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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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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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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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Talk of pardon as Lee’s term nears its end
President Lee Myung-bak is considering granting a special pardon, his spokesperson said Wednesday, fueling speculations that the outgoing leader may use his power of amnesty to get his brother and close associates out of jail. “There have been many requests from various groups through formal and informal channels for a presidential pardon. (The president) is considering them,” presidential spokesperson Park Jeong-ha told reporters at the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae. “Nothing has been de
Jan. 9, 2013
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President-elect promises better welfare provision for seniors
President-elect Park Geun-hye promised to guarantee a stable life after retirement as a priority in her meeting with representatives of seniors Wednesday.“I believe that it is the country’s obvious responsibility to secure a stable life after retirement for seniors that have dedicated their entire life to family,” Park said in the meeting with the members of the Korea Senior Citizens Association.“I will implement the (relevant) pledges by prioritizing them.”Park, who will assume office on Feb. 2
Jan. 9, 2013
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Panel to lay out political reforms
The following is the third in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team. ―Ed. Political reform was at center stage from the outset of last year’s presidential campaign focused on making the political arena and the government more transparent and accountable.President-elect Park Geun-hye has promised to reduce the privileges and excessive powers of politicians and government bodies and fight the corruption of high-level officials an
Jan. 9, 2013
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Five-term lawmaker chosen to lead main opposition party
The opposition Democratic United Party, on Wednesday selected Moon Hee-sang, a five-term lawmaker and former chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun, to head its interim emergency leadership committee. Critics raise doubt as to whether Moon, considered an old-guard figure, can revive the debilitated party in the wake of its double loss in the April parliamentary and December presidential elections last year. A member of the “pro-Roh” faction within the DUP, Moon will serve until the party
Jan. 9, 2013
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Main opposition party members bicker over picking of interim leader
Rival factions within the main opposition party collided Tuesday over the selection fo an interim leader to handle challenges following the defeat in the presidential poll last month.The Democratic United Party (DUP) has been in disarray since its defeat in the Dec. 19 election. On the eve of a party meeting to pick an interim leader, mainstream and non-mainstream factions exchanged criticism, accused each other of trying to evade responsibility for the election loss.The main conflict is over a
Jan. 8, 2013
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Park to meet with business people, senior citizens
President-elect Park Geun-hye will hold yet another meeting with business people Wednesday to listen to their troubles and ask for cooperation in realizing her vision for a society where big and small enterprises coexist harmoniously, a spokeswoman said.Park will meet with Sohn Kyung-shik, head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other people representing conglomerates, medium- and small-sized businesses, spokeswoman ChoYoon-sun said. It will be Park's fourth meeting with business
Jan. 8, 2013
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Obama nominations raise prospect of more U.S. engagement with N.K.
The prospect of Washington’s engagement with North Korea has increased as U.S. President Barack Obama has tapped two high-profile figures favoring diplomacy to head his foreign policy and security teams.After nominating Democratic Sen. John Kerry as the new secretary of state on Dec. 21, Obama named former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel on Monday to head the Department of Defense for his second four-year term.Both Hagel and Kerry, who are Vietnam War veterans and foreign policy experts, have been a
Jan. 8, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Obama’s Pentagon pick faces fight
Washington is bracing for a fight between the Democrats and Republicans over United States President Barack Obama’s nomination Monday of former two-term Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska as Secretary of Defense.Democrats continue the tradition of nominating a Republican to oversee the Pentagon, but don’t expect Democratic lawmakers to greet Hagel as one of their own. Nor is the Midwestern maverick expected to enjoy support from his former GOP colleagues.One thing is for sure. Hagel will
Jan. 8, 2013
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Team to draw up Park’s government restructuring
The following is the second in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team, which began operation Sunday. ― Ed. One of the most urgent tasks of the presidential transition team is to outline the structure and function of the government to reflect President-elect Park Geun-hye’s vision for a creative, technology-driven economy and a more open, transparent and efficient civil service system. Headed by Sungkyunkwan University professor
Jan. 8, 2013
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Park to enhance security office
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team is considering establishing a top security control tower within the presidential office to replace the current structure divided into national defense and diplomacy. “It will be inevitable to integrate the function but (the role of the senior secretary) will not be abolished and the name of the position may hence be kept,” Kim Jang-soo, former defense minister and representative of the foreign affairs and defense subcommittee, told reporters.Subcom
