Most Popular
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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[Weekender] Pet food makers bet big on ‘recession-free’ pet food market
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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Court's ruling set to shape path of medical school expansion
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FM Cho says he will have 'frank, in-depth' talks with Wang
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S. Korea, Japan probe alleged border violation near Dokdo
ULLEUNG ISLAND/SEOUL -- South Korean and Japanese maritime police were jointly investigating whether a South Korean fishing boat violated Japanese waters near the South Korean islets of Dokdo, officials said Thursday. The two sides began the joint probe around 2 p.m. in waters about 69 kilometers southwest of Dokdo in the East Sea off the Korean Peninsula after the 29-ton South Korean fishing b
Jan. 13, 2011
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S. Korean, Japanese coast guard ships in confrontation near Dokdo
ULLEUNG ISLAND -- A South Korean coast guard ship is in confrontation with a Japanese patrol ship in waters near the South Korean islets of Dokdo over an issue of violating an exclusive economic zone, an official said Thursday.(Yonhap News)
Jan. 13, 2011
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U.S. more cautious on N.K. threats
Expert warns of Pyongyang’s possible missile test-firing, more provocations this yearAs regional powers coordinate terms under which they can resume peace talks with North Korea, Washington appears to be growing more cautious about what impatience and instability could push the nuclear-armed state to do. Nuclear and missiles threats by the impoverished communist state go “beyond the region to the
Jan. 13, 2011
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Defense procurer toughens vetting of military equipment
Blocking defects in weapons and military equipment is to be a key goal of South Korea’s military acquisition agency this year, the agency said on Thursday.This goal is apparently aimed at addressing public concerns over several military accidents due to flaws in military supplies and equipment in recent years.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration also said that it would seek this year to
Jan. 13, 2011
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K-21 armored vehicles back in use
K-21 armored vehicles will return to military use in April after defects that sank two of them in 2009 and last year were fixed, an official at the military acquisition agency said Thursday.After it sank during a river-crossing training session in July, killing one solider, the domestically-built K-21, which was touted as a high-tech amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, was found to have a series
Jan. 13, 2011
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Watchdog chief vows to fight corruption
Kim Young-ran, the new chief of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said Thursday the rights watchdog would focus on rooting out irregularities among high-ranking officials this year.“Most corruption starts from asking for special favors,” Kim said in a meeting with auditors of public organizations including government ministries and local administrations at the panel’s office in Seou
Jan. 13, 2011
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Japanese foreign minister to visit Seoul on Saturday
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will make a one-day trip to South Korea on Saturday for talks with his counterpart, instead of staying overnight from Friday as originally planned, an official said.Maehara called South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Thursday to ask if he could change the travel schedule, citing “various circumstances,” a ministry official said on condition of anon
Jan. 13, 2011
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Top auditor nominee bows out
Chief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki withdrew Wednesday, two days after the ruling party turned its back on him amid rising public antipathy toward the privileges he was granted for his former job as a prosecutor.“I decided to step down today from the post as chairman nominee of the Board of Audit and Inspection,” Chung said in a press conference.Chung read out a lengthy statement about his s
Jan. 12, 2011
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Air Force, Navy to get more ministry, JCS representation
General-level officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force are expected to equally share key decision-making posts at the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the end of next year, a government source said Wednesday.The move is aimed at enhancing interoperability among the three armed services and addressing the Army’s dominance in the military’s decision-making processes, which has lon
Jan. 12, 2011
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Bills aim to strengthen status of Marine Corps
A ruling party lawmaker is planning to submit to parliament three revision bills this week that would offer more independence to the Marine Corps, which was merged into the Navy in 1973.The move comes as the need for the Marines’ independence from the Navy has been voiced following North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in November that killed two marines and two civilians. Rep. Chung
Jan. 12, 2011
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Repeated nomination failures plague Lee
Chung Tong-ki withdrew his nomination as the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection on Wednesday, becoming the eighth top official designate to step down during the Lee Myung-bak presidency.The repeated withdrawals indicate the remaining gap between the presidential office and the public in their expectations for senior office holders.The Lee administration made requests for parliamentary a
Jan. 12, 2011
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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