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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.

S. Korea not considering delaying GSOMIA termination: defense ministry

South Korea is not considering postponing the termination of the soon-to-expire military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, the defense ministry said Monday.The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between South Korea and Japan is to expire on Nov. 23, following Seoul's decision in August to end it after Japan announced export curbs on Seoul, citing security concerns.As the deadline draws near, some media have speculated that South Korea is considering an option to put off its termination until the two sides reach a resolution to their economic and historic feuds. But defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo said at a regular briefing on Monday that, "So far, (the option) has not been reviewed, as far as I know," adding that such speculation "has not been confirmed." She then reiterated the government's stance that "diverse measures can be reviewed only when Japan first removes its export restrictions and the relations between South Korea and Japan recover."South Korea sees Japan's export curbs as political retaliation for last year's Korean Supreme Court

Nov 11, 2019
S. Korea not considering delaying GSOMIA termination: defense ministry
  • Seoul pushed into corner over extending pact with Tokyo
  • Moon hints at terminating GSOMIA

Air show for ASEAN guests

The Black Eagles, an aerobatics team of the Republic of Korea Air Force, puts on an air show during a welcoming ceremony, Sunday, for the participants of the upcoming Nov. 25-26 Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in the host city of Busan. First lady Kim Jung-sook and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha took part in the ceremony. The summit, which marks the 30th anniversary of Korea-ASEAN ties, will be the biggest international event hosted by the Moon administration. YonhapASEAN air show in Busan YonhapFirst lady Kim Jung-sook at Busan air show for ASEAN Yonhap

Nov 10, 2019By Do Je-hae
Air show for ASEAN guests

Politicians joining YouTube craze

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, chairwoman of the minor Justice Party, adjusts her glasses in a clip from her Nov. 8 YouTube debut. Captured from YouTube's "Simgeum Live" channelOpposition leaders create channels to rebrand themselves By Do Je-haePolitical heavyweights are increasingly turning to YouTube to improve their communication with voters ahead of the general election in April 2020. One such YouTuber is Rep. Sim Sang-jung, leader of the minor opposition Justice Party. In her YouTube debut on Nov. 8, she spoke about various issues relating to people's livelihoods, in addition to proposals for reducing the “excessive” privileges of lawmakers, such as cutting their salaries. Sim also spoke about Jasmine Lee, a Philippine-born naturalized Korean citizen who formerly served as a lawmaker for the Saenuri Party, the predecessor of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP). Lee will join the Justice Party this week, at the invitation of Sim. “I met her three times and encouraged her to join our party,” Sim said during the first episode of her “Simgeum Live&rdquo

Nov 10, 2019By Do Je-hae
Politicians joining YouTube craze

Moon to focus on communication in latter half of term

President Moon Jae-in talks during dinner with leaders of five major parties at Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday. Counterclockwise from Moon are Lee Hae-chan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Sohn Hak-kyu of Bareunmirae Party, Moon’s Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace, and Hwang Kyo-ahn of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office (NSO), left, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min, center, and Kim Sang-jo, chief of staff for policy, hold a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday. YonhapTown hall meeting planned for Nov. 19 By Do Je-hae As President Moon Jae-in marked the halfway point of his single five-year term Sunday, his top aides stressed that changes taken to build a new Korea, including a peaceful peninsula, will continue. “The remaining two and a half years of the Moon administration will be a period devoted to realizing the country's new leap forward,” Moon's chief of staff No

Nov 10, 2019By Do Je-hae
Moon to focus on communication in latter half of term
  • Moon's 'people talk' to air live on Nov. 19

Moon's 'people talk' to air live on Nov. 19

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 8. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in will hold a town hall meeting next week to address his administration's policy objectives, the presidential office said Sunday, as he embarked on the second half of his single five-year tenure. The 100-minute discussion with 300 South Korean citizens will be held Nov. 19 and aired live via broadcaster MBC, according to presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung."Any South Korean can take part in the event to ask any question they want to the president," Ko said. It will be Moon's first live question-and-answer session since May, when he had an interview with another major South Korean broadcaster, KBS, though it was a one-to-one conversation. The last time Moon took questions from multiple people live was in January, when he held a New Year's media conference. "From politics to inter-Korean relations, prosecution reform, job creation, housing, work, education and post-retirement life, any question can be a topic of discussion," an MBC official said. An online application for parti

