• Who are most charitable stars?

    Some celebrities become social inspirations beyond popularity Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, known as one of the most philanthropic celebrities, once said that she “opened her eyes” when she saw people from the war-ravaged region while filming “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in Cambodia in 2001. Since then, she has turned into…

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  • Korea offers makeovers Chinese cannot resist

    A cosmetic surgery hospital in southern Seoul mirrors a Chinese drama set in a luxury model home. Beside a statue of Venus, a woman lies with her face wrapped in bandages. A young woman in a patient gown talks with a man in black sunglasses. A group of Chinese tourists…

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  • Seoul, Tokyo to hold talks on wartime sex slavery

    South Korea and Japan will hold talks to discuss the thorny issue of Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II in Seoul next week, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday. According to the ministry, Lee Sang-deok, director-general for Northeast Asian affairs at the foreign ministry, and…

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  • Abe plans to skip Yasukuni visit

    Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not plan to visit the Yasukuni Shrine ahead of a state visit to Tokyo by U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled for April 24. Experts said this doesn’t mean that Abe has changed his revisionist stance but is instead aiming to avoid conflict with Korea…

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  • US missile defense to pit Park, Obama

    President Park Geun-hye may come under pressure to pledge support for a U.S.-led missile defense system (MDS) during President Barack Obama’s visit this month, according to observers. This time, Park will find it harder to maintain an ambiguous position, they added. “The U.S. will want South Korea to join its…

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  • Paranoid Kim Jong-un on edge

    The recent massive military drill in North Korea proved its leader Kim Jong-un going to the extreme with his paranoia, Radio Free Asia reported. He is seen by many as a precarious leader driving himself as his own worst enemy, it said. The report comes after the Global Times’ March…

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  • NH takes over Woori Securities

    A mega-size brokerage house will come into existence following the merger of the brokerage units of Woori Financial and NH NongHyup Financial groups. Both the size of assets and the number of staff will be the country’s largest. The boards of directors of the two groups approved NH NongHyup Financial’s…

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  • Samsung restructures financial units

    Financial affiliates of Samsung Group are undergoing restructuring as their performances have been poor in recent years amid the economic slump. While they earlier decided to freeze workers’ salaries this year, the life insurance and brokerage units have launched reorganization plans and are accepting voluntary retirement applications. The restructuring follows…

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  • Afghan election unlikely to be decisive in first round

    Amidst the biggest security operation in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, the country held a landmark presidential election on Saturday. There was high overall turnout of an estimated 7 of 12 million eligible voters, a third of them women, well in excess of the approximately 4.5 million people…

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  • Siding with big tobacco

    Korea’s first tobacco litigation ended up in smokers’ defeat Thursday, running counter to the global trends of punishing the rogue industry. Wrapping up the 15-year-long damage suit, the Supreme Court ruled ― quite regrettably ― the link between tobacco and “non-specific cancers” was difficult to prove. It also said the…

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