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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Hostilities get out of hand as YouTuber murders another outside courthouse
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Medical professors set to take day off amid protracted walkouts by junior doctors
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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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[Editorial] Moving backwards
Questions are raised about the nation’s electoral watchdog’s move to lift a ban on corporate contributions to political parties. The National Election Commission has decided to submit a revision bill to the political funding law, which would allow corporations and other legal entities to donate to political parties.In a formality taken ahead of launching the legislation process, the commission inc
March 23, 2011
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[Editorial] Screw tightened
LIG Engineering & Construction has filed for court protection from creditors. The request for court receivership was all the more shocking to the housing industry, given that the homebuilder is affiliated with a chaebol.Of course, one main cause of financial trouble for the 47th largest homebuilder in terms of construction capacity was an increase in unsold apartments. Should the court grant prote
March 23, 2011
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[Editorial] Chung Un-chan episode
Chung Un-chan, 62, is an honorable and noble man in the Shakespearean sense, having served as president of Seoul National University for four years and as prime minister under President Lee Myung-bak for a year. An economist with doctorate from Princeton University, Chung now heads a commission dedicated to promoting shared growth between large and small businesses. After a rather short experience
March 22, 2011
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[Editorial] Targeting Gadhafi
After three days of on-and-off airstrikes on Libyan targets, the United States and European nations uniting in military actions against Moammar Gadhafi’s repressive rule are apparently confused about their immediate goal. A cruise missile attack on Gadhafi’s residential compound late Sunday exposed a lack of strategic coordination. The missile that flattened an administrative building in Gadhafi’s
March 22, 2011
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[Editorial] Safe roads
The National Police Agency has designated low-speed driving areas at 61 locations to protect pedestrians. In these “safe life road” zones in urban districts, the maximum speed of vehicles will be limited to 30 kilometers per hour. To enforce the low-speed limit, speed bumps will be installed and the surface of the road will be raised at crosswalks.As the police have confirmed traffic accidents red
March 21, 2011
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[Editorial] Attack on Gadhafi
“Reiterating the responsibility of the Libyan authorities to protect the Libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians …” said U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 adopted last week.In compliance with this responsibility, the international community is using military force to help
March 21, 2011
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[Editorial] Volcanic eruption?
Pyongyang has repeatedly proposed to hold inter-Korea talks only to be rebuffed by Seoul. The latest proposal is to discuss a potential volcanic eruption on Mount Baekdu, a dormant volcano on North Korea’s border with China.On Thursday, Pyongyang called for talks with Seoul on the possibility of volcanic activity resuming at Mount Baekdu ― discharging hot magma and spewing ash and gases. It propos
March 20, 2011
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[Editorial] Japan and prices
Japan’s devastating disasters are pummeling the Korean currency. The weak Korean won will raise the prices of imported commodities, which will work their way down to consumer prices. Moreover, political instability in the Middle East is pushing up oil prices.All these developments will accelerate increases in consumer prices. The threat to price stability is being renewed at a time when housewives
March 20, 2011
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[Editorial] China’s nuclear push
Alarmed by the nuclear disaster in Japan, China has ordered a comprehensive safety assessment of all nuclear plants under construction and suspended approval of new plants pending formulation of new safety regulations.In a statement released on Wednesday, the State Council urged using “the most advanced standards” for the safety checks and told officials to immediately cease construction of the pl
March 18, 2011
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[Editorial] Quake preparedness
The devastation in Japan unleashed by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake last Friday has heightened awareness of quake risks in Korea, creating an environment conducive to boosting disaster preparedness.On Wednesday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said he would make it mandatory for all new public buildings in Seoul to adopt earthquake-resistant design regardless of their size. For this, he said he would ask the
March 18, 2011
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[Editorial] Thawing job market
New jobs are being added as the nation’s economy gains momentum. Last month, the number of people with a job was at 23,336,000, up 469,000 from a year ago. It was the largest monthly gain since July last year. But the government has a long way to go before the jobless rate falls to a tolerable level.According to a report from Statistics Korea, the employment rate, as a percentage of the working po
March 17, 2011
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[Editorial] Who’s populist?
When the main opposition Democratic Party proposed to rein in rising rent prices by capping their increases in January, the ruling Grand National Party accused its adversary of pushing for an irrational populist idea. In an about-face, the ruling party is now moving to adopt the proposal as its policy. Now what will the GNP say about itself?On Wednesday, the ruling party’s task force, working on a
March 17, 2011
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[Editorial] Minimizing Japan risks
The crisis in Japan stemming from a triple disaster ― a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, a subsequent giant tsunami and blasts at a nuclear power plant ― is deepening, causing concern that it could take a toll on the Korean as well as the global economy. Korean policymakers initially said the impact of the Japanese disaster on the national economy would be temporary and limited. They need to change their
March 16, 2011
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[Editorial] Nuclear safety
The nuclear crisis in Japan shows no signs of abating. Fears of a major radiation leak heightened on Tuesday following two separate explosions at the earthquake-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The blasts, which occurred at the No. 2 and No. 4 reactors, raised radioactive levels in the surrounding areas, leading Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to urge people within 30 km of the facility to
March 16, 2011
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[Editorial] Official residence
It seems that Seoul Education Superintendent Kwak Noh-hyun has felt an acute need to use an official residence since his election last June. This week, the Seoul Metropolitan Education Office proposed the revision of a decree on official properties to enable the acquisition of official residences for the education superintendent and vice superintendent. The office offered two reasons: First, the e
March 15, 2011
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[Editorial] Herculean mission
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun came out in support of former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan in the ongoing debate on “profit sharing” between conglomerates and their subcontractors. The government’s chief economic policymaker told a National Assembly committee on Monday that he believed Chung’s idea should be given support. Yoon’s sympathizing with Chung was particularly noteworthy, as he was reto
March 15, 2011
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[Editorial] Nuclear scare
It is ironical that President Lee Myung-bak attended the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for a multibillion dollar nuclear power plant Korea is to build in the United Arab Emirates while world attention is directed at nuclear power stations on the northeastern coast of Japan, which was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami Friday afternoon.Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan told President Lee,
March 14, 2011
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[Editorial] Cronyism in court
Cronyism is definitely a most serious social malady in this country. It is everywhere, in bureaucracy, academia, the art world, and even in court. Close personal ties between judges and lawyers lower public trust in the justice system. “Not guilty with money; guilty without money” has been the most-quoted dictum among critics of the deplorable state of our courts.Judges and prosecutors start pract
March 14, 2011
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[Editorial] Baby boomers
It should not come as a surprise that many of the baby boomers, those born from 1955 to 1963, will face extreme financial difficulties when they go into retirement. They have not saved enough for retirement, into which they will start going in a couple of years. But not many realize what is in store for them.The number of baby boomers stands at 7 million, or 14 percent of the total population. Mos
March 11, 2011
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[Editorial] Brakes on bonuses
State-run corporations never cease to amaze us. According to a report released by Rep. Kwon Kyung-seok of the ruling Grand National Party, 22 state-run corporations spent 1.75 trillion won last year to pay bonuses to their employees, in crass disregard for their snowballing debts.These corporations paid 14.5 million won on average to each employee last year, an increase of 46.5 percent from the pr
March 10, 2011