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

KATUSA under siege

Scandal over justice minister's son exposes military program's lax personnel management By Kang Seung-wooSince its establishment two months after the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, the Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA) program has earned its stripes as an elite military unit.Some 43,660 KATUSA soldiers fought alongside American soldiers in major battles during the three-year conflict on the Korean Peninsula, leaving 10,238 dead or injured. Even after the war ended in an armistice, KATUSAs have remained with their U.S. comrades in the barracks and helped them serve as a deterrent to North Korea, gaining recognition as an integral component of the Korea-U.S. alliance. However, in the wake of a scandal over alleged preferential treatment given to Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's son during his mandatory military service with the KATUSA, the military program is under siege for its operational problems that had been overlooked, with critics calling for the military authorities to tighten the lax supervision of its troops assigned to the Eighth U.S. Army (EU

Sep 27, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
KATUSA under siege
Defense

Korea advised to slow down pace for OPCON return

Soldiers of the U.S. Eighth Army, which is stationed at the U.S. Forces Korea (USKF) Camp Humphreys base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, exit a helicopter during a combat training demonstration in this June 2019 photo. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooDespite the government's push to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean troops from the United States by a self-imposed deadline of 2022, defense analysts believe that the time is not yet ripe for Seoul to achieve its “ambitious” goal that has been shelved on multiple occasions, advising it not to rush to meet a political timetable.South Korea was scheduled to take wartime control by the end of 2015, but the allies agreed to seek a "conditions-based" transition in 2014 due to an intensifying North Korean threat, without setting a new deadline. However, since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, his administration has raced against time to return the wartime OPCON within his five-year presidency, or by 2022, and his ambition is well highlighted by newly appointed military leaders, including Defense Ministe

Sep 27, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Korea advised to slow down pace for OPCON return
Politics

President's '10 hours' under attack

President Moon Jae-in applauds special warfare troops during a ceremony to mark the 72nd Armed Forces Day at the Special Warfare Command in Icheon, Friday. The anniversary falls on Oct. 1. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooA belated report on the killing of a South Korean by North Korean soldiers to President Moon Jae-in is placing him in an unexpected situation, similar to that faced by his disgraced predecessor Park Geun-hye after the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, with the opposition side stepping up criticism of the President.According to the Ministry of National Defense, Thursday, the 47-year-old South Korean official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing while on duty aboard an inspection vessel in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong, Monday. The South Korean was found drifting in North Korean waters by a North Korean vessel at around 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, was shot dead at 9:40 p.m. and his body was burned at 10:10 p.m., according to the South Korean military and intelligence agency. They claimed the South Korean official may have tried to defect to the N

Sep 25, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
President's '10 hours' under attack
  • North Korean apology for killing incident a 'helpful step': US
  • South Korea to demand North make additional probe into killing
North Korea

North Korean leader's apology aimed at maintaining status quo: experts

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea's unexpected apology over its killing of a South Korean civil servant earlier this week shows the totalitarian state does not want the issue to interfere with inter-Korean reconciliation, according to Pyongyang watchers, Friday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has apologized to the South Korean people for the death of the South Korean official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, leaving experts scrambling to analyze the rare acknowledgement and apology.According to Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, the North conveyed Kim's message that he feels “very sorry” for greatly “disappointing” President Moon Jae-in and other South Koreans with the “unsavory” case in his country's waters.The presidential office added that the North was informing the South of the results of its own probe into what happened, in the notice sent by the United Front Department, the North's ruling Workers' Party organ handling inter-Korean relations.“I think the message is intended to prevent the inci

Sep 25, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
North Korean leader's apology aimed at maintaining status quo: experts
  • Kim apologizes over North Korea's killing of South Korean official
  • South, North give different accounts over killing of South Korean official
  • North Korean apology for killing incident a 'helpful step': US
  • South Korea to demand North make additional probe into killing
  • North Korea warns South against violating sea border to search for missing official
  • Ruling party urges North Korea to accept joint probe into killing
North Korea

Shooting of official puts inter-Korean relations in tangle

Army Lt. Gen. Ahn Young-ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff holds a press conference at the defense ministry in Seoul, Thursday, over an incident of North Korea shooting a missing South Korean official and burning his body earlier this week. / YonhapSeoul strongly condemns Pyongyang over 'inhumane' actBy Kang Seung-wooThe government has strongly protested North Korea's execution-like shooting of a missing South Korean official and the burning of his body. With strong criticism toward Pyongyang coming from not only the opposition parties but also from the ruling bloc, the incident is likely to worsen already stalled inter-Korea ties, according to North Korea watchersThe Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday that the 47-year-old official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing while on duty aboard an inspection vessel in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong, Monday.The JCS presumes he jumped into the sea to defect to the North and drifted into North Korean waters, considering he left his shoes on the boat, was wearing a life jacket and was clinging to an un

