Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Court cuts prison term of ex-presidential aides in retrial of 'white list' case
In a retrial of a high-profile "white list" case under the former administration of Park Geun-hye, an appellate court on Friday reduced the prison term of Kim Ki-choon, Park's former chief of staff, to a year from 18 months. Kim was indicted for pressuring the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a business lobby group, to provide 6.9 billion won ($5.7 million) between 2014 and 2016 to 33 conservative activist groups and other organizations supportive of the Park administration. Am
June 26, 2020
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Ex-lawmaker tapped to lead national anti-corruption agency
President Moon Jae-in has picked a former two-term ruling party lawmaker as new head of South Korea's state anti-corruption body, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday. Jeon Hyun-heui, who was defeated in the April 15 parliamentary elections as a candidate of the Democratic Party, is to replace Pak Un-jong as chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), a minister-grade position. Pak is retiring at the end of this month. Before joining the political world, Jeon was a dentis
June 26, 2020
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Opposition leader vows continued boycott of assembly committee formation
Having been re-endorsed as the floor leader of the main opposition party, Rep. Joo Ho-young vowed Thursday to boycott the parliamentary process to distribute standing committee seats, a move likely to delay the chamber's passage of a new COVID-19 response budget bill. In an emergency plenary meeting of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), Joo was unanimously re-endorsed as the floor leader earlier in the day. Joo offered to resign from the seat on June 15 after the chairman posts f
June 25, 2020
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Feud between justice minister and prosecutor general subsides
Friction between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl appears to have subsided, after hitting a point where President Moon Jae-in had to summon them together to call for cooperation on prosecution reform. Ever since the minister took office in January, Choo has clashed with Yoon over myriad issues, from a personal reshuffle that relegated Yoon’s key lieutenants at the prosecution office, to investigations into scandals involving former Justice Minister Ch
June 23, 2020
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Moon says revision of labor laws crucial for ILO conventions
President Moon Jae-in emphasized the significance Tuesday of revising South Korea's major labor-related laws to allow the jobless and dismissed workers to join unions and improve the overall rights of employees here, as the government is pushing for the ratification of some key conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO). He was speaking during a weekly Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae, according to presidential deputy spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan. In the session, its members ap
June 23, 2020
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Digitalization of govt. services moved up amid pandemic
South Korea's government has brought forward the digitalization of public services, as social distancing has become a new normal and face-to-face meetings are no longer desired amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The government announced Tuesday a revised version of the digital innovation plan for public services, taking into consideration a variety of social changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous version was announced in October last year. According to the plan, driver's lic
June 23, 2020
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Moon urges parliament to handle extra budget bill to battle pandemic
President Moon Jae-in pressed the National Assembly in an unusually strong tone Tuesday to approve the government's plan for another batch of supplementary budgets intended to support South Korea's fight against the new coronavirus and curb its impact on the economy. His call came as the parliament is still in limbo due to partisan strife over the selection of the heads of major standing committees. Three weeks earlier, the Moon administration submitted a bill on allocating 35.3 trillion won
June 23, 2020
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Main opposition calls for resumption of psychological warfare against North
The main opposition United Future Party urged the government on Monday to employ psychological warfare against North Korea if there are further provocations. “A certain way of stopping North Korea’s provocations is to make them feel that they have more to lose than gain from provocations,” the party’s in-house foreign policy and security group said in a statement. Among other actions, the government should resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the border as it
June 22, 2020
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With opposition leader's return, assembly set to start review of urgent bills
The National Assembly is likely to set out to review urgent pending issues, including an extra budget bill, this week after the main opposition floor leader vowed to return from his weeklong protest over the ruling party's "unilateral" election of standing committee chairmen. Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), offered to resign from his seat a week earlier briefly after the ruling majority Democratic Party (DP) elected the chairmen o
June 22, 2020
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Main opposition party withdraws boycott, returning to parliament
The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) said Sunday that it will return to the National Assembly this week, ending a weekslong parliamentary deadlock over the organization of parliamentary standing committees. "We'll let the ruling Democratic Party (DP) get all the chairmen posts of 18 standing committees," UFP floor leader Joo Ho-young said. "We will fight in the standing committees." Since the new term started on May 30, the National Assembly has been at a standsti
June 21, 2020
