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Yi Whan-woo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.

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Foreign Affairs

Lee, Trump hold phone conversation on outcome of US-China summit

President Lee Jae Myung held a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, Sunday, during which Trump shared the outcome of his high-stakes summit last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Cheong Wa Dae said the call was arranged at the request of the Korean side, following the summit in Beijing from Thursday to Friday. During the 30-minute talk, Trump shared the summit results with Lee as an ally, according to the presidential office. The two leaders also exchanged views on peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, reaffirming the importance of continued cooperation and dialogue. Lee positively assessed the constructive discussions between Trump and Xi on issues concerning the peninsula, while Trump said that, based on close coordination with Lee, he would play the role necessary for peace and stability on the peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae explained. The two sides agreed on the need to ensure the smooth implementation of the joint fact sheet (JFS), which outlines a set of agreements on trade and security reached during their summit held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, i

May 17, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee, Trump hold phone conversation on outcome of US-China summit
Foreign Affairs

Leaders of Korea, Japan likely to discuss implications of US-China summit

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will hold a bilateral talk in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. They are expected to discuss the implications of the economic and security issues addressed by the U.S.-China summit last week, according to analysts Sunday. The topics will likely include tensions over Taiwan between the U.S. and China, as well as a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz stemming from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which analysts say concern the individual and bilateral interests of Korea and Japan, as well as their shared interests with the U.S. as allies. “The issues on Taiwan and the Strait of Hormuz were raised as key items on the agenda at the U.S.–China summit and they also can play a significant role in the Korea-Japan summit,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University. The professor referred to bilateral talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing from Thursday to Friday last week. Shin Bum-cheol, a professor at the Korea National Diplom

May 17, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Leaders of Korea, Japan likely to discuss implications of US-China summit
Foreign Affairs

Top US, Chinese officials hold talks in Korea ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Top U.S. and Chinese officials met in Korea, Wednesday, with Korea serving as a neutral ground for last-minute talks on the eve of a summit between the leaders of the two countries. The meeting took place in the VIP lounge of Incheon International Airport, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng fine-tuned and finalized the agenda for the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled to take place in Beijing, Thursday. The consultation lasted about three hours. According to China's CCTV, the two sides “exchanged frank, in-depth and constructive views” on economic and trade issues, which have been at the center of a diplomatic row between the world’s two largest economies. Prior to their meeting, each official paid a courtesy call to President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, with Lee expressing his best wishes for a successful summit between the U.S. and China. Regarding the officials' visit, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, “It reflected Korea’s position as both an ally of the U.

May 13, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Top US, Chinese officials hold talks in Korea ahead of Trump-Xi summit
Foreign Affairs

Why is Korea so cautious about pointing finger at Iran?

The government is taking a conspicuously cautious stance over the external strike on the Korean-operated vessel HMM Namu near the Strait of Hormuz, refraining from identifying who is responsible for the attack — a stance seen as a balancing act between Iran and the United States. The U.S. and many in Korea, including the main opposition party, assume Iran was behind the strike on the ship on May 4, while the government remains tight-lipped about the perpetrator after the cause of the damage was confirmed Sunday. Analysts are divided on whether the government's silence is diplomatically prudent or strategically calculated, though most said Tuesday that staying cautious about pinpointing a perpetrator — particularly when a sovereign state may be involved — is the right approach until clear evidence emerges. “I’d say the Lee Jae Myung administration has been taking a diplomatic stance of speaking openly and candidly, and I don’t think the government is deliberately withholding identification of the perpetrator for diplomatic, political or other reasons,” said Min Jeong-hun, a

May 12, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Why is Korea so cautious about pointing finger at Iran?
Foreign Affairs

Korean gov't condemns attack on Korean-operated vessel in Strait of Hormuz

The presidential office on Monday condemned attacks on a bulk carrier operated by the Korean shipping company HMM near the Strait of Hormuz, calling attacks on civilian vessels unacceptable. While the government has not made a conclusion over who attacked the HMM Namu, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said it will join international efforts to guarantee safe passage and operation of ships through the strait. “The government strongly condemns attacks on civilian vessels such as the HMM Namu, as such actions cannot be justified or tolerated,” Wi said during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae. “We intend to identify the perpetrator, the exact type of equipment used and its physical specifications through further investigation. Accordingly, we will also consider necessary response measures.” His remarks came a day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the initial findings regarding the investigation into the cause of an explosion and fire aboard HMM Namu. The ministry, citing an investigative team dispatched to the scene, said two separate airborne objects struck the shi

