Opinion - The Korea Times

Obama's reelection and priorities

By Tong KimWASHINGTON ― Many nations around the world are wondering what Barack Obama’s reelection means to them.Obama won a second term by a narrow 2-percent margin of the popular vote, but with an overwhelming victory of 303 to 206 in the Electoral College, over Republican opponent Mitt Romney. President Obama received almost 7 million votes less than he did in his first election in 2008.A coalition of ethnic minorities and women ― with 93 percent of Blacks; 71 percent of Latinos, 70 percent of Asians, and 55 percent of women voting for Obama ― was a determining democratic factor to the incumbent president’s four more years. In terms of issues, an exit poll showed 75 percent of the voters said, the economy and deficits were most important and only 5 percent said foreign policy was important.The economy did not play a decisive role in determining the outcome of the elections. Only four in ten voters thought the economy is getting better and only a quarter of them said they are better off than four years ago. Yet, President Obama did not have trouble being reele

Nov 11, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Reality check on NLL

By Tong KimWith less than two months before the Dec. 19 presidential election, the controversy over the Northern Limit Line (NLL) persists as a campaign issue in Korea. This controversy was sparked by an allegation from a member of the ruling Saenuri Party that former president Roh Moo-hyun gave up the South’s claim on the NLL during “a secret meeting with Kim Jong-il in 2007.”The Saenuri Party and its candidate Park Geun-hye pressed opposition candidate Moon Jae-in, who served as chief of staff for Roh, to clarify the allegation against Roh.  In response, Moon and other former officials of the Roh administration strongly denied the allegation. The former President said to an audience in Seoul a few days after his return from his meeting with Kim that he did not “touch on” the NLL.        Yet, the Saenuri Party still demands a public disclosure of the transcript of that meeting. The Democratic United Party (DUP) demands that the Saenuri Party’s whistleblower identify and disclose the transcript that he c

Oct 28, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Reality check on NLL

By Tong KimWith less than two months before the Dec. 19 presidential election, the controversy over the Northern Limit Line (NLL) persists as a campaign issue in Korea. This controversy was sparked by an allegation from a member of the ruling Saenuri Party that former president Roh Moo-hyun gave up the South’s claim on the NLL during “a secret meeting with Kim Jong-il in 2007.”The Saenuri Party and its candidate Park Geun-hye pressed opposition candidate Moon Jae-in, who served as chief of staff for Roh, to clarify the allegation against Roh.  In response, Moon and other former officials of the Roh administration strongly denied the allegation. The former President said to an audience in Seoul a few days after his return from his meeting with Kim that he did not “touch on” the NLL.        Yet, the Saenuri Party still demands a public disclosure of the transcript of that meeting. The Democratic United Party (DUP) demands that the Saenuri Party’s whistleblower identify and disclose the transcript that he c

Oct 28, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Political experiment in Korea

By Tong Kim Koreans are experiencing an extraordinary three-way presidential race among Park Geun-hye of the ruling Senuri Party, Moon Jae-in of the opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) and independent Ahn Cheol-soo. The election is two months away, but it is too early to predict who will be the next president. Polls show as of this week that if Moon and Ahn were unified in a single candidacy, either of them would defeat Park. But it is more likely that Park would win if the current three-way competition continues, as support for Moon and Ahn overlaps significantly in the electorate. Park is generally favored by conservative voters in their 50s and older, while Moon and Ahn of the opposition camp are largely preferred by open-minded voters in their 20s and 30s. Those in their 40s are split, and this group may well determine the outcome of the election. No candidate can win without the support of independents, who constitute a vast majority of the electorate in Korea. What is unique about this year’s election is the phenomenal surge and sustainability of Ahn C

Oct 14, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

US on Korean unification

By Tong Kim Despite its long, deep involvement in the issues of Korea, the United States has never pursued a consistent policy that would help bring about Korean unification. The United States has a multi-faceted image to the South Korean people: a liberator from Japanese colonial rule, a divider of the peninsula, a contributor to the outbreak of the Korean War, a rescuer of the South from the brink of defeat in the war, an advocate for freedom and democracy while a practical supporter of military dictatorship, and a provider of security and market for the South to achieve what it proudly is today. The priority of U.S. policy toward Korea has been focused on the immediate security imperatives ― deterrence of war, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the maintenance of the status quo. Korea has always been a dependent variable to the larger strategic equation that the United States forged to protect its national interest. Currently, the United States is more preoccupied with Iran than North Korea, more with the Middle East than Europe, and more with a rising China t

