News

[K-Enter] Hong Sang-Soo's new film enters the Berlin Film Festival

2025/01/22 14:00

Time for our daily dose of K-entertainment with Walter Lee. Today we have a segment full of K-contents. Let's start with movie news. Yes, plenty of news from film festivals and press conferences today. Let's start with Hong Sang-soo. Director Hong Sang-soo's film "What does that nature say to you?" has been invited to the 75th Berlin Film Festival, which will take place in Germany's capital next month. The Berlin Film Festival's executive committee announced 19 films invited to the competition section at a press conference on Tuesday (local time). The film tells the story of Dong-hwa, a poet in his 30s, who unexpectedly visits the home of his lover, Jun-hee. In previous years, Hong has received five awards at the Berlin Film Festival, beginning with "On the Beach at Night Alone" in 2017, when actress and his partner Kim Min-hee won the "Silver Bear for Best Actress", and most recently "The Novelist's Film" in 2022 won the "Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize". Meanwhile, Kim and Hong are reportedly expecting a child this spring. That's why there are speculations on whether Hong's partner Kim Min-hee will join Hong at the Berlin International Film Festival or not. Let's move on to another movie, one that you introduced us to before? The crime thriller "Nocturnal" or "Broken" in Korean, starring Ha Jung-woo and Kim Nam-gil, has been sold to 158 countries for screening. "Nocturnal" has been pre-sold to countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, and Spain, signalling it's popularity with audiences worldwide. It has also been invited to the non-competitive official section of the Glasgow Film Festival, one of the UK's leading film festivals. The Glasgow Film Festival, which will run from February 26 to March 9, has previously invited Korean films such as "Sleep", "The Man Standing Next", and "Voice of Silence". This year, "Nocturnal" is the only Korean film selected. "Nocturnal" is scheduled for release on February 5. Great to see Korean movies gain more and more popularity around the world. And from the big screens to the smaller screen, what's our final story Walter? The production press conference for the Netflix drama "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" was held on Tuesday, and was attended by director Lee Do-yoon and cast members Ju Ji-hoon, Choo Young-woo, and Ha Young. Ju, who plays the protagonist Baek Kang-hyuk, an expert trauma doctor who takes on the challenge of reviving a dysfunctional trauma team. When talking about working on the drama, Ju said, "I worked hard to ensure the fantasy-like story didn't feel overly unrealistic." Adding "During the preparation process, I spent hours in intense discussions with the director and production team, sometimes up to seven hours per session." "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" will be released worldwide on Netflix on January 24. Thanks for that entertainment news Walter. Now we move onto our AI anchor Ari for more culture news.

[Features reporter] How is S. Korea's webtoon industry fostering new talents?

