Most Popular
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Samsung under pressure after Intel's foundry spin-off: analysts
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Yoon leaves for Prague to cement nuclear energy push
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Heavy rain to fall nationwide over weekend, but warmer fall expected
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Seoul chastises predatory pricing claims over Czech nuclear export deal
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YouTuber under fire for consoling former singer accused of bullying
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NK newspaper 'unusually' silent on new missile tests: Seoul
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Samsung CEO introduces ‘bold growth’ as new target
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Bank of Korea eyes rate cut after US Fed's historic pivot
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3 suspects apprehended for selling celebrity deepfake porn: police
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Hyundai Motor officially becomes KT’s largest shareholder
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Yoon renews focus on AI, bio, quantum tech
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum technology constitute the three major pillars of South Korea's future economy, renewing his push for breakthroughs in research and development. At a Telecommunication Day celebration held in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Yoon promised during his speech to make South Korea a "top 3 global science technology powerhouse" through massive investment and strategic cooperation with partners in the
April 22, 2024
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named his new chief of staff and senior secretary for political affairs, which observers see as a bid for a breakthrough after the ruling party’s bitter defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections. It is also an apparent aim to counter snowballing criticism surrounding the lack of communication among the presidential office, the Cabinet and the National Assembly ahead of his planned meeting with the main opposition leader, observers added. In a rare app
April 22, 2024
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Journalist-turned-lawmaker named new chief of staff
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s new chief of staff, Rep. Chung Jin-suk, is a former journalist from a family with a political legacy. His appointment as presidential chief of staff follows his defeat in the April 10 election for the National Assembly against the rival Democratic Party of Korea candidate and former lawmaker Park Soo-hyun. Chung is the president’s third chief of staff and the first with experience in the Assembly. His two predecessors, Lee Kwan-sup and Kim Dae-ki, were bot
April 22, 2024
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[Bills in Focus] Power grid expansion, recycling support
Pending Bill: Special Act on the Expansion of the National Power Grid Proposed by Kim Sung-won (People Power Party) ● The evolving electricity production and high-tech industries have called for expanding the national power grid to address the increased supply of renewable energy and the need for a long-distance power transmission network. In particular, the success of new investments in high-tech industries, such as the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, hinges significantly on preparing special mea
April 22, 2024
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DP appoints new secretary general, chief policymaker
The main opposition Democratic Party appointed Rep. Kim Yun-duk, a close confident of party leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, as its secretary general Sunday, while Rep. Jin Sung-joon was named as new chief policymaker. Both Kim and Jin are two-term lawmakers reelected for another time in this month's general elections. The appointments came after the DP's outgoing secretary general, Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, and party officials related to policymaking functions voluntarily resigned in a reorganiza
April 21, 2024
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W13tr cash handout likely top agenda for Yoon's 1st meeting with Lee
Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung's proposal to dole out 250,000 won ($182) to every South Korean appears to be the top agenda item in a highly anticipated meeting between Lee and President Yoon Suk Yeol, likely to take place this week after the opposition party's sweeping victory in the general election. Lee said Friday in a live streamed meeting with his party members that he "spoke briefly with President Yoon over the phone and accepted his offer to hold a meet
April 21, 2024
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Opposition blames Yoon’s ‘China-exclusionary’ policies for South Korea’s G7 summit exclusion
The Democratic Party of Korea said Sunday that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s foreign policies, which it perceives as isolating China, were the reason behind South Korea's exclusion from this year’s Group of Seven summit scheduled for July in Italy. The major opposition party said the exclusion in the forthcoming G7 summit “comes as South Korea, under Yoon, has been strengthening its solidarity with Western countries including the US and Japan at the expense of our relations wi
April 21, 2024
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Details of meeting between Yoon, opposition leader undecided: presidential office
Details, including the time and form, of a proposed meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung have yet to be set, the presidential office said Saturday. In a message to the press, Yoon's office also dismissed media reports that the date for what would be their first-ever meeting has been confirmed. On Friday, the presidential office said Yoon proposed holding the meeting next week after congratulating Lee of the Democratic Party and other party members
April 20, 2024
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Yoon offers first one-on-one meeting with opposition leader next week
President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to their first one-on-one meeting through a brief phone call, the presidential office said Friday. In a surprise 5-minute phone call between the two, Yoon asked Lee to meet him next week at Yongsan, where the presidential office is located, an official at the presidential office told reporters. In his first phone call to Lee, Yoon added that he hoped to frequently meet from now on to discuss national affairs “over tea