May 11, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Korean gov't condemns attack on Korean-operated vessel in Strait of Hormuz
North Korea

North Korean ‘K9-type’ howitzer poses new military threat to South

North Korea has reportedly developed self-propelled artillery capable of striking Seoul and the greater capital area, raising concerns that the North is escalating its long-range artillery threat. According to North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun, Friday, leader Kim Jong-un visited a key munitions factory two days earlier to inspect a new weapons system. It included self-propelled artillery equipped with a 155-milimeter gun, comparable in caliber to South Korea’s K9 howitzer, but reportedly with a range exceeding 60 kilometers, while the K9 has an approximate range of 40 kilometers. The official newspaper of the Workers' Party, the Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim described the country’s 155-milimeter self-propelled artillery as a “new-generation artillery weapon with very high mobility and firepower” and said that the system would be deployed within the year to three battalions along the southern border. Defense experts said that if North Korea’s claim of developing a system with a range exceeding 60 kilometers is accurate, it would place Seoul within striking distance. “It appears N

May 8, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
North Korean ‘K9-type’ howitzer poses new military threat to South
Foreign Affairs

Foreign ministry rejects Trump's claim over Korean ship sailing alone in Hormuz

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday rebutted U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that a Korean-operated vessel was attacked as it was acting on its own without U.S. protection in the Strait of Hormuz — a focal point of the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran. “The corresponding ship, for several days before the fire broke out, had been anchored in the relevant waters near the United Arab Emirates on the inner side of the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement. The remarks followed an explosion of unidentified cause that triggered a fire aboard the HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier operated by Korean shipping company HMM, Monday. Trump claimed the following day that the vessel had been struck by Iran for sailing without U.S. escort. Iran, through its embassy in Seoul, has since denied any involvement in the explosion aboard the Korean-operated ship. “Their ship was shot at. They were not in the cavalcade of ships they had. They decided to go it alone, and their ship got the hell knocked out of it yesterday,” Trump said, noting that Iran, on the

May 7, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Foreign ministry rejects Trump's claim over Korean ship sailing alone in Hormuz
Politics

Lee pushes constitutional reform centered on curbing martial law

President Lee Jae Myung called for a phased constitutional reform, Wednesday, a day before a scheduled National Assembly vote on a ruling party-led bill primarily aimed at toughening conditions for declaring martial law. Speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, the president suggested a step-by-step approach, noting that the decades-old Constitution falls short of meeting today’s level of democracy, while a sweeping overhaul would nonetheless be burdensome. “Korea has undergone significant changes in political, economic and social aspects, yet the Constitution has remained virtually unchanged for over 40 years,” Lee said, highlighting that it was last revised in 1987. He compared Korea’s development to a body that has outgrown its clothes, using the metaphor to illustrate how the Constitution no longer fits the country’s realities. “With the current Constitution, it is difficult to fully guarantee the level of democracy in Korea today, the lives of its people, and the future of the nation … Our body has grown, but the clothes no longer fit — shouldn’t we fix the clothes?

May 6, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee pushes constitutional reform centered on curbing martial law
Politics

PHOTO Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea kyung and presidential aides, walks with children in the main building of Cheong Wa Dae during a Children's Day tour, Tuesday. About 200 children and their guardians were invited to the presidential compound to mark the annual celebration. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

May 5, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[PHOTO] Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae
Foreign Affairs

Korea discusses responses to explosion on Korean-operated ship in Strait of Hormuz

The government said Tuesday that it is taking all necessary measures to determine the exact cause and circumstances of an explosion aboard a Korean-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran attacked the cargo ship. Its response came after the HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged cargo ship operated by Korean shipping company HMM, sustained damage after an explosion and fire broke out aboard the vessel, Monday (KST). The explosion happened on the same day the U.S. launched “Project Freedom,” aimed at guiding ships through the strait. It marked the first damage to a Korean vessel in the strait region since the U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran on Feb. 28. HMM Namu is one of the 26 stranded ships linked to Korea in the strait as a result of Iran's blockade. According to HMM, an explosion occurred in the engine room at 8:40 p.m., followed by a fire that was extinguished about four hours later. All 24 crew members — including six Korean nationals — were unharmed. It remains uncertain whether the vessel can resume normal operations. The ship is

May 5, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Korea discusses responses to explosion on Korean-operated ship in Strait of Hormuz
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