2025/01/22 14:00

Sung-jin, we're going to look at a sector today that's maybe not as popular as K-pop and K-dramas abroad but one that is growing continuously. On my way to work I saw lots of people in the subway scrolling through these Have you guys heard of Kang Full and "The Light Shop" or Kim poong and "The History of Fools"? These are some notable webtoon artists and their works. Today I want to talk about the webtoon industry and how it's looking to foster talents. 25-year-old Jeon Sung-hyun aspires to be a famous webtoon artist, not just in Korea, but around the world. "Not only did I start drawing webtoons because I like them, but, and this may be deep, I like how I can express philosophical or deep story lines. It's not just fun comics like the old days, but it can be something more meaningful than that." He's taking a leave of absence from his other studies to devote himself to webtoons and he's not the only one. "In 2024, compared to the year before, registered students increased by 25 percent. One thing we emphasize is real experience. We have signed MOUs with various webtoon studios so students could immediately gain hands on experience as well." The hardest step for emerging artists is probably making their debut on a major webtoon platform. But luckily, there are talentspotters like Flory who search out stories that connect with readers. "My job entails everything related to these webtoon creators from finding and contacting them to producing and marketing their content, and it is important that we continue to work on discovering and showcasing new artists." According to the Culture Ministry and Korea Creative Content Agency, South Korea’s webtoon industry saw an operating profit of more than 2 trillion Korean won or 1-point-4 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 up by nearly 20 percent from the year before. South Korea's webtoon industry continues to see a steady influx of learners. Who knows, maybe this time next year, students like Jeon Sung-hyun will be making his debut on a webtoon platform. Sung-jin, I was very interested in your coverage today, because I happen to have covered webtoons exactly 10 years ago. And seeing the industry having grown this much is very fulfilling to see. Walter do you like to read webtoons? Then Sung-jin, since you’ve visited all these places related to the webtoon industry, any pieces you can recommend and why exactly are these webtoons so popular? To be honest, I don’t read webtoons too often so I had to do some research and get recommendations from my friends! I want to share a bit more about Kang Full's pieces So other than "The Light Shop", another well-known webtoon is "Moving" as well as "Pure Love Comics" or "Apartment." I did watch the recent drama adaptation of "The Light Shop" though, which is about a shop for those who are in between life and the afterlife. For a lot of those in their 30s and 40s, he seems really popular. When I talked to industry experts, it seems like some of the major features that guided the success of webtoons are vertical scrolling and background music as well as 3D backgrounds. And Sung-jin, you've mentioned it's a growing industry. Surely the government must be providing some support to further develop the industry? Right, so the government invests in the content industry every year. That includes games, animation, webtoons and others. This year it will invest three percent more than last year in the sector. Looking just at the webtoon sector, the government will be investing an additional 8-point-4 billion won or 5-point-85 million U.S. dollars this year. But despite these efforts we do see a recurring problem in this industry ? Exactly, as I mentioned during my report, webtoons are part of the intellectual property realm, which is why a very inherent problem comes to surface -the fact that they can easily be stolen. What I mean by this is regardless of the copyright that each of these webtoons holds, they have been distributed illegally to different countries, which obviously harms the original creator. Another issue similar to this is that despite the growing industry itself, individual creators still have their difficulties. "Because most webtoons are released once a week, there is so much to work on. Though finding ways to improve pay would be best, with a limited amount of time, these webtoon artists have been seeking other ways to make their working environment sustainable like simplifying background details." Ultimately, to make the webtoon sector more sustainable, there needs to be policies to help individual artists. Great to know all aspects of the webtoon industry, Even it's hidden ones. Thank you Sung-jin for today's report. My pleasure as always.

[Weather] Korea engulfed by nasty air, warmer than usual

2025/01/22 10:00

Korea is engulfed by dusty air with an ultra fine dust advisory issued in many regions. The concentration of fine dust is 3 to 4 times higher than normal levels. Other than in the east of Gangwon-do Province and on Jeju, we need to keep dust filtered mask on all day. Making matters worse, more dust will blow in this morning. AND The capital and west coast had a rough commute with thick morning fog. The east coast remains quite dry with a dry weather advisory being in place for more than a month. Strong wind will be no help. Be careful with anything that could start a fire. Afternoon highs will be 4 to 5 degrees higher than norms, topping out at 7 degrees in the capital, Daegu and Busan at 12 degrees under partly sunny skies. Unusual warmth will keep dust in the air through the end of the week, then the Seollal holiday next week will be a freezing one with much improved air. That's Korea for you, here's a look at the international weather conditions.

Annual U.K. toy fair

2025/01/22 10:00

In London, the 71st annual Toy Fair is underway at the Olympia exhibition hall. The fair runs until January 23 and showcases toys from over 250 exhibitors including Spin Master, The LEGO Group, and Gibsons. This year's exhibition includes themes such as the booming kidult category catering to adults who collect or play with toys. The kidult market accounted for 25% of U.K. toy sales in 2024. The fair also highlighted an increase in affordable "pocket money" toys, which accounted for nearly 30% of U.K. toy sales last year.

Rare snowstorm hits U.S. south

2025/01/22 10:00

Now to the U.S., where the southern region was hit by a rare snowstorm on Tuesday. Heavy snowfall and icy conditions were seen in cities including Houston, and New Orleans, with New Orleans expecting snowfall potentially matching a record set back in 1895. The rare weather conditions led to disruptions in air travel as well, with over 2,000 flight cancellations and 10,000 delays. Operations were also suspended at Houston's major airports. In response to the storm, several Gulf Coast states declared states of emergency, recommending residents to stay indoors and avoid travel.

