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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Moon names Cheong Wa Dae secretary as vice foreign minister
President Moon Jae-in tapped Choi Jong-kun, a key Cheong Wa Dae aide, as new vice foreign minister Friday, according to Moon's office. Choi has served as secretary for peace planning at Cheong Wa Dae's national security office. He is known as one of the major players in Moon's drive for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. Choi, a former Yonsei University professor of political science and international studies, has expertise in the diplomatic and security field, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman K
Aug. 14, 2020
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Gyeonggi governor emerges as front-runner in poll of presidential hopefuls
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has surpassed Democratic Party Rep. Lee Nak-yon for the first time in a popularity poll of South Korea's prospective presidential candidates, pollster Gallup Korea said Friday. In a Gallup survey of 1,001 adults nationwide conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, Gov. Lee was favored by 19 percent of respondents, beating out his political rival Rep. Lee, who obtained support from 17 percent. The governor's endorsement rate rose by 6 percentage points from the p
Aug. 14, 2020
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Ruling party’s ratings lag behind opposition for the first time in nearly 3 years
The ruling Democratic Party’s support rating has fallen behind that of the conservative opposition United Future Party for the first time in nearly three years, a survey showed Thursday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter, the ruling party’s support rating came to 33.4 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous week, while that of the United Future Party rose 1.9 percentage points to 36.5 percent. The gap remains relatively small, but this is the first time the Demo
Aug. 13, 2020
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Moon replaces two more senior aides
President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday named new senior secretaries for public relations, and social policy, continuing the reshuffle that began last month. For the post of social policy senior secretary, Moon named Yoon Chang-yul, who currently heads the planning and coordination office under the Prime Minister’s Office. The current senior social policy secretary Kim Yeon-myung is not among the six senior aides who offered their resignation on Friday, and speculations have risen that Moo
Aug. 12, 2020
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Moon replaces three senior aides, withholds decision on chief of staff
President Moon Jae-in on Monday named three new senior secretaries, three days after six of his top aides including his chief of staff offered their resignations. The three posts replaced are that for political affairs, civil affairs and justice, and civic and social agenda, and the new secretaries will be appointed on Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae said. For the post of political affairs secretary, Moon chose former ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Jae-sung, and Board of Audit and Inspection
Aug. 10, 2020
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Moon says govt. to mull agency to oversee housing market in response to soaring home prices
President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government will consider setting up a separate supervisory body, if needed, to make sure that existing policy steps to curb home price hikes work properly. He also proposed a review of ways to alleviate the tax burden of low- to mid-priced single-house owners as part of "complementary" measures. "The housing problem has become the foremost pending policy task for the people," he said at the outset of his weekly meeting with senior
Aug. 10, 2020
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Senior presidential aides offer to resign, but draw ridicule and attacks from opposition
Recent offers to resign by top presidential aides have presented another major hurdle for the Moon Jae-in administration, resulting in ridicule from the public and harsher attacks from the opposition bloc. On Friday, six of President Moon’s top aides offered to resign, including chief of staff Noh Young-min, over the growing controversy surrounding the government’s real estate policies. The other senior officials who offered to resign are Yoon Do-han, in charge of public communi
Aug. 9, 2020
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Moon's chief of staff, five senior aides offer to resign
President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and all five senior secretaries of his team offered to resign on Friday, taking responsibility for recent management of administration, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The five are Kang Gi-jung for political affairs, Yoon Do-han for public communication, Kim Jo-won for civil affairs, Kim Geo-sung for civil society, Kim Oe-sook for personnel management. "They are offering to resign to take overall responsibility for recent s
Aug. 7, 2020
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President Moon express regret over NK not informing Seoul of dam discharge
President Moon Jae-in expressed regret over North Korea not giving Seoul advance notice of the discharging of water from its dam just north of the inter-Korean border, sources said Thursday. The chief executive made the comment during a visit to Gunnam Dam, which lies downriver from the North's Hwanggang Dam, aides to the president said. Earlier in the week, Hwanggang's floodgates opened to release water down the Imjin River that flows through South Korea into the Yellow Sea. The discharge c
Aug. 6, 2020
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S. Korea mulls support for Lebanon through local peacekeeping
Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, said Thursday that the National Security Council (NSC) discussed ways to help Lebanon recover from a deadly explosion earlier this week, including provision of support from South Korean peacekeeping unit Dongmyung stationed in the Middle Eastern country. NSC members exchanged views on ways to extend support to Lebanon through the Dongmyung Unit during the regular meeting of the council's standing committee, Cheong Wa Dae said in a release. About 280 Do
