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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.

F-15K pilot named Best Pilot of Year

Air Force Maj. Bang Ju-won of the 11th Fighter Wing poses in front of an F-15K. Courtesy of ROK Air ForceBy Kang Seung-wooAir Force Maj. Bang Ju-won from the 110th Fighter Squadron of the 11th Fighter Wing ― home to the F-15K Slam Eagles ― has been named the "Best Pilot of 2021,” according to the military branch. The Air Force said it held an award ceremony, presided over by its Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho at its headquarters in Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province, Friday. The award is given to an aviator who accumulates the top records in more than 20 duties including flying hours, participation in operations and physical fitness in the span of one year. The 36-year-old earned a score of 849.6 out of a possible 1,000 for the achievement. Bang, who decided to become a pilot after watching “Top Gun,” was commissioned in 2008 and flew a KF-16 until 2011. Since 2012, he has logged over 2,100 hours flying an F-15K. During his career, Bang has participated in multinational combined exercises on multiple occasions, including commanding a squadron in its 10-hour no

Mar 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
F-15K pilot named Best Pilot of Year

Pentagon urges NK to stop 'needless' provocation and engage in negotiations

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Monday. AP-Yonhap A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson called on North Korea, Monday, to stop its missile launches, calling them "needless provocations." Department Press Secretary John Kirby also urged Pyongyang to engage in dialogue to find a negotiated solution." These continue to be provocations, needless provocations at that," he said when asked about North Korea's recent missile tests that it claims to have been aimed at developing a reconnaissance satellite.North Korea has staged nine rounds of missile launches since the start of the year, with the latest test taking place Saturday (KST)."We urge Pyongyang to cease these missile launches and these provocations and signal that they're willing to sit down, as we are, without preconditions to find a negotiated way forward here and ... a diplomatic path to reduce the tensions on the peninsula," Kirby told a press briefing.T

Mar 8, 2022
Pentagon urges NK to stop 'needless' provocation and engage in negotiations

Death toll surpasses 6 million for pandemic now in 3rd year

Health workers from mainland China wearing protective gear gather outside an inflatable mobile testing lab for the coronavirus in a sports center in Hong Kong, March 1. AP-YonhapThe official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday _ underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over.The milestone, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe. Remote Pacific islands, whose isolation had protected them for more than two years, are just now grappling with their first outbreaks and deaths, fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.Hong Kong, which is seeing deaths soar, is testing its entire population of 7.5 million three times this month as it clings to mainland China's ``zero-COVID'' strategy.As death rates remain high in Poland, Hungary, Romania and other Eastern European countries, the region has seen more than 1.5 million refugees arrive from war-torn Ukraine, a coun

Mar 7, 2022
Death toll surpasses 6 million for pandemic now in 3rd year

Candidates make last-ditch efforts to attract swing voters

Election posters of the three major presidential candidates hang in a street in Seoul's Gwanak District, last Thursday. From the top are Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition Justice Party YonhapRuling party chief attacked with hammer during campaigning By Jung Da-min With only two days left before the March 9 presidential election, rival parties made last-ditch bids to mobilize support for their candidates and win over the hearts of swing voters whose last-minute decisions are expected to sway the final outcome of a neck-and-neck race.The parties are trying to unify their supporters, while also broadening their appeal to undecided voters after a two-day early voting conducted on Friday and Saturday drew a record turnout of 36.93 percent.The two leading candidates, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), in particular, have promoted different messages to woo voters

Mar 7, 2022
Candidates make last-ditch efforts to attract swing voters
  • Gender divide among younger voters shapes election

COVID-19 patients to place ballots directly into boxes

National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee holds an emergency meeting at the election watchdog's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Joint Press CorpsMishandling of patients' ballots may trigger backlash after electionBy Nam Hyun-wooThe National Election Commission (NEC) decided Monday to allow COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine to place their completed ballots directly into the ballot boxes in Wednesday's presidential election, after others finish voting.The decision comes after the election watchdog took criticism for its improper handling of COVID-19 patients' ballots during early voting on Saturday, as NEC workers collected patients' votes in unofficial containers, sparking concerns about the integrity of the election. Despite the NEC's new guidelines, a backlash may occur after the election, as the presidential race is expected to be the closest one in Korea's history. During its emergency meeting, the NEC decided to allow coronavirus patients to put their completed ballots in the ballot boxes by themselves from 6 p.m., Wednesday, after the re

Mar 7, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
COVID-19 patients to place ballots directly into boxes
  • Election watchdog chief apologizes for early voting blunders, vows not to repeat

