Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Registration kicks off for overseas voters
Voter registration for next year’s general elections will kick off Sunday for Koreans living abroad, the National Election Commission said Friday. Registration will end on Feb. 11.Overseas residents with Korean nationality or those living abroad temporarily though they have registered resident addresses in Korea, aged 19 and older, are eligible to register by visiting local designated diplomatic offices.Based on information supplied, the commission will confirm the list of voters in March next y
Nov. 11, 2011
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Panel holds first concert on Dokdo
The first-ever classical music concert was held on Dokdo on Friday, under the sponsorship of the parliamentary Dokdo Guardians, a group of lawmakers devoted to advocating Korea’s sovereignty over the disputed islet.Rep. Park Sun-young, lawmaker of the Liberty Forward Party and co-chairperson of the panel, together with other members, attended the concert held on the dock of the islet located in the East Sea neighboring Japan.The afternoon event started with a performance by the Heart Blind Chamb
Nov. 11, 2011
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Lee postpones visit to parliament over U.S. FTA
President Lee Myung-bak postponed a visit to the National Assembly over the free trade agreement with the United States until next week after a last-minute request from the main opposition party, officials said.Lee rescheduled his visit until next Tuesday after the opposition Democratic Party said i
Nov. 11, 2011
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Voter registration to begin for S. Koreans overseas
Voter registration will begin Sunday for South Koreans living abroad in preparation for the April general elections, the first poll in which overseas citizens will be allowed to cast ballots, the National Election Commission said. South Korea enacted a law in 2009 that grants citizens in foreign cou
Nov. 11, 2011
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Lee to make rare visit to parliament over U.S. FTA
President Lee Myung-bak plans to make a rare visit to the National Assembly on Friday to call for quick approval of the long-pending free trade agreement with the United States, a senior presidential official said.The unusual move reflects the urgency that Lee feels on the need to break the parliame
Nov. 11, 2011
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Sohn and Moon move to form united left-wing party
Main opposition Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Moon Jae-in reached consensus on creating an integrated liberal party on Wednesday.They agreed to hold a national convention to consolidate liberal parties and select a new leader, but the idea was slammed by DP lawmakers who had their eye on the party’s leadership.In the Wednesday meeting, Sohn suggested a consolidated national convention be held on Dec. 17 to embrace the entire liberal bloc.The date i
Nov. 10, 2011
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Park pushes envelope in management style
Civic activist-turned-mayor touts ‘change’ to meet expectations of his supportersMicro-blogging and an unconventional approach have been the epitome of civic activist-turned-Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s first two weeks in office.Having gained fame by successfully nudging businesses and individuals to donate to his charity venture, Park vowed to raise 300 billion won ($265 million) in social investment funds over the next three years to create more jobs and support young venture entrepreneurs. Hal
Nov. 10, 2011
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Lee travels to Hawaii for APEC summit
President Lee Myung-bak will travel to Hawaii this weekend to discuss ways to spur the global economy, create jobs and reform regulations with other leaders of major Pacific Rim economies, the presidential office announced Thursday,The summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, set for Sunday, comes as the world economy struggles to stave off the negative impact of the eurozone debt crisis that has battered Greece and shows signs of spreading.Lee, who will leave for Hawaii
Nov. 10, 2011
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Lee revs up push for FTA ratification
President meets minor opposition leader as parliament plenary session called off againPresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday stepped up efforts to secure parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, as rival parties struggle to find common ground on a key sticking point in the deal. At the National Assembly, a plenary session was called off with the consent of the Grand National Party and the largest opposition Democratic Party. The two parties have been locked in a standoff o
Nov. 10, 2011
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GNP agrees with Park’s policy reform
A group of Grand National Party lawmakers demanding drastic change in the party and the government toned down its complaints to stand in line with former chairwoman Park Geun-hye. “Policy reforms should come first,” they said during a luncheon on Wednesday. They thus expressed support for Park, who gave positive assessment on Tuesday to the group’s reform efforts.“Reform should above all be about getting in touch with the people,” she told reporters. “The reformative members’ claim is worth list
Nov. 10, 2011
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Ruling party seeks to expand child care subsidies for all families
