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Park Ji-won

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.

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Politics

PPP chief slams justice nomination issue in 1st meeting with new DPK leader

Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, the head of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), criticized the presidential office and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) move over the controversial nomination process for Supreme Court justices Monday during his meeting with new DPK leader Rep. Kim Min-seok. The barbed comments were unusual given that it was Kim's courtesy call and first meeting with the opposition leader since he was elected to the position on Aug. 17. During the meeting, Jang brought up the controversy over Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae sending a written recommendation for two justice nominees to President Lee Jae Myung, rather than the usual practice of the chief justice scheduling a face-to-face meeting with the president to make the recommendations. Cho's deviation from precedent led to criticism by the ruling bloc and Cheong Wa Dae. Jang told Kim that the issue was about "judicial independence." The PPP has claimed Lee and the ruling bloc were trying to intervene in the judiciary by nominating figures close to them. Referring to a previous incident from the mid-

Aug 24, 2026By Park Ji-won
PPP chief slams justice nomination issue in 1st meeting with new DPK leader
Foreign Affairs

Envoys call for Northeast Asia cooperation to weather global uncertainties

Ambassadors to Korea called for stronger regional exchanges and cross-border cooperation to address shared challenges amid growing global uncertainty and polarization, saying sector-specific collaboration and youth exchanges could offer a path forward when formal multilateral mechanisms fall short. The envoys issued the call during the Association of Northeast Asian Regional Governments (NEAR) 30th Anniversary Northeast Asia+2 Local Cooperation Forum, held Thursday at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul. Russian Ambassador to Korea Georgy Zinoviev said nonpolitical and regional exchanges have become increasingly significant as conventional multilateral frameworks struggle to function. “Today, amid growing political turbulence, traditional multilateral mechanisms of interaction are increasingly failing to function effectively. This has a negative impact both on the international relations system as a whole and on economic cooperation at the global and regional levels,” Zinoviev said. “Under these circumstances, structures whose activities are nonpolitical in nature, focused on a

Aug 22, 2026By Park Ji-won
Envoys call for Northeast Asia cooperation to weather global uncertainties
Foreign Affairs

Seoul wants Trump-Kim talks to pave way for 4-party peace process

South Korea wants a potential resumption of U.S.-North Korea dialogue to serve as a gateway to broader four-party talks on establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, stressing that Seoul must have a seat at the table as a direct stakeholder. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said renewed talks between Pyongyang and Washington would mark a fundamental shift in the long-running deadlock on the Korean Peninsula. “While it is too early to draw conclusions, this is more than a passing spark. I feel the tectonic plates of Northeast Asia are beginning to shift,” Chung said Friday. A senior unification ministry official also noted that renewed dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang should not end with bilateral talks, but should ultimately draw South Korea and China into discussions aimed at replacing the decades-old armistice system with a permanent peace framework. “North Korea-U.S. talks should not end just as talks. They must become an opportunity to open the way toward a transition to a peace regime,” the official told reporters on Friday. “North Korea-U.S. dialog

Aug 21, 2026By Park Ji-won
Seoul wants Trump-Kim talks to pave way for 4-party peace process
  • 3 hurdles stand in way of Trump-Kim summit
Foreign Affairs

China FM vows Beijing's constructive role for peace on Korean Peninsula

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will play a "constructive role" for peace on the Korean Peninsula, as he and Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun agreed on joint efforts and cooperation initiatives, Wednesday. They discussed the North Korea issue during Wang's visit to Seoul, which was his first since September 2021. He arrived in Seoul as the Korean Peninsula issue is facing rapid developments, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with a possible meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in November. Noting that once-soured Seoul-Beijing ties are recovering, Cho said, “I hope we can work to ensure that recovered South Korea-China relations contribute to peace and stability of the region including the Korean Peninsula.” Cho referred to President Lee Jae Myung’s blueprint for peace announced during his National Liberation Day speech on Saturday, in which Lee proposed talks among the directly involved parties to end the war. His comments of “invo

Aug 19, 2026By Park Ji-won
China FM vows Beijing's constructive role for peace on Korean Peninsula
Health

Seoul's new urban policy: Guaranteed shade on daily walks

The Seoul Metropolitan Government pledged Wednesday to make "the right to shade" an urban policy principle throughout the capital, guaranteeing shielded pedestrian routes in response to record heat waves. The concept treats access to cooling as a public service for all, not a privilege determined by geography in an era of extreme heat. After running a pilot program on a 10-acre site next year, Seoul plans to expand the initiative citywide starting in 2028. "Heat waves are no longer a temporary inconvenience that people can endure for a few days. As they grow more intense and last longer, they are becoming a routine disaster that threatens people’s lives and safety," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said during the press conference. “While the city has expanded green spaces through its Garden City Seoul initiative, the right to shade is the next step in connecting those spaces from residents’ homes to their destinations ... I will make shade not simply facilities available in only some places, but a basic urban service that protects residents’ health and daily lives.” The city government

Aug 19, 2026By Park Ji-won
Seoul's new urban policy: Guaranteed shade on daily walks
North Korea

