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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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Sports

Korea seeks 'unsung' milestone in Tokyo

Korean archers train at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWhile aiming to rank among the top 10 countries at the Tokyo Olympics in terms of medals, Korea will also be in pursuit of another “unknown” achievement: a 100th gold medal in the Summer Olympics.Since freestyle wrestler Yang Jung-mo brought home Korea's first Summer Olympic gold medal at the Montreal Games in 1976, its athletes have won a total of 90 gold medals until the 2016 Rio Olympics. That ranks Korea 13th in the world in terms of total medals won in Olympic history. Along with 90 gold medals, Korea has claimed 87 silver and 90 bronze. Twelve countries, excluding the now extinct Soviet Union and East Germany, have passed the “century mark” at the Summer Games, with the United States leading the pack with 1,022 gold medals.Among Asian countries, China is the leader with 224 gold medals, which is also the third-highest in the countrywide medal tally, followed by Japan with 142 gold. Korea ranks third in Asia.However, it remains to be seen if Team Korea will

Jul 23, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Korea seeks 'unsung' milestone in Tokyo
  • Korea-Japan rivalry continues at Tokyo Games
  • With muted ceremony and empty stadium, Tokyo Olympics begin
  • At least 100 US athletes unvaccinated as Olympics begin
Sports

Pandemic changes Olympic traditions

The custom of athletes taking a bite of their hard-won gold medals will no longer be a part of awards ceremonies at the Tokyo Olympics. Korea Times file By Kang Seung-wooAs much as the coronavirus pandemic has brought about major changes to our daily routines, it has also brought changes to the world's biggest quadrennial sporting event. The COVID-19-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which kicked off Friday, will be held unprecedentedly without spectators for the majority of the Olympic events, due to the city's coronavirus state of emergency which runs until Aug. 22.But the athlete-perplexing ban on fans in the venues is not the end of the story, as the medal ceremony will go through “very significant changes” as well, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). First of all, medalists will have to hang their hard-won medals around their own necks as part of the IOC's efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Traditionally, IOC members or leaders of

Jul 22, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Pandemic changes Olympic traditions
Sports

Korea seeks top-10 spot in Olympics for fifth-straight time

Tokyo Summer Olympics to kick off FridayBy Kang Seung-wooIn the previous four Summer Olympics, dating back to 2004, Korea made it onto the top 10 countries in terms of medals won, establishing itself as one of the global sports powerhouses.With the start of the Tokyo Games just around the corner, Korean athletes are set to compete at the biggest quadrennial event in the world, seeking to keep the country's streak alive. The Summer Games, which had to be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kick off Friday.“Team Korea has its sights on a top-10 finish with seven gold medals,” Shin Chi-yong, head of the Jincheon National Training Center, said in a recent radio interview. Korea's archers, Jang Min-hee, from left, Kang Chae-young and An San, train at the Jincheon National Training Center, June 28. Joint press corpsLee Kee-heung, an International Olympic Committee member and president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC), also said in an interview, “Thanks to short-distance travel and no time difference between Korea and Japan, I believe that K

Jul 20, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Korea seeks top-10 spot in Olympics for fifth-straight time
  • Tokyo kicks off Olympics amid COVID-19 fears
  • Korean athletes to watch for in Tokyo
Sports

Korea heads to Tokyo

Members of the main Korean delegation for the Tokyo Olympics pose at Incheon International Airport, Monday, before leaving for Japan. Korea sent a delegation of 354 officials and athletes who will compete in 29 events at the Summer Games, scheduled to begin Friday. Team Korea is looking for at least seven gold medals that it believes will ensure a top-10 finish for the fifth straight time. Yonhap

Jul 19, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Korea heads to Tokyo
Foreign Affairs

Political circles demand Japan's formal apology over diplomat's lewd comment about President Moon

Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, right, speaks with Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign AffairsEnvoy's gaffe presents new stumbling block to Moon's Tokyo Olympics visit By Kang Seung-wooPoliticians here have criticized a senior Japanese diplomat's “highly inappropriate” remarks about President Moon Jae-in, urging the Japanese government to make a formal apology.Hirohisa Soma, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, reportedly ridiculed the president's efforts to hold a summit with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the sidelines of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, describing it as “masturbating.” He made the remark during a meeting with a reporter from a local cable network.A few hours after the report came to light Friday evening, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi issued a statement expressing regret over Soma's inappropriate comments. Aiboshi was also summoned to the Korean foreign ministry to face an official complaint from Vice Fore

