South Korea
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East Asia
Gov’t vows thorough investigation into 3 sex-for-favor cases
The South Korean government pledged Tuesday to get to the bottom of three high-profile sex-for-favors scandals that allegedly involve influential men in government, media and show business. Interior and Safety Minister Kim Boo-kyum and Justice Minister Park Sang-ki held a rare joint news conference to announce plans to investigate the…
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East Asia
S. Korea: opposition leader calls for debate on nuclear armament
South Korea’s opposition leader on Thursday raised the need to open a public debate on the nation’s nuclear armament. Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), issued the controversial call, saying South Korea’s own nuclear armament would not be an easy task but that all possibilities…
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East Asia
S. Korea: number of bipolar disorder patients grows fast
The number of South Koreans treated for bipolar disorder soared more than 20 percent between 2013 and 2017, data showed Thursday. According to the data from the National Health Insurance Service, 86,706 people were treated for bipolar disorder in 2017, up 21 percent from 71,687 four years earlier. The figure…
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East Asia
S. Korea’s jobless rate rises to 4.7 pct in February
South Korea’s jobless rate rose to 4.7 percent in February despite the increased pace of hiring, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign of an economic slowdown in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The unemployment rate marked the highest level for any February since 2017, when the corresponding figure stood at…
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East Asia
S. Korea: Parliament passes bills to fight fine dust
South Korea’s parliament passed eight bills intended to better fight fine dust Wednesday as the country is struggling with its worst-ever particle air pollution. The legislation includes a revision to the disaster and safety management law to include a high density of particulate matter as a “social disaster.” Such a…
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East Asia
IMF team voices concerns about pace of S. Korea’s minimum wage hikes
A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday expressed concerns over the pace of minimum wage hikes in South Korea, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said. The delegation led by Tarhan Feyzioglu, Korea mission chief at the IMF, shared the concerns in a meeting with Finance Minister…
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East Asia
S. Korea to seek talks with N. Korea to help stalled nuke negotiations move forward: ministry
South Korea will push for talks with North Korea, including summits, this year to deepen inter-Korean relations and help stalled denuclearization talks move forward between Washington and Pyongyang, the unification ministry said Tuesday. “In close coordination with the U.S., (we) will push for inter-Korean talks to help the U.S. and…
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East Asia
S. Korea to strengthen ties with China in veterinary medicine
South Korea’s state quarantine agency said Tuesday it clinched a memorandum of understanding with its Chinese counterpart to bolster exchanges in the field of veterinary medicine, including the exchange of technologies and sharing of testing techniques. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said the agreement with the China Institute of…
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East Asia
S. Korea: exports of small firms hit record high in 2018
Exports of small and medium-sized South Korean firms hit a record high of US$108.7 billion last year, government data showed Tuesday, due to the robust global manufacturing sector. The figures represent a 2.5 percent increase from 2017, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It…
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East Asia
Leaders of S. Korea, Brunei agree to expand economic cooperation
The leaders of South Korea and Brunei agreed Monday to expand the countries’ energy industry cooperation and expand the partnership to new technology sectors. In a bilateral summit held in the Bruneian capital, President Moon Jae-in and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah noted the countries have steadily developed their friendly relations in…
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