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Wed, November 29, 2023 | 07:34

Spy agency in disarray

NIS mired in power struggle amid security crisisPresident Yoon Suk Yeol sacked National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun and his two deputies last Friday. It was unprecedented for a president to simultaneously dismiss the top three officials of the nation’s spy agency. He has since filled the two deputy director posts but left the top NIS position vacant. Tha...

2023-11-28 16:22

FM meeting, partial success

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan met in Busan, Saturday to discuss a diverse range of issues of mutual concern, such as the potential trilateral summit, among others. The three-way meeting drew special attention, because it was the first one to take place since a gathering of foreign ministers in Chengdu, China, in August 2019. In a preliminary meeting be...

2023-11-27 16:40

Compensating ex-sex slaves

The judiciary branch has unified its opinion on the abuses of Koreans' human rights during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. On Thursday, the Seoul High Court reaffirmed the Japanese government is responsible for compensating former victims of sex slavery forced to work in its military brothels during World War II.

2023-11-26 16:00

Fighting fire with fire

Koreas should calm down, seek exit strategyThe situation on the Korean Peninsula is about to come to a head.On Thursday, North Korea said it would immediately resume all military measures halted under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement. Pyongyang’s move came hours after Seoul suspended part of the tension reduction deal following the North’s launch of a military spy satellite, eff...

2023-11-23 16:40

Seoul-Warsaw axis

Seoul-Warsaw axis

Much attention is being paid to North Korea’s arms deals with Russia, including the supply of artillery shells and other equipment to support Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine. But South Korea’s sizable arms sales overseas have drawn less scrutiny.

2023-11-22 16:40

Digital disaster

The government's central computer system was up and running again on Monday following a debilitating three-day outage. Last Friday, the Korean public was unable to obtain official documents or conduct other duties requiring certification as the system outage crippled the government’s civil service capabilities. People could not make real estate deals or receive bank loans, as...

2023-11-21 16:40

Too rosy a prospect

The Ministry of Economy and Finance is painting a rosy outlook for the national economy. “There have been signs of a gradual economic recovery,” the ministry said in a report released on Friday. That assessment is even more positive than a previous one that said, “The economic downturn trend has been slowing.” This time, the word “recovery’’ was used. As the ministry put it, ...

2023-11-20 16:40

Taking China's hands

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are undoubtedly the closest Korean and Japanese leaders in history. The duo showed off their bromance again at the APEC summit in San Francisco last week. Yoon said Kishida is his “closest friend in the international community.” Kishida reciprocated, saying, “We commonly love good food and drink.” The two also attended ...

2023-11-19 16:40

Pathetic military leaders

Stronger alliances can’t make up for lax disciplineKoreans have some misconceptions about their liberal and conservative leaders.Such prejudices stand out in two areas: economy and defense. People believe the economy grew faster under tight-fisted conservative presidents than welfare-minded liberals. Still, statistics show the growth rate was higher under progressive leaders....

2023-11-16 16:40

Urgent transport reform

Urgent transport reform

In the face of an exacerbating climate emergency, South Korea, as one of the major greenhouse gas emitters and the world's fifth-largest auto manufacturing nation, stands at a crossroads, faced with the imperative to revolutionize its transport sector.

2023-11-15 16:40

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