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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

INTERVIEW Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

gettyimagesbank'Beijing will certainly exploit it to influence elections,' Australian academic saysBy Jung Min-hoClive Hamilton, a professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, and the author of “Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia"The Chinese government has been accused frequently in recent years of trying to influence politics in other countries, including through direct interference in elections. Only several weeks ago, a Chinese woman living in Delhi under a false identity was arrested on suspicion of spying on senior officials of the Indian government. In January, a British lawyer of Chinese heritage was named by the U.K.'s spy agency as an “agent” of Beijing, seeking to influence its parliamentarians. Given the many reports of such episodes, an Australian scholar claims it is naive to assume that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will not exploit the voting rights of non-citizens in Korea ― because it will.“The Chinese government will certainly exploit the non-citizen right to vote in an attempt to influence t

Dec 5, 2022By Jung Min-ho
[INTERVIEW] Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

President likens truckers' strike to North Korean nuclear threat

Cargo trucks are parked at a road in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, as a nationwide strike by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity stretched on for the 12th consecutive day. Yonhap Ruling bloc alleges umbrella union's strike linked to PyongyangBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol has equated the ongoing nationwide strike by unionized truckers to North Korea's nuclear threats, saying both are menaces to South Korea that could have been prevented if the government had reacted with a disciplined approach.Yoon made the remarks during a recent closed-door meeting with his aides, Yonhap News Agency reported, Monday.Yoon was quoted as saying that “the recent strike is equivalent to North Korea's nuclear threats” and “if (previous governments) had engaged North Korea based on a principle of zero tolerance for nuclear weapons, there would be no threats faced by our country these days.”Yoon was also quoted by the news agency as saying, “If we condone illegal acts or vi

Dec 5, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
President likens truckers' strike to North Korean nuclear threat

Operation Christmas Drop

Crewmembers of the Air Force's 15th Special Missions Wing engage in the U.S.-led Operation Christmas Drop, the U.S. Air Force's humanitarian airlift mission, inside a C-130 transport aircraft at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, Saturday (local time). The Korean Air Force team, comprised of some 30 pilots and crewmembers, is participating in the event for the second straight year, with a mission to deliver food, medicine and other items necessary for survival to residents of 10 islands in the Micronesia region until Friday. Courtesy of ROK Air Force

Dec 5, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Operation Christmas Drop

Ruling party slams ex-President Moon as slain official probe deepens

National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, center, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to attend a review on his arrest warrant over allegations involving the death of a South Korean fisheries official who was shot to death by North Korean soldiers while drifting in the North's territorial waters in the West Sea in September 2020, Dec. 2. YonhapThe ruling People Power Party (PPP) ramped up criticism of former President Moon Jae-in on Monday after he slammed the recent arrest of his then national security adviser in connection with the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea.On Saturday, former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon was arrested on charges of involvement in the Moon administration's conclusion without sufficient evidence that the fisheries official was killed while attempting to defect to the North.That conclusion was reversed since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, with the Coast Guard and the military looking into the case again and concluding that there was no evidence to suggest that the ill-fated official attempted to de

Dec 5, 2022
Ruling party slams ex-President Moon as slain official probe deepens

Yoon's approval rating rises to 38.9%: poll

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a national prayer breakfast in Seoul, Dec. 5. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose to 38.9 percent amid the government's stern response to an ongoing strike by unionized truck drivers, a poll showed Monday. Positive assessment of Yoon's performance climbed 2.5 percentage points from the previous week, posting an increase for the second consecutive week in a Realmeter poll, while negative assessment slid by 1.9 percentage points to 58.9 percent. The poll was conducted on 2,507 people nationwide from Monday to Friday last week.This is the first time in five months Yoon's approval rating surpassed the 37 percent mark and Yoon's disapproval rating went below 60 percent. Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, cited the government's stern response to the strike by members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union as part of the reason for Yoon's rising support rating. "President Yoon's decision to respond in principle with a return-to-work order amid economic crisis seems to have worked as momentum for the increase in positive assessment

