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.
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, center, puts a scarf commemorating the alliance between Korea and the United States on Pennsylvania Republican Mike Kelly during his visit to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Jeong asked the U.S. Congress to help strike a defense cost-sharing agreement between Seoul and Washington. / Yonhap
Korean tourists leave Incheon International Airport, Tuesday, after returning home on an Israeli charter flight following the Israeli government's entry ban on Koreans out of concerns over the coronavirus. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWith more countries banning or restricting the entry of Korean citizens due to a sharp rise in coronavirus cases here, the government has stepped up efforts to ask nations to refrain from taking “excessive” measures.Kim Gunn, the deputy minister for political affairs, held a closed-door briefing session with officials from foreign diplomatic missions in Korea at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. He informed them of the nation's ongoing efforts to tackle the epidemic and furthermore, expressed concerns of “Korea-phobia.”The move came after at least seven countries, including Israel and Hong Kong, have imposed entry bans on Koreans and another 10, including Britain and Thailand, have placed tighter entry restrictions on travelers from South Korea following the recent rapid spread of the virus here. Since the 31st case was confirm
Residents hold placards as they demonstrate against a report that Israel may quarantine visitors from Korea at a military base in the Jewish settlement of Har Gilo in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Februar, Sunday. / Reuters-YonhapEntry ban from virus halts flight operationBy Kang Seung-wooMore than 1,600 Koreans who traveled to Israel are finding it difficult to return home as regular flight operations between the two countries have been virtually suspended. The Middle Eastern country imposed an entry ban on Koreans in response to the recent surge in coronavirus cases in Korea.The move by Tel Aviv came after 18 Koreans from a group who recently visited Israel on a religious pilgrimage from Feb. 8 to 15 tested positive for COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) upon their return home. On Monday, 12 more people from the group were confirmed to be infected with the virus.According to the Korean Embassy in Israel, the government there imposed a ban on people who have visited Korea and Japan in the last 14 days from entering Israeli territory starting Monday, while issuing travel warnings for the two coun
A Korean airplane which arrived from South Korea is pictured after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday. Israel refused to allow some 200 non-Israelis to disembark from a plane which arrived from Korea as part of measures against the new coronavirus. / AFP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooAs coronavirus infections have begun to rise rapidly here, some countries, including the United States, have issued recommendations to be cautious when considering travel to Korea.The U.S. State Department raised its alert level for travel to Korea to Level 2 on a four-level scale, Saturday, urging its citizens to exercise “increased caution” when traveling to the country. Previously, it was at Level 1 that called on citizens to exercise “normal precautions,” while Levels 3 and 4 mean “reconsider travel” and “do not travel,” respectively. “Sustained community spread has been reported in South Korea. Sustained community spread means that people in South Korea have been infected with the virus, but how or where they becam
Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, right, and his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper pose during the latter's visit to the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Nov. 15, 2019. / Joint press corpsBy Kang Seung-wooThe government is facing intensifying pressure from Washington to accept its demand that Korea pay a lot more than it currently does to host the United States Forces Korea (USFK), with the issue likely to be raised in next week's meeting between their defense ministers.The Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which determines the defense cost-sharing between the two allies for the USFK, expired at the end of last year, but little progress has been made on how much Seoul should pay in 2020 despite six rounds of negotiations since late last year. The biggest sticking point in the negotiations is U.S. President Donald Trump who has said he wants Korea to pay nearly $5 billion (5.98 trillion won) annually ― a fivefold increase from the amount paid last year. Korea has insisted that the negotiations should proceed within the existing SMA framework to come up with a fair and equitable amoun
Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun in the front row, look upset as Rep. Shim Jae-cheol, the floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party, delivers a speech critical of the Moon Jae-in administration, during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. He said the last three years under the Moon administration were a disaster, calling on people to judge the current government at the April 15 general election. / Yonhap
Jasmine Lee, third from right, a Philippines-born naturalized Korean politician, speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday, as the minor Justice Party announces its pledges on immigrants for the April 15 general election. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe minor Justice Party said, Wednesday, it would seek to set up an organization to deal with matters concerning immigrants and enact an “Immigration Law.”The pledge for the April 15 general election has come amid calls for more centralized control when implementing comprehensive policies for foreigners, as current governing bodies have been set up to oversee policies on migrant workers, marriage migrants and foreign students separately.“The number of foreign nationals who live in Korea has reached 2.5 million, accounting for 4.9 percent of the total population. However, despite different types of foreigners, there are few legal and institutional supports for them,” the party chairwoman Rep. Sim Sang-jeung said in a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul.“Immigrants are vulnerable to blind
Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, center, the chief policymaker of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), announces the party's pledge for the April 15 general election at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. He said the party would seek to cut the salary of lawmakers who often skip sessions. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe National Assembly has long received public criticism over the lack of penalties given to lawmakers who fail to attend Assembly sessions or participate in relevant activities.Amid mounting criticism of the “unproductive” Assembly, the ruling party has vowed to slash the salary of lawmakers with poor session attendance records.However, it remains to be seen if the pledge will be implemented as planned because it contains some exception clauses that lawmakers may exploit.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) announced the plan as one of its campaign pledges for the April 15 general election, where 300 parliamentary seats will be taken.“We have come up with the pledge in response to growing public calls for practical punitive measures against lawmakers who negl
Hwang Kyo-ahn, center, former chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party that has been merged with other conservative minor parties to form the United Future Party, applauds with other members of the new party in the inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. He will lead the new party as well. / YonhapEx-main oppoosition chief Hwang to lead 'big tent' against Moon government By Kang Seung-wooThe United Future Party, a bloc of three conservative parties, was launched, Monday, less than two months ahead of the upcoming general election.The new political body with 113 parliamentary seats held an inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul under the banner of “Judgment on the Moon Jae-in administration.”The party is comprised of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and two minor parties — the New Conservative Party and the Forward for Future 4.0 that were formed by lawmakers who left the Bareunmirae Party, another minor opposition party. The new party was also joined by conservative civic groups.It was the first
Members of a civic group hold a press conference in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday, to protest against the alleged U.S. plan to push Korea to fund a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. They demanded that the U.S. and Korea remove the anti-missile system from Korea. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooKorea is back in the hot seat as the U.S. military has announced plans to improve its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries including the one here. As the upgrade is focused on extending the range of its defense area, the plan is raising speculations that the launchers may be transferred to Seoul or its surrounding areas, or that additional launchers may be deployed, which may reignite disputes with China over the anti-missile system. A report has also sparked concerns that the U.S. may push Korea to fund the construction of the THAAD base, which could run counter to the allies' agreement on the issue.The battery system upgrade was disclosed earlier this week by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.“Additionally in fiscal