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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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Politics

Celebs join campaign trail

Choi Hong-man Jun In-kwon Lee Chang-dong Lee Juno Song Gi-yoon Gong Ji-youngEntertainers, sports stars livening up election atmoshpereBy Jun Ji-hyeSince official campaigning for the presidential poll began this week, a number of celebrities have joined forces to support the leading candidates, Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, in order to charm undecided voters.Members of the celebrity cast have different supporting roles in the road show revues of political talent on offer. Some accompany their favored candidates at campaign rallies across the nation and are given the task of livening up the atmosphere. Some go on stumping tours to promote either candidate while others assist behind the scenes.Park, the ruling Saenuri Party’s standard bearer, has a campaign group composed of nearly 120 celebrities including actors, comedians and sports stars, referred to as ‘NURI Stars,’ the Saenuri Party’s name for famous talent who support Park’s bid.TV actor Song Gi-yoon is head of the celebrity group. A 74-year-old pop singer, Hyun Mi, is also

Nov 29, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Celebs join campaign trail
Politics

Voting age in other countries

By Jun Ji-hyeThe most common minimum voting age in the world is 18 years old. This is the case in the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany.The nation’s neighbor Japan, whose current minimum voting age is 20 years old, is also actively attempting to lower its voting age to 18 after bipartisan agreement had been made.Argentina is even more progressive. Its initial voting age was set at 18, but it was lowered to 16 with a passage at the parliament on Oct. 31.Other than Argentina, countries that have set the voting age to 16 are Austria, Nicaragua and Cuba.Recently, Scotland's first Minister Alex Salmond and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a referendum agreement last month that would allow Scotland to hold a referendum on independence sometime in late 2014.  According to the British press including the BBC, the age of 16 has been decided for participating in the referendum.Plus, the Labour Party in Britain has pushed forward to lower its current voting age of 18 to 16.The U.S., with a leading democracy system, had lowered its voting age to 18

Nov 28, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Politics

'Lower voting age below 18'

In this photo taken on Apr. 8, members of Asunaro, an organization that promotes youth human rights, rally to call for allowing adolescents’ political participation in a street near Hongik University.            / Courtesy of Asunaro17 year-olds can serve in military but denied vote Rep. Chang Ha-na of theDemocratic United PartyBy Jun Ji-hyeAre you 18 years old? If so, you cannot vote in any elections in South Korea. You can neither join political parties nor express your views on a certain candidate because to do so is regarded as a form of political campaigning.These are among the conditions of Korea’s voting and election laws which provoke plenty of questions about the political rights of minors. The issue has reignited ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.According to the election law, those under 19 years old can neither vote nor participate in election campaigns. This means young people are prevented from posting any messages to support or oppose candidates on their Twitter or Facebook.   “Because minors don&r

Nov 28, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
'Lower voting age below 18'
Politics

UPP candidate to play key role in TV debates

By Jun Ji-hye Lee Jung-heeLee Jung-hee, a presidential candidate from the minority Unified Progressive Party (UPP), will likely play an important role in the upcoming televised debates with Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in.Lee can join the TV debates organized by the National Election Commission as the UPP has six seats in the National Assembly. Candidates eligible to take part in the debates must be from a party with at least five seats in the National Assembly or whose average opinion poll ratings are over 5 percent. Her current rating is 0.4 percent.Lee is poised to call for an abrogation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and halting the construction of a Navy base in Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island.Moon, the main opposition Democratic United Party candidate, has also called for a revision of the KORUS FTA and renounced the plans for the Navy base.Lee is also expected to join Moon in attacking the ruling Saenuri Party’s Park over affairs that occurred under Park’s father’s regime, the late former President Park Chung-hee’s. They include

Nov 28, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
UPP candidate to play key role in TV debates
Politics

Journalists call for end to Israel violence

By Jun Ji-hyeAsia Journalist Association (AJA) on Tuesday condemned the bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas and expressed regret over the losses of civilian lives."Israel and Hamas, the militant group of Palestine, announced the ceasefire on Nov. 22 after 8 days of fighting which left more than 150 victims. However, the cause of tension is still alive," it said in a statement.The group also said that several journalists were killed by targeted strikes during the exchange of fire and expressed condolences.Despite the efforts for a ceasefire, AJA stressed the fact that the armed struggle between the Israeli military and Hamas militants were ongoing, evidenced by missiles fired by Israeli jets and the Hamas rocket attacks in the southern part of Israel.According to its statement, observers noted that Hamas acted to pressure Israel to lift is blockage on Gazans, while Israel acted, it said, to deter Hamas’ firing rockets on its territory.However, AJA called for a reconsideration of the indiscreet use of military power."AJA asks the implacable foes to p

Nov 27, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Politics

Who are 'unfabulous' 5?

