Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Indonesia’s KF-21 fighter jet deal cut back -- what’s next?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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[Grace Kao, Meera Choi] Has money displaced romance on dates?
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Will China's self-sufficient dream in HBM come true?
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Man stabs woman and her son amid financial dispute, killing 1
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Saenuri consults members on open primary
The ruling Saenuri Party has begun to collect views on the open primary system demanded by some of the party’s presidential hopefuls facing an uphill battle against frontrunner Rep. Park Geun-hye.Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, who was elected the new Saenuri chairperson on Wednesday last week, met with Rep. Chung Mong-joon over the weekend to discuss the nomination process.The party currently picks a presidential candidate through a combination of an electoral college and preliminary opinion polls. The vot
May 20, 2012
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Ha to fight for N.K. human rights bill
Activist-turned-lawmaker says motivated by left-wing resistance in AssemblyRookie Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung has one main aim ― supporting North Korean rights. One of a swath of outsiders recruited by the ruling party to run in the April parliamentary elections, Ha’s career path and political beliefs set him apart from his contemporaries. In the 1980s he was an active member of a student group which was praised for its pro-democracy activism but condemned for the pro-North Korea stance
May 20, 2012
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Japanese lobbying against N.Y. ‘comfort women’ memorial backfires
Japanese officials’ demand to remove a monument dedicated to the memory of wartime sex slaves in New Jersey has backfired, according to the New York Times. The Times said Japanese lobbying to remove the monument had made the Korean community there determined to build more of themAccording to the article, James Rotundo, the mayor of Palisades Park, where the monument is located, said the lobbying began late last month when Japanese officials sent e-mails requesting a meeting with the borough admi
May 20, 2012
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Presidential office holds charity bazaar for underprivileged
South Korea's presidential office held a charity bazaar to raise money for underprivileged people, official sources said Saturday. The event held in front of the main reception center attracted10,000 visitors including residents of nearby neighborhoods andfamily members of employees working at the executive office. President Lee Myung-bak donated a briefcase and necktie, whilefirst lady Kim Yo
May 19, 2012
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Key member of progressive party rejects calls to step down
A key member of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party embroiled in the ongoing internal feud has made clear he has no intention of giving up his parliamentary seat, sources said Saturday. Talks to convince Lee Seok-gi to step down have made littleheadway, according to Lee Jeong-mi, a spokeswoman for the party'semergency committee set up to deal with allegations of widespreadirregulariti
May 19, 2012
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UPP rocked by pro-North Korea allegations
Reeling from a devastating vote-rigging row, the Unified Progressive Party is now under siege over accusations of pro-communist views among its key figures.The party’s “mainstream” faction derives from the so-called National Liberation crusaders who fought dictatorship in the 1980s and followed North Korea’s political ideology. Some were convicted of pro-North Korean activities and even accused of spying for the communists in the 1990s.The ruling Saenuri Party threatened to veto the UPP lawmaker
May 18, 2012
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Prosecution indicts Lee’s cronies on bribery
The prosecution on Friday indicted Choi See-choong and Park Young-joon on bribery charges as part of its investigation into an influence-peddling scandal involving the members of President Lee Myung-bak’s most trusted circle. Choi, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission known as Lee’s mentor, is accused of taking a total of 800 million won between July 2006 and February 2008 in bri
May 18, 2012
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Umbrella union demands reform of progressive party
The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions called for stern action against the “mainstream” members of the Unified Progressive Party involved in alleged election fraud and violence against party leaders. The umbrella trade union group is the largest supporter for the leftist minority party. During its central committee meeting, the group called for drastic reform, including the purge of “anti-democratic” elements, of the party as a condition to maintain their alliance.“The UPP chief and KCTU leader
May 17, 2012
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Park GH is only remaining card: ex-Saenuri reformer
A key architect of Saenuri’s revamp calls on ruling party not to be bound by conservatismAs former Saenuri chairwoman Park Geun-hye sat in the front row at the party’s May 15 national convention, a man with an impish grin casually sat behind her, a seat many other party members will have coveted.He looked around the spacious exhibition hall filled with political big-wigs and party delegates, looking half-excited and half-amused at the imposing atmosphere of the event.It was Chung-Ang University’
May 17, 2012
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UPP scandal sways presidential race
DUP rethinks opposition alliance as Saenuri’s popularity soarsThe aftereffects of the minority Unified Progressive Party’s vote-rigging scandal have started to affect the leading parties’ prospects for the year-end presidential election.Reflecting the public’s disappointment in the left-wing, the public polls for the ruling Saenuri Party’s top contestant Rep. Park Geun-hye are once again on the upswing.Leading figures of the main opposition Democratic United Party, on the other hand, hinted at d
