Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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Main opposition steps up pressure over Sewol bill
The National Assembly ground to a halt Tuesday with the main opposition party taking “extraordinary actions” over the disputed “special Sewol bill.”Following a marathon general meeting of lawmakers on Monday, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy opted to occupy a conference room at the National Assembly and to hold general meetings every day until Aug. 31. In addition, NPAD interim leader Rep. Park Young-sun is leading a sit-in at the National Assembly and holding rallies to p
Aug. 26, 2014
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Chief’s shaky footing pushes NPAD into hardline stance
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s action regarding the so-called special Sewol bill is raising speculation that factionalism is once again rearing its head. In this round of alleged infighting, hard-liners are thought to be gaining the upper hand, steering the party toward more drastic measures and undermining interim chief Rep. Park Young-sun. Having failed to bring the ruling Saenuri Party to include the victims of the Sewol ferry accident in related negotiations, the N
Aug. 26, 2014
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Xi asked Park to ‘tread carefully’ on U.S. missile defense system
BEIJING (Yonhap) ― Chinese President Xi Jinping asked South Korean President Park Geun-hye to “tread carefully” over a U.S. move to deploy its advanced missile-defense system in South Korea during their July summit, two Seoul diplomatic sources said Tuesday.Xi had raised the issue during his summit with Park in early July at a time Beijing was trying to improve relations with South Korea amid bitter territorial disputes with its Asian neighbors, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sout
Aug. 26, 2014
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President calls for regulatory reform
President Park Geun-hye emphasized the importance of deregulation in boosting the economy on Tuesday, as her administration looked to kick its regulatory reform into overdrive.“The inevitable conclusion is that regulatory reform holds the key to revitalizing the economy. This has been on my mind a lot recently,” Park said while presiding over the National Economic Advisory Council. “While we dawdle and engage in conflict among ourselves, the world rids itself of outdated regulations and attracts
Aug. 26, 2014
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Saenuri lawmaker’s arrest motion filed with parliament
A motion to arrest a ruling party lawmaker accused of taking bribes was filed with the parliament on Tuesday, justice ministry officials said.Rep. Song Kwang-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party is being investigated by the prosecution on suspicion of taking bribes worth 55 million won ($54,000) from local railway parts supplier AVT in return for business favors.The Ministry of Justice submitted the motion, with the approval of President Park Geun-hye, to the National Assembly after the prosecution so
Aug. 26, 2014
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[Herald Interview] Gyeonggi a test bed for coalition politics
Gyeonggi Province, the largest local jurisdiction in South Korea, has recently become a test bed for a political coalition between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. This rather radical idea came from Gyeonggi’s new governor Nam Kyung-pil, a former ruling Saenuri lawmaker, as he is seeking cooperation from the provincial council, which is dominated by opposition members. To promote bipartisanship and cooperation, Nam announced that he would form
Aug. 26, 2014
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Opposition party launches sit-in over ferry disaster bill
The main opposition party launched a sit-in Tuesday in protest of the ruling party's refusal to discuss a controversial bill aimed at uncovering the truth behind April's deadly ferry sinking in a new format involving family members of the victims.The sit-in, staged by leaders of the No. 1 opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy in a conference room inside the National Assembly, is a new development in an ongoing parliamentary impasse over the bill.On Sunday, Park Young-sun, the NPAD floor
Aug. 26, 2014
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Parties dig in heels over Sewol bill, throw Assembly off course
Deadlocked over the special bill concerning the Sewol ferry disaster, the two main political parties are once again on course to derail the schedule for parliamentary operations. On Sunday, main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy interim chief Rep. Park Young-sun called for including families of those who died in the April 16 ferry disaster in resolving the deadlock over the Sewol bill. The ruling Saenuri Party, however, rejected the suggestion, saying that forming a trilateral negot
Aug. 25, 2014
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Park blames opposition for Assembly stalemate
President Park Geun-hye on Monday blasted the main opposition party for leaving key economic bills pending at the National Assembly, without mentioning the Sewol bill despite demands from victims’ families for her to act on the issue.Expectations had mounted on how the president would react to calls for her to intervene in the passage of the special Sewol bill. But Park maintained her silence on the issue. Her reticence was widely seen as Cheong Wa Dae keeping to its previous stance that the Sew
Aug. 25, 2014
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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