Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Ministry to revamp civil servants’ ID cards
The government said Thursday that it will remove the financial transaction feature from civil servants’ ID cards to prevent possible personal data leaks amid rising concerns over the safety of information contained on the cards. The Ministry of Security and Public Administration said that civil servants would no longer be able to make payments and cash withdrawals using their smart cards. They do not function as credit cards. The electronic ID cards for public servants, introduced in 2008, have
Feb. 13, 2014
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Left-wing party members to stand trial for impeding lawmaker’s arrest
A total of 23 left-wing political party members have been indicted on charges of impeding the nation’s intelligence agency from detaining a lawmaker accused of plotting to overthrow the government, prosecutors said Thursday.The suspects allegedly blocked and physically assaulted National Intelligence Service agents who came to arrest Rep. Lee Seok-ki of the Unified Progressive Party at the National Assembly building on Sept. 4, they said.The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office said that i
Feb. 13, 2014
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'Korean Dreyfus' acquitted in retrial
A former South Korean student activist at the centre of a notorious miscarriage of justice in the era of military rule was acquitted Thursday in a retrial of abetting a fellow activist's suicide.Kang Ki-Hoon was convicted in 1992 of aiding activist Kim Ki-Sul to set himself on fire and leap to his death from a university building in protest at the military-backed administration of then president Roh Tae-Woo.He was also found guilty of forging Kim's will and was sentenced to three years in prison
Feb. 13, 2014
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Snow-hit areas to get special funds
The Ministry of Security and Public Administration said on Wednesday it will provide a total of 4.5 billion won to help municipal offices in regions hard-hit by record-high snowfall.The announcement came hours after the government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to provide special grants to Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces, which have suffered seriously from days of heavy snowfall.The ministry said it has allocated 3 billion won for Gangwon Province, 1.2 billion for North Gyeongsang Pr
Feb. 12, 2014
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Lawmaker named maritime minister
President Park Geun-hye has nominated Lee Ju-young, a ranking lawmaker at the ruling Saenuri Party, as new minister of ocean and fisheries, officials said on Wednesday.Rep. Lee replaces Yoon Jin-sook, who was fired by the president last week for making inappropriate remarks and gestures regarding a massive oil spill in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.“The president has tried to minimize the vacuum in the post and to stabilize the organization shortly after it became vacant,” presidential spokesman
Feb. 12, 2014
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‘Tokyo must resolve sex slavery dispute’
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will honor the “Murayama statement,” former Japanese leader Tomiichi Murayama said Wednesday.Speaking at Seoul’s National Assembly, Murayama said that his 1995 statement was of crucial importance to Korea-Japan relations, and would be upheld despite concerns over an increasingly right-wing Japanese government. “Abe has stated that the Murayama statement will be upheld in the parliament. I respect (Abe’s) statement and believe that he will act accordingly,” Mura
Feb. 12, 2014
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Seoul to expand health insurance coverage
The government said Tuesday that it would expand the scope of medical coverage by the state-run health insurance fund to reduce the financial burden on patients and their families and increase the overall service quality. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said in a policy report to President Park Geun-hye that the government would slash the number of doctors allowed to charge additional fees from patients from the current 9,900 to 3,300 by 2017, a year before her term ends. The ministry also pl
Feb. 11, 2014
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Park appoints foreign press spokeswoman
President Park Geun-hye has appointed Yu Myeong-hui, counselor at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, as her new spokeswoman for the foreign media, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.Yu is a diplomat specializing in trade issues. She worked at the multilateral trade bureau and free trade department under the foreign ministry and served as a counselor at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing. Yu replaces Lee Mi-yon, who served as presidential spokeswoman for the foreign press since the Lee M
Feb. 11, 2014
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Ahn espouses ‘politics of life’
Independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s new party will purse “politics of life” to establish an “economy of life” in Korea, Ahn’s new political committee announced Tuesday. According to the new politics outline, “politics of life” spans a wide range of fields, from the economy ― which the committee terms the “economy of life” ― and a national development models to welfare. “New politics is the only way towards a just Korea. A just and effective government must be established through new politics,” Ahn
Feb. 11, 2014
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Lawmakers to strengthen privacy laws after data theft
Lawmakers vowed to strengthen privacy laws on Tuesday as parliamentary investigations into the recent theft of client data from three credit card companies continued.Personal information laws will likely be amended with both the ruling and opposition parties agreeing that related laws are filled with loopholes for data thieves to exploit, National Assembly officials said.Parliament launched an investigation earlier this month in response to the data theft of more than 20 million credit card clie
Feb. 11, 2014
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Ahn lays out blueprint for new party
