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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
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Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats
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Samsung doubles down on Vietnam
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NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
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Controversy brews over shakeup of prosecutors amid probe of first lady
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Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
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Jennie, Stray Kids's Met Gala attendance puts them on 'digital guillotine' blacklist
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OpenAI gives ChatGPT new powers to see, hear
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Park’s first year gets mixed marks
President Park Geun-hye enters the second year of her five-year term with mixed evaluations on her state management ― largely positive for external relations and reform efforts, but negative for domestic politics.Over the last year, Park has restored ties with China and strengthened the country’s long-standing alliance with the U.S., while cementing its strategic partnership with Russia.Based on her “principled” approach toward the North, Park has also maintained peninsular security despite mena
Feb. 24, 2014
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[Graphic News] Local election to see increase in voters 50 and older
The upcoming local elections in June are expected to see an increase in the number of electorates aged 50 and over, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said Monday.The provisional number by the government shows that voters in their 50s or older will account for 40.7 percent of the total voters in the election, a 0.7 percent growth from the 2012 presidential election. On the contrary, the voting rates of 20-somethings and 30-somethings are expected to fall by 0.4 percent and 0.6 pe
Feb. 24, 2014
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Parties still at odds over basic pension plan
Saenuri Party floor leader Choi Kyung-hwan and Democratic Party counterpart Jun Byung-hun met Monday to negotiate over the basic pension bill ― only to confirm their differences, fanning concerns over the forthcoming pension program starting from July. While the ruling party insists on paying out a monthly pension of 100,000 won ($90) to 200,000 to the poorest 70 percent of the pensioners by income, the DP calls for distributing 200,000 won to the poorest 80 percent of senior citizens. The discu
Feb. 24, 2014
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Ahn’s party won’t nominate candidates for local elections
Maverick lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo announced Monday his soon-to-be party will not nominate candidates for mayors, county chiefs, ward chiefs and local council members ahead of the June local elections, throwing down the gauntlet to rival political parties.Debate has heated up over whether the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party should nominate candidates for the jobs amid controversy over the pros and cons of the nomination system.Both parties pledged to abolish the system
Feb. 24, 2014
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Park to unveil 3-year economic innovation plan in form of statement
President Park Geun-hye will unveil details of a three-year economic innovation plan outlined during her New Year's press conference with a promise to significantly raise South Korea's growth potential and per capita income within her term.Park will make the unveiling by reading a statement on Tuesday, the first anniversary of her inauguration, before presiding over a joint meeting of top economic policymakers and civilian economic advisers, her spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters.The innova
Feb. 24, 2014
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Korea, U.S. conduct military drills amid family reunions
South Korea and the United States on Monday began their annual military drills as planned in a relatively low-profile manner, as families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War were reunited amid warming inter-Korean ties. The much-anticipated Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises took place despite Pyongyang's repeated calls earlier this month for their cancellation at the threat of scrapping the reunions. The North later agreed to go ahead with the cross-border event, in what was seen as a concess
Feb. 24, 2014
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Public sentiment hamstrings diplomacy in Seoul-Tokyo ties
The deepening anti-Japanese sentiment is posing a major policy challenge to the Park Geun-hye administration under growing pressure from Washington to put aside historical disputes and forge forward-looking relations with Japan.Already inflamed by Tokyo’s lack of contrition for its wartime misdeeds, the public opinion in South Korea worsened further on Saturday as Japan’s Shimane prefecture marked Takeshima Day with a senior Tokyo official joining the annual celebration.Hundreds of South Korean
Feb. 23, 2014
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Saenuri Party seeks to promote fiscal health
The ruling Saenuri Party is pushing for a new system that will require lawmakers to draw up budget proposals when submitting bills, according to local news reports. The “PAYGO” system, short for “pay as you go,” would be part of the Park Geun-hye administration’s efforts to restore the government’s financial health. The current law does not require lawmakers to lay out plans to secure a related budget when sponsoring new bills. If implemented, the system is expected to curb runaway government sp
Feb. 23, 2014
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DP unveils electoral reform plan
Democratic Party chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil announced a third batch of political reform plans on Sunday, in an apparent attempt to gain greater support ahead of independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s launch of his own party next month.In his parliamentary address, Kim laid out a package of reform proposals, including barring those with records of corruption charges from consideration as candidates for national elections and expanding direct voting to the selection of election candidates and party leade
Feb. 23, 2014
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S. Korea summons Japanese diplomat to protest claims to Dokdo
South Korea's foreign ministry called in a senior Japanese diplomat on Sunday and filed a strong protest after Tokyo sent a central government official to a local event aimed at bolstering the country's claims to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo.Lee Sang-deok, director-general in charge of Northeast Asia affairs at the foreign ministry, filed the protest after summoning Hisashi Michigami, a senior minister at Japan's Embassy in Seoul, the ministry said. Lee also conveyed a verbal note tha
Feb. 23, 2014
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China to expand museum on Japan's biochem warfare unit
BEIJING (Yonhap) -- China plans to build a new wing at a museum in the northeastern city of Harbin to display more artifacts on atrocities committed by Japan's notorious Unit 731 during World War II, a local daily reported Saturday. The reported move is seen as the latest step by Beijing to broaden its efforts to raise awareness of Japan's wartime aggression at a time when Tokyo's relations with its neighbors, especially Beijing and Seoul, have plunged to one of their lowest points in many years
Feb. 22, 2014
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S. Korea, China agree to deepen cooperation to denuclearize N.K.