Rare snowstorm hits U.S. south

2025/01/22 10:00

Now to the U.S., where the southern region was hit by a rare snowstorm on Tuesday. Heavy snowfall and icy conditions were seen in cities including Houston, and New Orleans, with New Orleans expecting snowfall potentially matching a record set back in 1895. The rare weather conditions led to disruptions in air travel as well, with over 2,000 flight cancellations and 10,000 delays. Operations were also suspended at Houston's major airports. In response to the storm, several Gulf Coast states declared states of emergency, recommending residents to stay indoors and avoid travel.

Israel's military chief resigns

2025/01/22 10:00

Over in Israel, the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, General Herzi Halevi, submitted a letter of resignation on Tuesday, acknowledging his responsibility for the shortcomings during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. In his resignation letter, the military chief said the IDF had "failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel." The October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and the abduction of some 250 individuals. It has been described as one of the most significant security failures in Israel's history. Halevi's resignation is set to take effect on March 6. General Yaron Finkelman, head of the IDF's Southern Command, also stepped down, citing similar reasons.

Turkiye ski hotel fire kills 76

2025/01/22 10:00

Starting in Turkiye, a fire at a ski resort hotel in the northwestern province of Bolu has killed at least 76 people and injured 51 others. The fire at the Kartalkaya Ski Resort reportedly started early on Tuesday, local time on the restaurant floor of the 12-story hotel, which had 238 guests at the time. Emergency response teams were delayed due to the hotel's remote location and adverse weather conditions. The fire was eventually put out after approximately 10 hours. An investigation is underway to figure out the exact cause of the fire and police have detained nine people, including the hotel's owner. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared Wednesday a day of mourning and vowed that those responsible will be held accountable for the tragedy.

1.34 million people expected to travel overseas during this year's Lunar New Year holiday

2025/01/22 10:00

More than 1-point-3 million people are expected to travel overseas from the domestic airports during this year's Lunar New Year holiday period. According to data submitted on Wednesday by Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-young, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, around 1-point-three-four million people will travel overseas from six international airports in South Korea over a period of 10 days from Friday to February 2nd. During this period, more than a million are expected to travel from the Incheon International Airport. The second day of the Lunar New Year holiday, January 25th, is expected to see the largest number of passengers leave the country. In response to the increased demand, the transport ministry has increased the total number of flights by 7 percent.

On-point: North Korea reports on Trump's election win and inauguration

2025/01/22 10:00

North Korea reported on U.S. President Donald Trump's election win and inauguration for the first time on Wednesday morning, just a day after Trump officially made it back to the White House. Let us discuss more with Professor Robert Kelly this morning. Thanks for joining us. 1. North Korea report on Trump's election win what should we read into that? 2. Can we say the regime is welcoming back Trump? 3. Then Trump calling North Korea a nuclear power where is this recognition coming from? 4. Then what kind of small deals do you think Trump will propose to Kim? 5. How likely is it do you think that Trump will invite and get Seoul involved in possible future Trump-Kim dialogue? Thanks so much for sharing your insight with us.

S. Korea raises concerns over N. Korea's nuclear weapons at UN disarmament conference

2025/01/22 10:00

South Korea has brought up the issue of North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile provocations, as well as its troop deployment to Russia's Kursk region during a UN Conference on Disarmament, where the North vowed to never give up its nuclear development. Lee Seung-jae reports. The UN Conference on Disarmament was held on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, with much of the attention on North Korea. At the meeting North Korean ambassador to the U.N. office in Geneva Jo Chol-su slammed the U.S. for conducting aerial intelligence activities against the regime since the beginning of the year. He further criticized the simulated nuclear war exercises being conducted on the Korean Peninsula, and U.S.' strategic bombers being deployed to the region. Jo said that U.S. political and military provocations are what's causing armed conflicts and undermining regional stability. He further stressed that a strong national defense force is the only way to protect peace, and vowed to deter all military provocations by "hostile forces." The envoy concluded his remarks by saying, that as a "responsible nuclear state", the North will continue its efforts to prevent all forms of war and protect peace and stability. In response, Kim Il-hoon, counselor at South Korea's Permanent Mission to Geneva pointed out that North Korea not only provide Russia with a large quantity of lethal weapons and ballistic missiles, a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, but also dispatched more than 11 thousand troops. Kim pointed out the recent capture of two North Korean soldiers, as evidence of North Korea's participation in the Ukraine War. He also stressed that North Korea lowering its threshold for a nuclear attack is a "present-day threat," adding that it goes against peace and stability in the region. However, Kim still emphasized the importance of holding talks, saying that the only way North Korea can benefit is through dialogue and diplomacy. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

