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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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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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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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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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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U.S. mourns death of Korean nuke inspector in Iran
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- The United States expressed condolences Tuesday over the death of a South Korean nuclear inspector in Iran.Seo Ok-seok, a 58-year-old inspector at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was killed earlier in the day in a car crash near a reactor site in central Iran, according to local media and the South Korean Embassy there.“We certainly express our deepest condolences to the family of the inspector who passed away in the car accident as well as to the peopl
May 9, 2012
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Pro-Park Lee elected Saenuri’s new floor leader
The ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday elected Rep. Lee Hahn-koo as their new floor leader in a boost for party chairwoman Park Geun-hye.Rep. Chin Young automatically became the party’s new chief policymaker as Lee’s running-mate in the voting conducted at the National Assembly among the lawmakers-elect.Lee came out the winner of a tight run-off against reformative contender Rep. Nam Kyung-pil by winning 72 votes out of 138. Nam had 66 votes, while Rep. Lee Ju-young was dropped in the first-round
May 9, 2012
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Leaders of S. Korea, Japan, China to hold annual trilateral summit
The leaders of South Korea, Japan and China will hold their annual trilateral summit in Beijing on Sunday to enhance their cooperation in a variety of areas including security, business and trade, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss ways to expand cooperation in finances, joint response to natural disasters, weather information and education, the presidential office said.North Korea is likely to
May 9, 2012
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UPP factions refuse to compromise
Progressive group’s co-chair says she is prepared to face party’s ethics committeeThe chief of the internal panel investigating vote-rigging in the minority left-wing Unified Progressive Party insisted that irregularities meant the nominations were invalid, despite conflicting claims from the party mainstream.Party co-chair Lee Jung-hee on Tuesday had claimed that she and the other three co-chairs, including non-mainstreamer Rhyu Si-min, had interfered in the election of party candidates.“We wil
May 9, 2012
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Lee Hahn-koo elected Saenuri’s new floor leader
The ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday elected Rep. Lee Hahn-koo as its new floor leader, in a boost for party chairwoman Park Geun-hye. Rep. Chin Young automatically became the party’s new chief policymaker as Lee’s running-mate in the vote conducted at the National Assembly among the party’s 138 lawmaker-elects.Lee’s win against contenders Nam Kyung-pil and Lee Joo-young was expected to boost the partisan control of current Saenuri chairwoman Park in her drive toward presidency. Lee is consider
May 9, 2012
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U.S.: Talks with Korea on Iran ‘productive’
WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― A U.S. official on Monday hinted at progress in sensitive consultations between Seoul and Washington over sanctions on the Iranian oil industry.“We are engaged in close and productive consultations with the ROK government on the requirements of our law,” the State Department official told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.The ROK stands for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea.“In all our consultations we have made clear the importance of reducing re
May 8, 2012
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Former chief of staff declares presidential bid
Yim Tae-hee, a self-professed moderate and former chief of staff for President Lee Myung-bak, announced his bid for the presidency on Tuesday, pledging to vanguard a move to “demolish outdated politics.”“I wish to create a world where it is not about a battle among the powers and regions or a war of taking and being taken, but a place where there is no need for a loser in a race to become afraid,” Yim, 56, said at a press conference held at the SK Hall of the Graduate School of Business at Seoul
May 8, 2012
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Strife deepening in progressive party
UPP co-leader Lee steps ups criticism of fact-finding panelInternal strife continued in the minority left-wing Unified Progressive Party as Lee Jung-hee, one of the co-chairs and leader of the party mainstream attacked the fact-finding committee.She also infuriated liberal circles by comparing the party’s feud to the prosecutorial probe which allegedly drove former President Roh Moo-hyun to his death in 2009.Lee’s reference to Roh especially incensed Ryu Si-min, another co-chair of the party and
May 8, 2012
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UPP friction reveals far-left problems
Party’s core rejects internal probe findings, calls for leadership to quitAt the center of the ugly tussle inside the Unified Progressive Party is a group of left-wing extremists who have failed to grow out of their old days of student activism, political observers said Monday.The mainstream faction, known as the “National Liberation” group, is accused of having rigged the party’s internal vote to pick proportional representative candidates to help their members win the top seeds on the party li
May 7, 2012
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Nine Saenuri contenders vie for top job in TV debate
The nine contestants for the ruling Saenuri Party’s chairmanship participated in the first TV debate Monday ahead of the leadership election next Tuesday.Their discussion centered on the party’s strategy to win the December presidential election, economic and welfare policies and measures to restore unity in the party stricken by factional strife.Next week’s chairperson race is expected to be an easy victory for the party’s incumbent floor leader Rep. Hwang Woo-yea.The former judge, since he too
