Opinion - The Korea Times

ED Decline China's invitation

This September, China will mark the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II with a major ceremony and military parade in Beijing. South Korea has been invited to attend, with China reportedly pressing for President Lee Jae Myung's presence. While the occasion carries symbolic historical weight — especially given the shared legacy of resisting Japanese imperialism — President Lee should decline the invitation. Attending would not only misalign with South Korea’s strategic interests, but also risk diplomatic fallout amid intensifying U.S.-China tensions. The last and only time a South Korean president attended this ceremony was in 2015, when then-President Park Geun-hye stood atop Tiananmen Gate with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite the optics of solidarity, that visit failed to secure meaningful cooperation from China on North Korea’s nuclear issue. Shortly thereafter, bilateral ties worsened following Seoul’s decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense system. The lesson is clear: symbolic gestures do not alw

Jul 3, 2025

ED Lessons from US laptop farm crackdown

U.S. law enforcement has launched a nationwide crackdown on so-called “laptop farms” — where individuals in the U.S. helped North Korean IT workers secure remote jobs at U.S. companies, funneling earnings back to the regime. On Monday (local time), the FBI announced that several U.S.-based operatives were found to be managing laptop farms, logging into company-issued devices from over 100 organizations. These actions enabled foreign tech workers, including North Koreans, to impersonate U.S.-based employees. The FBI searched 16 states, seizing stashes of laptops used in the scheme. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, some of these North Korean workers stole sensitive military technology and defrauded a Georgia-based tech company of approximately $740,000. The scheme allowed North Korea to bypass international sanctions and potentially channel illicit earnings into the alleged development of nuclear weapons. The case has serious implications for South Korea. Sharing a border with the North, Seoul faces direct security threats from Pyongyang’s continued evasion of sanction

Jul 2, 2025

[ED] Lessons from US laptop farm crackdown

ED Growing USFJ's role?

When Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of the United States Forces in Korea (USFK), in May identified South Korea as an "island or like a fixed aircraft carrier floating in the water between Japan and mainland China," security watchers noted the implications for a possible flexible redeployment of the USFK in other regions. However, comments recently made by Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost of the United States Forces in Japan (USFJ) went further. In a contribution made to a Japanese daily newspaper, The Asahi Shimbun, Jost said, while stressing more cooperation with the Japanese Defense Forces, that the USFJ's primary task would shift from "alliance management missions" to "operations that span the spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and armed conflict" over time. He referred to an expanded role for the USFJ in countering China's threat in the Indo-Pacific region, writing, "The security, freedom and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific face increasing challenges from adversarial nations, primarily the People's Republic of China ... These threats are only intensifying." In

Jul 1, 2025

ED Red flag on nuclear wastewater

North Korea is facing serious accusations of dumping toxic nuclear waste into the Ryesong River, which flows into the West Sea, raising alarm over potential health risks for South Koreans. Cabinet ministries, including the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Environment, must urgently coordinate efforts to verify whether the claims, first raised by multiple media outlets, are factual. If confirmed, the government must take all possible measures to protect citizens from the potential public health disaster. On June 12, local news outlet Daily NK published a shocking report alleging that North Korea has been discharging radioactive wastewater into the Ryesong River near its uranium refining facility in Pyongsan, North Hwanghae Province. The facility reportedly processes coal into uranium for use in nuclear weapons production. Historically, nuclear waste generated at the site had been collected in a nearby sedimentation reservoir. However, according to Daily NK, North Korea has since built drainage infrastructure to release uranium-contaminated water directly into rivers that flow

Jun 30, 2025

ED Sharpen diplomatic playbook

As South Korea stands at the crossroads of mounting geopolitical tension, the Lee Jae Myung administration must recalibrate its foreign policy with a steady hand and strategic clarity. President Lee’s early weeks in office have signaled pragmatism, but the rapidly evolving diplomatic landscape leaves little room for passivity. From economic threats to regional security concerns, Seoul must act decisively to safeguard its national interests. Foremost among the challenges is the intensifying tariff dispute with the United States. The upcoming bilateral trade negotiations come at a precarious time, with U.S. President Donald Trump having adopted unpredictable, erratic policies. Trump’s protectionist instincts remain undiminished, and his administration is likely to again use tariffs as leverage in broader economic and political agendas. Korea cannot afford to be a passive recipient of such pressure. It must prepare a coordinated response — mobilizing bipartisan political support in Washington, aligning domestic industry stakeholders and deploying data-driven, narrative-focused econ

