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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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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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PM instructs authorities to prepare for full-fledged in-person schooling in H2
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Wednesday called for careful preparations toward full-fledged in-person schooling starting in the second half, as the COVID-19 vaccination campaign picks up speed across the nation. "As we concentrated our efforts on vaccinations of senior citizens and high-risk group people in the first half, we must start the recovery of our everyday normal lives in the second half starting with the normalization of schools," Kim said during a daily interagency meeting
June 2, 2021
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Potential pardon for Samsung scion discussed in Moon's meeting with biz leaders: Cheong Wa Dae
President Moon Jae-in talked about whether to grant Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto head of Samsung Group, a special pardon, during a meeting with a group of business leaders, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. Moon had a luncheon meeting with the leaders of South Korea's four major conglomerates -- SK, Hyundai, LG and Samsung -- at Cheong Wa Dae earlier in the day. The attendees were SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Samsung E
June 2, 2021
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Moon calls on new prosecutor general to play a role in prosecution reform
President Moon Jae-in called Tuesday for new Prosecutor-General Kim Oh-soo to play a role in his administration's tumultuous drive to reform the state prosecution service. Presenting Kim with a letter of appointment during a Cheong Wa Dae ceremony, Moon said he expects him to "play a great role in transforming the prosecution to become a fair organization that meets the people's expectations," according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Kim, a veteran prosecutor, served as
June 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Mayor of Seoul, Gyeonggi governor clash on social media over basic income plans
The mayor of Seoul and the governor of Gyeonggi Province, the heads of the two largest local governments in South Korea, exchanged words over the weekend on the topic of basic income support. While Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung proposes prioritizing the equal distribution of funds to people of all socioeconomic levels, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon wants to give more to those with less income. The two had clashed in the past over the matter, but the conflict flared up again last week when Oh wrote a so
June 1, 2021
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Govt. push to ease citizenship rules draws ire
The justice ministry's plan to lower the barrier for children of permanent residents to gain citizenship has triggered protest from people who suspect the move was a ploy to benefit Chinese living here. An early draft of the revision to the Nationality Act allows children of permanent residents with "close ties" to South Korea to easily acquire citizenship. In detail, children up to the age of 6 will be able to immediately gain citizenship without preconditions and those aged 7 and ab
June 1, 2021
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DP floor leader raises need for another round of universal stimulus checks
Rep. Yun Ho-jung, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), has said the country needs to come up with another round of universal COVID-19 response stimulus checks in time for the national attainment of herd immunity. "(The government) needs to provide emergency handouts and take measures for grand economic reconciliation as a new strategy to reinvigorate the economy for the post-COVID-19 era," the ruling party floor leader said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the N
June 1, 2021
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‘Assembly speaker strengthens ties with Russia, Czech Republic’
National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has wrapped up an official visit to Russia and the Czech Republic, conducting extensive diplomacy focusing on peaceful settlement on the Korean Peninsula and nuclear power plant exports, officials said Monday. Park’s nine-day trip that ended Sunday came at the official invitation of Russian House Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Czech Senator Milos Vystrcil. During the first five days, Park visited Russia to focus on deepening friendship and co
May 31, 2021
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DP unilaterally adopts confirmation report on top prosecutor
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday unilaterally adopted a parliamentary confirmation report on the top prosecutor nominee despite protest from opposition lawmakers. The parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where DP lawmakers command a majority, adopted the report on the result of the confirmation hearing on Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo, held last Wednesday. The committee session was, however, boycotted by lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP)
May 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Moon's approval rating rebounds substantially on US summit deal: poll
President Moon Jae-in's job approval rating rebounded to nearly 40 percent for the first time in nearly three months thanks to positive reception toward his recent summit deal with US President Joe Biden, according to a new poll released Monday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,512 people over the age of 18 from May 24-28, Moon's job approval rating was recorded at 39.3 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous week. The result marked Moon's highest performance in public pol
May 31, 2021
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S. Korea set to host virtual P4G summit on climate
A major global summit on climate and sustainable growth is scheduled to open on Sunday under the initiative of South Korea. President Moon Jae-in will host the two-day 2021 P4G Seoul Summit via video links, joined by more than 60 other top government officials and heads of international organizations, according to his office. They include British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and John Ke