Trump-Kim summit not imminent, but door remains open: experts

While U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded to his recent outreach, talks between the two leaders are unlikely to resume soon, though the possibility remains, experts said. Asked why Kim hadn't replied to his requests for talks, Trump told reporters, "How do you know he hasn't responded?" When pressed on whether Kim had in fact responded, Trump said, "Yeah, he has." Regarding the progress of the exchange, he only said that "it's very positive," offering no further detail. The remarks came a day after Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce what he called "inappropriate and hostile" military drills with Seoul — the first such move since the start of his second term. During his first term, following the June 2018 summit with Kim in Singapore, Trump similarly scaled down and suspended some drills, referring to them as "war games." The drawdown appears to be taking shape on the ground. A source close to the matter said Tuesday that the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command deployed personnel to CP Tango, the wartime command post in Seongnam, Gy

Aug 18, 2026By Park Ji-won
Trump-Kim summit not imminent, but door remains open: experts
Politics

Kim Min-seok wins DPK leadership race over Jung Chung-rae

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok won the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) leadership race Monday, edging out former party leader Jung Chung-rae to become the party's next chairman for a two-year term. Kim, 63, secured 55.94 percent of the vote, or 430,242 votes, at the party's national convention in the Daejeon Convention Center, against Jung's 44.06 percent at 338,809 votes. Neither candidate cleared a majority in the initial count, so the party applied its new preferential voting rules, redistributing second-choice votes from supporters of Song Young-gil, the lowest-placed candidate. With those votes factored in, Kim's cumulative vote share reached 54.08 percent, while Jung finished at 45.92 percent. The winner was determined by weighting votes from DPK delegates and dues-paying members at 70 percent and a public opinion poll at 30 percent. This year's race also introduced another change from the last leadership election: delegate votes, once weighted roughly 17 times higher than those of individual dues-paying members, were counted on equal footing with rank-and-file ballot

Aug 17, 2026By Park Ji-won
Kim Min-seok wins DPK leadership race over Jung Chung-rae
Companies

Cash-only demand reportedly prompted SK chairman to appeal $666 mil. divorce payout ruling

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s last-minute decision to appeal his 944 billion won ($666 million) property division ruling reportedly stems from a sharp disagreement over how the massive payout should be settled. Chey offered a hybrid package consisting of both cash and SK stock, but his ex-wife, Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong, apparently rejected the offer, demanding the entire payment in cash. Faced with a Friday midnight deadline, Chey’s legal team submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court with just one minute to spare. Chey had initially considered liquidating equity to raise the funds and conclude the nine-year legal dispute. However, selling a massive block of shares in a short period raised concerns about driving down stock prices and undermining the group's governance structure. To bridge the gap, Chey reportedly proposed giving Roh a mix of cash and shares, offering to compensate her if the stock price dropped, while forfeiting any claim to potential gains if the price rose. Roh apparently refused the compromise, insisting on the precise execution of the appellate

Aug 16, 2026By Park Ji-won
Cash-only demand reportedly prompted SK chairman to appeal $666 mil. divorce payout ruling
Politics

Ex-PM claims narrow victory in DPK primary across Seoul, Gyeonggi

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok won the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) primary across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. Kim secured a narrow victory with 46.61 percent (148,245 votes), edging out incumbent party leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae at 46.28 percent (147,038 votes) and former party chief Rep. Song Young-gil at 7.05 percent (22,410 votes). Kim’s total cumulative vote share reached 49.91 percent, excluding regional weighting for North and South Gyeongsang provinces and Daegu. Meanwhile, Jung followed at 41.51 percent, with the gap between them at 8.4 percentage points. Kim also secured a victory in the party primary in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces Saturday, a region viewed as a litmus test for the party's leadership race. Kim captured 57.54 percent of the vote in the party stronghold, outpacing Jung, who received 32.65 percent, and former party chief Rep. Song Young-gil, who took 9.81 percent. Before Sunday's primary, Kim led with a cumulative 235,128 votes, or 52.21 percent, across Chungcheong Province, Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju, Incheo

Aug 16, 2026By Park Ji-won
Ex-PM claims narrow victory in DPK primary across Seoul, Gyeonggi
North Korea

NK aims to deepen ties with China, Russia by criticizing nuclear projects of S. Korea, Japan: experts

North Korea’s recent criticisms against South Korea’s nuclear submarine plans and Japan’s consideration of non-nuclear policy revisions, coupled with its latest missile tests, are likely aimed at boosting ties with China and Russia and bolstering its nuclear narrative, experts said. They believe Pyongyang's recent actions were timed with the expected visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Seoul, as early as next week. In a commentary released by Pyongyang's state-run news outlet Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday, Jang Kum-chol, first vice minister of North Korea's foreign ministry, criticized Seoul’s nuclear-powered submarine development plan with the United States, saying, "South Korea’s push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will inevitably trigger a nuclear domino effect across the Asia-Pacific region." The criticism came three months after Seoul unveiled in May the Jang Bogo N Program, an initiative to develop around three 8,000-ton nuclear-powered submarines. A piece published by the KCNA on Wednesday attributed to international affairs commentator R

Aug 13, 2026By Park Ji-won
NK aims to deepen ties with China, Russia by criticizing nuclear projects of S. Korea, Japan: experts
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