Politics

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during an on-line press conference with local and foreign journalists at the Blue House on January 18, 2021 in Seoul. (File photo by Getty Images) 
International relations

South Korea's Moon decides against trip to Tokyo for Olympics

Summit talks collapse as both sides fail to narrow gap over historical issues

19 July 2021
South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jung-kun, right, summons Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi to his ministry in Seoul on July 17 to protest remarks made by the ambassador's deputy. 
International relations

Japan ambassador to South Korea reprimands deputy for improper remark

Deputy chief of mission had mocked Moon's handling of relations

17 July 2021
The surge in anti-Asian violence has brought sympathy from immigrants' home countries, prompted diplomatic rebuke, and handed Chinese state media a potent set of talking points with which to criticize the U.S.
The Big Story

Anti-Asian attacks erode US image as Biden rebuilds Pacific ties

Trump's China rhetoric cited as source of bias against Asian Americans

15 July 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have yet to sit down for a meeting.
International relations

Suga and Moon likely to hold first summit during Tokyo Olympics

South Korean leader scheduled to attend opening ceremony for the games

11 July 2021
A crucial meeting between Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the G-7 leaders' summit in Cornwall did not take place as planned. (Source photos by Koji Uema and Getty Images)
5 July 2021
South Korea's former top prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl declares his bid for the presidency at a memorial dedicated to the sacrifice of independence fighter Yun Bong-gil in Seoul on Tuesday.
Politics

South Korean presidential contender seeks 'grand bargain' with Japan

Moon rival Yoon Seok-youl announces run; calls for focus on liberal democracy

29 June 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga oversees a defense budget whose spending as a percentage of GDP is the lowest among G-7 countries. (Source photos by Shinya Sawai and Yo Inoue) 
Comment

Time for Japan to concede South Korea has better defense strategy

Seoul's budget tops Tokyo's to deal with potential threats from North Korea and China

24 June 2021
The decades Japan spent experimenting with massive government borrowing and spending offer the world a cautionary tale.
The Big Story

The money pushers: The world is embracing Japan-style economics

While central bankers watch for inflation, the real danger in many countries may be stagnation

23 June 2021
 A South Korean researcher checks a radio active lever of debris from dismantled experimental reactor belonging to the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.
International relations

North Korean hack targets South's nuclear power research

State-linked attack last month possibly leaked technology to Pyongyang

18 June 2021
Members of BTS pose during a photo opportunity promoting their new single "Butter" in Seoul on May 21: Kim Jong Un railed against the "attire, hairstyles, speeches" and "behaviors" of the band.
Opinion

K-pop tirade reveals Kim Jong Un's desperate need for a hit

Recent diatribe was unhinged even by North Korean standards

17 June 2021
A set of remote islands called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese is seen in this picture taken from a helicopter in 2012. 
Japan-South Korea rift

South Korea holds drill around Takeshima islets amid Japan protest

Japan chief cabinet secretary calls move 'unacceptable and extremely regrettable'

15 June 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrive for the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, on June 12.
Japan-South Korea rift

Japan canceled Moon-Suga meeting at G-7: Yonhap

Tokyo denies claim made in news report and lodges complaint with Seoul

15 June 2021
Lim Cheol-ho, a plaintiff, speaks to reporters at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on Monday after the court dismissed a damages suit launched by 85 South Koreans and their families against 16 Japanese companies they were forced to work for.
Japan-South Korea rift

Court pushes South Korea to find diplomatic fix to Japan issues

Rulings favoring Tokyo on wartime labor, comfort women break precedent

11 June 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is under pressure to pardon jailed Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Companies

South Korea's Moon leans toward pardon for jailed Samsung chief

Tradition of clemency for tycoons hard to end as chip competition intensifies

10 June 2021
Representatives for the plaintiffs speak to reporters outside the Seoul Central District Court on on June 7.
Japan-South Korea rift

Ahead of US-Japan-Korea summit, Moon moves for thaw with Tokyo

Seoul court rejects wartime labor suit as Biden renews East Asia focus

8 June 2021
Ties between South Korea and Japan have soured since South Korean Supreme Court rulings in 2018 ordered Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate South Korean plaintiffs.
International relations

South Korea court dismisses wartime labor case against Japan companies

Ruling was unexpected as it contradicts Supreme Court verdict in 2018

7 June 2021
Lee Jun-seok, the front-runner to lead the main opposition People Power Party, gives a speech Wednesday in Busan, South Korea.
Politics

36-year-old maverick shakes up South Korean opposition

Political novice Lee Jun-seok outpaces old guard in race to lead People Power Party

6 June 2021
Joe Biden listens as Moon Jae-in speaks during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on May 21: they evaded any explicit mention of Beijing.
Opinion

Is South Korea ready to throw in its lot with Washington?

Equivocation may breed tensions in the alliance

6 June 2021
Indian and Pakistani flags are lowered during a daily retreat ceremony at the India-Pakistan joint border check post of Attari-Wagah in July 2015: if this colorful spectacle does not come back to life, that may be no bad thing.
Opinion

We would all be better off if politicians left history alone

Teaching the past is best left to professionals

5 June 2021
The price of condominiums in South Korea has soared 80% in the four years since President Moon Jae-in took office.
Politics

South Korea arrests 34 in 'embarrassing' land speculation scandal

Probe into insider deals by public employees erodes trust in ruling party

3 June 2021
A Taurus long-range air-to-surface missile fired from a South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jet is seen during an exercise in Taean-gun, South Korea. Taraus is capable of covering all of North Korea with its 500-kilometer firing range. 
Aerospace & Defense Industries

South Korean arms makers in spotlight after missile limit lifted

Shares of defense contractors LIG Nex1, Hanwha, KAI rise on long-term prospects

2 June 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a joint news conference with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on May 21. The leaders called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a summit statement.
International relations

South Korea's tiptoeing on Taiwan avoids Beijing backlash

Seoul thinks China 'understands' its position after Moon-Biden summit

29 May 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspects a vaccine vial at an SK Bioscience plant in the city of Andong on Jan. 20. His government has come under fire over a slow vaccine rollout. (Source photos by Reuters and EPA/Yonhap/Jiji)
COVID vaccines

South Korea, Japan and Taiwan rush to develop homegrown vaccines

Sluggish vaccination rollouts make the three places vulnerable to outbreaks

26 May 2021
Samsung Biologics will produce hundreds of millions of Moderna vaccines starting this summer. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Biologics)
COVID vaccines

Samsung Biologics to make Moderna vaccine in Biden summit takeaway

Incheon production deal comes after Moon government faced criticism on supply front

24 May 2021
Hyunmoo-2 and Hyunmoo-3 ballistic missiles are displayed at a 2017 event commemorating Korea Armed Forces Day in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
Biden's Asia policy

US and South Korea scrap bilateral missile guidelines

Decades-old accord had limited Seoul's development of ballistic program

24 May 2021