Most Popular
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Bae Doo-na shares portraying Korean identity in Hollywood's 'Rebel Moon'
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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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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Chinese man behind drug scam targeting teens nabbed in Cambodia
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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
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[Graphic News] French bulldog most popular breed in US, Maltese most popular in Korea
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Yoon to skip public debate amid clash between presidential office, ruling party chief
President Yoon Suk Yeol skipped a government-public debate scheduled for Monday, triggering speculation as to whether the decision was related to a clash between the presidential office and the ruling party chief. The presidential office sent a notice to reporters half an hour before the start of the debate that Yoon had no events on his public schedule for the day. The debate was the fifth in a series of sessions on people's livelihood issues and Yoon had led all previous sessions. Monday&
Jan. 22, 2024
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Reality check: How diverse is Korea really? Women in politics (1)
Half of Korea's population are women, yet in the realm of politics, women are a minority group. In the current 21st session of parliament, the representation of female lawmakers stands at 57 out of the total 300 members -- only 19.1 percent. This percentage places South Korea significantly below average in terms of gender diversity in politics compared to other nations. The average among the 38 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations is 33.8 percent, while the
Jan. 21, 2024
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Skepticism grows over alliance among new parties
The endeavor of new political parties to forge an alliance may face challenges in garnering momentum in the run-up to the legislative elections in April, as the former leader of the ruling party Lee Jun-seok declared that the opportune moment for the so-called "big tent" strategy has elapsed. Lee on Saturday openly distanced himself from the increasing calls for a union, while supporters of an alliance argued that the strategy is the best way to gain ground against the current two-part
Jan. 21, 2024
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Minor opposition demands Yoon's apology after its lawmaker forcibly removed by bodyguards
The minor opposition progressive Jinbo Party demanded on Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol apologize and dismiss the head of the presidential security service, Kim Yong-hyun, a day after Jinbo Party lawmaker Rep. Kang Sung-hee was forcibly removed from a ceremony to celebrate the launch of Jeonbuk State. Kang, 51, represents the Eul constituency in Jeonju, Jeonbuk State's capital, and is the only member of the National Assembly from the Jinbo Party. The former labor activist won a parliam
Jan. 19, 2024
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Opposition leader urges NK leader to stop provocations
Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to stop its missile provocations, saying it will only lead to further isolation of the regime and intensify the suffering of its people. Lee, chairman of the Democratic Party, made the remarks amid heightened tensions over North Korea's continued saber-rattling, such as its recent test-launch of a solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile and artillery firings near the western inter-Korean sea border
Jan. 19, 2024
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Parties roll out competing birth rate boosting pledges
The two main parties on Thursday each announced a set of pledges designed to reverse the country’s falling birth rate as the April 10 legislative election approaches. The ruling People Power Party vowed to establish a government agency dedicated to population planning and birth rate boosting. “We plan to establish a separate agency to deal with the country’s declining birth rate,” its election policy committee said during a press conference held in southern Seoul. “
Jan. 18, 2024
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Minor opposition lawmaker dragged out of hall after telling Yoon to 'change his policies'
Commotion erupted Thursday as minor progressive Jinbo Party lawmaker Rep. Kang Sung-hee was dragged out of a venue in Jeonju, Jeonbuk State, after telling President Yoon Suk Yeol to change his policies. He was physically removed during a ceremony at Moak Hall at Sori Arts Center in Jeonju by the president's four bodyguards after he "did not let go of the handshake with Yoon and shouted at him," according to a source at the presidential office who declined to be named. Kang was forced o
Jan. 18, 2024
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With increased autonomy, Jeonbuk State seeks growth
A new law to elevate North Jeolla Province to Jeonbuk State came into effect on Thursday, giving the region the autonomy to foster new industries in the field of agricultural biotechnology, the silver economy and the K-pop industry, as well as burgeoning technologies related to batteries and autonomous mobility. President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Jeonbuk State's elevation by a special law promulgated in December as the momentum needed for rebalancing national growth -- one of his policy focal points
Jan. 18, 2024
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Reinvestigation ordered into 2 ex-presidential officials over 2018 Ulsan mayoral election meddling scandal
The prosecution has ordered a reinvestigation into two former high-ranking presidential officials over their suspected involvement in the election meddling scandal surrounding the 2018 mayoral election in the southeastern city of Ulsan, officials said Thursday. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office issued the order to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, determining that an additional investigation into former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and former senior presidential secretar
Jan. 18, 2024
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South Korea’s spy chief vows to restore public faith in agency
