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2022 top national newsWounds of Itaewon tragedy still fresh

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Foreign nationals lay flowers to pay their condolences to the victims of Itaewon crowd crush at a makeshift memorial altar near Itaewon Station on Oct. 31. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Foreign nationals lay flowers to pay their condolences to the victims of Itaewon crowd crush at a makeshift memorial altar near Itaewon Station on Oct. 31. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

South Korea faces calls to choose between US, China as diplomatic gray zone disappears

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Every year is eventful. But 2022 was tragically eventful as the nation was shocked by a crowd crush that killed 159 people who gathered in Itaewon, Seoul, on Oct. 29 to celebrate Halloween. The families of the victims still live in pain as the tragedy haunts them. Less than two months since the tragedy, the wounds from losing their loved ones remain fresh. Survivors are also going through the torment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The deadly crowd crush came some five months after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office on May 10.

Yoon's job in the presidency is poised to be an uphill battle, as he took the helm at a time when two opposing blocs ― nations that support Russia and nations that are trying to defend freedom and democracy from autocracy ― are set to clash in nearly every issue area. Their rivalry has cast a shadow over South Korea's foreign policy. South Korea is now being asked to choose between the United States, its security guarantor, and China, its largest trading partner. Choosing between them seems to be inevitable as there is no longer a diplomatic gray area, in which the nation can maneuver to maximize its national interests as it did in the past.

There are other news that made headlines this year. Here are the top 10 national issues of 2022.

New president

The March 9 presidential election was a nail-biter. The vote count that aired on major television networks became a drama as the top two candidates had been too close to call until the last minute when Yoon, who ran in the election on the conservative People Power Party's (PPP) ticket, was eventually named the winner. Yoon edged out his rival Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) by a razor-thin margin of 0.73 percentage point.

With the victory, Yoon became the nation's first prosecutor-turned-president. His election win was the precursor to drastic change in existing policy, as a number of the government's major policies were redirected. Yoon pushed to revive the nuclear power industry. As Yoon bluntly put it, the closure or phasing out of nuclear power plants or nuclear energy was "the stupidest thing that had ever been done" during the previous Moon Jae-in government.

Although Yoon himself started his presidency without any honeymoon period, as the DPK holds the majority in the National Assembly, the Korean public came out to support the newly elected president. The ruling PPP won 12 out of the 17 contests for governors and mayors of metropolitan and provincial cities in the June 1 local elections.

President Yoon Suk-yeol holds hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during the latter's visit to Samsung Electronics' chip manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on May 20. Korea Times file
President Yoon Suk-yeol holds hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during the latter's visit to Samsung Electronics' chip manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on May 20. Korea Times file

Choose between US, China

Yoon took office as president amid a new cold war-like confrontation set in motion between two opposing blocs of nations. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, three authoritarian states, namely China, North Korea and Russia, were brought together as they support each other. This situation, meanwhile, facilitated liberal democracies led by the United States to come together in defense of freedom and democracy.

South Korea's relations with the United States and China have also been affected by these external dynamics.

Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in May, held merely 10 days after his inauguration on May 10, signaled that the South Korea-U.S. alliance has expanded into the areas of technology and the global supply chain.

While South Korea moved closer to the United States on the security and foreign policy fronts, the South's ties with another important nation, China, have shown few signs of moving forward. Indeed, the opposite has been true: Korea-China relations have been put to the test.

Yoon and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to have a summit, but they have made no progress on where to meet. Xi invited Yoon to visit China to make it happen, whereas Yoon repeatedly asked the Chinese leader to visit Seoul for the summit. Diplomatically speaking, Yoon is right. It is diplomatic custom that summit talks be held in a reciprocal manner, meaning that once a summit is held in a certain nation, the next summit is supposed to be held in its partner nation's territory. Former President Moon visited China twice for the summits in 2017 and 2019, respectively, so it's now the Chinese leader's turn to visit Korea.

North Korea tests a railway-borne missile on Sept. 15. Korea Times file
North Korea tests a railway-borne missile on Sept. 15. Korea Times file

North Korea's hypersonic missiles

From the dawn of the New Year, North Korea shocked the world with the firing of a sequence of hypersonic missiles. On Jan. 11, the North test-fired another ballistic missile, six days after launching the hypersonic missiles. As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched the missile launch, the North said it was very successful. North Korea's repeated provocations alarmed the United States and Europe, because hypersonic missiles are hard to trace and intercept and thus, it could make the target country vulnerable to a North Korean attack.

North Korea's bellicose actions continued throughout the year. By mid-December, North Korea has tested over 60 missiles, including several ballistic missiles. Along with the missiles, the North also launched aggressive artillery attacks and air drills.

