Opinion - The Korea Times

ED Korea on US currency monitoring list

Amid the reignited concerns of a possible hike in U.S. tariffs on Korean imports, the U.S. Department of the Treasury placed Korea on its currency monitoring list along with nine other nations, including China, Japan and Thailand. This marks the third consecutive time Korea has found itself on the list. The updated semiannual "Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States" pinned the decision on Korea's $52 billion trade surplus with the U.S. and its current account surplus accounting for 5.9 percent of its GDP. The U.S. Treasury traditionally uses three criteria to assess foreign exchange and the possibility of manipulation — a trade surplus with the U.S. of at least $15 billion, a global current account surplus of 3 percent of GDP and one-way net foreign exchange purchase amounting to 2 percent of GDP. None of the 10 countries on the list were determined to have manipulative foreign exchange policies. However, the report noted that the recent depreciation of the Korean won does not correspond to Korea's economic fund

Feb 1, 2026

[ED] Korea on US currency monitoring list

ED Law enforcement is not trade discrimination

Reports that U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned the Korean government to ease or halt investigations into Coupang and other U.S. tech firms mark a troubling escalation in U.S. policy toward a close ally. Framed publicly as a call to avoid “discriminatory” treatment of U.S. companies, the intervention appears, upon closer inspection, to be a blunt attempt to shield a powerful corporation from legitimate law enforcement. Such conduct goes beyond normal diplomatic advocacy and risks crossing into interference in Korea’s sovereign legal authority. According to The Wall Street Journal, Vance conveyed to Prime Minister Kim Min-seok that Washington expects Korea’s regulatory response toward U.S. tech firms, including Coupang, to be “meaningfully softened.” While no explicit threat was issued, the vice president reportedly implied that continued enforcement actions could jeopardize the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and lead to renewed tariff pressure on Korean exports. Even when couched in diplomatic language, such suggestions amount to coercive leverage rather than

Jan 29, 2026

[ED] Law enforcement is not trade discrimination

ED Trump's tariff remonstrations

The unexpected, blustering wording from U.S. President Donald Trump on raising the tariffs on South Korean imports to 25 percent, and not the 15 percent agreed to last year, was replaced with "we'll work something out with South Korea." His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said he will be meeting with senior Korean officials, including Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan. Unpredictability is the name of the game for the U.S. president, yet the latest incident has reached another level. Trump claimed that Korea's National Assembly was not "living up" to the trade deal. Korea and the United States reached an agreement last October during a bilateral meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, that was finalized into a joint fact sheet afterward. The facts of the trade deal were that the U.S. would levy a 15 percent tariff on Korean imports, including automobiles, and Korea would invest $350 billion in the United States. The related law was proposed in the Assembly on Nov. 26, 2025, and is awaiting approval. The U.S. has been implementing the 15 percent tariff retroactively since Nov. 1,

Jan 28, 2026

ED PPP's dangerous turn inward

The decision by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to impose a “recommendation to resign from the party” on former Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk is more than an internal disciplinary matter. It is a revealing test of whether the party still functions as a democratic political organization or whether it has drifted into an illiberal structure that suppresses dissent and punishes criticism in the name of authority. The sanction, handed down by the party’s Central Ethics Committee, is effectively a forced expulsion. If Kim does not voluntarily leave within 10 days, he will be expelled automatically. The stated reason is that Kim used “derogatory and provocative language” in media interviews when criticizing party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and certain party members. While Kim’s words were undeniably sharp, the decision to impose one of the harshest penalties available raises a far more serious question: Since when has political criticism itself become grounds for banishment from a democratic political party? Crucially, Kim was not accused of manipulating public opi

Jan 28, 2026

ED 'America First' defense posture

The United States’ call for allies to take on a more central role in defense materialized again with the release of the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) by the Department of Defense Friday. The document urges allies such as South Korea to assume “primary responsibility” for their defense, with the U.S. providing "critical but more limited" support. The shift aligns with President Lee Jae Myung’s emphasis on “self-reliant defense,” beginning with the wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer and the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. However, language calling for Korea to assume “primary responsibility,” alongside the U.S. offering only limited support, points to higher costs for Seoul and a possible reorientation — or “strategic flexibility” — in the scale and scope of operations of the roughly 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel. The emphasis on “strategic flexibility” has heightened the possibility that USFK could be deployed to other parts of the Indo-Pacific. The NDS makes clear that the decadeslong U.S. alliance with Seoul is enter