Jul 18, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Political circles demand Japan's formal apology over diplomat's lewd comment about President Moon
Foreign Affairs

US deputy state secretary's visit to focus on China-curbing alliance

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks during her visit to Jakarta in this May 31 photo. She is scheduled to visit South Korea from July 21 to 23. Reuters-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooU.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman's planned visit to South Korea next week is more likely to focus on strengthening and evolving the two countries alliance as part of Washington's campaign to curb China's sprawling power, rather than discussing North Korea's nuclear program, diplomatic observers here said Friday. According to the foreign ministry, Sherman is scheduled to travel to Seoul from July 21 to 23 and will hold vice foreign ministerial strategic talks with First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun on the last day of her trip. She also plans to visit Japan for trilateral vice foreign ministerial talks that will include Japanese vice foreign minister Takeo Mori.Following her stops in South Korea and Japan, Sherman will travel to Mongolia. She had been widely expected to visit China as well, but the State Department's announcement on her Asia visit Thursday (local time) did not include

Jul 16, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
US deputy state secretary's visit to focus on China-curbing alliance
North Korea

'Work from home vulnerable to North Korea's cyberattackes'

Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the conservative main opposition People Power Party / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooRep. Tae Yong-ho of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) urged the government, Thursday, to review whether to allow employees of organizations dealing with important national secrets to work from home, claiming that their environments could be vulnerable to North Korea's cyber attacks. “The increase in people working from home or working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be a golden opportunity for North Korea to extract confidential information from certain institutions,” Tae wrote on Facebook. His claim came after three major South Korean organizations fell victim to cyber attacks originating from North Korea in recent months. They include the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). The KAERI is a government-funded research institute in charge of developing nuclear technology, while KAI is the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer. DSME is a

Jul 15, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
'Work from home vulnerable to North Korea's cyberattackes'
Politics

Opposition leader under fire for flip-flopping on COVID relief fund

Lee Jun-seok, left, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party, answers questions from reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooLee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is in the hot seat for backpedaling in less than two hours on an agreement with his ruling party counterpart to provide COVID-19 relief money to all citizens. On Monday, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil and Lee met and agreed to provide emergency relief funds to all citizens regardless of their financial status, according to their respective spokespeople. The government and the ruling party had initially decided to provide the relief money only to those outside the top-20 percent income bracket.However, the agreement was short-lived as PPP spokeswoman Hwangbo Seung-hee corrected her previous wording, saying the two leaders agreed to review the need to first use the extra budget to expand support for pandemic-hit small business owners and, if there is money left over, review the need to expand the handouts to a

Jul 13, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Opposition leader under fire for flip-flopping on COVID relief fund
Foreign Affairs

President Moon in dilemma over Japan trip

President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga / Korea Times fileJapan lukewarm on summit ahead of Tokyo OlympicsBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in has a hard decision to make on whether to visit Japan on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics as the envisaged trip is drawing a mixed response. Advocates for the President's participation in the opening ceremony of the quadrennial sporting event, which kicks off July 23, insist that he needs to go in order to break a deadlock in strained bilateral ties, but those critical of this say he should not travel to Tokyo as Japan is taking a lukewarm attitude toward a summit and not showing much resolve in addressing various disputes between the two countries.Moon is making a last-ditch effort to normalize Korea's relations with Japan before his term ends in May 2022, as this could enhance trilateral cooperation with the United States. In that sense, the two neighboring countries have been in talks over Moon's attendance at the opening ceremony, which would lead to his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga

Jul 12, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
President Moon in dilemma over Japan trip
Politics

Presidential hopefuls' outfits are more than just fashion

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl visits the National Assembly in Seoul, June 30, a day after he declared his presidential bid. YonhapContenders choose styles, colors to deliver deeper messages By Kang Seung-wooWhile the presidential hopefuls are busy promoting their campaign pledges, they are also trying to appeal to voters with their fashion and style, which play a role in showing who they are, as well as in helping make a good impression on voters ― which is often nearly as important as what the politicians say. Currently, the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is going through a preliminary primary to pick its candidate for the presidential election in March next year, while the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is scheduled to start its selection process in August.Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung participates in a televised debate at JTBC Studios in Seoul, July 5. YonhapGyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, one of the leading presidential contenders from the liberal ruling bloc, appears to be seeking stability in his fashion.The

Jul 9, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Presidential hopefuls' outfits are more than just fashion
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