Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
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Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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Budget process revives scourge of old politics
The nation’s politicians appear to be still mired in populism and vulnerable to special interests despite much-touted pledges of political reform.The National Assembly’s year set off Tuesday with the delayed passage of the budget which included pork-barrel funding at the expense of security, research and other crucial national projects.The 342 trillion won ($321 billion) spending plan was approved after hours of wrangling over the funding for the naval base on Jeju.The approval came a month afte
Jan. 2, 2013
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[Newsmaker] Yoon’s selection starts with controversy
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team is receiving criticism even before it is launched.At the center of the controversy is Yoon Chang-jung, a journalist-turned-columnist with vulgarity to match his radical conservativeness.Park’s appointment of Yoon as her senior spokesperson on Dec. 24 came as a complete surprise to all.Yoon was one of the most active columnists during the election, making such over-the-top comments as calling progressives “anti-Korean forces,” or former conservative
Jan. 2, 2013
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P.M. calls for national unity for new year
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday called on government officials to strive to achieve national unity, a key ideal to make the country a better place.“Our society experiences fast-spreading conflicts among different classes and along generational and ideological lines, which splits public opinion,” Kim said during the government’s kick-off meeting for 2013.“If we fail to overcome these divisional factors, we will neither be able to achieve the advanced, top-class country status nor win li
Jan. 2, 2013
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Japan P.M. tells envoy to improve ties with Korea
TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday told his special envoy to Seoul to work to improve ties with South Korea, describing it as Tokyo’s most important neighbour, media reports said.Abe plans to dispatch veteran lawmaker and former finance minister Fukushiro Nukaga to Seoul to see president-elect Park Geun-Hye on Friday in an attempt to improve relations soured by a rumbling row over disputed islands.Abe, who took office last week, met Nukaga at his private house and instru
Jan. 2, 2013
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New taxi bill presents conundrums for Lee
To deny the rare display of bipartisanship would be a slap in the face, but to agree to the new taxi bill, a chain of actions could be triggered to hurt the government’s commitment to fiscal health.With less than two months remaining in office, President Lee Myung-bak is faced with the tough choice of whether to sign a new taxi regulation into law, which will test his finesse for statesmanship one last time.It was passed in the National Assembly on Jan. 1 with overwhelming bipartisan support. Th
Jan. 2, 2013
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Transition team to be launched this week at the earliest
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team could be launched within this week with the personnel line-up taking shape, sources said Wednesday."The list of the remaining members of the committee will be released within the next two to three days at the latest," said Yoon Chang-jung, spokesman for the transition team. On Wednesday, Park remained at her residence in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, going over her choices for the team that will be in charge of designing the new government’s organ
Jan. 2, 2013
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Putin urges Russians to be benevolent
Vladimir Putin, eight months into his third term as president, urged fellow Russians Tuesday to be more “responsive and benevolent” in the New Year.In a message delivered shortly after midnight, Putin talked about love of family and country, RIA Novosti reported. His brief speech was short on specifics.Putin said at the end of the year everyone becomes more conscious of how time is “fleeting.” “We should become more responsive and benevolent, more generous and caring toward our loved ones, our c
Jan. 2, 2013
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Park’s transition team still in the making
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team is struggling to set sail nearly two weeks after the election, as critics took issue with her lack of communication and verification after her appointments of controversial figures accused of divisive remarks and ethical lapses.On Monday, Park’s committee chief Kim Yong-joon announced that the transition committee will be comprised of nine subcommittees. They are to be in charge of planning and coordination of state affairs; political affairs; fore
Jan. 1, 2013
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Parliament passes welfare-laden budget
The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a 342 trillion won budget for this year which includes the nation’s largest-ever amount of social spending in line with President-elect Park Geun-hye’s plans to improve health, education and welfare for low-income households. About 100 trillion won, nearly one-third of the total, has been set aside for welfare, buttressing Seoul’s move toward a welfare state. The president-elect has vowed to strengthen the social safety net and improve people’s livelihoo
Jan. 1, 2013
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Park's transition team to be made up of 9 subcommittees
President-elect Park Geun-hye's transition committee will be made up of nine subcommittees handling political affairs, foreign policy, the economy and various social issues, the committee's chief said Monday.Kim Yong-joon, the former Constitutional Court chief, who was named last week to lead Park's transition team, did not, however, announce any of the members of the committees."It will take some time before the appointments are made because of the steps involved," Kim told reporters at the hea
