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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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North Korea

Blinken indicates changing course in North Korea policy

Defense cost-deal between Seoul, Washington likely to be made soonBy Kang Seung-wooU.S. State Secretary nominee Antony Blinken hinted Tuesday (local time) that the Joe Biden administration may entirely rethink its policies toward North Korea, claiming that under Donald trump the situation with Pyongyang has deteriorated considerably.State Secretary nominee Antony Blinken speaks during his confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. / Reuters-YonhapBlinken did not specify what policies the United States will adopt in dealing with the totalitarian state during his confirmation hearing, however, as Biden and members of his foreign policy team have been critical of Trump's handling of the Kim Jong-un regime, his comments are seen as heralding a big shift from their predecessor's dealings with the North. “I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it's a problem that has not gotten better,” Blinken said be

Jan 20, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Blinken indicates changing course in North Korea policy
Foreign Affairs

Moon's changing stance on Japan linked to North Korea engagement: experts

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a New Year press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. / Joint press corpsBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's apparent shift in tone on Japan over the two countries' multiple disputes on historical issues is seen as part of his peace initiative of engaging North Korea, diplomatic experts said Tuesday. However, his abrupt yet drastic about-face is still drawing skeptical responses from Tokyo, which suspects his sincerity, leaving a question mark over if his “politically-calculated” olive branch will pay off.Relations between the neighboring countries have slumped to their worst level in years, sparked by Japan's imposition of export controls on three key materials critical for Korea's semiconductor and display industries in apparent retaliation for a ruling by the 2018 Korean Supreme Court ordering Japanese companies to compensate surviving Korean victims of forced wartime labor.In addition, the Seoul Central District Court ordered Japan to make reparations of 100 million won ($90,000) each to 12 sexual slavery victims, further turni

Jan 19, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Moon's changing stance on Japan linked to North Korea engagement: experts
  • Outgoing US envoy says hope alone won't resolve North Korean issue
  • Seoul ready to talk any issues with Pyongyang: defense ministry
Society

Eased restrictions

People eat and drink inside a cafe in Seoul, Monday, the first day that the government allowed cafes to offer dine-in services until 9 p.m. as part of its slightly eased social distancing restrictions. / Yonhap

Jan 18, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Eased restrictions
Politics

Moon rejects pardons of ex-presidents

By Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in announced his objection to offering presidential pardons for his two jailed predecessors, Monday, claiming the timing was inappropriate.President Moon Jae-in speaks during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. / Courtesy of Joint Press CorpsThe rejection of the suggestion to release former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak came during his New Year press conference at Cheong Wa Dae.Park is serving a combined 22-year sentence for bribery and illegal interference in a nomination process of her former party, while Lee has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for embezzlement and bribery.“It is not the right time yet to discuss pardoning them,” Moon said. “It is very unfortunate to see two former presidents behind bars, but their trials have just finished and their acts of misconduct did the nation a lot of harm, inflicting enormous pain and suffering on the people.” The President expressed his belief that he should only use his authority to grant pardons if there is a public consensus.“Otherwise, the pardo

Jan 18, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Moon rejects pardons of ex-presidents
  • Moon calls on Biden to move forward from Singapore agreement with North Korea
Politics

Apology tour

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon, center, speaks after paying a visit to the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju, Monday. His visit to the southwestern city was part of his efforts to ease anger and regain trust from citizens who were unhappy with Lee's proposal to pardon imprisoned former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. Both his supporters and critics gathered at the cemetery to hold demonstrations. / Yonhap

Jan 18, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Apology tour
North Korea

Military parade pressures Biden to take North Korea seriously

North Korea displays new submarine-launched ballistic missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang, Thursday. / AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea used a Thursday evening military parade marking its latest party congress as a fully calibrated warning to the incoming Joe Biden administration in an attempt to keep its focus on its nuclear program and extract concessions from the United States, according to diplomatic experts. On the occasion of the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party that ended on Tuesday, the Kim Jong-un regime staged a military parade in Pyongyang, highlighted by the unveiling of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that was labeled as the Pukguksong-5, possibly an upgraded version of the Pukguksong-4 that was showcased at another parade in October to mark the party's 75th founding anniversary.Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University, said the North “exquisitely” took advantage of the military parade against the U.S.“The Kim regime already showed what it could in the October parade,

