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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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Foreign Affairs

Korea's US-China dilemma deepening under Biden era

Seoul advised to use multilateral approach toward BeijingBy Kang Seung-wooAs competition will continue to be a defining feature of U.S.-China relations under the incoming Joe Biden administration, China is expected to roll its sleeves up in its attempts to pull Korea away from its alliance with the U.S.Given that President-elect Biden will pursue stronger security cooperation with traditional allies, including Korea, in thwarting moves by China, the plan is leaving the Korean government scrambling to seek measures to avoid possible diplomatic friction with Beijing. Korea is still suffering from China's economic retaliation for its approval of the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile shield on the Korean Peninsula. In that respect, diplomatic experts advised Seoul to use its ties with other partners, or multilateral structures, to keep its relations with Beijing intact.However, the pundits also predicted that China is not likely to repeat retaliatory measures if Korea fails to live up to its expectations. In response to the hegemonic competition, the government has maintained a so-called

Dec 4, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Korea's US-China dilemma deepening under Biden era
  • US spy chief labels China 'greatest threat' to freedom since World War Two
  • Biden officially secures enough electors to become president
Politics

Rival parties differ on moving Nat'l Assembly to Sejong

The National Assembly in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooThe rival parties agreed, Wednesday, to a 12.7 billion won ($11.5 million) bill for the construction of another National Assembly building in Sejong as part of the 2021 budget, to reduce the inefficiency of public officials having to travel between the Government Complex Sejong and the Assembly in Seoul.The ruling bloc believes this will be a step forward to relocate the entire legislative branch to the special self-governing city and complete the goal of making Sejong into the nation's administrative capital. However, it remains to be seen whether the ruling party-floated plan will come to fruition as the official opposition claims the Sejong building should remain a mere branch of the Assembly.On Wednesday, the Assembly passed the 558 trillion won budget for next year, the largest budget in the country's history, and it included the money for a new Assembly.If the construction is completed, 11 legislative standing committees are likely to move to the new Assembly building, according to the parties, and they include t

Dec 3, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Rival parties differ on moving Nat'l Assembly to Sejong
  • Moon's election pledges causing division
Politics

Conflicts with minister further pushes top prosecutor's popularity as presidential hopeful

Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl arrives at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooProsecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl's popularity as a potential presidential candidate is expected to rise further after a court injunction granted Tuesday put a temporary stop to Justice Minster Choo Mi-ae's attempt to have him suspended. The ruling was the latest development in the drawn-out power struggle between the two.However, his emergence as a favored presidential candidate may be bittersweet for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which welcomes the growing antipathy toward the incumbent government in the power struggle, but is also seeing its own presidential hopefuls outshone by Yoon. The prosecutor general has been considered as a potential presidential candidate among those supporting the opposition parties and centrist voters who are disappointed at the Moon Jae-in administration because of his noncompliance with arbitrary orders from the ruling authority. He has been in conflict with Choo over prosecutorial reform, one of Moon's key policy

Dec 2, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Conflicts with minister further pushes top prosecutor's popularity as presidential hopeful
  • Time for President to determine fates of Choo, Yoon
Foreign Affairs

Ex-professor to lead KOICA

Newly appointed KOICA President Sohn Hyuk-sang speaks during his inaugural ceremony at its headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of KOICABy Kang Seung-wooSohn Hyuk-sang, a former vice president for external cooperation at Kyung Hee University, has been sworn in as the president of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), promising to guide the organization to become a leading global aid agency.He is highly regarded as an expert in international development cooperation having been involved in the field for over 20 years as a scholar, as well as a member of government organizations, international bodies and civic groups. The state-run overseas aid agency held an inaugural ceremony for the new president, Tuesday.Taking office, Sohn, KOICA's 13th president, vowed to help his organization take another leap forward as an international cooperation organization on the occasion of its 30th anniversary next year.To this end, 58-year-old Sohn outlined six strategies that included intensifying programs related to public healthcare and climate change and purs

Dec 2, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Ex-professor to lead KOICA
North Korea

Summer is 'golden time' for nuke talks, inter-Korean ties: think tank

gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooThe period from May to September of next year could be a “golden time” to make headway in frayed inter-Korean ties and activate the stalled denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States, a Seoul-based think tank said Tuesday.The organization also said it also expects that the new U.S. administration to follow the joint statement issued after the Pyongyang-Washington summit in Singapore in June 2018, adding this would be a good sign for an improvement in bilateral relations. “The May-September period could be the right time to resume peace talks and reach an agreement. In addition, during the span, the Tokyo Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place, where the relevant countries could officially declare an end to the Korean War,” said Hong Min, the director of the North Korean Research Division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, during a press conference in Seoul.The Moon Jae-in administration is keen to take advantage of the Tokyo Games to provide momentum to resuscitate the stalled nuclear tal