Sep 24, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Shooting of official puts inter-Korean relations in tangle
  • Slain South Korean official left no indication of attempt to defect to North
  • US joins Seoul in condemning North Korea for killing South Korean official
Politics

Besieged lawmaker quits party

Rep. Park Duk-hyum of the main opposition People Power Party speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday, to announce his departure from the party amid corruption allegations that he exerted his influence to guarantee companies owned by his family would win more than 100 billion won ($86 million) in construction orders from central and local government agencies, while serving on the Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee that conducts regular audits into the agencies. He said he was leaving the party to keep it out of the controversy but continued to deny the allegations. / Yonhap

Sep 23, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Besieged lawmaker quits party
Foreign Affairs

Korea joins efforts for fair access to COVID vaccines

Korea is one of the 14 members of the Friends of the COVAX Facility (FOF), which seeks to ensure affordable, fair and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for all. / gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea has made efforts toward ensuring a “fair and equitable” distribution of coronavirus vaccines to all countries around the world. Korea, which has gained recognition for its successful handling of the coronavirus, is a member of the Friends of the COVAX Facility (FOF), which issued a statement, Monday, calling for affordable, fair and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for all.The COVAX Facility, pursued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and global vaccine alliance Gavi, is a global initiative that is aimed to bring together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need. The FOF is a consultative “friends” group that aims to facilitate the launch of the COVAX Facility as a multilateral platform, and it comprises 14 countries ― Australia, C

Sep 22, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Korea joins efforts for fair access to COVID vaccines
North Korea

Unification minister calls on North to fulfill inter-Korean agreements

Unification Minister Lee In-young waves his hand toward North Korean soldiers observing his visit to the truce village of Panmunjeom, Wednesday. / Joint press corpsBy Kang Seung-woo, Joint press corps Unification Minister Lee In-young urged North Korea to put inter-Korean agreements into action, Wednesday, and return to negotiations amid a deadlock in bilateral relations.He also called for an early restoration of consultation channels between the South and North, including a liaison office that was demolished by Pyongyang in June. Lee's pleas came during his first visit to the truce village of Panmunjeom since his inauguration in July, and days ahead of the second anniversary of a summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, Sept. 19, 2018, during which they signed agreements to reduce military tensions and bolster cooperation.“Agreement must be kept and they can be completed by implementation,” Lee said. “In order to complete the determination of the two leaders and restart the timeline for the South and North, joint effort

Sep 16, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Unification minister calls on North to fulfill inter-Korean agreements
  • Journalists call for continued efforts for peace between the two Koreas
Defense

Female service members donate hair for children with cancer

Navy Captain Kim Eun-a / Courtesy of ROK NavyBy Kang Seung-wooA Navy officer and an Air Force sergeant have gained recognition for their donation of hair for children who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment.According to the Navy, Captain Kim Eun-a has given 40 centimeters of hair to a local charity, which accepts hair donations to make wigs for children cancer patients across the nation. The minimum donation length is 25 centimeters. After finding that children with cancer have to pay millions of won to purchase wigs, the 28-year-old, who is now serving at the Naval Education and Training Command in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, decided to donate her hair that she had grown over the last four years.Kim's good deed was not a one-off act.Influenced by her mother and older sister, both of whom are nurses, Kim often volunteered for hospitals and welfare groups and registered in 2016 as an organ donor. “Since childhood, I have engaged in volunteer work and donated blood with my family, which led me to donate hair as well,” Kim said.“I am pleased that m

Sep 16, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Foreign Affairs

Suga unlikely to improve Korea-Japan ties

By Kang Seung-wooTroubled relations between Korea and Japan are not expected to recover anytime soon, according to a source, despite the planned departure of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who adopted a hawkish stance toward Seoul.Yoshihide Suga / Reuters-YonhapJapan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party held an election and picked Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as the party's new leader, Monday. The 71-year-old spokesperson for the Abe administration is almost guaranteed to be chosen as Japan's new prime minister in a National Diet session, Wednesday. The election took place after Abe, who has served as Japan's prime minister since December 2012, said on Aug. 28 that he was stepping down for health reasons. Abe also led as prime minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007. The fractious ties between Japan and Korea turned hostile as the two sides have been engaged in numerous diplomatic disputes, including a trade war that has escalated from a Korean court's findings regarding compensation payable to surviving victims of Japan's wartime forced labor practices. “A new pri

Sep 14, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Suga unlikely to improve Korea-Japan ties
  • Suga wins party vote for Japan PM
  • Suga as next Japanese leader likely to stay course on Korea relations: experts
previous page
7576777879
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.