The Korea Times

Nuanced political views among diverse Latino voters are overlooked

By Janet Murguia and Hector Sanchez BarbaDuring a time that has brought the shock of the Uvalde mass shooting, restrictions on reproductive rights, and climate-related disasters, a large national poll of Latino voters found that their priorities have experienced a significant shift. For example, abortion is now among the top five issues for Latino voters for the first time ever. Worries about gun violence and crime, healthcare and abortion are rising dramatically. Jobs and the rising cost of living, as in the past, also remain priorities.As the second-largest group of voting-age Americans, with many not solidly aligned with either party, Latino voters can be a powerful and stabilizing force in American politics. But misconceptions about this diverse and multiracial voting community persist. This has led to ineffective engagement with these voters, who already face increasing obstacles on the path to the voting booth.Attempts to put Latino voters in an “either/or” box have consistently led to oversimplifications and mistaken assumptions about this community. The poll released by our o

Sep 7, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

Ominous signs for Yoon

By Shim Jae-yunZhuge Liang (181-234), a renowned Chinese statesman and military strategist, is also known for an episode involving his confidant, talented general Ma Su, whom he ordered to be beheaded on charges of disobeying military orders. In the face of Ma's death, Zhuge allegedly sobbed in grief, which means he purportedly, yet reluctantly, put his close associate to death for the sake of strengthening military discipline. This story, called “Weeping Ma Su” (泣斬馬謖), was contained in the Chinese ancient novel, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” It underscores the need for any statesman to shy away from private connections in order to establish fairness through the proper implementation of rules so as to nurture public goals and justice. President Yoon Suk-yeol should learn some lessons from this story. He is now suffering from nose-diving approval ratings due to a series of bungles involving a lack of fairness ― a value he has touted as his trademark slogan. Yoon is now beleaguered by diverse, formidable challenges. Various surveys show his approval ratings continuously falling. A R

Jul 20, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Editorial

ED Prolonged strike

Find solution to strife through dialogue, consensusSubcontracted workers of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) have been staging a sit-down strike for 44 days as of Friday. They are occupying a very large crude oil carrier now under construction in the world's biggest dockyard ― Okpo Shipyard ― in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province. They are members of the Metal Workers' Union under the umbrella of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Defining the strike as illegal, the government Thursday urged the unionized workers to stop the walkout immediately. In a statement, Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik said, “The walkout has been causing enormous damage to the employees of DSME and related companies.” Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang claimed DSME has suffered 570 billion won ($432.2 million) in losses due to the strike. In addition, he said, daily revenue losses amounted to 25.9 billion won paired with 5.7 billion won in fixed costs.They expressed concern that the strike will lead to a downgrading of the extern

Jul 15, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

Seven days in May ― saving America from within

By Martin Schram“Seven Days in May,” the epic 1960s novel and a film starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner, was a fictional tale about right-wing Pentagon generals who tried to topple the U.S. government.Seven Days in May, 2022, the epic tragedy starring us all, is the reality news that is now dominating news screens everywhere. You and I are feeling like we are trapped into watching a slo-mo version of heart-wrenching, mind-numbing scenes that just keep on looping.We know the whole world is watching us in stunned disbelief. And sometimes it feels like we, too, are outside looking in. We see half of our nation's leaders willfully lying to us ― and their followers pretend they don't know they are being lied to. We suddenly have enemies whose evil isn't about committing willful action against us, but willful inaction ― a fear of taking common-sense acts to save us from ourselves. Because their honest action may cost them the power ― and that is what they crave most of all.Today, our Seven Days in May 2022 tale actually begins with a context-setting preface from 2015: Te

Jun 1, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Seven days in May ― saving America from within

People & Events

Starkey Korea CEO gets Korean War medal on behalf of late father

Starkey Korea CEO Shim Sang-don, left, receives a certificate for an honorary Korean War Medal from Brigadier Gen. Woo Kyung-kwan, on behalf of his late father Shim Eun-taek at Starkey Korea Hall in Seoul, Wedneday. Courtesy of Starkey KoreaBy Shim Jae-yunStarkey Korea CEO Shim Sang-don received a Korean War military medal on behalf of his late father, Shim Eun-taek, who served the nation in the 1950-1953 war, during a ceremony at Starkey Hall in Seoul, Wednesday. The award ceremony took place as part of a government campaign to find the unsung heroes of the war and honor them or their descendants with Korean War military medals since 2019. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the government for offering such a medal of honor without forgetting (my father's service), though belatedly,” Shim said after receiving the medal. Brigadier Gen. Woo Kyung-kwan, in charge of personnel affairs of the ROK Army, presented Shim with the medal on behalf of Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. Participants in the event included dignitaries such as former South Chungcheong Province Governor Shim

May 25, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Starkey Korea CEO gets Korean War medal on behalf of late father

