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.
A quarantine worker disinfects Chunchugwan, the press center of Cheong Wa Dae, in Seoul, Friday, to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, now official known as COVID-19. Korea reported no new coronavirus cases for three straight days. / Yonhap
Bilateral, trilateral meetings expected with US, JapanBy Kang Seung-wooForeign Minister Kang Kyung-wha flew to the German city of Munich, Thursday, to participate in a security forum, raising expectations that she may meet with her U.S. and Japanese counterparts to discuss pending issues. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha walks through Incheon International Airport, Thursday, before leaving for Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. / YonhapThe Munich Security Conference, established in 1963, is an annual conference on international security policy. This year’s edition kicks off Friday and runs until Sunday.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kang will attend a main panel discussion on multilateralism and speak of Korea’s perspectives and proposals on upholding this, a value challenged by rising nationalism and trade protectionism. It is the first time for a Korean foreign minister to address the security conference’s main session as a panelist.Given that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will
President Moon Jae-in buys tteok, or rice cake, during his visit to Namdaemun Market in Seoul, Wednesday. He made a visit to the traditional market to show support for merchants, who are suffering difficulties due to a drop in the number of customers following the coronavirus outbreak. The President also wished to demonstrate the government's commitment to all-out efforts to revitalize the economy. / Joint press corps
By Kang Seung-wooConcerns are rising that the deadlock in the denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea is likely to be prolonged as key American officials involved in the bilateral negotiations have been leaving their jobs.Alex Wong, U.S. deputy special representative for North Korea, leaves Korea from Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, after talks with South Korean officials. He has been named as U.S. representative to the United Nations, raising concerns that the nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States could prolong. / YonhapTo make the situation worse, U.S. President Donald Trump is determined not to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the president election in November.Since the collapse of the second summit between Kim and Trump in Vietnam in February 2019, there have been no signs of bilateral relations bouncing back, with both sides resuming their harsh stance against each other. The latest figure to leave the U.S. State Department's North Korea negotiating team is Alex Wong, the deputy assistant secretary for North K
Disinfectant is sprayed on a vehicle entering the Korea Defense Language Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. The facility will house the third batch of evacuees from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, who are scheduled to arrive Wednesday. / Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooA third government-chartered plane flew to the coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan, Tuesday, to evacuate 170 Koreans and their Chinese family members. According to the foreign ministry, the flight left Incheon International Airport at 8:39 p.m. and is due to return to Gimpo International Airport Wednesday morning. “The charter flight plans to bring back 170 citizens and their immediate family members, including Chinese nationals,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip, who doubles as deputy head of the central disaster headquarters, said in a regular media briefing earlier in the day.“Those who pass through the Chinese authorities' quarantine check will be able to board.”He added a foreign ministry quick response team, comprised of doctors, nurses and quarantine officials, w
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, left, has lunch with his staff at a restaurant in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Tuesday. Chung is urging ministers and other government officials to visit local restaurants and traditional markets in an effort to stimulate domestic consumption as the coronavirus outbreak has been weighing on the local economy. / Yonhap
South Korean businessmen and civic group members hold a press conference in Seoul, Monday, urging the government to reopen the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooSouth Korean businessmen who ran factories at the now-shuttered joint industrial complex in North Korea's border city of Gaeseong urged the government Monday to reopen the facility immediately.The Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), established in 2004, was abruptly shut down by the Park Geun-hye administration, Feb. 10, 2016, in retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test, Jan. 6, and long-range missile launches, Feb. 7, that year. A total of 124 South Korean companies operated facilities there employing 54,000 North Korean workers. The conservative government decided the hard currency earned through the “joint venture” was used to fund the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.“It has been four years since the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which was the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation. During the period, military tensions on the Kore
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, third from left, speaks during a pan-government meeting on response to the coronavirus outbreak at the Government Complex Seoul, Sunday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe government said Sunday it will send a third charter flight to evacuate the remaining Korean residents of the coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan. This time, their spouses and children who hold Chinese passports will be allowed to board the plane, as opposed to the previous two flights. Currently, there are over 200 Koreans and their family members in the capital of Hubei Province, which has been locked down since Jan. 23 due to the raging epidemic. “The Chinese government recently notified us of its decision to allow Chinese family members of Korean nationals to travel to Korea on a government-chartered plane,” Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said in a briefing after a pan-government meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, at the Government Complex Seoul on responses to the virus outbreak.“Because of this, the government has decided to
Kyungnam University President Jae Kyu Park speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Kang Seung-wooBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's “ambitious” proposal for individual tourism by South Koreans to North Korea has been drawing both positive and negative comments. Some praise it as a fresh means to engage the North and make progress in efforts to denuclearize the reclusive state, while critics claim it would breach international sanctions placed on Pyongyang.However, Kyungnam University President Jae Kyu Park, a former South Korean minister of unification, believes it could serve as a win-win solution for inter-Korean relations and North Korea-U.S. ties.During his Jan. 14 New Year press conference, President Moon floated the idea of the government allowing citizens to make individual tours to the North, including possible hometown visits by families separated by the Korean War, as part of efforts to expand cross-border exchanges that he hopes will help improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington.&ldq
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooForeign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Korea in the first half of 2020 is still expected to go ahead despite the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China.“The agreement between the two countries that President Xi will pay a visit to Korea in the first half of the year is still effective,” Kang said during a press conference at the foreign ministry in Seoul.“In close coordination with China, we are set to push forward the diplomatic schedule without any disruption.”When President Moon Jae-in travelled to Beijing last December for a trilateral summit with Japan and China, it was agreed that Xi would visit Seoul in the first half of the year. This would be the first trip to Korea by Xi in six years since the Chinese leader's last visit in July 2014.Although the government has yet to specify the date, Xi was expected to come in March or early April.However, the Chinese gov