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Moon hit by trusted aide's scandal

Members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party hold signs in protest of Cho Kuk's nomination as justice minister during a meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday. YonhapBy Do Je-haePresident Moon Jae-in is facing growing calls to withdraw his nomination of Cho Kuk as justice minister due to a widening scandal involving one of his most trusted aides. The allegations of irregularities regarding his daughter's academic history, in addition to the possible evasion of military service and the dual nationality of his son, who also holds U.S. citizenship, have produced a huge public backlash. A recent poll showed that almost 50 percent of respondents thought Cho was an inappropriate choice for justice minister. Even some ruling party lawmakers have started to voice concerns about the impact of the Cho scandal on Moon's leadership. “The people who supported Moon in the presidential election and our party are more actively raising questions about this issue,” Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said in a radio interview, Wednesday. “If th

Aug 21, 2019By Do Je-hae
Moon hit by trusted aide's scandal

Criticism spreads at social media over Cho's daughter case

Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk, center, speaks to reporters over allegations involving his daughter, Wednesday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiFrustration is overflowing in online communities over dubious preferential treatment enjoyed by the daughter of justice minister nominee Cho Kuk amid growing speculation that it helped in her academic career, including college admission. The latest allegation surrounding the 28-year-old is that she was listed as a lead author in a paper published in a renowned medical journal although she only took part in a two-week internship at a local medical school as a high school student. Many critics believe the academic paper may have helped her get enrolled in Korea University, one of the nation's most prestigious schools.Also, while attending Pusan National University Graduate School of Medicine, his daughter received a total of 12 million won ($9,930) in scholarships for six straight semesters from 2016 to 2018 although she flunked twice. A number of posts denouncing Cho and his daughter were found on Koreapas, an online student community at Korea Universit

Aug 21, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji
Criticism spreads at social media over Cho's daughter case

Seoul asked to speak up over Pyongyang's military threats

President Moon Jae-in speaks in a weekly regular meeting with senior presidential aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungWhile U.S. President Donald Trump and President Moon Jae-in have intentionally underestimated the significance of North Korea's missile launches, conducted to protest joint Washington-Seoul exercises, Moon's “strategic silence” over Pyongyang's military provocations needs to be adjusted to some degree.Since the very beginning in the denuclearization talks, the President has been actively embracing the risks of “personal diplomacy” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, persuading him to meet with President Trump. The outcomes of two of the three Kim-Trump meetings weren't substantial but quite satisfactory as the leaders understood each other's position on denuclearization.President Moon deserves to get more credit than he's likely to get over his consistent commitment and willingness to keep the momentum for the nuclear disarmament talks alive.His active use of personal diplomacy in the Korea peace process is his style and an

Aug 21, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Seoul asked to speak up over Pyongyang's military threats

US waits North Korea response to restart denuke talks: US envoy

U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun, left, talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon, second from right, during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, Aug. 21. AP-YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulWashington is waiting for a response from Pyongyang to resume working-level discussions on denuclearization as the United States is ready to engage with Pyongyang, a senior U.S. government official said, Wednesday.“Regarding the restarting of the negotiation, we're prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea,” U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said in a short press briefing after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.“We discussed a number of issues of mutual interest to our government and continued our close cooperation on matters related to North Korea. I appreciate this strong and continued cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan,” he added.Biegun dispelled speculations that he would replace outgoing U.S. Ambassador

Aug 21, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
US waits North Korea response to restart denuke talks: US envoy

Moon's key confidant under spotlight

Cho Kuk, presidential nominee for justice minister, arrives at an office in central Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap By Do Je-hae Controversy is rising over President Moon Jae-in's choice for justice minister, Cho Kuk, as he is facing multiple ethical issues to be addressed at the upcoming National Assembly's confirmation hearing. Allegations of possible illegalities surrounding the former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs and his family members have been at the center of media attention since the announcement of his nomination earlier this month. The latest involves his daughter whose academic background has fueled controversy about whether she was given preferential treatment during her high school and university careers. Reports say Cho's daughter joined a research team at Dankook University Medical School in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, for two weeks back in 2008 when she was a high school sophomore. She was listed as a “primary writer” in the thesi

