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Jun Ji-hye

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.

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South Korea

DP, Ahn to merge in 2 stages

Park Kwang-on, right, and Geum Tae-sub, spokesmen of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s camp, respectively, announce the method of forming a coalition party at the National Assembly, Friday. The merger will take place in the form of Ahn’s aides and some DP members jointly creating a new party to absorb the remaining DP lawmakers. / YonhapTwo still differ on coalition party nameBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Democratic Party (DP) and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s camp agreed Friday on how to merge into a new coalition party by the end of the month.Under the two-staged merger plan, Ahn’s aides and some DP members will create the new party first and then the new entity will absorb the rest of the main opposition party.DP Chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil and Ahn came up with the agreement at a one-on-one meeting, their spokesmen said at a press briefing.The two leaders announced earlier this week that they had agreed on the formation of the coalition ahead of the June 4 local elections to compete against the ruling Saenuri Party, and to change the

Mar 7, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
DP, Ahn to merge in 2 stages
South Korea

Park, Chung engage in war of words

Mayor Park Won-soonRep. Chung Mong-joonBy Jun Ji-hyeThe potential competition in the Seoul mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Park Won-soon and Saenuri Party frontrunner Rep. Chung Mong-joon is heating up with the two running neck and neck in recent opinion polls.Park, who is bidding to win reelection as a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, garnered support of 46.5 percent compared to the seven term lawmaker’s 45.3 percent, according a survey by the daily Joongang Ilbo.Chung is quickly narrowing the gap, as January polls gave him 40 percent to Park’s 50 percent.   With the June 4 local elections approaching, the two are intensifying their verbal battle against each other.Chung started the attack earlier this week, saying “Seoul residents’ per capita income fell to fourth place from first (while Park has been in the office) among local governments.”He made the remarks while criticizing the mayor’s decision to create vegetable gardens on an artificial island in the Han River where his predecessor Oh Se-hoon had planned to bui

Mar 7, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
Park, Chung engage in war of words
South Korea

New party faces daunting obstacles

By Jun Ji-hyeThe road toward forming a new coalition party involving the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s camp is strewn with potential landmines.Analysts say that among the major challenges are how the two camps _ which have a vast difference in the number of legislators (126 to 2) _ can integrate into one party, and whether there will be a plunge in approval ratings for independent lawmaker Ahn.After DP Chairman Kim Han-gil and Ahn agreed earlier this week to form the coalition party by the end of this month to take on the ruling Saenuri Party in the June 4 local elections, the two camps started to discuss details of the merger at joint meetings.During Wednesday’s meeting, they decided to appoint Kim and Ahn as co-chairmen of the coalition, but the two confirmed they have differences on the merger method, apparently the most significant sticking point in the coalition talks.The DP wants the two forces to jointly create the new party, and then for the party to merge with the DP.On the other hand, the Ahn camp has asked the lea

Mar 6, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
New party faces daunting obstacles
South Korea

Kim, Ahn to co-chair new party

Kim Han-gil, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), shakes hands with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo at a meeting of senior DP party members at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Wednesday. The two were appointed as co-chairmen of a new coalition party they will form by the end of the month. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeRep. Kim Han-gil, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo were appointed Wednesday as co-chairmen of a coalition party they have agreed to form by the end of the month.“They also agreed to fill leadership posts of the new party with the same number of members from each side,” said Park Kwang-on and Geum Tae-sub, spokesmen of the DP and the Ahn camp, respectively.The two leaders earlier this week announced that the two opposition forces will create a coalition to confront the ruling Saenuri Party in local elections, and to change the administration in the next presidential poll in 2017.Ahn’s aides earlier suggested that he be the lone chairman of the party, saying this will help give emphasis to the coalition’s call for new poli

Mar 5, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea

Ahn hits back on President Park

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo speaks at an open forum at a wedding hall in Busan, Wednesday, to explain how his camp and the main opposition Democratic Party reached an agreement on the formation of an opposition coalition party. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeRep. Ahn Cheol-soo Wednesday launched a counterattack against President Park Geun-hye who the previous day downplayed his call for new politics.“Park had better talk about the ruling Saenuri Party that has been breaking a number of its campaign pledges, (rather than talking about the opposition’s push for new politics),” said the independent lawmaker.Ahn’s comments came after Park said at a Cabinet meeting: “The true new politics must begin with work to improve the people’s livelihoods and the economic conditions. It is very regrettable that the nation’s politics fail to do that.”Park’s remarks were obviously seen as an attack against the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Rep. Ahn’s latest move to form a new opposition coalition party to confront the ruling party in the June 4 loca

