Journalist

KIM JIYOON
  • CAS Rejects Ukrainian Skeleton Racer Heraskevych’s Appeal Over Memorial Helmet Ban
    CAS Rejects Ukrainian Skeleton Racer Heraskevych’s Appeal Over Memorial Helmet Ban Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, will not compete at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected his appeal of an International Olympic Committee ban, the AP reported. The IOC barred him from competing after he sought to race wearing a “memorial helmet” honoring teammates killed in the war. CAS upheld the IOC decision under Olympic Charter Rule 50.2, which says “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” CAS said it fully sympathized with Heraskevych’s intent and his effort to highlight the suffering of Ukrainians and Ukrainian athletes during the war, but ruled the ban was “reasonable and appropriate.” Heraskevych’s side protested the ruling, arguing it was inconsistent with how other athletes were treated. The article cited examples from the Games: U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov showed photos of his parents who died in a plane crash last year; Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnaller competed wearing a helmet that included a Russian flag image; and Israeli skeleton racer Jared Firestone wore a kippah bearing the names of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The IOC said those cases did not violate the rules. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Naumov displayed the photos in the kiss-and-cry area, not during competition; Fischnaller’s helmet honored all Olympic host cities where he had competed, including the 2014 Sochi Games; and Firestone’s kippah was covered by a beanie. After the decision, Heraskevych said, “The IOC is on the wrong side of history.” He had previously lost his Olympic spot after trying to compete in the men’s skeleton event wearing a helmet with the faces of fallen teammates. “The sacrifice of the athletes who died is why we could be here competing as one team,” he said. “I can’t betray them.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-14 11:18:00
  • Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon-Oh Jun-sung and Kim Na-young-Yoo Han-na reach WTT Chennai finals
    Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon-Oh Jun-sung and Kim Na-young-Yoo Han-na reach WTT Chennai finals South Korea’s doubles teams of Lim Jong-hoon-Oh Jun-sung (both Korea Exchange) and Kim Na-young-Yoo Han-na (POSCO International) advanced to the finals at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026, keeping alive the chance of a double title run. Lim and Oh reached the men’s doubles final by sweeping India’s Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 3-0 (11-2, 11-3, 12-10) in the semifinals on Feb. 13 local time in Chennai, India. After taking the first two games comfortably, the Koreans were pushed to deuce in the third but closed it out 12-10. The pair, who won the WTT Star Contender events in Muscat and Skopje last year, will play France’s Thibault Poret and Flavien Coton for the title. In the women’s doubles semifinals, Kim and Yoo beat India’s Hadi Patel and Laxita Narang 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-6). The world No. 4 team, which won titles last year in Taiyuan, Lagos and Skopje, will face Japan’s Sakura Yokoi and Sachi Aoki in the final. In singles, five South Koreans advanced to the round of 16: Oh Jun-sung and Park Kang-hyun (Mirae Asset Securities) in the men’s draw, and Kim Na-young, Joo Cheon-hee (Samsung Life Insurance) and Lee Eun-hye (Korean Air) in the women’s draw. 2026-02-14 09:30:00
  • South Korean parties agree to pass 90 noncontroversial bills, revise filibuster rules
    South Korean parties agree to pass 90 noncontroversial bills, revise filibuster rules Rival parties agreed to pass 90 noncontroversial bills at a National Assembly plenary session on Jan. 29, and to also take up a revision to the National Assembly Act that would change rules for filibusters. Cheon Jun-ho, the Democratic Party’s senior deputy floor leader for operations, and Yoo Sang-bum, the People Power Party’s counterpart, announced the agreement after meeting Tuesday at the National Assembly. Cheon told reporters that of 175 bills on the plenary agenda, the parties agreed to prioritize urgent livelihood-related measures and pass 90. He added that the National Assembly Act revision “needs further discussion” and said he expected floor leaders to finalize it through additional talks. Yoo said the People Power Party would withdraw filibusters it had requested so the agreed-upon bills could be processed. The People Power Party has staged filibusters since late last year, calling Democratic Party-backed proposals — including a dedicated trial division for insurrection cases, a new crime of distorting the law, an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices and the introduction of a court-appeal system — “bad laws that destroy the judiciary.” The party and the minor Reform Party have also pressed the Democratic Party to accept “twin special prosecutors” probes into election nomination donations and the Unification Church. The agreement