The Korea Herald

GNP leader suggests new body to retrieve cultural assets

Mar 1, 2011

The ruling party’s leader has proposed setting up a private foundation to retrieve Korea’s hundreds of thousands of cultural items on a nongovernmental level. Korea is believed to have more than 117,000 ancient books, documents and other cultural assets scattered across about 20 different countries around the world as a result of national tragedies such as the 1950-53 Korean War and Japan’s 1910...
Lee says S. Korea wants 'open-minded' talks with N. Korea

Mar 1, 2011

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak reaffirmed Tuesday that Seoul was willing to hold "open-minded" dialogue with Pyongyang regardless of its timing, offering another olive branch to the communist neighbor that has been ratcheting up military threats. "Now is an opportune time to open a new kind of future on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in an address to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of th...
Protestants scupper Islamic bond bill

Feb 28, 2011

Legislation to exempt taxes on Islamic bonds and tap into the Islamic finance market missed the boat again amid fierce opposition from Protestant leaders, one of whom threatened to topple President Lee Myung-bak. The governing Grand National Party delayed deliberations on the Islamic bond bill last week, fearing conflict with religious groups ahead of the April by-elections. Rev. Cho Yong-gi, s...
‘Lee to stay away from constitutional revision’

Feb 28, 2011

President’s key supporter calls for parliamentary move on amendment to basic law President Lee Myung-bak feels an urgent need to revise the country’s decades-old Constitution but believes the issue is up to the parliament and not his office, his spokesperson has said. The issue of redrawing the Constitution, created in 1987, has sparked political disputes here, especially as the move could chan...
Parties brace for April by-elections

Feb 27, 2011

Vote seen as a yardstick for parliamentary, presidential polls in 2012 Rival parties are striving to field powerful candidates to win the crucial April 27 by-elections, regarded as a prelude to the parliamentary and presidential elections slated for next year. The vote is expected to serve as a political weather vane ahead of the two major elections as it is a nationwide poll to fill at least 2...
Lawmaker moves legal place of origin to Dokdo

Feb 27, 2011

An opposition lawmaker has recently changed her family’s permanent address of origin to Dokdo in protest against Japan’s sovereignty claim over the rocky islets in the East Sea. Rep. Park Sun-young, the spokeswoman for the Liberty Forward Party, said Sunday that her family transferred their domicile from Gyeonggi Province to Dokdo on Feb. 22. It was the first time for a lawmaker to have their f...
Obama says Gadhafi must leave now

Feb 27, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Ratcheting up the pressure, U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday said Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and urged the Libyan leader to leave power immediately. It was the first time Obama has called for Gadhafi to step down, coming after days of bloodshed in Libya. Gadhafi has vowed to fight to the end to maintain his four-decade grip on power in ...
Korean lawmaker moves permanent address to Dokdo

Feb 27, 2011

A female opposition lawmaker said Sunday that she has transferred her permanent address to Dokdo, seeking to put further pressure on President Lee Myung-bak's government to sternly deal with Japan's frequent claims to the easternmost South Korean islets. Rep. Park Sun-young, who serves as the spokesperson of the minor Liberty Forward Party, told Yonhap News Agency that she changed her permanent ...
Second charter flight brings S. Koreans out of Libya

Feb 26, 2011

A second South Korea-chartered plane has flown out of Libya as part of Seoul's efforts to evacuate its nationals from the North African nation engulfed in bloody clashes between protesters and government forces, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The special Korean Air flight left the Libyan capital of Tripoli with 236 South Koreans on board around 11 p.m. Friday (6 a.m. Saturday Korean time) b...
P.M.: Seoul has no intention to ‘absorb’ N.K.

Feb 25, 2011

South Korea has no intention to achieve unification by absorbing the North and is keeping up efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue, Seoul’s prime minister said Friday, as tensions linger after the breakdown of inter-Korean dialogue earlier this month. “The (South Korean) government does not regard North Korea as a target of absorption,” Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said during the parliament’s...
S. Korea dispatches anti-piracy warship off Somalia to Libya

Feb 24, 2011

South Korea said Thursday it has ordered its anti-piracy naval unit stationed in Somali waters to sail toward Libya in case its plan to evacuate its nationals out of the troubled African country goes awry. The dispatch of the 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young comes as anti-government protests intensify in Libya where leader Moammar Gadhafi is reportedly mobilizing armed units to strike those who op...
Seoul seeks to limit Mideast fallout

Feb 24, 2011

Presidential office to check on oil supply, draw up plans to protect Koreans President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday instructed his government to closely monitor the continuing turmoil in the Middle East and take steps to minimize its economic impact during an emergency meeting with related ministers. Lee also called for utmost efforts to ensure the safety of South Koreans in Libya as violent upris...
Lee starts 4th year with much on his hands

Feb 24, 2011

Better communication, political coordination key to president’s success President Lee Myung-bak greets the third anniversary of his inauguration Friday with a stack of uncompleted policy tasks and lingering concerns of political estrangement. Tricky pending tasks include deciding where to locate a 3.5-trillion-won science-business belt and a new international airport in the southeastern region,...
Prosecutors launch probe into Deutsche Bank over market plunge

Feb 24, 2011

South Korean prosecutors said Thursday they launched a probe into Deutsche Bank's local brokerage unit in connection with last November's market plunge, following the financial watchdog's partial ban on its operation in the nation over alleged stock manipulation. The prosecution's move comes at the request of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) that Wednesday announced its plan to ban the Ge...
Former minister named head of science council

Feb 23, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday named scientist and former minister Kim Doh-yeon as chief of the National Science and Technology Council. Under a revised bill passed late last year, the presidential advisory panel is to become a standing organization in charge of distributing the state budget for research and development, starting in April. The upgrade of the council to the nation’s top de...