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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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North Korea

Children, pregnant women executed, tortured in North Korea: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, behind the podium, speaks during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Feb. 27, to discuss rural issues, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central Agency the following day. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Extrajudicial executions, torture and state censorship of expression and media are some of the commonplace human rights violations in North Korea, according to a report unveiled by the South Korean Ministry of Unification, Thursday. It is the first time Seoul has disclosed its annual report on human rights issues in Pyongyang to the public, a move that is expected to infuriate North Korea. The dictatorial regime is highly sensitive to criticism from the outside world about its human rights issues. Based on the North Korean Human Rights Act, which was amended in 2016 and is aimed at documenting human rights abuses of the dictatorial regime, the unification ministry has been compiling the annual report since 2018. But the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration (2017-2022) had classified the reports as

Mar 30, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Children, pregnant women executed, tortured in North Korea: report
Foreign Affairs

US ambassador highlights extended deterrence in countering NK nuclear threats

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg speaks at the 12th ROK-U.S. Alliance Forum, hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. NewsisGoldberg praises Yoon's efforts for reconciliation with JapanBy Lee Hyo-jin The United States will continue to build extended deterrence and show its ironclad commitment to South Korea's security amid North Korea's growing provocations, according to U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Philip Goldberg, Thursday.He made the remarks during the 12th ROK-U.S. Alliance Forum, hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association, themed on the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.“We are in discussions with the South Korean government about how to further reassure the Korean people and the government about our ironclad commitments, which includes an extended deterrence, our nuclear capability,” Goldberg said in response to a question about his view on whether

Mar 30, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
US ambassador highlights extended deterrence in countering NK nuclear threats
North Korea

Yoon's 'audacious initiative' for NK denuclearization hangs in balance

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin Escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, triggered by North Korea's pursuit of an “exponential” increase in its nuclear arsenal, are making President Yoon Suk Yeol's “audacious initiative” for Pyongyang's denuclearization look like an increasingly far-fetched idea, according to analysts, Wednesday.The initiative, proposed by Yoon last year, promises the North Korean government an unprecedented level of economic support in exchange for the country ultimately giving up its nuclear weapons. Yoon suggested a list of economic incentives such as large-scale food aid, providing assistance for power generation and building infrastructure in the country.However, the initiative is facing an uncertain future at this point, with Yoon sticking to a hardline stance on North Korea amid its rising belligerence in recent months.Last week, the president said his administration will make North Korea pay the price for its nuclear threats. On Tuesday, Yoon said he will “not give a single penny to North Korea if it continues to develop nuclea

Mar 29, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Yoon's 'audacious initiative' for NK denuclearization hangs in balance
Foreign Affairs

Revised Japanese textbooks distort wartime forced labor, catching Korea off guard

President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of their bilateral meeting in Tokyo, Japan, March 16. AP-Yonhap Seoul lodges strong protest over Tokyo's distortion of historyBy Lee Hyo-jin The Japanese government on Tuesday approved school textbooks whitewashing the forced mobilization of Koreans to labor in factories during World War II. The latest move appears to be a stab in the back for the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which has been hailing the restoration of bilateral ties with Tokyo.In response, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged protests over Japan's latest attempt to whitewash its history, which came less than two weeks after a breakthrough summit between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.On Tuesday afternoon, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said it screened history textbooks that will be used to teach third to sixth-grade students.In some of the textb

Mar 28, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Revised Japanese textbooks distort wartime forced labor, catching Korea off guard
  • Opposition leader strongly condemns Japan over textbook row
Foreign Affairs

Right-wing Japanese support Seoul-Tokyo ties: Korean envoy to Japan

Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min speaks during a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jinKorea and Japan have entered a new chapter in their bilateral relations after the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held earlier this month, according to Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min, Monday. The ambassador said he is already feeling a positive shift in Japanese public sentiment on Korea, stressing that even right-wing Japanese are supporting bilateral cooperation.“It seems that an environment has been created based on which the Kishida administration can more actively address issues on relations with Korea,” he said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He arrived in Seoul to attend an annual meeting of top Korean envoys abroad which kicked off earlier in the day.Saying that there are broadly two types of Japanese right wing groups ― one which focuses on security issues and the other which emphasizes the nation's historical identity ― he explained,

