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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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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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Minor progressive party presidential hopeful quits race, supports
The presidential hopeful for the minor progressive party withdrew her bid Monday and endorsed the main opposition candidate running for the December election.Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the Progressive Justice Party (PJP) said she was quitting and hoped such a move could help rally support around one liberal candidate."I hope people will support Democratic United Party (DUP) candidate Moon Jae-in, who is effectively representing the liberal opposition camp," she said at a news conference held at the N
Nov. 26, 2012
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Park, Moon set for 2-way showdown
Presidential candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, of the ruling and opposition party respectively, registered Sunday as official candidates for the Dec. 19 election.With the two neck-and-neck in various polls after former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s withdrawal, they are especially focused on attracting moderate voters. “I plan to end my political career should I fail to win the people’s trust in this presidential election,” Park said Sunday, announcing her resignation from the par
Nov. 25, 2012
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DUP struggles to woo Ahn supporters
Democratic United Party candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in vowed on Sunday to closely ally with former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, sending a reconciliatory message to Ahn and his supporters to ensure their continued backing for the liberal opposition campaign.Moon promised to forge “people’s solidarity” through building a comprehensive campaign machine that encompasses Ahn’s supporters, and to work together to implement mutually agreed-upon visions for political reform, economy, welfare and pen
Nov. 25, 2012
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Lee Hoi-chang backs Park bid
Lee Hoi-chang, former chairman of the Liberty Forward Party, on Saturday announced his support for presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, reinforcing the ruling Saenuri Party’s gathering of conservative forces.“This year’s election is about whether or not the Republic of Korea can maintain its identity. As I deemed I cannot stay a third party, I have decided to support Park,” Lee, the standard-bearer of the conservatives, said at a press conference. Lee submitted his registration to the party upo
Nov. 25, 2012
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Polls show S. Korean candidates in tight race
South Korea's ruling and opposition candidates are in a neck-and-neck race for the Dec. 19 presidential race, according to public surveys released on Sunday, after a popular software mogul dropped out of contention after talks for a liberal alliance stalled. The upcoming vote has become a two-horse race between Park Geun-hye, the front-runner for the ruling Saenuri Party, and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) after independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo quit on Friday
Nov. 25, 2012
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Campaigners of opposition hopeful Moon resign to form greater liberal camp
Top election campaigners for Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party, decided to give up their posts Saturday, allowing their candidate to form a new election camp that will include other liberal forces.The move came one day after independent presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo withdrew from the presidential election, endorsing Moon as the sole candidate of the so-called liberal camp.Moon's top election campaigners "agreed there is a need to form a n
Nov. 24, 2012
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Ahn’s farewell speech met with sighs and wails
Shock and sorrow gripped Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign as he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Friday evening.Ahn showed up at his campaign headquarters in central Seoul, not too far from Cheong Wa Dae shortly after 8 p.m. News reports had earlier stated that he had paid a visit to the police station to pick up the required background check documents for the registration of presidential candidates on Nov. 25-26. He appeared to be swallowing his tears as he read out his last speec
Nov. 23, 2012
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Saenuri denounces Ahn for quitting race
The ruling Saenuri Party late on Friday denounced Ahn Cheol-soo’s renouncement of his presidential bid as “irresponsible,” immediately eyeing moderate votes that had been supporting the former professor.“We regret the resignation of Ahn, who envisions new politics,” Ahn Hyung-hwan, a Saenuri spokesman, said in a statement. “Ahn Cheol-soo’s experimental efforts for political reform appear to have run into the wall of the DUP’s crafty old politics and fallen apart.” The popular software mogul-turn
Nov. 23, 2012
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Moon’s camp ‘sorry’ but ‘grateful’ to Ahn
The main opposition Democratic United Party said it was sorry but grateful to independent Ahn Cheol-soo for his decision to drop out of the presidential race and support its candidate Moon Jae-in.Minutes after Ahn’s announcement to quit, Moon said on his Twitter account, “I am deeply sorry to Ahn and his supporters.”Moon’s campaign office said that with Ahn’s backing, the liberal opposition campaign would achieve a change of government that would usher in a “new politics and new era.”“We are ind
Nov. 23, 2012
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Merger process comes to a dramatic end
It was to be a beautiful marriage. But jealousy, betrayal and deception were threatening the proposed union of the two progressive candidates and emboldened the nation’s former first daughter’s claim to the throne. At the moment most expected to see a messy split, independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo announced that he would sacrifice his bid and pledged to honor the vows he made with Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in.“Candidate Moon and I failed to bridge our positions. M
Nov. 23, 2012
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How will Ahn’s withdrawal affect the Dec. 19 poll?
