Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Record 70 business leaders to accompany Park on China visit
A record 70 South Korean business leaders are expected to accompany President Park Geun-hye on her visit to China set to begin on June 27, business and political sources said Sunday.Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has reportedly decided not to travel to China, but most other business leaders, including Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo and LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, will be included in the delegation, said the sources. "The list of the business delegation to China is close
June 23, 2013
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N. Korea's vice foreign minister returns home after visit to China
North Korea's vice foreign minister returned home Saturday, the North's state media reported, following a trip to China that raised hopes for a possible resumption of six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear programs. Kim Kye-gwan, the first vice-minister of foreign affairs, and his party returned home after visiting China, the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report, monitored in Seoul. The report gave no further details except to say that he met in Beijing with
June 23, 2013
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Lee gov't misused budget for Korean food promotion
The previous Lee Myung-bak government misused the budget earmarked for its signature project led by the then-first lady to promote Korean food internationally and poorly managed related plans, the state auditor said Friday.First lady Kim Yoon-ok pushed for diverse plans to promote Korean food overseas, spending some 87.2 billion won (US$75.59 million) from 2009 to 2012. But it has been criticized for poor management and failing to draw any tangible results.According to the special audit by the B
June 21, 2013
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Not forgotten: Former POW recounts his ordeal in the North
After nearly 50 years of harsh labor in North Korea, Yu Young-bok, a former prisoner of war, returned to Seoul in 2000. The city looked like a utopia with posh cars, skyscrapers and life free from hunger and oppression. Yu was fortunate to reunite with his father, then 94, just six months before he died. But the euphoria faded quickly as he began to feel guilty for those whom he had left behind. His children would face the harsher oppression that North Korea inflicted on “traitors.” His fellow P
June 21, 2013
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Exact number of POWs still unknown
Six decades after the end of the Korean War, the exact number of South Korean prisoners of war in North Korea is still unknown, as Pyongyang refuses to offer any information about the captives. Its repeated argument is that there are no POWs living there against their will.Based on statements from North Korean defectors and POWs who returned to their homeland, the Seoul government estimates that some 500 POWs are still alive in the North. Their average age is around 80.In 1994, Army 2nd Lieut. C
June 21, 2013
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POWs, unfinished business of Korean War
On July 27, 1953, the commanders of the U.N. forces., North Korea and China signed an armistice to end the three-year brutal conflict on the peninsula. But the Korean War never ended for hundreds of South Korean prisoners of war believed to be living in the North. For their families still unsure of their fate and frustrated with government failures to bring them back, it is also unfinished business.Time is running out for the veterans who would be in their 80s and 90s. But hope for their return
June 21, 2013
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Parties bicker over Roh’s NLL remarks
The two main parties are at loggerheads again over allegations that former President Roh Moo-hyun conceded to North Korea on the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime border between the two Koreas.A group of lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday confirmed the claim after they viewed the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit provided by the National Intelligence Service. The opposition Democratic Party claimed they were distorting the facts in an attempt to avoid the brunt of c
June 21, 2013
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Presidential office denies role in decision to disclose summit dialogue transcript
Cheong Wa Dae denied any role Friday in the National Intelligence Service's decision to show some lawmakers a 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript that reportedly confirms allegations that late former President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks seriously undermining the legitimacy of the sea border with North Korea.On Thursday, the NIS showed the confidential document to members of the parliamentary intelligence committee. After seeing the records, ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers claimed that Roh did make
June 21, 2013
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Main opposition party links spy agency scandal to NLL controversy
The main opposition Democratic Party on Friday proposed disclosing the minutes of a controversial 2007 inter-Korean summit in exchange for conducting a parliamentary probe into a scandal surrounding the national spy agency.The proposal comes one day after the ruling Saenuri Party claimed that it has seen official government records backing up allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun tried to nullify the de facto maritime border separating the two Koreas during his meeting with then North Kor
June 21, 2013
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Saenuri, DP agree on NIS probe
The ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic Party agreed on Thursday to pass the plans for a parliamentary investigation into the National Intelligence Service’s election interference during the June session of the National Assembly. Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan and his DP counterpart Rep. Jun Byung-hun agreed on the need to process the issue as their predecessors planned. The development comes just two days after Saenuri chairman Rep. Hwang Woo-yea and DP chairman
