Author: GIKorea

The Ministry of Science does not want to give up their free labor to the Ministry of Defense:

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of National Defense have come into conflict over the latter’s move to reduce the number of military duty exemptions for science and engineering majors by half.

While all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for about two years as the two Koreas remain technically at war, those with master’s degrees or doctorates in natural sciences or engineering have been allowed to spend their military service working at R&D departments of state-designated research institutes.

The defense ministry is claiming that downsizing such special exemptions, which were introduced in 1973, is necessary to make up for the expected shortage in the number of active-duty personnel amid a constantly declining population. 

But the science ministry as well as universities, research institutes and students are arguing that the exemptions have effectively contributed to the development of the nation’s R&D sector and thus must be retained.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

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

The Stars & Stripes has provided more details about what happened recently in Itaewon between a taxi driver and a USFK soldier:

An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

The soldier scuffled with police and tried to run away, but the officers subdued him with a stun gun, according to the report. He was detained on suspicion of assault and property damage but was released to American military authorities in accordance with the status of forces agreement between the allies.An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Weekly Chosun says the current friction btwn ROK and JPN is the one btwn ROK politicians who are incompetent and ideology-oriented and JPN officials who are experts in their work. https://t.co/91QZr4nzGX

— bmk218 (@bmk218) July 24, 2019

As I speculated yesterday, the Kim regime has confirmed the missile test is linked to the upcoming joint exercise:

Anchor: North Korea has confirmed that it test-fired “new tactical guided weapons” on Thursday, with leader Kim Jong-un personally overseeing the launches. The North’s state-media described the provocations as a “solemn warning” to South Korea. 

Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: After firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea Thursday, North Korea has issued a warning to South Korea. 

The North’s state-run media said Friday that leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw what it called a “new tactical guided weapon” test in a show of military might.

The Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said the launch is a “solemn warning” to South Korean “military warmongers,” who were described as “running high fever in their moves to introduce the ultramodern offensive weapons and hold military exercises in defiance of the repeated warnings.” 

Earlier this month, the South Korean Air Force received two U.S.-built F-35A stealth fighter jets and hopes to deploy a total of 40 by 2021. Seoul and Washington are also scheduled to stage their joint 19-2 Dongmaeng military exercise next month. 

In an apparent reference to President Moon Jae-in, Kim was cited as advising the “South Korean authority” to “stop such suicidal acts as adopting new weapons and military exercises.” Kim also urged Moon to return to his reconciliatory position on display during the inter-Korean summits last year.

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link, but notice how North Korea has no problem bashing President Moon, but are unwilling to criticize President Trump. This is because they are still hoping that President Trump will relax sanctions on them for a freeze deal. A freeze deal means they give up nothing because they are just required to stop testing. They can restart testing at a time of their choosing after collecting enough foreign revenue and then blame the U.S. for the failure of the deal.

Kim Jong-un has always said that he is waiting until the end of the year for a deal to be reached. If a deal is not reached he could restart ICBM testing. He is giving the Trump administration a preview of what he could start doing right in the middle of President Trump’s re-election campaign next year if a deal is not struck.

If anyone has any spare cash lying around you could buy Asiana Airlines this week:

Asiana Airlines is expected to be up for sale as early as Thursday. 

Kumho Industrial, Asiana’s biggest shareholder, and the airline’s credit holders plan to start the sale process on Thursday or Friday. They are looking to find a buyer and sign a main contract by the end of this year. 

Market observers presume it will take one trillion won to two-point-five trillion won to buy South Korea’s second largest airline. Some local conglomerates are being mentioned as potential bidders, including SK, Hanwha, CJ and Aekyung. 

Earlier this year, the Asiana’s creditors led by the state-owned Korea Development Bank(KDB) decided to provide one-point-73 trillion won in financial assistance to help normalize the cash-strapped airline, setting a goal to sell it by year-end.

KBS World Radio

#KimJongun "threatens" by rejecting #SouthKorean rice aid. That should scare the #MoonJaein administration, since it wants so badly to give rice to the Kim regime. But without Wise Honest ship, how will Kim export the rice for cash anyway? https://t.co/YiIXsgOYqh

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) July 24, 2019

If the Moon administration allows the auctioning of the assets of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in South Korea, I wonder what the Japanese response will be? Would they try and auction off the assets of a major Korean company like Hyundai in Japan in response? If so this dispute could get even uglier:

Plaintiffs who won a compensation suit against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for its wartime forced labor filed a formal request to a local court Tuesday to seize and liquidate the Japanese firm’s assets in Korea, after the company refused to abide by a November Supreme Court ruling in their favor.

The request came amid an escalating feud between the two countries following the court verdict and Japan’s alleged retaliatory move restricting exports of key materials to Korea. 

The action comes eight months after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, which sided with 87-year-old Yang Geum-deok and four other plaintiffs who were forced to work without pay at a Mitsubishi aircraft plant in Nagoya during World War II. The court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay between 100 million won ($85,000) and 150 million won to each victim in legal compensation. 

But the company refused to pay, and also ignored multiple requests to negotiate an agreement, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. During this time, three plaintiffs passed away. 

“There is a limit to waiting,” civic groups that supported the five said in a press conference on behalf of the plaintiffs, Tuesday. “As we warned, we have asked the court to order the sale of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry’s assets in Korea.” 

The request was filed with Daejeon District Court, targeting the “liquidation of six patents and two trademark rights” which the company was granted in Korea, including its new MHI English logo. Earlier in March, they asked a court to allow them to “seize the intellectual properties,” a request that was accepted. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.