Mar 27, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Right-wing Japanese support Seoul-Tokyo ties: Korean envoy to Japan
Politics

Veteran police officer tapped as new investigation chief

By Lee Hyo-jin Woo Jong-soo, head of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police, has been recommended to head the National Office of Investigation, filling the vacant post after his predecessor resigned a month before beginning his term. Woo Jong-soo / Courtesy of National Police AgencyThe National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun has recently recommended Woo, 55, to President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to local reports. The presidential office will officially announce the appointment on Monday, after which he will begin his two-year term.Woo worked for the law enforcement authority for 23 years, during which time he served in key posts including the head of Yongsan Police Station and head of the investigation department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police. In 2018, he headed the investigation of a high-profile online rigging scandal known as the Druking scandal.The appointment of Woo comes a month after prosecutor-turned-lawyer Chung Sun-sin resigned just a day before assuming his post, due to the school bullying controversy of his son. Chung was named as the new chief on Feb.

Mar 26, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Veteran police officer tapped as new investigation chief
Defense

South Korea speeds up full-fledged deployment of US anti-missile battery

South Korean military and the United States Forces in Korea conduct drills employing the remote launcher of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in this photo provided by the USFK, Friday. YonhapBeijing has limited options to retaliate against Seoul's move: expertsBy Lee Hyo-jin The South Korean government is speeding up steps to turn a U.S. anti-missile battery deployed here into a permanent installation.The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles, was deployed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 2017, to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. But the anti-missile system remains as a temporary installation due to fierce backlash from China, as well as residents of Seongju. China claims that THAAD's radar can be used to spy on its military maneuvers, while residents of the southeastern town are concerned about environmental impacts.On Friday, South Korea's Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) said they recently held joint drills employing a THAAD remote launcher. It was the fi

Mar 26, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
South Korea speeds up full-fledged deployment of US anti-missile battery
Society

Commemorating independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun

Kim Hwang-sik, a former Korean prime minister, lays a flower to honor anti-imperial Japan Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun in a ceremony commemorating the 113th anniversary of his death, held in Jung District, Seoul, Friday. Ahn assassinated Ito Hirobumi, the first Japanese resident-general of Korea, at Harbin Station Oct. 26, 1909. Kim serves as chair of the Ahn Junggeun Memorial Association. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

Mar 26, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Commemorating independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun
Defense

North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a speech during a ceremony marking the West Sea Defense Day, at the Daejeon National Cemetery, Friday. YonhapPyongyang claims test of 'underwater nuclear attack drone'By Lee Hyo-jin President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday warned that his administration will make North Korea “pay the price for its reckless provocations” and vowed to strengthen South Korea's military capabilities in response to the North's evolving nuclear threats.Yoon's strong rhetoric, which came hours after Pyongyang unveiled what it called an underwater nuclear attack drone, implies that Seoul will stick to its hawkish stance toward the reclusive regime's increasing belligerence and threats.“North Korea has been advancing its nuclear weapons while pushing ahead with missile provocations at an unprecedented level,” the president said in his speech during a ceremony marking the eighth West Sea Defense Day, at Daejeon National Cemetery. “Our government and military will drastically strengthen the South Korean-style three-axis system and solidify security cooperatio

Mar 24, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
Politics

Ruling party ramps up pressure on main opposition leader

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) pledge to renounce their right to immunity from arrest in a press conference held at the National Assembly, Thursday, YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Over 50 ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers have pledged to renounce their right to immunity from arrest, in an apparent move to pressure the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and its leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung.On Thursday, 51 PPP lawmakers out of its total 119 members, pledged that they will give up their immunity rights. The announcement came a day after the Ministry of Justice asked for parliamentary consent to arrest Rep. Ha Young-je, a PPP member, who is facing corruption charges. Under the Constitution, during an ongoing session, an incumbent lawmaker is immune from being arrested or detained without the consent of the Assembly ― unless he or she is caught in the act of committing a crime. Parliamentary consent requires a majority vote with a majority of lawmakers present at the plenary session.The arrest motion for Ha is expected to be put to a vote in a plenary session on

Mar 24, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Ruling party ramps up pressure on main opposition leader
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