Opinion - The Korea Times

ED A future-oriented partnership

President Lee Jae Myung’s upcoming diplomatic tour to Japan and the United States marks a pivotal moment in Korea’s regional strategy. His unprecedented decision to visit Tokyo before Washington carries deep symbolic and strategic weight. It signals Korea’s intent to resume diplomacy through bilateral state visits with its closest neighbor while laying the groundwork for stronger trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan amid a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. But symbolism alone is not enough. For Korea-Japan relations to mature and truly evolve beyond the cyclical pattern of historical tension and short-lived rapprochement, a clear and sincere reckoning with the past is indispensable. As much as forward-looking dialogue and economic cooperation are necessary, they cannot take root in a foundation still weakened by unhealed historical wounds. This year is historically significant: It marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization between Korea and Japan, the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the 120th year sinc

Aug 14, 2025

ED Much-anticipated summit

President Lee Jae Myung will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for their first summit talk on Aug. 25. The meeting will take place 82 days after Lee took office through a June 3 snap presidential election, following six months of domestic chaos. Anticipation is juxtaposed against a complex agenda — from updating the Korea-U.S. alliance, including defense cost sharing and strategic flexibility, to tariffs. Also on the radar is whether the two leaders have any personal chemistry, which the U.S. president is known to value, required to further advance the traditional alliance relationship. The Korea-U.S. summit talks in fact mark the beginning of high-stakes diplomacy for Lee, with Korea-Japan summit talks set for Aug. 23-24. Much hangs in the balance of these summits, as Lee must demonstrate that his foreign affairs chops are as solid as his domestic measures have been. Speculation had been growing as Lee's presidency entered its second month without confirmation of a summit with the U.S. president. Past summit meetings between Korea and the U.S. have happened more quickly. Former P

Aug 13, 2025

ED President's pardons backfire

President Lee Jae Myung has decided to pardon several politicians convicted of financial crimes and other serious offenses, drawing criticism for misusing legal forgiveness to pave the way for controversial figures’ political comebacks. The pardon list, unveiled on Monday after a closed-door Cabinet meeting, includes former lawmakers Cho Kuk and Yoon Mee-hyang, as well as Cho Hee-yeon, the former superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who was convicted of abuse of power. Also included in the list were former Seongnam Mayor Eun Su-mi, who drew public outrage over her links to a criminal gang, and a former vice justice minister convicted of brutally assaulting a taxi driver. With their legal rights fully restored, they will be eligible to run in elections as early as next year, when voters choose leaders of metropolitan cities, counties and district offices. Lee’s decision has come under scrutiny for including several questionable figures. A pardon is a political decision granting legal forgiveness to those convicted of crimes. Once issued, it overturns court ru

Aug 12, 2025

ED Seoul's dilemma over strategic flexibility

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson has redefined the mission of American troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, from solely defending South Korea against North Korean aggression to include countering China’s growing security influence in the Indo-Pacific region. “We have a nuclear-armed adversary to the north, increased involvement by Russia alongside the DPRK and the broader threat posed by China to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Brunson said Friday at a press conference held at USFK headquarters in U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Brunson emphasized that strategic flexibility will be a central pillar in the ongoing modernization of the Korea-U.S. alliance. To illustrate the concept, he cited the redeployment of a Patriot missile battery from South Korea to the Middle East to support operations against Yemen’s Houthi rebels — a move demonstrating that U.S. forces stationed in Korea may be mobilized for broader regional missions. His remarks suggest that the role of U.S. troops in Korea is evolving to encompass wider Indo-Pa

Aug 11, 2025

[ED] Seoul's dilemma over strategic flexibility

ED Punishment alone won't work

President Lee Jae Myung has signaled an unflinching stance on industrial safety, particularly following a series of fatal accidents at construction sites this year. His recent remarks — calling repeated fatalities at POSCO E&C worksites “murder by willful negligence” and directing ministries to explore license cancellation and bidding bans — mark the strongest presidential intervention in occupational safety in recent memory. The president’s sense of urgency is understandable. With four deaths at a single company in less than a year and over 120 construction-related fatalities nationwide in 2025 alone, the scale of the problem is indisputable. As a former teenage factory worker himself, Lee has spoken consistently about his empathy for laborers. Lee’s aggressive posture has already prompted sweeping action. POSCO E&C voluntarily suspended construction across all sites and halted new bids, even before any formal administrative orders. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has initiated investigations into illegal subcontracting and safety violations, while the government is r

