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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103 autumn foliage paths in Seoul
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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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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Hong still railing against inter-Korean summit
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party’s barrage of criticisms against a recent inter-Korean summit may be causing fissures in the party. On Tuesday, Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo continued his attacks, warning that politics swept up by the atmosphere always fail. “What I intended (through hard-line remarks) was to raise concerns, and that we need to look at the situation with levelheadedness,” Hong said in a post on his Facebook account“It is good that the government dragged the N
May 1, 2018
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Moon marks Labor Day with promise to enhance workers' rights
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday reiterated his policy drive to enhance labor rights as a concern involving "our own values and dignity."In a statement marking Labor Day, Moon also defended the upcoming reduction in working hours to 52 hours a week from the current 68 hours, while voicing dismay over a failure to achieve an early constitutional revision aimed at strengthening labor rights."On the occasion of Labor Day, I think of a world in which labor is not given short shrift or mortified by i
May 1, 2018
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Senior diplomat to visit Singapore, Indonesia to discuss inter-Korean issues
A senior diplomat will visit Singapore and Indonesia this week to discuss South Korea's cooperation with Southeast Asian nations, the foreign ministry here said Monday. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will be visiting the two countries from Monday to Wednesday to meet with the foreign ministers there as well as the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Yonhap)There, Lim will discuss South Korea's policy to tighten coop
April 30, 2018
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Moon seeks ratification of inter-Korean joint statement at National Assembly
President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged the National Assembly for a swift ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration, which came after the historic inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in order to make sure the agreement is legally implemented.But his plan looks set to face an uphill battle, as it faces strong backlash from the main conservative opposition, “Please quickly take the steps needed to ratify and promulgate the joint statement according to the Development of Inter-
April 30, 2018
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Parliamentary ratification of summit declaration emerges as hot-button issue
The proposed parliamentary ratification of last week's inter-Korean summit declaration is emerging as a political hot potato, with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party calling it a "disguised peace show" and a political event ahead of the June local elections.The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Democratic Party have sought the ratification to ensure that the "Panmunjom Declaration" can be enforced under a legal framework and continue to stay effective regardless of a change o
April 30, 2018
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Moon's approval rating climbs to 4-month high following historic summit
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating gained further ground apparently on his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week, breaching the 70 percent mark for the first time in nearly four months, a poll showed Monday.In a survey conducted by Realmeter, 70 percent of 2,502 adults polled said they approved of the way the president managed state affairs, up 2.2 percentage points from a week earlier. The weekly survey was conducted Monday through Friday.The latest reading marked
April 30, 2018
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[2018 Inter-Korean summit] Political parties poles apart on Panmunjeom Declaration
Friday’s Panmunjeom Declaration is being met by strikingly different assessments from the country’s political parties. The ruling Democratic Party, as expected, is praising the agreement signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hailing it as a “historical feat.” “(The declaration) will be recorded as a historical feat that was a turning point not only in inter-Korean relations but for the political situation on the Korean Peninsula,” a Democratic Party spokesperson s
April 28, 2018
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Minor parties call for efforts to revise Constitution
Three minor opposition parties on Wednesday called on the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and main opposition Liberty Korea Party to revive efforts to amend the Constitution. The rival parties failed to reach an agreement on revising the law on national referendums in time to put the constitutional amendment to a public vote alongside local elections in June.President Moon Jae-in criticized the National Assembly on Tuesday for failing to make the referendum possible in June, and for not even on
April 25, 2018
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Opposition parties join hands to regulate internet portals
Three opposition parties agreed to work on regulating large internet portals’ news service and comments sections in the wake of an opinion rigging scandal involving former ruling party members.In addition to editing and arranging news articles, Web portals in Korea show the number of clicks on each article, the rankings of the most searched keywords on a real-time basis, and places comments that get the most “likes” at the top of the comment box below the articles.The leaders and whips of the ma
April 24, 2018
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Prospects of early constitutional revision dim amid partisan standoff
The prospects of an early constitutional revision further dimmed Monday, with the National Assembly paralyzed by a standoff over an escalating opinion rigging scandal.The ruling Democratic Party had hoped to complete all procedures to pass and promulgate a revision to the national referendum act, a required step towards the constitutional change, by Monday, so as to deliver on its pledge to hold a plebiscite on the charter's amendment at the same time as the June 13 local elections.But its plan
