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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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Science ministry to take on larger role
A new super-ministry on science and information technology is expected to grow larger with two vice ministers and by taking over almost all functions related to research, policy, industry and high education in the fields scattered among various government organizations.The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry will hand over all of its trade negotiation roles to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, to be renamed Industry, Trade and Resources Ministry, despite its protest.These and other follow-up mea
Jan. 22, 2013
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Lee vetoes taxi bill, sends back to National Assembly
President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday vetoed a parliament-approved bill on the taxi business, criticizing it as populist legislation giving unfair subsidies to the industry.Both ruling and opposition parties denounced the rejection as tax operators threatened to strike. At the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, ministers decided to call on the National Assembly to reconsider and vote again on the bill, and instead enact a new law to support the taxi industry. The bill ca
Jan. 22, 2013
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Lawmakers propose bill to curb dual jobs, pension
Lawmakers proposed a bipartisan bill on Monday to curb their own much-criticized privileges. The overhaul plan, signed by 18 ruling and opposition members of the National Assembly political reform committee, would prohibit lawmakers from holding other jobs during their term and abolish monthly pensions.The bill stipulates that members of the legislature who hold other jobs must relinquish them within three months. They will also be prohibited from engaging in for-profit activities. A recent surv
Jan. 22, 2013
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Constitutional Court nominee draws heavy fire in hearings
The appointment of Constitutional Court presidential nominee Lee Dong-heub is unlikely to be approved by the parliament as criticism mounted of his ethics during a two-day confirmation hearing that ended on Tuesday.For Lee to take office, an assessment report needs to be drawn up by Wednesday, and processed during the extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The main opposition Democratic United Party, however, has refused to draw up the report. As the parties lock horns in the hearing, t
Jan. 22, 2013
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Questions remain over Park Geun-hye’s Cheong Wa Dae revamp
The new Cheong Wa Dae under President-elect Park Geun-hye aims to become smaller and more efficient with the staff’s roles realigned and integrated. But many of the new posts have the risk of overlapping in their roles, leaving a large proportion of the functions to be sorted out.With the transition committee members unable to clarify the exact roles and reporting structure of some of the major positions as of yet, observers say it will be up to Park to comb through the details.National security
Jan. 22, 2013
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Cabinet decides to reject 'taxi law'
The Cabinet decided Tuesday to reject a parliament-approved bill that would provide state subsidies to the taxi industry, an official said, amid criticism that the legislation is an extravagant, populist measure.The decision has been widely expected as President Lee Myung-bak and his government have been critical of the bill that calls for including taxis in the category of mass transportation, along with buses, subways and trains, making the industry eligible for government subsidies and other
Jan. 22, 2013
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Court nominee mixes apologies and denials
The confirmation hearing for Constitutional Court presidential nominee Lee Dong-heub kicked off Monday with opposition lawmakers bombarding the former judge over the allegations raised since his nomination.The ruling and opposition parties’ conflicting stances on Lee are also raising concerns that the Constitutional Court president’s post could be left empty for a prolonged period.Lee Kang-kook’s term as president ended on Monday.Some in the political arena have also raised concerns that the iss
Jan. 21, 2013
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Park shrinks presidential staff
President-elect Park Geun-hye plans to slim down the structure of her presidential office to improve policy coordination and establish a new control tower for national security, the transition office announced Monday.The slimmed-down Cheong Wa Dae will comprise two offices, led by the chief of staff and the national security chief, and nine senior secretaries, the transition committee’s chairman Kim Yong-joon said. There are currently three offices, eight senior secretaries and six senior office
Jan. 21, 2013
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Park to meet with Myanmar’s Suu Kyi next week
President-elect Park Geun-hye is likely to meet with Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Seoul next week, an official familiar with the issue said Sunday.The planned meeting comes during a five-day trip to South Korea set to begin on Jan. 28 by the Myanmar’s democracy icon. South Korea’s first female president-elect is likely to meet with Suu Kyi around Jan. 29, the official told Yonhap News Agency.The official did not give any further details and asked not to be identified, citing p
Jan. 21, 2013
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Park’s envoys arrive in China
BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― A delegation of special envoys appointed by South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye arrived in Beijing Monday on a four-day visit aimed at bolstering two-way cooperation over North Korea and other bilateral issues.“We came to create an opportunity to build new trust (between South Korea and China),” Kim Moo-sung, the leader of the four-member delegation, told reporters after arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport.Kim, a key manager of Park’s presidential cam
