Most Popular
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Korean industries gauge impact of Biden's steep tariffs on China
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Do Korean doctors make too much money?
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Is FTC's conglomerate listing a boon or bane for Hybe?
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NewJeans to headline palace show
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Coupang's Kim Bom escapes chaebol chief designation again
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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CIO chief nominee to explain allegations at confirmation hearing
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Yoon vows to run country 'rightly' on Buddha's birthday
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[Bridge to Africa] S. Korea-to-Zimbabwe value chains can foster ‘win-win’ cooperation
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[Kim Seong-kon] The last thing we learn in this world
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Moon to run in NPAD vote
President Park Geun-hye’s 2012 election rival Moon Jae-in on Monday announced his bid to run for chairman at the New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s convention, promising to revive the struggling main opposition party.Analysts said the lawmaker’s move could be a prelude to his plans to run in the 2017 presidential race. By winning the NPAD’s chairmanship, Moon would have a chance to showcase his leadership and win the party’s ticket in 2017.But he faces an uphill battle if he tries to use his
Dec. 29, 2014
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Former left-leaning party official summoned over pro-NK remarks
Police on Monday summoned a former Democratic Labor Party deputy spokesperson for questioning over her alleged remarks sympathetic to North Korea made during a series of public talks. Hwang Sun, 39, was accused by conservative groups along with Shin Eun-mi, a Korean-American woman, of positively rating former and incumbent North Korean leaders and describing the North as a leading country in terms of human rights protection and welfare. Hwang has also been probed by police on suspicion of pra
Dec. 29, 2014
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Gov't pushing to improve work conditions of irregular workers
The government said Monday it will push for a plan to allow irregular and subcontract workers aged 35 or older to work for up to four years at the same workplace as part of efforts to improve their working conditions and dismantle discrimination against them. Currently, the maximum employment period for irregular workers is two years. In the measures reported to the trilateral commission of labor, management and government representatives, the labor ministry also said that it will consider p
Dec. 29, 2014
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Former Roh aide announces bid for party chief
A former confidant of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday declared his bid for the leadership of the main opposition party, saying he will dedicate himself to rebuilding the embattled party. Rep. Moon Jae-in, who served as Roh's chief of staff during his term from 2003 to 2008, said he will run for chairman of the No. 1 opposition party, New Politics Alliance for Democracy, in the national convention scheduled for Feb. 8. "I am determined to give all of myself to save our party,"
Dec. 29, 2014
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Park vows to drastically reform wide range of sectors
President Park Geun-hye vowed Monday to drastically reform a wide range of sectors next year as she called for public support for her agenda. She said next year is the right time to press ahead with reform as 2015 will be a year without any nationwide elections. Park's single five-year term ends in early 2018, and by law, she cannot seek re-election. "Reform is not always easy and is bound to meet resistance, but there will be difficulty in reviving the economy and eventually we will leave a
Dec. 29, 2014
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Ruling party seeks pardons, paroles for petty offenders
The ruling Saenuri Party will push to have special pardons and paroles granted to petty offenders, as well as business leaders, in an effort to promote national unity and boost the slumping economy, party officials said Monday. In South Korea, the government has often granted special pardons to imprisoned business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year to reward good behavior and foster national harmony. The ruling party's move comes amid public criticism of an earlier prop
Dec. 29, 2014
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S. Korea offers talks with N. Korea next month
South Korea on Monday proposed minister-level talks with North Korea next month to discuss pending bilateral issues, including the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said his government sent a fax message to the North offering dialogue in January on "issues of mutual concern." The recipient is Kim Yang-gon, director of the North's United Front Department in charge of South Korea affairs. The move apparently reflects the Park Geun-hye ad
Dec. 29, 2014
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Parties to clash over bills
More than 100 bills including three real estate-related acts will be processed at the National Assembly on Monday as the parties attempt to make up for time lost in the regular session that ended early this month. The three bills on real estate will ease regulations in an attempt to boost the sluggish market. In addition, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy are set to approve the 10 individuals nominated to the special committee investigating the
Dec. 28, 2014
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[Weekender] Tragedy and scandals dominate Korea in 2014
Each year tends to be a mixed bag of good and bad incidents, but the silver linings were hard to see this year. Tragedy dawned on the morning of April 16 when the ill-fated Sewol ferry sent a distress call, with 476 people on board, many of whom were young students from a high school in Ansan. Koreans were briefly relieved at one point in the day to hear the news that most of the passengers were rescued. But the report was false, horrifyingly removed from the tragic developments that eventually
Dec. 26, 2014
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Prosecution questions ex-presidential secretary
