Most Popular
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‘Gimflation’ in S. Korea as dried seaweed prices grow on rising global demand
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S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD
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Yoon to resume diplomatic activity via 3-way summit with Japan, China
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SM, YG Entertainment’s K-pop groups benefit from troubles at Hybe
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South Korea unveils W26tr support program for chip industry
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S. Korea to hold rotating presidency of UN Security Council next month
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Yoon rejects Lee's proposal for pension reform talks
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Student nabbed for biking naked 'due to stress'
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Police arrest mastermind behind last year's palace vandalism
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Chonnam international student found dead
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Former chief of staff declares presidential bid
Yim Tae-hee, a self-professed moderate and former chief of staff for President Lee Myung-bak, announced his bid for the presidency on Tuesday, pledging to vanguard a move to “demolish outdated politics.”“I wish to create a world where it is not about a battle among the powers and regions or a war of taking and being taken, but a place where there is no need for a loser in a race to become afraid,” Yim, 56, said at a press conference held at the SK Hall of the Graduate School of Business at Seoul
May 8, 2012
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Strife deepening in progressive party
UPP co-leader Lee steps ups criticism of fact-finding panelInternal strife continued in the minority left-wing Unified Progressive Party as Lee Jung-hee, one of the co-chairs and leader of the party mainstream attacked the fact-finding committee.She also infuriated liberal circles by comparing the party’s feud to the prosecutorial probe which allegedly drove former President Roh Moo-hyun to his death in 2009.Lee’s reference to Roh especially incensed Ryu Si-min, another co-chair of the party and
May 8, 2012
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UPP friction reveals far-left problems
Party’s core rejects internal probe findings, calls for leadership to quitAt the center of the ugly tussle inside the Unified Progressive Party is a group of left-wing extremists who have failed to grow out of their old days of student activism, political observers said Monday.The mainstream faction, known as the “National Liberation” group, is accused of having rigged the party’s internal vote to pick proportional representative candidates to help their members win the top seeds on the party li
May 7, 2012
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Nine Saenuri contenders vie for top job in TV debate
The nine contestants for the ruling Saenuri Party’s chairmanship participated in the first TV debate Monday ahead of the leadership election next Tuesday.Their discussion centered on the party’s strategy to win the December presidential election, economic and welfare policies and measures to restore unity in the party stricken by factional strife.Next week’s chairperson race is expected to be an easy victory for the party’s incumbent floor leader Rep. Hwang Woo-yea.The former judge, since he too
May 7, 2012
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Lee replaces deputy chiefs of spy agency
President Lee Myung-bak on Monday tapped South Korea’s Ambassador to Canada Nam Joo-hong as the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service in a reshuffle that affected six vice-ministerial posts.Cheong Wa Dae said that Nam, a well-known security expert, was suitable for the post considering his professionalism and expertise in security and unification affairs and his sense of responsibility and integrity. As for the second NIS deputy director post, Lee named Cha Moon-hee, senior
May 7, 2012
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Park GH regains ground in polls
Rep. Park Geun-hye, interim leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, is ahead of entrepreneur-turned-professor Ahn Cheol-soo in recent popularity polls on potential presidents.The polls indicated that she regained lost ground after helping the conservative party recover from corruption scandals and leading it to achieve an upset victory in the April general elections, analysts said.In a poll by local pollster Media Research, Park garnered 47.2 percent, with Ahn at 42.1 percent in a one-on-one race. I
May 7, 2012
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Lee’s fraternity faces breakdown
The once-unstoppable fraternity of key aides hailing from President Lee Myung-bak’s hometown of Pohang appears to be on the brink of collapse.The lineup of Lee’s key associates, popularly referred to as the “Yeongpo line” is again embroiled in a major bribery scandal involving an alleged cash-for-favors deal for a construction project named Picity.“Yeongpo” stands for Yeongil of Pohang, in North Gyeongsang Province. Although Lee was born in Osaka, Japan, he grew up in Pohang.Purportedly led by L
May 6, 2012
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Factional fighting deepens in Unified Progressive Party
Factional conflict in the Unified Progressive Party over a vote-rigging scandal deepened on Sunday as the far-left party’s mainstreamers refused to accept its decision-making panel’s recommendation designed to shore up public trust.The party’s national steering committee recommended on Saturday that its leadership resign and 14 candidates on its proportional representation list withdraw, including three lawmakers-elect.The committee reached the decision during an online session to quickly contai
May 6, 2012
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Ex-Incheon mayor joins Saenuri presidential race
Ahn Sang-soo, former mayor of Incheon, said Sunday that he will run for the presidency on the ruling Saenuri Party’s ticket. “I will work to relieve people from the burden of debt and make Korea a more livable place,” he told a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. Ahn, mayor of the western port city from 2002 to 2010, claimed that he has proven governing capability and economic skills. He served as a member of the National Assembly before being elected mayor. By declaring his can