May 30, 2021
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DP, govt. recognize need to resume inter-Korean dialogue to restore cross-border ties
The government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Friday agreed on the need to restart dialogue with North Korea to restore inter-Korean relations as early as possible based on last week's Seoul-Washington summit deal that reaffirmed the allies' peace commitment toward the Korean Peninsula. "We have agreed that Seoul should facilitate conversations and exchanges with Pyongyang to ease the strained inter-Korean relations," DP spokesperson Rep. Koh Yong-jin said after a policy cons
May 28, 2021
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Moon replaces senior secretary for public communication
President Moon Jae-in has named Park Soo-hyun, a former lawmaker, as new senior secretary for public communication, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Park succeeds Chung Man-ho, who has been in the post for less than 10 months. Park worked as Moon's first Cheong Wa Dae spokesman starting in May 2017 after serving as lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party for four years from 2012. He left Cheong Wa Dae in 2018 in a failed bid to become governor of South Chungcheong Province. He was defeated in last ye
May 28, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Young underdog emerges as winner of primary for main opposition party leader
Lee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician with no experience as a lawmaker, swept to victory Friday in the primary for the upcoming election to pick the new chairman of the main opposition party. Lee was among the final five candidates selected through opinion polls to compete in the People Power Party's (PPP) chairman election on June 11, according to the party's election management committee. The former member of the party's supreme council was followed by former four-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won
May 28, 2021
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Vice justice minister offers to resign over assault allegations
Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu offered to resign Friday, after he was embroiled in a controversy over unpunished assault against a taxi driver. The justice ministry announced the news, without detailing reasons for his abrupt resignation. In a short statement sent to reporters, Lee said he was resigning because he believed the ministry "badly" needed a "new worker" who could help the ministry to reinvent itself for the remaining one year of the Moon Jae-in government.
May 28, 2021
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DP, govt. decide to abolish housing supply program for civil servants in Sejong
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Friday decided to abolish a controversial housing supply program for public sector employees relocating to the central administrative city of Sejong, calling it an "excessive privilege." The decision was reached in a policy consultation meeting between the DP, the government and Cheong Wa Dae held at the National Assembly. The special benefit program has recently been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that an affiliate
May 28, 2021
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S. Korea seeks unfettered access to space tech after ban lifted
South Korea is now free to flex its muscles in space, as it was cut loose from a Korea-US missile pact that has long capped Seoul’s missile program and space reach, experts said Thursday. At last week’s Seoul-Washington summit, the two allies agreed to abolish the 1979 pact that banned medium and long-range ballistic missiles. The US reversed the decision in what many see as an effort to reel in South Korea to counter China and North Korea. Military experts hailed the event, and s
May 27, 2021
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Moon says S. Korea has room to keep aggressive fiscal policy
President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that South Korea needs to maintain expansionary fiscal policy for the time being despite a hike in national debts attributable to the response to COVID-19. He emphasized that the role of state budget spending is important amid the crisis, speaking at the outset of an annual meeting on fiscal strategy. It was convened to review fiscal policy, set the direction of next year’s budget plans and discuss midterm fiscal strategy for the period of 2021-25. He
May 27, 2021
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Moon requests confirmation hearing report on prosecutor general nominee
President Moon Jae-in formally asked lawmakers Thursday to send a report on the results of their confirmation hearing on his pick to become prosecutor general. Moon requested that the National Assembly forward the report by next Monday under a related law, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. He earlier nominated Kim Oh-soo, former vice justice minister, to lead the state prosecution service, a position that has been vacant since the sudden resignation of Yoon Seok-youl in
May 27, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Yoon Seok-youl leads presidential hopeful race as Lee Jae-myung's approval catches up
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is leading the race among prospective presidential hopefuls, while runner-up Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has managed to narrow the gap in approval with Yoon, according to a new poll released Thursday. According to the survey conducted on 2,004 voters nationwide from Monday-Tuesday by Realmeter, Yoon was the most favored candidate for the upcoming 2022 presidential election, receiving 30.5 percent of support. Lee came second, chalking up 25.3 per
May 27, 2021
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Main opposition leader resumes public activities after testing negative for COVID-19
The acting chief of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) resumed his public activities Thursday after testing negative for COVID-19. Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, PPP floor leader who is currently acting as the chairman, had temporarily canceled his schedule for the day, including a meeting of the interim party leadership in the morning, following a coronavirus infection case inside the party. According to the party, Kim attended the same party meetings Monday and Tuesday as a party official wh
May 27, 2021