Most Popular
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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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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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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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[Kim So-hyun] The quiet taxi driver from Paris
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Korea, U.S. agree to joint probe into pollution
South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to set up a joint committee to resolve the case involving a U.S. Forces Korea’s garrison in Seoul suspected of polluting groundwater and nearby land, Seoul’s municipal government said Tuesday.During a tripartite meeting held a day earlier, officials from South Korea’s environment ministry, USFK and the Seoul Metropolitan Government agreed to establish a joint working-level committee to explore ways to resolve the environmental issues surrounding the Yongsan G
June 18, 2013
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[Photo News] Face-off
June 18, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Return of ex-minister angers unions
Kim Dae-hwan was one of the most credited scholars among unionists and activists in the 1980s when they fought the dictatorial government and exploitive capitalists. Two decades later, the progressive labor economics expert turned into the trade unions’ public enemy No. 1. While serving as labor minister from 2004-06, he pushed for an ambitious social compromise aiming both to boost growth and protect labor rights. He demanded labor concessions on greater market flexibility and an improved barga
June 17, 2013
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Han Gwang-ok to head top social unity committee
President Park Geun-hye on Monday appointed Han Gwang-ok, former opposition magnate and her key campaigner, as the inaugural chief of the presidential committee on people’s grand unity. Han also headed the same committee with Park’s election camp and her transition team. “The committee will address the wounds and discord within our society and establish the culture of coprosperity,” said Lee Jung-hyun, senior secretary for public relations.“With the launch of the committee, the president’s activ
June 17, 2013
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President urges measures to fix historical distortions
President Park Geun-hye expressed her dismay at “distorted” history education on Monday, signaling for tough measures against the leftist teachers’ union. She criticized the result of a controversial survey on students’ perception of the start of the Korean War (1950-53). In the poll conducted by a newspaper, 506 high school students were asked whether the war was triggered by “buk-chim” (invasion by the South) or “nam-chim” (invasion by the North). Of them, 349 students or 69 percent picked “bu
June 17, 2013
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Moon’s return fuels friction in main opposition party
A new power struggle is apparently brewing in the main opposition Democratic Party with former presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in resuming political activities in a potential challenge for the leadership seized by a rival faction. Moon has stayed mostly on the sidelines since his defeat in the Dec. 19 election. However, Moon broke his silence on Sunday to criticize DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil’s reform plans. On Sunday, Moon told reporters that the efficacy of DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil’s
June 17, 2013
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‘Nationalism is Northeast Asia’s main challenge’
China’s increasing assertiveness and Japan’s sense of insecurity would further spur nationalism in Northeast Asia, hampering the region from achieving huge potential gains from mutual cooperation, a renowned foreign policy analyst said.In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, Nayan Chanda, the director of Publications of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, called for countries to craft effective policies of information and education to ease antagonism. “In addition to tasks of ac
June 16, 2013
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Ex-minister tapped to head tripartite labor panel
Former Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan was picked to lead a presidential advisory panel on labor policy, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Kim, 64, will replace Choi Jong-tae who has recently offered to step down. The new chairman served as labor and employment minister for the Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2004 and currently teaches economics at Inha University in Incheon. The Economic and Social Development Commission offers advice on labor and related economic and industry policies and how to improve
June 14, 2013
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DP to slim down national head office
The opposition Democratic Party said on Friday it will slim down the central party organ and relocate to a smaller building in what it called the start of reform. Chairman Kim Han-gil said the party will reduce the number of staff at its central headquarters from the current 160 to around 100. It will also dispose of the current building in southern Seoul by August and move into one 10 times smaller, he said. “We will normalize this inappropriately bloated central party system,” he said in a new
June 14, 2013
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Park meets former top Chinese diplomat
President Park Geun-hye met with a former top Chinese diplomat Friday as she prepares for her first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that she plans to use to enlist Beijing’s help in pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear programs.The meeting with Xi, set for June 27, comes after the new Chinese president and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed at a summit earlier this month that Pyongyang has to abandon its nuclear weapons aspirations, the latest indication that Beijing may be tou
June 14, 2013