Aug 20, 2019By Do Je-hae
Moon's key confidant under spotlight

Seoul, Washington start pre-talks to renew defense cost sharing

U.S. President Donald Trump waves to U.S. Forces Korea soldiers at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on June 30. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungA discussion about the renewal of the highly-controversial defense cost sharing agreement between South Korea and the United States is about to begin amid Washington's repeated signals the U.S. plans to shift more of the cost burden onto Seoul. On Tuesday, Timothy Betts, acting U.S. deputy assistant secretary who led the country's delegation during the latest negotiation, met with his South Korean counterpart Chang Won-sam in Seoul.The two ranking officials had engaged in rounds of fierce negotiations during the 10th defense cost sharing agreement signed in March. The talks were aimed at deciding the cost-sharing burden for the upkeep of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).Expectations are Chang and Betts planned the logistics for their upcoming negotiations during their closed-door meeting.As the agreement, often called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), is valid only for a year, Seoul and Washington are on track to organize new negotiation

Aug 20, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Seoul, Washington start pre-talks to renew defense cost sharing

'Seoul, Washington, Pyongyang speeding up denuke talks'

President Moon Jae-in delivers his opening remarks at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday morning. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday personal diplomacy between the leaders of the United States and North Korea and Moon himself are still working toward the North's denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.“What really matters is that South and North Korea, as well as the United States, come to the negotiating table and the multilateral talks have proceeded thanks to commitment and willingness regarding bringing a lasting peace on the peninsula. I would say the current mood of dialogue has been created on the back of the leaders' efforts to actively embrace the risk of personal diplomacy in the process,” Moon said at the start of a weekly meeting with senior presidential aides, according to Cheong Wa Dae press pool reports.The President said he can't afford to lose what he described as a “golden opportunity” and asked the leaders of the United States and North Kor

Aug 19, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul
'Seoul, Washington, Pyongyang speeding up denuke talks'

Seoul's diplomacy put to test in crucial week

By Lee Min-hyung, Jung Da-minForeign Minister Kang Kyung-whaJapanese Foreign Minister Taro KonoU.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen BiegunSouth Korea's diplomatic front has entered a crucial stage this week, with its planned negotiations with the United States and Japan expected to determine the future of Seoul's external political situation.Aimed at breaking an impasse in denuclearization talks with North Korea, U.S. special envoy for the North Stephen Biegun will visit Seoul for three days from today to discuss a variety of pending issues mostly related with the North.Biegun's Seoul visit is drawing attention, as the top American nuclear envoy is arriving in the South Korean capital on the same day a scaled-down joint drill between South Korea and the U.S. is scheduled to finish.This has raised hopes for smooth progress in arranging a schedule for nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as the latter has in recent weeks conducted a series of military provocations by firing the missiles and projectiles in an apparent show of discontent over the drill.Earlier t

Aug 19, 2019By Lee Min-hyung
Seoul's diplomacy put to test in crucial week

Lawmaker calls for import ban on processed foods from Fukushima

Rep. Kim Kwang-sooSouth Korea should restrict imports of processed foods from Japan's Fukushima region as radiation has been found in shipments, an opposition lawmaker said Monday.South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013 on concerns over their radiation levels in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown. But no import restrictions have been put on processed foods from the areas.Citing data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Rep. Kim Kwang-soo of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace said radiation has been discovered in 16.8 tons of processed foods imported from the eight prefectures, or 35 shipments, over the past five years. The figures were 10 tons (11 shipments) in 2014, 0.1 ton (six) in 2015, one ton (six) in 2016, 0.3 ton (four) in 2017, 0.4 ton (six) in 2018 and 5 tons (two) for the first half of this year.South Korea imported 29,985 tons of processed foods from the Japanese prefectures between 2014 and June this year. Imports, which came to 3,803 tons in 2014, increased to 7,259 tons

Aug 19, 2019
Lawmaker calls for import ban on processed foods from Fukushima
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