Most Popular
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May
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[Graphic News] Beer the most favored alcoholic drink by Koreans
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Science Ministry expresses regret over Japan’s pressure on Naver
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Haeundae Beach to become sand art museum in late May
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Police officer jumps barefoot into drainage tunnel to save man
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Yoon interacts with public for 1st time since election defeat
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Lee Sun-kyun's posthumuous film to hit theaters in August
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GNP starts action on FTA bill
(Yonhap)The ruling Grand National Party moved to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S. on its own Wednesday, submitting the bill for a committee-level vote, but abadoned the meeting after opposition lawmakers physically opposed it. Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs
Nov. 2, 2011
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Unification minister heads to U.S. to coordinate N.K. policy
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik headed to the United States Wednesday to meet U.S. officials and members of Congress over the allies' joint stance on North Korea and other issues.During his six-day visit to Washington and New York, Yu plans to exchange views on
Nov. 2, 2011
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Ruling party rules out using speaker's authority for FTA vote
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- The floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) Wednesday opposed using the Assembly speaker's authority to pass the long-pending free trade deal with the United States on the floor, saying a unilateral passage would cause distrust in party politics.Since the U.S.
Nov. 2, 2011
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GNP moves for floor vote on U.S. FTA
DP demands Lee’s promise to renegotiate ISD clause with ObamaThe Grand National Party on Tuesday was moving to have a floor vote on whether to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S., as a parliamentary subcommittee was unable to deliberate the bill due to physical obstruction from the opposition. According to reports, GNP leaders were discussing ways to have the FTA bill by-pass the foreign affairs and trade committee. The committee delayed handling of the bill to Wednesday, after oppositio
Nov. 1, 2011
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Probe targets agricultural co-ops
Investigators seek to stamp out corruption to protect small-sum depositorsProsecutors are investigating possible corruption at regional agricultural cooperatives, turning their focus away from local savings banks amid concerns that co-op irregularities could impact the livelihoods of citizens.Investigators recently discovered that a cooperative in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province raked in tidy sums after it illicitly raised its interest rates without consent from borrowers, sources at the Supreme Pro
Nov. 1, 2011
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Gas pipeline, N.K. on Lee-Medvedev agenda
S. Korean leader to speak on cooperation at St. Petersburg State UniversityPresident Lee Myung-bak arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday for summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during which the two are expected to discuss a natural gas pipeline project and North Korea.Lee has since September expressed a strong intent to bring about a preliminary deal signed between the Korea Gas Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom in 2008 to pipe Siberian natural gas from Vladivostok to South Korea via the
Nov. 1, 2011
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Ex-lawmaker tapped as vice Seoul mayor for political affairs
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Tuesday tapped former lawmaker Kim Hyeong-joo as vice mayor for political affairs, finalizing his choices for the three vice mayor positions.Park also named his election campaign’s chief secretary Ki Dong-min as a head of the metropolitan government’s political coordination division. Ki formerly served as the DP’s vice spokesperson. Kim Hyeong-joo was also a key campaigner for Park in last month’s by-election. He served as a lawmaker of the then Uri Party, a predeces
Nov. 1, 2011
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Park picks jobs as welfare policy keyword
Leading presidential hopeful expected to play active role for party to regain public trustAmid the Grand National Party’s efforts to refurbish its image after the Seoul mayoral by-election defeat, former chairwoman Rep. Park Geun-hye outlined her welfare policy, gearing up for next year’s presidential race.“The fundamental solution to pending welfare problems is to turn the current vicious cycle into a virtuous one,” said Park at a party seminar Tuesday.She also suggested employment as the keywo
Nov. 1, 2011
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GNP moves to push FTA ratification bill
DP demands Lee’s word on ISD deletion The Grand National Party on Tuesday was moving to have a floor vote on whether to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S., as a parliamentary subcommittee was unable to deliberate the bill due to strong opposition objections. According to reports, GNP leaders were discussing ways to have the FTA bill by-pass the foreign affairs and trade committee. The committee delayed handling of the FTA ratification bill to Wednesday, after opposition members physical
Nov. 1, 2011
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S. Korea plans to create 55 trillion won fund for unification with N. Korea
