Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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University students, professors march in Seoul over ferry bill
Hundreds of university students and professors marched down Seoul streets Monday to demand an early passage of a special bill aimed at finding out the exact cause of April‘s ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing.The April 16 sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol off South Korea’s southwest coast has become a political issue in South Korea as critics argue that the government‘s initial failure to properly respond to the disaster has contributed to the high death toll.The mai
Aug. 25, 2014
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Parliament flounders as Sewol bill dispute drags on
The deadlock of the “special Sewol bill” is casting doubt over the National Assembly’s operations with the two main parties appearing unlikely to reach an agreement acceptable to the victims’ families. The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy reached a compromise on the bill on Aug. 19 in a last-minute renegotiation.The agreement, however, was immediately rejected by the families of those who died in the April 16 ferry accident.New Politics Alliance fo
Aug. 24, 2014
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Opposition party offers dialogue with ruling party, families of ferry sinking victims
The main opposition party proposed Sunday the creation of a trilateral dialogue channel with the ruling party and bereaved families of April's deadly ferry sinking to shed light on what caused the tragedy.The move comes after the families of the victims on Tuesday rejected a bipartisan deal to pass a special bill aimed at uncovering the details of the disaster, insisting that the ruling party should not be allowed to select any of the seven-member panel to be tasked with choosing a special couns
Aug. 24, 2014
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[Weekender] Governor pledges to boost culture, agromarine industry
JINDO, South Jeolla Province ― Jindo County Governor Lee Dong-jin pledged to promote the region’s cultural assets and modernize the agriculture and fisheries sectors to get the local economy back on its feet. “We live in an age in which culture, art and even nature need to be commercialized in order to succeed. We plan to capitalize on Jindo Island’s unique cultural resources to get the economy back in shape,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The governor, who began his second ter
Aug. 22, 2014
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Park vows support for Busan financial hub plan
President Park Geun-hye pledged Friday to help turn South Korea’s No. 2 city Busan into a global financial hub, building on its strong industrial base and central position in international logistics.Park, on her third visit to the southeastern port city since taking office in February 2013, also expressed hope that Busan would provide a much-needed boost to the country’s sluggish economy through the inauguration of the Busan International Finance Center.“Busan is an international logistics cente
Aug. 22, 2014
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Tolerance, dialogue key to healing fractured Korea
Chung Kwan-yong likes to call himself a “gray man.” In a country long plagued by ideological extremism and political hostility, the label often connotes cowardice, irresoluteness and disloyalty. But to the renowned liberal intellectual, debate host and commentator, it is a proud reflection of his life-long endeavor to promote communication between left and right and forge a middle road based on fairness, tolerance and civic awareness.Korea is acutely in need of such virtues, now more than ever.
Aug. 22, 2014
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US calls for 'extreme interoperability' with S. Korea in air defense system
The United States has no objection to South Korea's plan to develop its own missile defense system but hopes that it would be interoperable with the existing U.S. system, a U.S. official said Thursday. "We want the Korean Air Missile and Defense (KAMD) to be independent and strong," U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert O.Work told a news conference at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek before leaving South Korea. "What we hope is to have an extremely interoperable system between the United Stat
Aug. 21, 2014
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(Photo News) Lawmakers under graft probe
Rep. Kim Jae-yun (top) of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, answers reporters’ questions as he arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday afternoon for a court hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant against him. Kim and two other opposition lawmakers, Reps. Shin Geh-ryeun (center) and Shin Hak-yong, are suspected of taking bribes from a local art institute in return for pushing a law favorable to the school. (Yonhap)
Aug. 21, 2014
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Opposition in shambles after Sewol bill fiasco
Family members of those killed in the April ferry disaster demanded on Thursday that parties scuttle the latest compromise over a special bill authorizing probes into the government over the Sewol accident.The families’ demands could weaken public support for the so-called “special Sewol bill” and the main opposition party, the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, reports and data showed.The NPAD agreed to a compromise over the Sewol bill with the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday, ending weeks of
Aug. 21, 2014
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Park calls for military readiness amid tensions
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday called on the military to maintain a firm readiness amid North Korea’s threats of a preemptive strike against South Korea and the United States, her office said.The threats are a typical North Korean response to annual joint military drills underway between South Korea and the U.S.North Korea has condemned the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion. Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said such exercises are purely defensive in nature
