Most Popular
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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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[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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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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SM founder Lee Soo-man is back with A2O Entertainment
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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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[Newsmaker] Yoon Seok-youl tapped to head prosecution
Yoon Seok-youl, a well-known prosecutor who participated in major investigations linked to conservative administrations, was tapped for the post of prosecutor general Monday.If appointed, he will replace Moon Moo-il as the country’s top prosecutor. Yoon, currently serves as the head of Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and came to public attention in 2012 when he headed the investigation into allegations that the National Intelligence Service interfered with the presidentia
June 17, 2019
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Moon visits former first lady's home soon after foreign trip
President Moon Jae-in met with the bereaved family of Lee Hee-ho, a former first lady, immediately after returning from a weeklong trip to Northern Europe on Sunday.Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook headed straight to the house in Donggyo-dong, located in western Seoul, from a military airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.They had a meeting with Lee's sons -- Kim Hong-eop, former lawmaker, and Kim Hong-geol, permanent president of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation -- along
June 16, 2019
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No deal reached, parliamentary standoff to continue
A parliamentary impasse appears set to continue, as rival political parties on Sunday failed to narrow differences on holding a parliamentary hearing on the country’s economic situation. In addition, an extraordinary session in June is likely to be held without the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. Floor leaders from the Liberty Korea Party, Democratic Party and minor opposition Bareunmirae Party held behind-the-scenes discussions to narrow their differences over the weekend,
June 16, 2019
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ILO conventions are universal rights: ILO Director
Lee Sang-heon, the director of the International Labor Organization’s employment policy department, on Friday stressed that core ILO conventions are minimal universal rights of laborers and took a negative stance on allowing substitute laborers in case of a strike.“Key ILO conventions are minimal universal rights that should be granted all workers regardless of where they are. … They should not be subject to negotiation or conditions,” Lee said. He is the first South Kor
June 14, 2019
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[Eye plus] Cry for democracy still rings out in torture rooms
Right next to the railroad of Namyeong Station in Seoul stands a tall, dark gray building with peculiar-looking windows -- so narrow only a single beam of light passes through. While one would never know from its exterior view, it carries a portion of the turbulent history of South Korea’s democracy that was earned through sacrifice. Constructed in 1976, the seven-story building was the office for the anti-communism investigation division under the National Police Agency, disguised as
June 14, 2019
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Liberty Korea Party pins parliamentary standstill on presidential office
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Thursday accused the presidential office of causing the standstill at the National Assembly amid pressure from ruling and minor opposition parties for the conservative party to cooperate to open the June extraordinary session. “How can we resume the parliament when Cheong Wa Dae is ruining (cooperation), ridiculing and pressuring the main opposition?” said Liberty Korea Party floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won in an urgent debate on the supplementar
June 13, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Opposition lawmaker loses Nat'l Assembly seat as top court confirms bribery conviction
A lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party lost his National Assembly seat Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld his bribery conviction.Rep. Yi Wan-young of the LKP was sentenced to an imprisonment of four months, suspended for two years, and a fine of 5 million won ($4,220) for borrowing 248 million won, interest-free, from a politician in 2012 in violation of the Political Fund Law. The ruling stripped the 62-year-old Yi of his parliamentary seat and disqualified him from running
June 13, 2019
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[News Focus] Will Democratic Party defend its 82 seats in capital area?
