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Bahk Eun-ji

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.

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Politics

DPK dominates local elections, wins 12 of 16 mayoral, provincial races

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) won 12 of the country’s 16 mayoral and provincial governor races in Wednesday’s local elections, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) secured four, according to final results released by the National Election Commission (NEC) Thursday. The election was the first nationwide vote since President Lee Jae Myung took office last year and was widely seen as an early test of public sentiment toward his administration. The outcome was viewed as reflecting continued support for Lee and the ruling party, while delivering a setback to the PPP, which has struggled with internal divisions following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment and the party’s defeat in last year’s presidential election. Lee called on both parties to move beyond the election and focus on governance and national unity. "I congratulate those who were elected and offer my consolation to those who fell short," Lee said during a senior aides' meeting Thursday, also marking the first anniversary of his inauguration. "Now that the election is over, I hope the

Jun 4, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
DPK dominates local elections, wins 12 of 16 mayoral, provincial races
Politics

Voters head to polls with different hopes in local elections

As polling stations opened across Korea Wednesday morning, voters streamed in to cast ballots in the nationwide local elections, each carrying their own hopes and expectations for their communities and local governments. At a polling station set up at an indoor baseball practice facility at Cheonggu Elementary School in central Seoul, residents quietly made their way through the voting process. The facility, normally used by students for batting practice, was temporarily converted into a polling station for Election Day. Among those casting ballots was Oh Eun-soon, 73, who said she came out because there was a candidate she strongly supported. “I came because there is someone I really want to see elected,” she said. “I wanted to do my part.” Elsewhere in Seoul, polling stations saw a steady stream of voters throughout the morning. At Jangchung Elementary School, voters waited their turn for election officials to guide them through the process of casting seven separate ballots for metropolitan and local offices. Families, older and younger voters were all visible among the crowd. Park

Jun 3, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji and Park Ung
Voters head to polls with different hopes in local elections
Politics

Nation heads to polls to select local gov't chiefs, councilors

Koreans will head to polling stations to select their local government chiefs and council members as voting for the ninth local elections begins Wednesday. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 14,288 locations nationwide. Voters will elect 16 metropolitan city mayors and provincial governors, 227 local government heads, 3,973 local council members and 16 education superintendents. By-elections for 14 National Assembly seats will also be held alongside the local polls. Vote counting will begin immediately after polls close. Record early voting turnout has raised expectations for higher overall participation. According to the National Election Commission, 10.49 million voters already cast ballots during the two-day early voting period held Friday and Saturday, resulting in a turnout of 23.51 percent. The figure surpassed the 2022 local elections' early voting turnout rate of 20.62 percent. The highest voter turnout in local elections was 68.4 percent, in the inaugural elections held in 1995, while the lowest was 48.9 percent in 2002. The most recent local elections in 2022 recorded a turn

Jun 3, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Nation heads to polls to select local gov't chiefs, councilors
Foreign Affairs

Korea seeks minerals, supply chain cooperation from African nations

Korea is seeking deeper ties with African nations as it looks for new partners in critical minerals and supply chains amid growing uncertainties over global trade, energy security and geopolitical tensions. The effort was highlighted at the 2026 Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Seoul, where officials discussed expanding cooperation in key industries and holding a second Korea-Africa Summit in 2029. The meeting brought together representatives from 50 African countries and four regional organizations — the African Union, the African Development Bank, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The gathering marked the first time Korea has independently invited African countries and major regional organizations to a ministerial-level meeting focused on Africa. It also served as a follow-up to the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit held in 2024. “We gather today at a critical juncture where the global order is rapidly shifting,” Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in his opening remarks. “The world is facing multifaceted chall

Jun 1, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea seeks minerals, supply chain cooperation from African nations
Politics

Veterans minister criticizes Starbucks over 'Tank Day' controversy

Veterans Minister Kwon Oh-eul on Friday criticized Starbucks Korea over its recent "Tank Day" promotion, saying the apparent use of a painful chapter in the nation's history as part of a marketing campaign deserves criticism. Speaking at a policy briefing with reporters, Kwon said the incident should be viewed as a corporate marketing decision rather than the action of an individual employee. He added that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs would take a cautious approach toward ongoing cooperation projects with Starbucks until broader public consensus emerges over the issue. The minister made the remarks while outlining the Lee Jae Myung administration's first-year veterans policy achievements, including expanded support for descendants of independence fighters and surviving spouses of war veterans. Kwon said the government is seeking to strengthen support for groups that have long remained outside Korea's veterans welfare system. Speaking at a luncheon meeting with reporters, Kwon cited a recent revision of the Independence Patriots Act as one of the ministry's most significan