Independent runner Ahn Cheol-soo’s sudden withdrawal of presidential candidacy leaves the election as a two-way battle between conservatives and progressives.With Ahn’s loyal supporters at a loss on where to direct their support, political pundits said that whether Ahn’s resignation would lead Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in to gain an edge or face a backlash hinged on how well he manages to collaborate with Ahn in the remaining weeks.In the shorter-term, observers predicted that t
Nov. 23, 2012
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Ahn withdrawal shakes up presidential race
Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo quit the presidential race Friday, calling for support for the Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in, after prolonged negotiations over a candidacy merger failed. With the independent candidate stepping down, Moon will now represent the main progressive bloc against the ruling Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye in the Dec. 19 election. “I am relinquishing my role as a candidate. My becoming the president to bring new politics is important but a politician keeping t
Nov. 23, 2012
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Independent Ahn withdraws from presidential race
Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo resigned in favor of Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in on Friday after prolonged negotiations over the candidate selection rules failed. “I am relinquishing my role as a candidate. My becoming the president to bring in a new politics is important, but a politician keeping the promises he made to the public is the most important value of all,” Ahn said in a press conference. “The unified candidate is now Moon Jae-in, so reprimand me for all t
Nov. 23, 2012
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Ahn, Moon in 11th-hour talks for merging their candidacies
Presidential candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in inched towards finalizing the format of the unified candidate selection survey on Friday, with the negotiation teams as well as special envoys meeting to reach an agreement.On Friday, representatives of Democratic United Party’s Moon and independent Ahn opened dual-channel talks to resolve issues surrounding the wording and format of the survey with less than three days left until the deadline.Under the agreement issued on Nov. 6, the unified
Nov. 23, 2012
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Hyundai Motor expects to sell 850,000 vehicles in China this year
HONG KON -- Hyundai Motor Co. expects to sell 850,000 vehicles in China this year on the back of Chinese consumers' steady demand, company officials said Friday. Baek Hyo-heum, head of Hyundai Motor's China business and CEO of Chinese joint venture Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., said the South Korean automaker will likely sell some 60,000 units more than its original target of 790,000 for 2012 in China, according to the Hyundai Motor officials. The remark was made during Baek's visit to an
Nov. 23, 2012
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Senior prosecutor resigns over sex scandal
The chief of a local prosecution office offered to resign Friday following revelations a trainee prosecutor under his supervision participated in sexual acts with a woman suspect during questioning.The 30-year-old trainee prosecutor, whose name was withheld, was found to have performed sexual acts in the office with the suspect in her 40s while questioning her over an alleged theft and other charges earlier this month, according to inspectors at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office (SPO). Four
Nov. 23, 2012
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Ahn, Moon inch toward agreement on opinion poll
The two opposition presidential candidates inched toward an agreement Thursday night on the format of an opinion poll to select a single candidate between them. Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party and independent Ahn Cheol-soo were struggling to narrow their differences over the wording of the survey question. The two sides came up with new proposals combining both positions, raising the possibility that a deal may be reached as early as Friday.Ahn’s side favors asking respondents who the
Nov. 23, 2012
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Prospects for Moon-Ahn unity still uncertain
Liberal candidates Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo were struggling Thursday to narrow their differences in their stalled talks on how to pick a joint candidate for the Dec. 19 presidential election. The Democratic United Party’s Moon and independent Ahn met at a hotel in Seoul in the morning to try to hammer out an agreement that has so far eluded their negotiators. They failed to yield any results from the one and half an hour session, which was proposed by Moon during their live television debat
Nov. 22, 2012
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[Newsmaker] LDP to further spur Japan rightward shift
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to strengthen the country’s military and revise its peace constitution to introduce collective self-defense, further spurring Japan’s rightward political shift.The leader of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday announced its campaign platform “to recover Japan and rebuild its economy.” The conservative party is expected to win in the Dec. 16 elections, which will put the hawkish Abe in the country’s top political post.The
Nov. 22, 2012
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Assembly OKs military extensions in UAE, Somalia
The National Assembly voted Thursday to extend the nation’s troop deployment in the United Arab Emirates and Somalia for another year to the end of 2013. South Korea has dispatched 310 naval commandos in the Gulf of Aden since 2009 as part of a global effort to tackle piracy in the region. About 150 soldiers have also been based in the eastern region of the UAE, tasked with training the Middle Eastern nation’s special operations forces.Separately, the National Assembly approved a bill to extend
Nov. 22, 2012