Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Lawmaker sentenced to suspended term for tear gassing Assembly chamber
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Tuesday sentenced a progressive lawmaker to a suspended one-year prison term for detonating a tear gas bomb in the National Assembly's main chamber in protest of the free trade agreement with the U.S.Kim Sun-dong of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party was found guilty of using tear gas to block the ruling party's unilateral move to put the long-pending trade pact to a floor vote in a snap parliamentary session in November 2011.Despite his violent att
Feb. 19, 2013
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Park picks loyalist, technocrats for key posts
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Tuesday named her longtime ally Lee Jung-hyun as senior secretary for political affairs and former diplomat Ju Chul-ki for foreign affairs and national security in the final round of appointments for the new government. Park also named her senior secretaries: former finance technocrat and Korea Institute of Public Finance president Cho Won-dong for economy; social and labor affairs professor Choi Sung-jae for labor and welfare; Seoul Arts Center president Mo Chul
Feb. 19, 2013
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Allegations dog nominees
Allegations of misdeeds have been brought against nominees for some of the most powerful positions, rekindling criticism of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s personnel selection method.From the latest batch of nominees revealed Sunday and Monday, finance minister nominee Hyun Oh-seok has been accused of tax evasion.According to reports, the Korea Development Institute chief transferred the ownership of a residential property in southern Seoul to his daughter in 2005, which he purchased in the late
Feb. 19, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Park loyalist takes key post of chief aide
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s designation of Lee Jung-hyun, 55, as her senior secretary for political affairs was one of the few unsurprising appointments.Having devoted nearly three decades to politics, Lee has been considered one of Park’s very few men that could speak her mind as his own.Entrusted to act as her “ultimate” spokesperson, Lee has been Park’s close ally for years, smartly tuning up his role from being an outspoken mouthpiece to a prudent confidante depending on the situation.Hu
Feb. 19, 2013
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[Graphic News] Park’s personnel selections lack balance, harmony
With each new personnel selection, President-elect Park Geun-hye has shown a tendency to pick people with overlapping educational and personal backgrounds, prompting some to question whether she has given any consideration to national unity and balanced appointments.Along with the prime minister nominee and justice minister nominee, seven out of 30 appointees picked up to Tuesday are Sungkyunkwan alumni in Park’s incoming Cabinet and presidential office.Regional considerations are also an issue.
Feb. 19, 2013
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Profile of senior presidential secretaries
Cho Won-dong, Economic affairsCho Won-dong, president of the state-run Korea Institute of Public Finance, has been chosen as the senior secretary for economic affairs for the incoming government of President-elect Park Geun-hye.Park’s transition team said Tuesday that Cho previously served as an assistant deputy minister for the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and also worked for the Prime Minister’s Office.The 59-year-old appointee graduated from Seoul National University with a bachelor’s de
Feb. 19, 2013
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Three Navy officers charged with bribery
Military prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted three Navy officers on charges of receiving kickbacks from several defense contractors. A Navy lieutenant commander working for the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency was arrested in December for receiving nearly 50 million won ($46,000) from two defense firms, which were bidding for projects funded by the state procurement agency, prosecutors said.Another Navy lieutenant commander is suspected of receiving 20 million won in bribes fro
Feb. 19, 2013
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Lawmaker gets suspended term for teargassing Assembly
A Seoul court on Tuesday sentenced an opposition lawmaker to a suspended prison term for detonating a tear gas bomb in the National Assembly’s main chamber in protest of the free trade agreement with the U.S.Kim Sun-dong of the main opposition Democratic United Party, who was affiliated with the minor progressive Democratic Labor Party at the time, was found guilty of using tear gas to block the ruling party’s unilateral move to put the long-pending trade pact to a floor vote in a snap parliamen
Feb. 19, 2013
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Key figures in stock manipulation scandal indicted
Prosecutors said Tuesday they have brought charges against five people, including a former energy ambassador, for allegedly reaping massive profit from a stock manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.The suspects are accused of pocketing about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by inflating the stock prices of South Korean mine developer CNK International, after exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine developed by the KOSDAQ-listed company through a
Feb. 19, 2013
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Lee defends his North Korea policy
President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday defended his North Korea policy, stressing that inter-Korean relations had undergone a “significant change” despite their frosty appearance.During his last presidential address to the nation, Lee also said that Pyongyang must realize that by inviting isolation and sanctions from the international community, it was only “drawing closer and closer to a dead-end.”“The past five years have affirmed for me the fact that in order for North Korea to become a true memb
