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East Asia
Xi Jinping, Other Newly Elected Chinese Communist Party Leaders Hold Their First Press Conference
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), speaks at the press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 15, 2012. Xi led the newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the 18th CPC Central…
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Seoul seeks smoking ban in all public facilities
Smoking may be banned in all restaurants and public facilities in the nation’s capital by 2020, as Seoul City seeks to make the metropolis smoke-free. The city government said Monday that it will seek to ban smoking at all indoor public facilities in an effort to reduce the smoking rate…
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2 testify to Sakhalin massacre by Japanese
The government has secured testimony from two ethnic Koreans living on Sakhalin Island, off Russia’s east coast, that Japanese soldiers massacred Koreans there at the end of World War II. It is the first testimony to provide details of a massacre allegedly perpetrated by the Japanese army on the island,…
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East Asia
First lady submits statement to independent counsel
An independent counsel may bring criminal charges against seven or eight people, including President Lee Myung-bak’s son, for their involvement in a property scandal over a now-scrapped retirement home project for the president, according to sources Tuesday. First lady Kim Yoon-ok turned in a statement over her alleged role in…
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East Asia
Obama to support Seoul’s N. Korea engagement policy
U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to cooperate tightly with the next Seoul administration on efforts toward eventual unification of the peninsula, a former U.S. envoy said Tuesday. The remark from James Steinberg, deputy secretary of state under Obama from 2009 to 2011, came as South Korean presidential candidates say…
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East Asia
Expat life in Kuwait
Canadian native, David Yorston, one time English teacher in Korea took the opportunity of a lifetime to go back to his former profession, civil engineer. Accepting an offer from a Korean company, he found himself stationed in the oil rich State of Kuwait. Now back in Korea, Yorsten spoke with…
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East Asia
Right to smoke vs. right to breathe
“I can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke when I step into the restroom in my office building. Some people smoke inside the booths, it’s really irritating,” says Kim Ga-eun, a 31-year-old sales manager. Under the current People’s Health Promotion Law, buildings with floor space of over 2,000 square meters…
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East Asia
Jeong-dong: historic hideaway where East meets West
A trail less than a kilometer from the periphery of Seoul City Hall to Sinmun Road in the Jeong-dong area is one of few spots where one can calmly stroll amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Seoul. But its birth was as dark as the fate of the Joseon…
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KT, SKT may face credit downgrade
SK Telecom and KT, the country’s two leading wireless service providers, may face a credit ratings downgrade in the near future due to their excessive marketing war for new customers, Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday. The global ratings agency also said E-Mart and Lotte Shopping, Korea’s two retail giants, have…
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East Asia
African connections
The government announced Tuesday that it plans to boost Korea’s trade with African countries with a goal to increase bilateral trade to $80 billion by the year 2020. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that it had a new set of measures that will boost economic support for African…
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