KEI Contributor – David Lee

Following a new report on record-low new cases on April 18, the government lifted most coronavirus-related restrictions such as social distancing and curfews that limited business hours. Small business owners welcomed the government’s decision, hoping to recover from the losses incurred in the past two years. While the South Korean government’s restrictive public health measures…

President-elect Yoon’s transition team announced a plan to designate North Korea as the “main enemy” following recent missile tests. This reaffirmed Yoon’s campaign promise to pursue a tougher stance against Pyongyang. The designation has a history – one that reflects Seoul’s short-term outlook on the prospect of inter-Korean engagement. Seoul first designated Pyongyang as the…

In the 2022 presidential election, the conservative opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol won the race with a 0.8% margin. During the campaign, Yoon received endorsements from five former senior military officers who had served in the Moon administration. They attributed the endorsement to “[their] faith in Yoon’s national security policies,” including his controversial remark that Seoul…

A survey from August to October 2021 found that 48% of call center workers thought about taking their own lives. They cited economic difficulty from below living-wage standards and mental stress from customers' verbal abuse as two primary reasons for their suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, 25% of respondents responded that they experienced heavy workload and unfair…