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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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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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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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Cheong Wa Dae says no plan yet to send special envoy to N. Korea
The office of President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday it has no plan, for now, to dispatch a special envoy to North Korea. It cited "realistic restraints" attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in the day, Cheong Wa Dae announced the reopening of direct communication lines between the two Koreas that were severed in June last year. Moon and the North's leader Kim Jong-un have reached an agreement on that, as they have exchanged personal letters several times, it added. On whethe
July 27, 2021
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[Newsmaker] PPP leader says Lee Jae-myung is easier than Lee Nak-yon
The leader of the main opposition party said Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung was easier than former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as a presidential candidate to compete against in next year’s election. Asked during a radio interview Monday evening which of the two ruling party presidential contenders he thought was “more comfortable to deal with,” People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok chose the governor. “If I say something like this, the Lee Jae-myung camp issues st
July 27, 2021
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Vice FM attends in-person preparatory meeting for COP26 climate summit
Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon attended a high-level meeting on climate change in London this week to discuss efforts to advance carbon emission goals ahead of an upcoming multilateral summit, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The two-day ministerial talks for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that ended Monday (local time) focused on how to implement the goals pledged by countries in the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change and encourage those w
July 27, 2021
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Park Young-sun campaign officials face probe for hiring minor to express support
Prosecutors will investigate officials from the unsuccessful Seoul mayoral campaign of Park Young-sun for allegedly violating election rules by recruiting an underage high school student to voice support for the candidate. The Seoul Yangcheon Police Station said Tuesday that it has handed over the case to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office recommending to indict 17-year-old student surnamed Kang and two officials from Park’s campaign office who were working for her Seou
July 27, 2021
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Koreas reopen severed cross-border hotline: Cheong Wa Dae
The two Koreas reopened direct cross-border communications Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae announced, 13 months after Pyongyang unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda activities in the South. Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication, announced that Seoul and Pyongyang decided to resume communications via their direct hotline starting at 10 a.m. In June last year, North Korea cut off all communication lines with South Korea in protest over Seoul's
July 27, 2021
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Rivals slam Gov. Lee over his basic income pledge
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is fighting back criticism from all across the political spectrum of his presidential campaign pledge to provide a universal basic income of up to 2 million won ($1,730) per year to all citizens. Lee, currently the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential front-runner, announced last week that if he is elected president, the government will start giving 2 million won a year to citizens aged between 19 and 29, and 1 million won to all other citiz
July 26, 2021
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Moon touts budget approval for new COVID-19 relief funds
President Moon Jae-in on Monday touted last week’s bipartisan approval of a 34.9 trillion won ($30.2 billion) extra budget, pledging prompt execution of a new round of COVID-19 relief funds for people in urgent need. Parliament on Saturday endorsed the extra budget larger than the government’s proposed budget of 33 trillion won as the country plans to provide stimulus checks totaling 11 trillion won to people in the bottom 87.7 percent income bracket. About 20.3 million household
July 26, 2021
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Moon congratulates archery team, judo player on Olympic medals
President Moon Jae-in sent congratulatory messages Monday to the members of South Korea's female archery team and a judo player, who won medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Moon lauded the archery squad for its ninth consecutive Olympic gold in a message also posted on his social media accounts. "Since archery was adopted as an Olympic program, the women's team has been at the top, showing the power of the archery of the Republic of Korea," Moon wrote on his message for each member of the
July 26, 2021
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Moon cancels summer holiday for third consecutive year
President Moon Jae-in has canceled his summer holiday for a third consecutive year as COVID-19 cases surged again recently, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources on Sunday. “The president had planned to take his holiday in early August but the plans were canceled,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. Even though Moon might take time off “later,” she said, that seems unlikely for now with COVID-19 showing no immediate signs of abating here. This is the
July 25, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Jeju governor joins presidential election race
Jeju Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong announced Sunday that he will run for presidency in the election slated for March next year. In a video speech, Won, a former three-term opposition lawmaker, vowed to upend "everything" the Moon Jae-in government has done. "I declare my bid for the 20th presidential election to make the Republic of Korea a country of a different class and different dimension," he said in the virtual press conference. "I would like to propose a vision o
