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Japanese remains top second-language elective for Korean university hopefuls
Japanese and Hanmun — classical Chinese characters used in premodern Korean texts — remained the most popular second foreign language electives on this year’s College Scholastic Ability Test, or Suneung, with overall preferences showing little change from previous years. According to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Education, about 50,000 students, or roughly 10 percent of all test-takers, chose to sit for a second foreign language on the Nov. 14 exam, with the English section mandator
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Workplace fatality penalties, AI service disclosure
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Yoon (Democratic Party of Korea) Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong-woo (Democratic Party of Korea) Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea) Promulgated Bill: Clean Air Conservation Act Competent Authority: Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Administrative
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Seoul activates snow response as season’s first snowfall expected for evening commute
Seoul activated its level 1 snow response Thursday as the season’s first snowfall was forecast to hit the capital during the evening commute. Emergency operations will begin at 2 p.m., with district offices and related agencies placed on standby, the city said. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted 1 to 5 centimeters of snow between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., marking the first accumulation expected in Seoul this winter. The city classifies its snow response in five stages — normal, reinforce
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Seoul Mayor to visit Vietnam, Malaysia to deepen city ties
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will travel to Vietnam and Malaysia this week for a six-day visit aimed at strengthening partnerships with Southeast Asian capitals and advancing the city’s goal of becoming a “global leading city,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The local authority said the visit comes as Koren cultural exports, including music, cuisine and television, continues to drive rapid growth in interest in the city. Seoul aims to use this momentum to strengthen its global brandi
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Website in Brazil selling dates with Korean ‘oppa’ under investigation for sexual exploitation
A matchmaking website in Brazil promoting dating with Korean men has come under fire for sexually exploiting female Hallyu fans, news reports said Thursday. Under the Portuguese phrase “Relive the magic of K-dramas with oppa,” the website displays photos that seem to depict Korean men and women touring popular sites in Seoul together. Korean words meaning “love,” “memory,” and “dream” are placed along one side of the webpage. The website says it offers various services for Brazilian women who en
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Women more willing to have kids if job return assured: survey
Women in Korea are more open to having children if they can be sure of their return to the workplace after giving birth, according to research by a state-funded think tank. Kim Eun-ji, a senior researcher at the Korean Women’s Development Institute, found that women who believed they could continue working after childbirth were significantly more willing to have children than those who did not expect such job security. Her findings were based on an analysis of survey responses from men and women
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Mugshot revealed of man who killed ex-girlfriend, discarded body
South Korean police on Thursday revealed the mugshot of 54-year-old Kim Yeong-woo, who confessed to killing his former girlfriend out of apparent jealousy and hiding her body in wastewater. The Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency said it decided to reveal the suspect's name, face, and age, based on the cruelty of the crime, the severity of the harm caused and the opinion of the victim's bereaved family. Kim did not challenge the decision, and his information will be posted on the police agency's h
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Presidential office confirms 6 citizens detained in N. Korea, vows efforts to release them
The presidential office on Thursday confirmed that six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea and vowed to make efforts to secure the release of them by swiftly resuming talks with Pyongyang. The six citizens, including three North Koreans who had defected to South Korea, have been held in the North on charges of espionage and others since between 2013 and 2016. They include three missionaries arrested by the North Korean authorities from 2013 and 2014, namely Kim Jung-wook, Ki
Dec. 4, 2025 -
UNC says armistice 'binding framework' for DMZ access after minister remarks on entry denial
The UN Command stressed Thursday the armistice agreement remains a "binding framework" governing access to the Demilitarized Zone, following Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's revelation that a presidential official was recently denied entry to the area separating the two Koreas. Speaking in a legislative public hearing on Wednesday, Chung, South Korea's point man on inter-Korean affairs, said a senior presidential security official was recently rejected access to a war remains excavation s
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Nominee for newly established media watchdog chief vows to promptly stabilize agency
Kim Jong-cheol, who was nominated last week to lead the newly launched Korea Media Communications Commission, on Thursday vowed to make efforts to promptly stabilize the agency's operation. "I will spare no efforts to stabilize the KMCC and make the organization contribute to people's everyday lives and the economy," Kim said as he arrived at his temporary office near the KMCC headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul. The nominee is set to prepare for his confirmation hearing at the Nationa
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Coupang's massive data breach sparks growing strain on small businesses
The fallout from e-commerce giant Coupang Inc.'s data breach is increasingly spreading to small businesses that heavily rely on the platform for sales, industry sources said Thursday. Last week, the US-listed company said the personal information of 33.7 million customers had been compromised, including names, phone numbers, email addresses and delivery information. Given that active users in Coupang's Product Commerce division -- which includes its delivery service -- reached 24.7 million in th
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Police disclose identity, mug shots of suspect in murder of woman
Police on Thursday released the identity and mug shots of a man arrested on charges of murder and abandoning the body of a woman who had been missing for weeks before being found dead. The mug shots of Kim Young-woo, 54, were made public by the Chungbuk Provincial Police and will be posted on the agency's website for 30 days. Kim is accused of fatally stabbing the 50-something victim, a former girlfriend, over 10 times on Oct. 14 and abandoning her body the next day at a waste disposal facility
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Seoul official stresses Korea's efforts for uranium enrichment, reprocessing rights unrelated to proliferation
A senior South Korean diplomat has told US think tank officials that Seoul's efforts to secure rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes have nothing to do with nuclear proliferation, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo made the remarks during his visit to Washington this week, underscoring Seoul's "firm" will to abide by international nonproliferation norms related to civil nuclear energy cooperation, it said. Rele
Dec. 4, 2025 -
US puts on Federal Register 15% tariff on S. Korean autos retroactive to Nov. 1
US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday posted on the Federal Register a notice implementing certain tariff elements of a South Korea-US trade deal, including a reduced duty rate of 15 percent on Korean autos retroactive to Nov. 1. The Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative posted the document to implement tariff-related elements of the Korea-US Strategic Trade and Investment Deal ahead of its official publication date set for Thursday. The notice ca
Dec. 4, 2025 -
New Indian envoy to S. Korea, Herald vow to deepen diplomacy
Newly appointed Indian Ambassador to South Korea Gourangalal Das and The Korea Herald pledged to deepen ties between their countries on Wednesday. “Future cooperation can expand through various formats — articles, films, music and more,” said Das during a courtesy meeting held at Herald Corp. headquarters in Seoul. India is now “one of the youngest and fastest-changing nations in the world,” the ambassador said, emphasizing the need to enhance Korea’s understanding of contemporary India. India-S
Dec. 4, 2025