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Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea Times Editorial Reporter

I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.

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Politics

News Focus Why is the ruling party so opposed to Yoon's pick for justice minister?

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon, center, answers questions from reporters in front of the Korea Banking Institute building in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap Han Dong-hoon's close ties to Yoon, uncompromising spirit, terminator-like style sources of concern By Kang Hyun-kyungRep. Yun Ho-jung, the interim leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), voiced concerns about President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's nomination of his closest aide, Han Dong-hoon, as justice minister. Using unusually strong words, the DPK leader took the nomination as the president-elect's de facto “declaration of war against the parliament.” “Everybody knows that Han is the president-elect's closest aide, and probably for this reason, some call him the 'crown prince' of the Yoon government. Thus, Yoon's nomination of Han as justice minister has signaled his intention of ruling with an iron fist,” he said on a radio show on Thursday. Yun said that his party members intend to screen the jus

Apr 14, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
[News Focus] Why is the ruling party so opposed to Yoon's pick for justice minister?
Politics

Justice minister nominee Han Dong-hoon steals the show

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon / Yonhap Ruling party calls the nomination a prelude to Korea as the Republic of the ProsecutionBy Kang Hyun-kyungJustice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon made news on Wednesday as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol unveiled his second batch of Cabinet ministers. Among the Cabinet minister nominees, he received the most questions from reporters and became the most sought-after new nominee of the day. Yoon's selection of Han for justice minister was considered a shock to some. Han, the vice president of the Judicial Research & Training Institute, is widely known as Yoon's closest aide in the prosecution service. Thus, it had been rumored that he would be tapped for “one of the key posts” in the prosecution service, such as the head of the Seoul Central Prosecution's Office, since Yoon was elected in the March 9 presidential race.Unveiling his pick for justice minister on Wednesday, Yoon said that Han is a well-trained prosecutor with

Apr 13, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Justice minister nominee Han Dong-hoon steals the show
  • Yoon taps Park Jin as foreign minister, Kwon Young-se as unification minister
Books

Journalist tells all about his legal battle against first lady

In a new book, Joongang Ilbo columnist claims Cheong Wa Dae uses lawsuits to tame critics By Kang Hyun-kyungJungang Ilbo columnist Nam Jeong-hoIt all began with a column published on June 11, 2019, in local newspaper the Joongang Ilbo, which pitted veteran journalist Nam Jeong-ho against the presidential office in a legal battle that lasted for two years. In his column titled “First Lady Kim Jung-sook's Bucket List?” he cautiously but unequivocally alleges that the first lady had made the most of the official overseas trips taken with her husband, President Moon Jae-in, as opportunities to explore some of the world's renowned cultural heritage sites and museums on taxpayers' money. Nam said he was overwhelmed by what happened to him afterwards. He first received a letter from the presidential office urging him and his company to print corrections according to unusually lengthy and detailed guidelines. He ignored a letter from LKB & Partners, one of the nation's top law firms which was representing the first lady. Weeks later they sued him, after the two sides failed t

Apr 5, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Journalist tells all about his legal battle against first lady
Politics

Ruling party views Seoul mayoral race as 'poisoned chalice'

Rep. Song Young-gil of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) speaks during a campaign speech for DPK's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung in this March 8 file photo. Korea Times fileEx-DPK Chairman Song Young-gil joins Seoul mayoral race By Kang Hyun-kyungRep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) officially declared his bid to become the mayor of Seoul in the June 1 local elections, amid media reports that he was called upon by some members of the party to join the race.“I became a Seoul citizen,” he wrote on his social media on Friday, sharing his mixed feelings about leaving his home in Incheon. He had lived in the western port city since 1985 to dedicate his life to the labor movement there. On Friday, he moved from Incheon to Seoul, because candidates must have a physical address in the capital.Song stepped down from his position as DPK leader after his party's presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, lost the March 9 election. He said he has been roaming around the country since then, contemplating on the election loss. “Wh

Apr 3, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Ruling party views Seoul mayoral race as 'poisoned chalice'
Politics

Seoul mayoral election loses luster amid rising interest in Gyeonggi governor race

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo officially declares his bid to run in the main opposition People Power Party's primary to select its candidate to run in the Daegu mayoral election in the southern city, Thursday. YonhapGyeonggi governor, Daegu mayor now most sought-after elected posts for DPK, PPP members, respectively By Kang Hyun-kyungSeoul's mayor in the past had been the most sought-after elected post for politicians who were ambitious enough to attempt a run for the top job in the government, as the position often served as a springboard to the presidential race. Historically, several Seoul mayors were nominated or ran in presidential elections after winning their party's nominations. Former President Lee Myung-bak won the 2007 presidential election with 48.67 percent, a double-digit margin over then his rival Jung Dong-young, after pushing through the Cheonggye Stream restoration project as Seoul's mayor. With the upcoming June 1 local elections coming up, it seems that a seismic shift could be underway in politicians' perception toward certain elective posts. The Seoul mayoral election seem

