Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Absentee voting begins for April 11 elections
Absentee voting for next week’s general elections began across the country on Thursday and will continue through Friday.Pre-registered voters began casting their absentee ballots at 542 polling stations, the National Election Commission said, noting that voting hours are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.Voters are required to bring two absentee ballots ― one for their preferred candidate and the other for their chosen party ― sent by the commission beforehand, it said. Ballots marked outside of the pol
April 5, 2012
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Election watchdog issues rare rebuke to ministry
The election watchdog issued a rare rebuke to the finance ministry Thursday for violating its duty to remain neutral in the lead-up to next week’s general elections, after the ministry announced a critical review of welfare promises from political parties.The National Election Commission said the ministry’s highlighting of the negative side of campaign pledges could distort election outcomes by unfairly influencing voters just seven days before the elections. It urged the ministry to abide by it
April 5, 2012
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Ex-ruling party reformers put up tough fight
Political observers’ eyes are on whether two reformers who defected from the ruling Saenuri Party will be able to win seats in next week’s election and bring new voices to the bipartisan political structure.Reps. Jeong Tae-keun and Kim Song-sik are running for office as independent candidates in the northern Seongbuk-A and the southwestern Gwanak-A constituency in Seoul.The two reform-inclined conservatives broke away from the ruling party in December, claiming that the party’s renewal efforts w
April 5, 2012
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Saenuri seen holding onto Gangnam
Nearly half of races in capital, Gyeonggi and Incheon too close to callThis is the fifth in a series of articles on the April 11 general election. ― Ed. Nearly half of the races in Seoul and its suburbs were seen as too close to call Thursday, just one week before the election on April 11. With the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party intensifying their mudslinging over an illegal surveillance scandal, the electorate appears unlikely to give either a clear-cut vic
April 5, 2012
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Prying into entertainers’ lives draws stir
Entertainers claim intelligence agents kept them on watchThe recent revelation of the administration’s illegal surveillance on TV personalities is creating a public stir and emerging as another hot potato of the April 11 general election campaign.The first that came to light was popular TV host Kim Je-dong. Kim, who hosted a commemorative event for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2009 and has been classified as a liberal celebrity since, as revealed on Wednesday, he had been watched ov
April 5, 2012
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SNS campaigning a double-edged sword
The following is the fourth in a series of articles on the April 11 general elections. ― Ed.Social networking services are being fully employed in political campaigns for the first time this year. The decision has been welcomed by some politicians and supporters, but the developments may yet prove to be a double-edged sword. On Dec. 29, the Constitutional Court ruled that limiting the use of social networking services in election campaigns was unconstitutional, opening new horizons for would-be
April 4, 2012
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Civilian spying scandal sways undecided voters
The ongoing scandal of the government’s secret surveillance of civilians is having an effect on voters with less than a week until the 19th parliamentary elections.As rival parties continued to blame one another, swing voters have started to make up their mind in favor of either the ruling Saenuri Party or the opposition, making competition fiercer in many crucial constituencies.According to a poll conducted for the JoongAng Ilbo earlier this week, only 21.9 percent of respondents remained neutr
April 4, 2012
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Memoirs offer glimpse into N.K. abuses
Defectors still haunted by potent memories of torture after repatriationIt has been more than a decade since Choi Young-hak defected to South Korea from the North. But traumatic memories of the torture he suffered in what he dubs the “valley of death” continue to haunt him.Choi crossed the border with China in 1998, risking his life to escape hunger and suppression in the communist state. But only two weeks later, he was caught by Chinese security officers and repatriated. He was 24 years old.Af
April 4, 2012
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Surveillance scandal grows, key figures arrested
The surveillance schemes of current and previous administrations may have been backed by highly influential figures.According to reports citing unnamed Cheong Wa Dae and Prime Minister’s Office officials, a highly influential figure of the Roh administration ordered Jang Jin-su and others of the investigation division of the PMO to destroy surveillance reports. The PMO’s investigation department under the Roh administration is alleged to have compiled large amounts of surveillance reports. Jang
April 4, 2012
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Ruling party chastises opposition candidate for foul language
The ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday chastised an opposition candidate running in next week's parliamentary elections for a series of vile sexual remarks aimed at former U.S. President George W. Bush, among others.Kim Yong-min, a candidate of the Democratic United Party (DUP), has drawn fire for his foul remarks on Internet radio and prompted the Saenuri Party earlier in the day to issue a statem
April 4, 2012
