Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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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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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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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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President-elect warns against bickering over government reform
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Friday warned government ministries to stop wrangling over her plan to reorganize the Cabinet. She also urged officials to focus on mapping out measures to carry out her welfare pledges, which some ministries resisted, citing budget constraints. “Ministry egotism often comes up, but nothing can be achieved through it,” Park said at the transition team’s economic subcommittee briefing. Foreign, Land and other ministries have complained about her government revamp,
Jan. 25, 2013
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Nominee unfit for bolstered prime minister’s role, critics say
In his first news conference after being nominated prime minister, Kim Yong-joon on Thursday defined the job as “aiding the president and managing ministries following her direction.” President-elect Park Geun-hye’s decision to name her transition chief and former chief justice to the top Cabinet post was a surprise to many, even those in her inner circle.What astonished critics more was his perception of his role: playing second fiddle to the chief executive.A favorable reading would interpret
Jan. 25, 2013
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Suspended savings bank chief gets 9-year prison term
A Seoul court sentenced the chief executive of the now-suspended Mirae Savings Bank to nine years in prison on Friday for extending illegal loans and other illegal activities.Kim Chan-kyong was found guilty of extending a huge amount of illegal loans worth hundreds of billions of won and embezzling company funds which led to huge losses for the troubled bank.The bank’s operations were suspended by the nation’s top financial regulator in May along with several other ailing savings banks due to ma
Jan. 25, 2013
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Saenuri lawmaker grilled over summit transcripts
A ruling party lawmaker was questioned by prosecutors Friday about his claim that late President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks undermining the legitimacy of the western sea border during the 2007 inter-Korean summit meeting.In a parliamentary audit last October, Rep. Chung Moon-hun said that he read the National Intelligence Service’s classified documents on the conversation between Roh and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during the meeting in Pyongyang six years ago.Chung argued that Roh told
Jan. 25, 2013
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Lee's brother appeals bribery conviction
An elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak appealed his bribery conviction Friday, court officials said, rendering himself ineligible for a special pardon.Lee Sang-deuk, 78, submitted a petition of appeal to the Seoul Central District Court after he received a two-year jail term and was ordered to pay a fine of 750 million won ($654,165) Thursday, officials said.Lee, a former six-term lawmaker who was considered to be one of the most powerful figures under the Lee presidency, was found guilty o
Jan. 25, 2013
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Transition chief named P.M.
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Thursday nominated transition chief Kim Yong-joon, a widely respected former judge, to serve as her first prime minister in a decision that underscores her priority of promoting fairness and national unity. “He is the right person for upholding the nation’s law and principles, for resolving the public’s mistrust of social safety, and for opening the era of public happiness where the weak are protected,” Park said at the transition committee office in Seoul. She s
Jan. 24, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Lee’s elder brother, ex-aide get jail terms
President Lee Myung-bak was dealt a another blow on Thursday as his elder brother and a former aide were convicted of taking illegal funds from failing saving banks. A lower court sentenced his brother Lee Sang-deuk, 72, a former Saenuri Party lawmaker, to two years in prison and fined him 750 million won ($702,000). He was arrested in 2012 for allegedly receiving hundreds of millions of won from two financial institutions and a business group from 2007 to 2011.The banks were at risk of being sh
Jan. 24, 2013
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P.M. nominee revered for integrity, fairness
Prime Minister nominee Kim Yong-joon has inspired many with his dramatic story of overcoming a physical disability to become the nation’s top judge. The transition chief and former Constitutional Court president has also been widely respected for his integrity, fairness and strong commitment to principle and the law. Born in Seoul in 1938, he contracted polio at the age of 3 that left him disabled. He had to be carried on his mother’s back to attend school. He passed a high school qualification
Jan. 24, 2013
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Top court nominee hits roadblock
Lawmakers on Thursday virtually refused to confirm outgoing President Lee Myung-bak’s appointment of the next new Constitutional Court chief amid various allegations of ethical misdeeds involving the candidate. The parliamentary confirmation hearing committee on Lee Dong-heub was in effect disbanded without drawing up a mutually accepted assessment review.For the nomination to be put to a vote in the National Assembly, the committee should submit the assessment report by Friday or the speaker ca
Jan. 24, 2013
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Park nominates transition committee chairman for prime minister
President-elect Park Geun-hye nominated Kim Yong-joon, a former Constitutional Court chief who now heads her transition team, to be the first prime minister of her incoming government.Park announced the surprise nomination in a press conference at the transition committee.Kim, 74, who headed the Constitutional Court in 1994, served as a co-chairperson of Park's campaign team for the Dec. 19 presidential election and then was named to lead the transition team last month.Kim's nomination is subjec
