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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

Kim Min-seok holds razor-thin lead as DPK race heads into final stretch

The race for leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is heading into its decisive final week, with no clear favorite yet emerging. Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok currently holds the lead, but his margin over ex-party leader Jung Chung-rae is just 1.48 percentage points, leaving the contest wide open ahead of crucial votes in Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, North Jeolla Province and the Seoul metropolitan area. With regional voting completed everywhere else, Kim currently stands at 46.01 percent, or 95,821 votes, followed by Jung with 44.53 percent, or 92,735 votes. Song Young-gil is currently in third with 9.47 percent, or 19,715 votes. The gap between Kim and Jung is 3,086 votes. Kim has finished on top in three of the four regional rounds held so far. He won the Chungcheong region in the opening weekend, while Jung took Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province. Kim then won Jeju and Incheon, followed by the combined Gangwon, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province round last weekend. Those results reversed the order from the first week, when Jung held a 0.9

Aug 11, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Kim Min-seok holds razor-thin lead as DPK race heads into final stretch
Defense

S. Korea, US to hold UFS exercise from Aug. 17

South Korea and the United States will conduct their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise from Aug. 17 to 27, with this year’s drills reflecting evolving threats including drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks, the allies said Monday. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced the schedule during a joint briefing in Seoul. The allies described UFS 26 as an annual exercise that is defensive in nature. About 18,000 Korean troops will participate, roughly the same level as last year. The number of combined field training exercises at the battalion level or above, however, will be reduced to 14 from 17 in 2025. A JCS official said the allies have been conducting combined field training throughout the year in a balanced manner to maintain and improve their combined defense posture. The exercises were closely coordinated from the planning stage and will focus on essential training linked to the UFS scenario. This year’s exercise will also incorporate lessons from recent conflicts, including changes in warfare involving drones, GPS disruptio

Aug 10, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
S. Korea, US to hold UFS exercise from Aug. 17
Defense

UNC deputy commander says drills key to preparing for evolving threats

Lessons from recent conflicts are shaping how the United Nations Command (UNC) prepares for its role in defending Korea, including through the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise. Lt. Gen. Scott Winter, deputy commander of the UNC, said Thursday the command is using every opportunity to prepare for evolving threats seen in conflicts such as Ukraine and Iran. “The threat continues to evolve, therefore we cannot stand still,” Winter said during a roundtable with defense ministry reporters. He said the UNC uses exercises to prepare for emerging threats while seeking interoperability across all domains. Winter pointed to North Korea’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, saying its troops are likely to have brought home lessons from their experience in the conflict. He said one of the key lessons from the war in Ukraine is that “deterrence can fail.” Winter said the response should include greater investment in deterrent capabilities, including hard power and what he called “the willpower of the many.” He also repeated a phrase often used by Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander o

Aug 10, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
UNC deputy commander says drills key to preparing for evolving threats
Foreign Affairs

Korea denies 'fake news' law discriminates against US tech firms

The Korean government rejected concerns raised by U.S. Republican lawmakers over the country’s revised Information and Communication Network Act, Friday, pushing back against accusations that the law threatens online speech and discriminates against American companies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the legislation was introduced to address problems arising from changes in the digital environment and strengthen protections for users. “The legislation does not contain any provisions that discriminate against U.S. companies,” the ministry said. The government will work with relevant ministries to “actively explain the purpose and effects of the legislation” to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, it added. The response came after four Republican members of the committee — Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and Reps. Scot Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, Darrel Issa of California and Michael Baumgartner of Washington — sent a letter Thursday to Kim Jong-cheol, head of the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), raising concerns about the revised law and requesting a briefing o

Aug 7, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea denies 'fake news' law discriminates against US tech firms
Defense

US unlikely to send tactical nuclear weapons back to Korean Peninsula

The Pentagon’s push to give tactical nuclear weapons a greater role in defending U.S. allies in regional conflicts with China or Russia is raising questions in Seoul over whether U.S. nuclear weapons could return to South Korea more than three decades after their withdrawal. According to media reports, the Pentagon is drafting a new nuclear strategy that would place greater emphasis on shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons in such conflicts. South Korean experts, however, say the shift would not necessarily lead to the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons here. They say a more likely consequence would be closer coordination between U.S. nuclear forces and South Korea’s conventional military capabilities, while warning that making nuclear weapons more usable could also increase the risk of escalation on the Korean Peninsula. The United States withdrew all of its tactical nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991, when former President George H.W. Bush ordered a global pullback of U.S. ground- and sea-based tactical nuclear arms. Then-South Korean President Roh Tae-woo respon