Cho Tae-yong was sworn in on Wednesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s second director of the National Intelligence Service, filling the vacancy since his predecessor, Kim Kyou-hyun, left the post about two months ago. In his first address Wednesday as the NIS chief, Cho vowed to turn the NIS into an agency “worthy of the trust of the South Korean people” during his tenure -- in an apparent reference to the internal power struggle at the agency, which had spilled over into public
Jan. 17, 2024
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Main opposition leader returns, calls general election 'judgment time'
Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday resumed his duties as the Democratic Party of Korea chairman, two weeks after being injured in a knife attack on Jan. 2. Lee kicked off his return by presiding over the party’s Supreme Council meeting in the morning. The chairman referred to the upcoming April parliamentary election as an opportunity to pass judgment on the current administration’s performance. “The upcoming election will work as a midterm evaluation ... on
Jan. 17, 2024
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Yoon urges inheritance tax reform
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said the excessive taxation on corporations trading on the stock market here could be outdated, hinting at easing the tax burden. Yoon claimed that easing tax burden on corporations was a prerequisite to boosting stock market value. More than a quarter of Korea's 50 million population trade shares -- more than double compared to five years before. "We need to find a new angle at which the inheritance tax and other types of extra taxes (on corporations) a
Jan. 17, 2024
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Ex-PM questions main opposition's 'moral conscience'
Former Prime Minister and ex-main opposition leader Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday questioned "the moral conscience" of Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers as he moved one step closer toward the official launch of his own political party, planned for February. "The existing main opposition party fails to be a match for the current Yoon Suk Yeol administration," Lee said in a keynote speech at a national convention for promoters and supporters hosted by his followers in Seoul. "
Jan. 16, 2024
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Yoon urges Assembly to delay application of workplace safety act
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday urged the National Assembly to pass a revision bill aimed at deferring the enforcement of a workplace safety act that would hold executives of a company criminally liable for a deadly incident at work. Yoon stressed that time is running out for the National Assembly to delay the implementation of the controversial Serious Disasters Punishments Act. The revision bill seeks to defer the implementation of the act by two years until 2026 for businesses with 49 empl
Jan. 16, 2024
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People Power Party leader vows to downsize National Assembly to 250 seats after election victory
The leader of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday proposed reducing the number of lawmakers from 300 to 250 as part of political reforms, vowing to pass the proposal through the National Assembly after winning April's parliamentary elections. "The People Power Party will first initiate and pass the law revision ... after achieving victory in the upcoming general election," Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party's emergency committee, said during the party'
Jan. 16, 2024
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Govt. to front-load record yearly state budget in first half
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday the government will administer more than 65 percent of this year's fiscal spending in the first half in a move to boost domestic demand and support vulnerable people. "It would be far from easy for the people to feel an economic recovery in the first half due to high inflation and interest rates," Choi said during an emergency economic-related ministers' meeting. "The government will administer more than 65 percent of this year
Jan. 16, 2024
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Five more members leave DP to join new party ahead of general elections
A group of former lawmakers and mayors quit the main opposition Democratic Party on Monday, saying they would join a new party that former DP leader Lee Nak-yon is trying to launch, amid attention over how deep the DP's split will go. The departures of the five people -- former lawmakers Shin Kyoung-min and Choi Woon-youl, former Goyang Mayor Choi Sung, former Bucheon Mayor Jang Deog-cheon and former Jecheon Mayor Lee Keun-kyu -- came four days after Lee Nak-yon left the DP to create a new
Jan. 15, 2024
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Yoon throws full weight behind W622tr chip cluster plan
President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday that the semiconductor chip cluster in southern Gyeonggi Province will draw combined investments of 622 trillion won ($471.4 billion) for facilities and create 3 million jobs. With the investments, South Korea plans to double the number of chip-producing plants across southern Gyeonggi Province to 37. The investments came along with South Korea‘s plan to consolidate chip plants -- including 16 new ones to be built by 2047 -- into a large chip cluster
Jan. 15, 2024
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[Bills in Focus] Bills to detect deepfakes, promote biogas use
Proposed Bill: Whole Amendment to the Act on the Protection and Use of Location Information Proposed by Rep. Hong Suk-joon (People Power Party) ● With the expansion of the mobility market based on location information, location information is being used in various fields to provide customized services to users, but there are high barriers to entry for new companies. This amendment unifies the concept of personal location information and object location information and eases entry regulations by
Jan. 15, 2024
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Ex-heads of rival parties talk possible union against political establishment
The former leaders of two rival parties spoke over coffee Sunday morning on possibly uniting against establishment politics ahead of the April general election to fill the National Assembly. Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jun-seok -- who once led the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, respectively -- met at a Starbucks near the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, for a brief chat on their potential political union. Rep. Kim Jong-min, who quit the Democratic Party last week, was
Jan. 14, 2024