Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Naver Q1 net income soars 1,171.9% on growth of major businesses
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Opposition eyeing plan B on Moon
The main opposition party is to adopt a new strategy for preventing Prime Minister-designate Moon Chang-keuk from taking office as unfavorable views on the former journalist spread within the ruling party.According to reports, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has reached a decision to subject Moon to the parliamentary confirmation hearing should the government submit the request. NPAD’s Rep. Park Jie-won, who will head the confirmation committee, implied that the party has
June 16, 2014
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Park hoping to forge closer Central Asia ties
South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Uzbekistan on Monday to forge closer economic and other ties with the Central Asian nation once at the center of the trade route between Asia and Europe.The three-day state visit comes as Park seeks to lay the groundwork for the “Eurasia initiative” she proposed in October.The initiative calls for building more infrastructure and freeing up trade between Eurasian nations to create what could become a large single market rivaling the European Union.
June 16, 2014
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Controversy plagues Cabinet nominees
Controversy over the qualifications of President Park Geun-hye’s nominees for prime minister and other top posts continued Monday, as new allegations raised questions about their integrity.A fresh suspicion emerged that Prime Minister Moon Chang-keuk was given preferential treatment during his three-year mandatory military service in the Navy, using nearly half of his national service period to study at a graduate school. Moon served as a commissioned officer in the Navy from July 1972-July 1975
June 16, 2014
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P.M. nomination debacle dents Park’s ratings
President Park Geun-hye’s ratings dipped after she nominated a former journalist as the new prime minister, poll data showed Monday, suggesting that her choice might have had a negative impact. Park’s ratings, which had begun to rebound after free-falling by more than 10 percentage points according to multiple surveys since the Sewol sinking, could drop further if she pushes on with the nomination of Moon Chang-keuk as her prime minister.A poll conducted last week by Real Meter, an opinion surve
June 16, 2014
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Parties on collision course over Sewol, P.M. nominee
The two main parties are set to clash heads over the Sewol ferry disaster and Prime Minister-designate Moon Chang-keuk in the three-day interpellation session, as each seeks to gain the upper hand ahead of the July 30 parliamentary by-elections.The three-day session, which begins Wednesday, will be dominated by issues surrounding the April 16 ferry disaster, which left more than 300 people dead or missing.The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy is also expected to hone in on Pres
June 15, 2014
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[Newsmaker] Maritime minister escapes the chop
Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Lee Ju-young, whose ministry was directly responsible for handling the Sewol ferry disaster, has managed to hang onto his post. The news came as a shock to many, as speculation was rife that he would be the first to be replaced in the government’s recent personnel shake-up aimed at repairing its image. It was more surprising because the seven ministers that President Park Geun-hye said would be replaced included two ― the education minister and security minister
June 15, 2014
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Sister of Chun Tae-il pledges to understand conservatives
The first opposition lawmaker to accompany President Park Geun-hye on an international tour said Friday that she hoped to gain a mutual understanding with the government’s top executive.“I think we have very different pasts,” main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Chun Soon-ok said in an interview with The Korea Herald.“But I don’t want to call her a bad person just because we have different ways of thinking.”Chun will be joining Park on her Central Asian tour this week.Chun is
June 15, 2014
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President tightens grip with reshuffle
President Park Geun-hye replaced seven ministers on Friday, completing several weeks of personnel shake-ups to salvage public trust in the government and move on from the ferry disaster.Park appointed Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan, a political heavyweight and one of her closest aides, as deputy prime minister in charge of economics. Choi replaces Hyun Oh-seok, the first finance minister under the Park government, who came under fire for making a series of inappropriate remarks and mishandling contentiou
June 13, 2014
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Profiles of minister nominees
Education pick seen conservativePresident Park Geun-hye named a conservative education expert as the new education minister on Friday, a move aimed at striking a balance in the education sector after progressives swept 13 out of 17 city and provincial education chief posts in the June 4 local elections. Education minister-nominee Kim Myung-soo is considered a veteran of education affairs with a very conservative political outlook, having openly criticized the Korean Teachers and Education Worker
June 13, 2014
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Controversy deepens over P.M. nominee
Criticism is deepening of the political and historical views of prime ministerial nominee Moon Chang-keuk as he was found in his doctoral thesis to have decried Koreans for harboring anti-U.S. sentiment in the wake of the watershed democratic uprising in 1980. The discovery is the latest in a series of verbal and behavioral gaffes that prompted not only the opposition camp but also some members of the ruling party to call for his withdrawal. The 1980s witnessed a surge in anti-Americanism around