Aug 7, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
US unlikely to send tactical nuclear weapons back to Korean Peninsula
Defense

US Marines hold first FPV suicide drone live-fire drill in Korea

POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province — A voice over the radio quietly called out, “Splash.” About three seconds later, an explosion echoed across Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex as a first-person view (FPV) attack drone slammed into a target about 2.5 kilometers from the observation post. The U.S. Marine Corps on Wednesday publicly conducted its first live-fire exercise with FPV attack drones on the Korean Peninsula, using the Neros Archer as part of the Korea Marine Exchange program (KMEP). Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment launched six quadcopter-style drones, all six of which struck targets about 900 meters away. Operated in hit-to-kill mode, the explosive-laden drones were designed to crash directly into their targets, effectively functioning as one-way attack, or "suicide," drones. They were guided through onboard cameras until impact, allowing operators and reporters at the observation post to watch the flights in real time from the drones’ perspective before the video feed cut out abruptly. Roughly the size of a backpack, the Neros Archer has a maximum range of 25 kilo

Aug 6, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
US Marines hold first FPV suicide drone live-fire drill in Korea
Defense

Korea seeks to set OPCON transfer timeline at October security talks with US

Korea is seeking to set a target year for wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer from Washington to Seoul during a Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with the U.S. this October, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. The move follows earlier attempts by the Korean government to complete the transfer by 2028 or even as early as the end of 2027 — a push that has drawn concern from U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), which firmly maintains the position that the transfer should remain conditions-based. The ministry presented the plan to President Lee Jae Myung during a policy briefing at the presidential office in Seoul. It said it would complete the road map for OPCON transition in the second half of the year and seek a decision on the target year at the 58th SCM. It will also report the results of its assessment of Full Operational Capability (FOC), the second stage of the three-stage transfer conditions, and seek certification of second-stage completion. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the two countries had built consensus on accelerating the transfer through high-level consul

Aug 5, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea seeks to set OPCON transfer timeline at October security talks with US
Defense

Military seeks closer coordination with US forces after drone misidentification

The Korean military has shifted its focus from assigning blame to preventing a recurrence after an internal investigation into last week's misidentification of a U.S. Marine Corps drone found procedural shortcomings on both sides. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) concluded that failures by both Korea and the U.S. contributed to the incident, in which a U.S. drone flying during a bilateral exercise was mistaken for an unidentified aircraft, triggering the military's highest-level counter-drone response. These findings have prompted follow-up measures aimed at strengthening airspace coordination while broader command responsibilities also came under review. According to the JCS, a working-level officer at the Army’s 1st Corps received a text message from the U.S. side a day before the flight but failed to relay the information to higher headquarters or relevant units. The text referenced only a previously approved live-fire altitude, but an official document attached as a photo to the message specified the drone's actual planned flight altitude — the detail that should have triggered a

Aug 4, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Military seeks closer coordination with US forces after drone misidentification
Politics

What's left before Korea's prosecution reform takes effect

A bill stripping prosecutors of their power to conduct supplementary investigations has passed the National Assembly and Cabinet approval, shifting attention to the remaining steps before the overhaul takes effect, including promulgation, follow-up legislation and possible proceedings before the Constitutional Court. Opposition parties, including the People Power Party (PPP) and the Reform Party, called on President Lee Jae Myung to exercise his veto, but Lee said the situation did not rise to the level of overriding the legislature's authority. "Exercising a veto is not something that can be done simply because of a difference of opinion," Lee said. "According to the principle of separation of powers, one can only deny the other branch's authority if its exercise of power itself violates the separation of powers or the constitutional order. It is hard to see that the current situation has reached that point." Lee left open the possibility of further revisions, addressing concerns over a potential overreach of police power and vowing to closely monitor and swiftly correct any shortcomin

Aug 4, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
What's left before Korea's prosecution reform takes effect
Defense

Defense ministry launches new counterintelligence headquarters

The Ministry of National Defense on Monday officially launched the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, establishing a new military organization responsible for counterintelligence as part of a broader restructuring of the former Defense Counterintelligence Command. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back presided over the inauguration ceremony at the headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, attended by senior military officers, defense officials and personnel assigned to the new organization. “We must uproot the bad practices of the past and rebuild this organization as a professional agency focused solely on its proper mission,” Ahn said during the inauguration ceremony. “Transparency and professionalism must ultimately lead to one thing — public trust.” According to the ministry, the headquarters was formally established on Friday under a presidential decree issued last month. The move follows the dismantling and reorganization of the former Defense Counterintelligence Command, which became embroiled in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration. The min

Aug 3, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Defense ministry launches new counterintelligence headquarters
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