Aug. 21, 2014
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Ruling party, ministries to draft sinkhole measures
The ruling Saenuri Party and the government are to take steps to uncover the causes and prevent further occurrences of sinkholes, officials said following a government-ruling party meeting on Thursday. “The meeting was organized to ease the public’s concerns. Fundamental measures to address the issue will be drawn up in the near future,” Rep. Joo Ho-young, the chief of the Saenuri Party policy committee, told the local media ahead of the meeting. In addition to the sinkholes and underground holl
Aug. 21, 2014
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Opposition party rules out renegotiation of bill on ferry disaster
The main opposition party will not renegotiate a bill aimed at uncovering the truth behind April's deadly ferry sinking despite the wishes of family members of the victims, the party's interim chief said Wednesday.On Tuesday, the ruling Saenuri Party and the No. 1 opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) reached a deal to pass the bill after weeks of wrangling over who should have the right to choose a special counsel for the investigation.The investigation is aimed at determi
Aug. 20, 2014
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Families oppose compromise Sewol bill
Lawmakers as of Wednesday are still deadlocked over a special bill proposing to set up a prosecution team to investigate the April sinking of the Sewol ferry. Floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy had ironed out a deal on Tuesday, briefly ending weeks of partisan bickering over the so-called “Special Sewol Bill.”But families of the victims killed in the sinking demanded an overhaul of Tuesday’s deal, saying the compromised version o
Aug. 20, 2014
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Parliament endorses art professor as culture minister
The National Assembly endorsed an art professor as the nation's culture minister Wednesday in the last step to forming President Park Geun-hye's new Cabinet.Kim Jong-deok, a professor of visual design at Seoul's Hongik University, was tapped by Park early this month after the previous nominee for the job, Chung Sung-keun, stepped down over allegations of drunken driving and other ethical lapses.The parliamentary education and culture committee adopted a report endorsing Kim after holding a confi
Aug. 20, 2014
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Ruling-party lawmaker summoned over graft
A ruling-party lawmaker appeared before prosecutors Wednesday to face questioning over suspicions that he received bribes worth 55 million won (US$54,000) from a local railway supplier.Rep. Song Kwang-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party is suspected of taking the money from the railway parts supplier AVT in return for business favors, prosecutors said.Song showed up at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul at around 7:50 a.m. to face questioning as a criminal suspect in the
Aug. 20, 2014
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Parties strike last-minute deal on Sewol bill
The ruling and main opposition parties reached a last-minute agreement Tuesday on the so-called special Sewol bill. In last-minute talks held behind closed doors, Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Lee Wan-koo and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s interim chief Rep. Park Young-sun hammered out a new compromise. Under the agreement, the two parties agreed to give the opposition and the families of the Sewol accident victims a bigger say in forming the committee that will nominate
Aug. 19, 2014
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Korea pushes for drastic change to regulatory scheme
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill to comprehensively revise the regulation law for the first time in 16 years, as part of its efforts to remove obstacles for business activities and to spur corporate investment.The regulatory reform bill calls for introducing a “cost in, cost out” system, which would allow ministries to introduce new regulations only if they can abolish existing ones that are more expensive to implement. Through the bill, the government also seeks to adopt a negative-list a
Aug. 19, 2014
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Gov't pushes to reform regulation law for first time in 16 years
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government-proposed bill that would maintain the total cost of regulation at a constant level by removing existing rules when adding new ones, the government said.The revision to the Framework Act on Administrative Regulations passed a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye and will be presented to the National Assembly later this week, said the Prime Minister's Office.If approved by the parliament, this would be the first sweeping revision of
Aug. 19, 2014
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Park meets Alibaba CEO
President Park Geun-hye on Monday met with Jack Ma, founder and CEO of Alibaba, the world’s biggest internet commerce company, to discuss ways to expand global online trading, and digital content sharing with Korean companies. Park asked Ma to support local small and medium-sized companies seeking business opportunities in online markets in China by developing a more efficient logistics system and product certificate programs together, officials said.The president also requested the head of Alib
Aug. 18, 2014
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Family, politicians mark 5th anniversary of Kim Dae-jung's death
Relatives and politicians paid tribute to late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Monday as they marked the fifth death anniversary of the former pro-democracy champion and Nobel peace laureate.Kim, a liberal icon, was a vocal critic of the 1961-79 authoritarian rule of former President Park Chung-hee -- the father of current President Park Geun-hye -- and almost lost his life while protesting against the regime.While serving as president from 1998 to 2003, he held the first-ever inter-Korea
Aug. 18, 2014