Lee Jung-hee, Unified Progressive Party               Kang Ji-won, lawyer            Kim So-yeon                           Kim Soon-ja                        Park Jong-seonBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Dec. 19 presidential election is not all about top two candidates, Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in who are in a neck-and-neck race after Ahn Cheol-soo bowed out last week.There are “five others” in the presidential race, some of them are obscure figures little-known to the general public. The five completed their registration as candidates to the National Election Commission on Monday.Lee Jung-hee of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP), a former lawmaker, is probably the most recognized figure among them. The former co-chair of the UPP

Nov 27, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Who are 'unfabulous' 5?
Politics

'PK' region emerges as key battlefield

By Jun Ji-hyeNow that a two-way race between Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in is underway, Busan and South Gyeongsang Province have emerged as the key battlegrounds in the Dec. 19 election.A recent poll conducted by research firm Mbrain showed that Park, the Saenuri Party candidate, maintained her approval support in the region at 50.5 percent. But this is still insufficient because experts say she must secure support of at least 60 percent to win the presidency.The poll found that support for Moon of the Democratic United Party (DUP), which used to be nearly 40 percent in a hypothetical two-way race with Park, had fallen to 33 percent.Elections watchers say this is because Moon has become the opposition’s single candidate after the withdrawal of independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo, and people focused on the DUP itself rather than the candidate who is from Busan.  However, considering that the late President Roh Moo-hyun received 29.4 percent of the votes in the region a decade ago, the largest support that the opposition has so far garnered, Moon is considered to be a formid

Nov 26, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Politics

Saenuri hits liberals for 'boring' debate

Ruling Saenuri Party floor leader Lee Han-koo holds a book about collusion between the late former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, recommending it to the party lawmakers at the National Assembly, Thursday. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeThe ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday spoke dismissively of a televised debate between two opposition presidential candidates a day earlier, describing it as boring and uninformative.“It was so disappointing. All of their questions and answers were ambiguous. They tried to accommodate each other and avoid attacks,” said Park Seon-kyu, a spokesman for the election campaign of Park Geun-hye, the party’s standard bearer.The liberal candidates, Democrat Moon Jae-in and independent Ahn Cheol-soo, held the late night debate as part of their process to decide which of them will become the unified liberal candidate to stand against Park. The two appeared reluctant to criticize each other because of their plan to join forces.  The Saenuri spokesman, during a press briefing at the party’s headquarters in Seoul, claimed the debat

Nov 22, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Saenuri hits liberals for 'boring' debate
Politics

Candidates appeal to public sentiment

By Jun Ji-hyeWith less than a month to go before the Dec. 19 presidential elections, the three candidates are expected to pull the heartstrings of the public in a bid to sway undecided voters.    Watchers, citing past precedent, said Wednesday it is imperative for the candidates not only to make their campaign pledges clear but inspire voters with a compelling personal narrative.Such tactics come into play as the camps will launch televised campaigns after the deadline of candidate registration next Monday.The watchers pointed to the campaign of late president Roh Moo-hyun, who is credited with inspiring voters to his side through advertisements such as the “Tears of Roh Moo-hyun” which grabbed the attention of many.Televised debates may also provide the candidates a chance to project their personalities, though Park Geun-hye of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party has yet to commit to such a meeting.  “The candidates’ ability to stimulate viewer sentiment will decide the winner,” Choi Jin, head of the Institute of Presidential Leade

Nov 21, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
Politics

Single candidacy talks ignite online proxy war

By Jun Ji-hyeSupporters of Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo are trading barbs online amid the ongoing talks to field a unified candidate from the liberal camp.The emotional battle had shown signs of subsiding Sunday after Moon, the Democratic United Party’s (DUP) presidential candidate and independent Ahn met to resume stalled talks.   But it soon resumed because the two sides were reluctant to make concessions on the method of selecting a single candidate.Online clashes on portal sites and social network services (SNS) reached a peak Tuesday.An Internet user, @baekk*****, tweeted, “Ahn is demanding that the DUP be completely subservient to his side, although he is not in a position to call for the resignation of the DUP leadership.”Another tweeter with the ID @jOs*** echoed a similar view, urging Ahn to clarify his position on political reform first.“Considering that the DUP delegates chose its leader, Ahn’s call for him to step down as a precondition to resume the talks was inappropriate.”Earlier, Ahn’s camp demanded that DUP leader

Nov 20, 2012By Jun Ji-hye
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