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Anna J. Park

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.

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Foreign Affairs

President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Beijing for state visit

BEIJING — President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing Sunday afternoon for a state visit to China, marking his first summit-level diplomatic engagement of the year. The four-day trip runs through Wednesday, with a summit between the two countries' leaders scheduled for Monday. Lee departed Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, earlier in the day aboard the presidential aircraft, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung. The visit comes at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and is a reciprocal trip following Xi’s visit to Korea last November. During that trip, Xi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, where the two presidents held their first summit. Lee is set to begin his official schedule Sunday evening at a meeting with Korean nationals residing in China, during which he is expected to hear their concerns and reaffirm the government’s support. Monday's highly anticipated Seoul-Beijing summit is expected to focus on regional security issues, including peace and denuclearization on

Jan 4, 2026By Anna J. Park
President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Beijing for state visit
Foreign Affairs

Korea to seek progress on West Sea structure issue with China at summit

President Lee Jae Myung will seek tangible progress on sensitive bilateral issues, including China’s installation of maritime structures in the West Sea and restrictions on Korea-China cultural exchanges, the so-called “Korean wave ban,” during an upcoming summit between the two countries' leaders slated for Beijing Monday. Speaking at a press briefing Friday, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac stressed that a stable management of "sensitive bilateral issues” as one of the key anticipated outcomes of Lee’s visit to China next week. “The West Sea issue was raised and discussed at the Korea-China summit held in Gyeongju last November, and working-level consultations have taken place since then. Based on the results of those consultations, we hope to make further progress,” Wi said. “In line with the full restoration of Korea-China relations, we will work to turn the West Sea into a sea of peace and shared prosperity, while gradually and step by step restoring exchanges in cultural content,” the top national security official added. The West Sea structures are large-sca

Jan 2, 2026By Anna J. Park
Korea to seek progress on West Sea structure issue with China at summit
Politics

FULL TEXT 2026 New Year’s address by President Lee Jae Myung

My beloved fellow Koreans, A new year has dawned — the Year of the Red Horse. I would like to begin by extending my deepest gratitude to you, the people, who placed your trust in the government and stood together to weather one crisis after another over the past year. The Year of the Blue Snake, 2025, was about shedding old skin and being born anew. It was a time of recovery and normalization for us all as we overcame anxiety and uncertainty. Above all, our most urgent task was restoring a nation brought down by insurrection. Thanks to the swift passage of a supplementary budget and the effective rollout of consumption vouchers to revive people’s livelihoods, consumer sentiment rebounded to the highest level in seven years and seven months. Our economic growth rate is also now on the upswing. Our benchmark KOSPI index surpassed the 4,000 mark, and exports hit an annual record of US$700 billion. Hand-wringing frustration is giving way to hopeful expectations. We now have crucial stepping stones in place to advance cutting-edge industries and small and midsize business ventures: a hard-w

Jan 1, 2026By Anna J. Park
[FULL TEXT] 2026 New Year’s address by President Lee Jae Myung
  • President Lee calls for balanced growth to power Korea’s next economic leap in New Year address
Politics

President Lee calls for balanced growth to power Korea’s next economic leap in New Year address

President Lee Jae Myung outlined his vision for Korea’s national leap in 2026, centering on balanced regional development and mutually beneficial growth between large conglomerates and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In his New Year address on the first day of the year, Lee pledged to make 2026 “the first year of Korea’s great national leap,” focusing on broad-based growth that delivers tangible benefits to citizens, small businesses and regions beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. “The goal of the people-sovereignty government is clear,” Lee said in the address. “We will make this new year the foundation for a powerful leap forward, like a red horse in full stride, and turn it into the starting point for Korea’s next great national advance.” The Korean president vowed sweeping progress across politics, the economy, society, culture, diplomacy and national security. Crucially, Lee emphasized that the fruit of growth must no longer be monopolized by a small group. “This is not about only a nation growing richer while its people remain poor,” he said. “We w

Jan 1, 2026By Anna J. Park
President Lee calls for balanced growth to power Korea’s next economic leap in New Year address
South Korea

INTERVIEW Sign language steps into spotlight at Cheong Wa Dae

As Korea’s presidential office returned to its historic home at Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul in December, the presidential press briefing room has undergone one meaningful change. Park Ji-yeon, the presidential office’s official sign language interpreter, now stands directly beside the speaker as statements are delivered. Previously, her sign language interpretation was conducted from a separate location and shown in a small overlay on the broadcast footage. Park joined the presidential office as an in-house sign language interpreter in August. Park, who has 27 years of experience as a sign language interpreter, worked for 18 years at the National Assembly and National Assembly Television before being appointed exclusive sign language interpreter under the Lee Jae Myung administration. It was then that the presidential office began offering sign language interpretation at official briefings, marking the first time in Korea’s history that a presidential administration has done so regularly. While the move was intended as a symbolic and practical step toward greater inclusivity and

