The Korea Herald

GNP’s Hong vows to settle Korea-U.S. FTA, N.K. rights law

Jul 5, 2011

The new chief of the conservative ruling party said Tuesday his party would seek to ratify the free trade deal with Washington and pass the North Korean human rights law next month regardless of opposition from rival parties. Hong Joon-pyo, who was elected the new chairman of the Grand National Party, presided over his first Supreme Council meeting Tuesday, vowing to achieve harmony between diff...
New GNP leadership may make Lee a lame duck

Jul 5, 2011

The recent election of Hong Joon-pyo, a non-mainstream lawmaker close to President Lee Myung-bak’s in-house rival, as the new ruling party leader may make Lee an early lame duck, political observers said Tuesday. Hong, a veteran legislator loyal to Park Geun-hye, was elected chairman of the Grand National party through a national convention poll Monday, indicating that Park’s political influence...
Hong: A man not afraid of making enemies

Jul 4, 2011

Outspoken ex-prosecutor on a fourth term takes over troubled ruling party Outspoken four-term lawmaker and former prosecutor Rep. Hong Joon-pyo was selected as the new leader of the Grand National Party Monday amid expectations for change as the ruling party continues to lose popularity. Having remained non-mainstream throughout his past 15 years in the GNP, Hong is best known for his straightf...
Lee readies PyeongChang bid presentation

Jul 4, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday rehearsed his presentation for PyeongChang’s 2018 Olympic bid to win over International Olympic Committee members in Durban, South Africa. Along with his aides and officials of the PyeongChang committee, Lee reviewed his presentation to be made on Wednesday, South Africa time, during the IOC session. It is the mountain resort town’s third bid for the Winter Olym...
GNP maverick Hong takes helm

Jul 4, 2011

In the ruling Grand National Party’s national convention on Monday, former Supreme Council member Rep. Hong Joon-pyo was elected as the new chairperson to lead the party up to next year’s general and presidential elections. The fourth-term lawmaker was ranked atop not only in the delegate vote held in the Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium on Monday, but also in the general vote held previously on Sun...
Opposition leader to make China visit

Jul 3, 2011

Leader of the main opposition Democratic Party Sohn Hak―kyu is to set off for China on Monday to promote economic cooperation and ease political tensions in Northeast Asia, party officials said. The trip is Sohn’s second since he took over the party’s chairmanship last October, closely following his visit to Japan late last month. After meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing ...
GNP holds vote to elect new leader

Jul 3, 2011

Attention focused on whether party will have young chairperson The ruling Grand National Party kicked off its leadership vote on Sunday, with the result to be announced in Monday’s national convention. The vote was open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a total of 251 voting stations across the country, according to officials. The new chairperson is to be selected based upon the voting results combined...
Lee’s Africa trip to boost ties, Olympic bid

Jul 1, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday will depart for Durban, South Africa, the first leg of his weeklong tour of three African nations to support PyeongChang’s Olympic bid and strengthen economic ties. Lee will also visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia before returning home on July 11. Lee is scheduled to arrive in Durban Saturday evening where he will have four days to promote...
MSNBC suspends analyst for remark on Obama

Jul 1, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) _ MSNBC has suspended a political analyst for an off-color remark about President Barack Obama on the ``Morning Joe'' show on Thursday. Mark Halperin, a Time magazine editor at large, quickly apologized on the air and in a statement. Still, MSNBC suspended him indefinitely and Halperin said he believed the action was appropriate. Halperin made the comment while discussing Obama's...
Republican senators block key session on FTA with S. Korea

Jul 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- Republican U.S. senators on Thursday boycotted a crucial session to discuss free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, dealing a setback to President Barack Obama's strong push to get the long-pending deals ratified before early August. On Tuesday, the White House announced a breakthrough in efforts to move forward the free trade agreements (FTAs) with th...
Disputed bill on investigation passed

Jun 30, 2011

Lee urges prosecution to refrain from excessive response to reform bill Despite strong protests from some prosecutors, the National Assembly on Thursday passed a disputed revised bill redefining the investigative rights of the prosecution and the police in a bid to meet public demands to reform the prosecution. The revised bill calls for the prosecution to maintain command over police investiga...
DP leader Sohn set to visit China next week

Jun 30, 2011

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party will visit China next week to help South Korea’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and discuss regional issues, including North Korea, his party said Thursday. Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu plans to embark a four-day trip on Monday to meet China’s Vice President Xi Jinping and other high-ranking politicians to ask for support for the eastern alpine city ...
Would you follow ministers on Twitter?

Jun 30, 2011

Social networking tools become routine of government publicity officials Shortly after Labor Minister Lee Chae-pil met representatives of labor and management for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction amid the labor confrontation in mid-June, word of an imminent police crackdown on striking workers started spreading via Twitter. “That wasn’t what the minister truly meant. So we responded via T...
Gov't allows 10-percent hike in subway and bus fares

Jun 30, 2011

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Subway and bus fares in Seoul and its adjacent cities will likely jump by 10 percent in the second half of the year, adding to the already heavy financial burden on households under inflationary pressure. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security announced a guideline for local governments' management of public service fares on Thursday, allowing them to marginally rai...
National Assembly passes Korea-Peru FTA bill

Jun 29, 2011

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill on South Korea’s free trade agreement with Peru, paving the way for trades and investments between the countries to increase. South Korea and Peru signed the deal in March. The pact, which does not require an endorsement from the Peruvian parliament, calls for both countries to eliminate all tariffs within 10 years after it takes effect. The Nati...