Maverick lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo on Tuesday announced a blueprint for his new political party to be launched next month, offering a set of visions for the economy, welfare and politics.Interest in Ahn has grown further since the independent lawmaker announced that he would establish a new party in March and field candidates for the nationwide local elections in June.Recent surveys have shown that the new party could pose a challenge to the main opposition Democratic Party amid dwindling public su
Feb. 11, 2014
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Park calls for plugging leaks in welfare budget
President Park Geun-hye ordered welfare officials Tuesday to make sure that state subsidies and other welfare benefits won't fall into the wrong hands, saying plugging such leaks in the welfare budget is a priority if the government is to better service the people.Park issued the order during a joint policy briefing by the ministry of health and welfare, the labor ministry and the gender equality ministry, pointing out that about 550 billion won ($513 million) is wasted a year due to the budget
Feb. 11, 2014
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Seoul to unveil guidelines on Park's security policies in March
The government plans to announce a set of guidelines on the Park Geun-hye administration's national security policies next month to better publicize her handling of national security issues, an official said Tuesday.Park's national security strategies were established last year when she took office, and the upcoming guidelines are aimed at informing the public and the international community of her policy line, the official said."The written guidelines reflect the current developments in the nat
Feb. 11, 2014
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Opposition party proposes bipartisan meeting over special probe
The main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday called for a bipartisan meeting with top leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party to discuss its demand for a special independent probe into the state's alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential race.DP floor leader Jun Byung-hun made the proposal during a party meeting, saying the respective leaders and floor leaders of the two parties should have made progress on their agreement last December to continue talks on the timing and extent of the special i
Feb. 11, 2014
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Park names new spokeswoman for foreign media
President Park Geun-hye has named a foreign ministry official as her new spokeswoman for foreign media, her office said Tuesday.Yu Myeong-hui, an expert in trade issues who also served at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing and at the secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization, will replace Lee Mi-yon as the presidential representative for foreign media, the office said.Lee has been tapped as an economic councilor at the embassy in Beijing, the office said. (Yonhap News)
Feb. 11, 2014
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President warns unions against reform resistance
President Park Geun-hye said Monday that she won’t tolerate any labor resistance to her drive to reform the public sector, castigating debt-ridden institutions’ morals, excessive welfare benefits and lack of efforts to improve their management.“(I’m) extremely worried about resistance moves by labor unions at public institutions against the reform plan to normalize (the public sector), and the people won’t tolerate this either,” she said during a weekly meeting with senior secretaries.“The peopl
Feb. 10, 2014
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Court confirms inheritance rights of missing N. Korean
A Seoul court on Monday upheld the inheritance rights of a man who disappeared during the Korean War, overruling the 10-year expiration term stipulated by civil law. The daughter of the man, surnamed Lee, filed a suit in 2011 to claim her share of the land owned by her deceased grandfather in South Korea. In 2009, the plaintiff escaped from North Korea, where her father lived after the Korean War. The court’s decision set a new precedent in confirming the inheritance rights of South Korean desce
Feb. 10, 2014
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NIS reform, probe take center stage at Assembly
Developments stemming from the 2012 presidential election took center stage in the interpellation session on Monday, with the parties clashing over reforming the national spy agency and launching a special counsel investigation. Following last week’s acquittal of former Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan, the opposition bloc renewed its calls for a special counsel investigation into related developments. The National Intelligence Service is alleged to have run a smear campaign against main oppositi
Feb. 10, 2014
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Park warns against labor attempts to scuttle public sector reform
President Park Geun-hye said Monday she won't let debt-ridden public institutions continue to be run in extravagant ways, warning she won't tolerate any labor attempts to scuttle her drive to reform the public sector."It is extremely worrisome that labor unions at public institutions are showing signs of banding together in order to resist normalization reforms, and the people won't tolerate this either," Park said during a weekly meeting with senior secretaries."If the public sector puts up res
Feb. 10, 2014
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Rival parties spar over special probe into election-meddling scandal
Rival political parties wrangled Monday over the opposition's demand for a special independent probe into the state's alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential election, citing the recent acquittal of a former police chief implicated in the case.Calls for an independent investigation by the opposition have grown after the Seoul Central District Court acquitted former Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan last week of scaling back and whitewashing the results of a police probe into the state spy agency
Feb. 10, 2014