Dec 31, 2025By Anna J. Park
[INTERVIEW] Sign language steps into spotlight at Cheong Wa Dae
  • Presidential office introduces sign language interpretation for press briefings
Foreign Affairs

President Lee to make state visit to China Jan. 4-7, hold summit with Xi

President Lee Jae Myung is set to make a four-day state visit to China next week, during which he will have bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the presidential office on Tuesday, Lee was scheduled to depart Seoul on Sunday, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said that Lee will visit Beijing from Jan. 4 to 6, during which he will have a summit with Xi and attend a state banquet. He will then visit Shanghai on Jan. 6 and 7. It will be Lee's first visit to China since his inauguration in June, and follows Xi's visit to Korea from late October to early November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting. Their first meeting helped ease previously strained relations between Seoul and Beijing. "During the state visit, talks are expected to focus on issues that directly affect the livelihoods of both countries’ citizens, including supply chains, investment, the digital economy, responses to transnational crime and environmental cooperation," Kang said. In Shanghai, one of the hubs fo

Dec 30, 2025By Anna J. Park
President Lee to make state visit to China Jan. 4-7, hold summit with Xi
Politics

President starts official work at Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung officially began his duties at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday, restoring the historic complex as the presidential office for the first time in 1,330 days, since former President Moon Jae-in left office on May 9, 2022. The move, coming more than six months into Lee’s administration, signals a decisive end to the turbulent “Yongsan era” — marked by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration and subsequent impeachment — and the start of a renewed “Cheong Wa Dae era.” After departing his official residence in Hannam-dong, Lee arrived at Cheong Wa Dae at around 9:12 a.m., entering through its main gate in a presidential vehicle as dozens of supporters across the street waved national flags and chanted slogans to welcome the president on his first day commuting to the historic site. After arriving at the main building, the president stepped out of his vehicle wearing a black coat and a necktie woven with red, blue and white — a color combination widely interpreted as symbolizing unity, with red and blue traditionally associated with conservativ

Dec 29, 2025By Anna J. Park
President starts official work at Cheong Wa Dae
Politics

Lee nominates conservative-leaning former lawmaker as new budget minister

President Lee Jae Myung nominated Lee Hye-hoon, a veteran economist and former three-term lawmaker from the conservative camp, as the inaugural minister for planning and budget, the presidential office announced Sunday. Lee Hye-hoon, widely regarded as a pragmatic conservative economist, was tapped to lead the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget, which will be placed under the prime minister’s office as part of a government reorganization bill scheduled to take effect in January. Announcing the nomination at a press briefing, Lee Kyu-yeon, presidential secretary for public relations and communication, described her as “a policy expert with deep practical experience." “Grounded in a philosophy of economic democratization, she introduced a bill as primary sponsor to revise the Minimum Wage Act and Interest Limitation Act, while advancing policies aimed at curbing unfair trade practices and revitalizing people’s livelihoods,” Lee Kyu-yeon said. “Based on her extensive legislative experience, she is well-suited to carefully design the government’s mid- to long-te

Dec 28, 2025By Anna J. Park
Lee nominates conservative-leaning former lawmaker as new budget minister
Politics

Preferential treatment allegations put DPK floor leader under fire

Amid mounting calls for his resignation from both within and outside the party, Kim Byung-kee, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is expected to announce his stance on Tuesday. According to the DPK on Sunday, Kim plans to address multiple allegations of preferential treatment in a press conference or public statement scheduled around the party’s floor leadership meeting on Tuesday. “The floor leader has said he will present his position on Dec. 30, so there will naturally be an apology to the public,” DPK floor spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung told reporters on Sunday. “It would be best to wait and see.” A series of allegations involving Kim and his family has dominated headlines in recent days, beginning with claims last week that he received complimentary hotel accommodations from Korean Air. Local media reported that Kim stayed for two nights, from Nov. 22 to 24 last year, in a royal suite at Seogwipo KAL Hotel in Jeju, at an estimated cost of 1.65 million won ($1,140). At the time, Kim was serving on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee,

Dec 28, 2025By Anna J. Park
Preferential treatment allegations put DPK floor leader under fire
Politics

Lawmakers pass bill to create special insurrection tribunals

The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a contentious bill to create specialized tribunals to handle insurrection-related cases, a step widely seen as aimed at managing legal proceedings tied to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration in late 2024. The measure was driven by the majority-holding Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), despite fierce opposition from the conservative People Power Party (PPP). The bill, known as the Special Act on Criminal Procedures for Insurrection, Foreign Aggression, and Rebellion, calls for the establishment of at least two dedicated judicial panels at both the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court. Each panel, composed of three judges, will hear only insurrection-related cases, including those connected to the martial law declaration. The bill cleared the plenary session in a revised form after lawmakers removed provisions that had raised constitutional concerns, most notably a clause establishing a judge recommendation committee. Under the updated law, judges’ councils at the two courts will first set standards for form

Dec 23, 2025By Anna J. Park
Lawmakers pass bill to create special insurrection tribunals
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