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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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South Korea

Park calls for more jobs for young

President Park Geun-hye poses after a meeting with leaders of local conglomerates at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. From left in the first row are KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-sik, SK Group Chairman Kim Chang-keun, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo, Park, Doosan Group Chairman Park Yong-mann, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, Samsung Group Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn and POSCO Group Chairman Kwon Oh-joon. / YonhapPresident falls short of mentioning pardons of tycoonsBy Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye urged business leaders to create more jobs for young people, Friday, by engaging more with state-sponsored innovation centers nationwide.Park held a meeting with 17 business leaders, including Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, at Cheong Wa Dae.The meeting came two days after the administration finished establishing 17 innovation centers across th

Jul 24, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Park calls for more jobs for young
South Korea

Military to probe anthrax case soon

By Kang Seung-woo A team of Korean and U.S. officials will soon visit the American Air Base in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, to investigate the delivery of live anthrax to its laboratory, the Defense Ministry said Friday.The announcement came hours after the U.S. Department of Defense released a 38-page report on the investigation into the anthrax shipments to 86 facilities in the United States and seven other countries, including Korea, Japan and Germany.“The ROK-U.S. joint task force team will launch an on-site investigation into the U.S. base as soon as possible,” the ministry said in a statement.The allies set up the team on July 11 to investigate the incident.“Prioritizing safety of the Korean people, the task force team will check whether the U.S. properly handled and processed anthrax samples and whether anthrax spores are still alive there,” the statement said.“Based on the on-site investigations, the ministry will come up with effective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents and to make utmost efforts to ease public concerns and

Jul 24, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea

Trump's 'crazy' Korea remark draws ire

By Kang Seung-wooDonald TrumpRepublican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s remark that Korea is getting a free ride because it is protected by the U.S. military is triggering controversy here.Critics of the free-speaking billionaire say that his views come from his lack of knowledge about the situation here.While accusing Saudi Arabia of enjoying a security free ride on U.S. taxpayers’ expense during a campaign speech in South Carolina on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Korea gives nothing in return for the presence of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).“South Korea,” he said before a member of the audience shouted the word “crazy.”"Who said that? Stand up, stand up. He said it’s crazy. It's true. It’s true. It’s crazy. They make a billion dollars a day.”In 2011 and 2013, the real estate mogul made similar remarks, condemning Korea for paying the United States nothing.“Every year, Korea pays nearly 1 trillion won for the cost of stationing American troops here,” said Lee Mi-hyeon, director of peace and disarmament at th

Jul 23, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Trump's 'crazy' Korea remark draws ire
South Korea

Seoul, Tokyo may resume defense talks

By Kang Seung-woo Korea and Japan are in talks to resume a director general-level defense meeting in August, which will focus on issues such as Tokyo’s move to exercise the right to collective self-defense, diplomatic sources said Thursday.“Both nations are coordinating schedules to hold the meeting in August,” a source said.Another source said, “They will discuss defense issues ranging from the security on the Korean Peninsula to Japan’s security bills that would allow its military to fight abroad.”Korea plans to seek an explanation from Japan for the controversial security bills and make it clear that the Korean government will never tolerate any military moves by Japan without prior consent from Seoul if it affects the security of the peninsula or hurts its national interests.Korea refused to hold such a meeting with Japan last year because of the latter’s bid to whitewash its wartime atrocities, including the issue of “comfort women,” who were forced to work as prostitutes in brothels for Japanese soldiers before and duri

Jul 23, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea

Turmoil expected over labor reforms

By Kang Seung-woo Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Saenuri Party are going all-out to reform the labor market.However, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) and labor unions, are joining forces to oppose the reforms. “Labor market reform is a national mission that we should not neglect,” Saenuri chairman, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, said on Wednesday during a party meeting at the National Assembly. “Without addressing the illogical structure of the labor market, the nation’s future is cloudy.”His remarks came one day after President Park called for strong efforts Tuesday to overhaul the stiff labor market to create more jobs for young people and revive the sluggish economy.The government’s reform plan is focused on reducing the overall number of non-regular employees and revising regulations to diminish the gap in benefits between regular and non-regular staff.As part of the reform plan, the government is pushing the peak wage system that offers a job security guarantee, but gradually cuts the salary for older employees after

