Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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(Profile) Lee Ki-kweon, labor minister
Lee, 57, served at the labor ministry for more than 30 years before becoming the president of Korea University of Technology & Education last year.Lee last served as vice-minister of labor before going into academia. Lee Ki-kweon, labor ministerMultiple sources within the ministry welcomed Lee’s appointment. Senior ministry officials who claimed to have worked with the bureaucrat said Lee was “a man of virtue” who “always took the blame f
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Seoul National University professor tapped for science minister
Choi Yang-hee, tapped as the head of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, is one of the country's well-known experts in the information and technology industry. Choi emphasizes the importance of converging different industries and technologies, a key idea of the creative economy, a signature policy of the Park Geun-hye administration that calls for pushing the economy forward by creating new business opportunities. Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in the country's east, the 58
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Kim Hee-jung, Ministry of Gender Equality & Family
Kim, 43, nominated as the new Minister of Gender Equality & Family on Friday, is a two-term Saenuri lawmaker who is recognized for her specialty in the IT industry as well as her successful political career. Kim Hee-jung, Ministry of Gender Equality & FamilyIn 2004, at age 33, she became the youngest elected woman lawmaker in Korean history, by winning the parliamentary election in her hometown Busan. Although her major was political science while
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Finance minister nominee tasked with reform, boosting economic recovery
President Park Geun-hye's finance minister nominee faces a heavy burden of pushing the government's signature three-year economic innovation plan and other reform efforts needed to strengthen the country's long-term growth potential, which recently is showing signs of slowing down. Choi Kyoung-hwan, 59, is a third-term lawmaker of the ruling Seanuri Party. He is to replace Hyun Oh-seok, who has served as finance minister for more than a year since President Park took office in February last ye
June 13, 2014
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(Profile) Chong Jong-sup, public administration minister
Chong Jong-sup, 56, is a renowned constitutional scholar at Seoul National University who has long advocated sweeping state, judicial and social reform. Chong Jong-sup, public administration ministerHe will lead a new ministry envisioned to handle home affairs as the smaller successor to the existing Ministry of Security and Public Administration that will be dismantled as part of President Park Geun-hye’s government reconfiguration plans unveiled in the wak
June 13, 2014
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Park reshuffles Cabinet
President Park Geun-hye replaced seven ministers on Friday, completing several weeks of personnel shake-ups to salvage the public trust in the government and to move on from the ferry disaster.Deputy prime minister Choi Kyoung-hwan. (Yonhap)Park appointed Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan, a political heavyweight and one of her closet aides, as deputy prime minister in charge of economics. Choi replaces Hyun Oh-seok, the first finance minister under the Park government, who has come under fire for making a
June 13, 2014
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Park replaces 4 aides, retains chief of staff
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday appointed four senior secretaries as part of her reshuffle aimed at repairing the image of the government in the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster. Park named Minister of Gender Equality Cho Yoon-sun senior secretary for political affairs, Rep. Ahn Chong-bum of the ruling Saenuri Party senior secretary for economic affairs, and former senior prosecutor Kim Young-han senior secretary for civil affairs. Song Gwang-yong, former president of Seoul National Uni
June 12, 2014
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Past remarks haunt Moon
Prime Minister-designate Moon Chang-keuk was engulfed in controversy Thursday over his past remarks that critics say showed his erroneous understanding of history and disparaged Koreans.The controversy baffled President Park Geun-hye as Moon was tapped after Ahn Dae-hee withdrew his nomination amid criticism that he allegedly raked in a high income through special favors in connection with his previous Supreme Court job.Moon’s contentious remarks came from a lecture that he delivered at a Seoul
June 12, 2014
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Two opposition lawmakers lose seats
Two opposition lawmakers lost their parliamentary seats as the top court on Thursday confirmed their suspended jail terms in criminal cases.Rep. Bae Ki-woon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year stay by the Supreme Court for violating the Public Official Election Act.Bae was convicted of bribing his accountant, identified only by his surname Kim, in February 2012 in exchange for spending election expenses that exceeded th
June 12, 2014
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Parties gear up for rematch in July by-elections
The July 30 parliamentary by-elections, dubbed a “mini general election,” are turning into a rematch for the two main political parties after recent local elections ended with no overall winner. So far, it has been confirmed that 14 seats ― left vacant by lawmakers who ran in the local elections and those who lost their seats for violating elections laws ― will be contested. In addition, two more seats may become available pending Supreme Court rulings. At present, the ruling Saenuri Party holds
June 12, 2014
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Two lawmakers lose seats as top court confirms prison terms