May 7, 2012
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Lee replaces deputy chiefs of spy agency
President Lee Myung-bak on Monday tapped South Korea’s Ambassador to Canada Nam Joo-hong as the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service in a reshuffle that affected six vice-ministerial posts.Cheong Wa Dae said that Nam, a well-known security expert, was suitable for the post considering his professionalism and expertise in security and unification affairs and his sense of responsibility and integrity. As for the second NIS deputy director post, Lee named Cha Moon-hee, senior
May 7, 2012
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Park GH regains ground in polls
Rep. Park Geun-hye, interim leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, is ahead of entrepreneur-turned-professor Ahn Cheol-soo in recent popularity polls on potential presidents.The polls indicated that she regained lost ground after helping the conservative party recover from corruption scandals and leading it to achieve an upset victory in the April general elections, analysts said.In a poll by local pollster Media Research, Park garnered 47.2 percent, with Ahn at 42.1 percent in a one-on-one race. I
May 7, 2012
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Lee’s fraternity faces breakdown
The once-unstoppable fraternity of key aides hailing from President Lee Myung-bak’s hometown of Pohang appears to be on the brink of collapse.The lineup of Lee’s key associates, popularly referred to as the “Yeongpo line” is again embroiled in a major bribery scandal involving an alleged cash-for-favors deal for a construction project named Picity.“Yeongpo” stands for Yeongil of Pohang, in North Gyeongsang Province. Although Lee was born in Osaka, Japan, he grew up in Pohang.Purportedly led by L
May 6, 2012
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Factional fighting deepens in Unified Progressive Party
Factional conflict in the Unified Progressive Party over a vote-rigging scandal deepened on Sunday as the far-left party’s mainstreamers refused to accept its decision-making panel’s recommendation designed to shore up public trust.The party’s national steering committee recommended on Saturday that its leadership resign and 14 candidates on its proportional representation list withdraw, including three lawmakers-elect.The committee reached the decision during an online session to quickly contai
May 6, 2012
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Ex-Incheon mayor joins Saenuri presidential race
Ahn Sang-soo, former mayor of Incheon, said Sunday that he will run for the presidency on the ruling Saenuri Party’s ticket. “I will work to relieve people from the burden of debt and make Korea a more livable place,” he told a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. Ahn, mayor of the western port city from 2002 to 2010, claimed that he has proven governing capability and economic skills. He served as a member of the National Assembly before being elected mayor. By declaring his can
May 6, 2012
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N.K., China discuss Kim Jong-un’s travel to Beijing
North Korea has reportedly discussed with China the possibility of its fledgling leader Kim Jong-un visiting Beijing within this year in an apparent move to gain more economic and political support from its largest patron.Citing sources both in Pyongyang and Beijing, Japan’s Nihon Geizai Shimbun reported on Sunday that the North’s Worker’s Party’s international affairs secretary, Kim Yong-il, delivered Kim Jong-un’s wish to visit China during his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao last month
May 6, 2012
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One-horse race for Saenuri top job
Rep. Hwang Woo-yea expected to win party vote easilyProminent figures in the ruling Saenuri Party have set out to challenge for the new leadership in the imminent in-party election, with the party’s reform-inclined floor leader taking a commanding lead.There are nine members listed as candidates but most are eying Supreme Council membership as Rep. Hwang Woo-yea is expected to easily win the chairmanship.The right-wing party is to hold its national convention next Tuesday to elect a five-member
May 6, 2012
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N.K. acts like misbehaving child: Lee
President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday likened North Korea to a misbehaving child for ignoring the advice of other countries in regards to the launching of its long-range rocket.In a question and answer session held on the lawn of the presidential residence Cheong Wa Dae to mark Children’s Day, the chief executive told children invited to the gathering that the global community had unanimously urged the North not to test its rocket.“Unfortunately the North did not listen to such advice,” he said, a
May 6, 2012
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UPP lawmaker-elect quits over election fraud
Yoon Geum-soon, a lawmaker-elect of the Unified Progressive Party, on Friday withdrew from the party list amid escalating criticism of vote-rigging in the minority party’s nomination race. The civic activist was in the top spot of the UPP’s proportional representatives for the April 11 parliamentary elections.Her exit fell short of containing the crisis as public antipathy is mounting toward the party, which claimed to epitomize grassroots democracy. The prosecution is set to open an investigati
May 4, 2012
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Park picked as opposition’s new floor leader
The Democratic United Party on Friday elected veteran politician Rep. Park Jie-won as their new floor leader as they brace for an uphill battle against the ruling Saenuri Party in the incoming parliament and presidential election at the end of this year.The right-hand man of late President Kim Dae-jung will double as the chair of the main opposition party’s emergency committee, which will be replaced by new leaders chosen at the national convention slated for June 9.Park came out the winner of a
May 4, 2012