Category: Korea-General Topics

This is essentially a state sponsored hijacking and ransom by Iran:

South Korea and Iran agreed Tuesday to work toward a diplomatic solution for this week’s seizure of a Korean oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a foreign ministry official said. 

Fresh tensions appeared to flare up between the two countries after the vessel, MT Hankuk Chemi, was seized Monday by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reportedly due to allegations of chemical pollution. The operator of the ship denied the allegations.

The vessel with five South Koreans, 11 Myanmarese, two Indonesians and two Vietnamese on board was traveling from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates. Iranian officials said they remain safe. (………)

The seizure came amid tensions between Seoul and Tehran over Iranian financial assets frozen under U.S. sanctions.

A foreign ministry official confirmed that the two countries and the U.S. have been in talks about using the Iranian money frozen at South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from a global vaccine procurement program. (……..)

About US$7 billion worth of Iranian assets is locked in South Korean banks after Washington tightened sanctions against Tehran. In April last year, Seoul gained sanctions exemption from Washington for exports of humanitarian goods to Tehran.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is the same scam North Korea plays. Just like when the international community provides food aid or other humanitarian assistance to North Korea that frees up money for the Kim regime to use on other things besides their own people.

If the frozen Iranian money is allowed to purchase COVID vaccine shots that frees up money for the mullahs to use to fund their proxies and military capabilities.

It is probably smart to continue to enforce social distancing measures until the winter is over and the vaccine has time to be distributed:

Daily coronavirus cases dipped to 657 Saturday, but health authorities said current social distancing measures will remain in place for two more weeks across the country as several clusters continue to grow.  
   
Korea registered 824 new cases last Friday on New Year’s Day, markedly fewer than most recent days when the nation was seeing over 1,000 cases. Health officials, however, barely celebrated the decline, noting it was the result of fewer tests conducted over the weekend and holidays.    
   
A smaller number of people get tested on weekends compared to weekdays because private medical facilities offering Covid-19 testing usually close on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays. Public facilities offering Covid-19 tests, on the other hand, are normally open throughout the week.  
   
With daily cases still showing no signs of drastically falling, the central government announced Saturday that current social distancing measures will be extended for two more weeks until Jan. 17. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

This should be no surprise that the police dropped an announcement in the middle of the holiday period hoping fewer people would notice that the investigation into Park Won-soon was closed:

Women’s rights groups are furious over the police’s decision to close the investigation on sexual misconduct allegations against late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon without reaching a clear conclusion.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on Tuesday that it has ended the months-long investigation, and the case will be transferred to the prosecution with non-indictment recommendations. Under the current laws, the police have no power to recommend indictment when the accused is dead. 

A coalition of women’s rights groups issued a statement immediately after, criticizing the authorities for failing to conduct an active and fair investigation and not disclosing to the public new facts found over the past few months. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

South Korea is reporting a death rate of 1.47% from the coronavirus which is likely much lower considering that many people with the virus either don’t know or don’t get tested:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases stayed above 1,000 for a second straight day Wednesday and variant cases rose to five amid tougher virus curbs across the country. 

The country added 1,050 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,025 locally transmitted infections, bringing the total caseload to 59,773, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The daily infections fell slightly from 1,046 cases a day earlier amid the stricter Level 2.5 virus curbs in the greater Seoul area, which were extended earlier by one week until Sunday.

South Korea’s daily cases have hovered around 1,000 for the past week due mainly to mass cluster infections.

Twenty people have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 879, with the fatality rate of 1.47 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Though South Korea is having it highest daily infection numbers yet, it is important to keep perspective. For a country of 51 million people these numbers are basically the equivalent of a large American city:

South Korea reported more than 1,100 daily new coronavirus cases on Saturday, adding pressure on authorities to tighten social distancing rules to flatten the curve of infections.

The country reported 1,132 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, including 1,104 local infections, putting the total caseload at 55,902, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The tally is slightly lower than Friday’s new record high of 1,241. The death toll rose by 20 to 793, with the fatality rate at 1.42 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The mobile test centers set up around Seoul to help conduct random coronavirus testing is showing how many people have the virus without knowing it:

Temporary coronavirus testing centers now in operation throughout the greater Seoul area have contributed greatly to detecting hidden infections, officials said Thursday, announcing as many as 150 cases were confirmed through their testing the previous day alone.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, 58,091 people were tested by the makeshift screening facilities Wednesday and 150 of them were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Patients detected this way accounted for 15.7 percent of all new daily COVID-19 cases reported by Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province and Incheon on the day, the agency noted.

As a result, the cumulative number of coronavirus cases detected by about 150 temporary testing centers, which began operations on Dec. 14 for three weeks, rose to 904, it said.

Earlier this week, the Seoul city government said 1 in 4 new daily COVID-19 cases in the capital were confirmed through the street testing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Due to the growing COVID daily case numbers the ROK government has decided on a nation wide ban on groups of five or more people:

South Korea will ban private gatherings of five or more people during the upcoming holiday season to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Tuesday.

The new restriction will be part of the government’s special antivirus measures in effect from Thursday until Jan. 3, Chung said during an interagency meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic response.

It is an extension of a ban that was previously limited to Seoul and the adjacent Incheon and Gyeonggi Province from Wednesday until Jan. 3. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

To me this number is more concerning than the daily case rate being over a 1,000 for five days:

The government’s ongoing random testing, launched in the greater Seoul area at the beginning of this week, has identified nearly 300 cases of COVID-19 so far, a government agency on the coronavirus pandemic said Saturday.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, an additional 116 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 at the capital area random testing centers Friday, raising the five-day total to 286.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this random testing shows that the coronavirus has likely spread to far more people than what is currently believed.

I would not be surprised of the daily case numbers stay over 1,000 based on the trends we are seeing in other northern hemisphere countries right now:

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases spiked by more than 1,000 for the fifth straight day to hit a fresh record high Sunday, putting the country’s virus battle in the most trouble so far amid rising death tolls.

The country added 1,097 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,072 local infections, raising the total caseload to 49,665, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The tally marked a rise from 1,053 cases Saturday and 1,062 Friday. The previous record high was reported at 1,078 on Wednesday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.