The differences in North Korea policies is really not surprising. Lee Jae-myung just wants to continue the liberal policy of paying off Kim Jong-un for little to nothing in return and Kim Moon-soo is calling to increase military readiness against North Korea:
South Korea’s two leading presidential candidates are presenting sharply contrasting approaches to North Korea — one emphasizes diplomacy and dialogue, while the other advocates for a more robust deterrence strategy, including the possible redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. These weapons were withdrawn in late 1991 under U.S. President George H. W. Bush’s nuclear reduction initiatives.
While North Korea policy has not traditionally played a decisive role in presidential elections, lingering uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump might engage with Pyongyang has raised the stakes for the next South Korean government’s security strategy.
You can read more at the link, but really the only thing new is Kim Moon-soo advocating for the return of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to North Korea. I would be surprised to see that happen. Another thing he is advocating for is to amend an agreement with the U.S. to allow the ROK to reprocess plutonium and enrich uranium to speed up nuclear weapons development if they needed. I think the ROK might have more success with this idea.
Ultimately it will be up to the Korean voters to decide if they want to use their tax dollars to support a robust defense focused foreign policy towards North Korea or send their tax dollars to pay off Kim Jong-un for little to nothing in return.
The article doesn’t say, but how did these two guys secretly enter Osan Airbase?:
South Korean police arrested two Taiwanese men over the weekend for allegedly entering Osan Air Base without authorization during a U.S.-South Korean military open house and filming the event, according to local media.
The pair, identified as being in their 40s and 60s, were taken into custody Sunday after attending the Air Power Days event on Saturday, Yonhap News reported Monday, citing the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency.
The air base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force and the South Korean air force’s operations command. Security procedures for the event required all visitors to bring a form of government identification and check in at the base’s front gate. South Korean visitors were required to have a driver’s license or student ID; foreigners unaffiliated with the U.S. military needed to have a passport.
You can read more at the link, but Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were forbidden from entering the airbase and some how these two still got in.
Here is an apology letter that is making the rounds on the Korean Internet as an example of good parenting:
A handwritten apology by a child and a formal statement from the parents were posted in their apartment complex after the child failed to clean up after the family’s dog. The gesture has drawn widespread praise online for the parents’ responsible approach to parenting.
A post titled “Apology letter spotted at an apartment complex” began spreading rapidly on online forums such as FM Korea on Monday. The post included photos of a neatly written apology from the parents, identified only as A, along with a handwritten note by their youngest child.
In the letter, A details the incident and expresses regret: “On the evening of May 8, our youngest child took our dog for a walk. On the way back, the dog defecated in front of the elevator on the first floor, and the child failed to clean it up. We were informed of the situation through the apartment management office.”
The parent continued, “We sincerely apologize to all residents who use the elevator and were made uncomfortable by this incident. As parents, we take full responsibility for not properly teaching our child the basic etiquette of communal living.”
The letter also noted that the child was instructed to always carry waste bags during walks and was told to write a personal apology to reflect on the incident.
Beneath the parent’s statement was a handwritten note believed to be from the child, which read, in misspelled but sincere language: “I did not clean up my dog’s poop in front of the elevator. I’m really sorry. My parents scolded me a lot, and I truly regret it. From now on, I will clean it up right away.”
You can read more at the link.
Introducing the Yoon Suk Yeol cult… the "Yoonis", should really be spelled Yoonies…
"Love of My Life Yoon Again". No words https://t.co/u0BIczxQGI pic.twitter.com/TpfjrcwMUN
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 12, 2025
If you believe this poll, Lee Jae-myung with only three weeks to go until the election has a large lead over Kim Moon-soo:
Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung is ahead of People Power Party’s Kim Moon-soo with 49.5 percent to Kim’s 38.2 percent, according to a poll released Tuesday.
This is the first poll on the presidential race since Kim’s nomination was finalized Sunday.
Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came third at 5.7 percent while 3.1 percent of respondents said they did not have a preferred candidate and 1.9 percent said they were unsure.
The poll by Hangil Research surveyed 1,513 eligible voters aged 18 and older from May 11-12, with more information posted on the National Election Commission website.
You can read more at the link.
With the current political uncertainty in South Korea, the ROK military probably does not want to something as significant as direct military cooperation with Japan, even if it is in the Philippines:
The South Korean Marine Corps on Tuesday denied Japanese media reports that claimed the two countries will hold a joint military drill in the Philippines next month.
Earlier in the day, Kyodo News Agency and NHK reported the Korean Marine Corps will hold its first-ever joint exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) during KAMANDAG, an annual international military exercise in the Philippines, slated for next month.
The Marine Corps, however, rejected the reports, saying it has no such plan.
“We will conduct combined drills with the United States and the Philippines, but have no plan to do so with the JGSDF,” an official from the Marine Corps told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.
You can read more at the link.
The legal problems for the former first lady continue:
Prosecutors have ordered former first lady Kim Keon Hee to appear for questioning this week over allegations of influence-peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections, legal sources said Monday.
Kim, the wife of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently sent a summons by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to appear as a suspect on Wednesday, according to the sources.
Kim faces charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that she helped former People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party’s nomination for the 2022 by-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favorable to Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
The former first lady has additionally been accused of involvement in the PPP’s candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.
You can read more at the link.
