The Korea Herald

Rivals enter last day campaign sprint

Oct 25, 2011

GNP’s Na tours city on foot; independent Park spends whole night campaigning in streetsThe conservative and the liberal candidates for Seoul mayor were hard at last-minute campaigning Tuesday, a day before polls open.The Grand National Party and its candidate Na Kyung-won urged conservative voters to unite and stand against the left-wing bloc, while unified liberal candidate Park Won-soon and the Democratic Party focused on ensuring a high turnout, especially among younger voters.“I hope that th
Lee’s book stresses unification, green growth

Oct 25, 2011

President’s English autobiography ‘The Uncharted Path’ to be published in U.S. on Nov. 1President Lee Myung-bak reiterated his commitment to unification with North Korea and his trademark policy of “green growth” in his upcoming autobiography, saying a unified Korea would be a blessing for the world, and he would continue to champion a greener future after leaving office.“A peaceful peninsula will have enormous benefits that will go far beyond the region,” Lee says in the English-language autobi
Turnout in age groups key factor in by-election

Oct 25, 2011

Surveys show Park backed by 20s and 30s, but Na prevails among 50s and upWith Wednesday’s Seoul mayoral vote widely perceived as a curtain-raiser to the presidential race next year, political observers are zeroing in on several key factors that could determine the outcome such as the voter turnout among the young and the weather.Latest surveys showed that opposition candidate Park Won-soon was mostly backed by voters in their 20s and 30s while support for ruling the Grand National Party’s Rep. N
Economic slowdown to affect 2012 polls

Oct 25, 2011

The economic slowdown, if it extends well into next year, may hold sway over the results of the parliamentary and presidential elections, observers say.The ruling Grand National Party and its presidential frontrunner Rep. Park Geun-hye are positioned to feel the chill from a cooling economy more than the opposition bloc.Aides to Park have recently expressed concerns over the impact of the prolonged economic slump on her prospects for succeeding in her second presidential challenge. They fear det
Lawmakers move to raise penalties on rapes of children, disabled

Oct 25, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- Lawmakers on Tuesday moved to raise penalties for rapes of children and disabled people in a bid to curb sex crimes against the most vulnerable.A sub-committee of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed a revision bill lifting the statute of limita
Despite some progress, parties still split on FTA

Oct 24, 2011

Opposition rejects proposal for special parliamentary address by LeePolitical parties made some progress Monday in talks over the proposed free trade agreement with the U.S., but key differences remained. Two committees of the National Assembly began the handling of all 14 bills that need to be approved for the FTA to take effect. The bills would revise local rules to abolish tariffs and import barriers between the two countries.Members of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and trade commit
Will Ahn’s backing be decisive factor in Seoul election?

Oct 24, 2011

DP predicts win, while GNP denies Ahn effect on raceProfessor Ahn Cheol-soo finally responded to the liberal bloc’s repeated calls on Sunday and announced he would campaign for candidate Park Won-soon ahead of Wednesday’s Seoul mayoral election.The Seoul National University professor expressed his intent to support the civic activist, according to sources in Park’s camp. “Ahn called Park this evening and offered his hand, saying that he shall specify and confirm his decision tomorrow,” said Park
Lee promotes career bureaucrat to vice unification minister

Oct 24, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday promoted Kim Chun-sig, one of his chief negotiators with North Korea, to vice minister of unification, on the advice of his close friend who became minister a month ago.Lee is also expected to name later this week, after Wednesday’s by-elections, successors to the knowledge economy minister and chief of the Presidential Security Service who resigned last month and last week, respectively. Lee was mulling former and incumbent police chiefs, one of his aides said
Lee to meet Medvedev in St. Petersburg, attend Cannes G20

Oct 24, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak will fly to St. Petersburg next week for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and an annual Korea-Russia dialogue before heading to Cannes to attend the G20 Summit.Lee is scheduled to arrive at St. Petersburg next Tuesday and hold summit talks with Medvedev on Wednesday during which the two leaders are expected to deal with the envisioned project to pipe Siberian gas to South Korea via North Korea.Talks are under way between the South’s Korea Gas Corp. and Russ
Ahn decides to back liberal candidate Park in Seoul mayoral race

Oct 24, 2011

The rival candidates for Seoul mayor ratcheted up their last-minute campaigns Monday, two days ahead of the vote, closely eyeing how star IT expert Ahn Cheol-soo's call for support for the opposition candidate would affect the close race.Ahn Cheol-soo (Yonhap News)Ahn, who had previously been consid
Candidates campaign for swing votes

Oct 23, 2011

The two frontrunners for Wednesday’s Seoul mayoral race braced themselves over the weekend for the last two days of their election campaign, aiming at attracting a maximum number of swing votes.According to recent public polls, the number of undecided swing votes greatly rose, especially among the moderate 40s group, reflecting the public’s disapproval of the mudslinging between the candidates.Na Kyung-won of the ruling Grand National Party focused on getting in direct contact with the voters by
Parliament to vote on U.S. FTA ratification Monday

Oct 23, 2011

The Korean parliament is expected to vote on the ratification of a free trade pact with the U.S. on Monday, after a last round of discussions over the long-delayed deal. The U.S. Congress passed the deal as President Lee Myung-bak was visiting Washington for summit talks with President Barack Obama
Tight races forecast in Busan, Chungju

Oct 23, 2011

Local by-elections hotly contested in prelude to major elections next yearThe Seoul mayoral contest, where independent Park Won-soon and the ruling Grand National Party’s Na Kyung-won are running a tight race, is by far the most intense and important in Wednesday’s by-elections. But several provinci
Obama signs FTAs with S. Korea, Colombia, Panama

Oct 22, 2011

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, completing a long-delayed process in Washington to put the accord, expected to help create jobs, into effect.The FTA still requires ratification by South Korea's National Assembly, embr
Ruling camp agrees to pass U.S. FTA next week

Oct 21, 2011

The government and ruling Grand National Party agreed Friday to work together to pass the long-delayed free trade pact with the United States later this month and to prepare strong safeguards for local industry before endorsing the deal, party officials said.The GNP and the government have been step