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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

Ballot shortage reignites debate over early voting as PPP pushes to scrap system

Political fallout from the ballot shortage controversy during the June 3 local elections continues, with the main opposition People Power Party’s (PPP) push to abolish early voting reviving debate over Korea’s election system. The issue resurfaced after PPP lawmaker Park Dae-chul introduced a bill seeking to scrap early voting, extend election day voting to two days and revive the absentee voting system. The proposal was co-sponsored by 24 PPP lawmakers and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, the party’s former leader. Han described the proposal as a long-held position. “Replacing early voting with a longer election period has been my position for a long time,” Han wrote on social media. He has repeatedly argued that election day voting should be extended instead of maintaining the current early voting system. The move came after the June 3 local elections were marred by ballot shortages at several polling stations, leading to long lines and complaints from voters. The National Assembly has since launched a parliamentary investigation into the incident. While the controversy stem

Jun 24, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Ballot shortage reignites debate over early voting as PPP pushes to scrap system
Politics

North Korean UNESCO official to skip Jeju Forum

A North Korean UNESCO official who had been expected to join this year’s Jeju Forum remotely will not take part in the event after all, organizers said Tuesday. Chang Gwang-chol, chief of the Education Policy Section at UNESCO, had been scheduled to participate via video in a Friday session titled “UNESCO and the Future of Education: Challenges and Prospects.” Had he joined, he would likely have become the first North Korean figure to take part in the annual international forum. According to the Jeju Peace Institute, which organizes the event, UNESCO recently informed the forum that Chang would no longer participate. A Vietnamese education expert is expected to replace him on the panel. Interest in Chang’s participation had grown in recent weeks because the event is being jointly hosted by the Foreign Ministry and Jeju Province at a time when inter-Korean relations remain largely frozen. Earlier this month, the Unification Ministry said it had accepted a contact report — required under South Korean law before nationals may contact North Korean citizens —submitted by the organi

Jun 23, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
North Korean UNESCO official to skip Jeju Forum
Politics

Lee’s disapproval rating tops approval for first time amid ruling party tensions

President Lee Jae Myung’s disapproval rating has surpassed his approval rating for the first time since he took office, according to a Realmeter survey released Monday, with analysts pointing to growing tensions within the ruling camp as a key factor behind the decline. Lee’s approval rating fell 4.8 percentage points from the previous week to 46.7 percent, while his disapproval rose 5.5 points to 49.7 percent, marking the first time negative assessments have exceeded positive ones since his inauguration in June 2025. It was also the first time his approval rating fell below 50 percent in a Realmeter survey. Realmeter attributed the decline to public backlash over election management failures and intensified infighting within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The pollster also said concerns over widening wealth disparities contributed to declining support among moderate voters and those living in the Seoul metropolitan area. Kim Sang-il, a political commentator, said the drop reflected broader concerns about how the governing camp has conducted itself since the June 3 local

Jun 22, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Lee’s disapproval rating tops approval for first time amid ruling party tensions
Defense

Impeachment petition against defense minister tops 75,000 as reform backlash mounts

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is facing growing opposition to his military reform agenda, with a parliamentary petition calling for his impeachment surpassing 75,000 signatures just four days after it was launched. The petition, which has already cleared the 50,000-signature threshold required for referral to a National Assembly committee, cites concerns over the dismantling of the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), the government’s handling of a recent reservist death during training and other defense policies pursued under Ahn. At the same time, a separate petition opposing the proposed consolidation and relocation of Korea’s service academies is also approaching the threshold for parliamentary review, highlighting broader resistance to Ahn's reform agenda. According to the National Assembly’s petition website, the impeachment petition was opened on Thursday and exceeded 75,000 signatures as of Sunday. It crossed the 50,000-signature mark on Saturday, making it eligible for review by the Assembly’s National Defense Committee. Petitioners argued that the defense ministry

Jun 22, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Impeachment petition against defense minister tops 75,000 as reform backlash mounts
Politics

Ministries clash over whether to call North Korea 'principal enemy'

The Ministry of Unification on Thursday challenged the defense ministry’s position that North Korea remains a "principal enemy," saying the Lee Jae Myung administration’s goal of peaceful coexistence cannot be reconciled with treating Pyongyang in such terms. The remarks exposed a rare policy divide within the government as the Ministry of National Defense prepares its 2026 Defense White Paper, the first to be issued under the Lee administration. “The peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas is a firm policy goal of the Lee Jae Myung government,” a unification ministry official told reporters during a background briefing. “One cannot pursue peaceful coexistence with North Korea while defining it as a principal enemy.” The comments came hours after the defense ministry rejected media reports suggesting it was considering dropping references to North Korea as an enemy in the upcoming white paper. “The report is not true,” Lee Kyung-ho, deputy spokesperson for the defense ministry, said during a regular briefing. “Our position that the North Korean regime and the North Korean