Jan. 24, 2013
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Park to unveil prime minister nominee
President-elect Park Geun-hye plans to announce the nominee for her first prime minister on Thursday, transition team officials said.Park will unveil the nomination in a press conference at 2 p.m., officials said.The planned nomination is the latest in a series of steps toward forming the incoming government. Park has so far redesigned the organizational layouts of the administration and the presidential office. She has yet to select Cabinet members.The nominations for Cabinet positions are subj
Jan. 24, 2013
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Prosecution looks into 2007 summit transcripts
Prosecutors are looking into controversial classified transcripts of the 2007 inter-Korean summit meeting, as part of the investigation into allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks undermining the legitimacy of the western sea border, according to prosecution sources Wednesday.After concluding that the transcripts are public records, the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office has reviewed an abstract version of the documents on the alleged conversation between Roh and late North Kor
Jan. 23, 2013
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Ruling party inclined to reject Lee nomination
Disapproval of Constitutional Court presidential candidate Lee Dong-heub appears to be spreading in the National Assembly, even within the ruling Saenuri Party, following the two-day confirmation hearing that ended on Tuesday.During the hearing, lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic United Party brought a large number of allegations against Lee that ranged from minor misdemeanors to embezzlement of Constitutional Court funds.The most serious allegation, which Lee failed to disprove, was th
Jan. 23, 2013
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Prime Minister’s Office to check river project
The government said on Wednesday it will commission a team of experts to verify the state auditor’s claim that President Lee Myung-bak’s four river project is seriously flawed. The investigation will be overseen by the Prime Minister’s Office, said Yim Jong-yong, minister of the PMO in a news conference. The main opposition Democratic United Party and civic groups demanded the government transfer the investigation to the next administration, raising doubt over the incumbent administration’s sinc
Jan. 23, 2013
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U.S. envoy warns N. Korea against nuclear test
A U.S. special envoy warned North Korea Wednesday against "any provocations" as the unpredictable communist country hinted at conducting a nuclear test in response to a U.N. Security Council resolution that penalized it for its December rocket launch."We think that would be a mistake," Glyn Davies, the U.S. special envoy on North Korea policy, told reporters when asked about the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test. "Obviously, we call on North Korea, as a member of the international commu
Jan. 23, 2013
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China's Xi opposed to N. Korea's nuclear weapons development: S. Korean envoy
China's next President Xi Jinping expressed his opposition to North Korea developing nuclear weapons and any other weapons of mass destruction, a South Korean special envoy said Wednesday.The remark, made in a meeting with a South Korean delegation sent by President-elect Park Geun-hye, came as Pyongyang hinted at the possibility of carrying out a nuclear test after the U.N. Security Council adopted a new resolution condemning the country's Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch.Kim Moo-sung, head of
Jan. 23, 2013
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Science ministry to take on larger role
A new super-ministry on science and information technology is expected to grow larger with two vice ministers and by taking over almost all functions related to research, policy, industry and high education in the fields scattered among various government organizations.The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry will hand over all of its trade negotiation roles to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, to be renamed Industry, Trade and Resources Ministry, despite its protest.These and other follow-up mea
Jan. 22, 2013
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Lee vetoes taxi bill, sends back to National Assembly
President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday vetoed a parliament-approved bill on the taxi business, criticizing it as populist legislation giving unfair subsidies to the industry.Both ruling and opposition parties denounced the rejection as tax operators threatened to strike. At the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, ministers decided to call on the National Assembly to reconsider and vote again on the bill, and instead enact a new law to support the taxi industry. The bill ca
Jan. 22, 2013
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Lawmakers propose bill to curb dual jobs, pension
Lawmakers proposed a bipartisan bill on Monday to curb their own much-criticized privileges. The overhaul plan, signed by 18 ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly political reform committee, would prohibit lawmakers from holding other jobs during their term and abolish monthly pensions.The bill stipulates that members of the legislature who hold other jobs must relinquish them within three months. They will also be prohibited from engaging in for-profit activities. A recent surv
Jan. 22, 2013
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Constitutional Court nominee draws heavy fire in hearings
The appointment of Constitutional Court presidential nominee Lee Dong-heub is unlikely to be approved by the parliament as criticism mounted of his ethics during a two-day confirmation hearing that ended on Tuesday.For Lee to take office, an assessment report needs to be drawn up by Wednesday, and processed during the extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The main opposition Democratic United Party, however, has refused to draw up the report. As the parties lock horns in the hearing, t
Jan. 22, 2013