The Korea Times

Candidates depend on distinctive online campaigns

Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who is running in Seoul's Gangnam-A District in the April 15 general election under the name Thae Gu-min, raps in a YouTube video posted Tuesday. / Captured from Thaeyongho TVBy Kang Seung-wooCandidates running in the April 15 general election are adopting what they hope are eye-catching online campaigns amid the coronavirus pandemic that is limiting offline contacts with voters.Although campaigning officially began last week, candidates are finding it difficult to appeal to voters on the streets as they used to, as many people are following government guidelines and avoiding outdoor activities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, even while campaigning in public, candidates and their supporters are wearing face masks, making it harder for people to recognize them ― particularly, political rookies. As a result, they have moved their campaigns online.Thae Yong-ho, a high-profile North Korean defector running in Seoul's Gangnam-A District on the main opposition United Future Party's (UFP) ticket under the name “Thae Gu-min,&

Apr 8, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Candidates depend on distinctive online campaigns

Politics

Parties turn to offering money to all people

United Future Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, center, urges the government to provide 500,000 won per person in Korea to help cushion the financial shock stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, during his election campaign in Seoul, Sunday. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunBy Kang Seung-wooMajor political parties are now unanimously backing a plan to provide emergency disaster relief money to every household to help them deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a more aggressive scheme than the government's earlier plan to provide it to the bottom 70 percent of households.For some parties, this is a change from their initial stance when they called the government's cash relief plan a “vote-seeking, populist move” ahead of the April 15 general election. Now they are also apparently seeking votes from the upper 30 percent.However, it remains to be seen if such a plan is feasible as the finance ministry is worried about financial soundness following the expanded allowance. On March 30, President Moon Jae-in announced that the government would pay emergency disaster reli

Apr 7, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Parties turn to offering money to all people

Defense

ROK-US defense cost-sharing talks remain at standstill

Military choppers are parked at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe defense cost-sharing talks between Korea and the United States are still showing no signs of progress, raising concerns that the furlough of Korean employees of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) may be extended indefinitely.This is a huge U-turn from last week's expectations that the allies were moving closer to signing the latest Special Measure Agreement (SMA) that determines the amount of money Korea will contribute toward the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed here.Although the foreign ministry has said the negotiation hit a last-minute snag, experts believe Seoul's refusal to accept Washington's demand for a hefty increase in its share is the reason behind the stalled months-long negotiations being dragged out further. “The defense cost-sharing talks have returned back to the fifth round position, in which the U.S. demanded that Korea pay $4 billion,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global Univer

Apr 6, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

ROK-US defense cost-sharing talks remain at standstill

Politics

Wave of election leaflets

A postman delivers campaign leaflets containing information on candidates and political parties for the April 15 general election to an apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. The official campaign began Thursday and runs until the eve of the election day. / Yonhap

Apr 5, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Politics

Tricks used in campaigns for satellite parties

The “twin buses” for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, top, and the Civil Together, bottom, are unveiled at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe nation's two major parties are using tricks not to violate the Election Law in their simultaneous campaign for themselves and their satellite offshoots ahead of the upcoming general election.Following a revision to the Election Law last year, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) have created respective “paper” affiliates ― Civil Together and the Future Korea Party (FKP) ― to try and gain a few more proportional representation seats in the National Assembly by sending their lawmakers to the minor parties that they will incorporate later.The new system was aimed to better reflect votes cast for minor parties, but the DPK and the UFP and their satellite parties have been under fire for hijacking its original intention. The brouhaha surrounding this is now expanding to their election campaigns.As soon as official campaigning for

Apr 5, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Tricks used in campaigns for satellite parties

Politics

Liberal and centrist parties likely to fall victim to scaled-down overseas voting

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, right, along with Interior Minister Chin Young, left, and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, gives a public statement for fair and safe elections at the Seoul Government Complex, Thursday, as the 13-day official campaign period for the April 15 general elections began the same day. / Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooPolitical parties are scrambling to calculate how the reduction in the availability of overseas voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic will affect them in the upcoming general election. If history is any guide, liberal and centrist parties may suffer the most from this.The elections are scheduled to take place April 15 to choose who will make up the 300-strong 21st National Assembly.Earlier, more than 177,000 overseas Koreans in 119 countries registered to vote in the proportional representation section of the election, with voting initially scheduled for April 1 to 6. However, as many countries have implemented lockdowns and movement restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government decided to suspend polling activities at 65 diplomatic mi

