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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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Politics

Presidential chief of staff for policy resigns amid criticism on economic policies: Cheong Wa Dae

Kim Yong-beom resigned from his post as presidential chief of staff for policy as calls continue for him to take responsibility for controversial economic policies concerning the stock market and taxation. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Kim tendered his resignation on Monday and that President Lee Jae Myung accepted it Tuesday. Kim stepped down about 15 months after being appointed as the first presidential policy chief of the Lee administration. A Cheong Wa Dae official said that presidential aides typically serve for about six to 14 months, describing Kim’s resignation as “part of a routine personnel change aimed at maintaining momentum in policy implementation.” Kim's departure, however, was widely viewed as a move to ease the political burden on Lee as criticism of the administration's economic policies continues. Kim, a career bureaucrat, served as the control tower for the Lee administration's economic policy. With experience in both the public and private sectors, he oversaw economic, industrial and fiscal affairs, as the government grappled with sluggish domesti

Sep 1, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Presidential chief of staff for policy resigns amid criticism on economic policies: Cheong Wa Dae
Politics

Cheong Wa Dae, top court clash over justice nomination

Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that President Lee Jae Myung rejected Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae’s request to appoint his recommended nominee as a new justice — an unprecedented refusal that departed from the customary coordination between the two sides. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Lee asked Cho to recommend another candidate instead of Son Bong-gi, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court, to succeed former Justice Noh Tae-ak, who retired in March. Cheong Wa Dae also said it would not submit an appointment consent motion for Son to the National Assembly. “The recommendation of a successor to former Justice Noh failed to fully meet procedural requirements,” Kang said during a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae. Kang went on to say that the recommendation was submitted in writing on Aug. 18 without substantive prior consultation with Cheong Wa Dae. Kang noted that the nominee would become the first Supreme Court justice appointed under the Lee administration, which she described as “founded on popular sovereignty.” She stressed that the selection process therefor

Aug 28, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Cheong Wa Dae, top court clash over justice nomination
Foreign Affairs

Top security adviser stresses need for 'substantive progress' on NK nuclear issue

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Friday that any renewed dialogue between the United States and North Korea must produce substantive progress on Pyongyang’s nuclear issue. Wi also stressed the need to prevent South Korea from being sidelined in the process, emphasizing the importance of close coordination between Seoul and Washington toward that goal. His comments followed concerns that the U.S. may set North Korea's denuclearization issue aside to restart talks with Pyongyang and that U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed push for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may sideline the South. “As a key party to peace on the Korean Peninsula and a pacemaker, we will support efforts to build trust between North Korea and the U.S. and resume dialogue so that President Donald Trump’s efforts can lead to renewed talks,” Wi said during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae. He noted Seoul would coordinate with the U.S. so that any potential Washington-Pyongyang dialogue leads to “substantive progress on the North Korean nuclear issue, along with the establishment of a p

Aug 28, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Top security adviser stresses need for 'substantive progress' on NK nuclear issue
Politics

PM suggests external reform agency to overhaul police after Jeju death

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook hinted Thursday at establishing a special external body to pursue structural and governance reforms within the police following serious failures in the case of a woman missing for months before she was found dead on Jeju Island this week. “Internal reform will, of course, be necessary within the police, but if the body is intended to examine the organization as a whole, I do not think it would be appropriate to establish it within the police,” Han said during a press briefing at Government Complex Seoul. “Such a body tasked with reviewing the entire organization should probably be established outside the police,” she added. President Lee Jae Myung instructed the Prime Minister’s Office earlier this week to prepare a police reform body after a series of missing person cases on Jeju exposed serious problems in police procedures, supervision and organizational culture. The controversy centered in particular on the case of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman who disappeared in Jeju’s Hallim area in May. A police officer allegedly closed her case without

Aug 27, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
PM suggests external reform agency to overhaul police after Jeju death
Society

President calls for all-out response to deadly flooding in Nepal

President Lee Jae Myung called for using all available means in response to deadly flooding in Nepal that left nine Koreans missing, leading a government-wide effort during an emergency meeting, Thursday. He also underscored cooperation with the Nepali government, urging the authorities to activate every diplomatic channel. “We have convened this unscheduled emergency meeting because the lives and safety of our citizens are at grave risk,” Lee said as he presided over the gathering at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in central Seoul, a day after the disaster struck Nepal. The nine missing Koreans are three employees of Korea South-East Power Co. and six from Doosan Enerbility, all of whom were working on the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Rasuwa region. They are among the more than 820 people missing. So far, the death toll has surpassed 270. Another 10 Doosan Enerbility employees had been stranded in the affected area alongside about 200 Nepali and other foreign workers. Nine of them were evacuated to safety by a Nepali military helicopter later Thurs

Aug 27, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President calls for all-out response to deadly flooding in Nepal
Law & Crime

