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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

UDP Secretary General Dies

Park Hong-soo, 53, secretary general of the main opposition United Democratic Party, died of heart disease Tuesday, his family said. Park, who was elected to the National Assembly under the proportional representation system in the 2004 elections, had been hospitalized since May 15. He served as agriculture minister between 2005 and 2007. Park is survived by his wife, Choi Ho-suk, one son and three daughters. A funeral service will be held at the Severance Hospital in Seoul. His body will be buried in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province. For more information, call 02-2227-7550. gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Jun 10, 2008

Park Hae-choon Returns as NPS Chief

By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Park Hae-choon, 60, has been recommended for the post of president of the National Pension Service (NPS). This is the first time that a financier from the private sector has been selected for the job of managing the nation's largest institutional investor. The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said it has put forward Park as the sole designee for the top post at the NPS to President Lee Myung-bak. So far, bureaucrats from various government agencies have taken the top position at the pension service. Park has made a dramatic comeback several months after he quit as Woori Bank CEO after failing to get a vote of confidence from the government. ``We've already finished fine-tuning with Cheong Wa Dae over the selection and Park will be appointed as new president of the NPS,'' a ministry official said. ``We hope he will be successful in carrying out steps to reform the agency.'' Approximately 10 people had applied for the post. Park, known as an expert in reviving non-viable companies, is expected to reorganize the NPS. H

Jun 10, 2008

Miss Korea Teams Up With Famed Trainer to Win Crown

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Miss Korea Lee Ji-sun will compete in the 57th Annual Miss Universe Competition held in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, July 14, with the assistance of renowned trainer Ines Ligron. Ligron is the national director of Miss Universe Japan and was the trainer of 2007's Miss Universe Riyo Mori. She has been working in the Japanese beauty pageant industry for the past decade. ``When I heard that Ligron was training Miss Japan Mima Hiroko, I contacted her and told her I wanted to be trained also. She told me to move to Japan, so I quickly packed my bags,'' said Lee at a press conference in central Seoul. Ligron explained that 25-year-old Lee has been working very hard and indeed has a shot at the crown. ``I have been working with Ji-sun for the last three months. When I first saw her I thought she was very pretty and eager, but seemed a bit conservative. She didn't really express her beauty in a confident way. I taught her to be more free, sexy and appealing,'' said Ligron. Beauty pageants have received criticism in Korea for being competitions th

Jun 10, 2008

New Leader Seeks to Upgrade Sejong Center

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, one of Korea's foremost arts and cultural complex, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and also welcomes a new president. Lee Chung-sung, 63, a former CEO who majored in studio art, vowed to ``upgrade'' the center in tune with Seoul City's urban design project. ``We are living in a time where culture plays a powerful role,'' said Lee, explaining how cultural enterprises reflect a people's mindset and a country's values. Thus the Center must become globally competitive. ``We hope to foster a second renaissance for Korea,'' he said. A former board member of the International Design School for Advanced Studies in Seoul and currently the chairman of the board of Hyunwoo Art College in Beijing, Lee is also the ex-CEO of cosmetics company POLA. While admitting that he isn't an expert on the performing arts, he learned through his experience in art and design that, for design as a field to advance, it is important to foster a new mindset rather than just produce designers. In this respect, he hopes

Jun 9, 2008

Korean-American Behind Blue Man Groups Funky Beat

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter caption: Blue Man Group's Korean-American drummer Ian Pai talks with reporters at the VIP room, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Monday. / AP-Yonhap The man responsible for the Blue Man Group's funky drumbeats is Korean-American Ian Pai. Pai, the original drummer for the Blue Man Group, is currently in town to perform in the ``MegaStar World Tour,'' which opens in Seoul Tuesday. Pai said he's happy to finally be able to bring the Blue Man Group to Seoul. ``We've been talking about it for years, since 1996 when I came here with the Blue Man band. ... I think there's a strong connection between Korea and the Blue Man,'' Pai said, in a press conference at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Monday. When he was 21 years old, Pai was working as a bartender in New York City when he met Blue Man Group co-founders Chris Wink, Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman. ``I was a drummer, but I wasn't very good. I was doing a lot of different things at that time, but I was at an age when I said `yes' to everything,'' he said.

