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.
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a complaint to South Korean Ambassador to Moscow Lee Do-hoon, Thursday (local time), over President Yoon Suk Yeol's remarks against Russia in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, marking an escalation in a diplomatic row between the two countries.
South Korea is taking contrasting diplomatic approaches to address Russia and China as Pyongang and Moscow bolster military ties.
gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The Korean government has requested Japanese authorities to conduct a swift and fair investigation into a case where a Korean national was served water containing bleach at a restaurant in Tokyo. “We contacted the local police station as soon as we were notified about the incident,” said an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that the victim reported the case to the Korean Embassy in Tokyo on Sept. 6.The official noted, “The Japanese police responded that they will do so, but refused to share details of the investigation at this stage.”The official also said the ministry was informed that the restaurant's operations were suspended for four days in relation to the incident.On Aug. 31, a Korean woman surnamed Kang and her Japanese husband visited a high-end restaurant, famous for tempura, located in a department store in Tokyo's Ginza. The couple was served two cups of drinking water upon their request, but after taking the first sip, Kang noticed a strange odor from the water.“After the second sip, my throat b
Official poster for World Cities Summit Mayors Forum 2023 / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Lee Hyo-jin Mayors and delegations from nearly 50 cities around the world will gather in Seoul later this week for a summit to discuss ways to create more livable and sustainable cities, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.The city government said delegates from 48 cities in 22 countries will participate in the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum (WCSMF) taking place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) from Sept. 24 to 26. It is the largest international event to be hosted by Seoul city since before the coronavirus pandemic. Among the participants are Tory Whanau, mayor of Wellington, New Zealand, and Wayne Chiang Wan-an, mayor of Taipei, Taiwan. Business leaders and representatives of international organizations, including the U.N.-Habitat and Metropolis, are also among the list of some 200 guests invited to the forum. On the first day of the three-day forum, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will introduce his administrative philosophy, dubbed “accompanying the vulnerable,”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un examine a launch pad during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky in Russia's Amur region, Sept. 13. AP-YonhapChina concerned about losing influence on N. KoreaBy Lee Hyo-jin Closer relations between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a win-win partnership, but “Kim's win,” according to analysts, who viewed that the Russian leader may later regret his decision to forge closer ties with Pyongyang. While North Korea has a lot to gain from Russia such as technological support in advancing its weapons and food supply, the same cannot be said for Moscow as the summit has only highlighted Putin's deepening international isolation.According to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday, Kim returned home on Monday after completing his “official goodwill” visit to Russia which has “opened a new chapter” in bilateral ties. After entering Russia on Sept. 12, Kim met with Putin and visited key
Participants of the Incheon Security Conference hold a discussion in Songdo, Incheon, Monday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jinLeading scholars gather at inaugural Incheon Security Conference By Lee Hyo-jin INCHEON ― Chances for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to return to dialogue with the United States have become even lower now that he has gained new leverage through his recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Victor Cha, a U.S. analyst at Asian Affairs.“Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse with North Korea, Putin and Kim joined an alliance. It's not new in the sense that there has always been cooperation, but there are few things that are new,” said Cha, a professor at Georgetown University and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington D.C.-based think tank.“Kim now has leverage. Historically, North Korea has always been a supplicant, seeking patronage aid from the Soviet Union or Russia. But now they are going to provide arms and munitions.” His remarks were made during the i
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves as he boards his private train bound to Pyongyang from Primorsky-1 railway station in Artyom, 40 kilometers northeast of Vladivostok, Sunday. Tass-YonhapKim Jong-un wraps up six-day trip to RussiaBy Lee Hyo-jin The recent burgeoning military cooperation between North Korea and Russia has sparked concerns about the potential transfer of nuclear weapons technologies from Moscow to Pyongyang, but that is unlikely to happen, according to analysts, Sunday.Later in the day, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un departed from the Russian Far East city of Artyom, completing his six-day visit to Russia, during which the two nations vowed to bolster partnerships focusing on military cooperation. A bulletproof train carrying Kim at the Primorsky-1 railway station was seen off by an honor guard of the Eastern Military District and the military band of the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. Since entering Russia last Tuesday for his first trip abroad in more than four years, Kim had met Russian President Vladimir Pu
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, Russia, Wednesday (local time). Reuters-YonhapPutin accepts Kim's invitation to visit N. KoreaBy Lee Hyo-jin A high-stakes summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signals a “new normal” of North Korea-Russia relations, according to analysts.“Spurred by the Ukraine war and hostility toward the West, the two countries are deepening their relations to a level not seen after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute of National Unification.“It is a 'new normal' of North Korea-Russia relations,” he added.How long the friendship will last depends on the course of the Ukraine war, Cho said. The summit was held amid speculation that Pyongyang would provide ammunition and artillery shells to Moscow in return for Russia's technological support to develop its weapons and military
Hahm Sung-deuk, dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies at Kyonggi University, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Sept. 6. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukIncheon city commemorates 73rd anniversary of Operation ChromiteBy Lee Hyo-jin On Sep. 15, 1950, some 260 naval ships and 70,000 troops of the U.S.-led United Nations forces alongside South Korean troops landed on Incheon's coast, west of Seoul, in a bold counteroffensive against North Korea's invasion. The Incheon Landing Operation, also known as Operation Chromite, is celebrated here as the pivotal moment that changed the tide of the 1950-53 Korean War, as it allowed the South Korean forces to recapture Seoul from North Korean troops.To this day, the port city of Incheon remains a symbol of the ironclad alliance between South Korea and the U.S.-led U.N. forces, according to Hahm Sung-deuk, dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies at Kyonggi University.“The Incheon landing mission is one of the most effective and successful military operations in history, comparable to the Normandy la
By Lee Hyo-jin Clark Sorensen, professor emeritus at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, has won the Korea Foundation (KF) Award, recognized for his over two decades of contributions to the development of Korean studies, according to the foundation. The KF, a non-profit public diplomacy organization, has been conferring the biannual prize since 2008 to honor an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the enhancement of understanding of Korean culture around the world.Clark SorensenKF said that it chose Sorenson as this year's awardee to honor his 25 years of dedication to fostering research on Korean studies in North America. Sorensen was appointed as the director of the Korean Studies Program at the University of Washington in 1998 and has played a leading role in advancing Korean studies at the institution. During his term, when the institution was struggling with financial difficulties due to state budget cuts, the professor actively launched fundraising activities and saved the institution from closure.In 2006