Most Popular
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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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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Park to meet with top ruling party officials
President Park Geun-hye plans to meet with top officials of her ruling party Thursday to discuss pending issues in the parliament, Park's office said.Park plans to exchange opinions with Kim Moo-sung, head of the ruling Saenuri Party, and two other officials on a set of bills on the budget and pension reform, as well as South Korea's free trade deals with foreign countries, according to the office.The planned meeting at the presidential office came days after South Korea clinched free trade deal
Nov. 20, 2014
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Leadership doubts mar launch of safety ministry
The South Korean government launched a new ministry in charge of national safety on Wednesday amid growing concerns over whether retired generals with no field experience in disaster response are qualified to lead the country’s new emergency control tower.President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday named former Navy Adm. Park In-yong as the nation’s first minister of public safety and security and former second vice minister of the now-defunct Ministry of Security Administration Lee Sung-ho as the No. 2.
Nov. 19, 2014
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Vietnam vet compensation bill to be reviewed
The National Assembly this week will begin reviewing a draft bill aiming to provide monetary compensation to South Korea’s Vietnam War veterans, officials said Wednesday.The bipartisan bill proposes that the government pay the country’s 346,000 vets about 396 billion won ($358 million) over the next five years. The money intends to cover combat allowances that allegedly went unpaid during the Vietnam War.Lawmakers from both the governing Saenuri Party and the opposition sitting on the Assembly’s
Nov. 19, 2014
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(Photo News) New disaster control tower
An official puts up a signboard to mark the launch of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security at the Government Complex Building in Seoul on Wednesday. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)
Nov. 19, 2014
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Saenuri ups stakes in budget row
The budget row in the parliament deepened Wednesday with the ruling Saenuri Party warning that it would push the budget through unilaterally if the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy refused to cooperate.Accusing the opposition party of repeatedly holding the budget hostage for political gain, Saenuri Party deputy floor leader Rep. Kim Jae-won warned that the party would process the budget unilaterally if the main opposition did not cooperate in completing the budget review by t
Nov. 19, 2014
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PM urges efforts to boost anti-disaster capabilities
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won on Wednesday called for intensified government capabilities to deal with future disaster situations as the country launched a new safety ministry in the aftermath of the deadly ferry sinking seven months ago.Chung made the remark in a ceremony marking the launch of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security and the Ministry of Personnel Management established to prevent a repeat of the tragic ferry accident on April 16.Around 300 people died in the ferry Sewol that
Nov. 19, 2014
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Park appoints chief of state policy lender as head of financial watchdog
President Park Geun-hye has appointed the chief of South Korea's state policy lender as the new governor of the country's financial watchdog, an official said Wednesday.Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook made the announcement, saying Park approved the appointment a day earlier.The announcement came a day after South Korea's financial regulator picked Zhin Woong-seob, president of the Korea Finance Corp., as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, the country's financial watchdo
Nov. 19, 2014
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Park names former admiral chief of new safety ministry
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday tapped former Navy Adm. Park In-yong to head the government’s new emergency control tower. The body, tentatively named the National Safety Ministry, has been established as part of the Park Geun-hye administration’s structural reform aimed at improving the government’s ability to respond to disasters and root out corruption. Changes also include the formation of a lower-level ministry in charge of the government’s human resource management, and the establishmen
Nov. 18, 2014
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Cabinet passes package of bills in aftermath of ferry accident
The Cabinet approved on Tuesday a package of new bills to deal with the aftermath of the deadly sinking of a ferry off the country's southwest coast seven months ago.The three bills approved in the Cabinet meeting, presided by Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, focus on efforts to investigate and punish those who are fundamentally responsible for the ferry accident in April as well as ways to compensate victims and reorganize the much-denounced government rescue operation system.The 6,825-ton ferry
Nov. 18, 2014
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Unification ministry to strengthen partnership with WFP
South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday it has decided to sign a deal with the World Food Program (WFP) on promoting cooperation in aiding North Korea.Under the memorandum of understanding, the two sides will make joint efforts for "systemic cooperation" in providing nutritional assistance to children and women in the impoverished communist nation, a ministry official told reporters.It calls for stable and closer cooperation in the field and sharing of the results of humanitarian project
