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Lee Hyo-jin

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.

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Foreign Affairs

US delegation's visit to Korea for nuclear sub talks further delayed by Iran crisis

A planned visit by a U.S. delegation to Seoul for high-stakes security talks has been delayed as Washington grapples with escalating tensions in the Middle East, a setback that could slow negotiations over Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and secure broader rights to nuclear fuel. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday, the U.S. side has yet to provide specific dates for the trip, which had been expected in late February or early March. The delay comes as U.S. officials focus on the fallout from Saturday's joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran, which included the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran immediately vowed retaliation, raising the prospect of a broader regional conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is not ruling out further military action, including the possible deployment of American troops, according to U.S. media reports. The postponement has complicated matters for officials in Seoul, where security negotiations have become a priority following agreements reached at an October summit between President Lee

Mar 3, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
US delegation's visit to Korea for nuclear sub talks further delayed by Iran crisis
Foreign Affairs

PM orders review of evacuation flight plans amid Iran crisis

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Monday the government will take preemptive measures, including reviewing plans to deploy transport aircraft for possible evacuations, as Middle East tensions escalate following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes. "We must take preemptive measures against all possible scenarios. Volatility in financial markets and rising oil prices — risks we had anticipated — are already materializing. The government must be prepared to respond immediately in case the situation is prolonged," Kim said during an emergency meeting on the Iran crisis with relevant ministries. Kim ordered officials to prioritize the safety of Korean nationals in the region, including those stranded in airports due to widespread flight cancellations. He also instructed the finance ministry to take the lead in assessing the concerns of companies affected by the crisis and informing businesses of available support measures. The session followed President Lee Jae Myung's order to establish a prime minister-led emergency response system to address

Mar 2, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
PM orders review of evacuation flight plans amid Iran crisis
North Korea

US strike on Iran dampens prospects for Trump-Kim talks in April

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation is likely to cast a shadow over efforts to revive diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, analysts said Monday, as Pyongyang's trust in U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be eroding amid heightened security concerns. The attack, which came amid stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, is expected to reinforce North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's long-held belief that nuclear weapons are the ultimate guarantee of his regime's survival. After the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Saturday (local time), Trump wrote on social media hours later that the Iranian leader had been killed in the operation, declaring, "Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead." The Iranian government later confirmed his death. The latest episode, which came two months after the U.S. government's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, appears to have unsettled Kim. This is likely to lower the chances of a possible Trump-Kim meeting, which

Mar 2, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
US strike on Iran dampens prospects for Trump-Kim talks in April
Global Community

More than 300 adoptees file complaints in Korea's renewed adoption probe

More than 300 overseas adoptees submitted complaints to Korea's truth-seeking body Thursday, marking the first wave of petitions in the renewed state probe into alleged misconduct in the nation's decades-long intercountry adoption program. As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) reopened its headquarters in Seoul's Jung District at 9 a.m., adoptees stepped forward as the first petitioners of the commission's third term. Stacks of documents — including adoption records and applications from 311 adoptees — totaling roughly 50,000 pages were delivered in boxes and submitted to the commission. The TRC, an independent state body mandated to investigate historical injustices, is set to revisit alleged misconduct in Korea's overseas adoption system, which sent roughly 200,000 babies and children abroad, mostly to Western countries, between the 1960s and 1980s. For decades, adoptees and advocacy groups have argued that the government failed to adequately regulate adoption agencies and safeguard the rights of children, allowing abuses to occur with little oversight. Thursday's launch

Feb 26, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
More than 300 adoptees file complaints in Korea's renewed adoption probe
Law & Crime

Ruling party proposes expanding spy law beyond 'enemy state' to cover other foreign nations

The National Assembly introduced a bill on Wednesday, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), that would expand the country’s espionage law to criminalize spying for any foreign government, not just North Korea, amid growing concerns over alleged intelligence activities involving Chinese nationals. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which opposed a set of revision bills on the Criminal Act, responded with a filibuster. If passed, the measure would mark the first fundamental overhaul of South Korea’s espionage statutes since their enactment in 1953. Currently, the law defines an "enemy state" almost exclusively as North Korea. This narrow legal framework has left prosecutors hamstrung, unable to levy treason-level charges against those spying for other foreign powers, including China or Russia, unless a direct link to Pyongyang could be proven. The proposed amendment reflects the changing nature of espionage targeting South Korea, which now extends beyond traditional military intelligence to industrial and advanced technology sectors. The bill was introduced by R

Feb 25, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Ruling party proposes expanding spy law beyond 'enemy state' to cover other foreign nations
Society

