Most Popular
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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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[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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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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'1 million' Christians join anti-LGBTQ+ marriage rally
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Veteran lawmaker warns against ‘anti-Moon alliance’
A veteran lawmaker criticized opposition members who are moving to form an alliance against President Moon Jae-in, saying it was “not right” to prevent a head of state from doing his duty. In a radio interview Tuesday morning, Rep. Park Jie-won, a former culture minister and four-term lawmaker from the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace, warned of the many crises facing the country. Park Jie-won (Yonhap)Noting that that the country faces a crisis on five fronts -- denuclearization, e
Nov. 20, 2018
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Ex-Supreme Court justice summoned for questioning in power abuse probe
Prosecutors said Tuesday they have called in a retired former Supreme Court justice to face questioning later this week over his alleged involvement in a ballooning power abuse scandal involving the previous top court leadership. Ko Young-han, who also headed the National Court Administration, the top court's governing body, from February 2016 to May 2017, has been summoned for an interrogation at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said. He retired in August. (Y
Nov. 20, 2018
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Korea set to formalize shutdown of 'comfort women' foundation
The South Korean government is expected to announce a decision this week on dismantling a controversial foundation related to Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, an official said Tuesday.The planned shutdown of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, funded by Japan, is seen as Seoul's move to effectively discard a 2015 accord between the neighboring countries on the "comfort women" issue. (Yonhap)Many Korean women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military durin
Nov. 20, 2018
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Parties divided over impeachment of judges implicated in power abuse scandal
Rival parties on Tuesday were divided over whether the National Assembly should push for a proposal to impeach sitting judges implicated in a power abuse scandal involving an ex-Supreme Court chief justice.A council of representative judges from district courts agreed Monday that it is necessary to seek the impeachment of judges over allegations of having worked with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae to use trials as bargaining chips in dealings with the office of then President P
Nov. 20, 2018
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Moon urges ceaseless efforts to eradicate corruption
President Moon Jae-in called for all-out efforts to eradicate corruption Tuesday, including what he called petit irregularities deeply embedded in everyday lives.The call came at an anti-corruption policy coordination meeting held at his office Cheong Wa Dae."In order to build a corruption-free society, we need to make ceaseless efforts. Corruption comes back to life the minute we let our guard down," the president told the meeting. (Yonhap)Moon said corruption will always find a way to go aroun
Nov. 20, 2018
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Ruling party chief visits frontline Yellow Sea island
The chief of the ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday visited a frontline island in the Yellow Sea and expressed optimism for peace over the tense maritime border amid rapprochement with North Korea.Lee Hae-chan, the DP's chairman, visited Yeonpyeong Island near the western sea border. (Yonhap)In November 2010, North Korea carried out an artillery shelling of the island, killing four people, including two civilians, and injuring 18 others.The DP's chief expressed hope that the island will be in p
Nov. 20, 2018
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Parties fail to resolve differences; parliament remains in limbo
The prospects of a return to business as usual at the National Assembly were dashed Monday when the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach common ground in ongoing political disputes.On Monday, the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and the conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party and Bareunmirae Party met in an attempt to normalize parliamentary operations but failed to do so, with the meeting serving only to entrench their differences.(yonhap)The ruling and conservative blo
Nov. 19, 2018
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Police to send governor's wife to prosecution for political slander
Police said Monday they are referring Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung's wife to the prosecution, recommending an indictment for slandering election rivals of the influential liberal politician.Police last week identified the owner of the Twitter ID "Hyekyunggung Ms. Kim," who left numerous defamatory comments before and during elections in recent years, as Lee's wife, Kim Hye-kyung. (Yonhap)Police suspect she wrote comments in December 2016 against President Moon Jae-in, then Lee's potenti
Nov. 19, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Police: Gyeonggi governor’s wife owner of Twitter account that attacked rivals
Police concluded on Saturday that the wife of Lee Jae-myung, the controversial governor of Gyeonggi Province, is the owner of an abusive Twitter account that was mobilized to attack Lee’s political rivals, adding yet another layer to the scandal-ridden politician’s tumultuous career. After a monthslong investigation, police said Kim Hye-gyeong, the wife of the Gyeonggi governor, is indeed the owner of the infamous Twitter account dubbed “Hyegyeonggung Ms. Kim.” Authorities believe that Kim has
Nov. 18, 2018
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Top court confirms acquittal of ex-state resources firm CEO over failed investment
The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed an appellate ruling that found a former energy firm head not guilty of causing losses to the state by making an unsuccessful investment in mining projects.Kim Shin-jong, former CEO of the state-run Korea Resources Corp., was indicted in September 2015 on charges of breach of trust for incurring some 21.2 billion won ($18.7 million) in losses to the company. Kim Shin-jong, former CEO of the state-run Korea Resources Corp. (Yonhap)He was accused of ordering
