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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 to meet Vietnam’s top 3 political leaders during state visit

HANOI — President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to meet all three of Vietnam’s top political leaders during his first state visit to the country, a move that analysts say could help scale up bilateral ties after 34 years of rapidly developing partnership. Lee will first meet with To Lam during a bilateral summit, Wednesday, after Lam emerged as Vietnam’s most powerful leader in decades by serving as both the Communist Party of Vietnam’s general secretary and the country’s president. On Thursday, Lee is scheduled to hold separate talks with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, the second- and third-highest-ranking officials in the country’s political hierarchy. Both Lee and Lam were the first state guests to visit the other’s country after their respective governments began — Lee after the start of Lam’s administration on April 7, and Lam visiting Korea in August 2025, two months after the Lee administration began. Lee will be meeting Vietnam’s prime minister and the National Assembly chairman for the first time. “The coordinated mee

Apr 22, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee to meet Vietnam’s top 3 political leaders during state visit
Foreign Affairs

Reciprocal visits to bring Korea, Vietnam closer in Lee's push for Global South diplomacy

President Lee Jae Myung embarked on a state visit to Vietnam, Tuesday, marking a reciprocal visit between the leaders of the two countries and fueling expectations that the trip will work in Korea’s favor in advancing its Global South diplomacy. Lee is the first foreign head of state to visit Vietnam since the start of its new government earlier this month. To Lam, who already held the top position as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was also elected president by the country's National Assembly on April 7, in an unusual concentration of power with one person. Lee’s trip comes in response to To’s state visit to Korea in August 2025, when Lam was already Vietnam’s most powerful political figure as the top party leader. His trip to Korea took place just two months after Lee took office following a snap election victory, making Lam the first foreign leader to visit the country. “Lam’s Korea visit carried significant meaning for development to bilateral relations, and in this context, Lee’s Vietnam visit in a reciprocal gesture also highly symbolic,” Ahn Ky

Apr 21, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Reciprocal visits to bring Korea, Vietnam closer in Lee's push for Global South diplomacy
Foreign Affairs

Lee, Modi find Korea, India ‘optimal partners’ for national visions

NEW DELHI – President Lee Jae Myung and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly shared the view that Korea and India are “optimal partners in achieving their respective national visions,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Monday. Wi referred to Korea’s vision for a national leap in 2026 and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047, aiming for a developed nation by 2047, as he outlined the outcomes of the summit between the two leaders held earlier in the day in New Delhi. The meeting took place during Lee’s three-day visit from Sunday to Tuesday, part of a broader two-leg trip running through Friday that will also take him to Vietnam. In a written press briefing, Wi said Lee invited Modi to visit Korea “at an appropriate time in the future,” to which Modi responded positively. “Throughout the visit, the two leaders displayed a notably warm personal rapport, like old friends reunited,” he said. Wi summarized key agreements reached during the summit, including memoranda of understanding covering finance, culture, people-to-people exchanges, science and technology, climat

Apr 21, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee, Modi find Korea, India ‘optimal partners’ for national visions
Foreign Affairs

First lady attends packed K-pop concert in New Delhi

NEW DELHI — First Lady Kim Hea Kyung attended a K-pop concert filled with 3,000 local fans, Monday, on the occasion of President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to India. The concert, titled “K-Dream Stage: All India K-Pop Grand Championship 2026,” was held at Yashobhoomi, India’s largest convention and exhibition center, in New Delhi. The event has been hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in India since 2011 as part of efforts to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries. This year’s concert was conducted in a special “champion of champions” format, in which winners from the past five years in both the vocal and dance categories competed against one another, with the top three teams advancing to the finals. Fans cheered loudly, and Indian media closely covered the moment as the first lady entered the venue and was greeted by Indian dignitaries. She was accompanied by Park Jin-young, a K-pop pioneer and CEO of JYP Entertainment, who also serves as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange. LIP J, a Korean dancer known for waacking — a style

Apr 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
First lady attends packed K-pop concert in New Delhi
Foreign Affairs

Korea, India to set up 1st ministerial-level committee to deepen economic cooperation

NEW DELHI — Korea and India agreed to set up their first ministerial-level committee dedicated to economic cooperation during a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Monday. The committee will be tasked with strengthening bilateral cooperation in strategic sectors such as critical minerals, nuclear energy and clean energy. To grapple with global energy disruptions due to the Middle East conflict, the two countries also agreed to ensure a stable supply of raw materials and products including naphtha. “We agreed to upgrade the framework for economic cooperation between our two countries to generate new momentum for shared growth,” Lee said as he announced a joint statement with Modi at India’s presidential palace after the summit. He expressed hope that the envisioned committee will boost bilateral cooperation beyond trade and investment. To foster a more favorable environment for trade and investment, the two leaders agreed to accelerate negotiations on upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agre

