Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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[Editorial] New regulatory culture
Last Saturday, we called for drastic reform of the Financial Supervisory Services as the powerful regulatory agency exuded the stench of corruption. We were not alone in smelling the odor. President Lee Myung-bak did as well. On Wednesday, Lee made a surprise visit to the FSS to express his fury and disappointment over the regulator’s failure to prevent irregularities at financial companies and FS
May 5, 2011
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[Editorial] Corrupt diplomats
One of the most important tasks for a diplomat is to settle disputes and resolve conflicts through negotiations. But what if he himself should cause a dispute or a conflict, as a former ambassador to an African country may have done?The case in point involved the ambassador who recently returned home after his assignment in the Ivory Coast. Among the items he brought with him from the African coun
May 4, 2011
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[Editorial] Bulging coffers
The nation’s holdings of foreign currency surpassed the $300 billion mark at the end of April. Should the nation confront any financial crisis in the future, these bulging state coffers will be of great help in cushioning the blow.To hold $300 billion in foreign reserves is nothing short of a sea change for a nation that has been exposed to the threat of sovereign bankruptcy on two occasions durin
May 4, 2011
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[Editorial] Union restructuring
The Seoul Subway Union’s exit last week from the “Minju Nochong,” a radical national umbrella union, and its leaders’ move to form a third national union herald drastic changes in the nation’s labor movement. Up to now, labor activities have long been competitively swayed by the two national bodies: Minju Nochong (the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) and Hanguk Nochong (the Federation of Kore
May 3, 2011
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[Editorial] After bin Laden
As it came after months of pro-democracy upheavals in the Muslim world this year, the news of the death of Osama bin Laden in a U.S. raid on his hideout in Pakistan allows a faint but positive outlook for an end to a decade of intercultural conflicts started by the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Yet, whoever shares this somewhat wishful thinking should be wary of retaliation by al-Qaida militants for the “
May 3, 2011
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[Editorial] Libya bombing
NATO’s bombing of Tripoli on Saturday, which reportedly killed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son and three grandchildren definitely went beyond the U.N. Security Council mandate. However the alliance may try to stretch the mission given under UNSC resolution 1973 on Libya, which was to establish a no-fly zone over the country to protect civilians from military attacks, NATO commanders cannot jus
May 2, 2011
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[Editorial] Guryong Village
Guryong Village in the Gangnam district of Seoul represents some of the absurdities in present-day Korea. Many of the people who live in about 1,200 shacks at Guryong Village, located near the plush Tower Palace high-rise block, moved in from other parts of Seoul when they were evicted by city authorities for redevelopment projects in the 1980s. The urban migrants settled at the foot of Guryong Hi
May 2, 2011
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[Editorial] FTA with China
Negotiations will reportedly start on a Korean-Chinese free trade agreement in the near future, possibly as early as in June. A senior Blue House official is quoted as saying that Korea and China will hold a summit this month and declare the launch of negotiations next month.As the official said, China has a strong desire to conclude negotiations on a free trade deal with Korea. But Korea has not
May 1, 2011
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[Editorial] New town plans
A dictionary definition of “new town” is a “planned urban community designed for self-sufficiency and providing educational, commercial and recreational facilities for its residents.” As such, it differs from “settlements that evolve in more ad hoc fashion.”Britain began to build new communities under the New Towns Act of 1946. Many other countries, borrowing from Britain, have since launched simi
May 1, 2011
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[Editorial] Empty slogan
The government is renewing its efforts to advance the service industry. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has disclosed a new action plan that called for, among other things, a basic law on the promotion of the service industry, the introduction of for-profit hospitals and allowing sales of nonprescription drugs at supermarkets and convenience stores.The renewed push for the service sector is w
April 29, 2011
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[Editorial] Reform of the FSS
The Financial Supervisory Service is in need of drastic reform. The recent series of problems at financial companies and corruption cases involving FSS officials have shown the regulator is not only ineffectual in promoting stability and soundness of the financial market but is corrupt to the bone. In his inaugural address on March 28, FSS Chairman Kwon Hyuk-se disclosed his vision of making the r
April 29, 2011
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[Editorial] Enhancing looks
Veteran singer Yoon Bok-hee said in an interview last week that she was afraid of watching TV these days because she sees so many entertainers who have undergone cosmetic surgery. “With your skin yanked and bone carved, can you correctly express your emotion? With your mouth reconstructed, can you sing normally?” she asked.The 65-year-old singer insists that a truly dedicated actor or singer shoul
April 28, 2011
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[Editorial] Post-poll plans
The electorate in the Bundang B district said no to the status quo and, instead, endorsed a call for change when it elected Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, in the April 27 parliamentary by-election. Of great concern to the conservative ruling party and the liberal opposition party is whether the electoral outcome will prove to be a tempest in a teacup or a prelude to
April 28, 2011
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[Editorial] Pension fund voting
Few would question the “one-share, one-vote” rule as the basic principle behind corporate governance. Nothing would be wrong if the National Pension Service exercises its voting rights, mandated by the number of common shares it possesses, at a listed company’s meeting of shareholders.The National Pension Service is one of the largest institutional investors, which holds more than 5 percent of sto
April 27, 2011
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[Editorial] Trust betrayed
No sane person would deposit a large sum of money with a financial institution if he had no conviction that he would be able to withdraw the deposit at maturity. This depositor trust was betrayed when the Financial Services Commission suspended operations at Busan Savings Bank on Feb. 17.Worse still, what had reportedly happened at the savings bank before it was ordered to suspend operations calls
April 26, 2011
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[Editorial] At the polls
Balloting starts at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday for the by-elections in three parliamentary districts, one gubernatorial district and several districts for municipal mayors. Though the electoral districts are small in number, the polls have good reason to draw more attention than they would normally deserve.First of all, public attention will focus on the vote in the Bundang B district in Seongnam, Gye
April 26, 2011
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[Editorial] Smartphone suits
A week after Apple Inc. filed a patent lawsuit with a California court against Samsung Electronics, the latter came up with countersuits against Apple at courts in Korea, Japan and Germany. While the battle between the two global giants will cost both sides huge legal, the suits could generate enough consumer interests in the products of both parties to more than compensate the costs of litigation
April 25, 2011
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[Editorial] Rain tops Time 100
Singer and actor Rain was chosen as the most influential person in the world in a Time magazine poll for the third time since 2006. Rain, 28, with the Korean name Jung Ji-hoon, took the top spot in the Time 100 reader poll for the third year, trouncing competitors from Barack Obama to Lady Gaga, the U.S. news magazine said. Calling him “the unstoppable South Korean superstar,” Time reviewed how Ra
April 25, 2011
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[Editorial] Localization of parts
Domestic companies are stepping up efforts to localize some of the parts and materials they import from Japan as their suppliers in the neighboring country are in trouble due to the March 11 earthquake.For instance, LG Electronics has decided to develop a microcontroller unit for its home appliances as Toshiba Corp., which accounts for 60 percent of the global MCU supply, has still not fully norma
April 24, 2011
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[Editorial] Card crisis deja vu
Korea suffered a severe credit card crisis in 2003 that not only disrupted the financial system but hit the real economy with a body blow. The crisis followed a massive credit card lending boom, which was fueled by the government’s misguided bid to boost consumption. As the government eased regulations on the credit card business, card issuers pulled out all the stops to recruit new cardholders. T
April 24, 2011