Author: GIKorea

I can’t stand people who leave graffiti everywhere. It is great to see the Koreans were able to get him extradited. Too bad they don’t do canings in Korea for graffiti like they do in Singapore:

A suibway car with graffiti. A 27 year-old American and a 28 year-old Italian is suspected of painting the cars last year. [iNCHEON TRANSIT CORPORATION]

The Incheon District Court on Friday started reviewing an arrest warrant request for a 27-year old American accused of breaking into subway garages and spray-painting graffiti on trains last year.    
   
The unnamed American was extradited to Korea on Wednesday from Romania. An Interpol red notice was issued and on Nov. 12, and the American was arrested by local police in Romania.    
   
The American covered his face with a baseball hat, glasses and a face mask in his court appearance Friday.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

South Korea is getting hits by its coldest weather yet this winter:

 Cold wave alerts will be issued for most parts of the country Monday as the capital and central parts of the nation came under the grip of the season’s coldest weather.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the cold wave warning will take effect for all of Seoul at 9 p.m.

The cold wave warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 C for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops sharply and major damage is expected.

The warning will be also issued for many areas in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, and the provinces of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong and North Jeolla at the same time.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Mark your calendars, January 30th will be the end of the indoor mask mandate in South Korea:

An indoor mask mandate, which has been in place for two years and three months in Korea, will end from 12:00 a.m., Jan. 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Friday. But the authorities stressed that people will still be required to wear masks at high-risk facilities such as hospitals and on public transport. 

The announcement, which comes after three years since Korea confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, represents a major milestone in the government’s shift in its pandemic response to living with the virus.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but even with the end of the mandate I suspect it will take another year before people start reverting back to the old normal of not wearing masks.

Here is the least surprising news of the day:

North Korea continues to provide ammunition to Russia in support of Moscow’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, a White House official said Friday, calling it a clear violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Pyongyang.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, said the U.S. has shared its intelligence on the delivery of North Korean ammunition to Russia with the UNSC Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions.

The NSC official earlier said the North has delivered ammunition to a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, for use in Ukraine.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but by transferring the ammunition to the Wagner Group it allows North Korea and Russia to claim that ammunition is not being transferred between the two governments when in fact it is.

This is the first time I have ever heard of U.S. Soldier falling from an apartment window before in South Korea:

A U.S. soldier in charge of one of the world’s most advanced missile systems died Wednesday outside her home near Camp Carroll, according to Eighth Army and South Korean police. 

Staff Sgt. Theresa Garris, 28, of Stroudsburg, Pa., was found unresponsive in Chilgok county by first responders, Eighth Army spokesman Lt. Col. Neil Penttila told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Garris was discovered around 3 a.m. in the parking lot of her apartment, a Chilgok Police Station investigator told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Initial evidence suggests Garris, who lived on the fourth floor, fell from her unit, the investigator said. South Korean officials customarily speak to the media on the condition of anonymity.

Garris served with 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade as a Patriot launching station enhanced operator and maintainer at Carroll, roughly 130 miles south of Seoul, Penttila said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the article says that foul play is not suspected.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section: