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Police open investigation into damage at grave of opposition leader's parents

These images of stones placed around the grave of Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung's parents are captured from his Facebook account, March 12. YonhapPolice have opened an investigation into damage inflicted on the grave of main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's parents, officials said Monday.The Gyeongbuk Provincial Police launched the probe a day after Lee's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the grave of Lee's parents in Bonghwa, 172 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was damaged in a suspected act of terrorism.According to the party and photos released by Lee, four small holes were dug around the grave mound, and a stone was placed inside two of the four holes. On each of the two stones found, three Chinese characters were written in black, including those meaning birth, light and energy. Lee wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday he has heard that it was a sort of a shamanistic cursing ceremony where unholy objects are buried at a grave to wish for "the extinction of their descendants and ruining of the family.""I am very sorry to my parents who su

Mar 13, 2023
Police open investigation into damage at grave of opposition leader's parents

ANALYSIS Seoul asked to use chips as leverage in ties with Beijing

Former sex slave Lee Yong-soo, right, and Yang Geum-deok, a victim of Japan's wartime forced labor, attend a rally against the government's move to improve relations with Japan in Seoul, March 1. AP-YonhapDespite S. Korea's proclivity for Quad, Beijing needs Seoul's help to advance semiconductor self-sufficiencyBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea's foreign policy under President Yoon Suk Yeol has moved away from the country's previous stance of “strategic ambiguity” under the former Moon Jae-in administration and toward strengthening relations with the United States.The latest example representing the Yoon administration's commitment to U.S.-led policy initiatives is South Korea's decision to compensate laborers forced to work at Japanese factories during World War II. The proposal is facing heavy criticism from some victims and South Korea's main opposition party as just a few wartime Japanese companies are expected to marginally contribute to a fund created by South Korean firms that benefited from a 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo.The pr

Mar 13, 2023By Kim Yoo-chul
[ANALYSIS] Seoul asked to use chips as leverage in ties with Beijing

ANALYSIS Why is AMCHAM donating to fund for Korean victims of Japan's forced labor?

President Yoon Suk Yeol, third from left, U.S. President Joe Biden, center, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from right, meet at a summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 13. YonhapUS seeks to play bigger role in improving Seoul-Tokyo tiesBy Nam Hyun-wooThe United States is taking on a bigger role in improving frayed Seoul-Tokyo ties, with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) becoming the first organization to express an intent to donate money to a South Korean public foundation that will raise funds to compensate the victims of wartime forced labor by Japan.Experts see AMCHAM's move as an attempt by the U.S. government to help restore ties between the two neighboring countries. Strengthening trilateral cooperation is a prerequisite to combined deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threats and to curb China's rising influence.The third-party compensation, which was agreed upon by Seoul and Tokyo earlier this month, has sparked a backlash from South Koreans due to Japan's lukewarm stance to issuing an apology for forcing Koreans to labor at its factories

Mar 12, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
[ANALYSIS] Why is AMCHAM donating to fund for Korean victims of Japan's forced labor?

Language barrier hinders Hong Kong startups setting up shop in Korea

Justin Suen, founder of Ossfila Technology, a Hong Kong startup company, holds up his bone filament products on Feb. 23, 2023 in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Jack LauKorean gov't urged to streamline regulationsBy Jack LauLast year, Justin Suen Long-kiu's biotech company joined the K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC) accelerator program organized by the Korean government to explore markets outside his native Hong Kong.The program lured him in with a $10,000 (13.2 million won) cash stipend to support his staff's living expenses as he tried to set up shop in Korea. Like most startups, his bone implant 3D printing company, Ossfila Technology, had little cash to spare to test the waters of potential markets. Being in the program would also raise his company's profile.But he was surprised by the difficulties faced as a businessman not knowing the Korean language. He had to rely on the undergraduate Korean intern assigned to him by the KSGC program, who worked primarily as an interpreter. Government information and paperwork needed to maintain a Korean subsidiary are often only in the Korean la

Mar 12, 2023
Language barrier hinders Hong Kong startups setting up shop in Korea

Opposition leader claims forced labor compensation plan may lead to military consequences