Sep 16, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

North Korean politics

By Tong Kim Eight months after Kim Jong-un took over power following the death of his father, North Korea appears to be adopting a new ruling structure, and cautiously undertaking economic reform. The nation’s top priority remains the same: fine-tuning a sustainable strategy for state survival. Perhaps, the biggest puzzle during the transition was the dismissal of Ri Young-ho from all powerful positions including vice marshal, the KPA’s general chief of staff, vice chair of the party’s central military committee, and politburo member. We still don’t know exactly how this happened. However, we can theorize an explanation from a careful study of publications from Pyongyang. Here is an interesting theory developed by Lee Ki-dong, a North Korea specialist in Seoul, that Ri’s dismissal was carried out contrary to what the late Kim Jong-il might have had in mind. Kim had prepared an elaborate succession plan of checks and balances between the party and the military to help his son’s rule until the young leader could gain a firm grip on power and attain an unchallenged unit

Sep 2, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Korea-Japan diplomatic war

By Tong Kim The two geographically close neighbors ― South Korea and Japan ― are about to embark on a diplomatic warfare that could be a disturbing development to Washington’s Asia policy. It all began with President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the Dokdo Islets on Aug. 10, to which the Japanese government waged a strong protest, threatening to take the territorial issue to the International Court of Justice. There is an assumption in international relations theory that foreign policy often reflects the pressure of domestic politics. The latest eruption of a renewed territorial dispute over the sovereignty of Dokdo appears to support such an assumption. Both governments in Seoul and Tokyo are facing plenty of public discontent from respective sources of political trouble. Based on strong historic evidence and international law, Korea treats Dokdo as part of its territory and effectively occupies them with security guards. However, Japan also claims its territorial rights over the islets, calling them ``Takeshima.” In defiance of Seoul’s protest, Japan has printed its claims

Aug 19, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Evolution of unification study

By Tong Kim While I was researching this summer to write a paper on Korean unification, I found there was an abundant, accumulative repository of good discussions and writings, from which we could get useful insight and good advice. However, all these studies fail to contribute to realizing unification. The studies so far have dealt with a series of pertinent topics ― including the legitimacy of unification, the costs and benefits, the evolution of unification policy on both sides, and comparisons with German reunification and other countries. Some have analyzed different approaches and scenarios, the domestic and international factors for unification from a security perspective affecting conflicting interests over the peninsula among its surrounding nations, and preparations for a contingency plan for a possible collapse of the North. Some observers stress the importance of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and the establishment of a peace regime as a necessary condition for unification. For similar reasons, studies include reviews of the security polic

Aug 5, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

What’s unknowable about N. Korea

By Tong Kim As the inner group of the new North Korean leadership is inaccessible, it is impossible to know how and what decisions are made in the North. We only learn about them after they are officially announced. We struggle to understand what led to the decisions and to figure out what the meaning of them is, often without reliable evidence and only through speculative deduction. Few people outside the leading group knew about the death of Kim Jong-il in December before it was announced. Before Pyongyang’s July 16 announcement, nobody in the South or elsewhere knew there would be a sudden dismissal of Vice Marshal Ri Young-ho as the chief of the KPA General Staff, who was designated by the late leader to solidify military support for Kim Jong un’s succession. Nobody knew that unknown four-star General Hyon Young-chol would be promoted to vice marshal the day after to replace the powerful Ri, who was stripped of all positions “due to poor health.” We feel the futility of expensive intelligence services. Only in the wake of the announcements have some “expert

Jul 22, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Setback for 'Pivot to Asia'

By Tong Kim The aborted signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan has revealed a critical flaw in the Lee Myung-bak government’s decision-making process, raising troubling questions about the substance and implications of the proposed agreement. It has become an issue for domestic politics, and has triggered a new debate on related security issues involving the Korean Peninsula, the United States, Japan and China. The problem with the process surfaced when the foreign ministry made the June 26 announcement of a surreptitious passage of the military information sharing agreement at a Cabinet meeting without public knowledge or consultation with the national legislature. This immediately incurred strong protests from both ruling and opposition parties against the improper manner in which the agreement was being pushed. The planned mutual signing in Tokyo for June 29, at 4 p.m., was cancelled at the last minute. The fallout from this incredible episode is continuing. The prime minister has apologized for the incident but the opposition p

Jul 8, 2012By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Read more

Obama's reelection and priorities

Reality check on NLL

Reality check on NLL

Political experiment in Korea

US on Korean unification

North Korean politics

Korea-Japan diplomatic war

Evolution of unification study

What’s unknowable about N. Korea

Setback for 'Pivot to Asia'

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