Most Popular
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Bae Doo-na shares portraying Korean identity in Hollywood's 'Rebel Moon'
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[From the Scene] Monks, Buddhists hail return of remains of Buddhas
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Medical schools granted enrollment quota flexibility for next year
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Yoon offers first one-on-one meeting with opposition leader next week
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France rejects opening Paris flight routes to T'way Air, deals blow to Korean Air merger
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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
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Chinese man behind drug scam targeting teens nabbed in Cambodia
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S. Korean shipbuilders rank 2nd in new global orders in 2023: data
South Korean shipbuilders ranked second in 2023 in terms of new global orders for the third straight year, industry data showed Sunday. Local shipbuilders clinched a combined 10.01 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders this year, accounting for 24 percent of the 41.49 million global total, according to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. The South Korean industry's total was down 37.6 percent from a year earlier. The global tally also went
Dec. 31, 2023
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DP leader rejects former leader's call for resignation
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, on Saturday rejected former party leader Lee Nak-yon's call for his resignation as they failed to patch up their differences. The two sides met for talks in Seoul after the former party leader demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the general elections scheduled for next April. The current leader rejected both demands and called on the former leader to remain in th
Dec. 30, 2023
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DP leader to meet ex-leader Lee Nak-yon Saturday amid call for resignation
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Friday he will have a breakfast meeting with former DP leader Lee Nak-yon this weekend amid the latter's call for his resignation. The former party leader has demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April. If Lee declines the proposal by the end of the year, the former leader has said he will set out to launch a new p
Dec. 29, 2023
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Yoon, ex-President Park meet over lunch at presidential residence
President Yoon Suk Yeol and former President Park Geun-hye met over lunch at the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday, Yoon's office said. This was their third meeting since Yoon's inauguration in May 2022. Yoon asked Park about her health and how often she visits Seoul, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. The former president has lived in her hometown of Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, since she was pardoned in 2021 after spending four years and nine
Dec. 29, 2023
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Inspection shows over W125.6b in virtual asset transactions by lawmakers
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Friday that lawmakers traded virtual assets totaling over 125.6 billion won ($97.6 million) over the past three years, with irregularities detected in some instances. The agency announced the outcome of its 90-day inspection into virtual asset transaction records of all 298 sitting lawmakers between May 30, 2020, and May 31, 2023, after questions arose over a young lawmaker's once-massive cryptocurrency assets. According to the results, 1
Dec. 29, 2023
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Yoon appoints 4 ministers, broadcasting watchdog chief
President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed four ministers and the chief of the broadcasting watchdog on Friday, his office said. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as deputy prime minister for the economy, Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung, Ocean Minister Kang Do-hyung and SMEs Minister Oh Young-ju were appointed, the office said. Kim Hong-il, a former chief of the anti-corruption agency, was also appointed as the head of the Korea Communications Commission, it said. The five were nominated
Dec. 29, 2023
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Opposition unilaterally passes special investigation bill into first lady
Two contentious special investigation bills, one of which pushes for a probe into stock manipulation allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon Hee, were unilaterally passed by the opposition-led National Assembly on Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol swiftly announced that he would veto both bills, according to presidential office spokesperson Lee Do-hoon. An official in the presidential office, who requested to remain anonymous, called the latest move led by the main opposition Democratic Party
Dec. 28, 2023
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Yoon appoints 3 top-level presidential secretaries
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday appointed all three top-level presidential secretaries, promoting his chief policy secretary, Lee Kwan-sup, to chief of staff, appointing an economic expert to succeed Lee and tapping First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin as his national security adviser. All of the ministerial-level presidential secretaries, who report directly to Yoon, will start work on Monday, the first day of 2024. Appointees do not have to go through a confirmation hearing at the Na
Dec. 28, 2023
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Assembly to hold vote on two special investigation proposals, one of them into first lady
The National Assembly was set to hold a vote Thursday on two contentious special investigation proposals, one of them into stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. The main opposition Democratic Party is expected to use its parliamentary majority to railroad the two bills. The ruling People Power Party has strongly opposed them, arguing they are a political ploy ahead of April's general elections. But the DP has argued that no one is untouchable, including the first
Dec. 28, 2023
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Yoon to name First Vice FM Chang as national security adviser