'Terror against democracy': Moon denounces attack on ruling party chief

President Moon Jae-in / Yonhap President Moon Jae-in denounced an attack on ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Song Young-gil, Monday, calling it "terror against democracy.”“Election violence is terror against democracy. It should never happen. Hate and violence cannot change the world," Moon said in the statement, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.Song was campaigning in Seoul's Sinchon area for Wednesday's presidential election when an assailant came up to him from behind and struck him in the head several times with a hammer wrapped in a black plastic bag, video footage showed.Song was rushed to a nearby hospital with bleeding from his head and received stitches, DP officials said.The assailant was identified as a Youtuber in his 70s. (Yonhap)

Mar 7, 2022
'Terror against democracy': Moon denounces attack on ruling party chief
  • Radical left-wing YouTuber attacks liberal ruling party leader during campaigning

Rival parties clash over allegations of Yoon's involvement in land development scandal

Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party raises his arms while speaking to the public in front of the Starfield Hanam shopping mall in Gyeonggi Province, March 7. NewsisBy Ko Dong-hwanKim Man-bae adjusts his mask while responding to a journalist after attending a pre-arrest suspect examination at the Seoul Central District Court, Nov. 3, 2021. NewsisFresh evidence revealed Sunday alleges that presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) colluded in an illegal loan scheme in 2011 when he was a prosecutor. This latest allegation has intensified the confrontation between Yoon's party and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over the Daejang-dong land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The PPP has been arguing that DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, who had been mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018, was involved in the scandal via handing out business favors to asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu.With time running out before the March 9 presidential election, the new revelation produced mixed reactions from both parties

Mar 7, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Rival parties clash over allegations of Yoon's involvement in land development scandal

INTERVIEW 'DPK Lee's balanced development plans aimed at national restructuring'

Rep. Kim Du-kwan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea / Courtesy of Kim's officeBy Nam Hyun-wooRuling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is seeking to group Korea's large cities into regional megacities in order to address the severe concentration of the country's economy and infrastructure in the capital area.DPK Rep. Kim Du-kwan, who is also chief of the balanced regional development committee in Lee's camp, said the plan's ultimate purpose is to restructure the country, to enable smoother economic growth and political stability. “There is a global trend where the number of megacities, having about 5 million to 10 million inhabitants, is growing, and this is because a region is now considered as a separate unit in the global economic competition,” Kim said during an email interview with The Korea Times.“So far, Korea has been relying on the metropolitan city system as its main administrative scheme, but it is necessary to bind them into larger units.”Kim, a former minister of the interior and safety and governor of South

Mar 7, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
[INTERVIEW] 'DPK Lee's balanced development plans aimed at national restructuring'

Radical left-wing YouTuber attacks liberal ruling party leader during campaigning

Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Song Young-gil / Korea Times fileA YouTuber in his 70s attacked ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Song Young-gil with a hammer during a campaign stop in Seoul Monday, causing him injuries requiring stitches in the head, according to party officials.Song was campaigning in Seoul's Sinchon area for Wednesday's presidential election when the assailant came up to him from behind and struck him in the head several times with a hammer wrapped in a black plastic bag, video footage showed.Song was rushed to a nearby hospital with bleeding from his head and received stitches, DP officials said.The assailant was immediately restrained by people at the scene and taken into police custody.He was identified as a 70-year-old YouTuber who was filming with his phone before attacking Song and appeared to have been following the chairman on the campaign trail since last month in videos uploaded to YouTube.Police said they are questioning the suspect on charges of violating the Election Law and assault.According to an eyewitness, the man shouted at the s

Mar 7, 2022
Radical left-wing YouTuber attacks liberal ruling party leader during campaigning
  • 'Terror against democracy': Moon denounces attack on ruling party chief

Experts urge caution against taking advantage of anti-China sentiment for election

South Korea has witnessed a rise in anti-China sentiment ahead of the presidential election slated for March 9. gettyimagesbankChina policy yet to take shape until after presidential election, but Beijing still largely seen as key economic partnerBy Kim Bo-eunHONG KONG ― South Koreans avidly took part in boycotting Japanese brands when bilateral tensions escalated in the past years, given the history of the two countries. This time, the antagonism is directed at another neighbor in Northeast Asia: China.While the situation may appear negligible and based merely on online skirmishes over the origin of cultural elements such as the pickled side dish kimchi or hanbok, a recent survey shows that the level of anti-China sentiment in Korea is notable. At this time when certain presidential candidates may be looking to take advantage of this sentiment to shore up support, experts warn of potential dangers, given how crucial bilateral relations between the countries are.A series of events at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics last month rekindled an earlier online war over the origin of kimchi

Mar 7, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
Experts urge caution against taking advantage of anti-China sentiment for election
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