indicates the People Power Party will cooperate on the livelihood bills by dropping filibusters, while the Democratic Party appears to have delayed action on more contentious measures. It came a day after President Lee Jae Myung said at a Cabinet meeting that the National Assembly was moving too slowly and urged faster action on legislation tied to state priorities. The parties also agreed to handle the National Assembly Act revision at the Jan. 29 plenary session. People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok said after a separate meeting with Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do that they had agreed to pass it. The Democratic Party-backed revision would allow the National Assembly speaker to halt a filibuster if fewer than one-fifth of lawmakers are present during the debate. It also includes changes aimed at easing the physical burden on the speaker’s office by loosening rules on delegating the chair’s presiding authority. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 17:45:20
  • Korean ruling party to hasten passage of bill on Korean invest to US
    Korean ruling party to hasten passage of bill on Korean invest to US SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) -South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday vowed to speed up the legislation to support the country’s $350 billion investment commitment to the United States after President Donald Trump blamed the Korean legislative for his plan to reinstate the tariffs on selective Korean exports to 25 percent. The party stressed that Trump was referring to legislation that has yet to be enacted in South Korea, not to parliamentary ratification of a bilateral deal. The DP submitted a bill on bilateral trade and investment deal with the U.S. in November, and Washington in December lowered tariffs on Korean automobiles to 15 percent, retroactive to Nov. 1 , through a Federal Register notice. Kim Hyun-jung, the party’s floor spokesperson, told reporters after a closed-door party meeting that some media reports had incorrectly interpreted Trump’s comments as meaning the Assembly had failed to ratify an agreement. Kim said action on a special bill tied to U.S. investment has been delayed despite five related bills already being referred to the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Planning Committee. She said the opposition People Power Party had opposed moving the bills forward while insisting that parliamentary ratification was required. She added that one of the five bills was submitted by People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-hoon, arguing that conditions are now in place for discussions to proceed. The bills are currently being handled under the Assembly’s legislative schedule, she said. Kim said the Democratic Party aims to pass the measure through bipartisan agreement, citing the need to secure roughly $20 billion a year in U.S. investment, alongside exchange-rate measures and what she described as “reasonable commercial viability.” She said calls for parliamentary ratification have made cross-party consensus necessary but reiterated that the party does not plan to pursue ratification. “The measure is not subject to ratification,” Kim said, warning that doing so could bind South Korea more tightly. She noted that the United States raised tariffs through an executive order and argued that if only South Korea were to ratify, the legal burden would fall disproportionately on Seoul. Kim said the party will later coordinate with the government to finalize the bill “precisely and quickly.” Separately, the Democratic Party said it will launch a “Fix Coupang” task force on Feb. 2 to push for measures to prevent a recurrence of a large-scale personal data leak involving the e-commerce giant and to explore alternatives. “Coupang is a Korean corporation and is subject to Korean law,” Kim said, rejecting claims that the initiative targets a U.S. company. She cited concerns over the leak of personal data affecting an estimated 30 million users and said the party’s response would be guided by national interest considerations. Some U.S. lawmakers and investors have accused the Korean government of being "discriminatory" in its sweeping probes on Coupang, and the State Department expressed "significant concerns" over Seoul's regulatory moves that could affect online platform businesses. Coupang claims itself as a "U.S. tech company" although its revenue entirely comes from e-commerce, food delivery, and streaming services in South Korea. 2026-01-27 13:27:28
  • DP floor leader resigns amid snowballing bribery allegations
