• East Asia

    Samsung heir prompted to vice chairman

    Samsung Group promoted Lee Jay-yong, the only son of the group leader Lee Kun-hee, to vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, its flagship affiliate, Wednesday. The promotion comes two years after the 44-year-old chief operating officer (COO) was promoted to president at the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory chips and…

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  • East Asia

    Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Pays An Official Visit To Kyrgyzstan

    Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 4, 2012. Wen Jiabao arrived here Tuesday to attend the 11th prime ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan. <Xinhua/Xie Huanchi> Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao…

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  • Subprime ―Korean style

    Quick policy responses needed for soft landing Alarm bells are ringing louder for the possible eruption of a Korean version of the subprime mortgage crisis. Without prompt action and durable solutions, the nation might face another devastating economic crisis. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), mortgages that were offered…

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  • East Asia

    Is Ahn Perot or Nader?

    The death of one opportunity often leads to the birth of another. When a person goes through such a process, it usually leads to transformation. This happened on Monday to Ahn Cheol-soo, former independent presidential candidate. It was captured in a speech he made during a ceremony to mark the…

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  • East Asia

    To be a good volunteer use your brain

    There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an…

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  • Allies may sanction N. Korea

    North Korea notified nearby countries and an international agency of the trajectory of its planned long-range rocket launch this month, Tuesday, as South Korea sought consultations on how best to handle its neighbor’s actions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that Pyongyang stated that the launch slated from Dec. 10…

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  • East Asia

    Ban Ki-moon Speaks In Opening Of UN Climate Change Conference

    United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during the opening session of the high-level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar, on Dec. 4, 2012. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres speaks during the opening session of the high-level segment of the…

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  • East Asia

    Seoul to ditch US missile purchase

    Seoul is considering eliminating a U.S. defense giant from its possible bidders for the purchase of 177 long-range air-to-surface cruise missiles due to Washington’s continued delay in issuing an export license, multiple sources said Tuesday. Korea has repeatedly expressed interest in the purchase of the Lockheed Martin’s the Joint Air-to-Surface…

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  • East Asia

    Rotten Vegetable Leaves Turned Into Food For Insects In China

    Workers sort mealworms at a feedlot breeding insects in Lijiazhuang Village, Yuzhong County of northwest China’s Gansu Province, Dec. 4, 2012. A worker tries dried mealworms at a feedlot breeding insects in Lijiazhuang Village, Yuzhong County of northwest China’s Gansu Province, Dec. 4, 2012. The feedlot was set up in…

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  • East Asia

    Candidates aim to win ‘midfield’ battle

    Conservative Park continues to lead, but Moon hangs within striking distance Let’s get one thing out of the way: Korea probably won’t see its version of Nate Silver in this presidential election and maybe not in the next. The idea of a poker player-turned-political forecaster winning fame after predicting the…

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