Apr 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Korea, India to set up 1st ministerial-level committee to deepen economic cooperation
Foreign Affairs

President pays tribute to Gandhi

NEW DELHI — President Lee Jae Myung paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the renowned leader's memorial site on the second day of his state visit to India, Monday. The president, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung, visited Raj Ghat, a memorial complex in New Delhi for prominent Indian leaders. The first memorial was dedicated to Gandhi, who is revered as the father of the nation for leading India’s fight for independence from British colonial rule through nonviolent resistance. The presidential couple made a floral offering at the black marble structure that marks the spot of Gandhi’s cremation after his assassination in January 1948. During a ceremony paying tribute, they also observed a moment of silence, slowly circled the structure clockwise once and scattered flower petals over the memorial stone with both hands. Lee later held a bilateral summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lee, who has been in office for just under a year, is the first Korean president to visit India in eight years, demonstrating Seoul’s renewed commitment to expanding bilateral relations and

Apr 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President pays tribute to Gandhi
Foreign Affairs

President says Korea-India relations will enter 'entirely new level' after summit

NEW DELHI — President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday that Korea and India are expected to take their relations to “an entirely new level” at a planned bilateral summit, adding that ties have lagged despite India’s growth potential. Speaking before members of the Korean community in India, Lee expressed hope that they can serve as “invaluable assets” in strengthening bilateral ties. “The level of cooperation between Korea and India is quite low compared to India’s vast potential, and Indian authorities agree with this assessment,” Lee said as he met the community members on the first day of his state visit to India from Sunday to Tuesday. “I believe that tomorrow’s summit could become a turning point, elevating Korea–India relations to an entirely new level,” the president said. Lee’s remarks came a day before a scheduled summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India, which has the world’s largest population of 1.4 billion, is the fourth-largest economy globally and continues to post robust annual growth of over 6 percent. India is also no longer just a co

Apr 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President says Korea-India relations will enter 'entirely new level' after summit
Politics

Lee appeals to conservatives via luncheon with ex-Daegu mayor

President Lee Jae Myung appears to be broadening his appeal to conservative voters ahead of the June 3 local elections, recently hosting a luncheon with Hong Joon-pyo, a key conservative politician. Hong has been a high-profile, right-leaning politician, most recently serving as the mayor of Daegu, a longstanding conservative stronghold, from July 2022 to April 2025. Cheong Wa Dae described the luncheon on Friday as being held “in the interest of national unity,” referring to a deepening political divide between conservatives and liberals. Nevertheless, political sources reckon that the meeting carries broader implications, considering Hong left the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) last year. With just over 40 days remaining until the local elections, Hong also publicly endorsed former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s candidate for Daegu mayor. “Under the circumstances, Friday’s luncheon clearly signals Lee's intent to expand toward centrist and conservative voters,” Park Sang-byung, a political commentator, said Sunday. Shin Yul, a po

Apr 19, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee appeals to conservatives via luncheon with ex-Daegu mayor
Foreign Affairs

President expected to attend multilateral online summit on Hormuz Friday

President Lee Jae Myung is expected to attend an online multilateral summit jointly led by the United Kingdom and France, Friday, to discuss ensuring free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said, Thursday. The official said the summit will take the form of a video conference, with participating leaders likely to discuss the global energy supply chain, international solidarity and other security issues related to the Middle East amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which began in late February. The meeting will take place amid disruptions to the global energy supply caused by Iran’s blockade of the strait, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints through which 70 percent of Korea's imported crude oil is transported. “A multilateral summit jointly hosted by the U.K. and France is being planned, and our president is currently considering attendance positively,” the official said. “Freedom of navigation and security are in everyone’s interest, and the president is expected to share his views with leaders of the countries that hold simila

Apr 16, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President expected to attend multilateral online summit on Hormuz Friday
Politics

Why president keeps showing up at theaters after work

President Lee Jae Myung has stepped up his attendance at cultural events after working hours, in what is seen as an effort to communicate his policies and values to the public in a less formal setting. The outings mostly fall on Wednesdays, coinciding with the expansion of the Culture Day initiative. Previously limited to the last Wednesday of each month, it now occurs every Wednesday under the Lee administration, offering free or discounted entry, special programming or longer operating hours at thousands of cultural venues across the country. Lee attended “The King’s Warden,” a melodrama inspired by the story of King Danjong’s exile and the biggest box office hit in years, on Feb. 17 during the Lunar New Year holiday; “The Long, Long Night,” a musical adapted from a beloved Korean children’s book, on March 18; and “My Name,” an independent film addressing the trauma of the Jeju April 3 Uprising, one of the most painful episodes in Korea’s modern history, on Wednesday. At these outings, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung have kept a low profile, while occasionally sto

Apr 16, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Why president keeps showing up at theaters after work
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