Two opposition lawmakers lost their parliamentary seats as the top court on Thursday confirmed their suspended jail terms in criminal cases.Rep. Bae Ki-woon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year stay by the Supreme Court for violating the Public Official Election Act.Bae was convicted of bribing his accountant, identified only by his surname Kim, in February 2012 in exchange for spending election expenses that exceeded th
June 12, 2014
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Park replaces key aides, keeps chief of staff
President Park Geun-hye on Thursday appointed four key senior secretaries as part of her reshuffle plan aimed at refurbishing the battered image of the government in the aftermath of the ferry disaster. Park named Rep. Ahn Chong-bum of the ruling Saenuri Party, as new senior secretary for economic affairs, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Cho Yoon-sun as senior secretary for political affairs and former senior prosecutor Kim Young-han as senior secretary for civil affairs. Song Gwang-yong,
June 12, 2014
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Park to carry out sweeping reshuffle
President Park Geun-hye is likely to carry out a sweeping reshuffle of her Cabinet members and senior staff at Cheong Wa Dae within this week, in a move to prevent a further delay in her state reform drive proposed in the wake of the ferry disaster.Earlier, the president was expected to make a series of replacements after returning from her trip to several Central Asian nations next Saturday. But Park has decided to speed up the process as she appears to have gained confidence in running state a
June 11, 2014
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[Newsmaker] P.M.-nominee receives mixed reactions
Prime Minister-nominee Moon Chang-keuk took a single path as a newspaper journalist for 38 years. The 66-year-old former political correspondent never strayed from his job or attempted to cross over into politics or elsewhere. Even after his retirement in 2012, he stood in front of college students, offering lectures on the principles of journalism and its role of pursuing truth without favor.Moon was not a popular figure but was a journalist who wrote a series of columns highly critical of high
June 11, 2014
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Uphill battle for NIS nominee
An uphill battle lies ahead for Lee Byung-kee, the nominee for National Intelligence Service chief as he is expected to face a tough grilling during his confirmation hearing and the herculean task of restoring public confidence in the scandal-ridden institution.President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday nominated Lee, Seoul’s ambassador to Japan and one of her closest confidants, to lead the NIS, triggering opposition from her political foes who argue that the nomination was a political move to strength
June 11, 2014
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Assembly speaker vows more communication with president
A direct line of communication between the National Assembly speaker and the president has been set up, National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa said Wednesday. In an interview with a local news agency, Chung said that President Park Geun-hye provided a hotline number following his request. “(I) will make a call if the people’s voice (needs to be heard) or if there is something the president or the government and Cheong Wa Dae has done wrong,” Chung said.Adding that he will also request hotli
June 11, 2014
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S. Chungcheong governor eyes presidential ticket
South Chungcheong Province governor Ahn Hee-jeong expressed his willingness on Wednesday to run for president as a liberal contender in three years.“I will run for president if I can provide an appropriate alternative to established politics,” Ahn said, amid media speculation over which elected officials from the June local elections might run for president in 2017.Ahn, from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy and onetime aide to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, was el
June 11, 2014
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Ex-journalist tapped as P.M.
President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday nominated a former journalist with no political background as the new prime minister, a surprising choice that underscores her oft-criticized secretive appointment style and heralds a rough road ahead in the parliamentary approval procedure. Moon Chang-keuk, 66, is the first journalist to be tapped for prime minister in the country’s modern history. The president also named Lee Byung-kee, ambassador to Japan, as the new head of the National Intelligence Service
June 10, 2014
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Heavyweights eye Chung’s vacant Assembly seat
Seoul’s Dongjak-B constituency has become one of the hottest topics of the July 30 parliamentary by-elections and is drawing some of the biggest names in local politics.The seat, left vacant by former lawmaker Chung Mong-joon when he ran for Seoul mayor in the June 4 local elections, is rumored to be coveted by heavyweights including former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo from the ruling party. The Dongjak-B constituency holds out possibilities for both the r
June 10, 2014
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Park begins second term with safety, welfare pledge
The incumbent Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who recently defeated his rival and conservative candidate Chung Mong-joon and whose second term starts next month, has pledged to focus on safety, welfare and the economy. “Although the number of welfare programs has increased dramatically, there are just not enough social workers,” Park said at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.“Many of the social workers were overworked and some of them committed suicide. I am trying to double the number of public
June 10, 2014