Chinese student found dead; man who reported her missing arrested as suspect

Police said Wednesday that a Chinese student who had been reported missing was found dead the previous day at the home of a fellow Chinese national in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, prompting the Chinese consulate to demand severe punishment for the perpetrator. Investigators said a Chinese man in his 30s, surnamed Jeong, was arrested as a suspect and is being questioned. The victim, a 25-year-old graduate student in Gyeongsan, was found at Jeong’s residence. According to police, the victim had returned to China during her summer break before coming back to Korea on Aug. 14 to attend her graduation ceremony on Aug. 20. She lost contact with her family and acquaintances on the day of the ceremony. Jeong reported her missing at about 7 p.m. the following day, identifying himself as the victim’s boyfriend. Jeong told police that she had told him she was going to Daegu, about 15 kilometers from Gyeongsan, but that he had since been unable to reach her. Suspicion later fell on Jeong after investigators noticed inconsistencies in his statements while questioning him initially as a witn

Aug 26, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Chinese student found dead; man who reported her missing arrested as suspect
Politics

Prominent liberal pundit accuses Lee of governing ruling bloc like 'monarchy'

A prominent liberal political commentator has accused President Lee Jae Myung of behaving like an “arrogant ruler” and seeking to control the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in a manner reminiscent of a monarchy. Rhyu Si-min, a former lawmaker from the liberal bloc who also served as welfare minister before becoming a political pundit, claimed the president handpicked the DPK’s new chairman and used him as a proxy to tighten his grip on the ruling party. Rhyu was referring to Kim Min-seok, who served as Lee’s first prime minister before being elected as DPK leader on Aug. 17. Kim won a bitter leadership race against Jung Chung-rae, a leading figure in a DPK faction regarded as being at odds with Lee. “When a president handpicks someone to lead the ruling party and tries to get that person elected, the country is moving toward monarchy and aristocracy,” Rhyu said during a YouTube program on Monday. “The president tried to control the party by sending in his proxy. That runs counter to the spirit of a republic,” Rhyu added. His blunt criticism is drawing attention beca

Aug 25, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Prominent liberal pundit accuses Lee of governing ruling bloc like 'monarchy'
Politics

COVER STORY President pressed to change course as approval rating hits record low

President Lee Jae Myung is grappling with a falling approval rating and no clear sign of a turnaround, as a string of disputed government-led initiatives continues to unsettle the public. This has prompted Cheong Wa Dae to pledge a renewed focus on livelihoods and tangible economic results. Disputes over policies have piled up rather than letting up, including controversies in the past weeks over a real estate tax overhaul, prosecution reform and a proposed merger of military academies. More recently, the controversies have spread to plans to build rental housing instead of parkland on a vast site in central Seoul’s Yongsan District, as well as the scaling back of South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and Cheong Wa Dae’s clash with the Supreme Court over the nomination of new justices. Analysts said Tuesday that the president has limited options for making a breakthrough amid the disputed initiatives, as the public increasingly perceives them as threats to their economic interests and their access to justice and national security, rather than as ideological issues. The analysts s

Aug 25, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[COVER STORY] President pressed to change course as approval rating hits record low
Politics

Lee administration sidelines Seoul mayor in housing push

The government and ruling party are drawing speculation that they are sidelining Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in their push to expand housing supply. Housing demand is most concentrated in the nation’s capital due to the heavy concentration of population, jobs and urban conveniences, making the Seoul mayor a key local government partner in the central government's bid to address housing supply. But Cheong Wa Dae, the Cabinet and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) appear to be finding ways to bypass Oh rather than consulting him on housing supply policies for Seoul. The speculation was reinforced when presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and DPK Chairman Kim Min-seok agreed, Sunday, to push granting district chiefs authority over redevelopment and reconstruction projects involving 500 homes or fewer. Such authority is currently held by heads of metropolitan or provincial governments, including the Seoul mayor. Under the law on urban development, Seoul’s district chiefs can draw up redevelopment plans but must seek the mayor’s approval for the des

Aug 24, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee administration sidelines Seoul mayor in housing push
Politics

Ruling party under new leader plans broadcast platform in shift away from maverick media figure

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) appears to be distancing itself from Kim Ou-joon, a progressive broadcaster and YouTuber who has long been an influential voice for the ruling bloc, following a bitter leadership race that deepened factional divisions within the party. The feud recently involved a rivalry between new Chairman Kim Min-seok and his predecessor Jung Chung-rae, who, along with Kim Ou-joon, belongs to a group perceived as being at odds with President Lee Jae Myung. By contrast, Kim Min-seok, a former prime minster, is a close Lee ally who defeated Jung in the DPK leadership election, Aug. 17. The new chairman instructed party officials last week to launch an official news program titled “DPK TV” that will deliver party-related news early each morning. The program is expected to begin airing early next month, possibly at around 7 a.m., through Delli Minjoo, the DPK’s existing YouTube channel with about 474,000 subscribers. Kim Min-seok is likely to appear frequently. “We must undertake sweeping changes to everything from the party’s overall brand concept,” K

Aug 23, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Ruling party under new leader plans broadcast platform in shift away from maverick media figure
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