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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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
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Overseas-based Web sites praising N.K. on sharp rise: police
The number of overseas-based websites glorifying the North Korean regime has been increasing rapidly, a police report here showed Sunday. With their servers based in foreign countries, South Korean authorities have faced difficulties in dealing with the Korean-language websites legally. Police detec
Oct. 30, 2011
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Opposition parties again vow to block U.S. FTA bill
Five opposition parties on Friday reiterated their vehement disapproval of the free trade pact with the U.S., saying they would mobilize “all possible means” to block its parliamentary passage.The main opposition Democratic Party also said that the removal of the clauses concerning the Investor-State Dispute Settlement is the “only condition” for its ratification.Calling some of their worries “unfounded,” the ruling Grand National Party urged them to cooperate in ratifying the pact, which has be
Oct. 28, 2011
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Conservatives mull ways to grab young minds
GNP, Cheong Wa Dae plan targeted pitch for voters under 50The conservative ruling Grand National Party, stung by a sharp fall in support among younger voters, continued agonizing Friday over how to reform itself. The party’s leaders, including chairman Hong Joon-pyo, looked set to stay on and lead the reform measures. “We should take the initiative and push for a complete overhaul of the party,” Rep. Hong told members of the party’s top decision-making Supreme Council on Thursday evening. Some
Oct. 28, 2011
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Lee names KOTRA head as economy minister
Former police chief to head Presidential Security ServicePresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday named the president of a state-funded trade promotion agency as the new knowledge economy minister and a former police chief as head of the presidential security service.Hong Suk-woo, who took the helm of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in June, was tapped to lead the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Lee’s spokesman Park Jeong-ha said. Hong will succeed Choi Joong-kyung who offered to resign la
Oct. 27, 2011
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Park’s win heralds political shift
Parties gauge impact of local by-elections, seek remedies to their problemsThe triumph of civic activist Park Won-soon in the Seoul mayoral by-election heralds a major shift in the country’s political landscape as the rival parties strive to revamp to regain public trust.Political experts say the outcome of Wednesday’s showdown clearly reflected widespread public disenchantment with established politicians for following their own interests rather than those of citizens.Each political party is no
Oct. 27, 2011
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Election commission slams stars for tweeting on election
Social networking services emerged as the new trend in raising turnout during the Oct. 26 by-elections, as SNS users sent short messages encouraging one another to cast their ballots and pick the best candidate.They posted self-portrait shots photographed at polling stations while celebrities joked they would urge their fans and others to cast votes. No doubt, social network services led by Twitter have secured a place as one of the strongest campaign tools among the younger generation, who cann
Oct. 27, 2011
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GNP prepares push for FTA ratification
Rival parties are once again facing a standoff over the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement as the ruling party is set to push for its ratification despite opposition.“The main opposition Democratic Party effectively called off its FTA renegotiation plan, as it agreed to cooperate in the ratification processes in exchange for reinforcing protective measures for local industries,” said Rep. Nam Kyung-pil of the ruling Grand National Party on Wednesday.Should the DP continue trying to block the bill,
Oct. 27, 2011
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Young, disillusioned behind Park’s win
Generation gap likely to be a key factor in general, presidential elections next yearVoters in their 20s to 40s, who have grown largely disillusioned with the ruling Grand National Party, have been key to independent Park Won-soon’s victory in Wednesday’s Seoul mayoral by-election, political analysts said Thursday. By giving overwhelming support to Park over GNP candidate Na Kyung-won, the young voters have vented their disappointment with the ruling camp, which has failed to address their key c
Oct. 27, 2011
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High turnout indicates hopes for change
Nearly 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the Seoul mayoral by-election Wednesday, seemingly indicating their desire for change as the presidential race draws closer. Turnout was more than 48 percent, according to the election watchdog, with more than 4 million out of the 8.3 million Seoul voters turning up at polling stations. The turnout for 11 other posts in smaller local municipalities stood at 46 percent, the National Election Commission said.The higher-than-expected turnou
Oct. 27, 2011