Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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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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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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Moon, Jokowi hold phone conversation on election, coronavirus
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday congratulated South Korean President Moon Jae-in on his ruling party's parliamentary election victory last week, speaking on the phone, according to Cheong Wa Dae, The overwhelming win by Moon's Democratic Party (DP) is viewed as the outcome of "the people's trust in your leadership," Widodo was quoted as saying. The DP and its ad-hoc sister party, created to gain seats under the proportional representation system, won a combined total of
April 21, 2020
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Moon meets ruling party leaders after election win
President Moon Jae-in invited ruling Democratic Party (DP) leaders to Cheong Wa Dae last week to express appreciation for their role in securing a landslide win in the latest parliamentary elections, party officials said Tuesday. Moon hosted a closed-door dinner with DP chairman Lee Hae-chan; Lee Nak-yon, a co-chief of the party's election preparation panel; and floor leader Lee In-young at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday, two days after the April 15 general elections. The DP and its satellite party
April 21, 2020
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Moon says general election outcome reflects voters' hope for overcoming COVID-19 crisis
President Moon Jae-in on Monday described the results of last week's parliamentary elections as showing South Korean people's intent on uniting power to ride out the coronavirus crisis. Speaking at his weekly meeting with senior Cheong Wa Dae aides, Moon said the foremost task is to overcome the national crisis, namely protecting the lives of the people and reviving the economy. South Korea, the vanguard of the global war against the virus, would certainly win its own fight and give the inter
April 20, 2020
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S. Korea to apply for UNESCO listing of democratization records as early as 2021
South Korea will officially apply for the UNESCO listing of historic records documenting the country's symbolic public democratization movement in 1960 as early as the first half of 2021, according to the national heritage agency. Speaking at a national ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the April 19 pro-democracy revolution Sunday, President Moon Jae-in announced a bid to have a set of documents featuring the historic event inscribed in UNESCO's global Memory of the World Register. &qu
April 20, 2020
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Moon vows to work for equal rights for the disabled
President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the coronavirus outbreak has led South Korea to think more about ways to promote the equal rights of those with disabilities. The virus crisis has served as a reminder that the scale of damages from a disaster is not equal for everyone, Moon said in his message marking the 40th National Disabled Persons' Day. Taking a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, the government will improve a related system to prevent disabled persons and other vulnerable people fr
April 20, 2020
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Blind lawmaker-elect's dog may be allowed in Assembly
The National Assembly reached an internal decision Monday to allow the guide dog of a newly elected lawmaker with a visual disability to enter the main chamber, parliamentary officials said. Kim Ye-ji of the minor opposition Future Korea Party won a proportional representation seat in last week's parliamentary elections. Her election has sparked a debate on whether her guide dog, called Joy, should be allowed to accompany her to the main chamber. The National Assembly has customarily blocked
April 20, 2020
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Mobile ID cards to debut in public sector this year
Mobile identification cards will gradually replace the existing plastic cards in South Korea's public sector beginning this year, the government said Monday. The mobile ID card system will be first introduced to civil servants late this year, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Personnel Management. The smartphone-based ID card system will then be expanded to the issuance of driver's licenses in 2022, the ministries said. Civil servants at central governm
April 20, 2020
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Main opposition in disarray after election defeat
The main opposition United Future Party on Sunday struggled to form a new leadership to navigate its way out of its worst election debacle, suffered in last week’s parliamentary polls. The conservative party’s Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn stepped down from his post, taking responsibility for the loss in the April 15 general elections. Kim Chong-in, a veteran politician who joined the party to lead its election campaign, is widely expected to take charge, reforming and rebuilding the c
April 19, 2020
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S. Korea seeks UNESCO listing of April 19 pro-democracy movement
President Moon Jae-in declared a bid Sunday for the inscription of documentary heritage related to South Korea's historic pro-democracy movement in 1960 on UNESCO's global Memory of the World Register. Speaking at a national ceremony to mark the movement's 60th anniversary, he said the bid is meant to "specially commemorate" the spirit of the April 19 Revolution and leave its spirit to mankind, . "The April 19 Revolution was the first democracy movement in a newly independent c
April 19, 2020
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Moon, Trump agree to cooperate on coronavirus response, related N. Korea aid
WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed Saturday to continue cooperation in response to the coronavirus and reaffirmed a push for humanitarian assistance for North Korea with regard to the pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae said. In phone talks that lasted half an hour, Trump called South Korea's handling of COVID-19 the "best model," noting that it successfully held national elections earlier this week. He then congratulated Moon on his party
