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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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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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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Lee , Park discuss power transition
President Lee Myung-bak promised full support to ensure a smooth power transition during a meeting with President-elect Park Geun-hye on Friday.They also agreed to cooperate to implement the incoming leader’s plans to increase welfare of low-income citizens.Their one-on-one meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was the first since the president and then ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate had a luncheon meeting on Sept. 2. During the 40-minute meeting, Park called for government support in passing
Dec. 28, 2012
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Park, Australian PM pledge close cooperation during phone call
South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed Friday that the two countries should cooperate closely on various international stages, including the United Nations, a spokeswoman said. During a 12-minute phone conversation, Gillard congratulated Park on her election last week as South Korea's first female president, saying she is very happy to work with another female leader from Asia, according to Park's spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun. Park expressed
Dec. 28, 2012
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Park to meet Abe's envoys next week
President-elect Park Geun-hye plans to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s special envoys on Jan. 4, her spokesperson said Friday. The meeting comes in response to Tokyo’s official request delivered to her by Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Koro Bessho on Dec. 20, Cho Yoon-sun said, adding that Park sent a reply to the prime minister’s congratulatory letter on Thursday. Abe’s four-member delegation led by former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga sought to see her last weekend in an appar
Dec. 28, 2012
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Former court chief to head Park transition team
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Thursday named former Constitutional Court chief Kim Yong-joon to head her transition team and set up committees on grand unity and youth.The ruling Saenuri Party’s chief policymaker Rep. Chin Young was tapped as the deputy chief, while former Democratic United Party chairman Han Gwang-ok will chair the committee for people’s grand unity. First-term lawmaker Kim Sang-min will head the special committee for youth.“The 18th presidential transition committee will br
Dec. 27, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Kim symbolic of Park's emphasis on principle
“I highly respect this person, who incarnates the Saenuri Party’s cherished values, law and principles, and the constitutional spirit.” So said Park Geun-hye in October when she appointed former Constitutional Court president Kim Yong-joon co-chair of her campaign committee. The former top judge proved her assessment right, exerting a calm and credible leadership within the election committee dogged by conflicts over key policies and verbal gaffes against liberal foes.Named the chief of Park’s p
Dec. 27, 2012
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Controversial podcast goes down in history
Four self-styled tricksters swooped into Korean politics, putting a satirical spin on corruption, nepotism and the lavish lifestyle of the conservative elite and pushing the limits of freedom of expression on the Web. “Naneun Ggomsu (I am a petty-minded creep),” a podcast produced by four progressives in politics and journalism, took a swipe at the highest echelons in government and business. Its underlying message and scathing humor appealed to young audiences, and it was once crowned as the mo
Dec. 27, 2012
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New Japanese cabinet irks neighbors
New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled his cabinet lineup including ultra-conservative politicians, raising concern over escalated diplomatic tension with South Korea and China.Some of the new ministers are expected to spur Japan’s rightward shift. They refuse to recognize their country’s wartime atrocities and maintain a hard-line stance in territorial disputes with Seoul and Beijing.Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party was sworn in on Wednesday as Japan’s seventh prime minister in
Dec. 27, 2012
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Chung Jin-suk named Assembly secretary general
Speaker Kang Chang-hee has named his chief of staff Chung Jin-suk as new secretary general of the National Assembly, officials said Thursday. Chung started his career as a journalist at a local newspaper, and entered into politics in 2000, winning a constituency in South Chungcheong Province, which was represented by his father, former six-term lawmaker and Interior Minister Chung Seok-mo.Chung was elected to the National Assembly three succesive times from the 2000 race. He served President Lee
Dec. 27, 2012
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Park names ex-Constitutional Court chief to lead transition committee
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Thursday named a former Constitutional Court chief to lead her transition committee, her spokesman said, in a first step to take over the government and set major agenda items to pursue for the next five years.Kim Yong-joon, 74, who served as head of the top court in 1994, is expected to back Park's "firm belief in the rule of law and social safety" and make good preparations for the incoming administration to take over as smoothly as possible, Park's senior spok
Dec. 27, 2012
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Park ‘resolute’ against political appointments
From early on in her election campaign Park Geun-hye, president-elect, has spoken out against so-called “parachute appointments,” promising to be fair and transparent in personnel matters.The term describes the act of appointing close associates and aides to high-level positions within the government and state-run organizations without regard to the concerned individuals’ field of expertise. The practice has long been a part of the country’s political landscape, and has traditionally been more p
