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Underdogs challenge Park
Several politicians, whose support rates combined are lower than that of Park Geun-hye, are forming a collective front against her by declaring their bid to run in the Saenuri Party primary for December’s presidential election. The contenders, including Rep. Chung Mong-joon and Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo, are dreaming of a…
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Politics
Chung announces presidential bid
Chung Mong-joon, a businessman-turned-lawmaker, announced Sunday he will run in the Saenuri Party primary in the run-up to the December presidential election. Chung is also chairman of the world’s largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries. He promised to fight against the widening income gap. “As a presidential hopeful, I would like…
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iPhones to be banned in defense ministry
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) plans to prohibit the use of Apple’s iPhones in two of its major buildings from August, military officials said Friday. They said other smart devices will continue to be allowed after installing a mobile device management (MDM) system, an application that would automatically disable…
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Politics
Russia more flexible than China on N. Korean defectors
North Korean loggers in Russia successfully arrived here earlier this month with help from the South Korean Embassy in Moscow. It shows the contrasting stance between Russia and China in dealing with the defectors from their neighbor. According to government sources and comments made by Kim Hee-tae, head of a…
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Politics
Main opposition party in feud over collusion
Former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) clashed with their political rivals Thursday over the allegation that the two political heavyweights had a secret pact for party leadership posts. The two were on a collision course with their archrivals due…
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Politics
Lee suffers end-of-term syndrome
Presidential mentor grilled over bribery allegations Traditionally, corruption scandals rock administrations at the end of their terms. History appears to be obviously repeating itself as the big guns who helped President Lee Myung-bak win the 2007 election and enjoyed riding on the cusp of power are now succumbing to a…
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Korea, Sri Lanka agree to deepen economic cooperation
Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa agreed Tuesday to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries, the presidential office said. On the sidelines of the summit, the two sides also signed three memoranda of understanding that call for bolstering cooperation in electricity and energy,…
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Politics
President’s mentor Choi embroiled in bribery scandal
Former Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairman Choi See-joong is facing being summoned for allegedly taking billions of won in bribes from a businessman. Another key presidential aide Park Young-joon, a former vice minister of knowledge economy, is also suspected of having taken money from the same businessman, the prosecution said…
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Politics
North Korea threatens ‘special action’ against S. Korea
North Korea’s military announced Monday it would soon take “special actions” targeting the conservative administration of President Lee Myung-bak and some media outlets. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, the military said the actions would last for 3 to 4 minutes and consist of “unique…
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Politics
IOC to investigate Moon case
Moon Dae-sung, Korea’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, who is in trouble for plagiarizing his doctoral thesis, didn’t respond to repeated calls Sunday for comments regarding The Korea Times’ report about the IOC’s plan to investigate the case. Moon, a lawmaker elected for the upcoming 19th term of the National…
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