Nov 10, 2019
Moon's 'people talk' to air live on Nov. 19
  • Moon to focus on communication in latter half of term

Moon to have dinner with party leaders

President Moon Jae-in Korea TimesPresident Moon Jae-in was to meet the leaders of five political parties Sunday, the first such meeting in about four months, amid a political impasse over key reform bills and other pending issues.Moon has invited the political leaders to his office, Cheong Wa Dae, for a dinner to express thanks for their condolences over the death of his mother in late October, the presidential office said. All five party chiefs, including Lee Hae-chan, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, were to attend the meeting.They last gathered in July to discuss ways to cope with Japan's export curbs targeting South Korea.The dinner meeting comes at a time when tensions are high over key political and judiciary reform bills that were placed on the fast track in April despite objections from the main opposition party, the Liberty Korea Party.Rival parties sharply differ over the prosecution reform-related bills, in particular, including a proposal to set up an independent unit to probe corruption allegati

Nov 10, 2019
Moon to have dinner with party leaders

Future innovation

Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea CEO Park Jong-bok, second row fourth from left, poses with the bank's young workers at the bank headquarters in Seoul, Nov. 7, following the lender's innovative idea competition. Courtesy of SC Bank

Nov 8, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

Opposition chief Hwang apologizes over Moon satire

An image from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party's animated clip comparing Moon to the protagonist of “The Emperor's New Clothes,” from its official YouTube channel. Courtesy of the LKPBy Park Ji-won, Kim Yoo-chulThe chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) has issued an apology over its decision to upload an animated clip satirizing President Moon Jae-in on its official YouTube channel.“The LKP decided to delist President Moon's animated satire from the party's main webpage and official YouTube channel in the wake of the passing of President Moon's mother,” LKP chief Hwang Kyo-ahn said last week.The short video satirically portrayed the President, his handling of state affairs and controversial appointments of senior Cabinet members.It featured Moon changing into “invisible clothes” ― a jacket dubbed “security,” pants labeled “economy” and a tie described as “personnel appointment” ― just like the emperor from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 story titled “The Emperor's New C

Nov 8, 2019By Park Ji-won
Opposition chief Hwang apologizes over Moon satire

'South Korea never asked US to mediate Seoul-Tokyo feud'

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's plenary session in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungSouth Korea has never asked the United States to “mediate” in the diplomatic friction between Seoul and Tokyo, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Friday.“We have not officially requested that the U.S. plays a mediating role in the dispute,” she told lawmakers during a National Assembly session.With the row escalating into a full-scale diplomatic tit-for-tat, the U.S. only expressed its willingness to play an “active role” in resolving the history and trade feuds between two of its Asian allies, according to Kang.The best-case scenario for Seoul and Tokyo is to come to a settlement through dialogue. But it does not appear likely the two will manage to do so before the Nov. 22 deadline for Seoul to reverse its earlier decision to scrap the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.“Our decision on GSOMIA was made due to Japan's unfair trade restrictions on us,&rdqu

Nov 8, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
'South Korea never asked US to mediate Seoul-Tokyo feud'
  • Criticism grows over US pressing Seoul on GSOMIA

Minister to focus on Mount Geumgang issue in US

In this file photo, local tourists walk a trail at Mount Geumgang in North Korea. South Korea has offered to send a delegation to check on facilities at the long-stalled joint tourist resort in the North. AP-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyung, Kim Yoo-chulUnification Minister Kim Yeon-chul plans to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Washington's special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun in the United States next week for talks on advancing inter-Korean relations.“Preparatory works are still underway to make the unification minister's brief meetings with senior White House and State Department officials happen during his visit to the United States,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday. “Meetings with Pompeo and Biegun have been set.”A unification ministry official said Kim would travel to the United States on Nov. 17 to attend the annual Korea Global Forum for Peace, hosted by the ministry. He will deliver a keynote speech.This is the minister's first visit to the United States since taking up his position in April. The visit is unlikely to draw subs

Nov 8, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Minister to focus on Mount Geumgang issue in US
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