Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Ex-president’s tasteless joke resurfaces with success of film ’26 Years’
Former president Chun Doo-hwan’s joke about young people feeling resentful toward him was brought back into the spotlight after it was used in the movie “26 Years.”In the movie, which is about five ordinary people trying to assassinate the former president, the character representing Chun says, “These days, young people seem resent me, although they have never even suffered from me.” The line is very similar to Chun’s joke back in 2008, when he told reporters, “Reporters take bad pictures of me.
Dec. 7, 2012
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CRS modifying report on Northeast Asian history after Seoul's
Accepting South Korea's request, a U.S. congressional institute has put off the publication of a diplomatically sensitive report on history disputes among Northeast Asian nations, an informed source here said Thursday.The Congressional Research Service (CRS) had planned to issue the report last week.The South Korean government reviewed the draft and took issue with some of the contents, according to the source.In a draft report, the CRS first introduces China's claim that Korea's ancient Koguryo
Dec. 7, 2012
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Ahn promises to back Moon
Former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo promised Thursday to fully assist the struggling campaign of Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in.Analysts are divided over whether their belated union could tilt the balance of the presidential race, currently in favor of Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye.“Today will be the watershed moment in the presidential election. I will do my best upholding the aspiration of the many people,” Ahn said after their 30-minute meeting at a restaurant in c
Dec. 6, 2012
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Moon pledges to lower cost of living
Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in pledged to halve the basic cost of living as part of the efforts to establish a welfare state. “The welfare state is not an ideology or a slogan. It is the public’s livelihood. (The welfare state) is the most effective way to immediately lower living costs,” Moon said. He added that the resources for funding related projects will be raised from fair taxation and by halting unnecessary civil engineering projects. “Welfare is the public’s
Dec. 6, 2012
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Presidential candidates broaden support bases
Presidential candidates are bracing for the final stretch of their campaigns by securing support of the wider political spectrum for the race that has become a competition for a single-digit number of swing voters.The ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye was given a major boost upon the announcement Thursday of the support of former Democratic Party chairman Hahn Hwa-kap, a powerful politician in the Jeolla region that has been the stronghold for the progressive camp and a
Dec. 6, 2012
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Saenuri adopts Ahn reforms
The ruling Saenuri Party’s floor leader Lee Hahn-koo proposed cutting the number of parliamentary members on Thursday, co-opting a key political reform proposal the opposition has been dithering over.The main opposition Democratic United Party welcomed the proposal calling for forming a special parliamentary committee to promote other steps for political reform. “We propose reducing the number of National Assembly members to a reasonable level through consensus among the rival parties,” Lee said
Dec. 6, 2012
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Koreans abroad begin presidential balloting
South Koreans in the United States began casting their ballots Wednesday in the presidential election in their homeland.It is the first time that South Koreans abroad have taken part in presidential polls, thanks to a revised election law that took effect in 2009.The early voting is taking place at a dozen polling stations across the United States, including one in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, according to officials at the South Korean Embassy.The election, slated for Dec. 19, pits Park G
Dec. 6, 2012
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Park edges closer to 50 percent support
Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye inched closer to the 50 percent mark with the Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in trailing behind, even with support from popular former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, a survey commissioned by Herald Corp. showed Wednesday.Park received 48.8 percent of support in a mock multi-way race, compared to Moon’s 44 percent. To a question on who they would support if Ahn avidly supported Moon, 48.2 percent still chose Park, while 46.6 percent sup
Dec. 5, 2012
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Ahn under pressure to assist Moon campaign
Former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo came under growing pressure to provide full support for Moon Jae-in to revive the momentum for the Democratic United Party’s campaign.Officials from Ahn’s now defunct campaign office said he will be more proactive in supporting Moon’s campaign as the DUP candidate trails frontrunner Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party in the Dec. 19 election.Two major groups of experts and a regional organization formed in support of Ahn declared their endorsement of Moo
Dec. 5, 2012
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Voters unlikely to be swayed by TV debate
With fiery exchanges of accusations, criticisms and insults, the first televised debate among the three presidential candidates on Tuesday was dynamic, but unlikely to have been substantial enough to move the voters, experts said.“At this rate, no candidate will have an easy time in garnering new votes through the debate,” said politics professor Yun Seong-yi of Kyung Hee University.In keeping with the election law, the debate invited the candidates from the three parliamentary blocs with at lea
Dec. 5, 2012
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Overseas voting starts in 110 countries
Absentee voting for the Dec. 19 presidential election kicked off on Wednesday, beginning in Auckland, New Zealand.With absentee voting for overseas Koreans having been implemented for the first time for the April 11 general elections, this is the first presidential election in which overseas votes will be counted. The government received voter registrations from overseas Koreans between July 22 and Oct. 20. Of the estimated 2.23 million overseas Koreans, about 222,000, or just under 10 percent,
Dec. 5, 2012
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Cartoon of Moon and Ahn as gay lovers draws fire
Online cartoons depicting Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in and former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo as gay lovers are causing controversy.Internet cartoonist Choi Ji-ryong recently uploaded around 40 drawings depicting Moon and Ahn, as well as other prominent opposition figures.In one of the cartoons, comically-portrayed versions of Moon and Ahn are having sex in what appears to be a room salon, a type of Korean establishment that often facilitates prostitution.
