Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Park names 40 new aides but selection criteria still unclear
President Park Geun-hye is pushing ahead with the remaining appointments of her key aides and high-level officials this week but ambiguity in the selection standards is once again drawing heat from critics.On Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae released the names of Park’s 40 secretaries. They included Kim Hyoung-zhin, former director general at the foreign ministry’s North American affairs bureau, for foreign affairs; politics professor Hong Yong-pyo of Hanyang University for unification; and senior defense
March 12, 2013
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Park finalizes selection of all presidential secretaries
President Park Geun-hye finalized the selection of all 40 presidential secretaries after placing the highest importance on the expertise of the candidates, her spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said Tuesday.Many of them have already been working since Park took office on Feb. 25.In the foreign policy and security sectors, career diplomat Kim Hyoung-zhin was chosen as secretary for foreign affairs, senior defense ministry official Youn Je-uk as defense secretary and university professor Hong Yong-pyo as
March 12, 2013
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Self-proclaimed pastor indicted on charges of defaming Park online
A self-proclaimed pastor has been indicted on charges of defaming President Park Geun-hye by falsely accusing her of bribing late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a 2002 visit to Pyongyang, prosecutors said Tuesday.In two video clips posted on the Internet last month, Cho Woong, whose real name is Cho Byeong-kyu, claimed that Park had handed over 50 billion won (US$45.6 million) to Kim during the visit in violation of the National Security Law banning giving any monetary support to the com
March 12, 2013
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More than half of S. Koreans see themselves as poor: poll
Six out of 10 South Koreans think they belong in the low-income bracket, a poll showed Tuesday, apparently reflecting their falling income due to the country's protracted economic slump.According to the nationwide survey of 5,732 households by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 61.8 percent said their income hovers below the national median.Another 33.8 percent responded they belong in the middle-income bracket, and 4.1 percent believed themselves to be in the upper-middle class,
March 12, 2013
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Park calls for robust defense, trust-building with N. Korea
President Park Geun-hye in the first Cabinet meeting Monday ordered solid security against North Korea’s provocation but also urged for efforts to start the trust-building process with the defiant regime.“One of the core directions for the new government is to build the foundation for peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula. While we should strongly counter any provocation by the North, we must also not stop our efforts to activate the trust-building process,” Park said in the meeting held
March 11, 2013
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Ruling party to accept by-election applications
The ruling Saenuri Party will accept applications later this week from candidates running for a seat in the National Assembly or regional councils and governments in next month’s by-election, a spokesman said Monday.The party will register candidates for the April 24 election between Thursday and Saturday, and pick its final nominees by the end of this month, according to Rep. Kim Do-eup, the spokesman of the party’s nomination committee.“We plan to check each candidate’s suitability through on-
March 11, 2013
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Toothless hearings invite skepticism
The anticipated appointment of controversy-ridden Defense Minister-designate Kim Byung-kwan is feeding public skepticism about the usefulness of the parliamentary confirmation process.Sources said President Park Geun-hye is planning to formally install the former general to the post on Tuesday considering North Korea’s escalated security threats.The decision came despite a heated confirmation session at the National Assembly on Friday when Kim was grilled by the major parties over a slew of alle
March 11, 2013
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Ahn says will practice humble politics
Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo returned from the U.S. on Monday to prepare for the April 24 by-election and the widely speculated establishment of his new party. In the April election, Ahn will run in the Seoul’s Nowon C constituency, which was left vacant after a court ruling stripped the seat from Roh Hoe-chan, the leader of the minor opposition Progressive Justice Party. The Supreme Court last month confirmed his conviction for disclosing illegally obtained information.Along with
March 11, 2013
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Ahn Cheol-soo to arrive home to run for parliamentary seat
Ahn Cheol-soo, a South Korean software mogul who dropped out of last year's presidential race to support an opposition candidate, was to arrive home from a months-long overseas trip later Monday to run for a parliamentary seat in next month's by-election.Ahn, who founded South Korea's largest anti-virus software firm AhnLab, enjoyed immense popularity among young liberal voters ahead of the December presidential election, posing a serious challenge to the ruling and opposition party contenders.T
March 11, 2013
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Park to officially name ministers including defense
President Park Geun-hye is set to finalize the appointments of 12 ministers Monday including those that will head ministries that are yet to be formally established due to the protracted government reorganization bill negotiation.They include the ministers for foreign affairs, education, public safety and administration, and industry and commerce. Reports said Park is also expected to confirm on Tuesday the appointment of defense minister-designate Kim Byung-kwan, who is at the center of opposit
