It looks like there will not be any more jail time for Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong:
A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Monday in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered the not-guilty sentence for Lee, three years and five months after he was indicted on charges of involvement in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. to solidify his managerial control of the group at a lower cost.
Lee was charged with stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger, where three Samsung C&T shares were offered for one Cheil share.
The merger was seen as crucial to Lee’s succession as the heir of the family-controlled group, as his father, Lee Kun-hee, had suffered a heart attack the previous year.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
South Korea is already working on a “diplomatic buffer zone” with the early renegotiation of the USFK upkeep in case Trump does get elected:
With Donald Trump cruising to a rematch with United States President Joe Biden in the presidential election in November, the world, including South Korea, is preparing for a possible second Trump presidency, which is anticipated to force many countries to recalibrate their diplomatic strategies.
Throughout last year, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has concentrated on strengthening its alliance with the U.S. to an unprecedented level, aligning South Korea’s diplomatic stance with its traditional ally on most issues, including sensitive ones such as the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Experts said, however, that South Korea this year will have to focus on securing a “diplomatic buffer zone” to prepare for a possible second Trump presidency, which is expected to force Seoul to shoulder a greater amount of the cost of maintaining U.S. Forces Korea’s (USFK) presence on the peninsula and make greater efforts for containing China. The speculation that Trump may condone North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons is also a concern for Seoul, which has been striving to stymie Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions through U.S. extended deterrence.
“In terms of the relations with the U.S., the top agenda item that South Korea should focus on this year would be creating a diplomatic buffer zone for requests that Washington may make under a possible second Trump presidency in 2025,” said Lee Geun, professor of international politics at Seoul National University’s (SNU) Graduate School of International Studies.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
I prefer societies that hold people accountable for crimes even if its stealing about $3 of coffee:
And now we have the case of a 59-year-old man who was caught nipping a little extra coffee with his order and was detained by police for it. His cover was blown last December when he popped into a convenience store during his lunch break and ordered a Regular Coffee for 110 yen. However, while at the machine, a little devil on his shoulder convinced him to press the button for a Large Coffee valued at 180 yen which filled his Regular cup to the brim.
He then left the store but just as he was about to get into his car, the clerk called out to him and reported him to the police. While waiting for the authorities, the clerk interrogated the man and found that he had done this twice before at that store.
The man was then questioned by the police but no charges were pressed and the man was released. However, since he was the principal of a nearby junior high school, word of the incident got back to the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education who questioned the man once again.
This time he admitted to having misappropriated coffee a total of seven times since June of last year for an approximate total of 490 yen worth of ill-gotten coffee. He explained that the first time he did it, it was an accident, but when he discovered that a Large Coffee fit into his Regular Coffee cup and the staff didn’t say anything, he decided to do it again, even knowing it was wrong.
As a result, on January 30, the Board of Education handed down a disciplinary dismissal for “gross misconduct unbecoming of an educational public servant.” They also apologized “from the bottom of [their] hearts” for allowing this to happen.
Japan Today
You can read more at the link, but 490 yen equal about $3.30 USD.
I think the Japanese response to crime is better than in the U.S. where for example drugs are decriminalized in Oregon or shoplifters can get away with stealing $950 or less of items in California. This is all madness that increases crimes. You don’t see this madness in Japan and other societies that are tough on crime because they hold people accountable for even small criminal offenses such as stealing about $3 of coffee.
Could North Korea come up with any more adjectives to describe their cruise missile?:
North Korea said Saturday it conducted what it calls a “cruise missile super-large warhead power test” and test-fired a new type of anti-aircraft missile the previous day.
The tests in the Yellow Sea were carried out for the “rapid development of the technologies in various aspects, such as function, performance and operation of new-type weapon systems” and were part of “normal activities,” the North’s Missile Administration said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It did not give further details, such as how many missiles were launched or how far they flew.
Photos released by the KCNA showed a cruise missile flying at a low altitude, striking a building and exploding.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
With elections in South Korea and the United States coming up this year there is little incentive for North Korea to behave and return to talks:
This photo, taken on Jan. 18, 2024, shows U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak attending a trilateral meeting with her South Korea and Japanese counterparts at the foreign ministry in Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
The United States has not detected indications of “direct” North Korean military action, its top nuclear envoy has said, pledging to make “relentless” efforts to deter and constrain evolving threats from the recalcitrant regime.
In an online interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak made the remarks as the North’s pugnacious rhetoric and its continued weapons tests have deepened worries about the possibility of major provocations by the North and even of an armed clash on the Korean Peninsula.
Despite an escalation of threats, the envoy expressed her hopes for Pyongyang to further reopen its border to pave the way for diplomacy, while stressing Washington’s “sincerity” in its repeated yet unanswered dialogue overtures.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
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