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Former chiefs of NIS, Seoul police indicted over election interference
Prosecutors indicted former National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon without detention Friday on charges of meddling in last year’s presidential election. Announcing the results of its two-month-long probe, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Won ordered his agents to put up online comments and express opinions on Internet posts over political issues. Among 1,760 posts by the NIS agents with hundreds of fake IDs from Sep. 19 to Dec. 14 last year, 67 are confirmed to have
June 14, 2013
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DP increases pressure on justice minister to resign
The main opposition party ratcheted up pressure on top government officials accused of meddling in an investigation of a former intelligence chief over illegal political activities.Democratic Party lawmakers adopted a resolution on Thursday demanding the resignation of Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Kwak Sang-do. The party claimed that the two officials obstructed the prosecution’s plans to arrest Won Sei-hoon and charge him for election law vi
June 13, 2013
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Failed talks with N.K. spark partisan clash in Seoul
The collapse of the planned inter-Korean talks is igniting political fighting in the South over the proper approach to the communist neighbor. The two-day meeting, scheduled to open on Wednesday in Seoul, was aborted after the two sides failed to agree on the ranks of chief delegates. A senior presidential official said on Tuesday the North was trying to “force subservience and indignity (on South Korea) as it has done in the past.” His remark was also seen as a veiled criticism of the oppositio
June 13, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Progressive party leader highlights failings
Candid soul-searching by a progressive leader is reverberating around Korea’s political circles more usually criticized for defying public calls for reform. Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, chief of the minor opposition Progressive Justice Party, on Tuesday spoke out about the failings of progressive politics in her address to the parliament. The former union leader dedicated much of her 10-minute address to highlight her and colleagues’ radical views on North Korea and politics that were far removed from r
June 12, 2013
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State firms’ debts soar after Lee’s projects: BAI
The country’s major state-run enterprises are heavily in debt due to the previous administration’s massive, unviable construction and civil engineering projects, state auditors said Wednesday.The Board of Audit and Inspection said in a report that their combined debts surged from 128 trillion won ($113 billion) in late 2007 to 284 trillion won in late 2011 when they were under Lee Myung-bak administration. The state auditor inspected nine public firms and the three relevant ministries of finance
June 12, 2013
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Local public companies to face tighter regulation
The government and the ruling Saenuri Party decided on Wednesday to establish a new regulation to tighten supervision of local public enterprises. The envisioned law is expected to include clauses that close down companies in financial trouble due to lax management and executives’ misdeeds.Public firms more than half-owned by local governments are currently regulated under the Local Public Enterprises Act. However, there are no specific regulations for companies with government stakes of less th
June 12, 2013
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Principled approach faces test on N. Korea
The last-minute cancellation of inter-Korean high-level talks was seen to put a damper on President Park Geun-hye’s principled trust-building process, with critics questioning whether “inflexibility” cost an opportunity to defrost relations with the wayward North.Public sentiment in the South was largely split on the talks breakdown after the two Koreas failed to agree on the rank of chief delegates. Progressives criticized the government’s failure to negotiate with leeway in dealing with Pyongy
June 12, 2013
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Presidential office rejects criticism over cancellation of talks with N. Korea
The office of President Park Geun-hye bristled strongly at criticism Wednesday that not only North Korea but also the South is to blame for the cancellation of high-level inter-Korean talks.The two sides had been scheduled to open two days of talks in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss, among other issues, resuming joint economic projects, but the talks were called off at the last minute after they failed to reach agreement over the rank of top delegates from each side.The government-to-government ta
June 12, 2013
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Park slams past officials over ex-leader’s fines
President Park Geun-hye criticized previous administrations in an unusually strong tone Tuesday for turning a blind eye to vexing, longstanding issues, such as nuclear industry corruption and unpaid fines owed by former President Chun Doo-hwan.“The issue of the former president’s fines has been there for over 10 years, but previous governments failed to find a solution.Only now is the new government trying to resolve it,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting. “It is nonsense to ask the new governm
June 11, 2013
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DP threatens to seek minister’s dismissal
By Choi He-suk The main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday threatened to push for the dismissal of Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, alleging that he interfered with the prosecution’s investigation into former spy chief Won Sei-hoon. The former head of the National Intelligence Service, who was a close aide to former President Lee Myung-bak, was accused of directing his agents to advocate government policies and to counter opposition claims online last year before the presidential election. Th
June 11, 2013