Nov. 15, 2018
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Opposition boycott scuttles parliamentary session
The National Assembly failed Thursday to hold a plenary meeting to handle economic bills as two conservative parties boycotted the session amid deepening partisan wrangling.The meeting was scheduled at 2 p.m., but the quorum necessary to pass 90 pending bills was not met as the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party boycotted the session.The parties expressed their complaint against President Moon Jae-in for his recent appointment of the environment minist
Nov. 15, 2018
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Lawmaker calls for inter-Korean rail reconnection, lifting of sanctions
A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday stressed the need to proactively push for the reconnection of inter-Korean railways and called for the lifting of sanctions against North Korea to expedite the project.Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party made the remarks during a forum held in Seoul earlier in the day hosted by Hana Financial Investment Co. (Yonhap)"The inter-Korean rail project is not to give something to North Korea, but to get something from it," Song said in a thinly veiled dig at
Nov. 14, 2018
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Right-wing lawyer criticizes Liberty Korea Party, vows to work for conservative reform
Jun Won-tchack, a right-wing lawyer and political pundit who was recently fired from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party’s reinforcement committee, expressed regret over his dismissal on Wednesday.Jun was appointed as a member of the conservative party’s organization reinforcement committee in October, which is in charge of managing personnel appointment. However, the party fired him Friday, as Jun and the party’s interim leadership clashed over when to hold a national convention to elect ne
Nov. 14, 2018
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Floor leader of ruling party supports lowering of voting age
Rep. Hong Young-pyo, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, said at a meeting with youth activists Wednesday that he will make efforts to lower the voting age to 18 from the current 19. During the meeting, the lawmaker stressed that Korea is currently the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development where the voting age is 19. “The current administration, as well as the ruling party, understand that it is necessary that the voting age be lowered to 18,” h
Nov. 14, 2018
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Govt., party to push for early passage of spy agency reform bill
South Korea's government and ruling party agreed Wednesday to handle a revised bill on the spy agency's operations during the ongoing parliamentary regular session.The bill calls for stripping the National Intelligence Service of its right to investigate North Korean espionage cases and limiting its operations to collecting and analyzing overseas information, including data about North Korea.The proposal is pending at the National Assembly amid partisan wrangling over when the agency's right to
Nov. 14, 2018
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Conservative parties call for sacking of presidential aide, probe into hiring scandal
Conservative parties on Tuesday made a joint call for President Moon Jae-in to dismiss his top aide for civil affairs and the ruling Democratic Party to accept a parliamentary probe into a hiring scandal.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party also warned that if their requests are rejected, they will not cooperate with the DP during the ongoing regular parliamentary session. (Yonhap)The move is likely to dampen efforts for multi-party cooperation at a
Nov. 13, 2018
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Govt. to establish anti-espionage intelligence-sharing center
The Cabinet approved a measure authorizing the establishment of an anti-espionage intelligence-sharing center and designating the justice ministry and the customs service as counter-espionage agencies.The move is part of efforts to strengthen the country's overall anti-espionage system in response to ever-sophisticating foreign intelligence activities infringing upon national security and interests, the government said. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)The revision of the regulation on counter
Nov. 13, 2018
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Ruling party pushes for businesspeople's trip to N. Korea
South Korea's ruling party is pushing for a trip by about 100 businesspeople to North Korea, apparently to foster inter-Korean economic cooperation, a party official said Monday.The Democratic Party's committee on peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia is seeking the trip to North Korea early next month, according to the source.The plan requires consultations with North Korea and is also subject to an official approval procedure by the unification ministry, the source said. Committee head Song
Nov. 12, 2018
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Moon's approval rating flattens out to mid-50 percent range
President Moon Jae-in's approval ratings slipped further last week, weighed by the decision to replace his top two economic policymakers and national pension reform plans, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey conducted by Realmeter, Moon’s approval rating came to 55.4 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the week before. Negative assessments rose by 0.8 percentage points to 38.3 percent. President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)Realmeter noted that although the ratings have fallen for a sixt
Nov. 12, 2018
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Dispute over right-wing lawyer stirs up trouble for Liberty Korea Party
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party continues to struggle to maintain its foothold as the country’s major conservative party, following a dispute over personnel reform. The interim chief of the conservative party, Kim Byong-joon, apologized Monday for friction caused by a former member of its reform committee who was recently dismissed.Interim chief of Liberty Korea Party, Kim Byong-joon (center), speaks at a party meeting at the party's headquarter in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)“I apologize f
Nov. 12, 2018