Opinion

New initiative, security and summit

New initiative, security and summit By Shim Jae-yunThe upcoming summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden will be crucial in a true sense for both leaders, given the looming tectonic changes in the security and economic landscapes of Northeast Asia. The summit will take place only 11 days after Yoon was sworn in as the nation's president, the earliest-ever of its kind. This compares with Yoon's predecessors ― 79 days for the late Roh Moo-hyun, 54 days for Lee Myung-bak, 71 days for Park Geun-hye and 51 days for Moon Jae-in.Yoon will be bracing for the first test due to the U.S. bid to unite its allies behind it to contain the growing influence of China in the Asia-Pacific region. For starters, Biden is expected to pressure Korea to join the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). “So as it relates to our economic framework, it's going to focus on building agreements with Indo-Pacific partners. The United States has strong economic and trade ties in the Indo-Pacific so it is essential for us to step up economically in the region and to do it fa

May 18, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

Foreign policy recommendations for Yoon

By Shim Jae-yunIn my column titled, “Can Yoon become Korea's Macron?” for May 27 of last year, I pointed out some similarities between the two leaders, such as their political inexperience and maverick characters in defiance of the political establishment. As Yoon has become the head of state against all odds, expectations are growing for him to inject fresh air into leading Korea in the right direction for the better.Despite some upbeat expectations, however, President-elect Yoon is bracing for a plethora of daunting challenges ahead in carrying out his duty as the new president beginning May 10. Most of all, he needs to unite the nation and repair the extreme sense of division, which deepened during the campaign, marred by negative character attacks between the leading candidates. Yoon beat his rival, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), by only 0.73 of a percentage point. He now faces staunch resistance from the majority party with 172 parliamentary seats.In addition to these weighty challenges at home, the political novice must also tackle the

Mar 16, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

From antipathy toward hope

By Shim Jae-yunThe presidential election is supposed to be full of hope as it is a “sacred” process of inaugurating a new head of state who will lead the nation for the next five years. Contrary to the expectation, however, the ongoing race is disappointing at large, having become a battleground among candidates with record displays of antipathy rather than empathy. Another disappointment is the waning of the nation's only progressive party with National Assembly seats ― the Justice Party.For starters, the nation is seeing a rare phenomenon: an increasing number of undecided voters with less than two months left before the March 9 presidential election. People are voicing their distrust of the major presidential contenders. Many around me are wondering whether they can decide who to vote for until the poll day. Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has been the object of public cynicism for his apparent lack of morality as seen in his criminal record, profanity against his sister-in-law and purported irregularities in a major

Jan 12, 2022By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

Candidates' foreign policy dilemma

By Shim Jae-yunThe importance of an appropriate foreign policy cannot be overemphasized, especially for mid-sized countries such as Korea. History shows that such a policy is occasionally so significant as to determine the country's sustainability, and this is so for Korea due to geopolitical sensitivity, as it is surrounded by much larger, powerful nations. For leaders, a balancing act combining ideals and reality is essential. When they lack the caliber to meet this requirement, they face a serious dilemma.Former President Roh Moo-hyun was no exception. Despite his image of being anti-American, he implemented diverse policies favorable to the United States based on the bilateral alliance, such as signing the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and dispatching Korean troops to Afghanistan, even at the cost of inviting criticism from his conventional supporters who lambasted him as a neoliberal. While his efforts to seek inter-Korean cooperation culminated in his summit with North Korea's then-leader Kim Jong-il in 2007, he also stressed the country's firm alliance with the U.S. Here, I

Nov 17, 2021By Shim Jae-yun

Opinion

Inter-Korean summit and US role

By Shim Jae-yunVarious indicators are appearing pointing to a possible inter-Korean summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. For starters, both Koreas have expressed a positive attitude about such a meeting, and China appears to expect a “peace mood” to prevail ahead of its hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics next February. In addition, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed Washington's stance of supporting Moon's peace process on the Korean Peninsula in a Sept. 21 speech at the United Nations.Cross-border communications lines were reopened Monday, following an instruction from the “omnipotent” supreme leader Kim. His influential sister Kim Yo-jong said Sept. 25 that the North was ready to conditionally discuss an inter-Korean summit. It seems fair to say that she closely conferred on the matter with her brother. Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, a prominent North Korea expert, even forecast the summit could take place soon, possibly within this year, or at least around the time of the Olympics. He said the two Koreas

Oct 6, 2021By Shim Jae-yun

Shim Jae-yun

Read more

Nuanced political views among diverse Latino voters are overlooked

Ominous signs for Yoon

ED Prolonged strike

Seven days in May ― saving America from within

Starkey Korea CEO gets Korean War medal on behalf of late father

New initiative, security and summit

Foreign policy recommendations for Yoon

From antipathy toward hope

Candidates' foreign policy dilemma

Inter-Korean summit and US role

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