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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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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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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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Park seeks way out via new appointments, summit trip
In her signature manner of snubbing political debates and instead sticking to her guns as a way out of a gridlock, President Park Geun-hye maintained her silence on the election legitimacy controversy and instead made a series of unexpected personnel appointments last week.As the ignored main opposition Democratic Party watched in rage, Park chose Sunday to throw a ceremonial first pitch at the Korean baseball series, and sang along to “Arirang” at a cultural event held at Cheong Wa Dae.To the g
Oct. 28, 2013
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Prime minister vows to reveal truth in NIS scandal
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won on Monday said that the government would get to the bottom of the alleged election interference by the spy agency, calling on political parties to end their wrangling over the issue and focus on the economy and crucial national agenda.“The government will uncover the truth and the cause behind the series of allegations including the National Intelligence Service’s online comments,” Chung said in his first address to the public. He reiterated that President Park Geu
Oct. 28, 2013
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New chief prosecutor picked amid agency disarray
President Park Geun-hye on Sunday tapped veteran corruption fighter Kim Jin-tae to head the prosecution marred by internal feuds over a highly sensitive investigation into the alleged election meddling by the National Intelligence Service.Cheong Wa Dae expressed hopes that Kim, a former deputy prosecutor general, would be able to stabilize the law enforcement organization and conclude a series of pending cases fairly and thoroughly. But the main opposition party raised concerns that the nominee
Oct. 27, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Rocky road ahead of new chief prosecutor
Prosecutor-general nominee Kim Jin-tae is known inside the law enforcement agency by his piquant nickname: Bull Pen. He was an acting prosecutor general in late 2012 when then the prosecutor-general resigned, taking responsibility for a series of corruption and sex scandals involving some prosecutors, as well as a failed prosecution reform. Kim was the man who put immediate effort to settle the unprecedented crisis and quickly restore the tarnished image of corrupted prosecution. Kim is now give
Oct. 27, 2013
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Political tension rises over NIS probe
Political strife escalated during the weekend over the prosecution’s probe into the National Intelligence Service’s alleged meddling in last year’s presidential election. The main opposition Democratic Party stepped up its attack on the Park Geun-hye administration, accusing it of attempting to politically influence the prosecution and whitewash the ongoing investigation. The allegations are boiling over into a dispute over the legitimacy of the election. The NIS and the military’s Cyber Warfare
Oct. 27, 2013
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Park picks candidate for top prosecutor
President Park Geun-hye has nominated Kim Jin-tae, a former deputy chief at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, as the single candidate to become the nation's new chief prosecutor, a presidential spokesman said Sunday. A nine-member government committee last week recommended Kim and three other candidates for prosecutor general to Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, nearly a month after Chae Dong-wook stepped down from the post under pressure from allegations of marital infidelity. Presidential spo
Oct. 27, 2013
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S. Korean envoy in hot seat over inter-Korean summit transcript
South Korea's ambassador to China came under pressure Saturday to clear allegations that he had leaked a top-secret inter-Korean summit record ahead of December's presidential election to discredit the then opposition candidate.The allegations raised against Kwon Young-se was a key topic during an annual parliamentary audit into the South Korean Embassy in Beijing on Saturday. Opposition lawmakers pressed Kwon to clarify the allegations against him.Kwon denied the allegations, saying, "I have no
Oct. 27, 2013
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Park names audit and health chiefs
President Park Geun-hye on Friday tapped judge Hwang Chan-hyun and Korea Development Institute researcher Moon Hyung-pyo to head the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, respectively. Hwang and Moon will need to undergo parliamentary hearings before taking office. In addition, chief of Hanyang University’s College of Performing Arts and Sport Kim Chong was named Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.Hwang, the chief of the Seoul Central District Court a
Oct. 25, 2013
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NIS agents use ruling party press releases on tweets: prosecution
The prosecution said Friday it has found evidence that agents of the state spy agency quoted press releases of the ruling party to post Twitter messages ahead of last year's presidential election.The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has been probed over allegations that it launched an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of President Park Geun-hye, the then ruling Saenuri Party's candidate, ahead of the December election.The episode has already resulted in the arrest of forme
Oct. 25, 2013
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Justice minister apologizes for dispute over probe on NIS
Minister of Justice Hwang Kyo-ahn apologized for the controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in the prosecution’s probe into the National Intelligence Service on Thursday, as the row over the issue extended to whether the opposition bloc is was denying the legitimacy of the election. “(I) apologize to the public for the fact that undesirable developments are taking place within the prosecution,” Hwang said in a statement. He also said that the prosecution should remain independent of poli
