Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Doctors' group picks new leader amid tense standoff over increased enrollment quota
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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Korea enters full election mode
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Korea, U.S. to discuss international adoption rules
A senior U.S. envoy on children's issues will travel to South Korea later this week for consultations on Seoul's long-overdue entry into an international treaty on adoption, officials here said Monday.Amb. Susan Jacobs, the special advisor for children's issues at the State Department, is scheduled to visit Seoul from Wednesday to Friday."She will review Korea's plans to accede to the Hague Adoption Convention," an official at the department said.Formally named the "Hague Convention on Protectio
Oct. 23, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Climate fund boosts hopes for Songdo City
After years reeling from a lack of foreign investment and a moribund property market, Songdo is brimming with fresh vigor and a new vision as it was picked to house the secretariat of the Green Climate Fund. Long known for its seaside amusement park, the reclaimed island is the centerpiece of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, launched in 2003 with an aim of developing a leading business, logistics and tourism center in Northeast Asia.The ambition, however, was dented by doubts of its advantages ag
Oct. 22, 2012
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Korea to submit formal continental shelf claim
South Korea plans to submit a formal claim to an extended portion of its continental shelf to a U.N. agency within a month or two, a government official said Monday, adding heat to already heightened territorial tension across East Asia. The Foreign Ministry has been readying official documents to present to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf scheduled to convene a seven-week session on Jan. 21, 2013. A member country should file its reports three months beforeh
Oct. 22, 2012
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U.N. ministerial meeting on climate change begins in Seoul
A high-level international meeting on global climate change kicked off in Seoul on Monday to lay the groundwork for the upcoming 18th round of the United Nations conference on the issue, officials here said.The Pre-Conference of the Parties (Pre-COP18) meeting, set to run until Tuesday, is expected to serve as a venue to discuss ways to push for negotiations on climate change ahead of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Doha, Qatar from Nov. 26-Dec. 7, according to the off
Oct. 22, 2012
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S. Korea condemns bomb attack in Lebanon
South Korea condemned on Monday the terrorist car bombing in Beirut last week that killed eight people.Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said Seoul "strongly condemns the terrorist car bombing in Beirut on Oct. 19," stressing that "all forms of terrorism constitute crimes that cannot be justified under any circumstances."South Korea also extended its "deep condolences to the people and the government of Lebanon as well as the bereaved families of the victims," according to the statement.O
Oct. 22, 2012
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Korean, U.S. ambassadors set for joint tours in key outreach program
Top South Korean and American envoys will team up with each other later this week for on-the-spot efforts to promote public understanding on the Seoul-Washington alliance, organizers said Sunday.South Korea's Ambassador to the U.S. Choi Young-jin and U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim are scheduled to attend a forum in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday to discuss "current issues affecting the two countries' close relationship," according to the East-West Center, which will play host to the session.Majo
Oct. 22, 2012
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U.N. chief congratulates S. Korea on Security Council entry, GCF secretariat hosting
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Monday after his native country won membership with the U.N. Security Council and the right to host the secretariat of an international climate fund.Ban called Lee on the phone and hailed South Korea's election last week as a non-permanent member of the Security Council as a reflection of the country's heightened international status and a fruition of its diplomatic capabilities, the presidential office said
Oct. 22, 2012
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78-year-old Paraguayan makes Korea visit first priority
Paraguayan Ambassador to Korea Ceferino Valdez hosted a special guest at his residence in Seoul: 78-year-old Tranquilina Franco, who won a round-trip ticket and two-week trip to Korea.Franco won the expenses-paid vacation participating in a marathon in her South American home town, Asuncion, Paraguay, through her participation in a marathon co-sponsored by the Korean Embassy which is celebrating with Paraguay the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two natio
Oct. 21, 2012
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U.K. Embassy helps North Koreans resettle
Many Koreans here dedicate themselves to studying English with the sole aspiration that their proficiency will some day translate into middle-class employment.But 29-year-old Jang Eun-mi wants to leverage her foreign language ability to help people oppressed in North Korea. “I really want to become a specialist in North Korean studies and will do my best in order to help people suffering from the North Korean dictatorial government,” Jang said during a media event at the residence of British Amb
Oct. 21, 2012
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Spanish envoy focuses on debt crisis
Spanish Ambassador Luis Arias Romero zeroed in on the European sovereign debt crisis to talk up the financial health of the debt-ravaged Spanish economy during a reception celebrating his nation’s National Day on Oct. 12 in Seoul.Romero said Spain’s financial stability is “guaranteed” because of steps already taken to strengthen the European Union and on account of financial reforms enacted in Spain by the conservative People’s Party with its parliamentary majority.Korea, which has an export-dri