Jan. 21, 2013
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U.N. Security Council set to pass resolution against North Korea
A draft resolution calling for tougher sanctions against North Korea’s December rocket launch is being circulated among members of the U.N. Security Council, who are poised to pass it as early as Wednesday, a Seoul diplomatic source said Monday.“To my knowledge, the draft resolution will be put to a vote early this week and adopted on Wednesday or Thursday (Seoul time), unless there is another variable,” said the source with direct knowledge of the U.N. debate. The Security Council is set to con
Jan. 21, 2013
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Panel pursues Park’s ‘grand unity’ mantra
The following is the eighth in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team. ― Ed.The committee on people’s grand unity was one of the first panels set up by President-elect Park Geun-hye upon her election as she pledged to move beyond the old paradigm of industrialization and democratization and build a cohesive society.And it will be one of the committees expected to remain under the president upon her inauguration, along with the p
Jan. 21, 2013
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Calls mount for river policy revamp
Opposition parties and environmentalists are stepping up calls for a thorough investigation into President Lee Myung-bak’s four-river project after the state auditor reported last week that it was fraught with flaws threatening water quality, ecosystems and biodiversity. On Thursday, the Board of Audit and Inspection raised safety issues concerning dams constructed in the Han, Geum, Yeongsan and Nakdong rivers due to substantial defects in design and construction, which would incur huge maintena
Jan. 20, 2013
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U.S., China strike deal on U.N. rebuke of North Korea
UNITED NATIONS ― The United States and China have struck a tentative deal on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea for its December rocket launch, U.N. diplomats said, and Russia predicted it would be approved by the council.The resolution would not impose new sanctions, but would call for expanding existing U.N. sanctions measures against Pyongyang, the envoys said on condition of anonymity. They added that China’s support for the move would be a significant diplomatic
Jan. 20, 2013
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[Newsmaker] BAI railed for delay of report on 4 rivers
“The Board of Audit and Inspection should be audited and inspected first,” said a TV talk show commentator on Friday, one day after the state agency unveiled the result of its inquiry of the four-river restoration project.The BAI called President Lee Myung-bak’s pet project of damming and dredging “seriously flawed.” Poor design left dams with feeble base structures that could cost hundreds of billions of won each year in maintenance, and blocked water flow that could deteriorate water quality a
Jan. 20, 2013
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Panel to seek more opportunities for women, boost public arts intake
The following is the seventh in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team. ― Ed.The transition committee’s division on women and culture is expected to focus on offering greater opportunities for women, promoting gender equality both at work and home, and expanding state expenditure on cultural programs and activities.As the nation greets its first female president next month, women’s issues have come to the fore. Many expect that
Jan. 20, 2013
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Park to invite 60,000 people to inaugural ceremony
About 60,000 people will be invited to attend President-elect Park Geun-hye’s inaugural ceremony slated for late next month, an official said Sunday, with half of the attendees to be members of the general public.Kim Jin-sun, chief of Park’s presidential inauguration preparatory committee, said about 30,000 ordinary citizens will be chosen via a public registration system to attend the swearing-in ceremony set to take place in a square in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul,
Jan. 20, 2013
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P.M. selection expected this week
President-elect Park Geun-hye is expected to finalize her government reform plans this week by unveiling a new structure of the presidential office and detailed distribution of authorities among ministries in a follow-up of the Cabinet reorganization announced last Tuesday.The incoming leader is also likely to name her prime minister nominee this week before the National Assembly opens its extraordinary session. Since Park’s election, pundits have predicted that a “small and efficient” organizat
Jan. 20, 2013
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Saenuri Rep. Ha calls for bipartisan bill on N. Korea
Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung urged rival parties to put aside differences in their grand approaches to North Korea and reach a compromise to unshackle its people from oppression, based on a shared recognition of human rights as a universal value.Led by the conservative party, a bill supporting North Korean human rights has been languished for more than seven years due to partisan and ideological divides. Ha, one of the most fervent campaigners for freedom in the communist regime, said the
Jan. 20, 2013
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Opposition lawmaker stresses law should help N. Koreans
Democratic United Party lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae stressed that any legislation on North Korean rights should include clauses that directly help them out of their humanitarian and economic quagmire.“What does the legislation on human rights amount to if it does not include food and medicine for the starving people of North Korea?” the opposition lawmaker said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The Grand National Party, precursor to the ruling Saenuri Party, first proposed a bill on North Kore
Jan. 20, 2013