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Two former presidential secretaries arrested in civilian spying case
A Seoul court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two former presidential secretaries on charges of instructing the destruction of evidence in an illegal surveillance of a businessman critical of President Lee Myung-bak years ago, court officials said.Lee Young-ho, 48, a former presidential secretary for employment and labor affairs, is accused of ordering an ethics division official of the Prim
April 4, 2012
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Cheong Wa Dae says Roh administration concealed surveillance
Cheong Wa Dae made new claims that the Roh Moo-hyun administration conducted extensive surveillance and destroyed the evidence before the handover of power in 2008.According to reports citing an unnamed high-level official within the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae officials have found that evidence of surveillance was systematically destroyed before the current administration took over.“Looking into the documents compiled by the investigation division, there is evidence that officials of the
April 3, 2012
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Seoul races in dead heat: polls
Rivals fast regaining support in traditional strongholds after surveillance scandalThe upcoming parliamentary election is looking increasingly like a toss-up, even as rival political parties quickly consolidate their traditional support base after an explosive political scandal.With just one week to go before the election, opinion polls still put the distance between rivals ― the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party ― within the margin of error, while the bloc of
April 3, 2012
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Celebrities campaign for candidates
With the crucial parliamentary elections just a week away amid the elevating electoral mood, various celebrities busied themselves supporting party candidates, either out of political beliefs or based on personal relationships.The Democratic United Party and Unified Progressive Party earlier launched an official group of 12 political mentors, including Seoul National University law professor Cho Kuk, novelist Gong Ji-young and former KBS president Jung Yun-joo.Among them, the most prominent is C
April 3, 2012
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Presidential aspirants strive to gain foothold
Win in general elections expected to boost their presidential prospectsThe following is the third in a series of articles on the April 11 general elections. ― Ed.Presidential hopefuls are striving to secure their foothold in the changing political landscape ahead of the upcoming general elections, seen as a crucial gauge of public sentiment prior to the presidential election in December.Competition among them appears stiffer than ever as the parliamentary and presidential elections are to take p
April 3, 2012
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Turnout low for S. Korea‘s overseas voting in New York
South Korea’s overseas voting in New York wrapped up with low voter turnout, with less than four out of 10 registered voters in the area participating in the April general elections, officials said Monday.The Overseas Voting National Election Commission in New York said 1,745, or 37.89 percent, out of 4,606 registered voters, cast their ballots at a South Korean mission here during the six-day voting period which began Wednesday. “We expected that over 40 percent of registered voters would turn
April 3, 2012
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Presidential aspirants strive to gain firm foothold in elections
Presidential aspirants strive to gain firm foothold in electionsWin in general elections expected to boost their presidential prospectsThe following is the third in a series of articles on the April 11 general elections. -- Ed.By Song Sang-hoPresidential hopefuls are striving to secure their foothold in the changing political landscape ahead of the upcoming general elections, seen as a crucial gauge of public sentiment prior to the presidential election in December.Competition among them appears
April 3, 2012
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Rival parties in dogfight over spying scandal
Ruling party calls for special counsel to probe Roh, Lee governments; opposition rejects proposalRival parties clashed over the scandal involving government officials spying on civilians, with the ruling party trying to distance itself from the current government and the opposition attempting to further implicate the presidential office and the ruling party.The ruling Saenuri Party on Monday called for a special investigation of both the current and previous administrations, saying that most of
April 2, 2012
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Young voters may sway April 11 poll
The following is the second in a series of articles on the April 11 general elections. ― Ed.Um Tae-jun didn’t bother to vote in several past elections. But this time, the 29-year-old engineer says that he definitely will. The reason for his change: a political podcast that he has been listening to for the past few months. Um, like many other Koreans in their 20s, is an ardent fan of the anti-President Lee Myung-bak podcast “Naneun Ggomsuda (I’m a petty-minded creep).” “Like Kim Ou-joon said, I n
April 2, 2012
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Lee supports World Bank president nominee
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed strong support Monday for Jim Yong Kim, the nominee for World Bank president, saying he believes the Korean-born health and development expert is the right person to lead and reform the global institution.Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Kim, president of Dartmouth College, as the next leader of the World Bank. Kim is expected to be formally chosen as president of the institution tasked with reducing poverty and supporting developme
April 2, 2012