election coverage

Jieun Choi
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Top Presidential Contenders Pledge to Fix South Korea's Air Pollution

South Korea is in the midst of the country’s first springtime election campaign since 1971. And it has brought the issue of fine particle dust to the fore, as voters are irritated by air pollution in the lead-up to the May 9 vote. At this point, the 60-day race

Haeryun Kang
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Sim Sang-jung: A Superwoman Without Superpower

She calls herself the maid to Park Geun-hye’s princess. She’s the fringe to Park Geun-hye’s mainstream status. Park grew up in a castle: the president’s official residence that her father occupied for 18 years until his assassination in 1979, to which she returned many years later

Jieun Choi
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South Korea's E-Commerce System Sucks; Moon Jae-in Agrees

South Korea may have the world’s fastest internet speed and stable 4G LTE network connection on subway lines, but its people have been suffering from the chronic inconvenience of living with an outdated online banking and ecommerce system. Moon Jae-In, the frontrunner of the upcoming presidential election, pledged to

Steven Borowiec
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Lee Jae-myung: Populist, Left-wing, Unapologetic

Lee Jae-myung maintained the broad grin of a hopeful politician as he took the podium in Seoul on Feb. 16 for a Gwanhun Club debate, a formal gathering of suited men discussing policy. He casually took his seat, the focal point of attention as the only presidential candidate on a

Se-Woong Koo
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In Rumor We Trust: Proliferating Fake News in South Korea

South Koreans are used to hearing sentences that end in hadeora, a verb meaning “it is said that….” This particular way of phrasing is something of a cop-out, though. It conveys information without taking ownership of the fact. And given that Korean verbs do not require a subject, it is

Ben Jackson
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Ahn Hee-jung: A Dark Horse Gathers Pace

South Chungcheong governor Ahn Hee-jung has emerged as a serious contender for the presidency In June 2004, a tall figure in summer prison garb and short hair was brought into Seoul Central District Court. The judge sentenced Ahn Hee-jung, a close aide of then-president Roh Moo-hyun, to 30 months in

KOREA EXPOSÉ
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[Updated] Guide to South Korea's Presidential Election

The National Assembly impeached her. The Constitutional Court stripped her of presidency. Prosecutors have summoned her for questioning. She is now holed up in her house in Gangnam, not seen after moving out of the presidential Blue House on Mar. 12. Since the Choi Soon-sil gate broke

Se-Woong Koo
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Goodbye, Mr. Half

The return of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 12 was one of the most closely watched events in recent memory, perhaps barring only the political scandal that has afflicted the impeached president Park Geun-hye. When Ban arrived, hundreds of his supporters greeted him rapturously at the airport.