May 29, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Veterans minister criticizes Starbucks over 'Tank Day' controversy
Foreign Affairs

Iran-linked missile strike leaves Korea with few options, analysts warn

Korea faces a narrow set of realistic options in responding to the likely strike on a Korean-operated vessel by an Iran-linked anti-ship missile near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, with experts saying military measures are effectively off the table and diplomatic pressure the only viable path — even as Washington's calls for greater Korean involvement in regional maritime operations grow louder. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday that a joint government investigation team found strong evidence suggesting the projectile that struck the vessel belonged to Iran’s Noor series of anti-ship missiles. The government cited missile debris, explosive residue and structural analysis of the blast site as part of the basis for its assessment. Seoul, however, stopped short of directly accusing the Iranian government of carrying out the attack, saying only that the missile was “Iran-linked” and declining to specify whether the launch may have involved Iran’s military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or an Iran-backed militia group. Doo Jin-ho, director of the

May 28, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Iran-linked missile strike leaves Korea with few options, analysts warn
Defense

Lee’s OPCON push revives debate over USFK role as alliance eyes post-transfer future

President Lee Jae Myung’s renewed push for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul is provoking discussion over the future of the Korea-U.S. alliance and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) after the transition. The discussion comes as Seoul accelerates its defense agenda, saying the transfer would be possible "even tomorrow," while Washington increasingly views the alliance in broader regional terms. Security experts say the issue is gradually moving beyond potential scaling down of the USFK after OPCON transfer toward the more fundamental question of what role the force would play afterward. Lee has reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing OPCON transfer as soon as possible. His administration initially aimed to take over before the end of his term in 2030, but earlier this year the government seemingly moved up the target date to 2028. During a meeting at the Navy Submarine Command at Jinhae in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Korea would face “no major problems” even if OPCON was transferred tomorrow. Lee

May 27, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Lee’s OPCON push revives debate over USFK role as alliance eyes post-transfer future
Defense

South Korea pushes to build 1st nuclear-powered submarine by mid-2030s

Korea is seeking to build its first nuclear-powered submarine by mid-2030s, the government said Tuesday, adding that construction will be done domestically. It also pledged to use low-enriched uranium fuel and comply with international nonproliferation obligations. The Ministry of National Defense announced the country's first road map for the development of nuclear submarines, laying out the government’s approach to developing and acquiring the platform and publicly presenting the framework for the project. “This is the first official road map outlining how Korea will systemically develop and acquire a nuclear-powered submarine capability,” Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said while presenting the plan during the inaugural meeting of the Future Defense Strategy Committee held at the submarine command at Jinhae in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The plan comes after an agreement reached during a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump last October, when Washington expressed support for Seoul's development of a nuclear submarine and its pursuit of c

May 26, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
South Korea pushes to build 1st nuclear-powered submarine by mid-2030s
Politics

Daegu race tightens as conservatives rally behind Choo

Early in the year, when parties began to select candidates for the June 3 local elections, the Daegu mayoral race appeared to favor liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Kim Boo-kyum, as the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was mired in an internal feud over candidate selection. This raised speculation that the liberal candidate could gain an easy win in Daegu, long regarded as a conservative stronghold. That picture is changing. In the final stretch of the campaign, PPP candidate Choo Kyung-ho has narrowed the gap by leaning on his image as an economic policymaker, while conservatives have increasingly framed the race as a battle to keep Daegu in conservative hands. Polls show that the race has tightened significantly over the past month. In a survey of 800 Daegu citizens conducted from May 16 to 20 by Korea Research and commissioned by KBS, released on Thursday, Kim led with 40 percent support, narrowly ahead of Choo at 39 percent. The gap had narrowed steadily from 7 percentage points in a survey conducted by the same pollster between April 27 and 29, wi

May 25, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Daegu race tightens as conservatives rally behind Choo
Defense

Seoul pushes road map for completing OPCON transfer as early as next year

The transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to the Korean military could take place as early as next year, as Seoul moves to finalize a bilateral road map this year and enter the final verification stage of the Future Combined Forces Command. The Ministry of National Defense is seeking to complete the ongoing full operational capability (FOC) assessment this year and use the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between the allies to establish a target year for the transfer. Once that target year is set, the allies would move directly into the final full mission capability (FMC) verification stage, a defense ministry official said Wednesday. The OPCON transfer process consists of three phases designed to assess the readiness of the future combined command, which would be led by a Korean four-star general: initial operational capability (IOC), FOC and FMC. The allies are currently in the FOC phase after completing an earlier IOC assessment. Officials estimate that the FMC phase will take roughly one year. If the final verification proceeds on schedule, officials believe the t

May 21, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul pushes road map for completing OPCON transfer as early as next year
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