April 19, 2024
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Main opposition seeks to railroad more pending bills ahead of new parliament
The main opposition said Friday it was looking to railroad more contentious bills before the new parliament members are sworn in, a day after it passed an amended version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung emphasized the urgency of passing key bills, including an amendment to the law that strengthens protection for victims of real estate fraud, before the current assembly term concludes
April 19, 2024
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating was at 23 percent to mark the lowest figure since he took office, a poll showed Friday, as the ruling party struggled to recover from its crushing defeat in the general elections held last week. The Gallup Korea poll, conducted on April 16-18 on 1,000 adults across the country, showed that positive assessment of Yoon's performance dropped 11 percentage points from the previous survey, which was taken at March 26-28 before the parliamentary election. The
April 19, 2024
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Yoon's approval rating sinks to all-time low following election loss
President Yoon Suk Yeol's job approval rating hit an all-time low in the third week of April, as the ruling bloc reels from the repercussions of massive losses in the April 10 general election, a poll showed Thursday. Yoon's approval rating came to just 27 percent, the lowest since Yoon took office in May 2022, according to a poll conducted by the National Barometer Survey. The previous low was 28 percent in the second week of August 2022. The president's popularity plunged by 1
April 18, 2024
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
A main opposition-controlled parliamentary standing committee on Thursday unilaterally passed a total of five contentious bills, including a watered-down version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. The move aims to expedite their consideration, intending to usher them directly into a plenary session at the National Assembly for voting. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has accelerated the passage of contentious bills follo
April 18, 2024
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Democratic Party of Korea pushes universal cash subsidies to ‘save economy’
The Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday proposed doling out monetary subsidies of some 14 trillion won ($10.1 billion) in total to boost consumption, reiterating the party’s key general election pledge. During a leadership meeting, the Democratic Party’s leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung said his party would put forward an official proposal for adopting what he called “emergency measures” to “restore livelihoods and save the economy.” Making a case for universal ca
April 17, 2024
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
The presidential office on Wednesday denied rumors that President Yoon Suk Yeol, in his search for candidates for a new prime minister and key aides, reached out to liberal figures who formerly worked for his predecessor Moon Jae-in. The presidential office "has not considered any plans to hire former SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun or Yang Jung-chul, former head of the Institute for Democracy," it said in a statement Wednesday. The Institute for Democracy is the main opposit
April 17, 2024
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Conservative bloc divided over Han’s role in election defeat
Several members of the conservative bloc have exchanged blows among themselves in recent days, locking horns over whether the ruling party’s former interim leader is to blame for the devastating defeat in last week’s general election. Daegu Mayor and five-term conservative lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo kicked off a round of intense debate Friday by blaming Han for the People Power Party’s latest loss through a Facebook post. “(The People Power Party), which has survived the rive
April 16, 2024
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Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right
President Yoon Suk Yeol said he and his administration will humbly accept the result of last week's general election, which renewed the main opposition's firm grip over the National Assembly for the next four years, stressing that he sees it as a reflection of public sentiment. "I will take heed of the public sentiment and communicate more with people with humility and flexibility," Yoon said in a Cabinet meeting held in his office in Seoul, with his opening remarks televised
April 16, 2024
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Ex-PPP member attends police questioning for receiving donations via YouTube
An unsuccessful candidate in last week's parliamentary elections appeared before police Monday for questioning on charges of receiving political donations through payments via a YouTube broadcast last year. Jang Ye-chan, a former ruling People Power Party member who quit the party and ran as an independent, has been accused of accepting payments through YouTube's Super Chat function during live streaming in August in violation of the Political Funds Act. Viewers sent as little as 2,000
April 15, 2024
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Yoon flounders after election defeat
The main opposition party's attack on President Yoon Suk Yeol intensified on Monday, while his approval rating took the biggest weekly plunge since July 2022 in the wake of a crushing election defeat. With the 21st session of the National Assembly set to end its four-year lifetime in about 1 1/2 months, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea doubled down on the besieged Yoon administration's political vulnerability. The party demanded that the National Assembly pass a bill calli
April 15, 2024
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[Bills in Focus] Network usage fees, consumer protection from foreign online platforms
Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Telecommunications Act Proposed by Rep. Jun Hye-sook (Independent) ●Recently, concerns have been raised over the low network usage fees paid in Korea by global IT firms, such as Google and Facebook, compared to what these operators pay in other countries, such as those in the EU. Critics argue that this discrepancy constitutes discrimination against domestic value-added telecommunication business operators. The networking provision relationship between netw
April 15, 2024