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Oh Young-jin

Korea Times Korea Time Reporter

Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' publisher and president. He began to work at The Korea Times in 1988 as a sports writer. Then, he worked as a reporter and later as editor at the City Desk, Business Desk and Politics Desk. He worked as chief editorial writer before taking the current position. He has a keen interest in politics as well as defense affairs.

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Opinion

Moon's faux pas

President Moon Jae-in toasts with Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei, during a recent trip there. The Islam country doesn't encourage toasts even with nonalcoholic drinks. Korea TimesBy Oh Young-jin “Even with 10 mouths, there can be nothing to say,” an old Korean saying meaning an inexcusable mistake, may apply to a series of gaffes made during the recent presidential visit to Brunei, Malaysia and Cambodia. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon admitted that it showed a lack of professionalism and promised to ameliorate it, while Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa apologized. The Foreign Ministry helps prepare protocols involving presidential overseas trips. But the presidential faux pas cannot be apologized away and forgotten by a promise of improvement. Rather, the situation reveals a fundamental flaw with the nation's diplomacy and its diplomats. President Moon spoke greetings in Indonesian rather than Malaysian during his joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad. Moon is said to have gotten mixed up with greetings for afternoon and night. Cheong W

Mar 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Moon's faux pas
Foreign Affairs

'Baltic, stupid!': Latvia tells Korean Foreign Ministry

 By Oh Young-jin“Until now, the absence of ROK diplomatic missions in the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Estonia in the Balkan region has caused difficulties in providing consular assistance and services…”You may laugh at this thinking it is a prank, but it is actually the work of professionals ― the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The extract was part of its press release March 19 until the Latvian Embassy in Seoul protested that its country belonged to the Baltic region, not Balkan, and the ministry changed it.A foreign diplomat told The Korea Times, “The Latvian ambassador was really mad.”“The ministry needs geography lessons.” It was unclear whether the Latvian embassy had to go an extra mile and explain the differences between Baltic and Balkan. The first refers to the three countries as stipulated in the ministry's statement, while the Balkan refers to the areas that mostly belonged to the former Yugoslavia. The ministry's releases are scrutinized by foreign diplomats daily, so the mistake was much

Mar 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin
'Baltic, stupid!': Latvia tells Korean Foreign Ministry
  • Foreign minister apologizes after Moon's Indonesian greetings to Malaysian PM
  • Foreign ministry official dismissed for displaying crumpled national flag
Law & Crime

New lead in double murder: stolen W500m from Bugatti sale proceeds

A Bugatti Veyron, the model once owned by an imprisoned stock analyst whose parents were recently murdered. From Bugatti.comBy Oh Young-jinThe 500 million won or $442,000 stolen during the murder of the parents of imprisoned infamous stock dealer Lee Hee-jin was part of 1.5 billion won that Lee's younger brother received for the sale of a Bugatti Veyron that belonged to Lee's fleet of supercars, reports said Tuesday.The French luxury car comes in three models ranging in price from $1.7 million to $3 million.Police also were looking for two more accomplices ― Koreans ― as well as three Chinese. The primary suspect in the murders is taken in for questioning, Monday. Korea TimesThe younger brother Hee-mun handed over the sum in cash and checks to his parents, who were ambushed by the main suspect, identified as Kim, and the three accomplices. The bag containing the money ― checks, each worth 1 million won, and bundles of banknotes of 50,000 won ― were taken before the parents were killed.Kim was with three Chinese accomplices, recruited for security jobs via the internet. The Chinese al

Mar 19, 2019By Oh Young-jin
New lead in double murder: stolen W500m from Bugatti sale proceeds
  • Chinese hitmen behind murder of stock swindler's parents: police
Law & Crime

W500 mil. heist? Double murder of parents of infamous swindler

The primary suspect of the double murder of parents of an infamous stock swindler is escorted into a police station in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. YonhapBy Oh Young-jin The primary suspect of the double murder of parents of a notorious stock swindler stored the bodies in a refrigerator and a cabinet after killing them and ran away with 500 million won or $442,000, police said in a briefing Monday.Gyeonggi police allege that the suspect, identified as a Kim, 34, had killed them in their house in Anyang with the help of three accomplices on Feb. 25-26. The three were recruited by Kim through the internet and acted as couriers. It was not determined whether they were involved in the actual act of murder. The deceased were parents of Lee Hee-jin, 33, once known as the upscale Gangnam's "Cheongdam-dong's rich stock man." He is now serving a five-year prison term for illegal stock deals, having appeared as a stock expert in TV programs and pretended to be a wealthy business man by showing off supercars and relations with top stars on his SNS. He has been ordered to pay 33 billion wo

Mar 18, 2019By Oh Young-jin
W500 mil. heist? Double murder of parents of infamous swindler
  • Chinese hitmen behind murder of stock swindler's parents: police
Opinion

Why our North Korea policy always fails

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, walks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un during a break in talks at the second US-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 28. The summit collapsed, damaging South Korean President Moon Jae-in's peace effort. AFP-YonhapBy Oh Young-jinThe biggest loser in the no-deal Hanoi summit between North Korea's Kim Jong-un and U.S.'s Donald Trump was neither of the two but South Korean President Moon Jae-in.It means his reconciliatory North Korea policy is in trouble and may be doomed with no second chances as Trump appears to be leaning to the usual insider Washington regimen with his presidency to be boxed in by a looming partisan tussle over his impeachment for colluding with Russia. If Moon's policy fails, it will not be an isolated case ― Korea's recent history shows Moon is part of the rule as most of his predecessors had fared as badly, if not worse. Despite accusations of being a remote-controlled puppet president, Park Geun-hye, now impeached and tried while in prison for corruption, among other charges, had her ow