April 23, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Professor accused of sexual assault sues alleged student victim for defamation
A Dongduk Women’s University professor who has been accused of sexual assault has sued the alleged student victim for defamation, claiming that he will not tolerate another “mob justice” which he believes has been triggered by the ongoing #MeToo movement. Ha Il-ji, 62, who is also an established novelist, offered to step down from his teaching post in March, after he was accused of allegedly making controversial remarks concerning the #MeToo campaign during one of his literature classes. The uni
April 23, 2018
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Opposition parties push for special probe of Druking opinion-rigging
Three opposition parties agreed Monday to jointly propose a bill for an independent counsel probe and request a parliamentary investigation into an opinion-rigging scandal involving former members of the ruling party. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, the Bareunmirae Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace said they would normalize the legislature if the ruling Democratic Party of Korea accepts their proposal for a special probe. The Liberty Korea Party and the Bareunmirae Party have
April 23, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Police raid blogger's office in opinion rigging probe
The police raided a power blogger’s office Sunday as part of a probe into allegations that he and his colleagues illegally manipulated the popularity of certain online comments to attack the current government. The blogger, surnamed Kim, was indicted last week for allegedly using a computer program that artificially ramps up the number of clicks on “agree” -- the South Korean search engine Naver’s equivalent of Facebook’s “like” -- for comments that were critical of President Moon Jae-in and his
April 22, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Police raid blogger's office in opinion rigging probe
Police on Sunday raided a local publishing company run by an influential blogger as part of a probe into allegations that he ran a massive scheme to manipulate online comments in news articles about President Moon Jae-in.Police sent investigators to search the premises in Paju, north of Seoul, and confiscate evidence, including digital files and surveillance footage, officials said. (Yonhap)Law enforcement authorities are investigating the suspected rigging of Internet news comments by the 48-ye
April 22, 2018
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Parties show mixed reactions to N. Korea's nuke test suspension
Political parties on Saturday showed mixed responses over North Korea's decision to cease its testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and close its nuclear test site ahead of summits with the South and the United States.The liberal ruling Democratic Party (DP) welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's decision reported by the North's Korean Central News Agency. The party vowed support for the inter-Korean summit scheduled for Friday in the border truce village."The DP welcomes North K
April 21, 2018
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[Breaking] Park Won-soon wins party candidacy to rerun for Seoul mayor
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday confirmed incumbent Park Won-soon as the candidate for the mayor of Seoul for the June local elections. Park Won-soon (Yonhap)Last month, Park had officially announced his candidacy for a third term Thursday. He beat against four-term lawmaker Park Young-sun and three-term lawmaker Woo Sang-ho for the party’s nomination.Park will be running against former presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor Bareunmirae Party and former Gyeonggi Province
April 20, 2018
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Koreas to open hotline between leaders Friday
The two Koreas will open a direct telephone line between the countries' leaders on Friday ahead of their summit set for April 27, Seoul’s presidential office said. “The hotline between the leaders will be connected tomorrow and working-level officials will conduct a trial call,” presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said Thursday. The two Koreas have agreed that President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un will hold telephone talks before the summit. South Korean President Moon Jae-
April 19, 2018
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Youths call for National Assembly to lower voting age to 18
A coalition of student councils rallied Thursday to urge lawmakers to pass a bill to lower the voting age to 18 from the current 19 within this month as the country marked the 58th anniversary of a 1960 pro-democracy civil uprising that led to the ousting of South Korea's first President Rhee Syngman.Participating in the rally at a national cemetery in northern Seoul, where 199 people killed in the uprising are buried, the group of high school students and collegians said in a statement, "High s
April 19, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Moon's confidant declares bid to run in local elections despite scandal
A ruling party lawmaker close to President Moon Jae-in on Thursday pressed ahead with his bid to run in the June local elections despite speculation about his alleged link to an online opinion rigging scandal.Rep. Kim Kyoung-soo of the Democratic Party officially announced his intention to join the race for the South Gyeongsang Province governor post, hours after he abruptly canceled a pre-arranged press conference for his election bid, sparking speculation that he might opt out of the race.Kim
April 19, 2018
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Foreign voters seek more information on elections in other languages
With less than two months until the June 13 local elections, foreign residents with voting rights say they lack information on candidates. In 2005, the South Korean government revised the Immigration Control Act to allow non-Korean citizens who have held resident visas (F-5) for at least three years to vote in gubernatorial elections, so that they can claim their rights in their registered local constituencies. The number of eligible foreign voters has tripled since the law came into effect for
April 18, 2018