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is considering expanding state child care subsidies to all households with children under 2 years old to encourage more couples to have children and boost the country's low birthrate, a senior policymaker said Thursday.The proposal cal
Nov. 10, 2011
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South’s groups blast ministry’s N.K. aid monitoring request
Aid groups have criticized the Unification Ministry’s request that they monitor how their aid is being distributed in North Korea, saying it hampers their humanitarian efforts.The ministry has asked the aid groups to gain consent from the North to monitor activities as part of its efforts to enhance “transparency” in the distribution process and prevent the aid being passed to the North’s military.The groups have submitted to the ministry photos or video clips that show their aid has reached the
Nov. 9, 2011
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Hong to visit Cheong Wa Dae for reform talks
The ruling Grand National Party’s chairman Rep. Hong Joon-pyo seeks to meet with President Lee Myung-bak to suggest reforms to Cheong Wa Dae.“I shall talk directly with the president to discuss measures to innovate the administration,” said Rep. Hong in the party’s key officials’ meeting on Wednesday.“If the government-ruling party consensus is a priority in achieving reforms, that is what I intend to focus on.”Hong also pledged to open ears to all reform plans suggested from within the party an
Nov. 9, 2011
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Breakthrough may be in sight on FTA impasse
DP faces calls from within to compromiseProspects brightened for an end to parliamentary deadlock over the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Wednesday, after the main opposition Democratic Party faced growing calls from within the party to drop its demand for the deal’s renegotiation. About half of the DP’s 87 lawmakers were reported to be supporting a concession plan, which calls on party leaders to back off from their initial demand that a set of Investor-State Dispute settlement clauses be dele
Nov. 9, 2011
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Education minister says will unveil 5 percent tuition cut plan
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- The government is consulting with an association of university presidents about ways to curb expensive tuition costs and will soon unveil a plan to cut fees by 5 percent on average next year, the education minister said Wednesday. South Korean universities are under public
Nov. 9, 2011
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Park shifts focus from growth to employment
A growing sense of deprivation among people in their 20-40s, which saw them vote en masse for a nonpartisan contender in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election, has pushed the presidential front-runner of the conservative ruling party to shift focus on economic policy from growth to employment.“From now on, the employment rate should be the main indicator for economic policies,” said Rep. Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party at a seminar on ways to build a “Korean-style” welfare model last w
Nov. 8, 2011
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Generational fault line divides Korean society
Voters in their 20-40s, bound by anger and angst, changing political landscapeThey have made it a tacit rule not to argue or even talk about politics for years.Lee, a 36-year-old researcher on information industry, and his father-in-law surnamed Yoo, 60, remain poles apart in their political views. Lee has advocated liberal policies and values pursued by President Roh Moo-hyun while Yoo, a retired printer, has been a staunch supporter of the conservative Grand National Party.“Soon after our mar
Nov. 8, 2011
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GNP to seek new faces for general election
The Grand National Party needs to replace its senior lawmakers with political rookies who can appeal to young voters to win in next April’s general election, the party’s policy think tank said.The Youido Institute analyzed the party’s crushing defeat in last month’s Seoul mayoral by-election and suggested new strategies to win the hearts of voters in their 20s and 30s, according to officials Tuesday.The absentee voting results, which were delivered to the National Election Commission prior to th
Nov. 8, 2011
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Lee meets new Seoul mayor amid tension over trade pact with U.S.
President Lee Myung-bak had his first face-to-face encounter with new Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, a day after Park voiced his opposition to Lee's push to get the free trade agreement with the United States to pass through parliament. (Yonhap News)Park, who was elected
Nov. 8, 2011
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GNP primed to vote on Korea-U.S. FTA bill
The ruling Grand National Party on Monday renewed its resolve to vote on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement with the key parliamentary plenary session scheduled for Thursday after weeks of political wrangling over the ratification bill.“The Korea-U.S. FTA is a matter of national interest and of paramount importance; we can no longer tolerate the opposition’s approach (to the FTA) out of partisan interests,” GNP spokesman Kim Ki-hyun said in a briefing after the party’s supreme council meeting M
Nov. 7, 2011