Human rights violations of Moon gov't

The administration of former President Moon Jae-in has been accused of prioritizing inter-Korean relations over the human rights of North Koreans. It remains uncertain whether or not this allegation is true, but one thing for certain is that the prosecution was not convinced by Moon government officials' explanations about two cases: the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen who expressed their intention to defect to the South and the death of a fishery official in North Korean waters.

Since the prosecution resumed investigating the two cases, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won and several others who held key posts during the previous Moon government have been questioned. Some DPK lawmakers assailed the investigation, calling it political retaliation. But the prosecution denied it and said they were investigating the cases because there are violations of the law.

North Korea reports 'fever' case

On May 12, North Korea announced that the reclusive state's first case of "fever" was reported, confirming that it also had coronavirus infections. Afterwards, the fever cases rapidly increased and overwhelmed the North, which is known for its poor healthcare infrastructure. In August, the North declared that the nation was COVID-free. It remains uncertain whether the cases of fever as the North put it were real cases of COVID-19. Experts said that North Korea saw several different infectious diseases this year ― including a water-borne one after heavy rainfall in August ― this year and thus North Korea's COVID-19 infection tallies might not be accurate.

Flowers are neatly placed in Itaewon, Seoul, to commemorate the Oct. 29 tragic crowd crush in this photo taken on Nov. 14. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Flowers are neatly placed in Itaewon, Seoul, to commemorate the Oct. 29 tragic crowd crush in this photo taken on Nov. 14. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Halloween party turned into nightmare

On Friday, Oct. 29, two days before Halloween, excited, young party-goers gathered in Itaewon, the nation's most vibrant multicultural district with exotic shops, bars and restaurants, to celebrate the holiday after more than two years of the pandemic. However, the festive mood turned into cries and screams as a major crowd crush took the lives of 159 people, including 26 foreign nationals.

Mourning has continued as saddened people pay their condolences to the tragedy victims. Makeshift memorial altars were set up in Itaewon and several other places in Seoul. Fingers have been pointed at multiple authorities for the crowd control failure.

In its aftermath, the Itaewon tragedy took on an increasingly political dimension. Opposition politicians demanded the interior minister, who oversees the police, to step down to take responsibility and passed a motion calling for the president to sack him. But the president turned a deaf ear to their repeated demands.

Outdoor mask mandate lifted

The outdoor mask mandate was fully lifted on Sept. 26, following a decline in the daily number of COVID-19 infections. The mask mandate was introduced in May 2020, three months after nation's first coronavirus case was reported in January of that year. The COVID-19 outbreak prompted people to line up in front of drugstores or shops across the country to purchase coveted face masks during the early phase of the pandemic. As the demand for face masks surpassed supply, the government introduced mask rationing for individuals, enabling them to purchase only two masks per week on a certain weekday, while foreign nationals who did not sign up for national health insurance coverage were excluded from purchasing masks.

Then Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon swears an oath at the National Assembly confirmation hearing on May 9. Korea Times file
Then Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon swears an oath at the National Assembly confirmation hearing on May 9. Korea Times file

Star minister

When Han Dong-hoon was named as the president's pick for justice minister in the April 13 Cabinet nominations, reporters in the press room of the presidential office became surprised.

No one expected the 49-year-old to be justice minister, although many were aware that Han was Yoon's favorite prosecutor. Dismissing skeptics, Yoon said Han was the right person to lead the ministry and had enough international experience with his fluent English and that he would introduce international standards at the ministry. With his quick way with words, Han outwitted opposition lawmakers critical of him and the president, his boss.

Super Typhoon

The curse of climate change dealt blows to a number of regions. Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the nation's southern region in early September, about a month after southern Seoul was flooded with record-high rainfall. In addition to fatalities, hundreds of people were displaced, while homes and vehicles were destroyed. Bridges and highways were paralyzed, schools closed and public transport was delayed.

Stalking crime

A 28-year-old railway worker was brutally murdered while working her evening shift by a male who had been stalking her for years. While being attacked in the restroom of the subway station, she pressed the emergency button and fellow railway workers rushed to the scene to catch the man. The woman was found in a state of cardiac arrest and taken to the hospital, dying hours later.

Before the murder, the 31-year-old man had blackmailed the victim nearly 300 times since 2019 with illegally taped videos. She sued him. The police sought an arrest warrant but the court rejected it. The murder case sparked outrage from women as loopholes in the anti-stalking law had failed to protect the victim.

A huge wave is seen behind a seawall in Seogwipo Port on Jeju Island on Sept. 9 as super typhoon Hinnamnor approaches. Korea Times file
A huge wave is seen behind a seawall in Seogwipo Port on Jeju Island on Sept. 9 as super typhoon Hinnamnor approaches. Korea Times file
Kang Hyun-kyung hkang@koreatimes.co.kr


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