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

Defense

USFK expected to resume firing drills at Rodriguez range

Apache helicopters are parked at U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSpeculation is growing that U.S. Apache helicopters may return to the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, for live-fire exercises amid persisting complaints from nearby residents over noise and other inconveniences due to the drills.According to the Korean military, Wednesday, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) plans to conduct the training from July 18 to 29 during the day and night. The exercises will be carried out in order to measure the intensity of noise from live-fire drills, based on a recently enacted law aimed at compensating local residents suffering from noise caused by military airports and shooting ranges. Under the law, people residing near military airports and ranges are entitled to receive up to 60,000 won ($45) per person per month without filing a lawsuit.The USFK has not conducted live-fire drills since July 2018 ostensibly due to stray round incidents, but taking a closer look, the noise issue is the main reason for the s

Jul 13, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
USFK expected to resume firing drills at Rodriguez range
Defense

Speedy OPCON transfer unfeasible: experts

U.S. military helicopters are parked at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province during joint exercises with South Korea in this April 18 photo. NewsisCombined drills to take place in late AugustBy Kang Seung-wooAs South Korea and the United States are poised to test Seoul's military readiness to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from Washington during their envisaged combined field drills next month, questions are growing over whether South Korea's delayed plan will pick up speed.However, military experts say that the one-time exercise will not be enough to determine if South Korea ― which has the world's sixth-most-powerful military ― is fully prepared for the transfer of OPCON. The OPCON transfer has already been pushed back twice in the past and the two allies agreed upon a condition-based OPCON transition plan in 2014. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, South Korea sought to take back the authority by the end of his term in May of this year, but the postponing of field exercises various times dashed such hopes. Seoul regained peacet

Jul 12, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Speedy OPCON transfer unfeasible: experts
Foreign Affairs

South Korea determined to bring ties with Japan back on track

Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Monday. YonhapForeign minister to make trip to China soonBy Kang Seung-wooForeign Minister Park Jin expressed the government's intent, Monday, to repair relations with Japan as Seoul's efforts to find a breakthrough in frayed ties with Tokyo could be dampened by the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot and killed at a campaign event in Nara, Friday.He also said the new South Korean government's policy toward China was not blindly based on the U.S.-led move to contain Beijing, and added that bilateral ties should develop based on an equal partnership. “As you might know, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is seeking to improve ties with Japan as soon as possible, so if [Abe's] memorial service is set, our high-ranking delegation will be sent there to convey the president's respects,” Park said during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul.According to the presidential office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Deputy National

Jul 11, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea determined to bring ties with Japan back on track
Defense

Korean fighter jet ready for takeoff this month

A prototype of the KF-21 fighter jet moves along a taxiway during a media demonstration at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Joint Press CorpsBy Kang Seung-wooSACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province ― Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is poised to conduct the maiden flight test of the KF-21 Boramae later this month, as the domestic KF-X fighter jet program has been proceeding as planned. The plan was unveiled during its media event, Wednesday, during which KAI, the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer, also carried out the fighter jet's first public runway test at its headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.Currently, six flying prototypes have been rolled out. “The first flight test is expected to take place in the third or fourth week of July,” said Kim Nam-shin, a senior manager of the KF-X Program Division at KAI. “If it occurs, the test flight will be conducted over some three days.”The KF-X program aims to produce 120 advanced multi-role fighter jets to replace the Republic of Korea Air

Jul 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Korean fighter jet ready for takeoff this month
Foreign Affairs

Foreign minister stresses freedom, human rights in talks with Chinese counterpart

Foreign Minister Park Jin answers reporters' questions upon arriving at Ngurah Rai International Airport in the Indonesian island of Bali, Thursday, to attend the G20 foreign ministerial meeting. YonhapTrilateral FM meeting with US, Japan to take place on FridayBy Kang Seung-wooForeign Minister Park Jin said, Thursday, Korea will join international cooperation to protect freedom, peace, human rights and the rule of law in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.“Based on the principles of openness, transparency and inclusiveness in international relations, we will play a responsible role in responding to global challenges,” Park said.“We hope Korea-China relations will mutually develop based on the universal values and rules,” he added.Park also said Korea wants to communicate with China at every level to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.Park's remarks are seen as the Korean government's plan to shift its China policy, which means the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will side with the United States amid an

Jul 7, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Foreign minister stresses freedom, human rights in talks with Chinese counterpart
Politics

