Most Popular
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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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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Park faces pressure to scale back pledges
President-elect Park Geun-hye is facing increasing pressure to rethink her wide-ranging health pledges as concerns escalate over how to finance them.The presidential transition committee is also reportedly reviewing ways to scale down the health plans. Apparently displeased about such calls, Park reportedly urged the ruling Saenuri Party members to remain focused.“It is premature to discuss whether what we pledged during the election is feasible or not. That is the job for after the new governme
Jan. 18, 2013
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Civil servants may be excluded from new pension scheme
The presidential transition committee is likely to exclude civil servants, service personnel and teachers from a new pension plan pledged by President-elect Park Geun-hye during her campaign, a committee official said Thursday.The so-called "basic pension" scheme would double the monthly allowance for senior citizens aged 65 or older to 200,000 won ($189)."The basic pension scheme aims to support elderly citizens who are excluded from welfare benefits, so it makes sense to exclude those who are
Jan. 17, 2013
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Four-river refurbishment project riddled with flaws
President Lee Myung-bak's signature project to refurbish South Korea's four major rivers is seriously flawed, posing a threat to the environment and even threatening dams and other facilities built along them, the state auditor said Thursday. The 22.2 trillion won (US$20.1 billion) project, aimed at enhancing the nation's water management system as well as preventing the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers from flooding, was completed last year, despite mounting criticism.The project, one of
Jan. 17, 2013
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Park envisions small Blue House
President-elect Park Geun-hye is expected to carve out a smaller Cheong Wa Dae with some powers delegated to newly-formed control centers to oversee the economy, security, science and welfare, sources said Thursday.While her government will be bigger with more ministries, heightened statuses and expanded roles, the presidential office is likely to be compact in line with her pledge to balance power with the prime minister.Park’s presidential office’s restructuring outline is expected to be relea
Jan. 17, 2013
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Korea 105th in number of women in parliament
New data confirmed the miserable status of women in politics in Korea, which elected its first female president in December.The nation placed 105th in a global ranking of the proportion of women in parliament according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organization of national parliaments from 162 countries.South Korea is right below Albania and just above North Korea. Women currently take up 47 seats, or 15.7 percent, of the 300 in the National Assembly, the nation’s unicameral
Jan. 17, 2013
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Ministries jockey for larger roles
Government ministries that face reorganization under the Park Geun-hye administration are maneuvering to secure as large a structure as possible.Under President-elect Park Geun-hye’s plans, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will lose its science-related functions to the new Ministry of Future, Creation and Science. She will also revive the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, removing maritime functions from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.Though the p
Jan. 17, 2013
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Obama calls for expanded alliance in message to Park
U.S. President Barack Obama proposed in a message to President-elect Park Geun-hye that the two countries expand their alliance not only to tackle the threat of North Korea but also to deal with global issues including human rights, poverty, the environment and nuclear proliferation, her aides said Thursday.The presidential transition team unveiled Obama’s message delivered Wednesday by Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.“Together, we face signifi
Jan. 17, 2013
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‘Talks on nuclear fuel processing could harm Korea-U.S. alliance’
Current talks between Korea and the United States on a bilateral nuclear accord, if mishandled, have the potential of seriously damaging the Korea-U.S. defense alliance, a senior Washington policy analyst said.Gordon Flake, executive director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, a nonprofit that works to advance understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and Asian nations, said he was seriously concerned the Korea-U.S. alliance would be undermined if negotiations over their civilian
Jan. 17, 2013
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Local assembly member resigns over prostitution
A member of a provincial assembly resigned on Thursday after police caught him buying sex at a local brothel. Kim Hae-yeon, 47, a member of the assembly of South Gyeongsang Province, was caught by police in a brothel named “Lip Cafe” in Changwon on Dec. 27. Police were cracking down on the illegal business at around 5 p.m.In the press conference held on Thursday at Geoje City Hall, Kim said “I cannot express fully how unfair this is. I will try hard to reveal the truth through the inspection by
Jan. 17, 2013
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Transition team reverses announcement on N. Korea's suspected hacking attempts
South Korea's presidential transition team on Thursday reversed an earlier announcement that North Korea is suspected of hacking attacks on it, blaming miscommunication for the reversal."We were told by security authorities this morning to pay more attention to (computer) security as the Internet network of the press room is vulnerable to outside hacking forces," a committee official said. "It is not confirmed whether there have been hacking attempts by North Korea."The official said there was a
