LISBON (Yonhap News) -- Park Geun-hye, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s special envoy, arrived in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, Sunday on her second leg of a nine-day European tour after wrapping up a three-day visit to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, Park, a former head of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), met with Queen Beatrix and ranking government officials for discussion...

The National Assembly on Friday passed a revision bill that will ban those under the age of 16 from playing online games from midnight through 6 a.m. During the parliamentary plenary session, 117 of the 210 lawmakers who participated in the vote endorsed the bill to revise the Youth Protection Act while 63 voted against it with 30 abstaining. The so-called shutdown system will go into effect si...

The ruling Grand National Party is set to hold its national convention in late June or early July, a year earlier than previously scheduled, to pick new leaders as the party chiefs said they would resign to take responsibility for the electoral defeat Wednesday. The reorganization of the GNP leadership is to be in gear with the planned reshuffle of Cabinet ministers and presidential aides. Pres...

The ruling party’s electoral defeat depressed President Lee Myung-bak’s chief of staff Yim Tae-hee enough for him to offer to resign Thursday, signaling another round of post-election reshuffling of presidential aides and Cabinet ministers. Yim told Lee that he and his staff are always ready to take “infinite responsibility” for anything to fully assist the president, a senior Cheong Wa Dae offi...

Following poor results for the ruling Grand National Party in Wednesday’s by-elections, the party’s leaders resolved Thursday to resign en masse and form an emergency panel next week. “We fully realize our responsibility for the given results and shall accept the people’s message,” said leader Ahn Sang-soo at a senior lawmakers’ meeting early Thursday. “All members of the supreme council have a...

Ex-governor shakes off public doubts, paves way to presidential pace The political status of opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu skyrocketed as he brought a landslide victory to his party by winning in the Bundang-B constituency in Wednesday’s by-elections. He gained ground in his bid for next year’s presidential election, rising as the most powerful runner in the opposition camp. “I would like to ...

President Barack Obama flew home to Chicago on Wednesday to help his pal and supporter Oprah Winfrey close out her syndicated talk show with an interview with him. Obama and his wife, Michelle, took turns answering Winfrey's questions during a taped interview at her studio, her first in 25 years with a sitting president and first lady. Winfrey has announced that she's ending her top-rated progr...

The ruling Grand National Party leaders offered to resign en masse Thursday after a setback in Wednesday’s local by-elections. The party said it will form an emergency leadership panel next week. “We are fully responsible for the defeat,” GNP chief Ahn Sang-soo said during a meeting of its supreme council. “All the leaders will step down and the party will establish an emergency committee next ...