U.S. announces massive AI infrastructure project worth US$ 500 bil.

2025/01/22 10:00

In the U.S. President Donald Trump announced a historic AI investment project worth 5-hundred billion dollars in collaboration with tech giants. Our Park Kun-woo has the details. Efforts to "Save America" are being put into action. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the largest AI infrastructure project in history with investment of up to 5-hundred billion U.S. dollars. The massive project includes three companies -OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle -that have decided to partner on a new AI infrastructure company "Stargate." "Beginning immediately, Stargate will be building the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI and this will include the construction of colossal data centers, very, very massive structures." The first data center project is already under construction in Texas. Also on Tuesday, a mass deportation operation began in the U.S. according to border czar Tom Homan. He said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will primarily crack down on illegal immigrants with criminal records, but added those without such records will also be arrested if found. Homan said "sanctuary cities" and protected areas, including schools and places of worship, will not be exempt from arrests. Trump also hinted at a "tax war" with a memorandum after taking office, which threaten to double tax rates for foreign nationals and companies in the U.S. in response to discriminatory taxation on U.S. multinationals by other countries. He also mentioned potentially withdrawing from the OECD global tax pact that allows other countries to levy top-up taxes on U.S. companies. Trump also spoke about imposing tariffs. "We're thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada I think we'll do it February 1st." Canada's Prime Minister said it will "respond robustly" if "unfair tariffs" are imposed to protect the country's interests. Trump also spoke about possible tariffs on China early next month. However, investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs echoed opinion in Wall Street that Trump's recent comments on tariffs were quite moderate, but also noted related uncertainties remain in the coming days. With easing concerns, the New York stock market, including the Dow Jones 30, closed strongly on Tuesday, up by more than 1-point-2 percent from the previous session. Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.

Live from Seoul Detention Center: CIO to carry out 3rd forced summons attempt

2025/01/22 10:00

Following his first appearance at his impeachment trial on Tuesday, President Yoon stopped by a hospital before he returned to Seoul Detention Center. For details, we connect with our Lee Soo-jin at the detention center. Soo-jin, first off, tell us more about his hospital visit. Sure,.. so President Yoon was expected to return straight away to the Seoul Detention Center. But instead, like you said, he went to the Armed Forces Seoul Hospital a military hospital in downtown Seoul. Yoon, along with his escort vehicles, departed from the Constitutional Court at 4:42 PM yesterday,.. and headed towards the hospital for a medical check-up. The hospital visit had been approved by the head of the detention center, as required by detainees. Yoon's lawyers told reporters on Tuesday that this was a check-up that his doctor had asked him to receive a month before. Yoon remained at the hospital for more than three hours until around 8:40PM. He returned here at the Seoul Detention Center a little past 9 PM on Tuesday. As a result, the second attempt by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to question Yoon on Tuesday was unsuccessful. The CIO dispatched six investigators and prosecutors to the Seoul Detention Center at around 5PM, after the agency confirmed that the hearing had been concluded. But as Yoon did not immediately return to the facility, the CIO officials were left to wait at the detention center. And the officials eventually left around 30 minutes after Yoon arrived back at the detention center past 9PM as regulations prohibit questioning detainees without their consent after 9PM. So Tuesday was another unproductive day for investigators. Now, what's their plan for today? Well, they are planning to carry out another forced summons attempt today. But because there isn't much time before the CIO has to hand Yoon over to prosecutors on the 28th, it said in a briefing just an hour ago, that it will attempt to once again forcibly transfer Yoon to the CIO interrogation room at the Government Complex in Gwacheon today. The CIO has considered both options of carrying out forced summons and an on-site investigation. The latter of those was often seen in cases involving former presidents. Yoon's lawyers,.. however, are maintaining their stance of refusing to comply with the CIO investigation, saying that as they plan to attend all the impeachment hearings at the Constitution Court, they need time to prepare. Last but not least, Soo-jin, please do update us on the investigations into Yoon's supporters who attacked the court that issued the formal arrest warrant against Yoon this past weekend. Sure,.. so prosecutors are moving forward with making sure that Yoon's supporters that stormed the Seoul Western District Court are held accountable for their actions. Legal sources revealed on Tuesday that prosecutors on Monday requested detention warrants for 46 people who were apprehended after Sunday's riots. The 46 individuals face charges of trespassing on court premises and vandalizing the building. Out of the 46 people, six of them were revealed to be in their 20s and 19 of them in their 30s, and their lawyer is currently claiming that the incident was triggered by right-wing YouTubers. The decision on whether to issue the warrants is expected to take some time to be made due to the large number of warrant requests. And that's all I have for now. Back to you, Dami. Soo-jin thank you for the update. That was our Lee Soo-jin reporting live from Seoul Detention Center this morning.

