Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Chung Jin-suk named Assembly secretary general
Speaker Kang Chang-hee has named his chief of staff Chung Jin-suk as new secretary general of the National Assembly, officials said Thursday. Chung started his career as a journalist at a local newspaper, and entered into politics in 2000, winning a constituency in South Chungcheong Province, which was represented by his father, former six-term lawmaker and Interior Minister Chung Seok-mo.Chung was elected to the National Assembly three succesive times from the 2000 race. He served President Lee
Dec. 27, 2012
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Park names ex-Constitutional Court chief to lead transition committee
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Thursday named a former Constitutional Court chief to lead her transition committee, her spokesman said, in a first step to take over the government and set major agenda items to pursue for the next five years.Kim Yong-joon, 74, who served as head of the top court in 1994, is expected to back Park's "firm belief in the rule of law and social safety" and make good preparations for the incoming administration to take over as smoothly as possible, Park's senior spok
Dec. 27, 2012
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Park ‘resolute’ against political appointments
From early on in her election campaign Park Geun-hye, president-elect, has spoken out against so-called “parachute appointments,” promising to be fair and transparent in personnel matters.The term describes the act of appointing close associates and aides to high-level positions within the government and state-run organizations without regard to the concerned individuals’ field of expertise. The practice has long been a part of the country’s political landscape, and has traditionally been more p
Dec. 26, 2012
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Park urges big firms against restructuring, layoffs
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged conglomerates to refrain from layoffs and share more with smaller businesses in her first meeting with business leaders after the Dec. 19 election. She also called on chaebol owners to take self-reform measures and cooperate with her economic democratization policy aimed at boosting fairness and transparency in the market and increasing welfare for low-income citizens.“I will actively support investment aimed at creating future growth engines and
Dec. 26, 2012
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Nuclear fusion scientists make breakthrough
Korea’s National Fusion Research Institute said Wednesday that it has made a breakthrough in generating plasma for a longer period under a controlled environment.The institute’s Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research, or KSTAR, device was able to generate 600 kilo-amperes of plasma nuclear fusion for 17 seconds through the controlled system of high-confinement mode.The so-called H-mode by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor enables the steady flow of D-shaped plasma in
Dec. 26, 2012
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Main opposition DUP to elect interim leader on Friday
The main opposition Democratic United Party will elect a new floor leader on Friday to pull together the party reeling from its presidential election defeat.The election committee decided Wednesday to receive candidate registration by Thursday afternoon.It will not conduct the debate process due to the urgent need to fill the leadership vacuum, committee chairperson Rep. Kim Woo-nam said.The liberal party has been without a leader since Rep. Park Jie-won resigned Friday, taking responsibility fo
Dec. 26, 2012
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Park’s spokesman apologizes for past remarks; DUP demands ouster
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s chief spokesman apologized Tuesday amid mounting controversy over his sharp criticism of liberal politicians.Monday’ appointment of Yoon Chang-jung, an ultra-rightist political pundit, triggered angry reactions from the main opposition party. Critics said the first announcement of her transition team threatened to unravel her campaign promise for national unity and deepen the already polarized electorate. “I feel sorry and humbled by those who have been hurt by me
Dec. 25, 2012
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Park likely to form small, expert-driven transition committee
Transition teams of Korea’s most recent presidents were the start of their misfortunes. President Lee Myung-bak’s lineup included the rich, corrupt and prone to gaffes. His predecessor, the late Roh Moo-hyun, was bombarded for running a team fiercely partisan, combative and often accused of leftist views. Witnessing how initial personnel blunders complicated the handover period and beyond, President-elect Park Geun-hye is being as cautious as possible to step off on the right foot focusing on no
Dec. 25, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Park’s aide versed in policy, not tied to partisan politics
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s first choice of her senior aides was a lawmaker versed in tax and fiscal policy and without a distinctive factional hue. Rep. Yoo Il-ho, 57, a two-term lawmaker of Park’s conservative ruling Saenuri Party, will serve as her chief of staff, assisting the incoming leader in shaping the new government in the next two months. His has a powerful post, controlling access to the president-elect, managing her schedule and also developing policies of the next administratio
Dec. 25, 2012
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Parties await reform after presidential poll
This year’s presidential election pushed “new politics” into Korea’s political lexicon. Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign highlighted voter antipathy toward the crooked and undemocratic party establishment, making political reform the main electoral theme. Though the crusader for reform vanished from the scene after quitting the race in support of liberal ally Moon Jae-in, his comments are still reverberating, calling for parties to renew themselves or face public disdain.“We must h