Dec. 31, 2012
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Lee expresses hope for overcoming global economic slump
utgoing President Lee Myung-bak said Monday he believes South Korea will be the first country to see the "bright light at the end of the dark tunnel" of the global economic slump if the nation works hard with his successor Park Geun-hye.Lee made the remark in his New Year's message, using an ancient adage made up of four Chinese characters, "Sudoseonbu," which meansa large ship automatically floats up if water levels rise. Lee used ship and rising water to refer to South Korea and its national s
Dec. 31, 2012
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South Korea, U.S. move forward on nuclear pact
South Korea and its U.S. ally have almost reached an agreement on further exchanges in nuclear power technology, bringing them a step closer toward revising the bilateral nuclear accord that is set to expire in 2014.The technology sharing also involves joint research on pyroprocessing, a method of reprocessing spent fuel from nuclear reactors.Both sides have concluded talks and are going through an internal process for documentation, a process that will take about a month, a South Korean governm
Dec. 30, 2012
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Blue House helping vet Park’s personnel
President-elect Park Geun-hye is collaborating with Cheong Wa Dae in vetting her personnel selections, her spokesman Park Sun-kyoo said Sunday, amid speculation that a dedicated team will be established within her secretariat once the transition committee is launched.“We need to take care of vetting, but at present we are collaborating with Cheong Wa Dae’s verification team. Cheong Wa Dae tends to have files on noteworthy individuals, and cooperation is provided as needed,” Park Sun-kyoo told re
Dec. 30, 2012
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Political reform tops Park’s domestic agenda
The 18th presidential election brought cries across the board for political reform. All major candidates vowed to mend Korea’s political system, fight high-level corruption and bridge the deepening divides among electorates, regions and generations. Park Geun-hye’s election is generally attributed to her resolve to push drastic changes in politics, long experience in the parliament and her track record of keeping her promises.Political reform is expected to dominate her early domestic agenda aft
Dec. 30, 2012
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Park could name more members of transition team Sunday: spokesman
President-elect Park Geun-hye could name more members of her transition committee this weekend, her spokesman said Saturday.On Thursday, Park named former Constitutional Court chief Kim Yong-joon to lead her transition team and appointed several other people to serve in senior positions within the committee.She made her first appointments as president-elect on Monday by naming her chief of staff, senior spokesman and two other spokespeople."President-elect Park still has to make her final decisi
Dec. 29, 2012
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Rival parties close to agreement on next year's budget
The ruling and opposition parties came close to agreement Friday on major contentious points in next year's budget, an official said, paving the way for the National Assembly to pass the budget bill before the deadline just three days away. The leaders of the parliamentary budget committee -- Rep. Kim Hack-yong of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Choi Jae-sung of the main opposition Democratic United Party -- worked out nearly all differences when they met at the National Assembly, said the
Dec. 28, 2012
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Centrist lawmaker picked as DUP floor leader
The main opposition Democratic United Party on Friday elected neutral third-term lawmaker Rep. Park Ki-choon as its new floor leader. In a run-off vote, the incumbent vice floor leader beat Rep. Shin Geh-ryoon, representing the party’s dominant faction of loyalists to the former President Roh Moo-hyun.Park, 56, replaces Rep. Park Jie-won, who resigned last week over the party’s defeat in the presidential election.The new whip is to serve until May to fill the remainder of Park’s one-year term.Hi
Dec. 28, 2012
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Foreign, former opposition figures selected for Park’s transition committee
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s choice of members for her transition committee drew public attention as they included former political enemies, non-ethnic Korean and celebrity figures.Park, through her spokesman, announced the first batch of the lineup for the transition committee on Thursday including Han Gwang-ok, former lawmaker and a close aide to former president Kim Dae-jung; John Linton, director of the Severance Hospital International Health Care Center; Kim Joong-tae, former president o
Dec. 28, 2012
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Lee , Park discuss power transition
President Lee Myung-bak promised full support to ensure a smooth power transition during a meeting with President-elect Park Geun-hye on Friday.They also agreed to cooperate to implement the incoming leader’s plans to increase welfare of low-income citizens.Their one-on-one meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was the first since the president and then ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate had a luncheon meeting on Sept. 2. During the 40-minute meeting, Park called for government support in passing
Dec. 28, 2012
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Park, Australian PM pledge close cooperation during phone call
South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed Friday that the two countries should cooperate closely on various international stages, including the United Nations, a spokeswoman said. During a 12-minute phone conversation, Gillard congratulated Park on her election last week as South Korea's first female president, saying she is very happy to work with another female leader from Asia, according to Park's spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun. Park expressed
Dec. 28, 2012