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Kang Seung-woo

Korea Times Business Reporter

Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.

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Health

North Korea takes emergency measures against coronavirus

A quarantine officer at Incheon International Airport checks the temperature of passengers arriving from China, Tuesday, amid the spread of coronavirus. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea has stepped up efforts to contain the spread of a newly identified type of coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, according to its state-run newspaper, Tuesday. The virus has so far killed at least 106 people and infected 4,515 others in China alone.The Rodong Sinmun said in its article the health authorities have taken emergency measures to deal with the disease that has triggered fears and concerns over public health.“Quarantine efforts are underway ... to prevent the new coronavirus from ever entering our country,” the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party said. Authorities have stepped up inspections at borders, ports and airports and are thoroughly monitoring those who recently traveled abroad to make sure they can be isolated when they are suspected of having the disease, the paper added.Another state-run media outlet also urged people to be more careful with their personal hygi

Jan 28, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea takes emergency measures against coronavirus
  • Korean stocks plunge on coronavirus fears
Health

South Korea to check arrivals from Wuhan over coronavirus

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, second from right, is briefed on preparation to prevent the spread of a new type of coronavirus from China during his visit to Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Monday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in ordered the authorities, Monday, to check on the health of all people coming from the Chinese city of Wuhan amid growing concerns over the outbreak of a newly identified coronavirus that has killed at least 81 people and infected more than 2,700 there.The order came hours after a fourth case was confirmed in Korea According to Yoon Do-han, senior presidential secretary for public communication, Moon issued the instruction during a luncheon with his senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae. The measure comes as the third and fourth patients here apparently showed no symptoms during a temperature check at the airport when entering the country.“The symptoms can occur later (after coming into the country), so we need to check the current conditions of people (who have entered here),” Moon was quoted

Jan 27, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea to check arrivals from Wuhan over coronavirus
  • Wuhan coronavirus feared to dampen Korea's growth momentum
  • Gov't under pressure to ban Chinese from entering Korea
  • China extends holiday to contain virus as death toll rises
  • Olympic women's hoops qualifiers moved out of China over coronavirus concerns
Politics

Hormuz decision raises more questions

Members of civic groups hold a news conference in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday, to oppose the government's decision to send the Cheonghae unit to the Strait of Hormuz. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe government’s decision to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz still remains a contentious issue in political circles as critics claim it requires fresh approval.The defense ministry announced, Tuesday, it will temporarily expand the anti-piracy Cheonghae unit’s area of operations from the Gulf of Aden to the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to ensure the safety of Korean ships there — although it will not join the U.S.-led International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC).According to the law, in order to send a military unit overseas, the government needs to submit a bill for approval to the National Assembly, and if the bill is passed, it should be endorsed at a Cabinet meeting again and finally receive approval from the president.Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) believes the decision does not require parliamentar

Jan 23, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Hormuz decision raises more questions
Politics

South Korea going into detail on individual tours to North Korea

Foreigners tour Pyongyang in this photo released, Jan. 17. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea is moving forward with its plan to allow individual tours to North Korea, coming up with a draft that it believes would not violate international sanctions. After President Moon Jae-in floated the idea in his New Year Press conference, Jan. 14, the unification ministry presented the measures, Monday, to move forward with the contentious plan, over which Seoul is at odds with WashingtonMoon proposed the individual tours to the North as part of efforts to expand cross-border exchanges.Concept of individual toursThe ministry unveiled three options regarding tours to the country and the most probable one is South Koreans purchasing tour programs run by a travel agency in a third country.In this case, after gathering tourists from the South, the travel agency will send the list to the South Korean government that will review whether to approve their visit to Pyongyang and other North Korean tourist spots such as Wonsan, Galma and Samjiyon.The government also proposed trips for families separate

Jan 21, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea going into detail on individual tours to North Korea
  • Gov't to provide support for over 500 North Korean defectors facing tough living conditions
North Korea

North Korea signals tougher stance against US

By Kang Seung-wooThe unexpected replacement of North Korea's top diplomat indicates that Pyongyang is picking up where it left off more than two years ago, or a new anti-U.S. hardline policy, according to diplomatic observers, Monday.Ri Son-gwonThe replacement is also unlikely to help improve inter-Korean ties, experts said. According to media reports, the North has appointed Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, as its foreign minister, sacking Ri Yong-ho, a career diplomat, apparently over the stalled nuclear talks with the U.S., despite three meetings between their leaders. The new foreign minister had been the North's key official for relations with South Korea.The regime has yet to confirm the appointment; while the South Korean unification ministry said it was also trying to confirm the reports. After a long-range missile test in November 2017, the Kim Jong-un regime had been committed to dialogue with Seoul and Washington. It participated in the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang the following year and the North Korea leader has

Jan 20, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korea signals tougher stance against US
  • Trump likens North Korea talks to 'beautiful game of chess'
  • North Korea's economy up 1.8% in 2019: UN report
  • North Korea replaces foreign minister: report
  • Trump's defense suggests US troop presence in South Korea is form of foreign aid
Politics

