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Leader Offers Fresh Start as Korea Protests Snowball

Biggest protests in 20 years push Lee Myung-bak's presidency to the brink

(Newser) - South Korea's president is battling for his political life as swelling protests continue to rock the country, the New York Times reports. At least 100,000 people joined a massive anti-government rally in Seoul yesterday as Lee Myung-bak—himself a former participant in a pro-democracy student movement—pledged "a...

Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire
Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire

Man Admits Setting Seoul Fire

Destruction of 600-year-old monument called 'Korean 9/11'

(Newser) - A 69-year-old man confessed last night to setting the fire that destroyed Seoul's most famous landmark, the 14th-century South Gate.  As South Koreans vented anger and disbelief, calling the loss "the Korean equivalent of 9/11," the arsonist apologized "to my children and the public." Disgruntled...

Korea Struggles to Clean Spill
Korea Struggles to Clean Spill

Korea Struggles to Clean Spill

Government declares state of disaster

(Newser) - A crew of 7,000 struggled to contain the worst oil spill in South Korean history today, the New York Times reports. The government declared a state of disaster as volunteers hauled buckets of oil from a 12-mile shore, fighting headaches and nausea from the stench. The coast guard set...

Thousands Flee N. Korea Via Covert Network

Brokers charge $2K to $10K to reach Seoul through China

(Newser) - Thousands are fleeing Kim Jong Il's regime, thanks to an expanding network of brokers who smuggle defectors to Seoul through China, the Washington Post reports. Savvy Seoul brokers charge them up to $10,000 for a luxury "planned escape," complete with fake documents, but stakes are rising as...

South Korean Prez Meets Grim Kim in Historic Summit

Chilly Kim greets Roh in second summit ever

(Newser) - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun crossed the border to be met by cheering crowds and grim-faced North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang today for the second summit ever between the two countries. Roh hopes to make progress toward a permanent truce between the nations but won't broach the touchy...

Korean Hostage Talks Fail
Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Taliban says demands not met; group is considering the fate of 19 captives

(Newser) - As the 19 remaining Korean hostages await news of their fate, negotiations to secure their release have failed, according to a Taliban spokesman. The terror group says its principal demand—the liberation of insurgents being held by coalition forces—was not met; South Korean officials have insisted Seoul has no...

Mission Church Does Some Seoul Searching

Hostage crisis has Korean Christians pondering direction

(Newser) - As 19 South Korean aid workers wallow in a Taliban prison camp, many in the world community are openly wondering why they were in Afghanistan in the first place. Even as they pray for the release of their fellow parishioners, members of a suburban Seoul church are dodging critics who...

Asian Stocks Take a Dive
Asian Stocks Take a Dive

Asian Stocks Take a Dive

Prices plunge in response to US subprime mortgage crisis

(Newser) - Share prices plummeted throughout Asia  today in response to the yesterday's sell-off on Wall Street and the escalating crisis in the US housing market. After the 300-point plunge in the U.S., the Tokyo Market closed at a three-month-low, and markets in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Sydney also took serious...

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