Ex-diplomat named Busan's ambassador for international relations

By Kang Seung-wooShin Chae-hyun, a former ambassador to Austria, has been named the ambassador for international relations of the Busan Metropolitan Government, tasked with promoting the port city's bid to host the World Expo 2030. Shin Chae-hyunThe 57-year-old majored in communication at Seoul National University and holds a master's degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Shin began his diplomatic career in 1987. Prior to the appointment, Shin served in various capacities, including at the Korean consulate general in New York, and as the director general for North Korean Nuclear Affairs at the Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, the director general for North American Affairs, the consul general in San Francisco and the presidential secretary for foreign policy at the national security office, through which he received a reputation as an experienced and professional diplomatic expert. The nation's second-largest city is seeking to establish itself as a pivotal metropolis by finding new exchange projects with coun

Jul 6, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Ex-diplomat named Busan's ambassador for international relations
Foreign Affairs

Consultative body for forced laborers faces murky future

The photo shows Hashima Island, left, known as Battleship Island in Korea, where it is believed between 500 and 800 Koreans were forced to work between 1943 and 1945, with 122 of them dying. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe Yoon Suk-yeol administration has begun full-fledged discussions with Japan to address the thorny issue of wartime forced labor by launching a public-private consultative body. But it remains to be seen if it will find a breakthrough in resolving the matter, which has been a major stumbling block in Korea-Japan relations.On Monday, the government launched the 12-member body, comprised of government officials, experts and journalists as well as legal representatives of the victims and their families, and held an inaugural session, hoping to come up with solutions to normalize bilateral ties by the end of next month.In October and November of 2018, Korea's Supreme Court issued separate rulings ordering Japanese companies found guilty of exploiting forced labor during WW II to compensate surviving Korean victims of wartime forced labor. But the Japanese side has refused to

Jul 5, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Consultative body for forced laborers faces murky future
Defense

Peace Camp for descendants of UN Korean War veterans begins

By Kang Seung-wooThe Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has launched a weeklong event inviting descendants of U.N. Korean War veterans to show the nation's appreciation for their parents or grandparents' sacrifice and to maintain positive ties. According to the ministry, Monday, the launching ceremony for the 2022 Peace Camp was held on the day at the training institute of KB Securities in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, for a seven-day run until Sunday. The annual program, established in 2009, carries extra significance given that it is being held in person at full scale for the first time in three years due to COVID-19. It was canceled in 2020 and held in a hybrid format last year. The event features 48 descendants of U.N. soldiers from 13 countries residing in Korea, and 50 descendants of Korean-born veterans. The 13 nations are the United States, Britain, Canada, Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, India, Sweden and Italy. During the camp, the participants will visit historic sites of Korea to become acquainted with the contributions and a

Jul 4, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Peace Camp for descendants of UN Korean War veterans begins
Defense

Frequent deployment of strategic assets to counter deterrence effects

A U.S. U-2S reconnaissance aircraft flies over Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, May 25. Korea Times file By Kang Seung-wooA frequent dispatch of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula as part of its efforts to deter North Korea's growing nuclear threats is not a good idea amid rampant speculation that the regime's nuclear test is imminent, according to a diplomatic observer. Strategic assets refer to long-range bombers, nuclear-powered submarines or aircraft carriers.However, Kim Jung-sub, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, said in his recent report, “The deployment of U.S. strategic assets such as the B-52 bomber, B-1B bomber or SSBN is a useful means to send a strong warning to North Korea and a reassurance to the South Korean people.” SSBN refers to a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.But he cautioned that the deployments need to be done with a clear purpose at an appropriate time. “This is because there is a risk that if we use the option excessively, it could counter its effects or unnecessarily heighten military t

Jul 4, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Frequent deployment of strategic assets to counter deterrence effects
Defense

More than six out of 10 South Koreans willing to fight for country

Ukrainian officers sit in a bus after they were evacuated from the besieged Mariupol Azovstal steel plant near a remand prison in Olyonivka, in the Donetsk People's Republic, a contested territory in eastern Ukraine, in this May 17 photo. AP-Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooNearly seven out of 10 South Korean nationals are willing to fight for their country in the event of war, according to a recent poll.The World Values Survey polled 1,245 South Koreans, 67.4 percent of whom expressed their willingness to fight for their country, while 32.6 percent were unwilling to take up arms to defend their homeland.South Korea ranked 40th out of 79 countries polled between 2017 and 2021 when it comes to the percentage of the population willing to fight for their country in the event of a war, but the percentage of people who are unwilling to take up arms has been steadily increasing, compared to 6.5 percent in a 1981 survey.South Korea is technically still at war with North Korea, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.Populations of countries that were invaded in the past w

Jul 3, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
More than six out of 10 South Koreans willing to fight for country
previous page
2728293031
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.