Assembly speaker's son taking flak for hereditary succession

By Kang Seung-wooMoon Seok-gyun, son of National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, plans to run for his father's parliamentary seat. / YonhapThe son of National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang is in the hot seat with his plans to take over his father's constituency. Moon Seok-gyun, son of six-term lawmaker and parliamentary leader Rep. Moon, has declared his bid to run in the general election in April on the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) ticket and has already passed its primary screening.However, the 49-year-old political rookie's pursuit of a National Assembly seat representing the Uijeongbu A District in Gyeonggi Province is facing a backlash as many are criticizing him for piggybacking on his father's stature. The senior Moon has won the election in the constituency six times, including five consecutive terms, since 1992.Last month, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) submitted a bill to prevent political parties from nominating direct descendants of incumbent lawmakers as candidates for their constituencies.“If the speaker's son wins the nomination in his father

Jan 14, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Assembly speaker's son taking flak for hereditary succession
North Korea

Moon gov't losing ground in NK-US nuke talks

By Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in is seeing his role as a facilitator in the denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea diminishing as Pyongyang has made it clear that there is no room for his government to meddle.Kim Kye-gwanThis may deal a hard blow to the South Korean leader, given that the cold shoulder came just days after he proposed various inter-Korean projects to use as a stepping stone to revive the stalled dialogue, and Cheong Wa Dae touted its delivery of the U.S. president's birthday message to the North Korean leader, Friday.“South Korea, not a member of the U.S. clan, went so frivolous as to convey the greetings from the U.S. president. It seems it still has lingering hope for playing the role of mediator in the DPRK-U.S. relations,” Kim Kye-gwan, a former North Korean chief nuclear envoy and currently a foreign ministry adviser, said in a statement released by the (North) Korean Central News Agency, Saturday. The DPRK is the official name of the North, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.“It is somehow presumptuous fo

Jan 12, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Foreign Affairs

'Korea's stance on Hormuz may not be same as US'

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe foreign minister said Thursday that the country may not be on the same page with the United States on the issue of dispatching a naval force to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, citing the importance of relations with Iran. The remark came as the government is facing a dilemma over whether to accede to the U.S. request for military support in the Middle East amid escalating tension in the region following the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and Iran's retaliatory missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq.“Considering a political analysis and bilateral ties with countries in the Middle East, I believe our stance on the issue cannot be the exactly same as the U.S.,” Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. A meeting of the committee was convened to discuss how to handle that possible fallout from the growing tension between Washington and Tehran. “We ha

Jan 9, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
'Korea's stance on Hormuz may not be same as US'
  • VIDEO Iran missile attacks target US forces in Iraq; Trump says 'All is well!'
  • US increases pressure on Korea to send troops to Middle East
  • US, Iran step back from the brink; region still on edge
  • Hormuz mission tests Korea-US alliance
Foreign Affairs

US increases pressure on Korea to send troops to Middle East

By Kang Seung-wooThe United States has ramped up its pressure on Korea to send a naval contingency force to the Middle East to be part of the U.S.-led coalition in the Strait of Hormuz. Seoul remains well aware of the importance of strengthening its alliance with Washington, but the government appears unable to make a quick decision on this as military tension between the U.S. and Iran escalates further. This follows Iran's retaliatory attack on U.S. bases in Iraq, Wednesday, in the wake of a U.S. airstrike last week that targeted and killed an Iranian general. Participation in any maritime mission in such a climate, could endanger Seoul's ties with Tehran and threaten the safety of Korean residents in Iran.U.S. ambassador to Korea Harry Harris / Korea Times fileThe latest push for participation from Seoul's biggest ally came from U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris.“I would hope that Korea will send forces out there,” Harris said in an interview with local broadcaster KBS, Tuesday, noting that Seoul gets so much of its oil from the Middle East.Harris added that the U.S

Jan 8, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
US increases pressure on Korea to send troops to Middle East
  • VIDEO Iran missile attacks target US forces in Iraq; Trump says 'All is well!'
  • 'Korea's stance on Hormuz may not be same as US'
Politics

'Ex-speaker's nomination as PM not against separation of powers'

Prime Minister nominee Chung Sye-kyun speaks during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooThe prime minister nominee denied claims that his nomination could violate the principle of the separation of powers between the nation's legislative, administrative and judicial branches, Tuesday.Chung Sye-kyun, a six-term lawmaker and former National Assembly speaker, was tapped as a new premier last month. If appointed after a parliamentary confirmation hearing and approval, Chung will be the nation's first prime minister who served as a National Assembly speaker.“It is not possible for an active parliamentary leader to transfer to the prime minister post, which destroys the separation of legal, administrative and judicial powers,” Chung said during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.The 68-year-old stressed that he is not an Assembly speaker anymore, only a lawmaker, and there should be no problem for him to assume the position.“As far as I know, the separation of powers means 'functional separation' of

Jan 7, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
'Ex-speaker's nomination as PM not against separation of powers'
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