June 20, 2013
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Greenpeace agrees to settle lawsuit with Korean ministry
Greenpeace East Asia and Greenpeace International agreed to drop the lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice in exchange for “positive measures” and government assurances it would permit Greenpeace campaigners to enter the country in the future.Greenpeace agreed to drop the suit “with an understanding that the Ministry of Justice would take positive measures including the end of its denial of entry against Greenpeace campaigners,” the environmental organization said in a statement on Thursday.Si
June 20, 2013
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Park to visit ancient Chinese capital Xian
President Park Geun-hye will stop by Xian, a cultural, industrial and educational center of China’s central-northwest, as part of her four-day state visit to China next week, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.Park will hold a summit with President Xi Jinping next Thursday to discuss North Korea, economic cooperation and other bilateral issues. Then she will travel to the ancient city in Shaanxi Province Saturday, the presidential office said.“This ancient city with more than 3,000 years of history is
June 20, 2013
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Ruling party fuels NLL controversy
The ruling Saenuri Party said Thursday it has seen government records backing up allegations that late South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun tried to nullify the de facto maritime border separating the two Koreas, a move that is seen as undermining South Korea's sovereignty. The controversy centered on allegations that Roh, who stepped down in early 2008 at the end of a single five-year term, had tried to nullify the so-called Northern Limit Line (NLL) during an inter-Korean summit in 2007 with
June 20, 2013
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Universities condemn spy agency scandal en masse
Students from a number of South Korean universities on Thursday issued statements condemning the National Intelligence Agency for allegedly interfering in last year’s presidential election.Seoul National University’s student council held a press conference at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and made a statement denouncing the top spy agency.“For stomping on the basic principles of democracy with the power of the state, former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and former Seoul police
June 20, 2013
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Rival parties agree to go ahead with probe into spy agency scandal
The ruling and main opposition parties agreed Thursday to go ahead with their plan to conduct a parliamentary investigation into allegations that the national spy agency meddled in last year's presidential election. The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) announced the agreement following a meeting between their respective floor leaders, Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan and Rep. Jun Byung-hun, saying they will try to pass a proposal for the investigation during this month's
June 20, 2013
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Ahn sparks battle over liberalism
A turf battle over “progressive liberalism” is unfolding between two major opposition groups that once united around their shared commitment to the ideal. Independent lawmaker Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo formally declared his political direction as progressive liberal Wednesday, sparking discord with the Democratic Party which claims the perspective as its own. At the symposium marking the launch of his think-tank Policy Network Tomorrow, Ahn hinted that the organization could form the basis of his own p
June 19, 2013
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Lee to lead panel on regional development
President Park Geun-hye named a former veteran technocrat with decades of experience in public administration to lead a presidential advisory panel on regional development, her office announced Wednesday.Lee Won-jong, 71, who served as mayor of Seoul and governor of North Chungcheong Province, was appointed chairman of the Presidential Committee on Regional Development, senior presidential press secretary Lee Jung-hyun said.The committee aims to contribute to balanced national development.Lee pa
June 19, 2013
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Employers seen avoiding older single men
The term “Gold Miss” has long been used to indicate a woman in her late 30s or 40s who is still single and highly committed to her career. But it now could be getting more difficult for men to ape their female counterparts, with employers avoiding single men in their 30s and 40s, according to one human resources worker.“We prefer someone who can harmonize well with the organization. However these old single men usually lose points in the criteria of responsibility and commitment when applying fo
June 19, 2013
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Park pledges support for overseas Koreans
President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday she will draw on the talents of Koreans living abroad to create a more competitive South Korea in the world.Park made the remarks in a meeting with representatives of Korean communities across the world, emphasizing that her vision for "happiness of the people" includes also the millions of Koreans living overseas."I'm going to build a strong South Korea that can boldly compete in the world," she said at the meeting at a Seoul hotel. "(I) will provide ample o
June 18, 2013
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Party chiefs’ talks deadlocked over probe into NIS
The meeting of the ruling and main opposition party leaders on Tuesday failed to produce significant results, with the two sides clashing over the parliamentary investigation into the National Intelligence Service’s election interference.Although Hwang and Kim agreed to give priority to issues concerning the public such as the economic democratization laws during the June session, it is regarded as being of little significance as the ruling and opposition parties had reached a similar agreement
June 18, 2013