Jun 29, 2025

ED Korea’s MSCI setback

Korea’s failure to secure inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Developed Markets Index once again underscores the structural limitations of its capital markets. Despite decades of economic progress and a stock market that ranks 13th globally in market capitalization, Korea remains classified as an emerging market — an ongoing reality since 1992, despite an ambition left unfulfilled since it began pursuing reclassification in 2008. This year’s exclusion is particularly disheartening given the recent resurgence of the Korean stock market. The KOSPI has broken past 3,000 for the first time in over three years, even briefly surpassing the 3,100 mark. President Lee Jae Myung’s administration has set an ambitious goal of reaching 5,000 by 2030. Yet this target cannot be realized without fundamental reforms in financial regulation and market accessibility. MSCI inclusion is not merely symbolic — it is an essential milestone on the path to global investor confidence and long-term market growth. The issues cited by MSCI are long-standing and well-documented. Ch

Jun 26, 2025

ED Novel mix of nominees

President Lee Jae Myung's selection of 11 new ministerial candidates, announced at the start of the week, comes across as fresh and unconventional. The nominees include a mix of top corporate figures, Ahn Gyu-back as the first defense minister nominee in decades to not have been a career military officer and Kim Young-hoon, a former train operator who had been head of the Korean Railway Workers' Union and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. After announcing Ha Jung-woo, former head of Naver AI Innovation Center, as the new senior presidential secretary for artificial intelligence (AI), Bae Kyung-hoon, chief of LG AI Research, was tapped for science minister. Both are expected to play a critical role in the administration's goal to make Korea one of the Top 3 AI powerhouses through investing 100 trillion won ($73.5 billion) over the next five years. Bae and Ha are well-versed in AI technology and previously worked with the government in policy consultations. The two have indicated they are on the same page when it comes to achieving the administration's AI strategy through strengt

Jun 25, 2025

ED Violent path to ceasefire

After the United States carried out direct airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities amid the Israel-Iran conflict, a ceasefire appears to have been reached, to the relief of most. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform the start of a 24-hour phased-in ceasefire and an "Official END" to the war. During the past 12 days, lives, livelihoods and cities have been destroyed along with the targeted facilities. In addition, due to the strategic location of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively controlled by Iran, many states have gone on high alert status to monitor the situation. This includes South Korea, which imports about 70 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, of which 68 percent moves through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. airstrikes benefited from intense intelligence gathering by Israel's tight-knit intelligence network. This allowed for targeted strikes with bunker busters against the Iranian military's top brass, disabling Iran's air defense shield. When the Israel-Iran conflict seemed ready to escalate Monday with U.S. airstrikes, oil prices immediately

Jun 24, 2025

ED Nuclear red lines

South Korea is watching with growing concern as the conflict in the Middle East enters a dangerous new phase, following the United States' airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. On Sunday, the U.S. dropped GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, better known as "bunker buster" bombs, on several key Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. This military intervention is a game-changing moment. It will not only alter the trajectory of the conflict between Israel and Iran but also carry significant implications for the Korean Peninsula. For South Korea, the war in the Middle East is far from being "a fire on the other side of the river" — a Korean expression used to describe a distant issue with no direct bearing on domestic interests. Quite the opposite is true in this case. As an export-driven economy, South Korea depends on the Middle East for over 70 percent of its crude oil imports. Instability in the region directly affects global oil prices, which in turn exerts pressure on Korea’s economy. This time, however, rising oil prices are only part of the concern. Th

Jun 23, 2025

ED Alliances require respect, not pressure

The United States’ recent call for allies, including South Korea, to raise defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) has sparked concern and debate. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, during a congressional hearing, described the 5 percent mark as a new “standard” for all allies. A Pentagon spokesperson later confirmed that Asian partners, like their European counterparts, should move toward this benchmark to help ensure regional stability. This proposal continues Washington’s long-standing push to rebalance global defense spending, a policy that gained momentum under President Donald Trump. While there is merit in encouraging stronger defense posture among allies — especially amid growing global threats such as Russia’s aggression, China’s military expansion and North Korea’s advancing weapons programs — the imposition of a uniform spending metric across vastly different regions is both unrealistic and counterproductive. South Korea is not a passive recipient of American defense support. It is a pivotal regional actor with one of the world’

Jun 22, 2025

Editorial