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] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Newsmaker] Poll shows increase in conservatives among S. Koreans for 3rd straight year
A poll released by a state research body on Sunday showed an increase in conservatives among South Koreans for a third consecutive year. The Korea Institute of Public Administration (KIPA) also said the number of those who consider themselves liberals fell for the second straight year. KIPA polled 8,336 South Koreans, aged 19 and over, from September to October last year on their political leanings. The results showed that 25.7 percent of the polled said they are conservatives, up 1 percentage
April 4, 2021
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Early voting turnout for by-elections hits record high of 20.54%
Early voting for next week's by-elections finished Saturday with a turnout of 20.54 percent, the highest in South Korea's by-election history, according to election authorities. During the two-day advance voting period that ended at 6 p.m. on the day, 2.49 million of the total 12.16 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the National Election Commission. The previous record high of 19.40 percent was posted in the Oct. 29 by-elections in 2014. Voters will choose new mayors of
April 4, 2021
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Moon vows continued push for honor of Jeju April 3 incident victims
President Moon Jae-in assured Jeju residents and others Saturday that the government will faithfully implement a revised special law on compensating the victims and bereaved families of the April 3 massacre seven decades ago. He described the legislation as a "blueprint for building a house of history" related to the tragedy, speaking at a memorial ceremony held on the southern island. "(The government) promises to elaborate the blueprint and faithfully implement it," he sa
April 3, 2021
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Yoon casts early ballot, fans speculations of political career
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl on Friday cast his ballot in the by-election for Seoul mayor, fanning speculations that he may enter politics himself. Yoon’s plans to cast his ballot Friday – the first day of two days of early voting – was made known Thursday. The decision to reveal his voting plans fanned speculations that he may make some form of announcement on the day, or use the early voting to signal the start of his own political career. Yoon, however, did no
April 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Moon's approval rating drops to another record low of 32%: Gallup
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has fallen for the third consecutive week, reaching an all-time low of 32 percent, due mainly to his government's unpopular housing policy, a poll showed Friday. In Gallup Korea's survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted from Tuesday through Thursday, only 32 percent gave a positive assessment of Moon's presidency, down 2 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest since his inauguration in 2017. But 58 percent negatively assessed Moon's p
April 2, 2021
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Early voting for next week's by-elections begin
Voters headed to polling stations Friday as two-day early voting kicked off ahead of next week's by-elections for mayors of the country's two biggest cities. Early voting began at 6 a.m. and will last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Besides the two mayoral seats in Seoul and Busan, two regional administrative posts and 17 seats on regional legislative councils are also up for grabs. On the first day, 1.11 million of the total 12.16 millio
April 2, 2021
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Seoul High Court judge nominated as new Supreme Court justice
A senior judge at the Seoul High Court has been selected as the final candidate to succeed outgoing Supreme Court Justice Park Sang-ok, the top court said Thursday. Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su picked Seoul High Court Judge Cheon Dae-yeop out of three candidates proposed by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommending Committee and recommended him to President Moon Jae-in for official appointment, the court said. Cheong Wa Dae announced later that Moon plans to submit a motion on Cheon's no
April 1, 2021
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Assembly speaker starts trade mission in Central Asia
National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug began his nine-day visit to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to strengthen economic ties with the three emerging Central Asian nations, the National Assembly said Thursday. During the visit, Park will discuss cooperation in areas such as health care, energy, information and communications technology, public administration, agriculture and textiles. On Wednesday, Park visited Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to hold talks with National Assem
April 1, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Rival parties try to drum up turnout as early voting for by-elections set to begin
With one day left before the start of the early voting for next week's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, rival parties on Thursday strived to encourage more of their supporters to go to the polls. The advance polling is set to begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations in Seoul, Busan and other regions ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Both sides believe turnout of their supporters for the early voting will be a prime determinant in the elections
April 1, 2021
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Early voting for upcoming by-elections set to kick off for 2-day run
Early voting for the upcoming by-elections, including polls for the new Seoul and Busan mayors, is set to kick off this week for a two-day run, election officials said Thursday. The advance polling will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening, ahead of the election day on April 7. Some 8.4 million voters in Seoul are eligible to cast ballots for a new mayor in the by-elections that come about a year ahead of the 2022 presidential poll. In Busan, South Korea's second-bigges
April 1, 2021
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PM demands Japan withdraw history distortion amid renewed Dokdo sovereignty claims
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday criticized Japan for the country's latest territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and demanded that Tokyo withdraw its attempts to distort history. A textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved 296 textbooks Tuesday for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects that contain Tokyo's territorial claims to Dokdo. "We demand that Japan, as a responsible member of
March 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Minor Seoul mayoral candidates pledge to support women, LGBTQ people
As the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor approaches, a fierce battle is ongoing between the ruling and main opposition parties. At the same time, 10 minor parties and independent candidates are appealing to voters by talking about gender equality, LGBTQ rights, basic income and the environment. The 10 candidates, whose combined approval rating is less than 5 percent, are getting voters’ attention with issues that major candidates haven’t paid much attention to.
