Author: GIKorea

The Korean left has long hated Tae Yong-ho because he is a North Korean defector turned politician who has stood against their attempts to appease the Kim regime and often challenges their dogma in regards to historical issues. So anything with a sliver of truth they will use to discredit him or their ultimate goal to drive him out of office:

Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday flatly denied allegations that he received an illegal political donation around last year’s local elections amid several other looming controversies surrounding him.

According to a media report, the North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker allegedly accepted political funds from elected councilors of his constituency in Seoul’s Gangnam district, in return for backing their nomination. 

The donations were allegedly split up and given under the names of their families and acquaintances.

“I would like to clarify at this moment that I am confident that there is not a single stain regarding the issue of fundraising,” Tae said in a press conference held at the National Assembly.

Tae also denied media reports that senior presidential political affairs secretary Lee Jin-bok asked him to make remarks in support of Korea-Japan relations while talking about the issue of party nominations for next year’s general elections.

Yonhap

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South Korea over the past two decades has really ramped up the export potential of their defense industry and it is paying off now as the world rearms due to Russian aggression and Chinese expansionism:

The Korean 4.5-generation fighter jet KF-21 makes its first maiden flight in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, in July 2022. [DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION]

U.S. allies and security partners worldwide looking to re-stock their arsenals are increasingly turning to Korean defense companies to procure weapons.  
   
Korea signed defense export contracts worth a cumulative $17 billion in 2022, representing a 242 percent increase in a single year and making the country the eighth-largest weapons exporter in the world.  
   
The growth in Korean defense exports, which made up 2.8 percent of a global arms exports market dominated by the United States, Russia, France and China, is all the more remarkable given the late start of the Korean weapons industry compared to the big players. 

Rising Korean defense exports also more broadly signal the country’s growing capacity and will to supply arms to other U.S. allies in the face of rising military threats posed by Russia and China in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.  
   
Korea’s potential as a source of advanced military hardware at a time when countries are still ramping up defense production became apparent in December 2021, when Australia inked a $730-million contract with Hanwha Defense for 30 K-9 self-propelled artillery howitzers and 15 armored ammunition resupply vehicles, and again in July, when Poland announced that it had signed contracts worth an estimated $14 billion for K-2 battle tanks, K-9 howitzers and FA-50 light attack aircraft from Korea. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

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It looks like someone was trying to be too clever on Facebook:

The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization’s official Facebook page.

The post — “Make love to me …” — appeared around midnight March 24. By mid-morning the message had disappeared.

The post “was made unrelated to the mission and goals of our command,” Army Col. Isaac Taylor, who also serves as spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

“We are reviewing and updating our current practices and security protocols to ensure it does not happen again,” he wrote. 

Taylor’s email did not answer questions about who was responsible for the post and whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Speaking by phone Monday, he said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. 

The U.N. Command’s Facebook account has around 13,000 followers and posts news and information about its activities and history. (…..)

The message was posted on Facebook as U.S. and South Korean troops carried out the large-scale Ssangyong maritime exercise in South Korea between March 20 and April 3. The allies also conducted large, joint training that included live-fire artillery drills and tabletop simulations throughout March.

Stars & Stripes

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Considering the extremely competitive nature of high school education in South Korea it is no surprise that various drugs are sought after to gain an advantage:

A banner in Daechi-dong, Seoul, reads: “Do not drink ‘strange beverages’ handed out to students.” (Choi Jae-hee / The Korea Herald)

On April 3, an appalling scam targeting unsuspecting students on the streets of this neighborhood sent shockwaves across the nation. Over 100 bottles of drinks laced with methamphetamines and ecstasy were distributed, falsely marketed as study aids to enhance concentration and memory.

The scammers even tried to blackmail some of the victims’ parents, threatening to report their children to the authorities for drug use unless they paid up.

Putting aside the audacity of their act, it raises questions: Why did they choose to target Daechi-dong among all the other neighborhoods in Seoul?

The drug-infused drinks were labeled as “Mega ADHD” and handed out to teenage passersby, just like in a street promotional event.

Perhaps what made the young victims less suspicious was that in Daechi-dong, study aids such as prescription medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, caffeine pills and energy drinks are widely used.

Some parents spoke of falsifying symptoms to get access to ADHD prescription drugs, believing they will enhance academic performance. The substance methylphenidate in ADHD medicine can help takers stay awake, energetic and focused.

“Some students are particularly vulnerable to stress before important exams and get easily distracted. Those who have maintained great academic performance would not want to spoil things due to temporary stress, so they resort to taking prescription stimulants,” said Huh, a housewife in her 50s residing in Daechi-dong who has a 17-year-old daughter.

“It is an expedient, but not illegal,” she said, explaining that some parents and students pretend to have or exaggerate ADHD when seeing a doctor.

Data shows the number of teenagers on ADHD pills has been on the rise.

Korea Herald

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I don’t know enough about this act to determine whether it is good or bad, what I do know it has created great divisions within South Korea’s health care community:

Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA) President Kwak Ji-yeon, front, is transferred to a hospital from the association’s sit-in protest tent in front of the National Assembly, ending a six-day hunger strike to protest the Nursing Act upon the persuasion of Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, second from right, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Health and Welfare

Tension within the country’s medical community is growing as doctors, nursing assistants and various other medical workers announce a joint strike in protest of the recently passed Nursing Act, which they claim privileges nurses unfairly.

Starting Wednesday, a coalition of 13 medical workers’ organizations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA), both in opposition to the Nursing Act legislation, have decided to go on strike, a KMA official told The Korea Times, Monday.

The coalition will also hold rallies on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly in Seoul and the Incheon office of Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to condemn the DPK, which controls more than half of the 300-seat Assembly, for passing the bill. (…..)

The Nursing Act, which aims to improve nurses’ working conditions and clarify the scope of their duties independently from the existing Medical Services Act, has increased clashes within medical circles and among the rival parties regarding its legislation, which was passed at the National Assembly’s plenary session last Thursday.  (….)

However, the bill faced fierce opposition from other medical groups including doctors, nursing assistants and paramedics and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), claiming that it favors a certain professional group and will create new conflicts in the health care system.

The Nursing Act contains a provision that broadens the scope of nurses’ responsibilities from medical institutions to community and public health, in response to the ramifications of an aging population.

However, the doctors’ group is concerned that the legislation may enable nurses to intervene in the duties of other medical workers and give privileges to nurses over other medical professionals.

Nursing assistants also claimed they could suffer discrimination in recruitment if the new law comes into effect, as it will put the nursing assistants under the supervision of nurses.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Considering North Korea’s stated commitment to expanding its nuclear arsenal this news should not be surprising:

Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates North Korea continues to expand and refurbish its Yongbyon nuclear complex, reinforcing concerns the country is acting on leader Kim Jong-un’s recent call for an “exponential” increase in its nuclear arsenal, 38 North, a U.S. think tank, said Friday.

The report based on satellite imagery taken April 20 said significant construction and improvement activities have been detected throughout the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, particularly around the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR), the 5 MWe Reactor and within the uranium conversion area.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.