Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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Candidates sharpen battle for economic democratization
“Economic democratization” has been a major campaign issue as widening income gaps and unrelenting chaebol power have increased calls for fairness, compassion and the rule of law in the market.The battle lines became clearer on Friday as conservative presidential candidate Park Geun-hye unveiled a set of prescriptions that differ from her progressive rivals Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo.The Saenuri Party flag-bearer’s version of economic democratization focuses more on a “fair market” than “chae
Nov. 18, 2012
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Moon, Ahn return to talks with agreement on reform
Presidential candidates Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo resumed their talks for a single progressive candidacy Sunday, signaling it with a joint political reform declaration, as they dramatically overcame their differences upon an en-masse resignation of the Democratic United Party’s leadership.The talks for the method of selecting a single progressive candidate between Moon of DUP and independent Ahn Cheol-soo are hence to resume Monday with some new representatives to freshen up the negotiation
Nov. 18, 2012
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Lee off to attend ASEAN, EAS summits
President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday left for Cambodia to participate in annual summit meetings with the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations as well as the U.S., China and Japan, slated for Monday and Tuesday.In the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Lee will join the Korea-ASEAN summit, the ASEAN-plus-three (Korea, China and Japan) summit and the East Asia Summit.These talks will discuss a wide range of regional and global issues ranging from cooperation in trade, development, security, g
Nov. 18, 2012
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Ahn-Moon merger regains momentum
The stalled process of selecting a single candidate for the progressive bloc was jump started on Sunday following the en-masse resignation of the Democratic United Party’s leadership and Moon Jae-in’s decision to follow the candidate selection method chosen by Ahn Cheol-soo. On Sunday DUP chairman Lee Hae-chan and the entire supreme council announced that they would step down in an effort to bring Ahn back to the table.“History and the era urgently call for administration change. As such, I put
Nov. 18, 2012
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DUP leader steps down to break stalemate in talks for single candidate
Lee Hae-chan, head of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), resigned on Sunday in order to help break a stalemate in talks over fielding a single liberal candidate in December's presidential poll.Lee said "the change of government" is the top priority for the opposition. He took over as party chief just five months ago.Along with Lee, eight other senior members of the party's Supreme Council also quit Sunday.Lee's decision was an apparent response to independent presidential candida
Nov. 18, 2012
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Park vows fair market competition
Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye pledged Friday to promote fair competition by protecting the economically weak, stopping large conglomerates’ exploitation of power and reinforcing consumer protection.“I will turn the conglomerate-centered economic structure to a satisfying economic system where small and mid-sized businesses and consumers can grow together through fair and transparent market order, equal opportunities and reasonable rewards,” Park said at a news conference at
Nov. 16, 2012
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Moon goes on offense in spat with Ahn
Two opposition candidates clashed Friday over the responsibility for the suspended talks for single candidacy, casting a cloud over their proposed alliance for the Dec. 19 presidential election.Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo put on hold the negotiations with Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, alleging mudslinging, intimidation and breach of rules of negotiation by DUP officials.In a news conference Friday, Ahn demanded that Moon first display his determin
Nov. 16, 2012
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SNU determines Ahn's papers not plagiarized
A Seoul National University panel determined Friday that independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo did not plagiarize his academic papers. The panel made the announcement at the end of a preliminary probe into allegations that Ahn used parts of others' work in his dissertations without attribution and disguised sections of his own papers as new material in later publications.Ahn graduated from the prestigious university with a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree in medicine. Five of
Nov. 16, 2012
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Ahn Cheol-soo calls for DUP reforms, talks to end single candidacy standoff
Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo urged the main opposition party to show its resolve on implementing sweeping reforms and called for talks to decide who will become the standard bearer for the liberal camp in the December election.In a press conference held at his campaign headquarters in Seoul, the entrepreneur-turned-politician claimed the Democratic United Party (DUP) and its presidential contender Moon Jea-in should break with outdated ways of thinking, and push forward measu
Nov. 16, 2012
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Moon offers apology but Ahn still frustrated
Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in apologized Thursday to independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo over his campaign officials’ inappropriate behavior that prompted the Ahn camp to suspend negotiations for a single candidacy.But Ahn did not ease his position, casting a cloud over the future of the progressive bloc coalition for the Dec. 19 election. On Wednesday, Ahn’s camp suspended the negotiations on the candidate selection method in response to continued reports citing DUP sources as say
Nov. 15, 2012