Apr 2, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Liberal and centrist parties likely to fall victim to scaled-down overseas voting

Foreign Affairs

Korea, US tentatively agree to defense cost-sharing deal

Members of the USFK Korean Employees Union stage a protest in front of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, when nearly half of the Korean staff at U.S. military bases here were placed on unpaid leave in the absence of the defense cost-sharing deal. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooKorea and the United States have tentatively reached an agreement on how to share the costs of maintaining the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) here, according to a government source, Wednesday, when half of the Korean staff at U.S. military bases here went on unpaid leave due to a lapse in the deal to cover their wages.In addition, the source said the deal, also known as the Special Measure Agreement (SMA), is likely to once again be effective for five years, unlike the one signed in 2019 that acted only as a one-year stopgap after the two sides failed to conclude a long-term deal.Since 1991, Korea has partially funded the U.S. troops' stay under the SMA and Korea's contributions are used to cover the wages of the 8,600 Korean workers as well as payment for construction projects and l

Apr 1, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Korea, US tentatively agree to defense cost-sharing deal

Politics

Political heavyweights struggling in surveys

By Kang Seung-wooMany public polls have found that a large number of high-profile veteran politicians are struggling to punch their ticket to the National Assembly, with many of their challenges coming from political rookies.Rep. Park Jie-won of Minsaeng PartyThe general election is scheduled to take place April 15 to choose who will make up the 300-strong 21st National Assembly.Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Minsaeng Party is facing a situation that he has never before encountered in his almost 30-year political career. The four-term lawmaker is behind Kim Won-I ― a former deputy mayor for political affairs at the Seoul Metropolitan Government ― in the electoral district of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.A survey by local cable broadcaster JTBC, Monday, showed that Kim was leading Park by 7.3 percentage points ― 38.3 percent to 31 percent. Both candidates worked for the Kim Dae-jung administration from 1998 to 2003, with Park serving as chief of staff and Kim as an administrative official. Another poll by the Joongang Ilbo released Tuesday revealed that Kim even had a lead

Mar 31, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Political heavyweights struggling in surveys

Politics

'Kim Chong-in effect likely to be limited'

Kim Chong-in, the chief of the United Future Party's campaign committee, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kang Seung-wooKim Chong-in, a veteran politician who helped President Moon Jae-in and his predecessor Park Geun-hye win presidential elections, has returned to politics again ahead of the upcoming general election, looking to rediscover his winning touch with the main opposition United Future Party (UFP).However, it remains to be seen if the 79-year-old and the newly created conservative party will end the April election on a winning note during a situation that is unfavorable to him in many ways, according to critics.Kim decided to join the UFP as head of its campaign committee last week after party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn's repeated requests. “As I played a part in Park and Moon winning their elections, I feel sorry about that,” Kim said in a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday, indicating that both did not govern the country as he expected.“For that reason, I decided to

Mar 30, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

'Kim Chong-in effect likely to be limited'

Politics

Battle for National Assembly seats starts with party colors

Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pose during a ceremony to launch the party's election strategy committee at the National Assembly, Feb. 20. / Korea Times filePolitical parties committed to finding own colors to represent identityBy Kang Seung-wooWhenever election time comes around, there is one thing that each political party cares about as much as about candidate selection ― its party color. As party colors are used to represent their political identity and ideology, they are devoted to picking one that is “perfectly” suited to them.Ahead of the April 15 general election, other than the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a large number of parties ― most of which have merged and renamed ― have changed their color in a bid to appeal to more voters and gain extra seats at the National Assembly. Some parties have even exchanged words over similar colors.The DPK is sticking to the blue that it used in the 20th National Assembly election four years ago. The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) ― formerly the Liberty Korea Party ― ditched the red that

Mar 28, 2020By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

Read more

Candidates depend on distinctive online campaigns

Parties turn to offering money to all people

ROK-US defense cost-sharing talks remain at standstill

Wave of election leaflets

Tricks used in campaigns for satellite parties

Liberal and centrist parties likely to fall victim to scaled-down overseas voting

Korea, US tentatively agree to defense cost-sharing deal

Political heavyweights struggling in surveys

'Kim Chong-in effect likely to be limited'

Battle for National Assembly seats starts with party colors

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