March 10, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Ahn’s return signals greatest challenge yet
Generally popular but politically ambiguous, Ahn Cheol-soo was to return to South Korea on Monday after months of self-imposed exile from politics in the United States.If the circumstances were bad for the former professor when he left the country on Dec. 19, the day of the presidential election won by his former conservative rival Park Geun-hye, they are hardly more favorable now for the novice politician.Ahn will be running in the April 24 by-election in the constituency of Nowon-C of Seoul, a
March 10, 2013
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Seoul mulls extending atomic energy pact
Seoul is considering extending its atomic energy cooperation pact with Washington as they still remain poles apart over its revision, a senior government official said Sunday.Some experts have called for the extension of the 1974 pact that expires next March, noting any conflict in their negotiations could distract them and impede their efforts to cope with escalating North Korean threats. “It is difficult to yield fruitful results in one or two months and any rush (over the negotiations) should
March 10, 2013
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Broadcasts’ neutrality becomes sore spot
President Park Geun-hye’s government went without a full Cabinet for the 15th day since her inauguration as the two main political parties failed to reach an agreement over the proposed revision of the Government Organization Act.What began with a debate over whether the new government plan could hurt the integrity of broadcasters spread into a political blame game soon after, further bogging down the half-baked operation of state affairs.Although significant progress has been made in the talks
March 10, 2013
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Park to hold first Cabinet meeting Monday
President Park Geun-hye plans to hold her first Cabinet meeting on Monday as soon as the minimum number of ministers needed for such a meeting is met following their parliamentary confirmation process, her spokeswoman said. Park has been unable to hold a Cabinet meeting since being inaugurated on Feb. 25 due to a delay in the parliamentary confirmation process for her minister nominees. The first meeting has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, and will b
March 10, 2013
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Discord spreads within main opposition party over gov't reorganization bill
Discord began to spread within the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) Friday as it faced growing pressure to pass a controversial bill seen as blocking the new government's launch.The bill, which calls for a reorganization of the government's structural layout, has been stuck in parliament since the end of January due to disagreement between the DUP and the ruling Saenuri Party.The deadlock has led new President Park Geun-hye to hold off on formally appointing chiefs of ministries tha
March 8, 2013
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Defense nominee grilled over lobbying, ethics
President Park Geun-hye’s nominee to head the Ministry of National Defense faced tough questioning over his past record during a parliamentary confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on Friday.Since being tapped as the defense chief last month, Kim Byung-kwan, a retired four-star Army general, has been under mounting pressure from the public and the media for his controversial past activities and allegations of various ethical lapses. The most troubling allegation focused on Kim’s pr
March 8, 2013
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S. Korea to hold senior security officials' meeting amid
South Korea will hold a meeting of senior security officials Friday to discuss rising tensions with North Korea amid war threats from the communist nation, a presidential official said.Senior presidential security secretary Ju Chul-ki will preside over the meeting that is also expected to draw deputy chiefs of the defense ministry, the foreign ministry, the unification ministry and the National Intelligence Service, the official said.The session will be the first of its kind since the inaugurati
March 8, 2013
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DUP blasts Saenuri plan for Assembly vote on reform bill
The war of nerves between the rival parties over President Park Geun-hye’s government reorganization plan persisted Thursday as the opposition Democratic United Party shot down the Saenuri Party’s suggestion to put the bill up for a vote.As concerns and criticism surged over the drawn-out void in state affairs, Saenuri Party floor leader Lee Hahn-koo proposed having the National Assembly speaker put the contentious bill to a vote “fair and square.” “Let’s give each lawmaker a chance to cast thei
March 7, 2013
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Park to appoint 7 ministers next week
Newly inaugurated President Park Geun-hye will formally appoint seven Cabinet ministers next week, her spokeswoman said Thursday, amid ongoing conflicts with the main opposition party over how to reorganize her administration. Park was sworn in as South Korea's first female president on Feb. 25, but she has yet to form her 17-member Cabinet after opposition politicians questioned her intentions to control the broadcasting industry. The absence of a Cabinet has raised worries that it is causing
March 7, 2013
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Park rejects opposition offer
President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday rejected the opposition’s conditions for approving her government reorganization plan that has run a cropper at the National Assembly. Earlier in the day, the main opposition Democratic United Party unveiled a three-point compromise deal that included raising the bar for prospective executives at public broadcasters, holding a parliamentary hearing on the controversial managements at those companies, and an investigation and resignation of Kim Jae-chul, the p
March 6, 2013