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Moon accepts unification minister's resignation: Cheong Wa Dae
President Moon Jae-in accepted Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul's resignation Friday, Cheong Wa Dae announced, two days after he offered to step down to take responsibility for strained relations between the two Koreas highlighted by the North's demolition of a joint liaison office. Keen attention is being paid to who will become Seoul's new point man on Pyongyang. It remains unclear how soon Moon will make public his choice, with Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho expected to serve as acting
June 19, 2020
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Appellate court rejects citizens' damage suit against ousted ex-president
An appellate court on Thursday turned down a damage suit filed against former President Park Geun-hye by thousands of ordinary citizens who argued that they suffered mental distress from the power abuse and corruption scandal centering on the former leader. Upholding the lower court's initial rejection of the suit in May last year, the Seoul High Court again dismissed the case filed by around 4,400 citizens. The suit was filed in January 2017, a month after the National Assembly passed a mot
June 18, 2020
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Moon to hold virtual summit with EU leaders on June 30
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a virtual summit with European Union leaders late this month mainly on the novel coronavirus and the Korean Peninsula issue, Moon's office announced Thursday. Moon is scheduled to have the session with EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the afternoon of June 30 (Seoul time), according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. It would be Moon's first bilateral summit talks of the year. The
June 18, 2020
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Former Rep. Hong Sa-duk dies at 77
Hong Sa-duk, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, died Wednesday at the age of 77. He had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia. The veteran politician was a six-term lawmaker, deputy National Assembly speaker and a Cabinet minister. Hong started his politics career in 1981 by winning a seat in the National Assembly, served six terms until 2012 with both liberal and conservative parties, during which he held the title of deputy Assembly speaker for a year from June 2000. Hong was
June 18, 2020
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Moon’s ratings lowest since March
President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating fell to its lowest level since March as continued provocations by North Korea escalated tensions, including the demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong on Tuesday. In a poll of 1,507 eligible voters conducted from Monday through Wednesday, 53.6 percent assessed Moon’s job performance positively, down 4.6 percentage points from last week, Realmeter said Thursday. It is the sharpest weekly decline seen this year and Moon&rsquo
June 18, 2020
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Moon says Digital New Deal is key to S. Korea's 'pacesetting' economy vision
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday emphasized the significance of the envisioned Digital New Deal in South Korea's ambitious bid to lead the post-coronavirus global economy. He chose a local information technology firm for his first on-site activity in connection with the Digital New Deal initiative, his government's new major project to create jobs, ride out the COVID-19 crisis and revitalize economic growth. He cited the construction of the Hoover Dam in US President Franklin Roosevelt's New
June 18, 2020
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Ex-President Park's aide asks for leniency in retrial of 'white list' case
Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a four-year prison sentence for Kim Ki-choon, former chief of staff to ousted President Park Geun-hye, for allegedly abusing his power during Park's rule to favor conservative groups, in a retrial of his case at the Seoul High Court. Kim was indicted for pressuring the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a business lobby group, into providing 6.9 billion won ($5.8 million) to 33 pro-government organizations between 2014 and 2016. An appeals court had sente
June 17, 2020
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Moon meets former unification ministers to discuss N. Korea
President Moon Jae-in held a luncheon meeting Wednesday with a group of former unification ministers to discuss deepening troubles in inter-Korean ties, his office said. During the two-hour meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Moon listened to their opinions on South-North relations, according to Cheong Wa Dae deputy spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan. Luncheon attendees included Lim Dong-won, Park Jae-kyu, Jeong Se-hyun and Lee Jong-seok, who at different times led the ministry handling Seoul-Pyongyang relations.
June 17, 2020
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Unification minister offers to resign over worsened inter-Korean relations
Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Wednesday that he has offered to resign to take responsibility for failing to stably manage inter-Korean relations. Kim said that he expressed his intent to resign to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae earlier in the day. "I feel sorry for failing to live up to the demands and expectations of our people for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Kim told reporters during a hastily arranged briefing. Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang
June 17, 2020
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Parties unify in condemnation of North Korea
Political parties raised a unified voice against North Korea’s destruction of a joint liaison office, criticizing the provocation that jeopardizes relations and urging the North to return to dialogue. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan said Wednesday that North Korea has crossed the line by blowing up the symbol of the Panmunjom Declaration, which was signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit in April 2018 to pledg
June 17, 2020