Feb. 19, 2013
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Former progressive party co-chairman Rhyu Si-min retires from politics
Former progressive party co-chairman Rhyu Si-min said Tuesday that he will retire from politics as the country‘s liberals move to recover from last year’s presidential election defeat.The 54-year-old, who held the post of health and welfare minister under late President Roh Moo-hyun, said via his Twitter account that “he wished to live the life he has always wanted before it is too late.” He hinted at writing a book to recap his political career and draw a blueprint for his future.The politician
Feb. 19, 2013
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Park names ex-career diplomat as senior foreign affairs secretary
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Tuesday named her long-time right-hand man Lee Jung-hyun as senior presidential secretary for political affairs and former career diplomat Ju Chul-ki as senior secretary for foreign affairs and national security, a spokesman said.Park also named former finance ministry technocrat Cho Won-dong as economic secretary; social and labor affairs scholar Choi Sung-jae as labor and welfare secretary; former culture ministry technocrat Mo Chul-min as education and cultura
Feb. 19, 2013
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Park secretariat seen to be in driver’s seat
Stability, familiarity and control appear to be the key words for President-elect Park Geun-hye in forming the new government as she is seen to create a powerful Cheong Wa Dae joined by her close allies, while old-school experts and bureaucrats fill the Cabinet.The latest designation of veteran politician Huh Tae-yeol as her chief of staff demonstrates her intention to bestow higher political credence to the presidential office, political observers said.“While criticisms toward concentrated powe
Feb. 18, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Ex-lawmaker named Park’s chief of staff
Former lawmaker Huh Tae-yeol, who will be President-elect Park Geun-hye’s chief of staff following her inauguration on Feb. 25, is a veteran politician, bureaucrat and a key ally of Park.With the president-elect planning to give additional authority to the chief of staff, the position will likely be one of the most influential in the administration, especially in top-level appointments, policy coordination and consultation with political parties.In addition to serving the president in the closes
Feb. 18, 2013
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Profiles of presidential staff
Yoo Min-bong, State affairs planningYoo, 55, is an expert in human resource management and administrative affairs known as the architect of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s government reorganization plan. He teaches public administration at Sungkyunkwan University, his alma mater, and currently heads the transition team’s state planning and coordination subcommittee.A Daejon native, Yoo has authored books on public administration that are widely used as textbooks for studying public administratio
Feb. 18, 2013
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Sungkyunkwan alumni take top posts
Graduates of Sungkyunkwan University gained significant presence within the government with six of the 24 key officials chosen by President-elect Park Geun-hye sharing the same alma mater. At seven, Seoul National University graduates are the most numerous among the Cabinet and presidential staff named to date. Park is a graduate of Sogang University. Only one alumnus of Korea University, who had disproportionate representation in President Lee Myung-bak’s government, is included among the 24. S
Feb. 18, 2013
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Park makes appointments despite stall in Assembly
The captain and the crew have been chosen with much fanfare. But where is the ship? That is the question critics are asking following President-elect Park Geun-hye’s latest rounds of Cabinet appointments over the weekend. Park’s sweeping government reorganization plan, parts of which call for establishing three new government ministries, has yet to pass the National Assembly as required by South Korean law. Park nevertheless made nominations to head non-existing ministries. “Please, I beg you.
Feb. 18, 2013
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Main opposition party to elect new leadership in May
The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) will elect new leadership in May, a spokesman said Monday, following the mass resignations of the party's leaders over their defeat in last year's general and presidential elections.The new leaders will be selected at a regular national convention scheduled for May 4, DUP spokesman Jung Sung-ho said.The DUP has been led by an emergency leadership since shortly after the December presidential election, which it lost to President-elect Park Geun-hy
Feb. 18, 2013
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Ruling, opposition parties fail to agree on gov't reorganization
Talks between the country's ruling and main opposition parties on the envisioned government restructuring ended without an agreement Sunday, possibly causing difficulties for the new Park Geun-hye administration that is set to come into office later this month. "We were unable to reach an agreement today," Chin Young, deputy chief of Park's transition team, told reporters following his meeting with officials from the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP). The meeting between the DUP
Feb. 17, 2013
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Park rocked by delayed Cabinet launch
Park Geun-hye’s presidential campaign posters once portrayed her as a “prepared” leader, owing to her experience as an acting first lady, her leadership in resuscitating the conservative Grand National Party in 2004, and later leading a series of crucial election victories for the party. But with less than eight days remaining until inauguration, the president-elect’s Cabinet appears likely to be the first in recent memory to come into power half-empty, as allegations of misdeeds and backroom de
Feb. 17, 2013