Aug. 6, 2020
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New real estate laws face opposition from lessors
New legislation levying steep taxes on owners of multiple homes and protecting the rights of tenants faces strong resistance from landlords and civic groups, despite the government’s commitment to stamp out housing speculation. Angry landlords are planning to hold a candlelight vigil in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Aug. 15, which would be the latest in a series of rallies held to protest the government’s real estate policies. The organizers call themselves a “tax resistanc
Aug. 6, 2020
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Moon expresses condolences over deadly Beirut explosion
President Moon Jae-in sent a message of condolence to his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Aoun, Wednesday over a deadly explosion in Beirut that killed more than 100 people and injured 4,000 others. The massive blast occurred on Tuesday at Beirut's port, as ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material, caught fire while in storage at a warehouse, according to media reports. In his message, Moon said that he was deeply sorry for the deadly explosion that resulted in hea
Aug. 5, 2020
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Real estate tax hikes pass through parliament
The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a package of real estate-related bills that would introduce the heftiest-ever levy on homeowners, despite resistance from opposition lawmakers. A total of 11 bills passed through the parliament during Tuesday’s voting session pertaining to income tax, corporate tax and property ownership tax on multiple-home owners, as part of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s campaign to deliver nonhomeowners a better chance at owning a house. C
Aug. 4, 2020
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[News Focus] Sejong an alternative to overcrowded, overly expensive Seoul?
Decentralization has been an important yet neglected issue in S. Korea, where half of the country’s population of 51.8 million people live in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area, which accounts for 11 percent of the nation’s total land area. In the early 2000s, iconoclastic president Roh Moo-hyun envisioned a new capital to be built near the geographic center of the country, but he was stopped by the Constitutional Court, which famously ruled that Seoul being the capital
Aug. 3, 2020
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Moon urges efforts to minimize casualties as damage by heavy rain rises
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for the central and provincial governments to move fast to take necessary steps to ensure no more life is lost as the country has been pummeled by torrential rain for days. He was briefed on the extent of damage incurred by heavy rain nationwide and expressed concerns particularly over people's safety, presidential deputy spokesperson Yoon Jae-kwan said in a briefing. The president asked the central and provincial governments to "do the
Aug. 3, 2020
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Contentious bills on tenants’ rights passed
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday pushed through two controversial bills on tenants’ rights, amid strong resistance from opposition lawmakers, landlords and some experts who worry about a sudden spike in residential property rents. Revisions to the Housing Lease Protection Act and the Commercial Lease Protection Act, which passed through the National Assembly during its full-floor session, are two of the three legislative proposals introduced by the Democratic Party perta
July 30, 2020
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[News Focus] Half of citizens in Seoul, Gyeonggi disapprove of Moon
SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in has lost popularity in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, as well as in the country’s southeastern Yeongnam area, seemingly due to fury over the government’s real estate policies. According to a poll conducted in the fourth week of July by Gallup Korea, 1 out of 2 residents of Seoul and the surrounding areas responded that Moon was “not doing well.” The survey showed that 50 percent of the respondents in Seoul and 52 p
July 30, 2020
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Real estate bills pass through parliamentary committees despite opposition boycott
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) passed a package of real estate-related bills through parliamentary standing committees this week, including two on Wednesday, in a process vehemently protested and boycotted by the main opposition party. Earlier in the day, the standing Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where 11 out of the total 18 seats are held by the DP, approved two bills to revise the Housing Lease Protection Act in its plenary session. This was after the DP fast-tracked the passage
July 29, 2020
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Presidential office denies existence of secret agreement with North Korea
Seoul’s presidential office on Wednesday denied the existence of a secret agreement with North Korea to provide $3 billion in return for holding an inter-Korean summit Seoul’s presidential office on Wednesday denied the existence of a secret agreement with North Korea to provide $3 billion in return for holding an inter-Korean summit in 2000. “Having verified the information with concerned organizations including the Ministry of Unification and the National Intelligence Serv
July 29, 2020
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Moon urges continued efforts for 'complete missile sovereignty'
President Moon Jae-in called Wednesday for a continued push to secure the "complete missile sovereignty" of South Korea, saying the lifting of restrictions on the country's use of solid fuels for its space rocket offers a good chance for development of the space industry. Moon was speaking about the revised missile guidelines between Seoul and Washington, announced the previous day, on allowing Seoul to launch long-range rockets based on solid propellants, as well as liquid and hybri
July 29, 2020