Prosecutors on Friday questioned ex-presidential secretary Cho Eung-cheon over a leaked presidential document claiming a former aide to President Park Geun-hye tried to exert undue influence on state affairs. The leaked internal report alleged that a clique of presidential aides held much sway over the president’s decisions, alienating her Cabinet. The Segye Ilbo newspaper reported the alleged influence-peddling scandal last month, sparking a public backlash.But Friday’s summons of Cho is expect
Dec. 26, 2014
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Disputes grow over special parole for business tycoons
The debate intensified on Friday over requests by some conservative politicians to release imprisoned conglomerate owners in order to revitalize the nation’s sluggish economy.The ruling Saenuri Party’s floor leader Lee Wan-koo said he was willing to bring up the issue at the party’s Supreme Council meeting and consult with the main opposition party. Lee’s remark came two days after Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung said the government should grant parole to imprisoned businessmen considering their i
Dec. 26, 2014
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South Korea blocks foreign ownership of outer-most islands
The government said Friday that it has made any future sale of eight outer-most islands subject to prior approval, a move apparently aimed at preventing foreign ownership of the islands that make up the country's maritime border. Under the revised regulation, owners of the eight currently uninhabited islands must obtain prior authorization for the sale of their properties to foreign investors, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. There are 23 islands that provide
Dec. 26, 2014
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Police chief tight-lipped in document leak probe
The probe into a Cheong Wa Dae document leak appears to have a hit a hurdle with police Superintendent Park Gwan-cheon, the only suspect in custody, refusing to provide further details about his actions. With the interrogation of Park providing little results, the prosecution on Wednesday requested the courts to extend the duration of his arrest warrant by 10 days. Park, who was assigned to the presidential office until February, is accused of removing intelligence reports he compiled from there
Dec. 25, 2014
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UPP dissolution may trigger lawsuits
The dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party is expected to spark a series of lawsuits by its former members despite the lack of public support for them, according to sources on Thursday.But experts said the lawsuits would have little effect, as they are unlikely to overturn the Constitutional Court ruling on Dec. 19 disbanding the minor opposition UPP, a leftist party with pro-North Korea leanings. The court ruled that the UPP wanted to turn the nation into a socialist state similar to the
Dec. 25, 2014
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Nuclear reactor hacking risk ‘low’: Cheong Wa Dae
The presidential office said on Thursday that the possibility of a cyberattack causing a shutdown of nuclear reactors and posing a greater danger is low, amid growing public fear of cyberthreats involving North Korea.The announcement was made a few hours after the National Security Council at Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting on cyberterrorism, in a gesture that the office was taking the recent threats seriously.“As the control tower for cybersecurity, the office is taking preemptive actio
Dec. 25, 2014
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Rival parties clash over outcome of gov't probe into dam projects
The ruling and opposition parties clashed Wednesday over whether the parliament should open a probe into a controversial project to refurbish the country's four major rivers.Woo Yoon-keun, floor leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, pressed for a parliamentary probe, saying a government investigative commission did not mention environmental damage and builders' collusion in the bidding process for construction contracts.He also said that his party could not buy the a
Dec. 24, 2014
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Venice Commission says won’t dispute UPP ruling
The Venice Commission, an advisory group to the Council of Europe, said that it has no intention to dispute Friday’s unprecedented ruling by South Korea’s Constitutional court to disband the far-left Unified Progressive Party.Speculation has been escalating that the commission requested an English version of the ruling to challenge the ruling or express concerns over it, as critics have argued that the ruling has undermined the country’s political pluralism, a key element of liberal democracy.“T
Dec. 23, 2014
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Maritime Minister Lee resigns
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday officially announced the resignation of Maritime Minister Lee Ju-young, raising the possibility that she would carry out a major reshuffle soon to put state agendas back on track following recent scandals involving her ex-aide.During a Cabinet meeting held at the government complex in Sejong, Park said the meeting was the last that Minister Lee would attend as he would be stepping down. Lee had offered to quit several times after the search for missing bodies f
Dec. 23, 2014
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Opposition party attacks ‘Choinomics’
South Korea’s main opposition party on Tuesday intensified its criticism of the government’s economic proposals for next year, calling them infeasible as they would snowball already-worrisome national debt levels.The denouncements came one day after Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan forecast growth of 3.8 percent in 2015, and unveiled plans to ramp up the real estate market, among other policies for next year. The plans have been coined “Choinomics.” The main opposition New Politics Alliance for
Dec. 23, 2014
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Parliamentary probe into overseas resources projects to last 100 days
Rival parties agreed Tuesday to conduct a 100-day parliamentary investigation into alleged irregularities in overseas resources development projects carried out under the administration of former President Lee Myung-bak. Earlier this month, the ruling Saenuri Party and the No. 1 opposition party, New Politics Alliance for Democracy, agreed to launch an investigation into allegations the Saenuri-affiliated Lee government in office from 2008-2013 spent tens of billions of dollars on various natu
Dec. 23, 2014