Mar 5, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea

Party big guns jump in local polls

Minister Yoo Jeong-bokRep. Nam Kyung-pilBy Jun Ji-hyeSenior lawmakers and ministers are throwing their hats into the ring for the race to gain key metropolitan and gubernatorial posts in the June 4 local elections.Competition is heating up after the leading opposition Democratic Party (DP) and independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo announced a decision to form a new coalition party.The alliance of the opposition bloc is prompting more influential heavyweights from the governing Saenuri Party to announce their candidacies as a countermeasure.Some opinion polls are already showing that the coalition party is quickly narrowing the gap between it and the ruling party.    Against this backdrop, the governing camp’s five-term lawmaker Nam Kyung-pil and Minister of Security and Public Administration Yoo Jeong-bok on Wednesday announced their bids for Gyeonggi Province governor and Incheon mayor, respectively.Yoo said that he offered to quit the ministerial post to run in the Incheon mayoral race and help the President Park Geun-hye government.“I’m well awar

Mar 5, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
Party big guns jump in local polls
South Korea

DP chairman turning tables

By Jun Ji-hyeRep. Kim Han-gilRep. Kim Han-gil, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), has long been accused of showing a lack of strong leadership but is now turning back the tide following a surprise agreement earlier this week to form a new opposition coalition party with independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo.The DP’s meeting on Monday served as evidence of new found favor, as party members applauded enthusiastically after he explained how he reached the agreement with Ahn, and how the two leaders will work together to create the coalition party.Until recently, the chairman was criticized as being an incompetent head. Some DP lawmakers and critics attacked his failure to persuade the ruling Saenuri Party to agree on appointing a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that the National Intelligence Service intervened in the 2012 presidential election.Now, the DP members mostly anticipate that Sunday’s decision to form a coalition ahead of the June 4 local elections will provide fresh impetus for the party, which has been on the ropes since it was defeated in the pres

Mar 4, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
DP chairman turning tables
South Korea

Ahn, DP working on merger details

By Jun Ji-hyeWork started Monday on the merger of two opposition groups amid a mixed sense of anticipation and skepticism.Three members each from the leading opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s supporters formed a task force for a coalition to compete against the ruling Saenuri Party in the June 4 local elections.The move came a day after the two’s surprise merger announcement, which was widely seen as an inevitable result of a sense of crisis felt by both sides.The DP needs fresh blood to improve its standing with the public, which it hopes Ahn will provide, while the latter needs a base to rely on to achieve political critical mass.Choi Jae-cheon, the DP’s chief of strategy and public relations, said, “The same number of members from the two sides will work together to create a new party, and once launched, this party and the DP will merge.”The two sides agreed to work out details by the end of the month.One of Ahn’s aides captured the pros and cons of the alliance, when he quoted an old Korean saying ― “One has t

Mar 3, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
Ahn, DP working on merger details
South Korea

Who benefits most from new party?

Rep. Kim Han-gil, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, sits with his eyes welling as he gets emotional at a party meeting held to discuss details on the formation of a new coalition party with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapMayor Park one of biggest beneficiariesBy Jun Ji-hyeWho will gain most from the opposition bloc’s surprise decision to form a new coalition party?Political pundits say it couldn’t be better for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.Mayor Park, a member of  the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), could have faced problems in a possible three-way race in the June 4 local elections along with hopefuls from the governing Saenuri Party and independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo’s New Political Vision Party, which he had planned to officially launch this month.So, Park welcomed the decision of DP Chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil and Ahn to create the alliance.“The decision is a response to the public’s aspirations for new politics and national unity,” said Park.Bae Jong-chan, chief director at Res

Mar 3, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea

Two join hands against Saenuri

Rep. Kim Han-gil, right, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party shakes hands with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo ahead of their joint press conference at “Sarangjae,” a traditional "hanok" building near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. The two announced that they will form an opposition coalition ahead of the June 4 local polls. / YonhapBigger opposition eyes June 4 local elections; outlook not clearBy Jun Ji-hye The two major opposition forces have decided to merge to confront the ruling Saenuri Party in the June 4 local elections and lay the foundations for a change of government in 2017, its leaders said Sunday.In a surprise announcement, Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Kim Han-gil and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who was in the process of starting a new party, said that their decision is aimed at bringing justice to the “rule of arrogance and lies” by the Saenuri Party and President Park Geun-hye.“We agreed on pushing for consolidation of the two sides at the earliest possible date, so that we can change the administration in the 2

Mar 2, 2014By Jun Ji-hye
Two join hands against Saenuri
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