Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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S. Korea's spy agency confirms existence of 2007 NLL transcripts: lawmaker
South Korea's spy agency confirmed the existence of a transcript that can shed light on allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun disavowed the de facto sea border between the two Koreas, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the parliament's Intelligence Committee for the Saenuri Party, told Yonhap News Agency that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has the documents.This is the first time that the intelligence service has acknowledged it has the transcrip
Oct. 29, 2012
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After scandals, calls grow for overhaul of nation’s foreign service
This is the fourth and last in the series of articles evaluating the Lee Myung-bak administration’s foreign policy. ― Ed. From a sex scandal to a stock-rigging allegation, corruption and indiscipline among some diplomats have tainted the nation’s foreign service despite the Lee Myung-bak administration’s repeated pledges to clean up officialdom. Experts said that the next president should pay more attention to stamping out irregularities in government bodies and shoring up public trust, based on
Oct. 29, 2012
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Candidates neck and neck with 50 days remaining
With 50 days remaining before the presidential election, the three major candidates are fighting a knife-edge race while their negative campaigns and clashes over an alliance put off debate on policies.Support ratings have changed little for over a month, with Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party retaining a slim lead against Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party and independent Ahn Cheol-soo. In two-way mock races, all three continue to run neck-and-neck in their respective match-ups.The thr
Oct. 29, 2012
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Saenuri slams DUP lawmaker for controversial remarks
The ruling party submitted a petition to the National Assembly on Monday, demanding disciplinary measures against a young opposition lawmaker who recently made insulting remarks against a renowned war veteran.“Rep. Kim Kwang-jin defamed the Korean War veterans,” said the ruling Saenuri Party’s vice floor leader Rep. Kim Myung-yeon, in a joint statement with 21 fellow lawmakers. Kim, a first-term lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic United Party, triggered the dispute earlier this month dur
Oct. 29, 2012
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Candidates look to raise taxes
The three main presidential candidates’ tax policies are taking the center stage as they seek ways to improve the government budget and meet growing welfare demand.The three rivals have pledged wider state-funded welfare though they have until recently been mostly silent on how to fund it. Businesses and conservative commentators have criticized them for populist pledges that would hurt growth and investors’ confidence.While the three share the view that the government’s tax revenue needs to be
Oct. 29, 2012
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Lee's brother to be grilled Wednesday over 'retirement home scandal'
President Lee Myung-bak's eldest brother will be summoned this week for questioning in connection with a suspicious land deal for his brother's now-scrapped retirement home project, a special counsel investigating the case said Monday.Lee Sang-eun is suspected of having played a role in the alleged irregularities by loaning some 600 million won ($542,000) in cash to his nephew and President Lee's only son, Lee Si-hyung, for the purchase of the land in which critics argue taxpayer money was used.
Oct. 29, 2012
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Protestant churches make policy proposal ahead of election
A group representing South Korea's progressive Protestant churches on Monday unveiled its proposal of tax, welfare and other policies for adoption by candidates in the December presidential election based on its own analysis of the government's budget spending.The proposal, which focused on taxation justice and broader welfare benefits, will soon be sent to each presidential candidate as well as legislators and civic and social organizations, said the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK)
Oct. 29, 2012
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Lee’s ‘Global Korea’ initiative gives boost to Korea’s diplomatic profile
This is the third in the series of articles evaluating the Lee Myung-bak administration’s foreign policy. ― Ed.President Lee Myung-bak’s “Global Korea” policy has raised the nation’s profile in multinational diplomacy to reshape the global financial system, spread development and tackle climate change.From Seoul’s hosting of the summit of the Group of 20 in 2010 to Songdo’s selection to host the Green Climate Fund this month, officials and experts hailed the Lee government’s achievement for turn
Oct. 28, 2012
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Regionalism seen easing in election
The political regionalism that cuts the nation in a clear east-west divide may be losing steam, with voter interests going beyond regional boundaries and in the absence of iconic political figures.For decades South Korean elections have been dominated by strong regional loyalties. The Gyeongsang provinces in the southeast have long been the main conservative power base, while the North and South Jeolla provinces in the southwest have invariably backed the various versions of the Democratic Unite
Oct. 28, 2012
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Moon rebuffs Ahn’s reform proposals
Opposition presidential candidates engaged in a tense tug of war to take a better position in expected negotiations to unify their candidacy that could start around Nov. 10. The main opposition Democratic United Party’s nominee Rep. Moon Jae-in used his weekend campaign to counter independent rival Ahn Cheol-soo’s policy to curtail political parties and the National Assembly. He also began realigning the party’s election organizations to maximize his advantage as a party-based candidate over Ahn
