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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[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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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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SM founder Lee Soo-man is back with A2O Entertainment
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Justice minister nominee denies role in alleged corruption involving his family
Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk denied he had any part in alleged corruption involving his family during a confirmation hearing Friday, as political parties wrangled over his suitability for the post.Cho repeatedly apologized to the public for the allegations that have caused public disappointment and uproar, but he also expressed his unwavering commitment to carrying out reform of the prosecution."For the reform, I think that a proper candidate for justice minister should have no experien
Sept. 6, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Main opposition floor leader's leadership shaky
Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Na Kyung-won’s compromise with the ruling Democratic Party on a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk has stoked discontent among some party members, raising questions about Na’s leadership.Members of the main opposition party who opposed the move said Friday’s hearing would legitimize Cho’s nomination at a time when President Moon Jae-in is already widely expected to appoint Cho as Justice Minister with o
Sept. 5, 2019
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International lawyers call NK waitresses’ defection ‘abduction’
A fact-finding committee composed of international lawyers said the high-profile mass defection of North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 was really an abduction. In a preliminary report on the committee’s investigation in Pyongyang, released Wednesday, committee chiefs Jun Sasamoto and Niloufer Bhagwat concluded “the twelve women employees were brought to South Korea by deception against their will” and that “this constitutes the criminal offense of abduction.”Dur
Sept. 4, 2019
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Rival parties agree to hold Cho Kuk hearing on Friday
After weeks of wrangling, the ruling and main opposition parties agreed to hold a parliamentary confirmation hearing of Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk on Friday.The dramatic agreement came after the rival parties sparred on Wednesday over the date of a parliamentary confirmation hearing for the nominee is facing a flurry of allegations involving his daughter and wife.All the parties have agreed not to summon Cho’s family members to the hearing.“We had many differences, but based on
Sept. 4, 2019
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[News Focus] Support-rating gap between rival parties narrows
SEJONG -- The 2020 general election for South Korea’s next National Assembly is coming in about 200 days.A core issue is whether the ruling Democratic Party of Korea will continue to secure its dominance in support ratings over the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.The Democratic Party has yet to yield its leading position in approval ratings among the people since President Moon-Jae-in took office in May 2017.But symptoms of situation change have emerged over the past few months amid sa
Sept. 3, 2019
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President Moon to request Cho Kuk’s Assembly hearing report amid conflict
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has asked the National Assembly to resend its hearing report for embattled Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk by the end of this week, a top presidential aide said Tuesday.The request comes in the face of the opposition bloc’s vehement objection to Cho, which has only deepened since his unprecedented press conference Monday.“President Moon Jae-in has requested the National Assembly to resend the confirmation hearing reports on six nominees including J
Sept. 3, 2019
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Moon asks for parliamentary confirmation hearing report on justice minister nominee
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday asked the National Assembly to send a confirmation hearing report on a justice minister nominee facing corruption allegations involving his family, moving a step closer to appointing him.While on overseas trips, the president requested parliament to send the hearing report on the nominee, Cho Kuk, to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae by Friday, according to Yoon Do-han, senior presidential secretary for public communication.Moon is expected to press ahead wit
Sept. 3, 2019
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Beleaguered Cho Kuk gets support from unlikely source -- former presidential rivals
Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk, mired in corruption allegations, is drawing support from liberal heavyweights who could be rival presidential contenders.Cho, a close aide of president Moon Jae-in and once considered a likely presidential candidate, faces allegations that range from his daughter’s illicit college admission to shady investment records involving a private equity fund, whose only investors are his family members. The allegations have prompted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-you
Sept. 3, 2019
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Justice nominee apologizes, refuses to quit
Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk apologized for failing to properly oversee his daughter’s college applications and family’s investments.“I apologize to the public. I have disappointed you despite the expectations placed on me, which were more than I deserved.” Cho said in a press conference Monday at the National Assembly. “I am a wreck, but I will continue as long as I can. … I believe I have to complete what I have worked for my entire life. If I had thoug
Sept. 2, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Yoon and Cho, the rise and fall of icons
Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk continue to dominate local headlines for starkly different reasons, with shifting support from liberals and conservatives. Yoon gained fame as a lead investigator in the allegations that the National Intelligence Service interfered in the 2012 presidential election. He was then pushed away from the center of power at the prosecution, only to return to the public eye in 2016 as one of the lead investigators in the massiv