Jan. 17, 2013
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Korean Assembly speaker, Thai PM pledge cooperation
South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed Wednesday to boost their countries' cooperation in the field of water resources management, a spokesman said.Kang, now on a 13-day trip through Southeast Asia, paid a courtesy call on the Thai leader in Bangkok earlier in the day and the two sides discussed ways to deepen their economic ties, National Assembly spokesman Bae Sung-rye said in an e-mailed press briefing.Citing the two nations'
Jan. 16, 2013
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Park seen expanding role of state; some raise concerns
President-elect Park Geun-hye envisions a larger government role in fostering growth and enhancing public safety.In her government restructuring announcement Tuesday, it was revealed that a Future Creation and Science Ministry (tentatively named), deputy prime minister on economy and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries would be newly established. The Knowledge Economy Ministry will be expanded and renamed the Industry, Commerce and Resources Ministry (tentative name), while the special mi
Jan. 16, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Top court nominee plagued by allegations
The man tapped by President Lee Myung-bak to head the nation’s highest court is proving himself to be a walking encyclopedia of ethical deprivation. Lee Dong-heub, who was nominated by the president in early January to be the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, faces a series of allegations ranging from unlawful real estate transactions to backroom dealings with powerful corporations. Records indicate that Lee registered his residence at an address in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in 1995,
Jan. 16, 2013
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Team to pursue Park’s welfare vision
The following is the sixth in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team. ― Ed.The presidential transition committee’s division on employment and welfare is assigned to resolve conflicting opinions over President-elect Park Geun-hye’s pledges on major welfare expansion and offer the most feasible ways to turn them into actual policies.An expansion of the country’s social welfare system is a key agenda for Park who promised to usher
Jan. 16, 2013
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Unification Ministry offers broad steps for inter-Korea ties
The Unification Ministry on Wednesday provided the presidential transition committee with a policy assessment on the cross-border situation and a broad outline of options to help realize President-elect Park Geun-hye’s “trust-building process” with North Korea.The initiative highlights the need for trust between the two Koreas in achieving reconciliation and denuclearizing the communist country. On the campaign trail, Park vowed to reengage North Korea, resume humanitarian support and eventually
Jan. 16, 2013
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President Lee hints at vetoing controversial taxi law
SEJONG (Yonhap News) -- President Lee Myung-bak ordered the Cabinet Tuesday to thoroughly review the recently passed bill to provide financial support to the taxi industry, a possible indication that he might veto it.The ruling and opposition parties passed the bill through parliament in late December. Criticism arose that the bill was hurriedly pushed through only to win the support of tens of thousands of taxi drivers.The bill designates taxis as a form of mass transportation, along with buses
Jan. 15, 2013
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Top court nominee entangled in controversies
Allegations of misdeeds by Constitutional Court presidential nominee Lee Dong-heub continued to surface Tuesday as the political parties prepare for his confirmation hearing next week.The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21-22, ahead of the extraordinary session of the National Assembly on Jan. 24.The main opposition Democratic United Party, which has opposed the nomination citing controversial rulings Lee has handed down in the past, has brought forth a number of allegations including irregulariti
Jan. 15, 2013
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Panel charts road map for better law and order
The following is the fifth in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team. ― Ed.The presidential transition team’s division of law and social safety is assigned the task of bringing law and order to society, setting up a better system to fight crime and corruption, enacting reforms in the prosecution, and adjusting the investigative powers between the police and prosecution. President-elect Park Geun-hye promised sweeping reforms in
Jan. 15, 2013
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Park praises EU efforts on N. Korea, seeks closer biz ties with India, Middle East
South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye praised the European Union (EU)'s efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, and expressed hope for closer economic ties with India and the Middle East as she held a series of meetings with their top envoys Tuesday. In her meeting with EU Ambassador Tomasz Kozlowski, Park thanked the envoy for the EU's efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea and for delivering "transparent" aid to the impoverished nation. "I hope to
Jan. 15, 2013
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U.S. wants 'strongest possible' ties with S. Korea's new government: Campbell
The top U.S. diplomat on East Asian policy, Kurt Campbell, voiced hope on Tuesday that Washington wants to maintain the "strongest possible" relationship with Seoul's new government, a day before he meets with President-elect Park Geun-hye.Campbell arrived at Incheon International Airport earlier in the day with other senior officials from the White House and the Pentagon, marking the first high-profile visit by U.S. officials to Seoul since Park's election victory last month."I'd like to unders
Jan. 15, 2013