Jun 9, 2008

Comedian Kim Steps Up as Host of English Program

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Kim Young-chul started off as a comedian, with a natural ability of making people laugh and an expertise in impersonating other stars. But now, he's wearing a new hat: the host of an English program ``Let's Speak Korean.'' He's among the growing breed of ``multi-entertainers.'' While actors have released albums and singers have crossed over to the big screen, 32-year-old Kim has paved his path toward English. ``Being unique meant being better off. I wanted to find my own specialty, a comedian who can speak fluent English. But this doesn't mean English will take up 100 percent of my life,'' Kim told The Korea Times. Although he was comfortable enough to speak several sentences in English during the interview, the offer of co-hosting an English program aimed to help foreigners learn Korean was a challenge. ``If it was a 50 minute program, I would have said no. The producers and crew told me that it was okay to make mistakes, but it still took me a long time to make my decision (to host it),'' said Kim. ``Let's Speak Korean'' is a pro

Jun 8, 2008

Gates to Leave Microsoft in July

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, 52, made a final keynote speech at the Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008 for Developers held in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, to mark his withdrawal from management. ``This will be the first time I will change jobs in any real sense since I was 17. Prior to this, I fully indulged in software development,'' Gates said in his speech. Gates talked about interactive technology such as Windows 7's multi-point touch system and unveiled the beta version of the Internet Explorer 8 browser. He also revealed that Microsoft's future would be to compete with Google and Amazon.com to provide data centers for hosted services. According to Microsoft, Gates will pull out from day-to-day management and only preside as Microsoft chairman after July 2008. Gates is expected to commit himself to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife. Gates' transition was pre-announced two years ago when he designated Ray Ozzie as the Chief Software Architect. Steve Ballmer will remain as the company's CEO, but will assume gre

Jun 6, 2008

Olympic Judo Champ to Marry LPGA Golfer

By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter Olympic judo gold medallist Lee Won-hee and LPGA Tour golfer Kim Mi-hyun will marry in December. According to their families, both sides will wed on Dec. 12 after the Korea-Japan Women's National Golf Team Match Play Competition. Kim, a 31-year-old who has played on the American golf tour since 1999, won the rookie of the year award after winning two events that year and has collected eight total victories in her LPGA career. The sports couple's relationship grew while they were getting treatment for Lee's ankle and Kim's knee injuries at the same hospital. Kim, a native of Incheon, has participated in nine competitions this year and has two top-10 finishes. Lee, a 26-year-old judoka, topped the 73-kilogram division at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and also claimed gold at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. Kim and Lee are drawing comparisons to another Korean sports couple, as former baseball player Sohn Hyuk and LPGA Tour golfer Han Hee-won are also a pair. After their marriage, Lee, who is considering retirement after failing to

Jun 4, 2008

Steve Tyrell to Perform in Seoul

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Award-winning musician Steve Tyrell will entertain fans with his own version of Burt Bacharach classics and American standards during his first concert in Seoul, Thursday. ``I am very excited to have this opportunity to play my music in Korea. I hope this is the beginning of a relationship that will bring me back to Seoul time and time again,'' Tyrell said, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. Tyrell was only 19 years old when he moved to New York and started working for a record company. He began producing music with legendary singer Burt Bacharach and his partner Hal David. He co-produced ``Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head,'' which won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Song from a Movie. Tyrell was already a well-known music producer, before he decided to go solo. It was his performance singing ``The Way You Look Tonight'' in the 1991 ``Father of the Bride'' film that got him noticed by a wider audience. He considers his latest album ``Back to Bacharach'' as extra-special because he started his career as a teenager wo

Jun 4, 2008

President Slow to Read What Public Had in Mind

By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter One hundred days are not long enough to evaluate the effectiveness of presidential leadership, said a governing party lawmaker. Rep. Jeong Tae-keun of the Grand National Party (GNP) said he believes Lee was slow to read what the public had in mind regarding key agendas. ``These two factors ― Lee being in the top job about 100 days and his poor communication with the people ― are probably the leading causes that drove him to face the stalemate in key agendas such as the resumption of imports of U.S. beef and a free trade agreement with the United States,'' Jeong said in an interview with The Korea Times early this week. Jeong, 45, was first elected to the National Assembly in a Seoul district in the April 9 elections after he twice ran unsuccessfully in previous elections. He worked with President Lee as vice mayor for political affairs of Seoul when Lee served as mayor of the capital. Jeong said Lee should create more opportunities to sit down with his opponents such as farmers and unionists to exchange what he has in mind and find

Jun 4, 2008
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