Jun 18, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Ministries clash over whether to call North Korea 'principal enemy'
Politics

Defense ministry to redraw Civilian Control Line near inter-Korean border

The Ministry of National Defense unveiled Wednesday a sweeping overhaul of military facility regulations, including plans to redraw the Civilian Control Line and release portions of military protection zones near border areas. The measures are expected to ease or remove restrictions across approximately 720 square kilometers, an area roughly 240 times the size of Yeouido, Seoul’s main financial district. The move reflects changes in the security environment, including a shrinking pool of military conscripts and advances in weapons systems, according to the ministry. Announcing the plan, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back described the initiative as a major overhaul of a long-standing regulatory framework. “Today, the defense ministry seeks to present a milestone that changes the paradigm of military facility regulations maintained for decades,” Ahn said. He added that regulatory reform had become “an inevitable choice” to respond to changing security conditions and allow the military to focus on its core missions. At the center of the plan is a proposed adjustment of the Civilian Con

Jun 17, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Defense ministry to redraw Civilian Control Line near inter-Korean border
North Korea

Jeju Forum seeks to invite North Korean UNESCO official to participate remotely

The organizers of the Jeju Forum, an annual event held in Jeju Island on themes of peace, are seeking to invite a North Korean UNESCO official to participate remotely in this year's edition, which is set to take place next week. If realized, the official will become the first North Korean to take part in the South Korean-hosted forum since its launch in 2001. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification, the forum organizers are working to invite Chang Gwang-chol, chief of the Education Policy Section at UNESCO’s Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, as a speaker for a session titled “UNESCO and the Future of Education: Challenges and Prospects” on June 26. The unification ministry said forum organizers had filed a notification in advance to communicate with Chang. Under South Korean law, contact with North Korean nationals requires prior approval from the unification ministry, even if the communication is related to participation in an academic or international event. “The organizers submitted the contact report in advance, and we a

Jun 16, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Jeju Forum seeks to invite North Korean UNESCO official to participate remotely
Defense

Korea weighs role in postwar Hormuz security initiatives

With a tentative U.S.-Iran peace deal expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Korean government's attention is likely to shift to its potential role in postwar initiatives to restore freedom of navigation in the waterway, a key global trade route. While it has remained cautious about joining separate maritime security initiatives, one led by the U.S. and the other led by the U.K. and France, Korea may now accelerate discussions over its participation as tensions in the region are expected to be eased. President Lee Jae Myung, who will attend the G7 summit in France from Tuesday to Wednesday, is expected to discuss the issue with the leaders of participating countries. The Ministry of National Defense said Monday that it is reviewing ways to contribute to efforts aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation in the strait. “The government will determine specific options after comprehensively assessing local threats, deployment requirements and operational capabilities,” ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said during a briefing. She added that nothing has been decided regarding whether t

Jun 15, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea weighs role in postwar Hormuz security initiatives
Politics

Leaders of both ruling, opposition parties face mounting calls to resign

Leaders of two major political parties are facing growing pressure to step down following disappointing results in last week’s local elections, as internal criticism spills into the open ahead of party conventions scheduled for August. Within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), party chair Jung Chung-rae has come under fire from lawmakers who argue that the leadership should take responsibility for the party’s failure to win key battleground races despite retaining a nationwide advantage. During a closed-door general meeting Thursday, Rep. Jang Chul-min publicly called on Jung to resign. “If we truly want unity and to consolidate party strength after the convention, Jung should resign even today,” Jang said, describing the party’s defeat in the Seoul mayoral race as a “crushing loss both politically and emotionally.” Rep. Lim Mi-ae also reportedly argued that Jung should step down to ensure a fair party convention, while veteran lawmaker Park Jie-won called on the entire leadership to resign and refrain from seeking reelection to party posts. Jung declined to directl

Jun 12, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Leaders of both ruling, opposition parties face mounting calls to resign
Politics

AI-focused PM nominee faces confirmation test

Prime Minister nominee Han Seong-sook is set to face a two-day confirmation hearing at the National Assembly next week, in what is shaping up to be an early test of President Lee Jae Myung’s governing agenda for his second year in office. Lee has presented Han, a former Naver CEO and current minister of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, as the right person to lead Korea’s transition into the artificial intelligence (AI) era and drive a results-oriented government. The opposition, meanwhile, has signaled that it will scrutinize her wealth, real estate holdings and corporate career. The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, is expected to go beyond questions about Han’s personal qualifications and focus on Lee’s broader approach to appointments, which places greater emphasis on expertise and policy execution than political experience. Han was nominated last week to succeed Prime Minister Kim Min-seok after serving for a year as SMEs minister. If confirmed, she would become the first former major tech company CEO to serve as prime minister. Explaining t

Jun 11, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
AI-focused PM nominee faces confirmation test
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