Most Popular
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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With Indonesia unable to pay full share, what’s next for KF-21 fighter project?
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[KH Explains] Can tech firms' AI alliances take on Nvidia?
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Speaker floats dual citizenship as solution to falling births
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[Grace Kao, Meera Choi] Has money displaced romance on dates?
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Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend
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Local filmmakers criticize ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ monopoly of screens
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[Photo News] Let's talk
Dec. 2, 2013
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Park’s foreign policy put to test
Fresh tension over China’s new air defense zone is posing a new foreign policy test to President Park Geun-hye, who is already hamstrung by an unapologetic Japan, an impasse in inter-Korean ties and intensifying competition between the U.S. and China. Observers say Seoul needs to craft more balanced, concrete, flexible and forward-looking policy visions to secure its strategic interests in the changing regional security environment.Since her inauguration in February, President Park has pushed fo
Dec. 2, 2013
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‘Asia, Europe should both tackle uncertainty’
Ahead of talks in Seoul with President Park Geun-hye, Greek President Karolos Papoulias said “regional peace and security” are central, because in Europe and Asia “there is political uncertainty and rising tension.”Papoulias arrived Monday for four days of meetings expected to also center on expanding bilateral cooperation across the spectrum of two-way ties, including trade and investment, shipbuilding and shipping, infrastructure, defense and tourism.But his visit also comes at a time of terri
Dec. 2, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Moon seen gearing up for 2017 election
Former Democratic Party presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in is once again causing ripples in and outside the party by hinting at his resurgent political ambitions in a recent series of press meetings.Speaking with reporters on Friday, Moon implied that it would be possible for him to run in the 2017 presidential election, saying that he will do his part to promote a change in administration. In a press release Sunday about his upcoming book, Moon sharply criticized President Park Geun-hye ov
Dec. 2, 2013
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Opposition party files resolution for Assembly speaker's resignation
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) filed a resolution with the National Assembly Monday calling for the resignation of Assembly speaker Kang Chang-hee over his alleged violation of parliamentary laws in support of the ruling party.The move comes four days after Kang put to a vote the motion for the confirmation of Hwang Chan-hyon -- President Park Geun-hye's nominee for the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection -- amid objections from the opposition party.A plenary session of the Nati
Dec. 2, 2013
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Rival party leaders to meet over political standoff
Leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties will meet later Monday to discuss a way out of the political standoff surrounding the state's alleged interference in last year's presidential election and other issues, both sides said.The meeting comes as the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) are locked in a bitter dispute over allegations that the state spy agency and other government bodies posted comments online in favor of then ruling party candidate and now
Dec. 2, 2013
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Seoul considers southward expansion of air defense zone
Korea’s top security officials discussed expanding its air defense zone on Sunday amid international disputes kindled by China’s new airspace policy, the presidential office said.National Security Office chief Kim Jang-soo convened the top security policy meeting after President Park Geun-hye recently directed her security staff to explore ways to protect national interests including the expansion of the country’s air zone.Beijing on Thursday rejected Seoul’s demand that it adjust its newly draw
Dec. 1, 2013
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Assembly to miss budget deadline amid political impasse
The National Assembly is set to miss the deadline to approve the government budget for the 11th consecutive year with a long-running partisan impasse over political issues showing no signs of letup.The legal deadline set by the Constitution for the passage of the 2014 budget is Monday. But the Assembly has yet to introduce the spending proposal to the related committee for a review as parties are at loggerheads over state agencies’ alleged electioneering and President Park Geun-hye’s controversi
Dec. 1, 2013
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Opposition party to file resolution for Assembly speaker's resignation
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) plans to file a resolution next week calling for the resignation of National Assembly speaker Kang Chang-hee over his alleged violation of parliamentary laws in support of the ruling party, a DP spokesman said Friday.The move comes a day after Kang put to a vote the motion for the confirmation of Hwang Chan-hyon -- President Park Geun-hye's nominee for the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection -- amid objections from the opposition party.A plenary se
Nov. 29, 2013
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[Photo News] Opposition leaders
Nov. 29, 2013
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DP halts National Assembly over audit chief appointment
