my timesThe Korea Times
ksw

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.

Go to Email

Read more

South Korea

Seoul in quandary over anti-NK leaflets

US experts: Leaflet distribution might increase tension on peninsula Van Jackson, visiting fellow atthe Center for a New AmericanSecurityLeon Sigal, director of theNortheast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research CouncilTerence Roehrig, professorat U.S. Naval War CollegeBy Kang Seung-woo The South Korean government is struggling with the decision of whether or not to control the launch across the border of balloons filled with leaflets urging North Korean people to revolt against their leader.The distribution of the leaflets, organized by North Korean defectors-turned-activists, has long been a major source of tension between the two Koreas and has led to an exchange of heavy machine-gun fire between the two countries on Oct. 10. But Seoul has dismissed Pyongyang’s demands to ban the campaigns, citing the people’s right to freedom of speech.However, the government has recently come under fire for neglecting to monitor the campaign, which is threatening to jeopardize the unexpected conciliator

Jan 13, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Seoul in quandary over anti-NK leaflets
South Korea

Cheong Wa Dae - house of no discipline

Presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon fidgets with a microphone while Lee Jae-man, presidential secretary for administrative affairs, answer during a meeting of the National Assembly Steering Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooKim Young-hanAnother case of lax discipline among presidential secretaries took place Friday, as Kim Young-han, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, disobeyed the presidential chief of staff.President Park Geun-hye’s chief of staff Kim Ki-choon instructed him to attend a session of the National Assembly Steering Committee for questioning on the “memogate“ scandal, but he refused to do so and offered to step down from his post, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Kim Young-han is suspected of intervening in the prosecution’s investigation into the scandal.Such a case of indiscipline comes as President Park is still struggling with the scandal in which leaked presidential documents alleging that Park’s former aide Jeong Yun-hoe and her younger brother Park Ji-man were engaged in a power struggle

Jan 9, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Cheong Wa Dae - house of no discipline
South Korea

Park in dilemma over New Year address

President Park Geun-hye delivers opening remarks during the 2015 Women’s New Year greeting event at the Korea Women’s Development Institute in Bulgwang-dong in Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-woo Ahead of a New Year’s press conference, President Park Geun-hye appears to be in dilemma over whether or not to apologize for the “memogate“ scandal.The President is scheduled to give her national address at 10 a.m. Monday.Although Cheong Wa Dae wants the press conference to mainly deal with North Korea issues and the government’s drive for economic revival, there is speculation that Park may express regret over the scandal that featured an alleged power struggle at the presidential office.“Nothing has been decided yet on the details of her address,“ presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters Thursday.The presidential office plans to take advantage of the press conference to shake off the scandal and retighten Park’s grip on state affairs in the third year of her presidential term following the prosecution’s inve

Jan 9, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Park in dilemma over New Year address
South Korea

South Gyeongsang governor declares for presidency

By Kang Seung-wooHong Joon-pyoSouth Gyeongsang Governor Hong Joon-pyo officially announced Wednesday that he will run in the 2017 presidential election.“As I have gotten affairs of the province back on track, I will prepare for the presidential election from now on,“ Hong said during a New Year’s press conference held at the provincial headquarters in Changwon.Hong, a prosecutor-turned-politician, said that he will first focus on forming a political group that supports him.The 60-year-old was elected as chairman of the Grand National Party, a forerunner of the Saenuri Party, in July 2011, but stepped down four months later following a series of election defeats for the party and allegations that one of its lawmakers had been involved in a hacking attack on the website of the National Election Commission.“While serving as the chairman, I had difficulty in defending myself against mounting pressure. I have never belonged to any faction, but I feel the need to have a supporting base,” he said.With Hong’s declaration, there is speculation that a presid

Jan 8, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
South Gyeongsang governor declares for presidency
South Korea

Korea-Japan summit looks closer

By Kang Seung-wooThe government responded positively Wednesday to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to remain apologetic about his country’s wartime sex slavery.Although Cheong Wa Dae refrained from commenting, a summit between President Park Geun-hye and Abe is likely to take place sooner rather than later.“The government expects Japan to uphold past apologies and show a sincere attitude toward historical issues in order to build up trust with neighboring countries and the international community,” a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.“In addition, we will closely watch a new statement to be issued on Aug. 15 in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.”Abe soothed neighbors’ concern over his right-leaning policies and actions in a New Year news conference Monday. The U.S. also urged the Japanese to stick to their apologies for wartime atrocities.“The Cabinet will take over the stance of successive prime ministers over historical perception, including the Murayama statement,” Abe said.

