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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Financial intelligence chief grilled in graft probe
Prosecutors on Thursday questioned the chief of a state-run anti-money laundering agency over allegations that he accepted tens of millions of won in kickbacks from Busan Savings Bank. The interrogation came as they widened their probe into the bribery scandal involving savings banks. The ongoing investigation into who oversaw the savings banks’ corruption has already implicated an ex-governor of
June 2, 2011
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Lawmaker calls for stronger policy on Dokdo
Rep. Kang, says ‘silent diplomacy’ is no more than a passive responseKorea should strengthen its policies on Dokdo given the Japanese government’s active involvement in recent years, said the chairman of the parliamentary subcommittee on Dokdo issues.Rep. Kang Chang-il, together with Reps. Moon Hak-jin and Chang Se-hwan of the subcommittee, visited early last week Kunashiri Island, the largest amo
June 2, 2011
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Assembly grills Cabinet on N.K., savings banks
Lawmakers have blasted Cabinet members on the savings banks investigation and unofficial summit suggestions to North Korea during the four-day parliamentary interpellation which started Thursday.Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, who served as chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection in 2008-2010, denied any involvement in the slack supervision of savings banks during that time.The main opposition
June 2, 2011
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Parties pounce on savings banks scandal
Junior pro-Lee Myung-bak lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party submitted on Wednesday a bill to appoint an independent counsel to investigate Busan Mutual Savings Bank’s irregularities, party officials said.Other savings banks, which were declared near bankrupt and suspended earlier this year along with the Busan bank, are also to be dealt with by the independent counsel, according to the b
June 1, 2011
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Panel calls for boosting sovereignty over Dokdo
The Korean government should focus on reinforcing its social and legal influence over Dokdo, lawmakers and experts said in a parliamentary forum.A seminar was held at the National Assembly on Wednesday by the parliamentary Dokdo Guardians, a group of lawmakers that was launched last month.The discussion was attended by Reps. Suh Sang-kee, Won Hye-young and Park Sun-young and a number of local expe
June 1, 2011
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NK says Seoul offered summit talks
NK says Seoul offered summit talksNorth Korea said on Wednesday the South Korean government last month proposed holding a series of summit talks.A North Korean spokesman told state news agency KCNA that the proposal was offered during a secret meeting on May 9. Seoul offered holding three rounds of summit meetings in late June, August and next March, it added. Seoul also proposed a ministerial-lev
June 1, 2011
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Seoul proposed 3 inter-Korean summits: N.K.
Anchor of the North Korean state broadcasting agency announces official statement. (Yonhap News)Ministry says North distorting South’s ‘real intentions’North Korea said Wednesday South Korea proposed to hold three meetings between their leaders and pleaded for any gesture to appease South Koreans still angry over last year’s attacks via an unofficial communication channel.Pyongyang’s powerful Nati
June 1, 2011
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Queens may can Korean-only signs in K town
Queens, a district of New York, is to regulate foreign language signs by requiring English translations.Two Republican councilmen, Peter Koo from Flushing and Dan Halloran of Whitestone, are planning on introducing the controversial bill.When the new law is enforced, shop owners are forced to change their signs so that at least 60 percent is written in English. Some streets in areas like Flushing
June 1, 2011
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Rival parties on collision course over bank scandal
Both sides say the other should take responsibility for savings bank problemsThe presidential office and opposition lawmakers are accusing each other of being associated with a corruption scandal involving savings banks that has led to the arrest of a former top state auditor for bribery.A senior Cheong Wa Dae official on Tuesday went on a counteroffensive against Park Jie-won, former floor leader
May 31, 2011
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DP vows to thwart Korea-U.S. FTA
The main opposition Democratic Party has decided to oppose the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill in the June parliamentary plenary session and to urge the government to begin a renegotiation.In preparation for the June session, which is to kick off Wednesday, DP lawmakers gathered Tuesday in a daily workshop to discuss pending issues.“We refuse to ratify the current free trade bill, which is th
May 31, 2011
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Lee to meet Park on Friday
Meeting comes as GNP is embroiled in leadership crisisPresident Lee Myung-bak will meet with the ruling party’s factional leader and strongest presidential hopeful Rep. Park Geun-hye this Friday, Lee’s aide said Tuesday, 10 months after their previous meeting in August last year.During the luncheon meeting with Lee, the former chairwoman of the Grand National Party will discuss the outcome of her
May 31, 2011
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Rocket falls outside Korea’s Afghan base
Another rocket fell late Monday outside an Afghanistan base where South Korean aid workers and troops are stationed, but there were no injuries, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday.There have now been four attacks in May alone, with the latest apparently targeting the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan. A total of nine attacks have occurred so far this year near or
May 31, 2011
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Netizens to form party to cut tuition
Promoters open Internet page for ‘Education Revolution Party’With heated debates underway over college tuition cuts, netizens are preparing to form a new political party to take the matter into their own hands.The “Educational Revolution Party” webpage was recently opened by a Twitter user referring to himself as “Rainman,” but is currently under construction (http://www.edu4korea.net/).“We plan t
May 31, 2011
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Army officer brought N.K. nuke site soil to South: reports
After 1999 mission, N.K. abducted Lt. Col. Jeong, then released him in dealA South Korean Army intelligence officer infiltrated areas near North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex and brought samples of soil and water there to the South in 1999 for the government to assess its nuclear activities, news reports said Monday.Later, the lieutenant colonel, identified only by his surname Jeong, was abduct
May 30, 2011
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Bank lobby probe closes in on senior officials, politicians
Rival parties agree to launch parliamentary investigationProsecutors are widening their probe into irregularities by Busan Mutual Savings Bank after picking up clues that the financially troubled bank had attempted to lobby many politicians and senior officials of the government, possibly including Cheong Wa Dae, to block financial regulators from ordering its closure.The prosecution said that it
May 30, 2011
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Floor leaders gear up for June session
The floor leaders of the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party met to discuss contentious issues prior to the National Assembly’s June session starting Wednesday.Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, floor leader and acting party leader of the GNP, and Kim Jin-pyo of the DP on Monday sought agreement over pending problems, including the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill and a parli
May 30, 2011
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P.M. calls for tight defense of West Sea islands
South Korea must maintain full alert at all times for any provocations by North Korea against its western border islands, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said Monday, while visiting the isolated regions that have been the target of North Korean attacks. South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, one of the five islands located near the western maritime border with the North, became the target of Pyongyang’s de
May 30, 2011
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Ethics panel votes to ax lawmaker for sexual remarks
The parliamentary ethics committee has voted to expel Rep. Kang Yong-seok, a rookie lawmaker who was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal after making controversial remarks last year about anchorwomen and women in general.Should the committee’s decision pass the regular session next month, Kang would become the first lawmaker ever dismissed for ethical reasons.The advisory body of the committe
May 30, 2011
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Lee may change presidential aides in June
Chief of staff Yim will likely stay to prepare for inter-Korean summit: observersPresident Lee Myung-bak is expected to replace some of his secretaries in early June as new minister nominees take office and oust several top aides if necessary after the Grand National Party’s national convention on July 4.The National Assembly wrapped up confirmation hearings for the five new minister nominees last
May 30, 2011
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Cheong Wa Dae spurs public office transfers
Cheong Wa Dae will push to start the construction of new office buildings for all 80 public corporations within the year, officials said Sunday.The move is meant to spur sluggish local development by moving Seoul-based public organizations to provinces. “Though the construction schedule of the office buildings has so far been delayed due to the merger of some organizations and doldrums in real est
May 29, 2011