immediately taken to the Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital n
March 25, 2024
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Seoul's bus union threatens strike over wage dispute
The union of city bus drivers in Seoul said Monday its leaders agreed to start a general strike by all members later this week after failing to reach a deal on wage hikes with the Seoul city government. The Seoul Bus Labor Union, which has about 18,000 members at 65 companies, said heads of its chapters decided to launch the walkout at 4 a.m. on Thursday. The union has reportedly demanded wage increases, revision of the salary system and the abolition of wage discrimination for contract workers
March 25, 2024
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Leader of doctors' group questioned again over trainee doctors' walkout
A leader of the Korean Medical Association, the country's biggest doctors' group, appeared before police Monday for another round of questioning over suspicions of instigating a mass walkout by trainee doctors. Joo Soo-ho, the chief KMA spokesperson, arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul to undergo questioning, his third police questioning connected to the walkout. He is one of five former and current KMA leaders against whom the government has filed a police complai
March 25, 2024
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Health minister vows to swiftly hold talks with medical community over doctors' walkout
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Monday relevant ministries have swiftly begun work to hold talks with the medical community, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a "flexible" measure over the government's move to suspend licenses of defiant trainee doctors. Prospects of talks between the government and the medical community over a prolonged walkout by junior doctors were raised as Yoon instructed officials to seek dialogue with doctors, with the walkout disrupting medical
March 25, 2024
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Supreme Court acquits man for listening to recording of wife's conversations
The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a previous ruling that acquitted a man on charges of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, noting that the act did not apply in the case of this man, who secretly recorded his wife's conversation using a home camera and shared the contents of the recording with a third party. In February 2020, a man installed a home camera with a recording function in the living room of the apartment he shared with his wife in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk. The c
March 25, 2024
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Yoon calls for flexible ways to process suspension of medical licenses
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday urged Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to consult with political parties to seek a flexible process in suspending the licenses of striking trainee doctors, the presidential office said. Yoon also asked Han to form a "constructive consultative body" to promote dialogue with medical workers, according to his office. Yoon's order was made at the request of ruling People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon after he held talks with a group of medical professor
March 24, 2024
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2 out of 3 workers in small business took less than 6 days off last year
A recent survey showed that about 67.9 of South Koreans working at an enterprise employing less than five people had less than six days of paid leave last year, a civic group said Sunday. Gapjil 119, a civic group focusing on workplace abuse, conducted a survey of 1,000 employees across the country to find how much time off work they got last year, in which they also found that only 12.1 percent of those working in small businesses -- those with less than five workers -- took 15 days of paid l
March 24, 2024
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Bullet found on Milan-bound KAL airplane
A bullet has been recovered from inside a Korean Air plane that was bound for Milan at Incheon Airport, according to airport police on Sunday. According to the Incheon Airport Police Corps, a staff member who was cleaning the inside of flight KE0927 at around 11:20 a.m. on Sunday found a 9-millimeter bullet for a hunting gun underneath a passenger seat. The aircraft had been scheduled to head for the Italian city at 12:10 p.m. Airport police conducted a thorough search inside the airplane but di
March 24, 2024
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Man cleared of stalking charges pressed by ex-girlfriend
A 62-year-old man has been cleared of stalking charges following allegations brought by his former girlfriend after the court found the plaintiff's testimonies to be inconsistent and lacking in credibility, officials said Sunday. The defendant had been given a summary order to pay a 3-million-won ($2,200) fine for charges of stalking his girlfriend and trespassing at her home. He denied the charges and requested a formal trial. The prosecution accused the defendant of stalking based on alle
March 24, 2024
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[News Analysis] S. Korea's medical crisis: no end in sight
The ongoing conflict between the government and medical communities over a medical student quota expansion plan shows no signs of tempering, with both parties refusing to back down despite confusion spreading at hospitals across the country. Watchers say this week could be the peak of the conflict, as the Health Ministry begins from Tuesday to suspend the medical licenses of trainee doctors who have defied a return-to-work order. The government has sent prior notices of license suspension to som
March 24, 2024
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Doctors refusing walkout protest 'coercion' to join medical strike
Trainee doctors and medical school students not participating in a nationwide walkout released a statement Saturday, calling for other medical staff to respect their decision not to walk out on patients. Medical Students and Trainee Doctors With Different Opinion, known locally as Dasaengui, posted a statement on its social media page urging colleagues to cease what the group has labeled "authoritative ostracizing and violent coercion" against them to join the walkout. "Doctors wi
March 24, 2024
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What are the reasons for the gender wage gap? Women say discrimination, men say career breaks
South Korean men and women have differing opinions on the reason behind the country's gender wage gap, the largest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development states, with women attributing the gap to sexual discrimination while men say it is because frequent career breaks result in shorter careers for women. The state-run Korean Women's Development Institute surveyed 1,504 wage workers between the ages of 19 and 59 in August last year. The results showed that 54.7
March 24, 2024