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Politics
Foreigners use Kumgangsan Hotel
North Korea is allowing foreign groups to use some South Korea-developed facilities at the Mt. Geumgang resort, the site of a stalled cross-border project, but business remains sparse, a recent visitor there said Thursday. The resort once brought droves of South Koreans to facilities developed under an exclusive deal between…
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Politics
3 nations plan consultation body
South Korea, the United States and Japan will launch a consultation body based in Washington D.C. to facilitate trilateral cooperation, their top diplomats announced Thursday amid persisting concerns over North Korea. The announcement was made by Foreign Minister Kim Sung-whan and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Hillary Clinton and Koichiro…
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Defending coup d’état
Does Park still think it revolution to save country? Barely a day after declaring her candidacy for the Dec. 19 presidential elections, Rep. Park Geun-hye caught her critics off guard. And she did so by pre-empting the debate on her weakest point: the dark legacy of her father and mentor,…
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DUP seeks to curb chaebol investment
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) proposed a bill Thursday that includes the reviving of the Regulation on Total Equity Investment. The regulation, which restricts big conglomerates from acquiring shares of other domestic companies, was originally introduced in 1987 to hold back the so-called chaebol from indiscriminately…
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Lifestyle
Saju of Korean presidents
Public figures hopeful of becoming the 11th South Korean president have started to make their moves for the upcoming election on December 19th this year. Some have already declared their candidacy while others are still deliberating. The public’s attention is pulled toward various interests accordingly. The approval ratings are continuously…
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Business
Central bank preempts markets with rate cut
Quarter point slashed to 3% after no change in 13 months The Bank of Korea (BOK) surprised markets by cutting interest rates Thursday as the country battles subduing economic activity and worsening global conditions. The decision to shave the benchmark 7-day repo rate by 0.25 points to 3 percent, ended…
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Business
Pension crisis looms larger
National pension funds expected to be depleted by 2053 The retirement plans of future workers have been put in doubt by Korea’s growing pension crisis with a workforce aging in dog years suggesting the national pension pot could be depleted quicker than the previously-anticipated 2060. This is an alarming prediction…
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Society
City to start ‘electric car renting service’ in October
Seoul City will launch an “electric car rental service” in October to promote environmentally friendly transportation. The city signed an agreement with LG CNS and Korea Car Sharing, Thursday, to jointly provide the service. The campaign is designed to help reduce traffic congestion, save energy and prevent air pollution. The…
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Retooling Assembly
Parties should keep word and innovate politics The National Assembly’s failure to pass an arrest motion for Rep. Chung Doo-un of the ruling Saenuri Party Wednesday is an ominous sign that the 19th parliament will proceed in the direction of disappointing voters, rather than pleasing them. To be sure, the…
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Column
Perils and pitfalls of Mt. Geumgang
MT. KUMKANG, North Korea ― An air of desolation hangs over this fabled resort area four years after a North Korean soldier shot and killed a middle-aged South Korean woman who had made the fatal mistake of wandering outside the tourist route to look at the sunrise over the East…
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