Oct. 28, 2012
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Park says she wants to let her father’s legacy go
After months of being beaten down by her opponents for her historical interpretations, presidential candidate Park Geun-hye said Friday she wished to let her late father go and take the responsibility of the pains caused by his authoritarian rule.Attending the 33rd memorial ceremony of President Park Chung-hee’s death, the ruling Saenuri Party’s flag bearer apologized to the victims of her father’s iron-fisted rule.“I wish to return the accomplishments achieved in my father’s era to the people,
Oct. 26, 2012
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Prosecutors search building of Jeongsu foundation
The Prosecutor’s Office searched the building housing the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Friday following a charge brought by MBC that reporters from the Hankyoreh newspaper had engaged in illegal wiretapping of people involved in the sale of the foundation’s stocks. In mid-October, the Hankyoreh reported that it had obtained a transcript of a private conversation between Choi Phil-lip, the foundation’s chairman of the board, and Lee Jin-sook, MBC’s planning and public
Oct. 26, 2012
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Moon to push for talks on N.K. denuclearization
Democratic United Party presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in said Friday that he will push to resume the six-party talks on denuclearization of North Korea if elected.At a meeting with former head of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks on denuclearization of North Korea Christopher Hill, Moon said that he will try to reopen the talks and to facilitate the execution of the measures included in the Sept. 19 joint statement issued in 2005. The joint statement, issued after the fourth roun
Oct. 26, 2012
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Ahn, Moon creep closer to unity despite conservatives’ attacks
The process of merging the campaigns of Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in and independent Ahn Cheol-soo appears likely to get underway early next month to complete the merger before the final candidate registration on Nov. 25 and 26.According to sources, officials in the two camps have already been in contact regarding the issue.While no official merger-related activity has taken place, even Ahn and his aides have been showing signs of warming to the idea despite their earlier position.On Oc
Oct. 26, 2012
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PR expert named Saenuri’s spokesperson for foreign press
The Saenuri Party announced on Friday its appointment of Margaret Key, the CEO of the Korea branch of Burson-Marstellar, a global public relations and communications firm, as its new spokesperson for foreign press for the party’s presidential election. Previously, Key served as the managing director of the Tokyo office of Edelman, another global public relations powerhouse, spearheading the firm’s health care communication practice. In Korea, Key managed the international public relations team a
Oct. 26, 2012
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Lee's son returns home after being quizzed over retirement home scandal
President Lee Myung-bak's only son was allowed to return home Friday after around 14 hours of questioning by special prosecutors over alleged wrongdoing in a land deal for his father's retirement home project."I explained as much as I can," weary-looking Lee Si-hyung told reporters, emerging from the Seoul office of the independent counsel probing into suspicions that the 34-year-old attempted to misuse taxpayers' money through the now-scrapped land deal.He came out of the building at half past
Oct. 26, 2012
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Seoul may find military command limited as U.S. holds key assets
Seoul and Washington’s recent agreement to discuss a new combined command system has raised the question of whether South Korea will be able to fully lead battle operations as agreed after retaking wartime operational control in 2015.At the annual Security Consultative Meeting in Washington on Wednesday, the allies announced they would launch a “joint working group” later this year to discuss the future command structure, which will apparently replace the current Combined Forces Command. The CFC
Oct. 25, 2012
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Presidential candidates take aim at curbing power of prosecution
Ahn Dae-hee, a former star prosecutor who made his name charging some of the most powerful and corrupt political figures, has drawn his sword against the very power he once headed: the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Ahn, now the chief of the conservative Saenuri Party’s political reform committee, laid out plans to overhaul the prosecution last week, calling for the establishment of a special inspector and permanent independent counsel to fight high-profile
Oct. 25, 2012
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Saenuri-AUP merger start of new alliances
The presidential race is fast becoming a battle between conservative and progressive alliances as parties join hands to attract more votes in the tight competition. On Thursday, the ruling Saenuri Party and the conservative minority Advancement and Unification Party announced their plans to merge. Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in and independent Ahn Cheol-soo are also intensifying posturing to gain the upper hand in the process of merging their campaigns. For the Saenur
Oct. 25, 2012
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5 left-leaning party officials arrested over voting fraud
Five officials of a minor progressive party have been arrested on court-issued warrants in connection with fraud by the party ahead of the most recent parliamentary elections in April, prosecutors said Thursday.The five officials of the United Progressive Party (UPP) are suspected of taking a leading role in manipulating the party's internal race to nominate candidates for proportional representation seats, including enabling multiple voting by some members friendly to the then party leadership,
Oct. 25, 2012