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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

COVER STORY Korean companies offer job opportunities to USFK veterans

As Korean companies expand their footprint across the United States, securing qualified local workers has emerged as one of their biggest challenges. In an effort to help resolve this problem, a new recruitment platform is looking to a promising pool of candidates: former U.S. service members who have spent time in Korea. The USFK Job Platform, run by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in partnership with the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation, connects Korean companies operating in the U.S. with former and soon-to-retire U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel. Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice Chairman Lee Hyung-hee, who led the initiative, said the idea grew out of a practical problem facing Korean businesses investing in the U.S. “In recent years, the number of Korean companies expanding into the U.S. has increased significantly and demand for local workers has risen rapidly, particularly in advanced industries such as semiconductors and batteries,” Lee told The Korea Times. “But one of the biggest difficulties these companies face is securing local workers.”

Aug 26, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
[COVER STORY] Korean companies offer job opportunities to USFK veterans
Politics

Lawmakers suggest AI monitoring to protect children, create jobs for vulnerable groups

Lawmakers held a policy seminar Tuesday to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to protect children and teenagers from harmful online content while creating jobs for people with disabilities and older adults. Reps. Park Ji-won and Seo Mi-hwa of the Democratic Party of Korea co-hosted the seminar at the National Assembly Library in Seoul. The event focused on using AI to detect harmful content, including deepfake sex crimes, online grooming and illegal gambling, while leaving the final assessment to human reviewers. Under the proposed model, AI agents would monitor and analyze online content around the clock and flag potentially harmful material for human review. Organizers said the approach could address the limits of labor-intensive monitoring while creating remote and flexible jobs for people who have faced barriers to entering the workforce. “Having AI first detect and analyze large amounts of data, with people with disabilities and older adults conducting the final review and making judgments, shows how technology can complement people’s abilities rather than rep

Aug 25, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Lawmakers suggest AI monitoring to protect children, create jobs for vulnerable groups
Defense

Korea opens faster access to NATO standards for defense exporters

Korea’s arms procurement agency has established its first formal procedure for domestic defense companies to obtain NATO standards, a move aimed at helping them compete for contracts and joint development projects in NATO markets. Until now, exporters had no formal domestic channel for obtaining many of the standards and often had to seek help from local companies or government agencies in countries where they were pursuing business. Under the new system, standards that the Korean government can access directly through NATO’s online database could be provided in as little as a week. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday it has enacted guidelines governing how NATO standards are requested, provided and handled. NATO standards set common requirements designed to ensure interoperability among allied weapons systems, ammunition and other military supplies. They cover areas ranging from protection requirements and testing procedures to communications protocols, logistics and security rules. Korean companies may be asked to show that their products meet relevant

Aug 24, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea opens faster access to NATO standards for defense exporters
Foreign Affairs

Korean man released 5 days after abduction in Philippines

A Korean man in his 40s who was abducted in Manila last week was safely released Friday, five days after he was taken by unidentified men, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The man, who was abducted Sunday, is in good health, according to the ministry. The victim, a businessman, was reportedly abducted by four local men in the Malate district of Manila. The suspects allegedly blocked the victim's vehicle before another person entered and took him. The victim later contacted an acquaintance and said the kidnappers were demanding a ransom in exchange for his release, according to Korean media reports. The Korean Embassy in the Philippines received a report about the abduction on Monday. The foreign ministry then held an emergency meeting with the embassy and set up a task force to handle the case. The embassy also formed an on-site response team headed by the ambassador and worked with Philippine police, Korean police officers stationed in the country and the foreign ministry in Seoul. The ministry said it had worked closely with local police and other authorities to secure the m

Aug 21, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korean man released 5 days after abduction in Philippines
North Korea

3 hurdles stand in way of Trump-Kim summit

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again. But seven years after their last summit, Kim has far less reason to return to the negotiating table on Washington’s terms. A summit would first require Kim to respond. Washington and Pyongyang would then have to navigate their fundamental differences over North Korea’s nuclear status, while Trump would have to keep the issue high on his agenda amid competing foreign policy challenges and the approaching U.S. midterm elections. Trump is openly pushing to revive summit diplomacy this year, leaning again on the personal relationship with Kim that produced unprecedented face-to-face meetings during his first term. He also recently ordered a scaling back of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South Korea and the United States, prompting the allies to end the drills six days earlier than planned in what was widely seen as a conciliatory gesture toward Pyongyang. Kim is in no hurry The first question is whether Kim sees enough reason to meet Trump at all. North Korea has offered no direct response fr

Aug 21, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
3 hurdles stand in way of Trump-Kim summit
North Korea