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North Korean arms buildup raises tension in West Sea
North Korea has deployed more military assets to its frontline units on the West coast, raising, tension ahead of the December presidential election in the South.President Lee Myung-bak has repeatedly called on his government to thoroughly prepare against Pyongyang’s attempt to intervene in the forthcoming election, while his conservative Saenuri Party claims a competitive edge in national security. Pyongyang stepped up its rhetoric against the ruling party, saying that Saenuri candidate Rep. Pa
Nov. 15, 2012
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Moon cornered by alleged ties to troubled savings bank
The prosecution has launched an investigation into presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party following accusations of lobbying on behalf of a scandal-ridden savings bank. A group of people who lost money from the scandal involving Busan Savings Bank, which was found last year to have pocketed customers’ savings by making illegal loans worth trillions of won, had registered a complaint with the prosecution accusing Moon of dereliction of duty as presidential chief of staff
Nov. 15, 2012
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China’s incoming leadership may not be ready for change
This is the fourth in the series of articles on the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China and its implications for the two Koreas and East Asia. ― Ed.China’s new leadership should be the driving force for much-needed changes to tackle its social, political, economic and demographical challenges. But it may fall short of having the mandate required to carry out reforms the emerging global power is badly in need of, a leading historian and peace researcher cautioned.On top of it, for incoming
Nov. 15, 2012
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Liberal candidates square off over single candidacy merger talks suspension
Liberal presidential candidates and their campaign staff squared off Thursday over how to resume negotiations to pick a single candidate to compete against the ruling conservative hopeful in the December election.Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who suspended ongoing talks the day before and accused the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) of trying to manipulate the selection process by spreading unfounded rumors, expressed deep disappointment over recent developments.In a meeting
Nov. 15, 2012
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Suspected N.K. missile parts seized en route to Syria
UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON ― A shipment of graphite cylinders usable in a missile program and suspected to have come from North Korea was found in May aboard a Chinese ship en route to Syria in what appears to have been a violation of U.N. sanctions, diplomats said Tuesday.South Korean officials seized the shipment of 445 graphite cylinders, which had been declared as lead piping, from a Chinese vessel called the Xin Yan Tai, U.N. Security Council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Nov. 14, 2012
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Ahn halts talks on unified candidate selection method
Independent presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo’s side suspended talks Wednesday on unifying candidacy with Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in, alleging mudslinging, intimidation and breach of rules of negotiation by DUP officials.The two sides began negotiations Monday to merge their campaigns before the candidate registration, which ends on Nov. 26, to compete against Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye.“Moon’s people are different in what they say and what they do. We doubt whether they are
Nov. 14, 2012
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Free college tuition for third child: Park
Saenuri Party presidential candidate Rep. Park Geun-hye on Wednesday promised that the third child in a family would not have to pay for college education.Park unveiled her policy platform catering to women in a press conference on Wednesday at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido in Seoul.“The knowledge-based society of 21st century is an era in which how women’s potential is utilized will determine the competitive edge of the nation,” Park told reporters. “I will create a society where women ar
Nov. 14, 2012
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Lee's son faces tax probe, three officials indicted over land deal
The independent counsel investigating alleged irregularities in the purchase of land for President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home on Wednesday referred his son Si-hyung to tax authorities on suspicion of evading the gift tax. Wrapping up its one-month investigation, the team also indicted without detention Kim In-jong, the former chief of the Presidential Security Service, and presidential security official Kim Tae-hwan on charges of misappropriation, and another security official Shim Hyeong-b
Nov. 14, 2012
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Political reform takes center stage in election
The protagonist of this year’s presidential election has undoubtedly been “political reform,” with each of the three major candidates pledging to reduce lawmakers’ privileges, balance out the powers of the president and tighten watch on high-level irregularities.All three tout “new politics” in unison and many measures coincide. But there are also visible differences, namely in resetting the political structure such as by abolishing or weakening the central party system or reducing the number of
Nov. 13, 2012
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Rivals brand Ahn’s campaign costs call ‘naive’
Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s appeal to halve campaign costs was met with less than enthusiasm from his liberal ally and was derided by conservative adversaries as naive.The man without a party has called for the costs of presidential campaigns to be cut by up to 50 percent. But it is being met with skepticism from both main parties.Ahn pledged on Sunday to keep the price tag of his presidential campaign at half the maximum allowed by law as part of his political reform prog
Nov. 13, 2012