Jan. 8, 2013
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Defense, SMEs top transition team’s to-do list
Policies on national defense and smaller businesses are first on the agenda to be tackled by President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team as it begins receiving policy briefings from the ministries this Friday.“The (briefing schedule) was arranged so that the new government could clearly present to the people its state philosophy and purpose,” transition team spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said at a press briefing at the committee office in Samcheong-dong, downtown Seoul.The session will last thro
Jan. 8, 2013
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Panel to chart Park’s foreign policy
Following is the first in a series of articles on the major tasks and key members of President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team, which began operation Sunday. ― Ed. From retooling North Korea policy to preparing for retaking wartime operational control, the presidential transition team’s subcommittee on foreign policy, defense and unification is inundated with tough tasks.President-elect Park Geun-hye has appointed former Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo to head the panel that also includes Yu
Jan. 7, 2013
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Park orders transition team to find problems
President-elect Park Geun-hye on Monday called on her transition committee members to focus on assessing the problems in state affairs instead of releasing new policies for a successful handover of government.“It is important not to repeat the errors of the past in order to open the era of people’s happiness,” Park was quoted by spokesman Park Sun-kyoo as saying during its first plenary session.During the meeting, the president-elect said that the current situation of massive change in the globa
Jan. 7, 2013
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Lawmakers on budget panel rush home over criticism
A number of National Assembly budget committee members lambasted for seemingly inappropriate overseas travel have cut their trips short in an effort to handle the fallout. On Sunday, the Saenuri Party’s Rep. Chang Yoon-seok, the chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, cut short an 11-day trip to South American nations and apologized for the controversy the trip caused.“(I) apologize for raising concern among the public,” Chang said in a statement.“In many ways (taking the trip aft
Jan. 7, 2013
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Lawmakers’ retirement fund generates anger among public
It was a New Year’s bounty that was supposed to slip by without much notice, but a retirement fund set aside for lawmakers in the 2013 government budget has incited public anger. The National Assembly passed this year’s 342 trillion won ($321 billion) government budget on Jan. 1 in a 202-40 vote with wide support from both the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party.Included in the budget was 12.8 billion won ($12 million) to pay a monthly pension of 1.2 million won
Jan. 7, 2013
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Park to meet China’s special envoy this week
China will send a special envoy this week to Seoul to meet with South Korea’s President-elect Park Geun-hye, in a visit that is expected to focus on Beijing’s position on a U.N. response to Pyongyang’s rocket launch last month, a senior Seoul official said Monday. The planned visit by Zhang to South Korea comes as China, a key ally of North Korea, is apparently resisting efforts by South Korea and the United States to seek tougher punishment by the U.N. Security Council against the North’s Dec.
Jan. 7, 2013
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Transition team rapped over communication
The transition committee’s tight-lipped schedule and unilateral press briefings are some of the characteristics for which President-elect Park Geun-hye’s communications method is facing criticism.Park’s prioritization of the transition team’s information security is drawing backlash that it leads to the uncommunicative delivery of their messages.Sparking such criticism was Park’s first announcement of her transition committee members, including chairman Kim Yong-joon and two special committees o
Jan. 7, 2013
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Parties likely to extend real estate tax reduction
The real estate acquisition tax reduction looks likely to be extended at the upcoming parliamentary session with the two main political parties agreeing on the need to stimulate the real estate market. “As it (extension of tax reduction) is something the public has anticipated and hoped for, the floor leader should lead the efforts to draw up a logical solution even if there are difficulties in making the decision due to concerns over provincial fiscal conditions,” Saenuri Party chairman Hwang W
Jan. 7, 2013
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Cho named chief secretary to first lady
President Lee Myung-bak on Monday tapped Cho Hyun-jin, his deputy secretary for education, to head the presidential team aiding first lady Kim Yoon-ok.Cho’s understanding of the presidential affairs, sense of responsibility, communication skills and diligence have made him fit for the role of private secretary to the first lady, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.Cho, a former journalist, served as assistant presidential secretary handling the foreign press from Mar
Jan. 7, 2013
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Park launches transition team
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition committee began official operations on Sunday, with 50 days to go until her inauguration.Park and transition officials held a launch ceremony in their headquarters in central Seoul amid tight security. “I hope the transition committee will work with a sense of responsibility. Do your best to become the most exemplary transition team,” she was quoted as saying during the panel’s first official meeting after the ceremony.The process of finalizing the comm
Jan. 6, 2013