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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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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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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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S. Koreans vote to pick new president
South Koreans voted Wednesday to elect a new president, with the two contenders running a tight race to succeed outgoing conservative President Lee Myung-bak.The election will decide whether the nation, with more than 40 million eligible voters, will see the return of liberals after five years of Lee's conservative government or hand power to a woman president for the first time.The two candidates are the ruling Saenuri Party's Park Geun-hye, 60, daughter of former President Gen. Park Chung-nee,
Dec. 19, 2012
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S. Koreans go to vote as Park-Moon race hinges on turnout
By Sangwon YoonSouth Koreans go to the polls today to choose either a dictator’s daughter or a one-time dissident as president, both of whom pledge to reverse slowing growth, a widening income gap and deteriorating North Korea ties.Ruling New Frontier Party candidate Park Geun Hye holds a 0.5 percentage point lead, within the margin of error, over former human rights lawyer Moon Jae In, according to the most recent opinion poll. A victory for Park, the daughter of the country’s longest-serving m
Dec. 19, 2012
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A look at South Korea's presidential election
A brief look at South Korea's presidential election: ___WHAT'S AT STAKE: A single five-year presidential term starting Feb. 25 to replace conservative incumbent President Lee Myung-bak and lead Asia's fourth-largest economy. ___WHO'S RUNNING: Park Geun-hye, the daughter of late dictator Park Chung-hee and a five-term lawmaker of the ruling conservative party, is running against Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer who served as a close aide to former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. Ahn
Dec. 19, 2012
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Election watchdog asks for prosecution probe into illegal campaign messages
South Korea's state election agency said Wednesday it has asked the prosecution to investigate allegations that illegal campaign text messages had been sent to voters after official campaigning came to an end.The ruling Saenuri Party had earlier claimed that the messages, which urged people to vote for the main opposition Democratic United Party's candidate, Moon Jae-in, were sent in large numbers after official campaigning closed at midnight Tuesday.The DUP later acknowledged that the party sen
Dec. 19, 2012
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Both S. Korean presidential hopefuls promise change
South Koreans wrapped in mufflers and parkas braved frigid weather Wednesday to vote in a presidential election heading for a close finish between the two top candidates _ the liberal son of North Korean refugees and the conservative daughter of a late dictator.For all their differences, the candidates hold similar views on the need to engage with Pyongyang and other issues.One big reason: Many voters are dissatisfied with current President Lee Myung-bak, including with his hard-line stance on t
Dec. 19, 2012
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S. Koreans vote in presidential election
South Koreans cast their votes Wednesday in a tight and potentially historic presidential election that could result in Asia's fourth-largest economy selecting its first female leader.The ballot is a straight fight between Park Geun-Hye, the conservative daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-Hee, and her liberal rival Moon Jae-In, the son of North Korean refugees.Opinion polls indicate the result could go either way.The eventual occupant of the presidential Blue House will have to deal wi
Dec. 19, 2012
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Presidential election turnout at 70.1 percent as of 5 p.m.
Voter turnout in Wednesday's presidential election was 70.1 percent as of 5 p.m., with still two hours before the polls close, reflecting the high interest South Koreans have in the close race, according to the state election watchdog.About 28.4 million out of a total 40.5 million eligible voters have cast their ballots since voting began at 6 a.m. at 13,542 polling stations nationwide, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.The polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m.No voter turnout numbers
Dec. 19, 2012
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S. Koreans go to the polls to pick next president
Voting began for South Korea's presidential election early Wednesday, with the outcome of the race between ruling Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye and main opposition rival Moon Jae-in expected to be decided by the slimmest of margins.Before the blackout on all nationwide polls last week, Park, the 60-year-old daughter of late former President Park Chung-hee, was slightly ahead of Moon with her lead within the margin of error in most surveys taken.Because of the slim lead, the Democratic Un
Dec. 19, 2012
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Winner likely to become clear around 11 p.m.: NEC
From 6 a.m. Wednesday, voters will go to the polls to elect a new president. The winner of the race, seen one of the closest in history, should become clear as early as 11 p.m., election officials said Tuesday. Polling will take place at 13,542 polling locations across the country over 12 hours till 6 p.m, the National Election Commission said. Nearly 40.5 million Koreans are eligible to vote. Two candidates ― Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democ
Dec. 18, 2012
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Park, Moon make final appeals
Candidates made their final pitches on the eve of the election Tuesday, wrapping up their grueling campaigns to the next presidency. A total of 40.52 million voters will troop to polling stations across the country to make a choice between conservative Park Geun-hye and liberal Moon Jae-in. Polls last week indicated Park maintained a slight lead but cannot take victory for granted as Moon is fast catching up after restoring ties with popular ally Ahn Cheol-soo and making an impressive showing in
