South Korea - The Korea Times

Moon vows to intensify international campaign for honor of 'comfort women'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in heads to a luncheon with appointed leaders of pending state affairs at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in said Wednesday his government will step up efforts to enhance international awareness of the issue of Korean women systematically forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II."The government will do its best to restore the dignity and honor of the victims of the Japanese military 'comfort women,'" Moon said in a message to mark the memorial day for the victims.From the universal viewpoint of humankind, he added, the government will "share and spread" the issue of Japan's wartime atrocity in the international community "as a message about peace and women's human rights."Civic groups at home and abroad held rallies and events on Wednesday to commemorate the victims as part of International Memorial Day for Victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery. Historians say up to 200,000 girls and women, mostly Koreans, suffered agony from what South Korea formally characterizes as a crime against humanity. The v

Aug 14, 2019

Moon vows to intensify international campaign for honor of 'comfort women'

Air Force soldier lauded for rescuing children, man from fire

Air Force Staff Sergeant Kang Ji-ho at the 1st Fighter Wing's base in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul. Kang saved the lives of three people trapped inside a burning house in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, Sunday. Courtesy of Air ForceBy Lee Min-hyungAir Force Staff Sergeant Kang Ji-ho has been lauded for rescuing two children and an elderly man trapped in a burning house.Kang was walking nearby when he heard children crying out for help in the house in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, Sunday. The soldier, 25, broke down the locked front door and ran in to save the children and man.Kang then called 119 for emergency services and took care of the three before paramedics and ambulances arrived. They were taken to a nearby hospital and are in good condition.Kang also took to the street to control traffic and helped pave the way for the rescue team to arrive quickly.“As a soldier, I did what I had to do, and that is to save the lives of the public,” Kang said. “It is a relief that they are safe.”Speaking highly of his brave act, Damyang Police Station

Aug 14, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

Air Force soldier lauded for rescuing children, man from fire

'Stop provoking ally': Korea's conservatives slam Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump. Korea Times fileBy Park Si-soo Korean conservatives are generally pro-U.S. and advocates of a strong Seoul-Washington alliance. Yet their alliance appears to be cracking following U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks on issues crucial for South Korea. The real estate developer-turned-politician has expressed his interest in trading the blood-forged alliance for an increase in national revenue and appears to favor North Korea over the South. Last Friday he even made fun of South Korea ― along with Japan and the European Union ― mimicking the Korean accent before his deep-pocketed supporters. Their sense of humiliation has seen even pro-U.S. conservative politicians speak out to slam Trump. Some lashed out at the president, calling him “empty-headed” or “too inept to figure out what's right and wrong.”“With the 'money is everything' mind of a merchant, Trump seems to be confused about what is his ally and foe,” Rep. Cho Kyung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Party of Korea (LPK) said on a radio show Tuesday. The conser

Aug 14, 2019

'Stop provoking ally': Korea's conservatives slam Trump

PM may attend Japan's enthronement ceremony in Oct

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon walks into a room to preside over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap By Park Ji-wonHopes are high that Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon might attend the enthronement ceremony of new Japanese Emperor Naruhito in October, leading to a breakthrough in the ongoing trade row between Seoul and Tokyo.A day after President Moon Jae-in opened the door for dialogue with Japanese politicians in hopes of finding a resolution, political analysts in Seoul said Tuesday Prime Minister Lee would convey Moon's messages to mend the souring bilateral ties during his possible participation in the ceremony.Officials at the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Tuesday the government is “considering sending” the PM to Japan as a de-facto special envoy in the upcoming key ceremony to proclaim the Japanese emperor's accession on Oct. 22.“Japan probably plans to use the upcoming event as a turning point in addressing the trade dispu

Aug 13, 2019By Park Ji-won

PM may attend Japan's enthronement ceremony in Oct

Arirang resonates from Dokdo

Participants of the 2019 Ulleungdo-Dokdo International Association Disabled Culture Expo sing “Arirang,” the nation's iconic folk song, at the easternmost islets of Dokdo, Tuesday. The event was hosted by the International Association of Culture Exchange for Disabled. / Yonhap

Aug 13, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Moon denounces Japan for 'unfair' economic retaliation