Dec. 5, 2012
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Korea, Pakistan to expand development cooperation
Korea and Pakistan agreed on Tuesday to cooperate to develop hydropower generation, water resources and rail infrastructure in Pakistan. Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Asif Ali Zardari also pledged to expand ties in economy, trade, energy and development during their summit in Seoul, Cheong Wa Dae said.Zardari came here on Monday for an official three-day visit during which he is to meet Seoul officials and Korean business leaders to discuss the expansion of bilateral investment and trade.During t
Dec. 5, 2012
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Park caught in debate crossfire
Presidential frontrunner Park Geun-hye came under fire in Tuesday’s TV debate from both opposition candidates over her aides’ corruption, absolute control of her party and ties to the incumbent administration and past dictatorial governments.Park struck back at Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party and Lee Jung-hee of the minority Unified Progressive Party by raising doubts about their commitment to national security and market economics.The first of three televised debates organized by the
Dec. 5, 2012
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Lee’s sharp tongue targets mainly Park in TV debate
The first presidential debate Tuesday was supposed to be a duel between Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, trying to sap each other’s momentum in the closely-fought election. Instead it was Lee Jung-hee of the minor opposition United Progressive Party who stole the show.The 42-year-old former human rights lawyer emerged early in the debate as an attack dog looking to drag down Park Geun-hye, the candidate of the ruling conservative Saenuri Party, who is leading the polls. “I am here to take down can
Dec. 5, 2012
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Ahn effect may be fading for Moon
By Choi He-suk Opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in’s campaign hanged in the balance as his hopes of riding on the support of former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo had virtually evaporated on Monday. On Monday, Ahn officially disbanded his election camp, and repeated his tepid call for his supporters to accept his will in backing the Democratic United Party’s Moon.Much of his short speech was, however, given over to criticizing the ongoing campaigns saying, “things are going in the
Dec. 4, 2012
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Victim protection is top priority in domestic offenses
When it comes to domestic violence, the priority task for the main opposition Democratic United Party is to reinforce the protective measures for victims, as the offenders are highly prone to turning recidivist.“Domestic abuse, due to the special tie between the victim and the aggressor, involves a higher second offense rate than any other violent crimes,” said Rep. Park Nam-choon.“Yet, a large number of home violence crimes would go unpunished due to the lenient stance of the prosecution and th
Dec. 4, 2012
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Saenuri seeks to fortify legal barrier against domestic violence
The ruling Saenuri Party’s domestic and sexual violence related proposals are focused on systemic issues such as penalization of suspects and access to family courts.On Aug. 27, Rep. Kang Eun-hee and 10 other Saenuri lawmakers put forward a proposal to partly revise the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc., of Crimes of Domestic Violence to strengthen the enforcement of the law, pointing out its shortcomings. “Under the current regulations, police officers are able to take emerge
Dec. 4, 2012
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Assembly moves to tackle domestic violence
On Sept. 4, a tearful courtroom in Suwon made news across the nation when a jury found a woman and her daughter “not guilty” after killing the husband and father who had subjected them to decades of violence.The decision came after the court heard how a 48-year-old mother and 26-year-old daughter on April 11 tied up and covered with a blanket the drunken man who had been beating another daughter for hours and threatening to kill them. He died of suffocation four hours later. It was an end to the
Dec. 4, 2012
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Fears of U.S. decline exaggerated: scholar
This is the eighth in a series of articles on the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China and its implications for the two Koreas and East Asia. ― Ed.South Korea should begin a national project to map out a mid- and long-term diplomatic strategy to better respond to the changing political and security landscape in Northeast Asia, said an international relations professor.Gweon Yong-lib of Kyungsung University pointed to possible scenarios including America’s security commitment in the region
Dec. 4, 2012