Most Popular
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs
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Actors involved in past controversies return first via streaming service originals
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N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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Korea set to finalize medical school expansion plans
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Seoul City to open 'hotel' on river bridge
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Women-led households likely to increase due to delayed marriage
The ratio of women-led households in South Korea will likely increase over the next few decades as many women are delaying marriage and population-aging continues to accelerate, a report showed Tuesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the number of households led by female breadwinners stood at 4.81 million as of April of this year, or 26.8 percent of the total 17.95 million households.The ratio is up from 25.7 percent in 2010 and 18.5 percent tallied in 2000, the report showed.The s
June 26, 2012
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Korean leaders call for easier overseas voting
Leaders of overseas Korean communities on Tuesday called for improvements in the absentee voting process to boost their participation in the December presidential election. They stressed the need for the government to devise new voting methods that are easier yet secure, such as post, proxy or electronic systems. “Many overseas Koreans demand improvements in the system because they have a hard time making two trips to cast their vote between the diplomatic missions and their homes far away,” sai
June 26, 2012
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Korea, Colombia conclude free trade negotiations
South Korea and Colombia on Monday concluded a bilateral free trade agreement, which calls for elimination of tariffs on major trading goods within 10 years. The trade ministers of the two countries signed the deal in Bogota on the sidelines of the discussions between President Lee Myung-bak and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos. If the agreement is ratified, Colombia would become the third free trade partner in Latin America. Korea’s FTAs with Chile and Peru took effect in 2004 and 2
June 26, 2012
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Park, Ahn neck and neck six months ahead of presidential vote: poll
Park Geun-hye, daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, was slightly ahead of Ahn Cheol-soo, software magnate and popular professor, in a new opinion poll of potential candidates for the December presidential vote, the poll showed Monday.Park, a former head of the ruling Saenuri Party, received 45.8 percent of support, compared with 43.8 percent for Ahn, in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up
June 25, 2012
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Saenuri strife escalates as party pushes ahead with primary schedule
Internal strife reached new heights at the ruling Saenuri Party on Monday as the sidelined presidential hopefuls protested the leadership’s intention to stick to the original primary schedule.The move opened up the possibility of the primary becoming a half-full race, as underdogs vowed to ditch the competition unless the primary rules were altered.The broadly pro-Park leadership held a Supreme Council meeting in the morning and afternoon to discuss the original primary schedule as suggested by
June 25, 2012
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Ruling party calls for Assembly session
Saenuri says will convene session on its own if opposition rejects proposalThe ruling Saenuri Party proposed holding a one-day National Assembly session to elect a new speaker and vice speakers amid mounting criticism of a prolonged parliamentary impasse. The party signaled that it would convene the session unilaterally if the main opposition Democratic United Party rejects the proposal.Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, the party’s vice floor leader, urged the main opposition party to hold a special session in
June 25, 2012
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For Moon, image as Roh loyalist a double-edged sword
Prudent, soft-spoken and unwavering in his commitment to political liberalism, Rep. Moon Jae-in is the flag bearer of an opposition group faithful to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.Moon, 59, declared his presidential bid on June 17 pledging to revive principles of fairness, peace and public welfare ― Roh’s core values which he said were severely undermined by the present conservatives in power.The last chief of staff for Roh was among a few who remained faithful throughout his turbulent
June 25, 2012
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Ruling party mulls one-day Assembly session over urgent issues
The ruling Saenuri Party is considering pushing to convene a one-day plenary meeting of the National Assembly to elect a new parliamentary speaker and two vice speakers, officials familiar with the issue said Monday.The Saenuri Party also said it could hold the plenary parliamentary session by itself if the main opposition Democratic United Party and other opposition parties refuse to cooperate, t
June 25, 2012
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Opposition party undeterred by court ruling in favor of large retailers
Three lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic United Party said Sunday they will continue to push the policy of restricting the business of large retailers to protect mom-and-pop stores.The move came two days after the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of five large retailers over new ordinances by two ward offices in Seoul that prohibit them from doing business on the second and fourt
June 24, 2012
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Park Geun-hye stubborn despite tougher offensives
Saenuri set to push ahead with original primary scheduleShunning calls to break her silence on open primaries, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential frontrunner Park Geun-hye appeared adamant on keeping the current rules, as the leadership geared up to finalize the primary schedule this week.Tension is expected to escalate as the broadly pro-Park Supreme Council is reportedly set to finalize the primary schedule in accordance with the existing arty constitution and regulations.Under the party
