President Lee Myung-bak postponed a visit to the National Assembly over the free trade agreement with the United States until next week after a last-minute request from the main opposition party, officials said.Lee rescheduled his visit until next Tuesday after the opposition Democratic Party said i

Voter registration will begin Sunday for South Koreans living abroad in preparation for the April general elections, the first poll in which overseas citizens will be allowed to cast ballots, the National Election Commission said. South Korea enacted a law in 2009 that grants citizens in foreign cou

President Lee Myung-bak plans to make a rare visit to the National Assembly on Friday to call for quick approval of the long-pending free trade agreement with the United States, a senior presidential official said.The unusual move reflects the urgency that Lee feels on the need to break the parliame

Main opposition Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Moon Jae-in reached consensus on creating an integrated liberal party on Wednesday.They agreed to hold a national convention to consolidate liberal parties and select a new leader, but the idea was slammed by DP lawmakers who had their eye on the party’s leadership.In the Wednesday meeting, Sohn suggested a consolidated national convention be held on Dec. 17 to embrace the entire liberal bloc.The date i

President Lee Myung-bak will travel to Hawaii this weekend to discuss ways to spur the global economy, create jobs and reform regulations with other leaders of major Pacific Rim economies, the presidential office announced Thursday,The summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, set for Sunday, comes as the world economy struggles to stave off the negative impact of the eurozone debt crisis that has battered Greece and shows signs of spreading.Lee, who will leave for Hawaii

President meets minor opposition leader as parliament plenary session called off againPresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday stepped up efforts to secure parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, as rival parties struggle to find common ground on a key sticking point in the deal. At the National Assembly, a plenary session was called off with the consent of the Grand National Party and the largest opposition Democratic Party. The two parties have been locked in a standoff o

A group of Grand National Party lawmakers demanding drastic change in the party and the government toned down its complaints to stand in line with former chairwoman Park Geun-hye. “Policy reforms should come first,” they said during a luncheon on Wednesday. They thus expressed support for Park, who gave positive assessment on Tuesday to the group’s reform efforts.“Reform should above all be about getting in touch with the people,” she told reporters. “The reformative members’ claim is worth list

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is considering expanding state child care subsidies to all households with children under 2 years old to encourage more couples to have children and boost the country's low birthrate, a senior policymaker said Thursday.The proposal cal

Aid groups have criticized the Unification Ministry’s request that they monitor how their aid is being distributed in North Korea, saying it hampers their humanitarian efforts.The ministry has asked the aid groups to gain consent from the North to monitor activities as part of its efforts to enhance “transparency” in the distribution process and prevent the aid being passed to the North’s military.The groups have submitted to the ministry photos or video clips that show their aid has reached the

DP faces calls from within to compromiseProspects brightened for an end to parliamentary deadlock over the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Wednesday, after the main opposition Democratic Party faced growing calls from within the party to drop its demand for the deal’s renegotiation. About half of the DP’s 87 lawmakers were reported to be supporting a concession plan, which calls on party leaders to back off from their initial demand that a set of Investor-State Dispute settlement clauses be dele

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- The government is consulting with an association of university presidents about ways to curb expensive tuition costs and will soon unveil a plan to cut fees by 5 percent on average next year, the education minister said Wednesday. South Korean universities are under public