Under-arrest President Yoon defends himself against impeachment at Constitutional Court

2025/01/22 10:00

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended his own impeachment trial on Tuesday, the first time for any South Korean leader to do so. There, he appealed to the bench his long-held belief in liberal democracy. Our correspondent Oh Soo-young reports. A Prosecutor-turned-President, and now a pre-trial inmate, Yoon Suk Yeol argued against his impeachment at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the third hearing of his trial. The first sitting leader in the nation's history to be arrested and defend himself against impeachment, Yoon attended his trial for the first time to make a personal appeal to the eight-justice bench as a respondent. "Throughout my career in public service, I have held firm conviction in liberal democracy. As the Constitutional Court exists to uphold and protect the Constitution, I humbly ask the honorable justices to carefully examine this matter in every respect." During the hearing, his lawyers outlined various points that they claim substantiate Yoon's martial law which they plan to back with witnesses and evidence. First, they cited the opposition-led National Assembly's abuse of impeachment power against high-ranking officials, indiscriminate budget cuts on key military, nuclear energy and welfare programs essential to the country's future, public livelihoods, and safety. They also underscored "hybrid warfare" as a new type of national crisis that poses security, economic, and political threats. Examples include the leak of classified military intelligence and critical technologies to China. Yoon and his team once again stressed the need to investigate suspicions of electoral fraud in the parliamentary race last year,.. producing photographic materials. When questioned by the judge whether he had sent a note to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok to prepare a budget for an emergency legislative body, to presumably replace the elected parliament, and whether he'd ordered military commanders to drag out lawmakers from the National Assembly to prevent them from overturning his martial law. Yoon answered he had not. He further stated he'd immediately ordered troops to withdraw from the building once the Assembly passed a motion to end the decree. Meanwhile, the Assembly's side continued to argue that the President's martial law was illegal. It cited media reports, investigation records, and CCTV footage from the National Assembly and the National Election Commission to back its arguments that Yoon had planned and caused disruption to the country's constitutional institutions. The panel members criticized the President's attendance as they walked out of the hearing. "Much of his narrative revolves around allegations of election fraud. It seems his intention in attending these hearings is not to influence the court's direction or to clear his name but rather to continue fueling the propaganda that mobilizes his supporters." Some 42-hundred people rallied in support of Yoon in areas surrounding the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. One participant was arrested, after physically abusing a police officer. The Court says its officials are operating an emergency standby system, with heightened security, and police protection for justices. "Yoon's lawyers say the President will if possible attend all future trial hearings which have been scheduled until February 13th. The fourth hearing takes place on Thursday, with testimony by former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun as the first witness to the trial. Oh Soo-young Arirang News."