Jan 27, 2026

ED The nomination trap

Former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon and Rep. Kang Sun-woo share a grim fate: Their political careers are at risk after falling from grace at the height of their trajectories. Lee’s dream of becoming the nation’s first budget minister shattered on Sunday when President Lee Jae Myung withdrew her nomination. An economist-turned-politician, Lee Hye-hoon’s ambitions ultimately revealed an obsession with power. Despite a steady stream of allegations involving herself and her family, the former three-term lawmaker showed no intention of stepping aside voluntarily. Not a single day passed without new accusations emerging after her Cabinet nomination. Ironically, it’s this persistence that has now driven her to the lowest point of her career. Her refusal to withdraw only prolonged the humiliation, ending with her dismissal after weeks of public scrutiny. Rep. Kang, now an independent lawmaker, is another politician whose career has been imperiled by a troubled past. A series of allegations surfaced after she was nominated for minister of gender equality and family. Compared with Lee, the accus

Jan 26, 2026

ED A belated but correct decision

President Lee Jae Myung’s decision to withdraw Lee Hye-hoon’s nomination for budget minister brings a belated but necessary end to a controversy that had already eroded public trust. While the episode should never have reached this point, the president’s decision ultimately demonstrates an accurate reading of public sentiment and an acknowledgment that ethical credibility is essential for senior public office. The confirmation hearing failed to resolve fundamental concerns surrounding allegations that Lee Hye-hoon’s son secured an apartment through Korea’s housing lottery system in violation of the rules, and received preferential treatment in university admissions. What lingered was not conclusive proof of legal wrongdoing, but a pattern of explanations that stretched plausibility and fell short of the ethical standards expected of a steward of national finances. In such cases, unresolved doubt itself can be disqualifying. The most serious controversy centered on allegations that Lee’s son was registered as unmarried to qualify for a price-controlled apartment under Korea

Jan 25, 2026

ED Balance tech advancement with job creation

By issuing an official statement against employing humanoid robots at its plants, Hyundai Motor's massive labor union has pushed the possible friction between human and robot labor squarely into the public eye, an issue that many had not expected to arrive so soon. It is a good time to consider the future configuration of the labor market, which is already being influenced by artificial intelligence (AI). “The introduction of AI robots is clearly aimed at cutting labor costs,” the union said in a statement on Thursday. “The union warns that not a single robot can be deployed at worksites without an agreement between labor and management.” The union was referring to Atlas, a humanoid robot revealed at the CES tech fair earlier this month in Las Vegas. Made by Boston Dynamics, Atlas dazzled investors and observers with its ability to turn 360 degrees and lift up to 50 kilograms. It was clearly positioned as a future growth engine for the company and a moment to celebrate human progress in technology, however naively. Hyundai Motor Group announced that it will deploy Atlas robots

Jan 23, 2026

[ED] Balance tech advancement with job creation

ED Peace through pragmatism, not illusion

President Lee Jae Myung’s New Year's press conference offered a stark but necessary diagnosis of the Korean Peninsula’s condition. His remark that “it would be fortunate just to avoid war, let alone unification” was not an exercise in pessimism, but a sober acknowledgment of reality. Decades of stalled diplomacy, hardened mistrust and unchecked nuclear development in North Korea have left the peninsula in a state of chronic instability. Lee’s call for pragmatic peace and coexistence deserves serious consideration, both at home and abroad. At the heart of Lee’s message was a refusal to cling to ideals divorced from reality. On denuclearization, he posed an uncomfortable but unavoidable question: Will North Korea truly give up its nuclear weapons under current conditions? The international community’s insistence on complete denuclearization as a precondition for engagement has not halted Pyongyang’s nuclear advances. On the contrary, North Korea today possesses more nuclear material, more sophisticated missiles and greater leverage than ever before. Ignoring this reality

Jan 21, 2026

[ED] Peace through pragmatism, not illusion

ED A terrorism label lacking evidence

The attempted assassination of Lee Jae Myung, then chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), on Jan. 2, 2024, has been designated as the nation’s first terrorist attack since the Counter-Terrorism Act was enacted in 2016. During a counterterrorism committee meeting held on Monday, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok emphasized the need to reinvestigate the heinous crime — this time not as an ordinary criminal case, but as an act of terrorism. “The investigation was conducted, but it was poorly done,” Kim said while presiding over the meeting. “A reinvestigation is long overdue. Those involved should conduct a thorough probe with the determination to leave no room for potential terrorist attacks in the future.” Lee was attacked in 2024 while visiting a construction site for a new airport in Busan. A man in his 60s, wearing a blue paper crown bearing the phrase “I am Lee Jae Myung,” approached him pretending to be a supporter and stabbed him in the neck with a knife. Lee was left with a scar but survived the attack. The offender, identified only by his surname Kim, was sente