Jul 22, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea

Park calls for labor market reform

President Park Geun-hye speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye called for labor market reform Tuesday to create more jobs for young people and revive the sluggish economy.“We must address income disparity and inflexibility in the labor market. These efforts will lead to more jobs and stronger economic growth,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.Park said more than 1 million young adults have difficulty finding jobs, and the planned extension of the retirement age and companies’ unwillingness to introduce a peak wage system will further prevent them from landing jobs next year.“The nation’s sustainable growth depends on tackling youth unemployment. In this regard, we should reform the labor market, no matter what.”According to Statistics Korea, the unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 29 was 10.2 percent in June, compared with the overall jobless rate of 3.9 percent in the same period.The President’s call came as the government and the ruli

Jul 21, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Park calls for labor market reform
South Korea

Honduras to bridge Korea's FTA with Central America

President Park Geun-hye speaks during a summit with her Honduran counterpart Juan Orlando Hernandez at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez agreed Monday to work together for an early signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and Central America.They reached the agreement at a summit at Cheong Wa Dae. Hernandez, who took office in January 2014, arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a four-day state visit. It is his first trip to Asia since his inauguration.“The two heads of state agreed to make concerted efforts to complete the talks for the Korea-Central America FTA as soon as possible,” Park said in a press conference after the summit.Citing big growth potential of Honduras and other Latin American countries, Park also said she hopes President Hernandez’s visit to Korea will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two countries and, furthermore, between Korea and the region.The summit took place as part of efforts to further enhance Korea’s exchan

Jul 20, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Honduras to bridge Korea's FTA with Central America
South Korea

Talks on extra budget may drag on

By Kang Seung-woo Negotiations on the government-proposed extra budget bill are likely to drag on amid disputes over the main opposition party’s proposal that the government raise corporate tax to plug the tax deficit.The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) claims that the supplementary budget is a no-go without raising the corporate tax.However, the ruling Saenuri Party and the government are not willing to grant the demand, saying that it will counter the effect of the extra budget.Earlier this month, the government submitted an 11.8 trillion won supplementary budget to the National Assembly as part of its efforts to revitalize the sluggish economy damaged by slumping exports and anemic domestic demand.Out of the extra budget requested, it plans to use 5.6 trillion won to make up for tax revenue shortfalls -- the main impediment to parliamentary approval.Citing the shortfalls in tax income, triggered by the Park Geun-hye administration’s conglomerate-centered economic policy, the NPAD is calling on the government to expand tax revenue, or hik

Jul 19, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea

Korea's top nuclear envoy visits China

By Kang Seung-wooHwang Joon-kookHwang Joon-kook, South Korea’s top envoy for talks on denuclearizing North Korea, left for China Sunday to meet officials and scholars there.His five-day trip to Shanghai and Beijing will include meetings with Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, university scholars, think tank researchers and journalists.The visit comes after a decade-long Iranian nuclear deal was struck last week, raising speculation that the international community will urge the repressive regime to give up its nuclear weapons program.The six-party talks, established in 2003 as a multilateral forum to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, include the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas, but they have been on hold since December 2008. The North has demanded an unconditional resumption of the negotiations, and the U.S. has maintained that Pyongyang must first take concrete steps demonstrating its denuclearization commitments.In addition, a scheduled meeting between Hwang and Wu will take place because China is showing signs of getting aggressively involved in dealing w

Jul 19, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Korea's top nuclear envoy visits China
South Korea

Fighter upgrade talks hit turbulence

By Kang Seung-wooThe nation’s project to upgrade its 134 KF-16 aircraft faces difficulties due to cost escalation.The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced Wednesday that the U.S. government has approved the upgrade program at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion (2.87 trillion won).However, the cost estimate is far higher than the 1.75 trillion won Korea is willing to pay.“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale (FMS) to the Republic of Korea of the KF-16 upgrade program and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $2.5 billion,” it said in a statement.In 2012, Seoul signed a 1.75 trillion won deal with the U.S. unit of BAE Systems over Lockheed Martin to perform upgrades and systems integration for the KF-16 fleet. However, the contract was cancelled last year after the U.S. government and the British defense company asked for a combined 800 billion won, citing a “risk reserve” to offset changes to the upgrades.The Defense Acquisition Program Administra

Jul 16, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
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