Dec. 26, 2012
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Park urges big firms against restructuring, layoffs
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged conglomerates to refrain from layoffs and share more with smaller businesses in her first meeting with business leaders after the Dec. 19 election. She also called on chaebol owners to take self-reform measures and cooperate with her economic democratization policy aimed at boosting fairness and transparency in the market and increasing welfare for low-income citizens.“I will actively support investment aimed at creating future growth engines and
Dec. 26, 2012
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Nuclear fusion scientists make breakthrough
Korea’s National Fusion Research Institute said Wednesday that it has made a breakthrough in generating plasma for a longer period under a controlled environment.The institute’s Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research, or KSTAR, device was able to generate 600 kilo-amperes of plasma nuclear fusion for 17 seconds through the controlled system of high-confinement mode.The so-called H-mode by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor enables the steady flow of D-shaped plasma in
Dec. 26, 2012
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Main opposition DUP to elect interim leader on Friday
The main opposition Democratic United Party will elect a new floor leader on Friday to pull together the party reeling from its presidential election defeat.The election committee decided Wednesday to receive candidate registration by Thursday afternoon.It will not conduct the debate process due to the urgent need to fill the leadership vacuum, committee chairperson Rep. Kim Woo-nam said.The liberal party has been without a leader since Rep. Park Jie-won resigned Friday, taking responsibility fo
Dec. 26, 2012
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Park’s spokesman apologizes for past remarks; DUP demands ouster
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s chief spokesman apologized Tuesday amid mounting controversy over his sharp criticism of liberal politicians.Monday’ appointment of Yoon Chang-jung, an ultra-rightist political pundit, triggered angry reactions from the main opposition party. Critics said the first announcement of her transition team threatened to unravel her campaign promise for national unity and deepen the already polarized electorate. “I feel sorry and humbled by those who have been hurt by me
Dec. 25, 2012
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Park likely to form small, expert-driven transition committee
Transition teams of Korea’s most recent presidents were the start of their misfortunes. President Lee Myung-bak’s lineup included the rich, corrupt and prone to gaffes. His predecessor, the late Roh Moo-hyun, was bombarded for running a team fiercely partisan, combative and often accused of leftist views. Witnessing how initial personnel blunders complicated the handover period and beyond, President-elect Park Geun-hye is being as cautious as possible to step off on the right foot focusing on no
Dec. 25, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Park’s aide versed in policy, not tied to partisan politics
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s first choice of her senior aides was a lawmaker versed in tax and fiscal policy and without a distinctive factional hue. Rep. Yoo Il-ho, 57, a two-term lawmaker of Park’s conservative ruling Saenuri Party, will serve as her chief of staff, assisting the incoming leader in shaping the new government in the next two months. His has a powerful post, controlling access to the president-elect, managing her schedule and also developing policies of the next administratio
Dec. 25, 2012
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Parties await reform after presidential poll
This year’s presidential election pushed “new politics” into Korea’s political lexicon. Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign highlighted voter antipathy toward the crooked and undemocratic party establishment, making political reform the main electoral theme. Though the crusader for reform vanished from the scene after quitting the race in support of liberal ally Moon Jae-in, his comments are still reverberating, calling for parties to renew themselves or face public disdain.“We must h
Dec. 25, 2012
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Infighting grips DUP as it tries to banish defeat
Factional fighting is gripping the Democratic United Party as it reels from the aftermath of its defeat in last week’s presidential election.DUP lawmakers agreed during Monday’s general meeting to elect the floor leader within the year, and to also have the new floor leader head the emergency committee.The main opposition party also named Rep. Kim Woo-nam to chair the election committee and gave him the authority to name the committee members. The process of establishing the emergency committee
Dec. 24, 2012
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U.S.-educated lawmaker named Park’s chief aide
Presidential-elect Park Geun-hye on Monday named Rep. Yoo Il-ho as her chief secretary and rightist columnist Yoon Chang-jung as her chief spokesperson in her first appointments for her transition team that will help shape the government next year.The surprise announcement of the two figures who were not among those mentioned as potential candidates was seen to underscore Park’s resolve to emphasize diversity in drawing up her Cabinet next year.She also chose Park Sun-kyu and Cho Yoon-sun to con
Dec. 24, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Conscientious Japanese Dokdo scholar dies
Seichu Naito, a Japanese historian renowned for his relentless rebuttal of Japan’s territorial claims to Dokdo, died on Dec. 16. He was 83.After news reports on his demise belatedly circulated, many Koreans lamented the passing of a “conscientious intellectual” who bravely dug into the falsity of Tokyo’s claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea.His death comes as concerns are rising that the incoming Tokyo government to be led by security hawk Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democr
Dec. 24, 2012