Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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S. Korea to issue travel ban on Haiti amid intensifying gang violence
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Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation
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Big issues to resurface after polls
Diverse issues put on hold due to the by-elections, which are expected to shake up the nation’s political circles.The government plans to submit the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to the National Assembly for ratification in early May after finishing translation checks, according to local news reports.The trade pact will likely cause a clash between the rival parties, which are already fiercely d
April 27, 2011
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Twitter is favored campaign tool
Experts voice concern over spread of false, malicious informationBy Song Sang-hoTo court voters and boost their turnout for this week’s by-elections, candidates and their election campaigners have heavily resorted to Twitter, one of the most popular online social networking services.As its influence has greatly increased with the number of smart phone users having soared to 10 million, Twitter has
April 27, 2011
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Lee discusses FTA with visiting U.S. secretary
President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday discussed with visiting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke how to get the pending Korea-U.S. free trade deal approved by the parliaments of both countries.The bilateral free trade agreement, first signed in 2007 and supplemented last December, is yet to be ratified by the National Assembly and the U.S. Congress.Lee’s meeting with Locke Wednesday came a week
April 27, 2011
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Political big picture hangs on by-election results
The futures of the ruling and opposition parties may hinge on the results of Wednesday’s by-elections, considered a preview of next year’s general and presidential races.The by-elections are relatively minor in size, involving the replacement of three lawmakers, one provincial governor and 34 municipal or district officials. Voters cast ballots Wednesday in 38 constituencies nationwide. (From left
April 27, 2011
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Voting begins in S. Korea for by-elections
Polls opened Wednesday for small yet significant parliamentary and local by-elections seen as a test for the rival parties and some of the potential presidential candidates before South Korea elects a new parliament and a new president next year.Three parliamentary seats and one gubernatorial post are on offer in the elections, with the other 34 races vying for small local government heads and cou
April 27, 2011
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Parties pitch in countdown to election fight
Fiercest battle expected in BundangParties and candidates were in last-minute campaign mode Tuesday, the day before the by-elections that may set the course for next year’s general and presidential elections.A major matter of interest for all is voter turnout.In the past, the higher the turnout, the better the chances for the opposition party.In a survey on residents of by-election constituencies,
April 26, 2011
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Seoul to receive German records on reunification
The Seoul government is set to receive a massive database from Berlin on the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany to prepare itself for “sudden changes” in North Korea. President Lee Myung-bak has assigned the Ministry of Unification, which he initially planned to merge into the Foreign Ministry, with two main jobs ― preparation for reunification with the North and taking care of the increa
April 26, 2011
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S. Korea, New Zealand agree to enhance defense cooperation
The defense chiefs of South Korea and New Zealand held talks in Seoul and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in defense procurement, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his New Zealand counterpart Wayne Mapp also exchanged their views on regional security issues and agreed to improve military cooperation in other areas, officials said.
April 26, 2011
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Army keeps hold on JCS leadership
Army, Navy, Air Force to have two vice chiefs each under reform planThe Ministry of National Defense has decided not to introduce a system to rotate the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff among four-star generals of the Army, Navy and Air Force, officials said Tuesday.The decision has triggered concerns among military experts who said that the military’s reform drive aimed at enhancing inte
April 26, 2011
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Seoul gov't, parliament close to removing last hurdle to EU trade bill
The ratification bill for South Korea's free trade agreement with the European Union is expected to pass the parliament's standing committee later this week, as the South Korean government has responded positively to rival parties' demand to offer transfer tax cuts to small livestock farms, removing the last remaining hurdle to the long-stalled free trade deal, officials and lawmakers said Monday.
April 25, 2011
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Defectors, rights groups urge parliament to pass N. Korean rights bill
A group of North Korean defectors and civic activists on Monday urged South Korea's parliament to pass a bill aimed at improving the human rights situation in the reclusive communist state.In an opening ceremony for "North Korea Freedom Week," some 100 Seoul-based defectors, human rights advocates and lawmakers gathered in the National Assembly to discuss ways to abolish gulags in the North and pa
April 25, 2011
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Legal feuds mar last-minute campaigns
With the by-elections taking place on Wednesday, last-minute competition between candidates has turned into a game of mudslinging and legal feuds.The main opposition Democratic Party on Monday accused Ohm Ki-young, the ruling Grand National Party candidate for Gangwon governor, of breaking election law, according to officials.“Ohm violated the public election law by operating an unregistered call
April 25, 2011
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Oriental medicine expert named Lee’s family doctor
President Lee Myung-bak named Yu Bong-ha, chief of the Korean traditional medicine division at Kyung Hee Medical Center, as his second family doctor, Lee’s spokesperson Kim Hee-jung said Monday, upon lobbying by local practitioners of oriental medicine.Yu will be officially appointed to the vice ministerial position early next month.The president is allowed to appoint a physician and an oriental m
April 25, 2011
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S. Korea’s legal system popular in Asian countries
South Korea’s judiciary systems, including the electronic litigation process and legal training programs, have been growing in popularity in other Asian countries, the top court here said Monday.According to the Supreme Court, a group of seven high-profile Vietnamese judicial figures, including the vice president of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam, arrived in Seoul on Sunday to visit South K
April 25, 2011
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Korea, Australia to ink FTA this year
Leaders agree to expedite negotiations, expand natural resources tiesPresident Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed during summit talks here Monday to conclude bilateral free trade deal negotiations this year, Lee’s office said.“The leaders agreed that negotiations on an Australia-Korea free trade agreement were now in their final stage and reaffirmed their joint goal t
April 25, 2011
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Elite Air Force troops sharpen combat skills
Fearless Air Force special warfare troops hurled themselves out of a C-130 military plane at an altitude of about 500 meters as part of their five-day biannual exercise that began in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Monday.Wearing safety and combat equipment weighing more than 40 kilograms, 23 soldiers of the Combat Control Team belonging to the 5th Tactical Airlift Wing safely landed one b
April 25, 2011
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Return of Lee’s top aide glimpse of next Cabinet reshuffle
The planned return of Yu Woo-ik, President Lee Myung-bak’s first chief of staff who has served as Korea’s top envoy to China for the past 16 months, is expected to coincide with a Cabinet reshuffle early next month, offering a glimpse of what Lee’s vision for the remainder of his term.As one of Lee’s closest confidants, Yu is likely to get a new top post at home along with a handful of others with
April 24, 2011
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Candidates crisscross on Easter Sunday
The ruling and opposition camps went all out over the weekend, considered the last possible chance to gain more support before the by-election this Wednesday.Parties especially kept watch for foul play from opponents in the forms of illegal campaigning or slander.Candidates in the Bundang-B constituency, in which the most intense contest is expected between two big names, largely sought the favor
April 24, 2011
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Parties argue over how to help EU-FTA transition
The government and the ruling Grand National Party are at odds over how to minimize the damage that the pending free trade deal with the European Union would inflict on the domestic livestock farm business.The GNP said Saturday that the party and the government failed to close the gap on tax exemptions for the stockbreeders who shift to another trade.The government explained that it was set to dis
April 24, 2011
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Rivals feud over illegal campaign charges
Candidates go head-to-head on TV over illicit publicity in GangwonAmid recent suspicions of illicit campaigning, the Gangwon governor candidates of the ruling and opposition parties clashed in a heated televised debate on the issue late on Saturday night.“Though I have tried my best to keep this by-election clean and fair, I am sorry that some of the overenthusiastic volunteers of our camps have c
April 24, 2011