In early 2021, we wrote about the Iranian seizure of a South Korean tanker and how this precedent actually demonstrates a number of unresolved problems, most notably the problem of Iranian assets in South Korean banks intended to pay for Iranian crude oil imports and frozen because of US sanctions. Recall: Iran has repeatedly urged Seoul […]
Two important visits took place on April 2-3, 2021, the combination of which perfectly illustrated the difficult situation in which Seoul finds itself amid the standoff between Beijing and Washington. On the one hand, the US is South Korea’s main military and political ally, and the policy of rebuilding alliances that the new President Biden […]
On 8 April, Moon Jae-in said the ruling party’s defeat was a “rebuke from the people” and pledged to discharge his duties “with an even greater sense of responsibility, focusing on meeting the desperate demands of the people”. As presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said, “The president has pledged to spare no effort to realize the […]
On April 7, early elections were held in the Republic of Korea for the heads of four administrative units, including the mayors of the country’s two largest cities: Seoul and Busan, as well as 17 deputies of local legislative assemblies. According to the results of the vote count, the opposition Power of the People party […]
On April 7, 2021, early elections were held for the heads of four administrative units, including the mayors of the country’s two largest cities of Seoul and Busan, as well as 17 deputies of local legislative assemblies in the Republic of Korea. Their result is an indicator of public sentiment before the presidential elections of […]
On March 23 – 25, 2021, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, visited South Korea. This was Lavrov’s first visit to Seoul since 2013, when he accompanied President Vladimir Putin. And before that, Lavrov had visited Seoul in 2009, after a trip to North Korea. This year’s event, devoted to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relationship […]
On March 3, 2021, transgender girl Byun Hee-soo was found dead in her home. Why does much of South Korea and the rest of the world talk about this? Byun’s case received widespread media attention at home and abroad because Staff Sgt. Byun Hee-soo, 22, was the first South Korean soldier to undergo sex reassignment […]
The US government is seeking to include Korea in an expanded version of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), a strategic forum created in 2007 to contain China. The Quad is made up of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, but the US wants to expand it by inviting South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam. […]
We can recall how one of the long-standing problems in the relations between Seoul and Washington under Trump was the question of how much the Republic of Korea would pay for American troops to be deployed on its territory. It is worth reiterating that by the autumn Korea was ready to pay 13% more than […]
On April 7, 2021 the South Korean ruling regime’s strength will be seriously put to the test. Unplanned elections will be held for the mayors of Seoul and Busan, the country’s capital and its second-largest city, which is a seaport in its southern part. In both cases, the elections were triggered by scandals related to […]