The National Assembly ground to a halt on Friday as the main opposition Democratic Party boycotted all procedures in protest of the Saenuri Party’s decision to push through Board of Audit and Inspection chief Hwang Chan-hyon. On Thursday, National Assembly speaker Rep. Kang Chang-hee put Hwang’s appointment up to a vote against strong opposition from the DP. The motion was approved with 154 of the 159 legislators who took part in the vote approving Hwang as the new BAI chief. The ruling party ho
Nov. 29, 2013
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Rival parties head for showdown
The ruling Saenuri Party bulldozed through the disputed nomination of the Board of Audit and Inspection chief Thursday, thrusting the heightened political tension into a familiar yearend showdown as next year’s budget remains held hostage.The confirmation of Hwang Chan-hyon as the new BAI head was approved by 154 of the 159 Saenuri Party and independent lawmakers that voted in the National Assembly’s plenary session in the afternoon. Three voted against and two were counted as invalid.Crying fou
Nov. 28, 2013
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U.S. NSC official visits Seoul to discuss China ADIZ: source
A senior White House official has visited South Korea to discuss Beijing’s unilateral drawing of an air defense zone over the East China Sea, a government official here said Thursday. Evan Medeiros, the senior director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council, was in Seoul on Wednesday and held talks with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun and officials at the presidential office, ministry spokesperson Cho Tai-young told reporters.While Cho said his visit was “to get prepa
Nov. 28, 2013
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Park aide expresses displeasure over Japanese magazine’s derision
A presidential official on Thursday expressed displeasure after a Japanese magazine reportedly derided President Park Geun-hye as “imbecile of the week” for taking a tough stance on the former colonial ruler.The latest edition of the weekly Shukan Bunshun carried an article about Park’s stance on Tokyo, accusing her of “creating disturbances” with regard to rows over the sovereignty of the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and Japan’s enslavement of Korean women as sex slaves during World War
Nov. 28, 2013
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U.S. NSC official visits Korea to discuss China ADIZ: source
A senior U.S. White House official visited South Korea Thursday to discuss the unilateral drawing of Beijing‘s air defense zone over the East China Sea.Evan Medeiros, the senior director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council, was in Seoul and held talks with officials at the presidential office.Mederios explained Washington’s stance on the air defense identification zone and expressed concerns that such a move will likely exert a negative influence on U.S.-China relations and with ot
Nov. 28, 2013
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Court upholds conviction of UPP members
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the convictions of two Unified Progressive Party members for voting fraud in last year’s in-house primary. Only identified by their surnames Lee and Baek, the members of the minor opposition party were sentenced to one year in prison with three years suspended.They and other party members were put on trial for voting in place of other party members after receiving voting orders through phone text messages during last year’s elections to select UPP proportiona
Nov. 28, 2013
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Ahn to launch new party
Former independent presidential candidate Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo announced on Thursday that he would launch a new party in the coming months, potentially reshaping the political landscape currently dominated by two parties. Saying that inter-party conflict was holding back Korean politics, Ahn said that a tentatively named “new politics promotion committee” would be launched to lay the foundations for his party. “The aim is establishing a party. There exists a national demand for new politics. The n
Nov. 28, 2013
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Ruling party adopts confirmation report on chief auditor nominee
The ruling Saenuri Party unilaterally adopted a report Thursday on the confirmation of the nominee for Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) chief, defying strong objections from the main opposition party.The report was adopted in a vote by all seven ruling party members on the special parliamentary committee for handling nominee Hwang Chan-hyon's confirmation.The remaining six opposition party members boycotted the vote, but the report still passed with majority approval.The move is expected to d
Nov. 28, 2013
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Parties step further from breakthrough
The main parties on Wednesday moved further from compromise on the opposition’s demand for a special probe into the government’s alleged electioneering. They instead continued their bickering over the “pro-North” controversy fueled by an anti-Park Geun-hye campaign by progressive religious leaders.Party sources said the ruling Saenuri Party was near a decision not to accept the rival Democratic Party’s suggestion to set up a special committee to discuss the special parliamentary probe into the N
Nov. 27, 2013
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Main parties remain stuck on ‘pro-North’ controversy
Rival parties on Tuesday remained deadlocked over a “pro-North” controversy stoked by remarks by a Catholic priest last week seemingly defending North Korea’s deadly attack against South Korean territory in 2010.The National Assembly’s Defense Committee tussled over the idea of adopting a statement denouncing priest Park Chang-shin, while the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party pointed the finger at each other for resorting to politicized issues.The government, meanwhil
Nov. 26, 2013