Author: Jae young

July 16, 2025SEOUL – Chung Dong-young, Lee Jae Myung’s nominee for unification minister, has signaled a sharp turn toward a conciliatory doctrine grounded in engagement, mutual restraint and a softened military posture.The confirmation hearing for Chung on Monday offered more than a preview of his personal stance on inter-Korean affairs — it provided a window into the likely trajectory of Seoul’s North Korea policy under the new liberal government.Chung laid out a vision that departs markedly from the previous conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s hard-line North Korea policy — a shift rooted in his rejection of the prior framing of…

July 16, 2025SEOUL – The Lee Jae Myung government’s sweeping organizational reforms across Korea’s financial and economic agencies are extending into lengthy and complex negotiations, testing the administration’s ability to balance and delineate agency roles.While discussions continue on reallocating responsibilities among key institutions including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, progress has been sluggish in filling top leadership positions.Nominations for the FSC chair and FSS governor remain pending, despite Cabinet appointments having been made across 19 ministries on Friday.Widespread speculation suggests these delays are driven by deeper disagreements over the scope…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung’s office on Monday introduced the nation’s ‘first dog,’ Bobby.On his Instagram post, Lee unveiled a photo of himself sitting on an armchair along with the dog. Lee said in the post that his family has been raising the dog.“A fourth of South Korea’s population lives with a pet. Through Bobby, who gives us happiness and solace by just being with us, I could understand the minds of people who are living with their pets,” read the post.Lee’s office did not immediately elaborate on how old the first dog was, when Lee’s family…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – Hopes for renewed inter-Korean cooperation grew Monday after North Korea’s Kumgangsan was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris on Sunday.This marks the North’s third entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, following Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong in 2013 and the Complex of Koguryo Tombs inscribed in 2004.In 2021, North Korea submitted its application to have Kumgangsan recognized by UNESCO as a mixed heritage site, reflecting the rich Buddhist mountain traditions and long-standing practice of mountain worship and pilgrimage spanning centuries. However,…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – A fire broke out in an operating room at Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju on Monday morning, prompting the evacuation of about 40 patients and medical staff, according to fire authorities.The Gwangju Fire Department said it received a report at around 8:12 a.m. that a fire had started in the hospital’s seventh operating room, located on the third floor of its new building.Although firefighters were dispatched, the blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes by medical staff using on-site fire extinguishers.Forty patients and medical staff were transferred to the emergency room after inhaling smoke. No surgeries were…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – A fire broke out in an operating room at Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju on Monday morning, prompting the evacuation of about 40 patients and medical staff, according to fire authorities.The Gwangju Fire Department said it received a report at around 8:12 a.m. that a fire had started in the hospital’s seventh operating room, located on the third floor of its new building.Although firefighters were dispatched, the blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes by medical staff using on-site fire extinguishers.Forty patients and medical staff were transferred to the emergency room after inhaling smoke. No surgeries were…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – The number of mosquitoes in Seoul has more than halved over the past decade, with experts pointing to extreme heat and a shortened monsoon season as key factors behind the sharp decline in mosquito activity.According to statistics provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, up to 62,351 mosquitoes were collected through monitoring in June.The city government noted that this was a 56 percent decrease compared to its data from 2015, as the city saw up to 139,928 mosquitoes in the same month. The recent figure is also lower than the mosquito count observed at the same time…

July 15, 2025SEOUL – South Korea and Japan were taken aback last week when US President Donald Trump took aim at two of America’s longtime Asian allies, dashing any expectation of preferential treatment regarding his “reciprocal” tariffs.In nearly identical letters sent to the leaders of the two neighbors, Trump announced 25 percent tariffs to start Aug. 1, unless Korea and Japan each dismantle what he described as unfair trade barriers. Though Trump sent similar tariff letters to 12 other countries that day, his choice to publicize the Seoul and Tokyo letters first was seen as a deliberate move that one…

HomeGEOPOLITICSDefence & SecurityNorth Korea bristles at South Korea-U.S.-Japan air drillsNorth Korea on July 13 blasted recent combined air drills conducted by South Korea, the United States and Japan, saying such joint military actions are “the main danger factors heightening the level of the military tension” on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding region. Post navigation

July 14, 2025SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung’s picks to head the education and gender equality ministries are facing allegations of “gapjil,” meaning abuse of authority, that have sparked calls for their withdrawal.Lee Jin-sook, who has been nominated for education minister, a position that doubles as deputy prime minister, has been accused of plagiarizing an earlier paper by her student while she was a professor.According to a page-to-page analysis of both Lee’s and her student’s papers, released by main opposition People Power Party Rep. Joo Jin-woo, some of the nominee’s paragraphs were exact matches of those written by her student.The…