Nov. 18, 2014
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Park taps ex-navy admiral as head of public safety agency
President Park Geun-hye tapped former Navy admiral Park In-yong as head of a new agency responsible for public safety, an official said Tuesday, the first step under the government reorganization act meant to boost safety following April's deadly ferry disaster. Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook (Yonhap)Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said the nominee is the right person to lead South Korea's control tower for disaster management, given his experience in the Navy and Joint Chiefs of St
Nov. 18, 2014
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Common ground remains elusive as budget deadline draws near
The ruling and main opposition parties’ budget row continued unabated Monday with less than two weeks left until the Nov. 30 budget review deadline. The ruling Saenuri Party continued its attack on the so-called “free welfare” schemes promoted by the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. “It is now time to rethink universal welfare schemes such as free meals, free child care and free housing from the viewpoint of the people,” Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung said. Citing s
Nov. 17, 2014
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China, Japan summit uncertain: Park
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has suggested there are uncertainties over a potential summit with Chinese and Japanese leaders.Park voiced hope for a meeting with Chinese and Japanese leaders during last week’s summit between Southeast Asian countries and their three Northeast Asian dialogue partners ― South Korea, China and Japan ― in Myanmar.“I made the offer because I thought that conditions had improved this year compared to last year. Still, there remains a foreign ministers’ meeting
Nov. 17, 2014
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Park may name head of safety agency this week
President Park Geun-hye is expected to soon name the heads of two new state agencies to be established in accordance with a recently passed bill on government restructuring, political officials said Sunday.The government reorganization act, set to be promulgated Wednesday, calls for the establishment of the two new bodies, one to handle national disaster management and the other to address shady relationships between regulators and businesses.The move comes after the government faced heavy criti
Nov. 16, 2014
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Parties brace for budget showdown
The National Assembly will continue toiling over next year’s budget this week with wrangling over corporate and tobacco taxes expected to take center stage, officials said Sunday.The governing Saenuri Party supports increased tobacco taxes and opposes higher corporate levies. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy advocates higher corporate rates and opposes increased tobacco taxes. The two parties have not budged from their positions for months.But lawmakers are likely to iron
Nov. 16, 2014
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Park likely to name head of new gov't safety agency this week
President Park Geun-hye is expected to soon name the heads of two new state agencies to be established in accordance with a recently passed bill on government restructuring, political officials said Sunday.The government reorganization act, set to be promulgated Wednesday, calls for the establishment of the two new bodies, one to handle national disaster management and the other to address shady relationships between regulators and businesses.The move comes after the government faced heavy criti
Nov. 16, 2014
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S. Korea to host meeting of conservative party leaders
Leaders of conservative parties from around the world will gather in Seoul this week to discuss ways to boost freedom and democracy, officials of South Korea's ruling party said Sunday.The 2014 Party Leaders Meeting of the International Democrat Union (IDU) will kick off Wednesday for a three-day run, bringing together some 110 representatives from 40 counties, according to the officials of the Saenuri Party.Under the theme of "Strengthening Freedom and Democracy -- Meeting New Challenges," the
Nov. 16, 2014
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South Korea plans joint military drill to defend Dokdo this month
The South Korean military plans to carry out a drill to deter trespassers on its easternmost islets of Dokdo later this month, a government source said Friday. The drill is scheduled to take place on Nov. 24 on the rocky outcroppings in the East Sea and in its surrounding waters, aiming “to repel non-military forces that approach the islets via a sea or air route,” a source said, requesting anonymity. Special forces of the Navy and the Coast Guard conduct a joint military drill at the Dokdo Isle
Nov. 14, 2014
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Park arrives in Australia for G-20 meeting
South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Australia on Friday for a weekend summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies and a series of bilateral meetings with other leaders. The Group of 20 summit, set for Saturday and Sunday in Brisbane, brings together U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top world leaders. The summit's wide-ranging agenda includes anti-corruption, development and trade. The G-20 economies represent about two-thirds
Nov. 14, 2014
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Park expresses hope for summit with Xi, Abe
President Park Geun-hye voiced optimism Thursday about the possibility of meeting with her Chinese and Japanese counterparts, a move that could signal a thaw in Seoul and Beijing’s strained ties with Tokyo. Park said she wants to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following a meeting of their foreign ministers in the near future.Still, she did not give any specific time frame for the proposed summit.South Korea, China and Japan have held an annual trila
Nov. 13, 2014