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks at a rally March 11 protesting against the government's compensation plan for victims of Japan's wartime forced labor in central Seoul. YonhapOpposition leader Lee Jae-myung again denounced the government's compensation plan for victims of wartime forced labor Saturday, claiming that the solution may result in Japan's Self-Defense Forces entering the Korean Peninsula.Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, made the remarks in a rally protesting against the government's plan to compensate the Korean victims of Japan's forced labor through a foundation supported by donations from Korean businesses, not the Japanese companies accused of forced labor during World War II.Opposition parties, victims and activists have strongly denounced the decision, saying that it makes no sense to compensate forced labor victims with public donations, rather than money from Japanese companies that exploited forced labor victims."There is the possibility of the military boots of the Self-Defense Forces a

Mar 11, 2023
Opposition leader claims forced labor compensation plan may lead to military consequences

Deceased former aide said to have urged Lee to leave politics in suicide note

A reporter watches the home of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's former chief of staff in Seongnam, south of Seoul, who was found dead on March 9. YonhapA former chief of staff to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was found dead in an apparent suicide, urged the Democratic Party (DP) chair to quit politics in his suicide note, informed officials said Friday.The deceased, surnamed Jeon, is also said to have complained about being investigated by prosecutors in connection with Lee's corruption allegations.Jeon had served as Lee's chief secretary during his term as the mayor of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, before becoming his first chief of staff after Lee was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in mid-2018.Jeon was found dead at his home in Seongnam at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, and police said they have yet to find any sign of foul play in his death.According to the officials, a six-page suicide note apparently written by Jeon was found on the scene. Jeon reportedly said in the note that he only worked hard but felt wronged after becoming a target of the prosecution's investigation.Je

Mar 10, 2023
Deceased former aide said to have urged Lee to leave politics in suicide note

Umbrella union leader vows to stand up against gov't reform of workweek

This Feb. 28 photo shows Kim Dong-myung, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. YonhapThe leader of a major umbrella union on Friday pledged to stand up against the controversial reform of the 52-hour workweek system, accusing the government of trying to cancel labor progress achieved over the past decades.The government announced a set of labor reform measures on Monday, including enabling companies to increase the maximum work hours per week to 69 hours from the legally permitted 52 hours now. The measures seek to increase flexibility in the working week so that employers can choose more hours during busy weeks and fewer hours during slow weeks."After only a year following the presidential election, we are witnessing the regression of society and the collapse of communities," Kim Dong-myung, the leader of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), said in a speech marking the union's 77th anniversary. The union leader denounced the workweek reform and accused the government of "trying to take backward steps and bring the state of the labor act back to 70 years ago.""

Mar 10, 2023
Umbrella union leader vows to stand up against gov't reform of workweek

Death of another aide adds pressure on opposition leader

Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, attends a Supreme Council meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly in Suwon, Friday. Yonhap Lee blames prosecution after ex-chief of staff found deadBy Jung Min-hoA former chief of staff to main opposition party leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung was found dead Thursday. The apparent suicide is fueling speculation over the cause of the tragedy following the deaths of four other people close to Lee, who is the target of high-profile investigations into corruption allegations.The news has drawn criticism and concerns from ruling party politicians, who are calling on the chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to come clean about all of the allegations facing him. Lee, however, attributed the latest death to “excessive” investigation by prosecutors.Jeon Hyung-soo, 64, who served as Lee's chief of staff when he was the mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province, was found dead at his home th

Mar 10, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Death of another aide adds pressure on opposition leader

Opposition leader blames prosecution for death of former aide

The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung makes a solemn face while speaking at a party meeting held in the Gyeonggi provincial assembly in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul on March 10. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday blamed the prosecution for the death of one of his former chiefs of staff, saying he cannot forgive what he calls the prosecution's "excessive" investigation.The former aide, surnamed Jeon who served as Lee's chief of staff during his term as the Gyeonggi governor, was found dead in an apparent suicide at his home in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Thursday. If confirmed, Jeon would be the fifth person around Lee to commit suicide since corruption allegations involving Lee surfaced in 2021.Jeon is known to have undergone questioning by prosecutors in recent months in connection with allegations of Lee's third-party bribery surrounding corporate donations to the municipal football club Seongnam FC. He left a suicide note in which he reportedly urged Lee to give up politics."This happened because of

Mar 10, 2023
Opposition leader blames prosecution for death of former aide
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