South Korea and China agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation in their efforts to denuclearize North Korea, affirming once again their commitment to resolving the issue, the foreign ministry here said.The two sides reached the agreement during talks in Seoul between South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Kyung-soo and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, a foreign ministry official said.The meeting followed Liu’s talks with top North Korean diplomats in Pyongyang earlier this week. Liu f
Feb. 21, 2014
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Reunited Koreans given privacy to bridge 60-year divide
Around 80 elderly South Koreans met privately Friday with North Korean relatives they haven’t seen for 60 years, on the second day of a highly-charged reunion for families divided by the Korean War.In contrast to the previous day when their tearful and, in some cases, clearly traumatic meetings were played out in front of TV cameras, they were allowed three hours in their own rooms to try and bridge the decades of separation.The event, held at a mountain resort in North Korea, was only secured a
Feb. 21, 2014
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Consul’s testimony adds to suspicion on spy evidence
The Korean consul-general in Shenyang, China, failed to clarify the authenticity of Chinese immigration records used as evidence in a pro-North Korea espionage case. Cho Baek-sang testified to a parliamentary committee amid growing suspicions that intelligence and prosecution officials may have falsified documents including one regarding the suspect’s visit to North Korea via a northeastern Chinese province. The defendant, a former Seoul City employee, was in August 2013 cleared of charges of de
Feb. 21, 2014
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Seoul urges Japan to stop attempts to whitewash wartime sexual enslavement
South Korea called on Japan Friday to stop any attempts to whitewash its sexual enslavement of South Korean women during World War II after a Tokyo official suggested a plan to withdraw the country's previous apology for the atrocity.Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated in a parliamentary meeting on Thursday a plan to re-examine South Korean victims' previous testimony used to draw up the so-called Kono statement.The statement was issued in 1993 by then-Chief Cabinet Secretar
Feb. 21, 2014
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Evidence fraud row escalates
The allegations of document forgery in an espionage case are putting Seoul in an increasingly difficult position as the case has taken on explosive political overtones and could potentially cause diplomatic friction with China.Stepping up its offensive against the government and prosecution, the Democratic Party said it would submit a resolution calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the case to the National Assembly’s committee on foreign affairs and unification.The main opposition party has
Feb. 20, 2014
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[Graphic News] President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating ‘stable’
President Park Geun-hye’s job approval ratings remained stable throughout her first year at Cheong Wa Dae, a poll showed. According to Realmeter’s survey results, Park’s approval rating began at 54.8 percent in February and reached 67 percent in August. Although her approval rating dipped below the 50 percent mark in December, it rose again after her three-year economic innovation plans were announced in January.A recent poll of 2,500 respondents Feb. 10-14 showed that 56.4 percent said they wer
Feb. 20, 2014
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China's vice FM to visit Seoul after trip to Pyongyang
China's vice foreign minister will fly to Seoul late Thursday after his visit to North Korea, in a rare back-to-back trip by a ranking Chinese official to both Koreas, officials said.Liu Zhenmin has been visiting North Korea since Monday for meetings with officials there over security issues, including the North's nuclear weapons program.The Chinese official will leave Pyongyang and fly straight to Seoul via Beijing Thursday evening for a three-day stay, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affa
Feb. 20, 2014
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DP steps up attacks on alleged spy case fabrication
The main opposition Democratic Party staged a rally Wednesday, upping its offensive against the government and prosecution over allegations that state investigators fabricated Chinese documents in a high-profile espionage case.Dozens of DP lawmakers renewed their calls for a parliamentary inquiry and an independent-counsel probe into the case during their first rally in three months at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul.The ruling Saenuri Party decried the street gathering as politically-motiva
Feb. 19, 2014
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Former premier hints at running for Seoul mayor
Former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday said he is considering running in this year’s Seoul mayoral race. “I am receiving requests from several people in the Saenuri Party, regardless of factions, to play a role in (promoting) the party (concerning the election),” Kim said.Kim, currently residing in the U.S., hinted at the possibility of returning to Seoul as early as mid-March, which would give him about two months of preparation time before candidate registration begins on May 15. Kim
Feb. 19, 2014