Jan 7, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Korea-Japan summit looks closer
People & Events

Eulji Mundeok - Navy's 'top gun' ship

From left, Seaman Yang Gi-ho, Chief Petty Officer Park Do-seon, Lieutenant Park Ga-eul, Lt. Commander Lee Dong-ha, Master Chief Petty Officer Ko Seon-hui and Petty Officer First Class Choi Gyeong-jun pose aboard the destroyer Eulji Mundeok in the West Sea, on Dec. 29.  / Courtesy of ROK NavyBy Kang Seung-woo The Eulji Mundeok, a 3,200-ton destroyer of the 2nd Fleet, which is charged with defending the waters south of the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, was honored as the top gunnery ship of 2014 last month.The vessel, built in April 1999 under the Korea Destroyer eXperimental-I (KDX-I) program and commissioned in September of the same year, received the highest score in the annual evaluation of ship-to-air and ship-to-ship firing capability among the Navy’s destroyers, frigates and patrol ships. The competition, established in 1988, has earned a reputation for improving naval gunfire.“Winning the honor means ROKS Eulji Mundeok is the best naval ship,” said Captain Sung Jun-ho, the commanding officer of the destroyer.“The ’top gun&rsqu

Jan 7, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Eulji Mundeok - Navy's 'top gun' ship
South Korea

'Memogate' unlikely to change Park's style

President Park Geun-hye delivers opening remarks during the New Year’s first Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-kiBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Park Geun-hye is likely to keep confidants in key secretarial positions, believing that the “memogate” scandal was an isolated event, analysts said Tuesday.This will alienate Park from the people, leading to a significant slide in her approval rating, they added.“It was an event that shook the foundation of the nation by a group of people who blindly pursued their selfish interest,” Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday after the prosecution’s announcement of the results of its investigation into the scandal over leaks of confidential documents.Prosecutors had said that the allegations were based on rumors detailed by a senior police officer. The scandal featured a purported power struggle between Park’s former and incumbent confidants, and her younger brother.“As the presidential aides pleaded innocent, they are not likely to face punitive personnel transfers,&rdqu

Jan 6, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
'Memogate' unlikely to change Park's style
South Korea

US-NK tension dampens summit outlook

By Kang Seung-woo The prospect of an inter-Korean summit appears to be fading as quickly as it appeared, experts say.The United States, South Korea’s military ally, and North Korea engaged in a diplomatic tit-for-tat over the weekend leaving Seoul, once again, in an awkward position.“Increased U.S.-North Korean tension always causes problems in inter-Korean relations,“ wrote Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability, in an email interview.U.S. President Barack Obama Friday ordered sanctions against the North for its alleged hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment and they targeted the North’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, Pyongyang’s primary intelligence organization, along with two trading companies and 10 individuals. Following the announcement of the sanctions from Washington, Seoul welcomed the move, describing them as “appropriate.“The North's foreign ministry criticized the new sanctions, saying the U.S. move reflects its long-running hostility toward Pyongyang.In his New Year ad

Jan 4, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
US-NK tension dampens summit outlook
  • Obama should hit Pyongyang harder: lawmakers
South Korea

Leaders jack up hope for S-N summit

President Park Geun-hye, along with her Cabinet members, pays a visit to the Seoul National Cemetery on the first day of 2015, Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, pays tribute to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the founder of North Korea and his father, respectively, with his military aides, at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on the same day. / YonhapExperts react with caution, optimism in equal partsBy Kang Seung-wooHope for a third inter-Korean summit rose significantly on Thursday after leaders of the two Koreas expressed their willingness in their New Year speeches to hold one.But experts mixed a note of caution with the dash of optimism. Their assessment has frosty inter-Korean relations and the unpredictable nature of summit politics on the minus side. On the plus side, among other points, are the leaders’ political needs.“It depends on a decision by the government,” said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University.“Should President Park Geun-hy

Jan 1, 2015By Kang Seung-woo
Leaders jack up hope for S-N summit
South Korea

President's New Year priorities

President Park Geun-hye enters 2015, the third year of her five-year term, with 2014’s a slew of unfinished business. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-woo The New Year of 2015, the third year of President Park Geun-hye’s term, is expected to decide whether or not she will go down as a successful leader. With few tangible results from her performance in office during the past 21 months, Park is now struggling with her approval ratings, which are fluctuating around 40 percent. This rating has prompted the President to find a breakthrough starting this year, and, experts say to deliver tangible results. However, Park has yet to find momentum in her state administration, raising concerns that she may become a lame duck earlier than any other president in history.In April, the sinking of the ferry Sewol, which left more than 300 people dead and missing owing to the government’s bungled response, put the nation on hold for six months. In addition, this month’s “memogate” scandal, an alleged power struggle involving her former and incumbent aides, and even her

Dec 31, 2014By Kang Seung-woo
President's New Year priorities
previous page
170171172173174
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.