Dec 5, 2022
Yoon's approval rating rises to 38.9%: poll

Presidential office to establish 2 new secretary positions

President Yoon Suk-yeol presides over a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Nov. 22. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonThe presidential office is set to establish two new secretary positions to support the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's push to increase exports, officials said Monday.The new positions will be secretary to the president for policy coordination and secretary to the president for international law.The policy coordination secretary will work under the senior secretary for policy planning and be in charge of communicating and coordinating with government agencies to support nuclear power plant and other exports.The international law secretary will serve under the presidential chief of staff and handle legal matters related to exports.The appointments will come as Korea seeks to tackle challenges to its export-driven economy, including a potential barrier to auto exports caused by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.The presidential office is in the process of finalizing its choice of people for the two new positions, an official said. (Yonhap)

Dec 5, 2022
Presidential office to establish 2 new secretary positions

Gov't to expand executive order to striking truckers in refining, steel sectors

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a ministerial meeting on the Cargo Truckers Solidarity's strike at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of presidential officePresident vows to crack down 'without compromise' on illegal strikeBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol ordered his ministers, Sunday, to make preparations to expand executive orders to striking truckers in the refining and steel industries, with the government vowing to mobilize a maximum number of police to crack down on illegal protests by the unionized truckers.“The government will not compromise with any forces that collectively resort to illegal acts and violence, and will hold them accountable for each of their infractions,” Yoon said during a ministerial meeting on the truckers' strike. “Otherwise, damage stemming from chronic illegal strikes will be repeated in the future.”Yoon added, “The government should crack down on these illegal acts and take stern measures by mobilizing the full administrative forces. … Also, ministers should prepare to

Dec 4, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Gov't to expand executive order to striking truckers in refining, steel sectors
  • Prolonged truckers' strike feared to worsen trade deficit

Rival parties engaged in political row over ex-national security advisor's arrest

Former Director of National Security Suh Hoon enters the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, Friday, to attend a review on an arrest warrant against him. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooRival political parties are at loggerheads over the arrest of former Director of National Security Suh Hoon on suspicions of covering up North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020. While the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is ratcheting up the offensive by taking aim at former President Moon Jae-in, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is crying foul over the arrest, claiming it is political retaliation.The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant against Suh, Saturday, citing the possibility of destroying evidence related to the official's death. Suh, who served as director of national security from July 2020 to May 2022, is accused of his alleged involvement in the Moon administration's conclusion that the government official was shot dead at sea while attempting to defect to North Korea, even though there was not enough evidence supportin

Dec 4, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Rival parties engaged in political row over ex-national security advisor's arrest

National Assembly misses legal deadline to pass gov't budget bill

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, right, enters his office at the National Assembly, Dec. 2. YonhapThe National Assembly missed the legal deadline Friday to handle the government's budget proposal for next year, as rival parties refused to budge in their standoff over the budget plan and a dismissal motion against the interior minister over the deadly crowd crush in Seoul.Friday is the legal deadline for lawmakers to pass the first annual budget plan drawn up by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration since it came to power in May."The legal deadline to handle the budget plan as indicated in the Constitution was today, but we could not complete the review of next year's national budget," Speaker Kim Jin-pyo said in a statement."I plan to hold the plenary session on Dec. 8 and 9 to fulfill the assembly's authority and responsibility," Kim said, stressing that a swift handling of the national budget should be the parliament's "top priority" in the wake of sluggish exports and a global economic slowdown.Dec. 9 is the last day of the parliamentary regular session that kicked off in Septemb

Dec 2, 2022
National Assembly misses legal deadline to pass gov't budget bill

Prime minister continues World Expo 2030 diplomacy in Africa

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks with representatives of the member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris, Nov. 30. Han arrived in Ghana, Thursday (local time) to strengthen ties on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Ghana. YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooPrime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in Ghana, Thursday (local time), which is the last destination of his trip to France and Africa. Han became the highest-ranking Korean official to visit the West African country, as the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.The prime minister's office said Han's visit to Ghana will strengthen ties with the democratic country, which serves as a base for trade in West Africa, and lay the foundation for the special Korea-Africa summit planned in 2024. Han will meet with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo Friday and convey Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's invitation to Akufo-Addo to pay a visit to Korea, while discussing ways to step up bilateral relations in trade, investme

Dec 2, 2022By Kwon Mee-yoo
Prime minister continues World Expo 2030 diplomacy in Africa
  • Busan mayor meets Bulgarian president to muster support for Expo 2030
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