The Korea Times

Cheong Wa Dae struggling with self-imposed rule on housing

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, July 7. YonhapBy Do Je-hae Cheong Wa Dae has come under fire once again for being unable to keep to its own one-house-per-person policy aimed at cooling down the housing market.This is despite Yoon Seong-won, presidential secretary for land, infrastructure and transport, saying he sold one of his two houses recently. The sale came amid rising criticism that a number of ranking government officials and presidential aides have multiple houses while the Moon Jae-in administration has been focusing on preventing speculation that is pushing up housing prices.Yoon owned two houses ― one in the administrative town of Sejong City and another in Gangnam-gu, the richest district in Seoul. He said in a media interview that procedures began early this month to sell the property in Sejong, which is worth much less than the home in Gangnam.He said he decided to sell the home following recommendations from the presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and Prime Minister Chung Sey-kyun for high-ranking government officials to se

Jul 13, 2020By Do Je-hae

Cheong Wa Dae struggling with self-imposed rule on housing

Korea's real estate policy fiasco

Politics

South Korea, US eye 'October surprise'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looks back at South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump on his way back to the North across the Military Demarcation Line on June 30 after their meeting at Panmunjeom. Korea Times fileBy Do Je-hae The next big question regarding the Korean Peninsula is whether U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will get together for a third summit before the U.S. presidential election in November. Despite the rising tension on the peninsula due to North Korea's recent hostile actions and rhetoric, Seoul and Washington are not letting up on the possibility of an “October surprise.” This is because a third U.S.-North Korea summit is seen as a crucial and timely political achievement for the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. For President Moon Jae-in, the next few months are the only time he has to mediate, in cooperation with the Trump administration, any meaningful breakthrough for his “peace process” on the peninsula. Moon will remain in office until early 2022, but he will not be a

Jul 10, 2020By Do Je-hae

Politics

#MeToo scandals dent ruling party

Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Hae-chan speaks with reporters after visiting the memorial altar for the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at a hospital in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwonBy Do Je-hae The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is reeling from a series of sexual scandals involving some of it biggest star politicians. According to the police, a former female secretary filed a sexual harassment complaint with the police against the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon before he was found dead early Friday. Previously, DPK heavyweights such as former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and former South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung have come under fire for allegations of sexual misconduct. Many Koreans find the allegation of sexual misconduct against Park particularly alarming, given that the former human rights lawyer has been a staunch supporter of women's rights and has placed gender equality at the forefront of his policy goals as mayor. Park is believed to have taken his own life for fear of a #Metoo scandal.The series of #Metoo allegations to

Jul 10, 2020By Do Je-hae

Politics

Ball is again in North Korea's court

President Moon Jae-in's new national security adviser Suh Hoon, right, talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, July 9. YonhapUS reaffirms willingness for talks with North KoreaBy Do Je-haeWith the U.S. reaffirming its willingness for talks with North Korea, all eyes are on whether Pyongyang will step back from its hostile stance and come back to negotiations over sanctions relief for denuclearization. Washington's renewed efforts to resume talks are seen as a move to coordinate the conditions for a balanced agreement that is conducive to peace on the Korean PeninsulaU.S. Special Representative Stephen Biegun underlined that in order for the talks to move forward, North Korea must come to the negotiating table with a new way of thinking rather than focusing “only on the negatives and what is impossible.”“When Chairman Kim appoints a counterpart to me, who is prepared and empowered to negotiate on these issues, they will find us ready at that very moment,” Biegun said, Wednesday during a three-day visit to Seou

Jul 9, 2020By Do Je-hae

Health

Ethnic Korean named Kazakh health minister

Alexey Tsoi / Korea Times fileBy Do Je-hae An ethnic Korean was named the top health policymaker in Kazakhstan last month, according to the latest media reports. Alexey Tsoi was appointed health minister on June 25 amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Central Asian nation. Some of the country's officials have been treated for the coronavirus, including Tsoi's predecessor Elzhan Birtanov. Former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has also tested positive for the COVID-19.The new health minister's immediate priority is to tackle the COVID-19 spread in the latter half of the year. As of Wednesday, 264 people have died from the coronavirus in Kazakhstan. “Our task is to stop the spread so as to see a reduction in the number of active cases,” he said at a briefing earlier this month.Tsoi has taken a number of roles related to health and medicine in Kazakhstan.Before being appointed the health minister, he served in a number of important posts, including the first vice minister of health and social development and chief of the Medical Center of the Office of t