Mar 31, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Seoul mayoral election loses luster amid rising interest in Gyeonggi governor race
Opinion

'Mr. Today' and 'Mrs. Meanwhile'

By Kang Hyun-kyungThe late Chun Doo-hwan (1931-2021) had a lesser-known, yet disgraceful nickname that he earned during his presidency. Back in the 1980s, some college students called the military general-turned-president, “Mr. Today,” a nickname they coined to ridicule his domination of the news headlines. His wife, Lee Soon-ja, also had a nickname. Hers was “Mrs. Meanwhile.”The odd-sounding titles for the presidential couple arose against the backdrop of political instability and authoritarianism in the 1980s. Chun rose to power through a military coup, weeks after former President Park Chung-hee was assassinated in October 1979 by his own security chief, Kim Jae-gyu, the director of the KCIA. To maintain the presidency and power they had seized, Chun and his aides relied on censorship of the media, especially with regards to TV. Every night, prime-time news started with the news show hosts' narration of the news headlines, beginning with, “Today, President Chun…” Most of the time, Chun dominated the top news; hence his nickname, “Mr

Mar 30, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
'Mr. Today' and 'Mrs. Meanwhile'
Politics

BAI sides with president-elect in member nominations

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, left, walks out of the Korea Banking Institute building in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) of Korea expressed its concerns about President Moon Jae-in's request to appoint a BAI member at the end of his term, according to the Presidential Transition Committee. In a press release, the committee quoted the BAI as saying that BAI members are required to maintain a high level of political neutrality. Thus, the BAI chief recommending a commissioner nominee to the sitting president to fill vacant member posts in time of a leadership change could trigger unnecessary doubts or controversy. The reaction came as the transition team received policy briefings from the BAI on Friday. Members of the transition team called on the BAI officials to come up with measures that can to help the body be a transparent, fair and neutral entity. Currently two BAI member posts out of seven are vacant. Filling the two posts has emerged as a source of friction between President Moon and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who are still wo

Mar 25, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
BAI sides with president-elect in member nominations
  • North Korea's ICBM launch complicates President-elect Yoon's defense vision
Politics

Two schools of thought inside transition team about gender equality ministry

Ahn Cheol-soo, right, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, speaks during a meeting with reporters at the Korea Banking Institute building in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap643 women's groups issue statement urging transition committee to save ministryBy Kang Hyun-kyungThere seem to be two schools of thought inside President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's Presidential Transition Committee regarding the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.On the one hand, Yoon is a hardliner who thinks the ministry has already fulfilled its commitment over the past two decades, since its creation in the early 2000s, and that there is no need to prolong its life with public funds in his administration. On the other, there is a group of moderates who are calling for the slowdown of Yoon's drive to abolish the ministry, warning that pushing ahead with the controversial plan against the will of many others, including many women's and civic groups, will only backfire and hold back the new government's policy initiatives. Ahn Cheol-soo, the chairman of the transition team, seems to be one of the moderates cal

Mar 25, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Two schools of thought inside transition team about gender equality ministry
Politics

Ex-president Park Geun-hye finds new home in Daegu

Former President Park Geun-hye walks out of Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, Thursday, nearly three months after she was hospitalized there on Dec. 31. She served almost five years in prison after being convicted on 16 out of 18 charges of corruption before being pardoned late last year. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulPark Geun-hye welcomed by hometown supporters By Kang Hyun-kyungConservative former President Park Geun-hye headed to her new home in the southeastern city of Daegu after being released from Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, Thursday, nearly four months after she was hospitalized there on Dec. 31 for declining health.She had suffered from chronic shoulder and back pain since she was pardoned on Dec. 24 and released from jail on Dec. 31 of last year after serving almost five years of a 20-year sentence for corruption while president. Walking out of the hospital with her lawyer, former lawmaker Yoo Young-ha, early Thursday morning, the healthy-looking former president beamed as nearly two hundred supporters gathered there and chanted her name. Wearing

Mar 24, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Ex-president Park Geun-hye finds new home in Daegu
North Korea

Unification ministry won't be abolished: transition team

An inside view of the Ministry of Unification / Yonhap By Kang Hyun-kyungPresident-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team denied media reports about the doomed fate of the Ministry of Unification, saying it never considered abolishing the ministry.In fact, the opposite is true, according to deputy spokesman Won Il-hee.Won said during a regular press briefing on Wednesday that the transition committee is preparing a plan to diverge from the current policies led by the Moon Jae-in administration and implemented by the ministry, to reinforce the ministry's inherent duties and functions, such as inter-Korean exchange and cooperation as well as humanitarian aid.“Some media reported that the Ministry of Unification would be abolished, but that has never been considered. The transition committee members will ponder ways to help the ministry regain its inherent role and functions and work autonomously,” he said.When asked what he meant about the ministry's inherent role and

Mar 23, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Unification ministry won't be abolished: transition team
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