Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Chief auditor candidate gives up nomination
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The president's pick for chief auditor gave up his nomination on Wednesday after being pounded for a nine-digit salary that he received from a law firm and his role in a prosecution probe that had implicated the president.Chung Tong-ki, a former senior prosecutor, stepped down 12 days after President Lee Myung-bak named him on Dec. 31 to head the Board of Audit and Inspe
Jan. 12, 2011
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Military minces words on reform
Generals are still too attached to decorations, outfitsWithdrawing the plan to detach the star-studded plates from military generals’ sedans has prompted concerns over whether the top brass’ reform drive is eroding.At the beginning of this year, the Army leadership asked generals to remove the plates ― a longtime symbol of their pride and authority ― displaying its strong resolve to revamp the mil
Jan. 11, 2011
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Top auditor nominee yet to make decision
President Lee Myung-bak’s chief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki said Tuesday he was preparing for the parliamentary confirmation hearing despite growing pressure from political parties to withdraw from his position. “I will do what I have to do,” Chung said in response to a reporter’s question on whether he was getting ready for next week’s confirmation hearing as he entered his office in Seou
Jan. 11, 2011
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Seoul to assist acquisitions of foreign firms
A presidential council said Tuesday it will support Korean businesses’ mergers and acquisitions of foreign companies as part of efforts to raise national competitiveness, benchmarking a Chinese policy. “We will seek to strengthen Korean companies’ global investment capabilities to encourage M&As of competent overseas firms, especially in the energy and resources sector,” Kang Man-soo, chief of the
Jan. 11, 2011
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GNP chief distances party from administration
The chairman of the ruling Grand National Party vowed Tuesday to pay more attention to public demand while backing government policies, a significant wording as his party remains at odds with President Lee Myung-bak over a controversial chief state auditor nominee.His party has and will continue to actively support policies by the conservative Lee government, but at the same time will “make the ut
Jan. 11, 2011
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Military academies may merge ceremonies
The Ministry of National Defense is seeking to hold a joint commission ceremony for all military academies, officials said Tuesday.The move is aimed at reducing the cost of holding all the ceremonies separately. It is also in line with military efforts to curtail administrative procedures and enhance interoperability among the Army, Navy and Air Force, the officials said.According to the plan unde
Jan. 11, 2011
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S. Korea, Japan agree to expand military ties after N.K. attacks
South Korean and Japanese defense ministers agreed to “expand and deepen” bilateral military cooperation during talks in Seoul on Monday, amid heightened tensions following a series of deadly North Korean attacks last year.Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa also exchanged views on regional security issues including North Korean nuclear threats, the Ministry
Jan. 10, 2011
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Army marks dispatch of UAE contingent
The Army held a ceremony Monday marking the creation and dispatch of a South Korean contingent to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday a two-year mission to help train the Middle East country’s special forces.The dispatch of the 130-strong contingent, named “Akh,” “brothers” in Arabic, follows the UAE’s request last August that South Korea help it nurture world-class special warfare troops.The Seou
Jan. 10, 2011
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S. Korea, Philippines agree to boost ties
Foreign ministers of South Korea and the Philippines agreed to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries at a meeting in Seoul. Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto G. Romulo met his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan in Seoul on Monday to discuss, among other issues, ways to promote ties in the fields of trade and investment, agriculture and energy. President Lee Myung-
Jan. 10, 2011
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Lee vows support for youths’ startups
President Lee Myung-bak vowed Monday to provide more institutional support for younger people here seeking to launch their own startups in the knowledge-based sector, saying he hopes that South Korea will produce world-renowned business leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, an American computer scientist who founded the social networking service Facebook.“Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook at the age of 20
Jan. 10, 2011
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N.K. has multiple motives behind dialogue overtures
Pyongyang’s overtures for dialogue with Seoul appear aimed at securing outside assistance to ease its economic travails and escape international isolation resulting from its belligerent behavior, experts here said on Sunday.Some also pointed out that the olive branch seems intended to show the U.S. that it is making due endeavors for the improvement of inter-Korean ties, a condition the U.S. has d
Jan. 9, 2011
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Former police chiefs to face summons
The prosecution is planning to summon two former top police officials early this week as part of its probe into an escalating bribery scandal regarding construction site catering contracts, sources said Sunday.The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office will question former National Police Agency chief Kang Hee-rak as early as Monday on suspicion of receiving some 100 million won ($88,840) in k
Jan. 9, 2011
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Unification Ministry to start Web broadcast
The Unification Ministry is to start Internet broadcasts on issues relevant to the unification of the divided Korean Peninsula this year, a ministry official said. The project aims to help the public gain better understanding of unification issues and comes under a ministry goal this year to prepare for the rejoining of the two Koreas. The peninsula has remained divided since the end of the three-
Jan. 9, 2011
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Lee’s chief auditor nominee faces tough hearings
Civil service marred by ethical problemsChief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki faces tough questions at his parliamentary confirmation hearings about his political impartiality and his earnings at a law firm after resignation as a prosecutor.President Lee Myung-bak last week nominated his former aide Chung as the new chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection.Opposition legislators argue th
Jan. 7, 2011
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S. Korea to repatriate 3 stray N. Koreans
South Korea will return on Friday three North Korean fishermen who had drifted on a boat across the countries’ tense western sea border about a month ago, an official said.The fishermen were rescued by the South Korean Navy on Dec. 3 near the island of Yeonpyeong in the West Sea, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a briefing.The island was the site of an attack by North Korean ar
Jan. 7, 2011
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Ex-KH editorial writer dies
Kim Kak, former editorial writer for The Korea Herald, died of bile duct cancer Friday morning at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. He was 76.Kim had been a journalist for four decades since he joined the Korea Times as a reporter in 1957. He became an editorial writer for The Korea Herald in 1972. Kim KakKim also briefly served as former President Park Chung-hee’s secretary for public relations in 1973.
Jan. 7, 2011
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Seoul, Tokyo ministers talk on cooperation
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met with Japan’s national strategy minister Friday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the two neighboring nations, including the possibility of a free trade agreement.Koichiro Genba, Japan’s state minister in charge of national policy, arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Foreign Minister Kim, Trade Minister Kim Jon
Jan. 7, 2011
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Allies skeptical over N. Korea’s dialogue offer
South Korea and the U.S. have dismissed North Korea’s proposal for “unconditional talks” as insincere, insisting actions still had to be made ahead of any kind of dialogue. Nuclear envoys of Seoul and Washington agreed Wednesday that peace talks between the two Koreas should precede the resumption of the six-party denuclearization negotiations. The reclusive North made the rare proposal through an
Jan. 6, 2011
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Lee calls for FMD solutions
Officials told to secure enough vaccines to prevent future outbreakPresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday instructed his government to come up with fundamental solutions to prevent another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease next year in addition to ongoing quarantine efforts. “With an increasing number of travelers moving in and out of the country, we need to do more than just quarantine work,” Lee s
Jan. 6, 2011
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Ex-president offers to donate all his wealth
Former President Kim Young-sam on Wednesday offered to donate all of his wealth to the public. Kim’s residence in Seoul and land in his hometown of Geoje Island will be bequeathed to a nongovernmental organization named after him while the house where he was born will be returned to the municipal government of Geoje, according to his aides. The total value of Kim’s assets is estimated at about 5 b
Jan. 6, 2011