June 24, 2012
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UPP to elect new leadership amid internal feud
The scandal-ridden Unified Progressive Party is to begin a five day-long leadership election Monday that is expected to set the future of the feuding leftist party.The party is to hold an online vote from Monday to Friday to select a new chairperson and a five-member Supreme Council, which will take over the functions of the current emergency leadership council.The race for the chairmanship is to be a two-way competition between interim chief Kang Ki-kab and Kang Byeong-gi who represents the for
June 24, 2012
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Lee salutes Korean War veterans in Colombia
BOGOTA (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had an emotion-filled meeting with Colombian veterans of the Korean War on Saturday, saluting their life-risking sacrifice to defend the then little-known, faraway nation across the Pacific.A wave of emotion swept through a Bogota hotel ballroom as tearful veterans spoke of their wartime experiences and how proud they felt to see the war-ravaged nation they shed blood for miraculously rising as one of the world’s largest economies.“The
June 24, 2012
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DUP follows Saenuri in cutting lawmaker privileges
The Democratic United Party on Sunday announced plans to reduce privileges afforded to lawmakers, as rival parties compete for stronger self-reform measures in the hope of winning public support.The ruling Saenuri Party got a head start earlier this month by releasing a six-point plan aimed to curb lawmakers’ privileges. They included abolishment of pension, waiving the privilege of freedom from arrest, and prohibiting lawmakers from profit-generating posts outside the National Assembly. Saenuri
June 24, 2012
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Lee pays tribute to Korean War dead in Colombia
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak paid tribute to Colombian troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and met with their family members and veterans Saturday as he began a state visit to the wartime ally.The trip was the first state visit to the country by a South Korean leader.Flanked by Colombia's defense minister, a solemn-faced Lee marked a moment of silence then offered a wreath at a Korean
June 24, 2012
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Korea, Russia team up on weather forecasts
MOSCOW (Yonhap News) ― South Korea and Russia agreed Friday to strengthen meteorological cooperation for the upcoming Winter Olympics that the two countries will host separately in 2014 and 2018, South Korea’s weather agency said.Under the agreement, the two sides will share technology related to making weather forecasts, exchange meteorological experts and jointly take part in international programs seeking to boost meteorological cooperation, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said
June 22, 2012
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Lee denounces pro-N. Korea forces
SANTIAGO (Yonhap News) ― South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday that toeing North Korea’s lines is “behind the times” and most South Koreans know better than to believe pro-Pyongyang rhetoric.Lee made the remark during a meeting with South Korean residents in Chile, assuring them not to worry about the so-called “pro-North Korea” forces in their homeland.Criticism of pro-North Korean sympathizers has risen sharply in South Korea in recent months after some newly elected lawmakers of
June 22, 2012
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Gyeonggi Gov. Kim threatens to boycott Saenuri primary
Gyeonggi Governor and presidential hopeful Kim Moon-soo on Friday threatened to boycott the Saenuri Party’s presidential nomination race, upping the ante against frontrunner Park Geun-hye in disputes over primary rules.“I won’t participate in the primary process, if (my demand for) an open primary system is not accepted,” Kim said on a radio program. “But I won’t go as far as leaving (the party).”He didn’t elaborate on whether he would be giving up the presidential bid altogether. The governor
June 22, 2012
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Provocative ‘Dokdo’ post erected in Seoul irks Koreans
A Japanese conservative activist has angered the Korean people for attempting to set up a provocative wooden post in the heart of Seoul to lay claim to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, police said Friday.The man, known as Nobuyuki Suzuki, is accused of tying a post with the phrase Dokdo is Japanese territory to a symbolic statue of a wartime Korean sex slave in front of the Japanese embassy in downtown Seoul Tuesday, police said, adding the post was immediately removed and an investiga
June 22, 2012
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Lee beefs up green growth drive
President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday beefed up efforts to advance Korea’s green growth drive by pledging larger development aid for it and enlisting more support for its bid to host the headquarters of a U.N. climate fund.Speaking at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Lee reiterated that green growth was a core strategy to weather global challenges.“We need green growth to realize sustainable development while responding to global challenges such as the eco
June 21, 2012
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Calls grow for probe into ex-N.K. bomber’s claim
Calls are growing within the ruling Saenuri Party to open a special probe into the recent claims by former North Korean spy Kim Hyon-hui that the Roh Moo-hyun administration attempted to manipulate her as being bogus.Kim, a former North Korean operative responsible for the bombing of the Korean Air flight in 1987, claimed in a recent television interview that the former administration attempted to make her out as a fraud ― saying that she was not really a North Korean operator ― while trying to
June 21, 2012