The Korea Times

Hanwha Aerospace plant explosion kills 5, injures 2

An explosion and fire at a Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon killed five workers and injured two others, authorities said Monday. Under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, executives of the company could face penalties if the explosion is found to be the result of safety failures. Police and fire authorities said the explosion occurred at 10:59 a.m. About 100 firefighters, along with dozens of vehicles and other firefighting equipment, were dispatched to the scene, bringing the blaze under control about 50 minutes after it broke out and fully extinguishing it at 1:07 p.m. The seven workers were conducting cleaning operations to remove explosive residue from tools used in the manufacturing process of rocket propellant, according to a Hanwha Aerospace executive. The plant is the company's key facility producing equipment for the aviation, defense and space industries. The five victims died at the scene, where a blaze also broke out, while the two injured workers managed to escape on their own. One of them suffered severe burns over most of their body and remained hospitalized, while the ot

Jun 1, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Hanwha Aerospace plant explosion kills 5, injures 2

Defense

Korea shows uneasiness over USFK chief’s ‘dagger’ remarks

Korea showed uneasiness about remarks by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander describing the country as a “dagger” in Asia — controversial wording that highlighted the country's strategic role in U.S. deterrence against China without reflecting its own strategic choices on regional security. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, along with officials from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conveyed Seoul’s position through respective diplomatic and security channels regarding USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson’s remarks, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Saturday. While the presidential office did not elaborate on Seoul’s stance, analysts interpreted it as an expression of regret that reflected Korea’s efforts to maintain a balance amid the intensifying rivalry between the U.S. and China. “Brunson focused solely on the U.S. perspective, overlooking Korea’s own strategic calculations and its relationship with China,” a researcher at a private defense think tank said on condition of anonymity. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ope

May 31, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Korea shows uneasiness over USFK chief’s ‘dagger’ remarks

Foreign Affairs

LEE'S 1ST YEAR IN OFFICE President steers through diplomatic headwinds with pragmatic approach

Since taking office about a year ago, President Lee Jae Myung has been navigating diplomatic headwinds with a pragmatic approach, which analysts say has served South Korea well in flexibly maintaining relations across Northeast Asia and beyond. The defining feature of Lee's foreign policy is what he calls "pragmatic diplomacy prioritizing national interests." He has pursued self-reliance over ideological alignment, guiding Seoul in a balancing act at a time of intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing, as security and economic issues became increasingly intertwined. Lee courted U.S. President Donald Trump through alliance-reassuring investments as Trump retreated from global leadership under his “America First” policy, while working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to fully restore bilateral ties after years of diplomatic unease, dating back to the 2017 deployment of a U.S. missile shield in South Korea. “I think that President Lee's pragmatic approach has been quite successful … With the U.S. and other Western powers making ideology secondary to national interest in

May 28, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

[LEE'S 1ST YEAR IN OFFICE] President steers through diplomatic headwinds with pragmatic approach

Defense

PHOTO Honoring Canada's Korean War veterans

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, left, shakes hands with a Canadian veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War during a ceremony in Victoria, Canada, Sunday (local time). The naval commanders from the two countries paid tribute to Korean War veterans at a memorial site in the city ahead of a joint naval cooperation exercise involving a 3,000-ton class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy

May 25, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

[PHOTO] Honoring Canada's Korean War veterans

Politics

Policy chief says high rates, prices, exchange rate are ‘cost of success’ in economic leap forward

The presidential policy adviser assessed that the Korean economy is taking a leap forward, brushing aside concerns over the triple burden of costly borrowing rates, high prices and a weak Korean won, calling them instead the “cost of success.” In a Facebook post titled “The cost of success,” Saturday, Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, said these three factors are not “a precursor to crisis, but friction emerging as the Korean economy enters a new phase.” “While corporate performance is at an all-time high, interest rates and the exchange rate are rising, and housing prices are starting to heat up again, with markets and the media raising concerns about a crisis,” he said. “The problem lies not in the economy itself, but in the framework through which it is perceived,” he added. Kim’s post came as the lower bound of fixed mortgage rates at major commercial banks bounced back above 5 percent, while the benchmark interest rate remains unchanged at 2.5 percent since May last year. The Korean won is weakening against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange

May 25, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Policy chief says high rates, prices, exchange rate are ‘cost of success’ in economic leap forward

Foreign Affairs

Israel releases captured Korean nationals following president’s criticism

Israel has released two Korean nationals who were captured while heading for the Gaza Strip aboard humanitarian aid ships, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. Their release came a day after President Lee Jae Myung criticized Israel for capturing the two as a violation of international norms, while also pointing to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and referring to him as a “war criminal,” in remarks widely seen as unusually direct at the highest diplomatic level. “The Lee Jae Myung government expresses strong regret over Israel’s capture of our citizens following the seizure of the vessels. At the same time, it highly appreciates and welcomes Israel’s prompt release of our nationals,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during a press briefing. She referred to two Korean nationals, each aboard separate vessels seized by the Israeli navy in international waters, one near Cyprus on Monday and the other near Gaza on Tuesday. Kang noted that Lee had expressed concerns over the safety and rights of the Koreans