Sept. 2, 2019
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Moon in Thailand on three-nation tour
BANGKOK -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew into Bangkok Sunday at the start of a weeklong trip that will also take him to Myanmar and Laos as part of efforts to deepen Seoul's partnerships with the region.Moon became the first South Korean president to visit Thailand in seven years. He plans to hold summit talks with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday, with bilateral cooperation on innovative growth high on the agenda.Traditionally, South Korea and Thailand have maintained close
Sept. 1, 2019
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President Moon requests review of college admissions system
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for a review of the country’s college entrance system amid controversy over alleged admission irregularities involving Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk’s daughter, the presidential office said Sunday.“(President Moon) asked for a reexamination of the overall college admissions system, beyond controversy surrounding nominee Cho and his family,” said Yoon Do-han, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication.The presid
Sept. 1, 2019
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[Newsmaker] Ruling party seeks last-minute agreement on justice minister nominee hearing
Ruling Democratic Party Floor Leader Lee In-young said Sunday that the party would “wait until the last moment” for the main opposition party to agree to Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk’s confirmation hearing, initially scheduled for Sept. 2-3.“If the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee approves the hearing tomorrow (Monday) morning, a confirmation hearing can be held right away starting tomorrow (as scheduled),” Lee said during a press co
Sept. 1, 2019
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Main opposition party takes to the streets against justice nominee Cho
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party held a mass protest for the second consecutive weekend in Seoul, condemning the Moon government and calling on Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk to resign.A day after holding a rally in the southern port city Busan, Cho’s hometown, the conservative party staged a protest Saturday afternoon near Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, amid scuffles between the main opposition and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea over a parliamentary confirmation hearing
Sept. 1, 2019
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Moon appoints new agriculture minister
President Moon Jae-in formally appointed veteran bureaucrat Kim Hyeon-soo as the new agriculture minister Friday, the presidential office said.Kim, 58, a former vice agriculture minister, will assume the post Saturday to replace incumbent Lee Gae-ho. He is the first to be appointed among seven minister-level nominees tapped by Moon on Aug. 9 and subject to confirmation hearings. Kim went through a confirmation hearing Thursday at the National Assembly's agricultural and fisheries committee. In i
Aug. 30, 2019
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[Herald Interview] Lawyers probing NK waitresses’ defection blast ‘uncooperative’ S. Korean officials
The mass defection by North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 may have been orchestrated by South Korean authorities for political reasons, according to two lawyers from an international fact-finding committee. Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific Secretary-General Jun Sasamoto and Vice President Niloufer Bhagwat spoke to The Korea Herald on Friday morning in Myeong-dong, Seoul, before departing for Beijing on Saturday en route to Pyongyang.Sasamoto and Bhagwat were in Seoul from Sun
Aug. 30, 2019
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Cheong Wa Dae urges National Assembly to hold confirmation hearing on justice minister nominee
Cheong Wa Dae on Friday ratcheted up pressure on the National Assembly to hold a confirmation hearing for the justice minister nominee, frustrated by a political dogfight over the issue.Cho Kuk, a law professor who served as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, is at the center of intensifying bickering between ruling and major opposition parties.Three weeks earlier, President Moon Jae-in nominated Cho to be the new justice minister amid his drive to reform the state prosecution.Cho,
Aug. 30, 2019
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Parties clash over Cho’s confirmation hearing
The confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk appears unlikely to be held on schedule, with the ruling and opposition parties failing to agree on witnesses who will be called to the stand. Cho’s confirmation hearing was scheduled to be held Monday and Tuesday. On Friday, the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee met to discuss the issue, but the meeting ended within minutes. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is demanding that members of Cho’s fa
Aug. 30, 2019
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Pro-Park Geun-hye activists disappointed with Supreme Court ruling
A group of lawmakers and activists supporting former president Park Geun-hye expressed disappointment and anger Thursday after the Supreme Court ordered a new trial for the disgraced leader.With the verdict, the ousted and jailed Park may face harsher legal punishment in a massive bribery scandal involving her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, and Samsung Group's leader Lee Jae-yong.South Korea's highest court sent Park's case back to the Seoul High Court, ordering it to handle her bribery charge
Aug. 29, 2019
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[News Focus] Moon reverts to hard line as Japan rejects dialogue
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday renewed his criticism of the Japanese government, calling on Tokyo to face history, returning to his earlier hard-line stance after weeks of calling for dialogue. “Japan must be honest. Japan has yet to even state an honest reason for its economic retaliation. The Japanese government is trying to rationalize its economic retaliation by baselessly shifting its rhetoric as frequently as necessary,” Moon said, referring to Tokyo’s removal of
Aug. 29, 2019