Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Disputed primary saps opposition party
Lawmakers discuss measures against leadership over feudsLess than 100 days until the presidential election, the main opposition Democratic United Party still remains divided amid primary feuds.Tension mounted further as senior members of the party held an urgent closed-door meeting to discuss whether the current leadership should resign taking responsibility for the internal disputes.The Supreme Council meeting on Monday, too, was filled with criticism, especially over the use of violence during
Sept. 10, 2012
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Equity investment ceiling resurfaces as policy
Assembly Voice looks into key issues and controversial bills through a series of interviews with rival lawmakers who lead the legislative debate at the National Assembly. ― Ed.The ceiling over conglomerates’ equity investment in other companies has been in and out of the Korean economic system repeatedly since the late 1980s. It was installed when calls to decentralize economic power overrode the need to foster businesses’ growth, and vice-versa.The regulation was first introduced in the Fair Tr
Sept. 10, 2012
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Investment limit should be expanded to top-30 firms
The opposition Democratic United Party calls for the strengthening of the equity investment ceiling as the core of its economic democratization measures, a key theme in the run-up to this year’s presidential election.Party Rep. Kim Ki-sik said the regulation had little effect in the past because it was too loose. A member of the parliamentary finance committee, the former civic activist issued a revision bill of the Fair Trade Act, banning the top 30 conglomerates from investing the equivalent o
Sept. 10, 2012
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Equity investment cap will hurt global competitiveness
After going back and forth on the equity investment ceiling, the ruling Saenuri Party is now against reintroducing it, worrying that it would undermine an already stagnating economy and weaken domestic companies’ global competitiveness, with little effect in decentralizing conglomerates.Na Seong-lin, vice chairman of Saenuri’s Policy Committee, said a wider perspective must be adopted to foster healthy growth in tandem with economic democratization.“Just looking at the oligopolies of the domesti
Sept. 10, 2012
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Park Geun-hye says father's legacy must be judged by history
The ruling Saenuri Party's presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye said Monday that her late father's controversial political legacies should be judged by history and called on politicians to focus on the future instead of the past.The remarks made on a radio interview are a repeat of her stance that there remains conflicting views on her father's 18-year rule that began with the 1961 military coup.Sup
Sept. 10, 2012
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Korea, Japan move to mend ties strained over Dokdo
Seoul and Tokyo are moving to mend ties strained over historical and territorial disputes as they recognize the growing importance of bilateral cooperation over North Korean threats and other issues of mutual concern.The move comes as the U.S. calls on its key Asian allies to exercise restraint and move toward reconciliation amid its deepened engagement in the strategically vital region.On Sunday, President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda shared the need to develop the b
Sept. 9, 2012
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100 days to go: Players, pledges still not settled
Presidential race to pick up upon Ahn’s decision, DUP’s final primaryThe nation is 100 days away from electing its new president in the Dec. 19 election. But as the lineup of key players has still not been decided and political feuding and policy disarray persists among the parties, the excitement is yet to build.As observers anticipate an imminent decision by Seoul National University professor Ahn Cheol-soo of his bid, the presidential race is likely to finally pick up in the coming weeks, par
Sept. 9, 2012
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Lee, Putin agree to cooperate on N.K. nukes, gas pipeline
VLADIVOSTOK (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Saturday to work closely together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and continue cooperation on a project to build a gas pipeline stretching from Russia across both Koreas, an official said.Lee and Putin reached the agreement during a one-on-one summit held in this Far Eastern Russian city on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum set t
Sept. 9, 2012
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S. Korea to increase Dokdo budget in 2013
(Yonhap News)South Korea plans to significantly increase its Dokdo budget for 2013 to effectively cope with efforts by Japan to claim the islets located in the East Sea, a government source said Sunday.The source, who declined to be identified by name, said talks are currently underway to touch on how much money will be needed to better strengthen the country's control over its easternmost territo
Sept. 9, 2012
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Lee, Putin agree to work together on N.K. nuclear standoff, gas pipeline
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Saturday to work closely together to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff and continue cooperation on a project to build a gas pipeline stretching from Russia across both Koreas, an official said.Lee and Putin reached the agreement during a one-on-one summit held in this Far Eastern Russian
Sept. 8, 2012