Aug 10, 2025

ED Former first lady's charges

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of the impeached and detained former President Yoon Suk Yeol, underwent nearly 11 hours of questioning by a special counsel over corruption charges. Former first ladies have been questioned previously, but not in the public light. Kim standing for photos and addressing the press as she proceeded to questioning at the special prosecutors' office was an unprecedented and ignominious moment in contemporary Korean democracy. Referring to herself as a "nobody," she apologized for causing concern to the public. It was a statement and an image that bore an odd sense similarity to a scene in December 2021, when her husband was running neck-and-neck with Lee Jae Myung for the presidency. As concerns mounted over her falsified academic degrees and allegations that she was involved in Deutsch Motors stock manipulation as far back as 2009, she appeared in public, vowing, "I will deeply review my past misdoings and make sure to not go against the public's standards. I will dedicate myself to my role as wife to the president." Between that apology and Kim's appea

Aug 7, 2025

ED Fiscal justice and market confidence

The recent tax reform proposal announced by the Lee Jae Myung administration has triggered a wave of concern from both domestic and international observers. Particularly troubling is the growing chorus of criticism from major global investment banks, reflecting not only skepticism about the proposed changes but a deeper crisis of confidence in the government’s overall policy direction. Citigroup downgraded its investment outlook on Korea from “Overweight” to “Neutral,” saying that the reform undermines the government’s own stated goal of boosting corporate value. Capital markets and investment group CLSA issued a report, pointedly titled “Yikes, Tax Hikes,” warning that even if the proposal is revised in the National Assembly, short-term market disappointment is inevitable. Goldman Sachs also expressed concern, pointing to mounting policy confusion and advising investors to exercise caution. These statements from highly influential financial institutions are not minor footnotes — they are red flags that should prompt a sober reassessment of policy direction at the hi

Aug 6, 2025

[ED] Fiscal justice and market confidence

ED Removal of loudspeakers

Despite North Korea's recent rebuff showing that it has no interest in any policy or proposal from South Korea, Seoul has started removing propaganda loudspeakers along the two countries' shared border. In a move to further eliminate psychological warfare along the land border, the defense ministry is dismantling both fixed and mobile loudspeakers. The move comes two months after President Lee Jae Myung directed on June 11 to switch them off. North Korea reciprocated in kind at the time, turning off the eerie broadcasts that had wreaked havoc on the South Korean residents living in nearby border towns. The defense ministry said dismantling the loudspeakers was a "practical measure at easing tensions between the two Koreas within a scope that does not affect our military readiness posture." The border loudspeakers, which North Korea has persistently raised objections about to the South — along with the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills — were last removed during the former Moon Jae-in administration. However, they were later reinstalled by the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administ

Aug 5, 2025

ED Toward cooperative politics

Rep. Jung Chung-rae’s landslide victory in the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) primary on Saturday to select its new chairman has drawn mixed reactions. While his supporters celebrated the result, others expressed concern over his leadership, citing his history of gaffes and unfiltered speaking style. Jung pledged to offer constructive criticism to ensure the success of newly elected President Lee Jae Myung. He vowed to serve as a critic from within, promising to confront the president directly if public sentiment turns against him due to missteps on key issues. In this sense, Jung appears to have a clear understanding of his role as the leader of the largest party: to act as a bridge between the president and the public. However, despite this understanding, Jung has already stirred controversy with inflammatory remarks about interparty relations. On his first day as chairman, he openly expressed hostility toward the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), labeling them “insurrection forces.” He accused imprisoned former President Yoon Suk Yeol of attempting a coup throug

Aug 4, 2025

ED Looming Korea-US summit

The upcoming summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, set to take place in Washington this August, arrives at a critical juncture. While the two leaders are expected to reaffirm the strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance, the context surrounding the meeting signals anything but routine diplomacy. Following a narrowly brokered tariff agreement, Trump is now expected to shift his focus toward pressing security and defense issues — what some in Washington are calling “alliance modernization.” These include increases in Korea’s defense spending, an expanded role for U.S. forces on the peninsula and heightened expectations for Korean involvement in Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, particularly in the event of a Taiwan contingency. At the heart of these developments lies a deeper concern: the unilateral and transactional approach the Trump administration continues to apply, even toward its closest allies. The recent tariff negotiations, in which the United States aggressively leveraged economic pressure to extract trade concessions from Korea, are em

Aug 3, 2025

Editorial