Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Lee calls for ending corruption
In an emotion-charged speech against corruption, President Lee Myung-bak called for a sweeping overhaul of the way the government works, imploring top officials Friday to end long-ingrained irregularities in officialdom.Speaking at a brainstorming meeting that brought together all Cabinet ministers, vice ministers and other top officials, Lee expressed deep frustrations about the bureaucracy, repr
June 17, 2011
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GNP in identity crisis amid reform calls
Ruling party shelves additional tax cut plan, scrambles to cut tuitionThe ruling Grand National Party has gone to great lengths to renew its image, even defying the policies of the current administration, but many still regard its moves with a doubtful eye.In a general meeting held Thursday, a majority of GNP lawmakers agreed to withdraw the additional tax cut plan for corporations, which has so f
June 17, 2011
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Ex-prosecutor says he treated Roh with respect
An ex-prosecutor who led the investigation into bribery allegations surrounding former president Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday he treated the late president with respect, rebuking a Roh aide’s claim that he didn’t.Roh killed himself during a prosecutorial probe in 2009 into suspicions that his associates and family took kickbacks from a Busan-based businessman named Park Yeon-cha. As then chief of th
June 16, 2011
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Judicial reform panel disbands with little resolved
Members see no reason to continue after plan to close key prosecution unit derailedThe special parliamentary committee on judicial reform decided to end its 16-month term, without any of its major issues being solved.The committee will continue until the end of the month, as originally planned, and the pending issues will be handed over to the legislation and judiciary committee, officials said Mo
June 16, 2011
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GNP finds no answers to tuition debate
Free-for-all forum fails to reach agreement on cutting cost of collegeLawmakers, government officials, university presidents, professors and students gathered on Wednesday for a forum on tuition cuts hosted by the Grand National Party but failed to reach any agreement.“We are running against the clock as the Education Ministry is to submit its budget bill to the Finance Ministry by the end of the
June 15, 2011
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Sohn most favored but Park most likely to be president: SNU students
Students of the prestigious Seoul National University favor opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu as the next Korean president, but think female conservative politician Park Geun-hye is most likely to win the race, a poll released Tuesday shows. According to the survey of 660 students conducted by the Seouldae Journal, a student newspaper at the university, Sohn, the chairman of the Democratic Party, was
June 14, 2011
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Ex-USFK commander slams China for N.K. ‘strategic error’
China has made a “terrible strategic error” by failing to rein in North Korea, a former U.S. Forces Korea commander said Monday, stressing the need for it to assume a responsible role for regional peace and stability.In a meeting with reporters in Seoul, Burwell B. Bell, who served as USFK commander from February 2006-June 2008, also said that the risk of military provocations by the North remains
June 14, 2011
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DP attacks Lee over tuition cut project
Opposition says president’s call for patience an attempt to derail fee reductionsParties in Tuesday’s parliamentary education committee general meeting quarreled over the president’s call for more time on the controversial university tuition fee cuts.Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party accused the presidential office of attempting to pressure the National Assembly to abandon their mo
June 14, 2011
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Concerns mounting over political populism
Protests over tuition cuts signal partisan race to woo voters with populist policiesOpposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu hoped that his party’s plan to cut college tuition fees would appeal to students when he attended their rally early last week.“I am not here to add fuel to your anger but to share your concerns,” Sohn told about 200 university students holding a candlelight vigil in downtown Seoul for
June 14, 2011
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President vows to end practice of offering favors to ex-officials
President Lee Myung-bak on Monday stressed he would root out the widespread practice among government officials and judges of giving favors to their retired colleagues.The “jeon-gwan-ye-woo” practice, which means giving “honorable treatment to former officials,” refers to the custom of private companies offering high-paying jobs to retired senior government officials in exchange for their connecti
June 13, 2011
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Sohn suggests meeting with Lee this month
The opposition leader and president may meet in an inter-party summit as early as this month to discuss pending economic issues concerning people’s livelihoods here. “Students and parents are out in the streets, asking for a tuition cut, and we may not blame them because they are indeed under great economic strain,” said the main opposition Democratic Party chairman Sohn Hak-kyu at the party’s Sup
June 13, 2011
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Lee meets religious leaders after detente with Buddhists
President Lee Myung-bak met with religious leaders Monday, a week after South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect announced that it was normalizing relations with the government after half a year of standoff over a budget dispute.It marked the first time that Lee has met with Ven. Jaseung, head of the Buddhist sect Jogye Order, in more than a year. Jogye’s relations with the government have been tense a
June 13, 2011
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Opposition leader offers to talk with president over economy
The opposition leader proposed a rare meeting with President Lee Myung-bak, saying Monday that he wants to discuss a string of challenges the country faces in efforts to improve people's livelihood.The offer from Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) comes as the government is grappling with growing calls for lowering college tuition costs and rising home rental prices, an
June 13, 2011
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GNP seeks mandatory schooling for 3,4-year-olds
The ruling Grand National Party is reportedly pushing to further expand the scope of compulsory education to include children aged three to four, officials said Sunday, amid controversy over its populist policy approach to college tuition fee cuts.“Expansion of childcare support is the next policy goal following the reduction of college education expenses. The party will push to gradually expand s
June 12, 2011
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[News Focus] Parties struggle to fix tuition policies
With next year’s general election looming, rival parties appear unsure over policies to ease the burden of university tuition.The ruling Grand National Party, which had preemptively raised the issue of halving tuition, has changed its policy on how much to cut tuition by, while the main opposition Democratic Party has turned drastically toward the expansion of scholarships to differentiate itself
June 12, 2011
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Multiculturalism about reciprocity, tolerance
Lawmaker leads parliamentary forum for a multicultural KoreaThe key to multiculturalism lies in reciprocal integration, according to the chairwoman of the National Assembly forum on multiculturalism.“When it comes to multiculturalism, people generally think of immigrant wives from Southeast Asia, but the term should be taken to a higher plane,” Rep. Kim Hye-seong told The Korea Herald.“Not only do
June 12, 2011
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Private universities could cut tuition fees with gov't support: council
South Korea's private universities could cut tuition fees by as much as 15 percent if the government funds their scholarship programs, the head of a private universities' council said Sunday, amid a growing political debate over tuition cuts. Park Chul, who heads a council of presidents of private universities, told Yonhap News Agency in an interview that the council is surveying its members
June 12, 2011
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State auditor to probe college tuition fees
The nation’s public and private universities will face a sweeping audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection from August, amid a growing public outcry over exorbitant tuition fees, officials at the state audit agency said Friday. “It will be the largest-ever scale,” said Sohn Chang-dong, a BAI spokesperson. About 200, or one third of the entire BAI staff, will be mobilized for the inspection, whic
June 10, 2011
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Rep. Hyun stripped of seat
A rookie lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party lost his parliamentary seat as the top court Friday upheld his conviction for accepting illegal political donations.Rep. Hyun Kyoung-byoung of the GNP became the 21st member of the 18th National Assembly to lose his seat for violation of the election or political fund laws.Hyun was indicted on charges of accepting a total of 130 million won ($12
June 10, 2011
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Lee replaces top Blue House aides
Reshuffle affects key posts of politics, publicity and welfarePresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday replaced his top aides for political affairs and public relations as well as his spokesperson in a partial shakeup of presidential secretaries 10 months ahead of the general elections next year.The reshuffle of senior secretaries, which was previously scheduled for after the ruling Grand National Part
June 9, 2011