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Park-Ahn battle shapes up fast
Consensus seen building among parties on probe into blackmail allegationThe race for the presidency is fast shaping up as a showdown between Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye and popular venture business guru Ahn Cheol-soo following a claim Thursday that Park’s camp blackmailed Ahn to block him from politics.Consensus appears to be building among rival political parties toward a parliamentary investigation into the allegation raised by Geum Tae-seop, lawyer and adviser to Ahn. The inquiry, if it ha
Sept. 7, 2012
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President Lee opens Facebook page
VLADIVOSTOK -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak opened a Facebook page Friday, saying he hopes the social networking site will help him connect more with the public."I begin a Facebook page from today. I hope you will come take a look at past pictures and how things are going recently, and I wish we could share how our lives are going whenever possible," Lee said in his first posting with a pi
Sept. 7, 2012
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Rival parties clash over alleged threat against Ahn Cheol-soo
The ruling and main opposition parties are in an escalating clash over allegations that threats were made against Ahn Cheol-soo, a software entrepreneur-turned-professor with presidential ambitions, with both sides accusing each other of engaging in political intrigue.Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) blasted the ruling Saenuri Party for resorting to old-fashioned poli
Sept. 7, 2012
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Assembly approves arrest of lawmaker
The National Assembly on Thursday gave the green light to the detainment of Rep. Hyun Young-hee, a former Saenuri Party member, who is accused of bribing her way into parliament. It was the second approval of such a motion as the parliament is moving to restore public trust undermined by a shaky political reform drive ahead of the presidential election.The vote was conducted before the Assembly held the first interpellation session on the government, in which they locked horns over the recently
Sept. 6, 2012
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Blackmail claim stuns politics
Ahn’s associate claims Saenuri official pressed the popular professor to give up presidential ambitionA ruling party official threatened to disclose bribery and an extramarital affair controversy surrounding professor Ahn Cheol-soo if he runs in the presidential election, Ahn’s aide said Thursday, The bombshell allegation by Geum Tae-seop, a lawyer and advisor to Ahn, threw the ruling Saenuri Party into commotion prompting it to rush to its defense.Despite the party’s immediate denial, the reve
Sept. 6, 2012
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DUP struggles with feud, scandal
The main opposition Democratic United Party suffers from a double whammy of an internal feud of primary voting and growing corruption suspicions involving its floor leader. The underdog candidates in its presidential primaries have complained that the mobile voting system was flawed, delivering a blow to the leadership already hit by allegations that Rep. Park Jie-won took bribes from savings bank executives.Sohn Hak-kyu and Kim Doo-kwan claimed on Wednesday that 3,653 voters were denied their v
Sept. 6, 2012
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Aide hints Lee may veto probe into home scandal
Cheong Wa Dae hinted Thursday at the possibility of President Lee Myung-bak vetoing a special probe into the controversy surrounding the scrapped plan to build his retirement home.The National Assembly passed the motion on Monday and sent it to the presidential office for Lee’s approval. A senior presidential official said that the legislation has legal problems as it could undermine political neutrality by allowing the main opposition Democratic United Party to recommend the independent counsel
Sept. 6, 2012
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Opposition may push parliamentary probe
The main opposition Democratic United Party said Thursday that it would consider a parliamentary probe into the claim that a ruling party official attempted to intimidate professor Ahn Cheol-soo to stop him from running in December’s presidential election.The party’s presidential contenders denounced the Saenuri Party, underscoring that its presidential candidate Rep. Park Geun-hye should take responsibility should the claim be true.The claim by Ahn’s adviser Geum Tae-seop is apparently a chance
Sept. 6, 2012
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Surveillance controversy resurfaces
Government officials and police on Thursday denied allegations of gathering intelligence about Seoul National University professor Ahn Cheol-soo.His close aide and lawyer Keum Tae-sup said that the authorities appear to have had the SNU professor under surveillance. Rep. Song Ho-chang of the Democratic United Party claimed that the information could not have been secured without “stringent surveillance by intelligence or government organizations.”After their press conference, Prime Minister Kim
Sept. 6, 2012
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Saenuri roiled by allegation
Thursday’s revelation of a blackmail attempt by a Saenuri official targeting Ahn Cheol-soo has triggered mayhem throughout the ruling party scrambling to prevent the fallout affecting the chances of presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. Jeong Joon-gil, a former prosecutor and communication officer with Park’s campaign, offered to resign about two hours after Geum Tae-seop, an attorney close to Ahn, accused him of threatening to expose bribes and “women problems” involving the professor if he run
Sept. 6, 2012