STOCK

2025/01/21 20:00

2025. 1. 21. KOREAN STOCK MARKET KOSPI : 2,518.03 ▼2.02 -0.08% KOSDAQ : 726.07 ▼1.59 -0.22% KOSPI200 : 334.44 ▲0.50 +0.15% ASIAN STOCK MARKET NIKKEI225 : 39,027.98 ▲125.48 +0.32% HANG SENG : 20,106.55 ▲180.74 +0.91% SHANGHAI : 3,242.62 ▼1.76 -0.05% WALL STREET (JANUARY 20) DOW JONES : CLOSED NASDAQ : CLOSED S&P500 : CLOSED EXCHANGE RATE USD : 1,439.50 (-12.2) JPY : 926.17 (-3.96) CNY : 197.75 (-0.46) EUR : 1,494.20 (-1.92)

Under-arrest President Yoon defends himself against impeachment at Constitutional Court

2025/01/21 20:00

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min. President Yoon Suk Yeol attended his impeachment trial on Tuesday, while remaining under arrest by investigative authorities. It was an unprecedented first on many levels for a sitting President. For more, here's our correspondent Oh Soo-young. A Prosecutor-turned-President, and now a pre-trial inmate, Yoon Suk Yeol argued against his impeachment at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the third hearing of his trial. The first sitting leader in the nation's history to be arrested and defend himself against impeachment, Yoon attended his trial for the first time to make a personal appeal to the eight-justice bench as a respondent. "Throughout my career in public service, I have held firm conviction in liberal democracy. As the Constitutional Court exists to uphold and protect the Constitution, I humbly ask the honorable justices to carefully examine this matter in every respect." During the hearing, his lawyers outlined various points that they claim substantiate Yoon's martial law which they plan to back with witnesses and evidence. First, they cited the opposition-led National Assembly's abuse of impeachment power against high-ranking officials, indiscriminate budget cuts on key military, nuclear energy and welfare programs essential to the country's future, public livelihoods, and safety. They also underscored "hybrid warfare" as a new type of national crisis that poses security, economic, and political threats. Examples include the leak of classified military intelligence and critical technologies to China. Yoon and his team once again stressed the need to investigate suspicions of electoral fraud in the parliamentary race last year,.. producing photographic materials. When questioned by the judge whether he had sent a note to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok to prepare a budget for an emergency legislative body, to presumably replace the elected parliament, and whether he'd ordered military commanders to drag out lawmakers from the National Assembly to prevent them from overturning his martial law. Yoon answered he had not. He further stated he'd immediately ordered troops to withdraw from the building once the Assembly passed a motion to end the decree. Meanwhile, the Assembly's side continued to argue that the President's martial law was illegal. It cited media reports, investigation records, and CCTV footage from the National Assembly and the National Election Commission to back its arguments that Yoon had planned and caused disruption to the country's constitutional institutions. The panel members criticized the President's attendance as they walked out of the hearing. ( _ ) Some 42-hundred people rallied in support of Yoon in areas surrounding the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. One participant was arrested, after physically abusing a police officer. The Court says its officials are operating an emergency standby system, with heightened security, and police protection for justices. (Stand-up)

[Weather] Ultra-fine dust across the country, it will stay murky tomorrow

2025/01/21 20:00

High concentrations of fine dust have been rampant all over the country for two days in a row. For the first time this winter, preliminary measures to reduce the high concentration of fine dust were imposed in the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheongnam-do Province. Please take extra precautions when driving by keeping a safe distance. In particular, some parts of the Seoul metropolitan area have "very bad" levels of ultra-fine dust with ultra-fine dust advisories issued as well. This dusty air will continue to cover skies in most areas. You need to wear a protective mask outside. Tomorrow morning, Seoul will start off at zero degrees Celsius, Chuncheon and Daegu at minus 2 degrees. Daytime temperatures will move up to 7 degrees in Seoul and Chuncheon. Daejeon will reach 9 degrees. There is rain or snow forecast along the east coast in the second half of the week. That's all for Korea. Here are the weather conditions around the world.