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea policy said his government is planning to set up a fund as early as this year to start raising 55 trillion won ($49.4 billion) to help pay for its eventual reunification with the North. "Government agencies are near an agreement o
Nov. 1, 2011
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Gov't to reinforce welfare for ailing veterans, patriots
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- The government will provide free respite care service to aged and ailing veterans and patriots under a bill that the Cabinet approved Tuesday to improve the welfare of those people, officials said.Under the program, caregivers will visit homes of veterans and patriots who a
Nov. 1, 2011
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Public-sector salaries likely to increase 2.5 percent next year
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- Salaries of workers at South Korea's state-run companies and other public institutions will likely grow about 2.5 percent next year, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said that it will hold a meeting next week and produce guidelines on which such public agenci
Nov. 1, 2011
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Vietnamese leader to make state visit to Korea next week
President Lee Myung-bak will hold summit talks next week with Vietnamese President Trong Tan Sang, who will make a three-day state visit, Lee’s office said Monday.The two leaders will exchange views on bilateral cooperation in foreign policy, security, energy and resource development as well as economic and trade ties at the summit next Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release. During his visit, Sang is scheduled to visit Korea’s industrial facilities, meet with Korean business leaders to
Oct. 31, 2011
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Former PM acquitted of receiving illegal political funds
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first-ever female prime minister was acquitted on Monday of receiving illegal political funds, a decision expected to help her clear barriers to her political aspirations.Han Myeong-sook, who worked as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 under the late liber
Oct. 31, 2011
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Lee off to Russia, Cannes for talks
President Lee Myung-bak is set to leave for St. Petersburg Tuesday to hold summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before heading to Cannes to attend the G20 Summit.At the summit with Medvedev on Wednesday, Lee will discuss bilateral cooperation while talks are underway between the Korea Gas Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom, as well as between Gazprom and its North Korean counterpart on piping Siberian gas to South Korea via North Korea.Lee will fly over to Cannes, France, later Wednesday
Oct. 31, 2011
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Cheong Wa Dae shake-up looms large
Lee’s chief of staff says he will step down in Dec. after budget bill, FTA passesCheong Wa Dae was scrambling to deal with mounting pressure over last week’s defeat in the mayoral by-election, with its chief of staff saying he will quit after the National Assembly passes the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement bill and next year’s budget bill.The presidential office is planning an organizational shake-up, officials said Monday, as it has often done after losing elections.Dong-a Ilbo, a local newspap
Oct. 31, 2011
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GNP’s key figures step up welfare plans
Following the defeat in the Seoul mayoral by-election last week, key figures of the ruling Grand National Party are looking to reach out to the public, especially young voters.Former chairwoman and presidential hopeful Rep. Park Geun-hye is to present on Tuesday a complex policy model, suggesting that welfare should be realized through employment and self-support, according to officials.She will also claim that the government’s job training systems should be reinforced especially for the underpr
Oct. 31, 2011
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Parties fail to move FTA bill forward
Despite a flurry of meetings on Monday, rival political parties failed to move forward a long-pending motion to ratify the Korea-U.S Free Trade Agreement. Opposition lawmakers physically obstructed a session of a parliamentary committee on foreign trade, where the FTA bill was scheduled to be handled. “I am not going to push anymore to hold a session today, causing a physical clash between members,” Rep. Nam Kyung-pil of the ruling Grand National Party, the committee’s chair, said outside the me
Oct. 31, 2011
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Rival parties on collision course over U.S. FTA
Scuffle likely Monday as parties fail to bridge gap on investor-state disputesRival political parties braced for physical clashes over whether to ratify the free trade agreement with the U.S., signed in 2007 and revised late last year, after failing to narrow differences Sunday on the contentious clauses on investor-state disputes.Floor leaders Hwang Woo-yea of the ruling Grand National Party and Kim Jin-pyo of the main opposition Democratic Party held a closed-door luncheon meeting Sunday in wh
Oct. 30, 2011
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GNP faces reform calls after defeat
Opposition DP to hold convention by year-end to select new leaderFollowing Na Kyung-won’s loss to liberal civic activist Park Won-soon in last week’s Seoul mayoral race, the ruling Grand National Party faces mounting calls for reform ahead of general and presidential elections next year.Na, the GNP nominee, lost to Park in 41 out of 48 constituencies in the capital, including her own constituency Jung-gu, causing a sense of emergency in the party.Most swing voters below the age of 50 preferred
Oct. 30, 2011