Dec 1, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Summer is 'golden time' for nuke talks, inter-Korean ties: think tank
  • US says China's failure to enforce sanctions delaying North Korea denuclearization
Politics

Parties differ on how to finance relief funds

Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, center, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith the payout of the government's third emergency disaster relief package looming, major political parties are now locking horns with each other over how to finance the cash handouts that will be used to help people deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is seeking to secure the funds via a government bond issuance, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is calling for a drastic cut in the budget assigned to the government's New Deal initiative.According to the parties, the government will need 5 trillion won ($4.52 billion) to selectively distribute emergency disaster relief money to those hit hard by COVID-19, including the self-employed and small business owners. The money also includes 1.5 trillion won to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for public use. The government's proposed budget for next year was 556 trillion won before the third relie

Nov 30, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Parties differ on how to finance relief funds
Politics

President nowhere to be seen

President Moon Jae-in attends an interagency meeting on drawing up carbon-neutral strategies at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. / Joint press corpsBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in is in the hot seat over staying tight-lipped for the last month on controversial issues, inviting conflicts and divides and dragging down his leadership approval rating.As a result, more people are growing critical of his uncommunicative behavior, with his approval rating dropping to a near record low.Last week Moon again showed deafening silence when a yearlong power struggle between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl resulted in Choo's suspension of Yoon from duty over alleged ethical and legal breaches.Despite the unprecedented case that has drawn strong backlash from prosecutors to denounce Choo's decision as illegal and unjust, Moon, who appointed the top prosecutor, has kept silent on the issue. Regarding Yoon's suspension, Cheong Wa Dae said the President was briefed on the justice minister's decision shortly before the announcement but did not comment on it.Kim Chong-in,

Nov 29, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
President nowhere to be seen
North Korea

New US security team unlikely to adopt hardline stance against North Korea

U.S. Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken / AFP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooGiven his past hardline stance against North Korea, many predict that nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, may favor putting more pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to drive the country toward denuclearization under the upcoming Joe Biden administration.But diplomatic experts believe that Blinken is unlikely to just pursue an approach of isolating the reclusive state ― a policy adopted by the Barack Obama administration, in which he served as deputy secretary of state ― considering his recent indications that he is prepared to sit down with the “rogue state.”Biden appointed Blinken to be secretary of state, Monday, while Jake Sullivan, a former senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton, was named as his new national security adviser.“Blinken has signaled he is willing to deal with U.S. adversaries in the past,” said Harry Kazianis, a senior director of Korean studies at the Center for the National Interest.“Blinken was a champion of the Iran nuclear deal, showing

Nov 24, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
New US security team unlikely to adopt hardline stance against North Korea
North Korea

South Korea seeks to reignite inter-Korean projects

Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during a meeting with business leaders in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe government is seeking to revive deadlocked inter-Korean economic projects, including the reopening of a joint factory park, expecting that cross-border cooperation could resume earlier than some forecast.Unification Minister Lee In-young held a meeting with business leaders in Seoul, Monday, to gauge their opinions on the plan as part of the government's re-launching of the Korean Peninsula peace process initiative. Representatives from local companies, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG that accompanied President Moon Jae-in on his visit to Pyongyang in September 2018, participated. The meeting took place as the situation on the peninsula is seen as facing a crucial turning point ahead of a U.S. leadership change next year, which could have a huge impact on inter-Korean ties. Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th U.S. president on Jan. 20, 2021. The Ministry of Unification said the meeting was arranged so the government and companies co

Nov 23, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea seeks to reignite inter-Korean projects
Foreign Affairs

No exit in sight from frayed Korea-Japan ties

gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooA rapprochement between Korea and Japan is unlikely anytime soon as Tokyo still stands firm against Seoul's liquidation process of Korean assets of Japanese companies over wartime forced labor issues, according to a diplomatic source, Friday.In addition, the Japanese government's plan to release radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea in the near future could further strain their bilateral relations. Relations between the neighboring countries have slumped to the 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 Korea's Supreme Court ordering Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.Given that the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden wants Washington's two Asian allies to patch things up for a closer-knit alliance network for regional security, the Moon Jae-in administration has launched its bid to me

Nov 20, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
No exit in sight from frayed Korea-Japan ties
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