Bobsleigh medalist Won Yun-jong, figure skater Cha Jun-hwan to compete to become Korea's IOC candidate

2025/01/21 20:00

Two athletes are vying to become South Korea's candidate to enter a race to win a seat on the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. According to the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee on Tuesday, bobsleigh Olympic silver medalist Won Yun-jong has submitted an application to be considered as a candidate for the IOC Athletes' Commission. This follows figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who secured fifth place at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, submitting his bid earlier. The committee plans to form an evaluation panel to select the final candidate who will then compete against candidates from other nations in an election that will be held at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Exports for first 20 days of Jan. drop on fewer working days

2025/01/21 20:00

Korea's exports declined during the first 20 days of January. According to the Korea Customs Service on this Tuesday, the total value of exports during this period amounted to 31-point-6 billion U.S. dollars, down over five-percent on-year. Pundits are linking the performance to fewer working days and believe the overall monthly performance will remain sluggish amid the extended lunar new year holiday during the final week of this month. Prior to this month, exports expanded for 15 months in a row.

How Trump's 'America First' foreign policy will affect Korean Peninsula

2025/01/21 20:00

Trump has made a political comeback and, as we just heard, has already begun to erase Biden's legacy soon after taking office. To take a closer look at how the new administration's policy will affect the Korean Peninsula, our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji joins us in the studio. Eun-ji, let's first go over the comments Trump made on North Korea,.. just hours after he was sworn in. Sure. As he signed a series of executive orders in the Oval Office on his first day in office, Trump described North Korea as a "nuclear power" and said that Kim Jong-un would be glad to see his presidential comeback possibly hinting at his willingness to pursue talks with the North Korean leader. Take a listen. "I think North Korea turned out to be good. I was very friendly with him. He liked me. I liked him. We got along very well. They thought that was a tremendous threat. Now he is a nuclear power. But we, we got along. I think he'll be happy to see I'm coming back." Last week, Pete Hegseth, who will serve as the incoming Trump administration's secretary of defense, also described the North's status as a "nuclear power," sparking quite a lot of concerns here in South Korea. It's unusual for a U.S. president or a senior official to refer to North Korea as a nuclear power a term that could be interpreted as the United States acknowledging North Korea as a "nuclear weapon state." Under the NPT an international treaty barring nuclear weapons development there are only five countries in the world that are officially recognized as a "nuclear weapon state." They are: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China. Other countries that possess nuclear weapons but have never signed the NPT are: India, Pakistan, and Israel. But unlike North Korea, which pulled out of the pact in 2003 to continue to advance nuclear weapons, these three countries are not subject to international sanctions for having a nuclear arsenal. So Trump's latest comments have led to speculation that Washington could be shifting away from its focus on "denuclearizing" North Korea and that it could seek to take actions in the form of a "small deal," such as nuclear disarmament or arms reduction. 2. Tell us about Trump's foreign policy, and how that's expected to impact relations with South Korea. Trump's approach to foreign policy is largely focused on the idea of putting "America First." And we're already seeing this impacting other parts of the world. Trump earlier threatened to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, possibly by military force and he also said he will impose 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico in February. So this idea of an "America First" policy has led to the biggest problem that South Korea is facing that Trump could renegotiate the deal on sharing the costs needed for American troops in Korea. During his campaign, Trump said if he were at the White House, South Korea would be paying the United States 10 billion dollars a year, calling South Korea a "money machine." If Seoul does not meet his demands,.. Trump will likely threaten to withdraw or downsize the number of U.S. troops which could significantly influence South Korea's security. Pundits say that if there's even a slight economic gain, or a small aspect of America's interest is involved, Trump will disregard the international norms or procedures that we can typically think of and pressure other countries. 3. That sounds very concerning. How should South Korea be prepared for the new U.S. administration? Experts I've talked to have all said the same thing: that it's not going to be easy especially since we're in a political situation where the country is left without a leader. "I don't think it will be easy. Even if we come up with response plans, it's not going to be easy to implement them. What's different from Trump's first term is that our capabilities have improved, in areas such as advanced science and technology, defense industry and naval shipbuilding. But, even so, utilizing these capabilities is not going to be easy." The South Korean government has repeatedly said it will establish a consultation channel with the new Trump administration very soon, and ensured that the public and private sectors will be working together to build a stable alliance with the United States. Alright. We'll have to keep a close eye on America's policy changes under the new administration. Thank you for the wrap up on that Eun-ji. We appreciate it. Thank you.