• 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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  • Politics

    High expectations greet Filipina-Korean lawmaker

    Philippine envoy says community feels pride in Jasmine Lee The Filipino community here is abuzz with pride and high expectations of lawmaker-elect Jasmine Lee, the first naturalized citizen ever elected to the National Assembly in the history of Korea. “Jasmine Lee is a source of pride in Korea for Filipinos…

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  • Politics

    Governor declares presidential bid

    Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo declared his presidential candidacy Sunday, becoming the first to announce a bid to compete in the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential primary. “Today, I announce my decision to run for the presidential election,” he said during a press conference at the National Assembly. Kim said he…

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