    DP floor leader resigns amid snowballing bribery allegations SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Kim Byung-ki, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), resigned from his post on Tuesday amid various bribery allegations and other misconduct. "Being at the center of snowballing allegations every day, I have become an obstacle to the party and the Lee Jae-myung administration, so I have decided to step down," he said. "I'm deeply sorry and apologize to the people," he said, adding, "My actions fell far short of the public's expectations and common sense, and the responsibility lies entirely with my shortcomings." "It was difficult to accept that a single allegation was being amplified and treated as fact, rather than properly seeking the truth," Kim explained. Among a spate of allegations, he was provided with free hotel accommodation and other services worth about 1.6 million Korean won (US$1,080) by flagship carrier Korean Air in November last year, when its merger talks with rival Asiana Airlines were pending. Soon after, another controversy arose over his spouse's use of a corporate credit card and alleged preferential treatment at a hospital for his eldest son. Despite denying all these mounting allegations, he seemed increasingly pressured to step down after a recording surfaced earlier this week, suggesting he had overlooked bribery involving several DP officials who allegedly received 100 million won for candidate nominations in 2022. The DP is expected to elect a new floor leader within a month, in accordance with its internal rules. 2025-12-30 10:03:31
  • DP, PPP at odds over probe into Unification Church-related allegations
    DP, PPP at odds over probe into Unification Church-related allegations SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remain at odds over the scope of a proposed probe by independent prosecutors into bribery allegations involving the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies. Their talks were further bogged down by the DP's demand to include suspicions involving another dubious religious sect Shincheonji, despite the party's initial opposition to the probe. DP leader Jung Chung-rae said earlier this week that the probe should cover Shincheonji, citing suspicious activities by the sect. He seemed to be referring to allegations that a large number of the sect's followers joined the PPP during the 2021 presidential primary to support a specific candidate. He further pressed the PPP, saying that the DP had already drafted a bill to allow an independent third party to select prosecutors for the probe. But the PPP criticized the DP for including Shincheonji's alleged involvement only while excluding DP-related allegations, calling it a "trick" to accept the probe in appearance, only to avoid it eventually. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk said that if there is enough evidence, allegations related to Shincheonji could be investigated without a special probe. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk said that allegations related to Shincheonji could be investigated without a special probe if there is enough evidence. However, he argued that allegations involving the Unification Church are a different matter, as independent prosecutors dismissed testimony implicating political figures from the DP in related incidents. Jang urged the DP not to "water down" the issue in order to buy time and shift responsibility to the PPP. He has reportedly been considering hardline steps including a hunger strike if the two parties fail to reach a deal by Tuesday. 2025-12-30 09:20:22
  • Lees approval rating drops to lowest level since taking office
    Lee's approval rating drops to lowest level since taking office SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has dropped to a record low since he took office in June this year. According to a survey of over 1,000 adults conducted earlier this week by pollster Gallup Korea and released on Friday, Lee's approval rating stood at 54 percent, down one percentage point from a similar survey at the end of September. His disapproval rating also rose to 35 percent, while about 10 percent of respondents remained undecided. Most positive responses toward him were attributed to his performance in the economic and diplomatic areas, cited by 16 percent and 15 percent of respondents, respectively. However, diplomacy was also the top reason for negative ratings at 18 percent, followed by pro-China moves including temporary visa-free entry for Chinese visitors, difficulties in livelihood, authoritarian-style decisions, political wrangling, and excessive populist policies. But Lee's approval rating surpassed 50 percent in all regions except Seoul (48 percent) and the conservative stronghold of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (42 percent). Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces had the highest approval at 78 percent, followed by Incheon and Gyeonggi Province (56 percent). By age, support was highest among those in their 40s (74 percent) and 50s (64 percent), but fell below 50 percent among people in their 20s and those aged 70 and older. Support for the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) inched up to 39 percent and 25 percent, respectively, each rising one percentage point from the previous survey, while a whopping 28 percent of respondents said they do not support any party. Gallup analyzed that while overall ratings remained stable, the reasons for disapproval shifted slightly, adding that a set of recent measures to curb the real estate market announced earlier this week were not yet fully reflected in the latest poll. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-10-17 15:54:15