President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to name First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin as his new national security adviser, a presidential official said Thursday. Chang, a career diplomat who served as Yoon's first ambassador to Russia, will succeed Cho Tae-yong as director of national security after Cho was nominated last week for chief of the National Intelligence Service. Chang's appointment could be announced later Thursday, the official said. Ambassador to Germany Kim Hong-kyun, who also
Dec. 28, 2023
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[Newsmaker] Estranged Lee Jun-seok to launch new party
The estranged ex-leader of the ruling party, Lee Jun-seok, said Wednesday he would launch a new political party of his own, as the new interim party leader made no moves to convince him to stay. "I have decided to leave the People Power Party, leaving all my political assets tied to it behind," the 38-year-old politician announced in a press conference held in the afternoon at a restaurant in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul. Lee spent his childhood in Nowon-gu and sought to represent the
Dec. 27, 2023
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Seoul to defer workplace safety enforcement by 2 years
The conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday agreed to defer by two years the enforcement of the controversial Serious Disasters Punishments Act, which can hold executives criminally liable for deadly workplace disasters. The announcement, made at a meeting with Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik and People Power Party lawmakers, is expected to extend the grace period of the rule to 2026 for small enterprises, as the law was initially poised to come into
Dec. 27, 2023
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[Bills in Focus] Easing burden on subcontractors, protecting consumer interests
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of, and Protecting National High-tech Strategic Industries Proposed by Rep. Yang Hyang-ja (Hope of Korea) ● In response to demands to diversify and strengthen government support for specialized complexes and high-tech technologies, this amendment allows the state to directly create industrial infrastructure of specialized complexes, expands support for the creation and operation of specialized
Dec. 27, 2023
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Han vows not to run in 2024 general election
Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was officially sworn in as the People Power Party's interim leader on Tuesday, backed by approval from the majority of the ruling party lawmakers. Han took on the role of chairman of the emergency leadership committee, following a mobile phone voting process involving 824 ruling party lawmakers across the country. Of the total, 650 participated in the ballot and some 96.5 percent, or 627, of the participants voted for Han. The 50-year-old interim leader
Dec. 26, 2023
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Ex-prime ministers share concerns over DP's deepening divide
Three ex-prime ministers under the previous Moon Jae-in administration have expressed concerns over the deepening divide within the main opposition party and throughout the liberal bloc as of Tuesday. Former Prime Ministers Lee Nak-yon, Chung Se-kyun and Kim Bu-gyeom pointed to the Democratic Party of Korea's current leader Lee Jae-myung's monopolization of power within the party as a major hurdle to party unification ahead of next year's general elections, in two separate meeting
Dec. 26, 2023
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Yoon calls for different perspective to boost birthrate
President Yoon Suk Yeol called Tuesday for approaching the issue of the country's surprisingly declining birthrate from a fundamentally different perspective, emphasizing the need to identify its causes and find effective solutions. Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting as South Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, experienced another decline in the latest setback to the government's efforts to boost its declining population. According to the statistics
Dec. 26, 2023
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Ex-Justice Minister Han to take over as ruling party leader
Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was set to be sworn in as chief of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday, taking on the daunting mission of leading the party through April's parliamentary elections. Han will take office as chairman of the PPP's emergency committee after the party's national committee endorsed his nomination through phone voting. His inauguration ceremony is set for 3 p.m., party officials said. Han takes over at a time when the PPP has been struggling to
Dec. 26, 2023
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Political parties gear up for crunch election just 100 days away
With about 100 days until April's parliamentary elections, political parties are vying to get a head start in the crucial race that observers say could determine whether President Yoon Suk Yeol will be able to push his agenda forward or end up an early lame duck. Recent public surveys largely suggest a challenging path for the ruling People Power Party amid Yoon's low approval ratings, as shown in the party's crushing defeat in October's local by-election for Seoul's Gan
Dec. 26, 2023
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Yoon attends Christmas service at church
President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a Christmas service at a church in Seoul on Monday and vowed efforts to build the state to become a "good gift" to people, his office said. Yoon visited the Chungdong First Methodist Church in central Seoul in the morning to take part in the church service for about an hour, according to the presidential office. In response to a supportive message by an elderly Christian after the service, Yoon said he will make efforts to make the country become a &quo
Dec. 25, 2023
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Incoming ruling party chief faces uphill battle
The ruling party interim nominee, former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon faces an uphill battle as he seeks to lead party reform while tackling opposition proposals for a special investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee. Han will be elected as the chair of the emergency committee of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday, following the approval of the party's national committee. An emergency committee led by Han will be launched on Friday. But even prior to the official launch, Han will
Dec. 25, 2023