March 31, 2021
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Week ahead of bellwether by-elections, rival parties rush for last-minute campaigning
Rival parties were rushing to rally support in their last-minute election campaigning Wednesday, with the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, seen as a potential game changer for next year's presidential election, only a week away. Some 8.4 million voters in Seoul are set to vote for a new mayor on April 7 in the by-elections that come about a year ahead of the 2022 presidential poll. The mayoral seat in Busan, South Korea's second-biggest city, is also up for grabs in the elections, along w
March 31, 2021
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Ex-DP head issues public apology in admission of housing policy failure
The former head of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday made a public apology in admission of the overall failure in the party's housing policy and a recent bombshell land speculation scandal involving public servants. The so-called LH scandal was triggered earlier this month when two civic groups alleged that employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) bought plots of land in two cities -- Gwangmyeong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province -- before the government announced a massive
March 31, 2021
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Moon vows support for corporate governance campaign
President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that the government will provide full support for the spread of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in South Korea's business sector. He was speaking during the 48th Commerce & Industry Day event hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) at its headquarters in Seoul. The president declared a vision for turning 2021 into the original year for the expansion of "ESG management and entrepreneurship for all&qu
March 31, 2021
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Moon names new Cheong Wa Dae aides on anti-corruption, economy, digital innovation
President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Gi-pyo, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, as his new secretary for anti-corruption, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday. The president also picked Deputy Finance Minister Lee Hyong-il as secretary for economic policy and Kim Jeong-won, information and communication policy chief at the science ministry, as secretary for digital innovation, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Kim is succeeding Lee Myung-shin in a follow-up to Moon's replacement of seni
March 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Poll shows opposition Seoul mayoral candidate has commanding lead over his ruling rival
The conservative main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon is leading his rival from the ruling Democratic Party Park Young-sun by an overwhelming margin of nearly 30 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, a week ahead of the election day. According to the survey conducted on 842 voters in Seoul from Sunday-Monday by Hangil Research, 60.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Oh in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. Only 32.5 percent
March 31, 2021
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Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan named as senior presidential secretary for economic affairs
President Moon Jae-in tapped Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan as his new senior secretary for economic affairs, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday. An is succeeding Lee Ho-seung, who was promoted to the post of presidential chief of staff for policy the previous day. Moon also picked two new vice finance ministers, Lee Eog-weon and Ahn Do-geol, both of whom are career officials at the ministry as well. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has two vice ministers. An has been serving as second vic
March 30, 2021
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Moon calls for speedy relief money handouts, vaccination
President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Tuesday to accelerate the emergency relief money payment that has just begun and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, describing the two elements as crucial in efforts for "inclusive" economic recovery. Earlier this week, his left-leaning administration started handing out the fourth batch of direct financial support for the vulnerable in a tailored program based on a 14.9 trillion-won ($13.1 billion) extra budget. Millions of small mercha
March 30, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Seoul mayor election campaign descends to mud slinging
With the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor just around the corner, the election campaigns are becoming marred by mudslinging and personal insults between candidates, which may lead to political distrust and apathy among voters. About a week to go before the election, both the ruling and opposition parties appear to be focusing more on raising personal negative issues about rival candidates than discussion of policies and pledges. Although there are several candidates, the
March 29, 2021