South Korea - The Korea Times

Assange is indicted, but not for publishing

Many people, including some former admirers, have come to loathe Julian Assange. But you don't have to like the founder of WikiLeaks to worry about whether his federal indictment ― unsealed recently after he was arrested at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London ― portends a crackdown on freedom of the press.That concern is eased to some degree ― but not entirely ― by the fact that the indictment doesn't charge Assange with a crime for publishing classified information on WikiLeaks. That would truly have been a frontal assault on what journalists do on a regular basis. Rather, the indictment alleges that Assange conspired in 2010 with Chelsea Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst in Iraq, to crack a government password in search of secret material to divulge.That's an enormously important distinction. Journalists are rightly protected by the 1st Amendment even when they publish classified information that has been provided to them by leakers. But if Assange indeed crossed a line by conspiring to facilitate the theft of the information, that's a very different matter.The

Apr 21, 2019

Domestic airlines facing turbulence

Air Premia's Boeing B787-9. / Courtesy of Air PremiaBy Kim Hyun-binDespite a record number of passengers in recent years, some local airlines are struggling to stay afloat, with some on the verge of shutting down due to managerial and financial issues.Air Premia, a budget carrier granted its business license last month, is on the verge of losing it because of an ongoing conflict between management and shareholders.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the aviation industry, the airline held a board of directors' meeting Friday with shareholders wanting to replace CEO Kim Jong-chul.Kim and shareholders have been in a dispute over new aircraft.However, the transport ministry could revoke the airline's business license because any change in CEO could hinder the execution of its business plan.“The change in CEO could mean their initial business plan might not be executed and if the transport ministry believes the plan to be lacking substance, they can revoke the business license,” an aviation official said.On March 5, the transport ministry grant

Apr 21, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Moon presides over repatriation ceremony for remains of Korean independence fighters in Kazakhstan

The grave of independence fighter Kye Bong-woo in Kazakhstan. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonPresident Moon Jae-in presided over a repatriation ceremony for the remains of two Korean independence fighters and their wives who fought against Japanese colonial rule in Kazakhstan, Sunday. The remains of Kye Bong-woo and Hwang Woon-jung, independent fighters who were buried in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, and their wives were moved to the presidential aircraft and will be returned to South Korea today. Moon, who is on his business trip to three Central Asian countries, held such an event for the first time outside of the country, the presidential office said.The repatriation ceremonies were organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the March 1 independence movement and the establishment of a provisional government.Kye, who had served as a lawmaker at the provisional government in Shanghai since 1919, was forcibly moved to the Central Asian country in 1937. He continued to write books about Korean grammar and Korean history. He was awarded an Independence Medal in 1995.Hwang, w

Apr 21, 2019By Park Ji-won

Moon presides over repatriation ceremony for remains of Korean independence fighters in Kazakhstan

Kia's sales of vehicles hit 8-million units in US

Kia's Sportage / Korea Times fileKia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, has sold more than 8 million automobiles in the United States since it first tapped the world's top economy in 1992, industry data showed Sunday.The smaller sister of Hyundai Motor Co. sold 55,814 cars in the U.S. in March, with its accumulated sales reaching a whopping 8.02 million units as of the month. Kia opened its first U.S. office 28 years ago, with its combined sales reaching 1 million units in 2003.The figure has risen sharply since 2010, when Kia completed its local production line in Georgia, reaching 5 million units in 2014 and 7 million units in 2017, industry data showed.The most popular Kia automobile in the U.S. is the Sorento SUV, which posted sales of 1.31 million units. The model previously posted annual sales of around 50,000 units, but it later shot up to 100,000 units after the SUV was locally produced at the Georgia production line.The Soul box car followed with 1.19 million units, also posting annual sales of around 100,000 units. The midsized sedan K5 took the third spot at 1.06

Apr 21, 2019

Kia's sales of vehicles hit 8-million units in US

Liberals expected to raise voices at Constitutional Court

President Moon Jae-in's appointment of two new Constitutional Court justices on Friday is expected to bring some changes to the ideological spectrum of the top court's future rulings, legal experts and watchers said.The addition of Lee Mi-sun and Moon Hyung-bae to the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court increased the number of its non-conservative justices to seven, one more than the magic number needed to achieve a two-thirds majority.The court requires at least six out of nine justices to decide on the constitutionality of cases brought before it. Besides its primary role of reviewing constitutionality, the top court also has crucial administrative law functions, such as ruling on competence disputes between governmental entities, giving final decisions on impeachments and making judgments on the dissolution of political parties.The top court has steadily strengthened its progressive orientation since Moon's inauguration two years ago. Now only two justices, appointed during the previous presidency of Park Geun-hye, are considered conservatives. Two other conservative jus