President Moon Jae-in speaks while presiding over a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungPresident Moon Jae-in spoke solemnly Monday, urging his top aides not to react emotionally to Japan's retaliatory actions, and instead focus on coming up with “long-term” steps to cope with the issue.“We should never react sensitively to Japan's economic retaliation,” Moon said. “South Korea needs to take a long breath and control its temper to prepare for fundamental countermeasures against the move.”Yet, he continued to stress the grave unfairness of Japan's economic retaliation. Moon had vowed to “never lose to Japan again” after Tokyo earlier this month stripped Korea of its preferred trading partner status. “We cannot help taking the issue gravely, as Korea underwent a great deal of pain due to Japanese imperialism in the past,” Moon said in a meeting with senior aides, Monday, according to Cheong Wa Dae press pool reports. The Tokyo-driven economic retaliation is an unjust act in itself

Aug 12, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

Moon denounces Japan for 'unfair' economic retaliation

Korea removes Japan from whitelist in tit-for-tat move

DPK committee urges Abe to response to concerns about safety of radioactivity

Rep. Choi Jae-sung, center, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's special committee on Japan's economic regulations, speaks during a press conference held for Japanese correspondents at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap By Park Ji-wonThe chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) special committee on Japan's economic regulations urged the Japanese administration to respond to concerns regarding the level of radioactive contamination in Japan before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.“The Olympic torch relay will take place close to the Fukushima region and a baseball game will be held 70 kilometers from the plant. There are allegations that Japan will use agricultural and fisheries products from the Fukushima region to make dishes for the Olympic team and dump radioactive contaminated waste from the plant into the Pacific Ocean. If it is true, it will be a serious crime,” Rep. Choi Jae-sung, chairman of the DPK's committee, said during a press confe

Aug 12, 2019By Park Ji-won

DPK committee urges Abe to response to concerns about safety of radioactivity

'S. Korea never sought US mediation'

Kim Hyun-chong, center, deputy chief of the presidential National Security Office, responds to questions by a group of South Korean reporters before his return to Seoul after meetings with high-profile Washington officials to discuss the trade friction between South Korea and Japan, July 14. YonhapBy Kim Yoo-chulSouth Korea didn't ask the United States to mediate the ongoing bitter diplomatic conflicts with Japan, a senior presidential aide said Monday, though he added Washington “sufficiently understood the seriousness of the trade friction as it was getting worse.”“The key purpose of my trip last month to Washington, D.C., wasn't aimed at getting Washington's support in resolving the trade friction between South Korea and Japan. If Washington steps in, then the bills would be forwarded to the South Korean government. Why would I ask for U.S. intervention?” Kim Hyun-chong, deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, said in a local radio interview. The presidential aide said he met 15 U.S. politicians including members of the House of Representa

Aug 12, 2019By Kim Yoo-chul

80 percent of high schoolers join 'Boycott Japan' campaign

High school students hold up "Japan boycott" signs during a news conference to declare their participation in a widening civic campaign of boycotting Japanese products in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiAlmost 80 percent of high schoolers surveyed are joining in a widespread boycott of Japanese goods, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey by local education company Jinhaksa of 372 high school students conducted over a five-day period from Aug. 2, 78.2 percent of the respondents said they have been participating in the boycott.For the motivations and reasons for joining the movement, 50.2 percent said they believed the Japanese government's decision to impose restrictions on exports of key high-tech materials to Korea was retaliation for a court ruling last year calling for Japanese companies to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor. Another 39.5 percent said they have been participating because they think the Japanese government has not apologized to the victims. Among the respondents taking part in the

Aug 12, 2019By Bahk Eun-ji

80 percent of high schoolers join 'Boycott Japan' campaign

Korea removes Japan from whitelist in tit-for-tat move

Moon calls for caution against 'emotional' approach to Japan's export curbs

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for caution against "emotional" reactions to Japan's retaliatory trade restrictions, raising the need to tackle the trade spat with Tokyo in a cool-headed manner and from a long-term perspective.The president also appreciated Korean people for showing a "mature" attitude as they are resolutely opposed to Japan's export curbs while making efforts not to hamper friendly relations between the people of Seoul and Tokyo."Our response to Japan's economic retaliation should not be emotional," Moon said at a meeting with senior presidential aides. "We need to be determined but also think about fundamental solutions (to the issue) in a cool-headed manner and from a long-term perspective."Seoul's trade spat with Tokyo has intensified as Japan has recently dropped South Korea from a list of trusted trade partners, following its July 4 imposition of export curbs of key high-tech materials against the South.Moon's remarks came three days before the Liberation Day that marks Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule."We cannot help regarding Japan

Aug 12, 2019

S. Korea removes Japan from list of trusted trading partners

Politics