Experts warn sidelining denuclearization could weaken Seoul's leverage

U.S. President Donald Trump’s refusal to say whether denuclearization remains the goal of renewed talks with North Korea has fueled speculation that Washington could set the issue aside in order to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. Experts warn that the focus should not be simply on whether U.S.-North Korea talks resume, but on what the talks are intended to achieve. A deal centered on managing North Korea’s nuclear threat rather than ultimately eliminating it could benefit Washington and Pyongyang while leaving Seoul with less leverage, they say. Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said that while the chances of North Korea actually moving toward denuclearization may be slim, signaling that the goal itself is being abandoned or deprioritized could create problems. “Giving the impression that we are abandoning or backing away from the goal of denuclearization could send a very wrong message to North Korea,” Yu, a member of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, told The Korea Times. “It could be seen as legitimizing North

Aug 20, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Experts warn sidelining denuclearization could weaken Seoul's leverage
North Korea

Denuclearization can no longer be on agenda for US-NK talks: foreign policy expert

As signs emerge that the United States and North Korea may be inching toward renewed engagement, the question of where denuclearization fits into future talks is coming back into focus. U.S. President Donald Trump’s reluctance to say whether denuclearization remains the goal of renewed talks with North Korea could open the door to a different approach focused first on arms control and reductions, a veteran foreign policy expert said. “Denuclearization can no longer be on the agenda,” Moon Chung-in, a James Laney distinguished professor at Yonsei University, told The Korea Times in a written interview. “The DPRK will reject any call for dialogues and negotiations for denuclearization,” he added, referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Moon said conventional and nuclear arms control and reductions would therefore be most likely to be on the agenda for renewed talks. His remarks came as Trump sidestepped the question of denuclearization while intensifying his push to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Asked on Wednesd

Aug 20, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Denuclearization can no longer be on agenda for US-NK talks: foreign policy expert
Politics

COVER STORY Scaled-back drills cast uncertainty over OPCON transfer timeline

The scaling back of South Korea-U.S. joint military drills, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media post calling for a reduction, has increased uncertainty in Seoul’s push for an earlier transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, as the reduced exercise will likely limit the opportunity to evaluate Seoul’s readiness to lead the combined forces. The Lee Jae Myung administration has sought to advance verification of the Combined Forces Command’s Full Operational Capability (FOC) under South Korean leadership during the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise and use the results to discuss a target year for OPCON transfer at the next Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in October. But the reduced training is expected to complicate that plan, including the government’s efforts to pursue OPCON transfer around 2028. The allies on Wednesday announced that this year's UFS would end on Friday, six days earlier than its original Aug. 28 end date, while scaling back or adjusting some field training exercises. The move came after Trump asked his defe

Aug 19, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
[COVER STORY] Scaled-back drills cast uncertainty over OPCON transfer timeline
Defense

S. Korea, US to conduct 159 field drills this year despite shortened UFS exercise

South Korea and the United States have agreed to end their ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise early on Friday and scale back some combined field training exercises, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The allies agreed to adjust the duration and scale of the exercise, which began Monday and was originally scheduled to run through Aug. 27, at the U.S. side’s request. They will also scale back some combined field training exercises, with details still under discussion, according to JCS. The exercise's computer-simulated command post drill consists of a first phase focused on defensive operations and a second phase involving counteroffensive operations. The allies will complete the first phase Friday, while the second phase, planned for Aug. 24 to 27, is expected to be canceled. "It looks like that's the direction we're heading," Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters Wednesday. Some of the 14 combined field training exercises at the battalion level or above originally planned for this year's UFS will also be scaled back. The allies are discussing conducting som

Aug 19, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
S. Korea, US to conduct 159 field drills this year despite shortened UFS exercise
Politics

Kim Min-seok faces 1st test with divided DPK leadership

Newly elected Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Kim Min-seok faces an early test of his leadership after three figures aligned with his main rival, Jung Chung-rae, won seats on the party’s five-member Supreme Council. The outcome is unlikely to threaten Kim’s control of the ruling party, as the party leader retains considerable authority over its direction. However, the composition of the new leadership means that Kim will have to manage competing factions while seeking to heal the divisions that were exposed during the leadership race and prepare the party for the 2028 general elections. Kim won the party leadership Monday with 54.08 percent of the final vote after preferential voting was applied, defeating Jung, who received 45.92 percent. The Supreme Council election, however, produced a different balance. Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo, all regarded as close to Jung, won three of the five elected seats. Park Sun-won and Seo Mi-hwa, who are aligned with President Lee Jae Myung, secured the other two. The results were tight across the board. Choi became the senior

Aug 18, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Kim Min-seok faces 1st test with divided DPK leadership
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