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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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Officials lie low under corruption watch
Public servants refrain from drinking, dining out, golfingThese days, the staff cafeteria of the Financial Supervisory Service is jam-packed with its employees.They are reluctant to eat out for fear they could also be accused of corruption, as officialdom sees a spate of scandals.“More and more of us opt to eat at the cafeteria on the 20th floor rather than going outside. Since corruption allegati
June 22, 2011
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Panel holds practice overseas election
The National Election Commission is to carry out a mock election June 30 at 158 polling stations in 108 countries, as a final dry run for the overseas voting system set to take effect next year.Among the 5,484 who registered themselves as voters, 4,708 had their residence in Korea and the remaining 776 were permanent residents in overseas countries, according to the NEC.All voters are required to
June 22, 2011
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Plan aims to stop rookies being hired as judges
Reform bill to be submitted to parliament later this monthFrom 2013, only those with a certain period of judicial experience as prosecutors, lawyers, law professors and in similar positions will be appointed as judges according to a proposal by a parliamentary committee. The National Assembly’s special committee for judicial reform said it would vote Wednesday on a plan to change the way judges ar
June 21, 2011
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DP threatens Assembly boycott over TV fee rise
The National Assembly’s June provisional session schedule faced a sudden halt as the main opposition Democratic Party pledged to boycott the ruling Grand National Party’s decision to increase a public broadcaster’s monthly viewing fee.The parliamentary committee on culture, sports, tourism, broadcast and communication held a subcommittee meeting on Monday and passed the revision bill to raise the
June 21, 2011
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Lee, Sohn set broad political talks
Leaders to discuss tuition, FTA, savings bank probe and other pending issuesPresident Lee Myung-bak will meet with main opposition Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu next Monday, Lee’s aide said Tuesday, to discuss pending issues such as rising tuition fees and the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement which is yet to be approved by the parliaments of both countries.The ongoing prosecutorial investiga
June 21, 2011
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Two rockets strike Korea’s Afghan base
Two rockets fell inside an Afghanistan base where South Korean aid workers and troops were stationed on Monday night, but there were no injuries, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday.The attack is the 10th this year, apparently targeting the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan. In a previous attack on May 30, one rocket fell just outside the base.The rockets fell nea
June 21, 2011
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Training plane crash kills two pilots
An Air Force training plane crash-landed during flight training in Cheongwon, North Chungcheong Province, killing two pilots, officials said Tuesday.The T-103 plane crashed about 2 kilometers away from a runway at a military training facility at around 1:30 p.m. Second Lieut. Lee Min-woo and flight trainer Nam Gwan-woo died in the crash, officials said.The Air Force immediately set up a team ― hea
June 21, 2011
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Presidential hurdles for Park Geun-hye?
Rep. Park Geun-hye (right) sits with her sister Geun-ryeong (left), brother Ji-man and his wife Seo Hyang-hee during a memorial service for her late mother Yuk Young-soo at the National Cemetery in Seoul in August 2006. (Yonhap News)Current frontrunner needs to show substance as leader, overcome sibling problemsAs she was about to enter the National Assembly chamber on June 7, Rep. Park Geun-hye,
June 21, 2011
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Cabinet, panel agree on more police freedom
Plan to keep prosecution’s control of police, allow police right to open criminal probesThe special parliamentary committee on judicial reform passed on Monday the revision bill of the criminal action law to allow the police to hold independent authority over investigations, largely upholding the Cabinet’s earlier decision.The bill will be handed over to the legislation and judiciary committee and
June 20, 2011
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GNP to kick off 2-week leadership race
Seven candidates have been confirmed for the Grand National Party leadership election on July 4 ― Reps. Park Jin, Nam Kyung-pil, Na Kyung-won, Yoo Seung-min, Hong Joon-pyo, Won Hee-ryeong and Kwon Young-se.The lineup of hopefuls to be party chair is dominated by relatively young lawmakers.Most are in their late 40s or early 50s. Even if 57-year-old Hong wins the vote, he may be considered a “young
June 20, 2011
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Prosecution, police agree on gov't mediation on criminal law reform
SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- The prosecution and police on Monday agreed to end their long-standing disputes over the rights to open criminal investigations through government arbitration, officials said.According to the compromise agreement announced in the attendance of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, both parties agreed to the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code, which calls for granting police
June 20, 2011
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Ministry mulls earlier hours for public sector
The government will consider changing the working hours of public sector employees and splitting up the long school winter vacation into several breaks in an effort to spur domestic demand, officials said Saturday.The measures were among a package of proposals discussed at a meeting of Cabinet and other top government officials that President Lee Myung-bak presided over to brainstorm ideas on how
June 19, 2011
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Reformists dominate GNP race
Hong Joon-pyo puts self forward as anti-factional candidateThe race to become the new chief of the governing Grand National Party is shaping up to be a competition among young, reform-minded members from the capital area, with no clear frontrunner, political observers said Sunday. With about two weeks to go before the July 4 party convention, three lawmakers threw their hat in the ring on the day,
June 19, 2011
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Punishment for corrupt officials soars over five-fold
SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- The number of government officials punished for bribery has jumped more than five-fold over the last five years due to a tighter crackdown on bureaucratic corruption, the home ministry said Sunday.Civil servants who were dismissed or disciplined for accepting kickbacks numbered 624 last year, 5.5 times more than the figure in 2006, according to the Ministry of Public Adm
June 19, 2011
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PM: Ending corruption in bureaucracy top priority for S. Korea
SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- Corruption is widespread in South Korean society and ending irregularities in the bureaucracy is a top priority for the country if it wants to become an advanced nation, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said Saturday.Kim made the remarks at a meeting of all Cabinet ministers and other top officials, a day after President Lee Myung-bak chided officialdom in harsh language ove
June 19, 2011
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Unification minister: N. Korea has nothing to gain from provocations
SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has nothing to gain from provocations against South Korea, Seoul's Cabinet minister handling inter-Korean relations said Saturday, urging the communist nation to carry out reform and open up to the outside world.Unification Minister Hyun In-taek accused Pyongyang of launching "reckless political provocations after military provocations," referring to the Nort
June 19, 2011
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Gov't to consider changing public-sector working hours to spur domestic demand
SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- The government will consider changing the working hours of public-sector employees and splitting up the long school winter vacation into several breaks in an effort to spur domestic demand, officials said Saturday.The measures were among a package of proposals discussed at a meeting of Cabinet and other top government officials that President Lee Myung-bak presided over
June 19, 2011
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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