Author: GIKorea

Eighth Army is now on its third commander in less than a year with a permanent commander yet to be appointed:

A new acting commander took charge recently of Eighth Army, the U.S. field army in South Korea, after his predecessor took on a new role as deputy commanding general of the service’s ROTC program. Maj. Gen. William Taylor, previously the operations director for U.S. Forces Korea, U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command, on Aug. 7 assumed command of Eighth Army from Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, army spokesman James Choi said by email Tuesday. All three commands and the 2nd Infantry Division are headquartered at Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, about 40 miles south of Seoul in Pyeongtaek city. A former director of Army Aviation, Taylor led 2nd ID at Humphreys from May 2023 to June 2024.

Stars & Stripes

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I think support for the operational flexibility for USFK will be a major outcome from this summit:

President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25 to discuss ways to bolster the two nations’ alliance and cooperation in advanced industries, the presidential office said Tuesday.

Lee will depart for a three-day visit to the United States on Aug. 24, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters, marking his first visit to the U.S. since he took office in early June.

“The two leaders plan to discuss ways to develop the Korea-U.S. alliance into a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance in response to the changing international security and economic environment,” Kang said.

Yonhap

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Cho Kuk and his family must have been cheering when they heard this news:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested on charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election meddling and bribery, making her and her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first former presidential couple to be detained simultaneously.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant against her late Tuesday, citing concerns she could destroy evidence, after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested it last week on charges of violating the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.

During Tuesday’s hearing prior to her arrest, special prosecutors emphasized the risks of her destroying evidence, while her lawyers argued he had cooperated with questioning and was in poor health.

Yonhap

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I would rather North Korea would remove their artillery from the border than loudspeakers. When they do that then we will know they are serious about peace on the peninsula:

South Korea’s military said Saturday it detected North Korea removing some of its loudspeakers from the inter-Korean border, days after the South dismantled its own front-line speakers used for anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts, in a bid to ease tensions. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t disclose the sites where the North Koreans were removing speakers and said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the North would take all of them down.

Stars & Stripes

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It appears the Washington Post is trying to make a scandal out of something that is called negotiating:

Officials of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration considered demanding that South Korea raise its defense spending to 3.8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) during tariff negotiations, a news report said Saturday, citing internal U.S. government documents.

U.S. officials also weighed the idea of requiring South Korea to publicly support operational flexibility of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to better deter China, The Washington Post reported, though it is not clear whether their suggestions were actually discussed in the negotiations with South Korea that were concluded last month.

The documents indicated that the Trump’s administration might intend to use tariffs to help achieve a range of national security goals beyond its stated objective to reduce America’s trade deficits and boost domestic manufacturing, the newspaper noted.

Yonhap

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This is just yet another part of Cho Kuk’s revenge plan against former President Yoon, to receive a pardon while Yoon and his wife and both likely headed to jail:

President Lee Jae Myung will preside over an extraordinary Cabinet meeting early this week to determine special pardons, his office said Sunday, amid growing speculation that he may grant a presidential pardon to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

The Cabinet meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, with the review and potential approval of matters related to special pardons, reinstatements and other considerations for clemency expected to be the focus, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a message to reporters. 

It is widely expected that Lee will make a decision on whether to grant a presidential pardon to Cho, who launched the minor Rebuilding Korea Party ahead of the general elections in April last year. 

Cho has reportedly been included on the potential list of beneficiaries of presidential pardons, raising the possibility of his early release from prison. 

Cho is currently serving a two-year prison term following a conviction on academic fraud charges involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection.

Yonhap

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This guy must have been pretty desperate to attempt a high risk defection like this. Hopefully he doesn’t have any family left in North Korea that will be punished for his defection:

A North Korean man defected to South Korea after he swam down the coast and evaded armed border guards with orders to shoot anyone fleeing Kim Jong Un’s regime.

The unidentified man was detected late on the evening of July 30, according to South Korean officials, who made the defection public on Thursday. He used tied-on plastic foam for buoyancy and swam down the Korean Peninsula’s west coast.

After a journey of around 10 hours, the man, who reportedly waved his hands and declared his intention to defect, was retrieved by South Korea’s military about 1.6 miles south of North Korean soil.

Defections to the South have become extremely rare in recent years after Kim ordered extra fortifications and boosted security along the border. That has left only dangerous routes and the risk of a death sentence if caught.

Wall Street Journal

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