May 6, 2012
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N.K., China discuss Kim Jong-un’s travel to Beijing
North Korea has reportedly discussed with China the possibility of its fledgling leader Kim Jong-un visiting Beijing within this year in an apparent move to gain more economic and political support from its largest patron.Citing sources both in Pyongyang and Beijing, Japan’s Nihon Geizai Shimbun reported on Sunday that the North’s Worker’s Party’s international affairs secretary, Kim Yong-il, delivered Kim Jong-un’s wish to visit China during his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao last month
May 6, 2012
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One-horse race for Saenuri top job
Rep. Hwang Woo-yea expected to win party vote easilyProminent figures in the ruling Saenuri Party have set out to challenge for the new leadership in the imminent in-party election, with the party’s reform-inclined floor leader taking a commanding lead.There are nine members listed as candidates but most are eying Supreme Council membership as Rep. Hwang Woo-yea is expected to easily win the chairmanship.The right-wing party is to hold its national convention next Tuesday to elect a five-member
May 6, 2012
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N.K. acts like misbehaving child: Lee
President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday likened North Korea to a misbehaving child for ignoring the advice of other countries in regards to the launching of its long-range rocket.In a question and answer session held on the lawn of the presidential residence Cheong Wa Dae to mark Children’s Day, the chief executive told children invited to the gathering that the global community had unanimously urged the North not to test its rocket.“Unfortunately the North did not listen to such advice,” he said, a
May 6, 2012
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UPP lawmaker-elect quits over election fraud
Yoon Geum-soon, a lawmaker-elect of the Unified Progressive Party, on Friday withdrew from the party list amid escalating criticism of vote-rigging in the minority party’s nomination race. The civic activist was in the top spot of the UPP’s proportional representatives for the April 11 parliamentary elections.Her exit fell short of containing the crisis as public antipathy is mounting toward the party, which claimed to epitomize grassroots democracy. The prosecution is set to open an investigati
May 4, 2012
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Park picked as opposition’s new floor leader
The Democratic United Party on Friday elected veteran politician Rep. Park Jie-won as their new floor leader as they brace for an uphill battle against the ruling Saenuri Party in the incoming parliament and presidential election at the end of this year.The right-hand man of late President Kim Dae-jung will double as the chair of the main opposition party’s emergency committee, which will be replaced by new leaders chosen at the national convention slated for June 9.Park came out the winner of a
May 4, 2012
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Korea to proceed with two new reactors
The government is going ahead with two new reactors even as citizen groups oppose more use of atomic energy in the wake of a local plant failure and the Fukushima Dai-Ichi disaster in Japan.State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. had a ground breaking ceremony Friday in Uljin, 315 kilometers (196 miles) southeast of Seoul, to commence building the two 1,400-megawatt reactors after the government awarded licenses in December, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.President Lee Myung-bak attend
May 4, 2012
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Former speaker pleads guilty
Former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae reportedly pleaded guilty to charges that he ordered his aide to give money to a lawmaker before a ruling party leadership election.Park resigned in February after lawmaker Koh Seung-duk alleged that Park’s secretary left an envelope containing 3 million won in his office, possibly seeking his vote for Park in an election to choose the chair of the then-Grand National Party in 2008. He and two aides were indicted in the same month for violation of th
May 4, 2012
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‘Eternal chief of staff’ takes DUP helm
New leadership faces complicated challenges ahead of presidential raceThe new leadership of the main opposition Democratic United Party has finally begun to take shape upon the election of Rep. Park Jie-won as the new floor leader on Friday.If Park’s bid to become the next floor leader was tough, the challenges ahead will be even tougher, observers said, as he needs to regroup the factionalized party voices, realign party polices and advocate for a presidential candidate to go up against the rul
May 4, 2012
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DUP elects new floor leader amid criticism
The main opposition Democratic United Party elected a veteran lawmaker, who leads one of its biggest factions, as the new floor leader Friday despite criticism he ran for the post after a backroom power-sharing deal with another faction.Rep. Park Jie-won beat rival candidate Yoo Ihn-tae in a run-off with 67 votes against Yoo's 60. Two other contenders, Reps. Lee Nak-yon and Jun Byung-hun, were eli
May 4, 2012
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Lawmaker-elect of left-wing minor party to quit over election scandal
The left-wing minor opposition Unified Progressive Party (UPP), disgraced by an election fraud scandal, appears to be plunging deeper into crisis as one of its lawmakers elected through the proportional representation system offered to resign Friday.Yoon Geum-soon, who was ranked first of the UPP's proportional representation candidates, said she will take responsibility for suspected vote rigging
May 4, 2012
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Former speaker Park pleads guilty
Park Hee-tae (Yonhap News)Former National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae reportedly pleaded guilty to charges that he ordered his aide to provide money to a lawmaker before a ruling party leadership election.Park resigned in February after lawmaker Koh Seung-duck alleged that Park’s secretary left an envelope containing 3 million won in his office, possibly seeking his vote for Park in an election
May 4, 2012