Author: GIKorea

Does anyone else see the irony of a prominent North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly questioning the Unification Minister on his past communist background?:

Opposition lawmakers on Thursday bombarded Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young with questions about his ideological leanings during a National Assembly confirmation hearing that was largely devoid of policy discussions over the deteriorating state of inter-Korean relations.    

The fiercest attacks came from Rep. Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and defector elected as a South Korean district representative in April. Thae led the conservative United Future Party’s (UFP) charge against Lee, accusing him of not renouncing his supposed former Communist beliefs.    

Lee was a founding member and first chair of Jeondaehyup, or the National Council of Student Representatives, an influential left-wing student union active in the struggle against South Korea’s military junta throughout the 1980s.  

The group’s prominent pro-unification activities, like its dispatch of a student delegation to Pyongyang in violation of domestic law in 1989, led many on the right to accuse Jeondaehyup of being a pro-North organization, though many of the group’s leaders, including Lee and former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, have since entered the mainstream of South Korea’s liberal establishment.  

After stating that he officially renounced North Korea’s Juche state ideology after defecting to the South, Thae argued, without evidence, that he was taught in the North that members of Jeondaehyup recited anti-American slogans in front of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s portrait every morning.  

Lee denied that he ever harbored a belief in Juche, responding that such attempts to vet a candidate’s ideology belonged to the playbook of North Korea or South Korea’s past authoritarian governments, and were not appropriate in modern South Korean democracy.    

“In the North such things like ideological defection may be forced upon [people] but in the South, ideology and morality are not imposed,” Lee said. “That [Thae] has asked me about my ideological beliefs shows [Thae] still lacks an understanding of democracy in the South.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but The Yong-ho knows enough about democracy to get elected to the National Assembly.

The trickle of positive coronavirus cases from USFK personnel arriving in South Korea continues:

The number of coronavirus cases affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea soared to 111, with 12 more troops and a dependent testing positive after traveling from the United States to South Korea over the past two weeks, the military said Wednesday.

The increase reflected a surge in infections in the United States. USFK has insisted the arrivals pose no risk to local communities because they are tightly controlled with a strict testing and two-week quarantine process.

Ten service members and the dependent who tested positive arrived at Incheon International Airport on commercial flights on July 8, 9 and 19, according to a press release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Since Liberation Day fell on Saturday, August 15th this year, the ROK government should have designated August 17th a national holiday a long time ago:

The South Korean government on Tuesday designated Aug. 17 as a temporary national holiday, allowing workers in the nation to have three consecutive days off during the summer season that’s feared to be dampened by the drawn-out fight against the novel coronavirus.

The Cabinet approved the plan to add the post-weekend holiday on the August calendar during a weekly meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.

Moon said the designation is intended to give a “short but precious rest time” to people tired from battling the virus.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The idea of using USFK to respond to global missions has officially returned:

The U.S. push for greater “strategic flexibility” for its forces deployed around the world could increase the chances of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) being mobilized for missions beyond the Korean Peninsula, experts said Wednesday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he wants to pursue more rotational force deployments into theaters as it give the U.S. “greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe.”

The remarks came in response to a recent media report that the Pentagon has offered the White House options to reduce American troop levels in South Korea. Esper, however, said he has not issued an order to withdraw forces from the Korean Peninsula.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this issue came up 15 years ago and a compromised was reached that USFK would only be deployed if supported by the will of the Korean people.

What we could see happening is that a future rotational brigade that was originally scheduled to deploy to Korea instead deploys somewhere else. This would allow the U.S. to reduce troops in South Korea in a face saving way.

It looks like the North Korean gulags will have a few more people in them:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un strongly criticized officials for carrying out the construction of a large-scale general hospital “in a careless manner” and ordered the replacement of all of those responsible, state media said Monday.

Kim made the remarks during a “field guidance” trip to the construction site for Pyongyang General Hospital, one of his top-priority projects he has vowed to complete by Oct. 10, the 75th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party. He attended its groundbreaking ceremony in March, calling it a “crucial task” for the country’s public health.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

You can read more at the link, but President Moon is likely betting that the majority of the Korean media will continue to cover for the ruling party’s sexual misconduct scandals:

Questions are rising over why President Moon Jae-in is not making any mention of a series of sexual harassment scandals involving star politicians of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

His silence on the issue is considered unusual, given that he had pledged to be a “feminist President,” and has underscored the need for supporting and empowering women and put a special emphasis on raising the proportion of female leaders in his Cabinet and the presidential office.

There was an expectation that Moon, during Monday’s meeting with senior aides, would mention the death of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and the allegations that he sexually abused his secretary ― a case that has made headlines in the local media since Park was found dead in an apparent suicide, July 10.

But Moon failed to mention anything related to the Park scandal. The President has also distanced himself from the sexual violence scandals of other DPK heavyweights, such as former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don. Both politicians stepped down from office due to #MeToo allegations from women who worked closely with them.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.