May 17, 2012
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Ruling party calls for release of activists detained in China
The ruling Saenuri Party will add its weight to the calls for the release of South Korean human rights activist Kim Young-hwan from the custody of China’s Ministry of State Security.“The party’s opinion that the Chinese authorities should release Kim Young-hwan soon will be delivered to the Chinese Embassy,” Saenuri Party spokesman Lee Sang-il said Wednesday.According to Lee, Saenuri Party lawmakers including Yoo Ki-june called for the South Korean government to summon the Chinese ambassador to
May 16, 2012
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Rhyu rises from the UPP vote-rigging mire
Beaten, insulted and jostled by an angry crowd, Rhyu Si-min looked about to fall down. The thin, feeble-looking man grimaced in pain, his glasses broken and clothes torn. But he never let go of his female colleague during the violent scuffles at the central committee meeting of the Unified Progressive Party on Saturday.The picture of him trying to protect Sim Sang-jeong headlined news media and circulated online. All UPP leaders have resigned, and the party’s image as a representative of the poo
May 16, 2012
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Hwang’s flexibility may aid party stability
Pragmatic and flexible, new Saenuri Party leader Hwang Woo-yea is said to defy stereotypical categorizations of Korean politicians.Hwang, 65, has a long conservative political history, coming into his fifth term on the ticket of the right-wing party, but has also supported some key progressive ideas, including a college tuition cut.He is considered calm and moderate, yet has shown charisma when breaking deadlocks among factions or parties, most recently over the contentious National Assembly Act
May 16, 2012
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UPP panel pledges stern measures
The Unified Progressive Party on Wednesday officially jumpstarted its emergency leadership council to cope with the escalating crisis following its vote-rigging dispute and the violent clash during its recent central committee meeting.The new nine-member panel led by reformers got to a rough start as the mainstreamers and lawmakers-elect at the center of the scandal boycotted the gathering.Four non-mainstream figures have been named to the panel and the remaining five will be selected from labor
May 16, 2012
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Left-wing party sets up emergency committee to reform troubled party
The interim head of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) set up an emergency committee Wednesday to revive the left-wing opposition party as it reels from a primary fraud scandal."We will immediately embark on activities to reform the party,"Kang Ki-kab, chairman of the UPP's emergency committee said in a news conference. The five-month-old party also plans to name outside figures as members of the
May 16, 2012
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Hwang’s landslide a big boost for Park
Ruling party solidifies power base for Park GH ahead of presidential raceFormer floor leader and veteran lawmaker Hwang Woo-yea was elected on Tuesday to head the Saenuri Party, taking on the challenges of calming a factional rift and helping the party win the presidential election.In the ruling party’s national convention, Hwang grabbed an overwhelming 30,027 of the 35,184 valid ballots to become the top-rated Supreme Council member and party chair. The other four winners of the nine-horse race
May 15, 2012
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Umbrella union calls off allegiance to UPP
The leader of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions said on Tuesday it is impossible for the group to continue to support the scandal-ridden Unified Progressive Party.The umbrella trade union group is the largest supporter for the leftist minority party. “We have allied together in every election, but it is impossible for us to support the UPP in its current shape,” KCTU chairman Kim Young-hoon said in a radio interview.The labor group plans to finalize its stance at its central committee meet
May 15, 2012
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Lee supports Myanmar reform
President praises Nobel peace laureate’s fight for democracy, reformYANGON ― President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday met Myanmar’s iconic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the country’s old capital of Yangon to show appreciation for her decades-old fight for democracy and human rights.He also visited the tomb of her father Gen. Aung San to pay his respect to the country’s independence hero, assassinated by his political foes in July 1947, six months before the country was liberated from Britain.T
May 15, 2012
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Suu Kyi key driver of Myanmar’s democracy
YANGON ― Myanmar’s iconic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the key driver of the country’s political reform.Suu Kyi entered parliament after her National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the April 1 by-elections.The opposition party secured 43 of the 44 seats it contested in the landmark polls to carve out a presence in the country’s 664-member bicameral legislature still dominated by military figures.The electoral win added momentum to ongoing political and economic re
May 15, 2012
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Myanmar gave up nuclear programs: president
Myanmarese President Thein Sein said Monday the country had given up its plan to develop nuclear programs in cooperation with Russia in the mid-2000s.He told visiting Korean President Lee Myung-bak that Russia offered to build two 10 megawatt nuclear reactors for civilian, not military, use.But the country’s military junta did not push the project due to its inability to manage it, he was quoted as saying by Lee’s security aide Kim Tae-hyo. In 2007, Russia’s atomic energy agency and Myanmar sign
May 15, 2012