Dec. 18, 2012
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A nation under arms
Attention has once again turned to the United States’ entrenched gun culture in the wake of Friday’s shooting rampage in Newton, Connecticut, which left 28 people dead, including 20 elementary students.Taking advantage of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment that defines the right to bear arms, Americans own some 310 million guns. The figure is almost equivalent to one gun for every man, woman and child in the country.The biggest portion of these weapons is made up of handguns, with some 114
Dec. 18, 2012
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Parties use SNS as major campaign tool
Once the playground of young Internet users in their 20s, social networking services are increasingly being utilized by political parties as effective tools for political campaigning. A slew of social network pages and postings popped up during this election campaign, spicing up the tense race with satire, jokes and feverish appeals for political participation. The SNS strategy of the Saenuri Party is characterized by the acronym PARK, which stands for “Patriotism-Accept-Rule-Kindly.” “Our strat
Dec. 18, 2012
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Korea urges Abe to rebuild trust with neighbors
Japan’s incoming leader Shinzo Abe needs to rebuild trust with its neighboring countries, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday, noting that keeping cooperative ties between South Korea and Japan are in both nations’ interests. “Japan is in a position where it can jointly work with us for this region and the international community,” foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters, commenting on Abe’s victory in Japan’s parliamentary election. “To implement this role, I think that the mo
Dec. 18, 2012
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Smear campaigns intensify
With only two days remaining until the presidential election, negative campaigning reached fever pitch Monday over a disputed police investigation into alleged illicit electioneering by a state agency employee and the opposition candidate’s stance on the maritime border with North Korea. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party made their last-minute appeals in Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces in the neck-and-neck race. Park sharp
Dec. 17, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Lee quits race, refuses to return funds
Former presidential candidate Lee Jung-hee and her leftist party are coming under increasingly heavy fire from the conservatives over the issue of the government election subsidy.Lee’s minority Unified Progressive Party has received 2.7 billion won ($2.5 million) from the government following her candidate registration in November.Although Lee is no longer in the race, having withdrawn her candidacy Sunday saying that she was stepping down for “the public’s desire for administration change,” the
Dec. 17, 2012
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Regionalism still dominant in presidential election
The 18th presidential election will be decided Wednesday but its outcome remains unclear as ever with the country divided evenly over the two main candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in.According to an opinion poll conducted by Realmeter for The Korea Herald on Dec. 13, the Saenuri Party’s Park had 47.8 percent of support, while Democratic United Party’s Moon had 47.7 percent.By region, Park and Moon’s main supporter bases appear unchanged, with the Gyeongsang provinces in the southeast showin
Dec. 17, 2012
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Prosecutors in possession of 2007 inter-Korean summit transcripts
State prosecutors said Monday that they have received classified documents related to the 2007 inter-Korean summit meeting that can help sort out the ongoing legal battle over allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun disavowed the de facto sea border between South and North Korea.The Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office confirmed it received transcripts of the summit meeting held in Pyongyang from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as part of its ongoing investigation into claims and count
Dec. 17, 2012
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Police say spy agent didn't slander Moon in cyberspace
Police said Sunday that they have failed to find evidence of alleged anti-opposition online comments by a female agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), who has come under fire over allegations that she repeatedly made negative comments in cyberspace about main opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in over the past three months from her home in southern Seoul to influence the race.The police investigation began at the request of Moon's Democratic United Party (DUP) and the NIS age
Dec. 17, 2012
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Both say headed to win; Lee Jung-hee quits
Bringing a last-minute change to the election dynamics, Lee Jung-hee of the minor Unified Progressive Party quit the race Sunday, vowing to help the opposition forces win Wednesday’s presidential election. Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic United Party was dealt a blow after police announced that their initial probe found no evidence to back its claim that a National Intelligence Service official engaged in a smear campaign against its candidate. “I withdraw my presidential candidacy in ord
Dec. 17, 2012
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Park, Moon clash in final debate, going all out for votes
Two main presidential candidates extended their negative campaigning to Sunday’s television debate as they exchanged barbs over the allegedly illicit electioneering of each camp in the last stretch of the dead-heat race to Cheong Wa Dae.In the third and final debate ahead of Wednesday’s presidential election, candidates Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party focused on welfare, education, crime and science policies.Much of the debate turned retrospectiv
Dec. 16, 2012