In push for more efficient AI, Korean researchers develop dual-output artificial synapse

Researchers at Korea University have developed a dual-output artificial synapse designed to improve the energy efficiency of multitasking artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the university said Monday. The research was led by professors Wang Gun-uk and Park Young-ran of the KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, a joint program established by Korea University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. The human brain carries out many tasks at once, processing a stream of signals in parallel with remarkable efficiency. Conventional AI chips, in contrast, are typically built for narrowly defined functions. As a result, juggling multiple operations often requires breaking computations into separate parts or running them in sequence — a design that can sharply increase power consumption. Replicating the brain's capability has become a growing focus in AI research as systems require increasing amounts of computing power and electricity. The KU-KIST team created a brain-inspired artificial synapse that emits both electrical and optical signals simultaneously,

Feb 25, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
In push for more efficient AI, Korean researchers develop dual-output artificial synapse
Foreign Affairs

Korea denies delay in US security talks as tariff uncertainties resurface

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday dismissed concerns that security talks with the United States have been delayed due to renewed tariff-related uncertainties, saying a planned visit by a U.S. government security delegation remains on track. "It's not that the visit has been put on hold. Rather, it is a scheduling issue," a senior ministry official said, on condition of anonymity, during a briefing when asked about the timeline. The official added that the option remains open for a South Korean delegation to visit Washington if the plans are further delayed. The ministry also rejected reports suggesting that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating President Donald Trump’s "reciprocal" tariffs could create procedural hurdles in implementing a bilateral trade agreement and potentially delay consultations over the security provisions outlined in a bilateral joint fact sheet. "That is not true. There is no such problem, and the process is proceeding as planned," the official said. The Seoul-Washington tariff agreement struck last October has faced fresh uncertainties followi

Feb 24, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea denies delay in US security talks as tariff uncertainties resurface
Politics

Ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol appeals life sentence in martial law case

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday appealed his life sentence for leading an insurrection linked to his 2024 declaration of martial law. The filing came five days after the Seoul Central District Court convicted the former leader of leading an insurrection in connection with his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. "We believe we bear a responsibility to clearly place on record the flaws in this judgment, not only before the court but also before history," Yoon's legal team said in a statement. "Under that responsibility, we will set out the errors in fact-finding and misapplications of laws in the first-instance ruling." "We will not remain silent regarding the special counsel's excessive indictment, the contradictory reasoning of the first trial conducted under those circumstances and its political implications," the statement added. In its ruling issued last Thursday, the court concluded that Yoon's actions met the legal definition of insurrection and that the martial law declaration caused serious damage to government institutions and the National Assembly. Two days

Feb 24, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol appeals life sentence in martial law case
Defense

Rare US-China standoff in West Sea signals USFK shift to counter Beijing

A rare aerial standoff in the West Sea between U.S. and Chinese fighter jets has prompted warnings from analysts that Washington may be putting into action a broader shift to use U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to counter China. Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office for his second term, officials in Washington have signaled that U.S. troops stationed in South Korea would assume a greater role in deterring China, while Seoul takes on more responsibility in countering North Korea’s threats. The latest incident appears to reflect that shift. According to military sources Friday, several USFK F-16 fighter jets took off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday and flew over international waters in the West Sea. The F-16s reportedly operated in an area between the air defense identification zones (ADIZ) of South Korea and China, prompting the Chinese military to dispatch its own fighter jets. No clashes occurred. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said it could not confirm matters related to USFK operations or military activities, but added that "South Kor

Feb 20, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Rare US-China standoff in West Sea signals USFK shift to counter Beijing
Foreign Affairs

Korea mulls joining NATO initiative to fund weapons for Ukraine

South Korea is reviewing whether to join a NATO initiative to help finance the purchase of U.S. weapons for Ukraine, diplomatic sources said Friday. If it decides to participate, the move could deepen defense ties with Europe as Seoul seeks to expand arms sales to NATO members, while further straining relations with Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is "in continued discussions with NATO on various ways to support Ukraine," responding to a local media report that Seoul is considering participation in NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). A ministry official confirmed that NATO had asked South Korea to join the mechanism to support Ukraine. The official said Seoul's stance on assisting the war-torn nation is centered on "humanitarian aid and other nonlethal military equipment," declining to elaborate on whether the government is leaning toward participation. The Ukrainian Embassy in South Korea said it could not immediately comment when reached by The Korea Times. The Russian Embassy in Seoul said it was unaware of South Korea's official position on the matter,

Feb 20, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea mulls joining NATO initiative to fund weapons for Ukraine
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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.