April 19, 2020
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Petition pokes fun at Gangnam voters after election of North Korean defector
Tens of thousands of South Koreans have signed a petition calling for the mandatory construction of residential flats for North Korean defectors in the ritzy district of Gangnam, southern Seoul, following a high-profile defector's election in the constituency. In apparent derision of the Gangnam residents who elected Tae Ku-min in Wednesday's legislative election, an anonymous petition was filed on the website of the presidential office on Thursday, demanding the government oblige builders to
April 18, 2020
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New parliament faces pressure to revise defective election law
As a new proportional representation system, introduced for Wednesday's parliamentary elections, failed to fulfill its purpose, newly-elected lawmakers are now expected to address the problem during their four-year term that begins in early June. The mixed-member proportional representation system was introduced under an electoral reform bill that passed the National Assembly in December to better reflect votes cast for parties. It was expected to work favorably for minor parties by distributi
April 18, 2020
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[News Analysis] Minor parties lose foothold in parliament
In Wednesday’s parliamentary election to select 300 lawmakers, a revised electoral system was applied for the first time to open the doors wider for minor parties. But it only caused the opposite effect due to trickery by prominent parties. Out of 47 proportional representative seats, the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition United Future Party, took 17 and 19, respectively, by creating satellite parties to exploit the new parliamentary election formula called semi-mixed membe
April 16, 2020
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Former opposition chief Na loses to political novice
Political heavyweight Na Kyung-won of the main opposition party faced a crushing blow in Seoul’s Dongjak district against former judge Lee Su-jin of the ruling party, according to election results Thursday. According to the National Election Commission, political newcomer Lee edged out four-term lawmaker Na, grabbing 61,407 votes, or 52.1 percent of the total. Na won 53,026 votes. Na has served as floor leader of United Future Party and is considered one of the conservative bloc’s
April 16, 2020
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Ruling bloc gains unprecedented control
The ruling and opposition parties on Thursday began preparations for the days to come following the ruling bloc’s landslide win in the previous day’s general elections. Wednesday’s win increased the presence of President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party of Korea in the National Assembly to unprecedented levels, and on Thursday, Moon expressed his gratitude and pledged to work for the people in a statement conveyed through his spokesman. “The government will take
April 16, 2020
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South Korea’s virus response rooted in lessons from Sewol tragedy: Moon
Commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy that claimed 304 lives, President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said the lessons learned from the 2014 sinking are embedded in his government’s responses to the novel coronavirus outbreak. ‘We cried with the Sewol ferry tragedy, shared a sense of the responsibility (for the lives lost) and realized how deeply interconnected we are with each other,” he wrote via social media. “As we overcome COVID-19, we ar
April 16, 2020
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Moon’s former spokesperson defeats ex-Seoul Mayor
In one of the most heated elections for the National Assembly, former presidential spokesperson Go Min-jung of the ruling party clinched victory in Seoul’s Gwangjin B precinct over an opposition heavyweight figure, election results showed Thursday. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Go, who joined the administration after her time as a TV presenter, narrowly defeated former Seoul Mayor and one-time lawmaker Oh Se-hoon with 54,210 votes, or 50.3 percent, according to the Nationa
April 16, 2020
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With victory under his belt, Hong vows to rebuild conservatives
Hong Joon-pyo, a prominent conservative politician who ran in the election as an independent and won, said Thursday that he would rebuild the political right, which is reeling from a crushing defeat in Wednesday’s general elections. Hong, who was denied candidacy for the conservative main opposition United Future Party, was elected to represent the Suseong-gu constituency of Daegu, a conservative stronghold. He said he would return to the United Future Party as he had promised during his
April 16, 2020
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Joo Ho-young beats icon of anti-regionalism in Daegu
Rep. Joo Ho-young of the United Future Party won his fifth term by a huge margin against four-term lawmaker and potential presidential hopeful Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party in the Suseong-A constituency in Daegu. Joo won 59.8 percent of the ballot, easily beating Kim who came second place with 39.2 percent. Having served senior positions in the United Future Party, Joo is now among the likely candidates to lead his troubled party. Joo, a former judge at the Daegu District Court,
April 16, 2020
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Justice Party leader narrowly retains her seat
Justice Party leader Sim Sang-jung narrowly won her fourth term as a lawmaker in a cutthroat three-way race against first-time parliamentary candidates of the two largest parties. Sim won 39.3 percent of the ballot in Goyang-A, Gyeonggi Province, followed by Lee Kyung-hwan of the main opposition United Future Party who won 32.7 percent and Moon Myung-soon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea with 27.3 percent. As the only winner among 75 Justice Party candidates who ran in electoral distr
April 16, 2020