Apr 20, 2019

Moon to visit Samarkand to bolster friendship between S. Korea and Uzbekistan

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to visit Uzbekistan's historic city of Samarkand Saturday, highlighting his country's long friendship with the Central Asian nation that he says dates back to the era of the Silk Road.Moon's trip to the city comes one day after he and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreed to upgrade the countries' relationship to a "special strategic partnership" in their bilateral summit here.Seoul and Tashkent established diplomatic ties in 1992. Their relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2006.Moon says the friendship between the two countries dates back hundreds of years when they were connected by the ancient network of trade routes, the Silk Road."Uzbekistan's development is South Korea's development. South Korea will gladly share its experience of economic development with Uzbekistan," Moon said in an address to the Uzbek parliament Friday.Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. It is known to have been frequented by merchants from countries in the region, including ancient Korean dynasties.The South

Apr 20, 2019

LKP's Park Geun-hye loyalists demand her release

A group of supporters of jailed former President Park Geun-hye hold a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday, calling for her immediate release from prison. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonA group of loyalists of jailed former President Park Geun-hye belonging to the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) are demanding her release citing her deteriorating health. However, the ruling and other opposition parties are opposed to the idea.LKP Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, who served as the prime minister and justice minister under the Park administration, said Wednesday, “Park has been locked in a prison cell for a long time, and this is tough for a woman. No other former president has been imprisoned for this long.”“As she is sick and facing difficult circumstances, I hope that the peoples’ wish to free her will be realized soon.”His remarks came after Yoo Young-ha, Park’s lawyer, submitted a petition to the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, Wednesday, asking for Park’s immediate release for medical treatment.According to the Criminal Procedure Act, t

Apr 19, 2019By Park Ji-won

LKP's Park Geun-hye loyalists demand her release

LKP declares all-out struggle against Moon

By Lee Min-hyungHwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition Liberty Korea PartyPresident Moon Jae-in appointed two disputed nominees as Constitutional Court justices Friday, despite a fierce objection from conservative parties.The appointments of the liberal-minded Lee Mi-sun and Moon Hyung-bae as new Constitutional Court members drew an immediate political backlash. The largest conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP) vowed to stage an all-out protest against the liberal President. It said it will hold a rally in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, Saturday, to denounce what it called a “dictatorship by leftists.”Political turmoil is expected to deepen over the controversial appointments. The conservative parties had urged Moon to withdraw the nominations, particularly for Lee, citing her involvement in a massive stock trading scandal.Cheong Wa Dae said President Moon pushed ahead with the appointments by using an electronic approval system, as he is on now a state visit to three Central Asian countries. This allows the two justices to immediately sit on the court's nine-member b

Apr 19, 2019By Lee Min-hyung

LKP declares all-out struggle against Moon

Moon appoints two disputed justices

Boeing handling Max disasters like Korea did with Sewol

The pile of debris from the deadly crash of Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing 737 Max 8 in March. AP-YonhapBy Oh Young-jin The way Boeing Co. is handling the aftermath of the two recent deadly crashes of its passenger jets bears a worrisome resemblance to Korea's ham-fisted management of the April 16, 2014, sinking of the ferry Sewol, the nation's worst peacetime disaster. What can make the Boeing case worse is its alleged failure to act quickly after the first disaster so as to prevent the second. The world's leading passenger aircraft maker's troubles involve its 737 Max 8 jets, while the Sewol was a maritime tragedy. What brings the two different types of mishaps together is complacency, incompetence and crassness shown by Boeing and its leader, reminding one of what went wrong leading to Korea's sea disaster that killed 304 people, mostly high school students on a field trip. On Oct. 29, a 737 Max 8 jet of Indonesia's Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea near Jakarta, killing all 189 passengers and crew. Less than five months later, on March 10, an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 crashed just ou

Apr 19, 2019By Oh Young-jin

Boeing handling Max disasters like Korea did with Sewol

FAA sets multi-nation review of Boeing's troubled Max planes

Moon appoints two disputed justices

Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sunPresident Moon Jae-in on Friday moved ahead with the appointments of two new constitutional justices, dismissing fierce protests by conservative opposition parties.Moon's decision heralds the deepening of ongoing political strife, as the opposition bloc is threatening to boycott all parliamentary sessions. While on a trip to Central Asia, the president used the electronic approval system to install the duo ― Lee Mi-sun and Moon Hyung-bae ― into the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court. "President Moon authorized the appointments of the two constitutional justices through electronic signing in Uzbekistan, where he's on a state visit, to prevent a vacuum in the justice seats even for a day," Yoon Do-han, senior presidential secretary for public relations, told reporters.Lee and Moon are replacing Cho Yong-ho and Suh Ki-suk, both of whom retired on Thursday after six-year terms.The Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and Bareunmirae Party (BMP) have opposed the nomination of Lee, in particular, citing her suspicious personal stock transaction records. She had

Apr 19, 2019

LKP declares all-out struggle against Moon

Politics