SEJONG -- The general election for the 21st National Assembly is coming up in about 300 days, and it will be a crucial moment when ordinary people get their chance to assess the Moon Jae-in administration.Currently, few people expect the results of the parliamentary election to mirror those of the 2018 local elections, when the ruling Democratic Party of Korea scored a landslide victory over its main rival, the Liberty Korea Party. According to a variety of pollsters, President Moon’s
June 13, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Christian group chief under fire over attack on President Moon
Jeon Gwang-hoon, a pastor and the chief of the Christian Council of Korea, on Wednesday faced public backlash and opposition from Christian groups for frivolous claims concerning President Moon Jae-in.During a press conference earlier in the week, Jeon, who has been calling on the president to step down, said, “At this rate South Korea will fall. I thought I had to save the country before it perishes. … President Moon should leave Cheong Wa Dae by the end of this year.”Steppin
June 12, 2019
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[News Focus] Ruling party, main opposition race to lure young voters
With less than a year left until the general election slated for April next year, South Korea’s two largest political parties have their sights set on voters in their 20s and 30s.Young liberal and conservative voters are increasingly losing interest in politics -- whether due to disappointment with the ailing economy under the Moon Jae-in administration or incendiary language and actions by the leadership of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. Polls from previous elections have shown
June 11, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Lee Hee-ho, women’s rights pioneer, partner in inter-Korean reconciliation efforts
Lee Hee-ho was most often in the spotlight as late President Kim Dae-jung’s wife in the later parts of her life, but Lee was a champion of women’s rights whose beliefs and actions have left a lasting mark on Korean society.Lee was born into a wealthy family in 1922 during the Japanese occupation of Korea. While Korea was a patriarchal society where women took second priority to men, Lee’s parents are said to have raised her without such bias. Lee studied at a girl’s high
June 11, 2019
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Ex-first lady Lee remembered as political buttress for husband, pioneer for women's rights
The late former first lady Lee Hee-ho was a lifelong political companion of her late husband Kim Dae-jung, the architect of the "sunshine policy" of engaging North Korea, and a pioneer for women's rights.Lee died at the age of 96 on Monday after battling liver cancer, according to her aides. Lee was not like a shadowlike first lady but served as a political buttress for Kim throughout the ex-president's tumultuous life and an activist for women's rights. She was also an espouser of Kim
June 11, 2019
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Lee Hee-ho, widow of ex-President Kim Dae-jung, dies at 97
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, died Monday at the age of 96, aides said.Lee had been hospitalized at a Seoul hospital while battling liver cancer."First lady Lee passed today at 11:37 p.m.," an official at the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center said. Lee served as chair of the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, which was founded by her husband to promote inter-Korean reconciliation and world peace, and fight global poverty.The former president, who served from
June 11, 2019
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Moon expects dialogue with N. Korea to resume soon
HELSINKI -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in struck an upbeat note Monday on efforts to restart talks with North Korea, stressing that dialogue momentum stays alive.Speaking after a summit here with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, Moon said dialogue is underway for the continuation of talks between South and North Korea as well as North Korea and the United States.It was unclear whether the president meant an informal contact with Pyongyang, as there have been no formal, announced neg
June 10, 2019
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Government, ruling party urge main opposition to discuss supplementary budget
The presidential office and the ruling party on Monday urged the main opposition to resume parliamentary proceedings, saying that the supplementary budget needs to be implemented by July at the latest. Officials who attended a high-level meeting between Cheong Wa Dae, the ruling Democratic Party and the government said discussions on the supplementary budget must begin early this week if it is to be implement next month. The 6.7 trillion won ($5.6 billion) supplementary budget bill has been held
June 10, 2019
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Ruling party, gov't urge swift normalization of parliament for extra budget bill
Ruling party, government and presidential officials called for the swift normalization of the National Assembly on Monday, stressing that a bill mandating extra fiscal spending should be passed no later than July.The National Assembly has been idle for about two months as rival parties have bickered over a set of political issues, suspending the opening of an extra parliamentary session in June. A delay in the normalization of the assembly's operation has jeopardized a 6.7 trillion-won ($5.7 bil
June 10, 2019
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S. Korea, China in close coordination on possible summit: Cheong Wa Dae
South Korea's presidential office strongly indicated Friday that it's pushing for an immediate summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the upcoming G-20 summit in Japan."(The two sides) are closely communicating" in connection with the possible summit, a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters. No decision, however, has been made yet on the "timing, venue and formality" of a possible meeting between Moon and Xi, he added.A final
June 7, 2019
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LKP leader vows party reform, appeals to young voters
Marking 100 days since he assumed the party leadership, main opposition Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday vowed to reform the party. The previous day, Hwang warned against controversial remarks by party lawmakers and attended a meeting with a group of people in their 20s to 40s, in an apparent bid to expand the conservative party’s support base ahead of next year’s general election. “If we don’t reform and innovate the party ourselves, we ca
June 6, 2019
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Fee for celebrity government appearance sparks dispute
Popular talk show host and comedian Kim Je-dong’s high fees for a lecture hosted by a regional government has sparked controversy. Kim, on Wednesday, faced public outcry after it was revealed he would be paid 15.5 million won ($13,100) by the local district government of Daedeok-gu in Daejeon for a 90-minute talk show titled “A Person to Another Person,” targeted at students and their parents. The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party’s Daejeon office issued a statement on t
June 6, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Moon urges national unity based on patriotism in Memorial Day speech
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday stressed that patriotism transcends ideology, as his liberal administration has faced constant political attacks over its approach toward North Korea.In his Memorial Day address at Seoul National Cemetery, which Moon described as a "site alive with patriotism," Moon said, "When it comes to patriotism, there is no difference between conservatives and liberals."Love of country is a matter of caring about the "destiny of a national communit
June 6, 2019