Oct. 24, 2013
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Lawmakers collide over basic pension linked with NPS
Lawmakers from rival parties on Thursday clashed over the Park Geun-hye government’s new basic pension scheme proposed to pay less to subscribers of the existing contributory pension program.During a parliamentary audit on the National Pension Service, lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party claimed that the number of voluntary subscribers dropping out from the contributory pension program surged right after the Park government’s basic pension scheme was announced last month. The Min
Oct. 24, 2013
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‘Petty Creep’ podcasters cleared of defamation
Two well-known political satirists were found not guilty of election law violations and defamation charges on Thursday by a jury. The lampoonists had suggested members of President Park Geun-hye’s family were involved in two alleged contract murders as last year’s presidential elections approached.Kim Eo-jun and Ju Jin-u, the hosts of the politically left-leaning podcast “I am a Petty-Minded Creep” ― better known as “Naneun Ggomsuda” ― were accused of spreading false rumors about Park Ji-man, th
Oct. 24, 2013
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Prosecutor general candidates shortlisted
The Justice Ministry’s nomination committee on Thursday drew up a short list of four candidates to head the prosecution, which is currently embroiled in heavy political wrangling.Committee members narrowed a list of 12 candidates recommended for the chief prosecutor post down to four after reviewing their qualifications. The final candidates were Kim Jin-tae, former deputy prosecutor general; Kil Tae-ki, acting prosecutor general; So Byung-chul, head of the Institute of Justice; and Han Myong-kw
Oct. 24, 2013
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Justice minister apologizes over prosecution row
Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn apologized Thursday over a recent conflict between senior prosecutors in charge of investigating a high-profile election meddling scandal involving the state spy agency.The apology came after a senior prosecutor, who had headed a prosecution team probing the scandal before being dismissed, quarreled with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief, Cho Young-kon, during a nationally televised parliamentary meeting, by accusing his boss of impeding the inve
Oct. 24, 2013
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NIS probe edges toward fight over election legitimacy
The row over alleged irregularities in the prosecution’s probe into the National Intelligence Service is threatening to escalate into full-blown war between the two main political parties over the legitimacy of last year’s presidential election.Following testimony from Yoon Seok-yeol at the parliamentary audit of the prosecution, voices questioning the legitimacy of last year’s presidential election have risen within the main opposition Democratic Party. Yoon is the head of the prosecutors’ offi
Oct. 23, 2013
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Move to rekindle Saemaul Movement sparks debate
President Park Geun-hye’s rekindling of the globally well-received “Saemaul Movement” legacy of her late father, former President Park Chung-hee, is sparking debate at home about whether or not the attempt is politically dangerous.On Sunday, Park appeared before a zealous crowd belonging to the nationwide Saemaul leadership council and proposed a second wave of the landmark rural development movement from the 1970s.She said, “The Saemaul Movement was a mental revolution that changed our modern h
Oct. 23, 2013
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NIS probe row sails close to fight over election legitimacy
The row over the alleged irregularities in the prosecution’s probe into the National Intelligence Service is threatening to escalate to another full blown war between the two main political parties over last year’s presidential election legitimacy.Following the testimony from Yoon Seok-yeol at the parliamentary audit on the prosecutors’ office, voices questioning the legitimacy of last year’s presidential election have risen from the main opposition Democratic Party. Yoon is the head of the pros
Oct. 23, 2013
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Cyber warfare unit raided over election postings
The Defense Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Command raided the cyber warfare unit Tuesday as the ministry expanded its probe into allegations that some unit members posted political comments online during last year’s presidential election.In an interim report after a week of inquiry into the case, the ministry confirmed that three civilian employees and one non-commissioned military officer registered “private” comments on their blogs and Twitter.Based on their statements, the four employees w
Oct. 22, 2013
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Korea, Poland elevate ties to strategic partnership
President Park Geun-hye and visiting Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski agreed on Tuesday to upgrade their countries’ bilateral ties to a “strategic partnership” for wider cooperation.The two presidents agreed to expand cooperation substantially in the fields of defense, trade and investment, infrastructure, health and medical services, energy and IT, as well as e-government.After the summit talks, Park and Komorowski oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding for wider defense coop
Oct. 22, 2013
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Acting prosecutor general orders audit into NIS probe controversy
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday launched an audit into alleged irregularities in the probe into the National Intelligence Service.According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, Acting Prosecutor General Kil Tae-ki ordered an audit, saying the NIS probe would be conducted without political considerations regardless of the audit’s results. “The truth behind the problem that arose will be revealed through a stringent audit,” Supreme Prosecutors’ office spokesman Koo Bon-seon said. He adde
Oct. 22, 2013