July 25, 2021
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Speculations swirl over potential amnesty for ex-President Park, Samsung heir Lee
Rumors that former President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong may receive presidential pardons or paroles are increasingly making the rounds in political circles as of late amid growing calls for amnesty for the two figures jailed over corruption-related charges. Such speculations are being circulated widely with the Aug. 15 Liberation Day, an anniversary on which South Korea's presidents have often used their right to special pardon as part of efforts for promoting national un
July 25, 2021
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3 lawmakers cleared of land speculation charges: police
Local police have cleared charges against three lawmakers who had been suspected of illegal real estate dealings, officials said Saturday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Suwon, just south of Seoul, said it dropped charges against Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, an independent lawmaker, and two ruling Democratic Party members -- Rep. Kim Kyung-man and Rep. Seo Young-suk -- in relation to alleged property speculation. Yang was under probe over a violation of the anti-corruption law and the Farmland Ac
July 24, 2021
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National Assembly endorses W34.9tr extra budget to fight COVID-19
The National Assembly on Saturday gave the nod to a 34.9 trillion-won ($30.3 billion) extra budget bill aimed at propping up the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was passed at a plenary parliamentary meeting in a 208-17 vote, with 12 abstentions. The second extra budget this year came as the country is in a semi-lockdown under the toughest Level 4 social distancing rules amid the worst, fourth wave of mass COVID-19 infections nationwide. Through the supplementary budget,
July 24, 2021
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Moon to hold interagency meeting on coronavirus
President Moon Jae-in will chair an interagency meeting on COVID-19 this weekend to be joined by the heads of 17 local governments, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. He plans to preside over the session at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday via video links, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. It is the first time for the president to chair a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in seven months. It is usually done by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. Earlier Frid
July 23, 2021
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Cheong Wa Dae extends press center closure for two weeks
Cheong Wa Dae said Friday its Chunchugwan press center will remain closed for two more weeks in line with extended social distancing restrictions against COVID-19. Earlier in the day, the government announced the extension of the highest level of regulations by two weeks in Seoul and nearby regions amid no tangible progress in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Chunchugwan has been shut temporarily since July 12. It is the first time that the facility has closed as a precautionary measu
July 23, 2021
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S. Korea seeks unification not 'by absorption' but through peaceful means: official
South Korea seeks unification with North Korea through peaceful means and based on agreement between the two sides, a unification ministry official said Thursday after the chief of the main opposition party expressed his wish for unification "by absorption." In a TV debate on Wednesday, Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), said that he is an advocate of "unification by peaceful absorption" with North Korea. He also renewed calls for scrapping or adjusting
July 22, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor pledges to distribute universal basic income if elected president
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the front-running presidential contender for the ruling Democratic Party, made a campaign pledge Thursday to distribute universal basic income of up to 2 million won ($1,736) per year to all citizens. "Within the (five-year) term of the next administration, (I) will provide 2 million won in basic income to each young person every year and 1 million won each to the rest of the citizens" Lee said in a press conference at the National Assembly in Seo
July 22, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yoon battered over 120-hour work week comment and more
Members of the ruling Democratic Party continued to slam former prosecutor general and presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl on Wednesday for saying that people should be allowed to work 120 hours in a week if they need to. As Yoon criticized the 52-hour work week system as a failed policy in a recent newspaper interview, he said he met people in start-ups who said there should be exemptions to the work hour rule as game developers often need to work 120 hours for a couple of weeks and then hav
July 21, 2021
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Moon reprimands officials for problems in vaccine reservation system: Cheong Wa Dae
President Moon Jae-in has reprimanded his Cheong Wa Dae aides over reports of errors in the online reservation system for COVID-19 vaccine shots, his office said Wednesday. Moon called for "strong" measures to address the problems, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. With regard to the issue, the president pointed out that it is not commensurate with South Korea's stature as an information and technology powerhouse, she said. The government opened a vaccination b
July 21, 2021
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Top court confirms opinion rigging conviction of President Moon's ally
The top court upheld the opinion rigging conviction of South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close aide to President Moon Jae-in, on Wednesday, a decision that will strip Kim of his governorship and potentially deal a political blow to the president. The Supreme Court maintained the verdict by the appeals court in November that Kim colluded with a team of online bloggers, including Kim Dong-won, widely known by his alias Druking, to illegally generate favorable opinions about the pre
July 21, 2021