Mar 15, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Why our North Korea policy always fails
Opinion

Korea will miss Trump's flair

In this Jan. 19, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump speak to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington. A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit against President Trump by porn actress Stormy Daniels that sought to tear up a hush-money settlement about their alleged affair but a bigger storm is brewing with the completion of the probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his potential collusion with Russians in the 2016 presidential election. Then, his foreign policy, resting heavily on the resolution of North Korea's denuclearization, would likely get unhinged. AP-YonhapBy Oh Young-jinU.S. President Donald Trump could have pulled it off, cutting the Gordian knot on the North Korean nuclear conundrum once and for all. But such a dramatic Trumpian resolution appears no viable prospect after his no-deal Hanoi, Vietnam, summit with North Korea's young dictator Kim Jong-un.Now the vicious cycle appears to be restarting and with a vengeance ― the fear is that this time there may be no turning back. The result could be worse than what Trump critics have called for.The T

Mar 8, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Korea will miss Trump's flair
  • N. Korea denuclearization still achievable in Trump first term: US official
Politics

INTERVIEW 'Unification can be curse'

Kim Byong-joon, former interim leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Oh Young-jin Unification could spell a curse for South Korea because the current progressive government, lacking clear vision and hobbled by its ties with big labor, has failed to prepare for it, said Kim Byong-joon, who just finished a seven-month tour as interim leader of the main opposition conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP). “There would be a big sucking sound that knocks the wind out of our manufacturing base,” said the 65-year-old former top policy aide to the late progressive President Roh Moo-hyun during a recent interview. Kim worked together with President Moon Jae-in, then Roh's chief of staff. Now, the two find themselves on the opposite ends of the political spectrum _ after Kim took the job of fixing the Liberty party that was reeling amid a resounding defeat in the June local elections following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. “Neither is a bonanza,” Kim said, dismis

Mar 6, 2019By Oh Young-jin
[INTERVIEW] 'Unification can be curse'
Opinion

Can we see Kim Jong-un again?

This instagram photo from the U.S. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders shows North Korea's Kim Jong-un parting with U.S. President Donald Trump without even having a scheduled lunch during their no-deal Hanoi, Vietnam, summit, Thursday.By Oh Young-jin After his no-deal Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, one question worth pondering, however implausible it may sound in the immediate and confusing aftermath, is: would Kim Jong-un, the youthful North Korean leader, be able to hang on to power? Kim was reportedly ditching some of his remaining itinerary to go home early after splitting from Trump without having lunch together in the Vietnamese capital Thursday. But it would not soften the reality that he is going home empty-handed. The failed mission may pose an existential threat to Kim, who has inherited fear-based rule from his father Kim Jong-il and his grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung.The problem is that the young Kim lacks the charisma of his granddad, who was appointed to lead a Soviet puppet regime and solidified power by an incessant series of purges, o

Mar 1, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Can we see Kim Jong-un again?
Opinion

Trump-Kim dictatorial love affair

U.S. President Donald Trump is with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their June summit in Singapore. YonhapBy Oh Young-jinU.S. President Donald Trump talked about being in love with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a rally before the Nov. 6 mid-term elections.It was obviously a slip of the tongue because his follow-up rhetoric showed his love was neither platonic nor erotic but perhaps a third kind ― one that is only possible by a dictator or between the two. Trump's dictatorial love for Kim and the latter's willingness to follow Trump's lead are not bad for the rest of the world by some modest standards. Next week's Hanoi, Vietnam, summit between the two will surely prove it.The chance is that they may settle on agreeing to disagree to get things moving but with no breakthroughs. The pace and nature of their dialogue looks comparable to the courtship at the tantalizing starting stages of a mating dance in the animal world. That would help maintain the state of no war on the Korean Peninsula and hopefully ultimately lead to a firmer and lasting peace. Not so fast, though!

Feb 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Trump-Kim dictatorial love affair
  • Speculation abound as Hanoi summit approaches
Opinion

Prize that belittles winner

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raises the Seoul Peace Prize trophy at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Friday. Korea TimesBy Oh Young-jin Which is wrong, the award or its recipient? That is the question I had as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to Seoul to receive the 14th Seoul Peace Prize that has a handsome cash award. My answer is that the award is more wrong than the winner. The reason goes back to when Modi's selection was announced in October.The award committee said that it chose Modi for his contribution to improving the livelihood of 1.35 billion Indians; enhancing humankind's welfare, thereby global peace, and stabilizing Asia-Pacific regions.First, how has he improved the entire Indian population's lot? True, under Modi, a business-friendly leader, India has continually registered hefty growth but the Subcontinent nation has registered higher growth rates before.It is an exaggeration to say he has touched the lives of all Indians, not to mention improving their lot. The number is just too many to be done for the five years under Modi. Henny Sender, a Financial Times exp

Feb 22, 2019By Oh Young-jin
Prize that belittles winner
  • PHOTOS Korea, India agree to strengthen defense, economic ties
  • Korea, India to strengthen defense cooperation
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.