Oct. 21, 2012
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Korea-Africa Forum marks strongest ties yet
Korea to dispatch peacekeepers to South Sudan, expand development assistance to African continentKorea and African nations sent relations to new highs as they wrapped up the 3rd Korea-Africa Forum in Seoul on Thursday, highlighting the East Asian nation’s pledge to contribute fresh military personnel to peacekeeping efforts in the restive Darfur region and South Sudan.The 3rd Korea-Africa Forum is the largest yet ― the marquee event of a week of “Korea-Africa Cooperation,” which brought together
Oct. 21, 2012
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Korea, China call for calm over fisherman’s death
South Korea and China agreed Friday to work together to prevent the recent death of a Chinese fisherman during a Korean Coast Guard raid from damaging diplomatic ties. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Xinsen visited Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young to discuss the incident that occurred in the West Sea Tuesday.Xinsen expressed hopes for “appropriate handling and humanitarian treatment” of the death and detained fishermen, a ministry official said.“The ambassador said he wishes for reinforced co
Oct. 19, 2012
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Korea ranks lowest among leading donors
Korea has slightly improved its scores in an index of the rich world’s contributions to developing countries this year but still ranked the lowest among 27 donor countries due to its small funding scale, high trade barriers and limited acceptance of immigrants, a U.S. think tank said Friday.The Washington-based Center for Global Development, specialized in poverty and inequality research, has been compiling the annual Commitment to Development Index since 2003. It gauges donor countries’ commitm
Oct. 19, 2012
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UNSC seat to give Korea bigger say
South Korea’s entry into the U.N. Security Council will boost the country’s say in global security issues and help facilitate cooperation in addressing North Korea’s nuclear threat, officials and experts said Friday. The country was selected as a non-permanent member of the council during a vote on Thursday. It will replace India whose two-year term expires at the end of the year.Seoul beat Cambodia in the second round 149 to 43 over the slot reserved for Asia. Other newly elected members are Au
Oct. 19, 2012
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N. Korea threatens military strike against South
The North Korean army threatened Friday to carry out a “merciless military strike” against South Korea next week, in a serious escalation of cross-border tensions.The Korean People‘s Army (KPA) vowed to initiate the strike if a group of North Korean defectors now living in the South went ahead with plans to scatter propaganda leaflets next Monday from balloons floated over the border.“The moment a minor movement for the scattering is captured... a merciless military strike by the Western Front w
Oct. 19, 2012
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Military to increase phone boxes for defection on border
The Defense Ministry said Friday it will install more phone boxes and guidance signs along the heavily fortified border to help usher North Koreans wanting to defect to the South.It was among a set of border security measures the ministry reported to the parliamentary defense committee amid a public outcry over the recent exposure of a gaping hole in border defense.The military has been under fire, as it was completely in the dark that a North Korean soldier crossed the land border until he show
Oct. 19, 2012
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Two realtors questioned over Lee’s retirement home scandal
The team of special prosecutors looking into President Lee Myung-bak’s controversial retirement home project questioned on Friday two real estate agents who handled the purchase of the land.The scandal centers around a deal last year by Lee‘s only son Si-hyung and the presidential security service to jointly purchase a plot of land in an affluent Seoul neighborhood for a retirement home for President Lee and auxiliary facilities for security personnel.The younger Lee, however, is under suspicion
Oct. 19, 2012
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Seoul, Beijing seek to introduce tougher rules on illegal fishing
South Korea and China are moving to introduce a one-strike out system for their fishing boats caught fishing illegally in the other country's territorial waters, the Seoul government said Thursday.Currently, boats caught while fishing illegally in the other country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are banned from entering the other country's EEZ for three years.The so-called one-out, three-year sys
Oct. 18, 2012
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Fisherman’s death a new thorn in Korea-China ties
Seaman who died wielded saw against Korean maritime policeRelations between South Korea and China are taking a turn for the worst following the death of a Chinese fisherman during a raid by the South Korean Coast Guard in the West Sea on Tuesday. The Chinese government expressed “serious concern” over the incident on Wednesday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded a thorough investigation and “concrete measures to prevent violent law enforcement and similar incidents from happening again,” its
Oct. 17, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Japan’s risk-taking mogul makes another gamble
Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Japanese Internet and telecoms venture SoftBank Corp., is no stranger to playing the odds. The Japanese ethnic Korean has the distinction of losing more money than any other individual in history, having seen some $70 billion of his personal wealth evaporate during the dotcom crash of 2000. For Son, though, risk continues to bring great reward: Son remains Japan’s second-richest person, worth over $7 billion. In keeping with his reputation, Son, who recently
Oct. 16, 2012