Jan 15, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Military parade pressures Biden to take North Korea seriously
  • North Korea set for Supreme People's Assembly session following party congress
North Korea

Concerns arising over Biden's national security team

By Kang Seung-wooAs President-elect Joe Biden puts together his national security team, diplomatic experts here are expressing concerns that his policy toward North Korea may follow in the footsteps of the Barack Obama administration's “failed” diplomatic efforts. Kurt Campbell / YonhapOn Wednesday (local time), Biden picked Kurt Campbell, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asia under former President Obama, as Indo-Pacific coordinator, a newly created position focusing on issues involving China. “Campbell is an architect of the Obama administration's pivot to Asia and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), so he is a prestigious figure well-versed in issues involving the Asia-Pacific region. However, looking at the Biden team, there are no fresh figures, raising concerns that they may pick up where they left off in the Obama administration's foreign policy,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University.“Frankly speaking, the Obama administration's foreign policy is regarded as a failure. It neither cont

Jan 14, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Concerns arising over Biden's national security team
North Korea

Time to shift focus on arms control with North Korea: experts

gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un's pledge to boost his country's nuclear arsenal during its latest party congress is leaving little room for compromise on Pyongyang's complete denuclearization. With the North standing firm against giving up its nuclear ambitions after decades of unsuccessful U.S. diplomacy, experts are advising the incoming Joe Biden administration to shift the conversation with the regime from denuclearization to arms control, which they believe is a more realistic approach to the challenge.Previous U.S. administrations have dealt with the North Korean nuclear program from a denuclearization perspective, which led to decades of disappointment when it came to actual results, according to Van Jackson, a former Pentagon official who advised several Democratic presidential campaigns. “Denuclearization has been unachievable and therefore unrealistic since at least 2006,” Jackson told The Korea Times.“You don't test nuclear weapons and then get rid of them, particularly when your national security policymakers feel besieged

Jan 14, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Time to shift focus on arms control with North Korea: experts
Foreign Affairs

Korea, Iran poles apart over tanker seizure, frozen assets

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, left, poses with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran, Iran, Monday. / Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign AffairsBy Kang Seung-wooKorea and Iran remain far apart over the release of a Korean oil tanker and its crewmembers, with First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun leaving Tehran, Tuesday, without any deal despite a series of meetings with senior Iranian officials, including the foreign minister and its central bank chief.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday, the government plans to continue talks with Iran and will work to bring the tanker and crew back home as early as possible, based on Choi's discussions with the Iranian side during his three-day visit. The ministry also said it will actively offer consular assistance to the crewmembers. Last week, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the MT Hankuk Chemi, which was carrying 7,200 tons of ethanol, and its crew of 20, including five Koreans, in the Strait of Hormuz for causing “environmental pollution.”On the occasion of the talks, Choi

Jan 13, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Korea, Iran poles apart over tanker seizure, frozen assets
  • Iran allows crew of seized Korean tanker to leave
Politics

Controversy rises over 'profit sharing' idea

By Kang Seung-wooDebates are rising over ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) chief Lee Nak-yon's proposal for a profit-sharing scheme aimed at encouraging profitable companies to distribute their earnings to those hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon attends the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapAlthough the ruling side is stressing that it will not twist anyone's arm and will instead offer various incentives, such as corporate tax breaks, to those voluntarily adopting the scheme, the opposition is critical of the idea, claiming that it goes against market economy principles. Plus, business owners are also skeptical of the proposal, saying there are no clear criteria on which companies are profitable. There is speculation that tech companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the nation's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp., and Woowa Brothers, the operator of delivery app Baedal Minjok, would be subject to the scheme, as the companies have seen their sales g

Jan 12, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Controversy rises over 'profit sharing' idea
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