Author: GIKorea

It is amazing that it has been over eight years since the Sewol ferry disaster and legal actions are still happening:

Lee Byung-kee, former chief of staff of the Park Geun-hye administration, talks to the press after his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Nine officials that worked under President Park Geun-hye were acquitted on charges of obstructing the investigation into the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry that killed more than 300 people in 2014, many of them students on a school trip.   

The officials, which included Lee Byung-kee, chief of staff of President Park, were accused of obstructing a special committee that was formed in 2015 to investigate the Sewol ferry tragedy, including the 7 hours President Park was reportedly missing.   

All nine former officials were indicted without detention in May 2020 on charges of obstructing the appointment of a key official on the committee, the dispatch of 17 public officials and ending the investigation period of the committee prematurely.   

The Seoul Central District Court said while it acknowledge some of the acts were committed, it noted that the investigation did not go into detail to prove who or how those acts violated the law.   
   
The court acquitted them on the charges for lack of evidence in proving any malfeasance.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but basically what these officials were being accused of was trying to cover up former President Park’s actions the day of the Sewol tragedy, the so called missing seven hours. Media speculation said she was having botox treatments or even an affair during the missing seven hours.  None of this was true when an investigation by the Moon administration showed she was meeting with the infamous Choi Soon-shil and getting her hair done and the report of the accident was left on a note outside her door.

Even if she was notified immediately it would not have made a difference on what happened that day. If a rescue was going to happen it was going to have to be by first responders from the ROK Coast Guard. The Coast Guard office in Mokpo immediately sent a vessel to the accident site after receiving emergency phone calls from passengers.  The vessel arrived at the scene before the sinking, but did not order the passengers to evacuate. This contributed to the various reasons why so many people died when the Sewol sunk.

Regardless the official timeline is not flattering towards President Park and apparently her staff tried to shield her from scrutiny and thus the legal actions that were taken against them by the follow on Moon administration.

Being in an increasingly bad neighborhood has convinced the majority of the Japanese public they need to build up their defenses. This is a big change considering how for decades the Japanese public has maintained a pacifist stance:

People in Japan are warming to the idea of a stronger defense policy amid challenges from China, Russia and North Korea, according to a recent poll.

The Nikkei Research survey of 1,663 Japanese adults between October and November showed 49% backed an expanded role in the U.S.-Japan alliance while 46% opposed it.

That’s up from 41% who wanted a bigger role for Japan in the alliance and 53% who were against it in 2020. A 2021 survey showed 46% in favor and 49% against, the Nikkei newspaper reported Jan. 25.

When people were asked if they were worried Japan might be attacked, 83% said they were concerned while 14% said they weren’t. Of those concerned, 54% said Japan should boost its role in the U.S.-Japan alliance, according to the poll.

North Korean and Chinese missile launches near Japan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine kept security issues in the news last year.

In the latest poll, 89% of respondents saw China as a threat, 87% felt threatened by North Korea, and 90% saw Russia as a threat.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It has always been pay to play in North Korea, so Lee had to have offered something to visit and it appears the offer was $3 million according to this guy:

An arrested underwear tycoon allegedly said he delivered US$8 million to North Korea in 2019 to help promote Gyeonggi Province’s smart farm project and then Gov. Lee Jae-myung’s visit to the North, informed officials said Tuesday.

Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, who was nabbed in Thailand in early January after months on the run, reportedly made the controversial remarks during questioning by prosecutors in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Suwon District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim on Jan. 20 on multiple charges, including embezzlement, bribery and the illegal transfer of cash to North Korea.

Previously, Kim told prosecutors that he only handed a total of over $5 million to North Korea on two occasions in 2019 to pursue economic cooperation rights involving the North.

As the prosecution presented other related documents, however, the underwear tycoon reportedly disclosed an additional remittance of $3 million to Pyongyang and the reasons for the cash payment, the officials said.

Kim allegedly said that $5 million was delivered in connection with Gyeonggi Province’s smart farm project in North Korea and the additional $3 million was intended to facilitate Lee’s visit to the North.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if Lee Jae-myung had won the presidency does anyone think any of this would have come out?

It will be interesting to see if the Kim regime uses this visit and the joint announcement as a reason to launch an ICBM in the coming days:

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States have agreed to further expand the countries’ joint military exercises amid intensifying North Korean provocations, they said in a joint statement released Tuesday.

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to continue taking strong steps against North Korean provocations.

“The two leaders also pledged to further expand and bolster the level and scale of this year’s combined exercises and training,” said the joint statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is going to get a little more expensive to get around Seoul by taxi next month:

The basic taxi fare in Seoul will rise by 1,000 won ($0.8) to 4,800 won starting next month, the city government said Monday. 

The Seoul Metropolitan government’s plan to raise the base rate for mid-sized sedan cabs operating in the capital will go into effect on Feb. 1, it said.

Under the plan, the initial minimum distance for which the base taxi fare is applied will also be shortened to 1.6 kilometers from the current 2 km.

After the base fare is charged, 100 won will be additionally charged for every 131 meters of distance, up from the current 132 meters, the city also said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.