June 13, 2014
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Controversy deepens over P.M. nominee
Criticism is deepening of the political and historical views of prime ministerial nominee Moon Chang-keuk as he was found in his doctoral thesis to have decried Koreans for harboring anti-U.S. sentiment in the wake of the watershed democratic uprising in 1980. prime ministerial nominee Moon Chang-keuk (Yonhap)The discovery is the latest in a series of verbal and behavioral gaffes that prompted not only the opposition camp but also some members of the ruling party to call for his withdrawal. Th
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Education minister nominee, veteran on education affairs
President Park Geun-hye's pick for the nation's new education minister, who will double as deputy prime minister for educational, social and cultural affairs, is an expert on education affairs. Kim Myung-soo, 66, who studied education at Seoul National University, began his career as a middle school teacher in 1975. After serving as an assistant professor at Seoul National University College of Education, he is now a professor at Korea National University of Education and the president of
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Culture minister nominee, veteran TV journalist
President Park Geun-hye's pick for the next culture minister is a veteran TV reporter with nearly 30 years of work experience in major broadcasting companies such as KBS and SBS. Chung Sung-keun, 59, became well known when he worked as an anchor on various SBS news programs. The nominee, in particular, gained much attention from viewers when he was an anchor of the channel's nighttime news program, "Nightline" for his impressive closing comments often critical of the government. In 2012, he ra
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Lee Ki-kweon, labor minister
Lee, 57, served at the labor ministry for more than 30 years before becoming the president of Korea University of Technology & Education last year.Lee last served as vice-minister of labor before going into academia. Lee Ki-kweon, labor ministerMultiple sources within the ministry welcomed Lee’s appointment. Senior ministry officials who claimed to have worked with the bureaucrat said Lee was “a man of virtue” who “always took the blame f
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Seoul National University professor tapped for science minister
Choi Yang-hee, tapped as the head of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, is one of the country's well-known experts in the information and technology industry. Choi emphasizes the importance of converging different industries and technologies, a key idea of the creative economy, a signature policy of the Park Geun-hye administration that calls for pushing the economy forward by creating new business opportunities. Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in the country's east, the 58
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Kim Hee-jung, Ministry of Gender Equality & Family
Kim, 43, nominated as the new Minister of Gender Equality & Family on Friday, is a two-term Saenuri lawmaker who is recognized for her specialty in the IT industry as well as her successful political career. Kim Hee-jung, Ministry of Gender Equality & FamilyIn 2004, at age 33, she became the youngest elected woman lawmaker in Korean history, by winning the parliamentary election in her hometown Busan. Although her major was political science while
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Finance minister nominee tasked with reform, boosting economic recovery
President Park Geun-hye's finance minister nominee faces a heavy burden of pushing the government's signature three-year economic innovation plan and other reform efforts needed to strengthen the country's long-term growth potential, which recently is showing signs of slowing down. Choi Kyoung-hwan, 59, is a third-term lawmaker of the ruling Seanuri Party. He is to replace Hyun Oh-seok, who has served as finance minister for more than a year since President Park took office in February last ye
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Chong Jong-sup, public administration minister
Chong Jong-sup, 56, is a renowned constitutional scholar at Seoul National University who has long advocated sweeping state, judicial and social reform. Chong Jong-sup, public administration ministerHe will lead a new ministry envisioned to handle home affairs as the smaller successor to the existing Ministry of Security and Public Administration that will be dismantled as part of President Park Geun-hye’s government reconfiguration plans unveiled in the wak
June 13, 2014
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Park reshuffles Cabinet
President Park Geun-hye replaced seven ministers on Friday, completing several weeks of personnel shake-ups to salvage the public trust in the government and to move on from the ferry disaster.Deputy prime minister Choi Kyoung-hwan. (Yonhap)Park appointed Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan, a political heavyweight and one of her closet aides, as deputy prime minister in charge of economics. Choi replaces Hyun Oh-seok, the first finance minister under the Park government, who has come under fire for making a
June 13, 2014
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Park replaces 4 aides, retains chief of staff
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday appointed four senior secretaries as part of her reshuffle aimed at repairing the image of the government in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster. Park named Minister of Gender Equality Cho Yoon-sun senior secretary for political affairs, Rep. Ahn Chong-bum of the ruling Saenuri Party senior secretary for economic affairs, and former senior prosecutor Kim Young-han senior secretary for civil affairs. Song Gwang-yong, former president of Seoul National Uni
June 12, 2014