Dec. 25, 2012
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Infighting grips DUP as it tries to banish defeat
Factional fighting is gripping the Democratic United Party as it reels from the aftermath of its defeat in last week’s presidential election.DUP lawmakers agreed during Monday’s general meeting to elect the floor leader within the year, and to also have the new floor leader head the emergency committee.The main opposition party also named Rep. Kim Woo-nam to chair the election committee and gave him the authority to name the committee members. The process of establishing the emergency committee
Dec. 24, 2012
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U.S.-educated lawmaker named Park’s chief aide
Presidential-elect Park Geun-hye on Monday named Rep. Yoo Il-ho as her chief secretary and rightist columnist Yoon Chang-jung as her chief spokesperson in her first appointments for her transition team that will help shape the government next year.The surprise announcement of the two figures who were not among those mentioned as potential candidates was seen to underscore Park’s resolve to emphasize diversity in drawing up her Cabinet next year.She also chose Park Sun-kyu and Cho Yoon-sun to con
Dec. 24, 2012
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[Newsmaker] Conscientious Japanese Dokdo scholar dies
Seichu Naito, a Japanese historian renowned for his relentless rebuttal of Japan’s territorial claims to Dokdo, died on Dec. 16. He was 83.After news reports on his demise belatedly circulated, many Koreans lamented the passing of a “conscientious intellectual” who bravely dug into the falsity of Tokyo’s claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea.His death comes as concerns are rising that the incoming Tokyo government to be led by security hawk Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democr
Dec. 24, 2012
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[Newsmaker] John Kerry tapped as America’s top diplomat
U.S. President Barack Obama tapped John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate, to be the new secretary of state on Friday.For the entirety of his career on Capitol Hill since 1985, Kerry, 69, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and son of a foreign-service officer, has specialized in foreign affairs. Since 2009, he has chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.Serving as Obama’s unofficial envoy, he has played a central role in defusing diplomatic tension, particul
Dec. 23, 2012
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‘No ransom paid’ for Hyundai workers
The four Korean workers who were kidnapped in the southern oil-rich area of Nigeria were “freely released” to Korean officials after days of “persistent persuasion,” according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, Saturday.The four Korean workers of Hyundai Heavy Industries and a Nigerian colleague were kidnapped on Dec. 17 when still unidentified gunmen stormed a construction site on the Atlantic coast of Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, where the company was preparing to build fac
Dec. 23, 2012
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Park to revive science, maritime ministries
The new government to be led by Park Geun-hye is likely to be bigger with a renewed focus on science and technology, reflecting the president-elect’s vision for a creativity and innovation-driven economy. “The soon-to-be formed presidential transition team will get down to the business of reorganizing the central government structure,” Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, the floor leader of Park’s Saenuri Party, said Friday. “I expect a blueprint to be out in January, for it to be able to pass through the parlia
Dec. 21, 2012
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DUP floor leader resigns over election defeat
Democratic United Party floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won resigned on Friday in a show of responsibility as the main opposition party reels from its presidential election defeat on Dec. 19.The party’s chief policymaker Rep. Lee Yong-sup followed suit and stepped down from the post as the in-party factional divide magnified upon former presidential candidate Moon Jae-in’s failed bid.“We were defeated even though the lawmakers did their best in all parts of the nation to open a new era,” Park said at
Dec. 21, 2012
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Park, Obama discuss North Korea, FTA
President-elect Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday agreed to meet soon as they discussed South Korea-U.S. ties and cooperation in dealing with the tension in Northeast Asia following the recent launch of a long-range rocket by North Korea.The two leaders talked over the phone when Obama made a congratulatory phone call to Park, who picked it up from her party headquarters in Yeouido in Seoul.“Thank you President Obama for issuing a congratulatory statement after my election
Dec. 21, 2012
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Park to launch transition team next week
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition committee comprised of members with wide-spanning backgrounds is expected to take shape next week after Christmas, party officials said Friday.“(Details) will be announced after Christmas and before the end of the year,” Saenuri Party’s supreme council member Rep. Chung Woo-taik said on a local radio show. Chung, however, said that plans for the committee are not being openly devised. The president-elect, who has yet to make any official comments regard
Dec. 21, 2012
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Park, Obama agree to cooperate to defuse Northeast Asian security crisis
South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama held phone talks on Friday and agreed to take cooperative steps to deal with the Northeast Asian security crisis triggered by North Korea's rocket launch.The two discussed the matter when Obama made a congratulatory call to Park on her recent election as South Korea's president, said an official at Park's ruling Saenuri Party. Park won the tightly contested presidential election on Wednesday against a liberal opposition c
Dec. 21, 2012