May 21, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Israel releases captured Korean nationals following president’s criticism

Foreign Affairs

President raises ICC arrest warrant for Israeli PM

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday Korea should consider complying with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he strongly criticized Israel for seizing Korean nationals in international waters. Lee called their detention “way out of line” as he mentioned the Israeli military’s seizure of Gaza-bound humanitarian ships carrying Korean activists, while receiving a briefing on the Middle East conflict during a weekly Cabinet meeting. The president questioned the legal basis for intercepting the ships, asking whether the vessel had entered Israeli territorial waters or violated any recognized boundary. “There are even minimum international norms, and they are violating all of them,” Lee said. “How belligerent parties deal with each other is not really for us to intervene in, but is it justifiable to seize, arrest and detain a third-country vessel that was trying to provide aid or volunteer support?” The president assessed that the fact that the activists aboard the vessels did not follow the Seoul governmen

May 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

President raises ICC arrest warrant for Israeli PM

Politics

Government's idea of 2-state coexistence with N. Korea draws dispute

The South Korean government appears to be floating the idea of officially recognizing North Korea as a sovereign state, drawing backlash from conservatives who see the move as undermining the long-standing constitutional goal of inter-Korean reunification. The Ministry of Unification published the Lee Jae Myung administration's first white paper on unification, Monday, and it stipulated that inter-Korean relations should shift into “a peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward reunification.” “The government, considering the reality that the two Koreas effectively exist as two separate states, seeks to develop inter-Korean relations into one of peaceful coexistence while still pursuing reunification,” the white paper read. The document drew immediate dispute after its release. Conservatives argued it conflicts with Article 3 of the Constitution, which defines South Korea's territory as the entire Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, affirming Seoul's claim to legitimate sovereignty over the whole peninsula with reunification as a guiding objective. The timing added to

May 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Government's idea of 2-state coexistence with N. Korea draws dispute

Foreign Affairs

Korea, Japan agree to strengthen oil, LNG cooperation against energy crisis

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to strengthen cooperation on supply chains, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), during a bilateral summit in Lee’s hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. The agreement was reached as the two neighbors are deepening bilateral ties through continued summit diplomacy, amid heightened global energy security risks stemming from the U.S. war on Iran. “We agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East,” Lee said in a joint press statement after the summit. The president went onto say that the two countries, based on this shared understanding, “resolved to further expanding our bilateral supply chain cooperation.” Takaichi proposed that Korea and Japan deepen cooperation on resource and supply chain with other Asian countries facing supply chain crises, to which Lee expressed agreement and support. The Seoul-Tokyo cooperation will build on their review of

May 19, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Korea, Japan agree to strengthen oil, LNG cooperation against energy crisis

Politics

President says 1980 pro-democracy spirit revived in resistance to 2024 martial law declaration

President Lee Jae Myung said that the spirit of the Gwangju pro-democracy movement lives on and was revived in 2024 through peaceful public protests that helped overturn the imposition of martial law. “Just as the citizens of Gwangju rose in defiance against martial law troops in May 1980, so too did the great people of Korea stand unarmed against armed martial law forces in 2024,” Lee said during a ceremony in Gwangju to mark the 46th anniversary of the uprising on Monday. He referred to the Gwangju uprising, which began on May 18, 1980, against the military junta led by then-Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, and the monthslong movement that began on Dec. 3, 2024, opposing the imposition of martial law by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee pointed out that, although Chun’s dictatorial regime brutally suppressed the Gwangju Uprising, the spirit of May “was revived through the conscience of countless citizens who chose to stand on the side of truth and justice.” “The same spirit was reborn as the revolution of light on a bitter winter night in 2024, as citizens protected democracy b

May 18, 2026By Yi Whan-woo

Yi Whan-woo

Read more

Hanwha Aerospace plant explosion kills 5, injures 2

Korea shows uneasiness over USFK chief’s ‘dagger’ remarks

LEE'S 1ST YEAR IN OFFICE President steers through diplomatic headwinds with pragmatic approach

PHOTO Honoring Canada's Korean War veterans

Policy chief says high rates, prices, exchange rate are ‘cost of success’ in economic leap forward

Israel releases captured Korean nationals following president’s criticism

President raises ICC arrest warrant for Israeli PM

Government's idea of 2-state coexistence with N. Korea draws dispute

Korea, Japan agree to strengthen oil, LNG cooperation against energy crisis

President says 1980 pro-democracy spirit revived in resistance to 2024 martial law declaration

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