Politics

As reported in the previous issue of Korea Insight (“The Bulldozer Moves In: Lee Myung-bak is Inaugurated as the Republic of Korea’s President”), President Lee moved to streamline the government…

On February 25, Lee Myung-bak was sworn in as the President of the Republic of Korea. In front of a crowd of some 60,000 gathered, including U.S. Secretary of State…

On December 19, the voters of South Korea elected Lee Myung-bak, the previous mayor of Seoul and a former business executive, to be the next president. The candidate of the…

In 1996, Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), marking Korea's rise into the ranks of the developed world. Only twenty years ago this year, Korea began…

By Troy Stangarone In 1992, Jay Kim was elected from the newly drawn 41st Congressional District in Southern California, becoming the first Korean-American elected to Congress. As Americans go to the polls for the midterm elections, there is a real chance that a Korean-American will be elected to Congress for the first time since former…

By Juni Kim For the first time in his presidency, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has seen his approval ratings fall below 60 percent as economic issues rise to the forefront of public concern. In both the most recent Gallup Korea and Realmeter polls, Moon’s rating currently stands at 58 percent, which follows a steady…

By Linnea Logie South Korea’s local elections and parliamentary by-elections took place on the heels of the much-hyped June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Nearly 43 million South Koreans were reportedly eligible to vote in the local elections, where ballots were cast for over 4,000…

After watching the first summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un, KEI staff members Troy Stangarone, Kyle Ferrier, and Jenna Gibson share some of the things that stood out to them. The three analysts participated in a Facebook live video during the start of the summit, sharing their thoughts as the…