Author: GIKorea

Here is a name I haven’t heard from in a while that the Korean left is trying to rehabilitate, Han Myeong-sook:

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is methodically moving to reinvent the political life of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, 76, who was sentenced to jail for two years for receiving money from the former CEO of a construction company in 2007 in return for favors. If the DP really attempts to rehabilitate such a convict, that’s a grave challenge to respect for the rule of law. Han, who served as prime minister in the Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008), was an iconic figure representing the liberal camp.    
   
She was indicted, convicted and served a jail term after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling against her. She was indicted without detention in July 2010 on charges of taking 900 million won ($731,400) from Han Man-ho, the CEO, who died after serving a prison term in 2018.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but there was far more evidence of corruption by Han Myeong-sook than by former President Park Geun-hye and she is likely going to spend the rest of her life in jail unless another conservative gets elected President.

Democratic Party advocates are claiming that Han is the “victim of the prosecution’s coercive investigation and the court’s abuse of power.” With the new reform bill the Democratic Party passed earlier in the year, its new investigation agency could be used to pressure judges to relook Han’s case. One of the criticism about the so called reforms was that the new investigation agency could be used to protect ruling party officials and attack political rivals.

For people in the Seoul area, here is something to do in the coming weeks:

 The popular nighttime tours of royal palaces in South Korea will resume next week, months after their suspension due to novel coronavirus fears, the cultural heritage authority said Saturday.

The Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour will start on Wednesday and go through June 8, while the Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour will open from Thursday until June 21, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).

Tickets for the nocturnal programs are available for purchase at the e-commerce website Auction (ticket.auction.co.kr).

A special program named Gyeongbokgung Saenggwabang, which provides tourists a chance to experience a traditional tea ceremony and enjoy dessert, will start its one-month run on Wednesday.

Music concerts will be also held at the royal palace of Gyeongbok every weekend from May 30 to July 12.

At the same time, the changing of the royal guard ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace already restarted on Wednesday, the administration added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It figures this guy would get no jail time after being convicted of corruption:

Busan’s former vice mayor for economic affairs Yoo Jae-soo was convicted of taking bribes but will avoid jail time.  
   
The Seoul Eastern District Court convicted Yoo of taking bribes from four executives of financial companies when he worked at the Financial Services Commission (FSC) from 2010 to 2018.   
   
The court handed down an 18-month suspended jail sentence and a 90 million won fine ($73,000). The court also ordered Yoo to pay the 42.21 million won he took in bribes. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but what is significant about this case is not so much the corruption, but that the former Moon administration Justice Minister Cho Kuk is being tried for abuse of power in 2017 when as then Blue House Senior Civil Affairs Secretary tried to shut down an investigation into Yoo’s suspected corruption.

It looks like Kim Jong-un is feeling much better after having not been seen publicly in three weeks:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a Central Military Commission meeting and discussed “new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country,” state media reported Sunday.

Also discussed at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party were important military steps and organizational and political measures to further bolster up the overall armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

“Set forth at the meeting were new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation in line with the general requirements for the building and development of the armed forces of the country,” the KCNA said.

It did not elaborate what the “new policies” for nuclear deterrence were.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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