Jul 8, 2020By Do Je-hae

Ethnic Korean named Kazakh health minister

Politics

Moon's chief of staff pressed to step down over real estate row

President Moon Jae-in's chief of staff Noh Young-min, center, and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee, left, are seated side by side during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Both figures, who are known to be the President's close confidants, have become symbols of the Moon administration's failing housing policy. YonhapBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in and the ruling bloc have come under mounting criticism after one of his trusted aides invited public indignation over the government's real estate policy. The aide, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min, is being pressured to step down over his poor handling of his ownership of multiple homes, which is seen as going against the government's real estate policy to prevent speculation and housing prices from rising further.At a time when many Koreans are struggling to find jobs and buy their own homes, Noh had previously recommended high-ranking officials with multiple homes to sell off their extra properties that are not for primary residential purposes. But he has come under fire for delaying the sal

Jul 8, 2020By Do Je-hae

Moon's chief of staff pressed to step down over real estate row

Politics

Ex-PM seeks party leadership - and beyond

Rep. Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. YonhapBy Do Je-hae Rep. Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) announced, Tuesday, his bid for chairmanship of the party ahead of the party convention to select the leadership next month.As the strongest potential presidential contender according to opinion polls, if he becomes the party chief, it will give his future presidential bid a boost.During a briefing, the former prime minister for President Moon Jae-in vowed to lead his party to produce effective solutions to some of the most urgent problems facing the nation, particularly the economic crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic that is afflicting households and businesses as never before. “I have listened to various opinions from within and outside the party about my bid for the party chairmanship and have come to the conclusion that I should do my best to fulfill the responsibility of overcoming the national crisis that history has entrusted our party with,” Lee said in a speech at

Jul 7, 2020By Do Je-hae

Ex-PM seeks party leadership - and beyond

Politics

Moon's new diplomatic lineup raises concerns over ROK-US alliance

Park Jie-won, left, the nominee for national Intelligence Service (NIS) chief, receives condolences from the North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong, right, on behalf of her brother upon the death of former first lady Lee Hee-ho on June 12, 2019, at Panmunjeom. Park is accompanied by Chung Eui-yong, then-national security adviser. Park's ties long ties with North Korea's Kim dynasty is one of the primary factors in Moon's surprise decision to name him as the NIS chief. YonhapSeoul's capacity to convince Washington on easing sanctions still in doubtBy Do Je-haeThere is much interest in what kind of impact President Moon Jae-in's recent decision to fill his diplomatic and national security team with inter-Korean specialists will have on foreign policy.The big news about Cheong Wa Dae's reshuffle announcement on July 3 was the President's pick of Park Jie-won, one of the main negotiators of the historic 2000 first-ever inter-Korean summit during the 1998-2003 Kim Dae-jung administration, as the chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). He is to succeed Suh Hoon, the outgoing NI

Jul 5, 2020By Do Je-hae

Moon's new diplomatic lineup raises concerns over ROK-US alliance

Ex-lawmaker Park named new spy agency chief

Politics

Seoul's renewed focus on 'ending war' raises questions

President Moon Jae-in takes part in a ceremony at the Seoul Air Base, June 25. YonhapBy Do Je-haeOne of the most noticeable aspects about President Moon Jae-in's speech Thursday, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, was his renewed focus on a declaration to end the war.The “end-of-the-war declaration,” as well as “complete denuclearization” were some of the core objectives contained in the historic April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration signed by President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.But the declaration for officially ending the war has been shelved since the first Moon-Kim summit on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom as the denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have not achieved Moon's expected outcome. In particular, relevant parties such as the U.S. and China have not paid much attention to the declaration to officially end the Korean War. The two Koreas still remain technically at war as it ended it a truce, not a peace treaty.During a ceremony to mark the 70th year since the outbreak of the war, the

Jun 26, 2020By Do Je-hae

Seoul's renewed focus on 'ending war' raises questions

Politics

Moon strives to revive peace talks with North Korea

Honor guards carry caskets containing the remains of 147 South Korean soldiers killed during the Korean War, which were returned home by a ROK Air Force KC-330 aerial tanker, during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1950-53 conflict at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The anniversary event was held to show respect for fallen troops and demonstrate Seoul's commitment to friendly cooperation with the 22 nations that fought alongside it under the United Nations flag against the invading North Korean army. / YonhapBy Do Je-haePresident Moon Jae-in has again extended an overture to North Korea in an effort to get soured inter-Korean relations back on track for peace talks. Marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, Thursday, Moon also urged North Korea to join efforts to achieve the “long-desired wish of 80 million Koreans” for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.His remarks come after tensions were escalated following the North's resumption of hostile rhetoric and activities toward the South, but subsided temporarily followin

Jun 25, 2020By Do Je-hae

Do Je-hae

Read more

Cheong Wa Dae struggling with self-imposed rule on housing

South Korea, US eye 'October surprise'

#MeToo scandals dent ruling party

Ball is again in North Korea's court

Ethnic Korean named Kazakh health minister

Moon's chief of staff pressed to step down over real estate row

Ex-PM seeks party leadership - and beyond

Moon's new diplomatic lineup raises concerns over ROK-US alliance

Seoul's renewed focus on 'ending war' raises questions

Moon strives to revive peace talks with North Korea

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