Category: Korea-General Topics

Just what South Korea needs Muslim Brotherhood asylum seekers:

Mohamad Sabry came to Korea in July 2016 to seek asylum. In his refugee interview, Sabry told the immigration officer he faced political persecution in Egypt for being an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

The official didn’t write this down.

“My interview was totally fabricated as they wrote that I had said like this in the interview: I confessed what I wrote in the application was false and I came to Korea to work as I had no job in Egypt,” Sabry told reporters at a press conference organized by NANCEN, a refugee support group, at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea office in Seoul, Tuesday.

Sabry is one of the victims of a deliberately rigged interview process against Muslim and Arab asylum seekers by multiple immigration officers under the Ministry of Justice here. 

In Tuesday’s press conference, five asylum seekers ― three of them now refugees ― spoke out about how certain immigration officials discriminated against them and deliberately falsified their interview testimony. The problem first surfaced in 2017, after NANCEN and other NGOs came across multiple cases where testimony given by Arab or Muslim asylum seekers during refugee interviews were deliberately altered by immigration officers who recorded them ― making up pieces and leaving out crucial claims while adding false information that made the applicants look like they came in Korea just to find a job. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The findings from this recent poll are especially troubling when you consider that last year a different poll found that 78% of South Koreans said they trusted Kim Jong-un. It would be interesting though if someone polled these two questions together to the Korean public. However, such polling numbers may seem to make no sense that Koreans would trust the leader of country committed to their destruction over a country that has no hostile intentions towards them, but for anyone that has followed Korea and Japan issues it makes perfect sense:

Three-quarters of Japanese do not trust their South Korean neighbours – and the feeling is mutual, a study has found.

A record 74 per cent of Japanese were now distrustful of South Koreans, found the study by the Yomiuri Shimbunin Japan

 and the Hankook Ilbo in Korea. That was more than at any time since the study was first conducted in 1996 and well above last year’s figure of 60 per cent. Meanwhile, 75 per cent of South Koreans

 had no trust in the Japanese, down from 79 per cent last year.

Those personal sentiments appeared to mirror a strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Some 83 per cent of Japanese respondents thought bilateral relations were bad, up from 63 per cent last year, while 82 per cent of Koreans thought the same, up from 69 per cent last year.

South China Morning Post

You can read much more at the link, but the reasons for the distrust are the usual ones, the Japanese did not apologize enough for World War II and the Japanese say they are tired of apologizing over and over again. Then there is always the Dokdo craziness.

As I have long said there is no reason for the South Korean political left to give up their anti-Japanese stance. It is even hard for the South Korean right to do so, though the prior President Park Geun-hye tried and the current government scrapped the deal she made with Japan. The issue is too great of punching bag for politicians to turn to when they need to deflect attention from domestic issues. How many times have we seen a Korean politician under domestic pressure show up on Dokdo?

This is all why I have long believed that if Japanese Prime Minister Abe was really clever he should apologize for war time sexual slavery once again, but this time in a large public speech to draw maximum media attention. During this speech then announce that Japan to atone for its past sins would become a champion of women’s rights beginning with the plight of modern day sexual slavery of North Korean women in China that both the South Korean and Chinese governments choose to ignore.

North Korean women trafficked in the sex industry in China are the modern day comfort women that the Chinese and South Koreans do nothing to stop.  Japan becoming an advocate for these women would expose the current hypocrisy of their critics on this issue.

Such a stance would make it difficult for the political demagogues in South Korean to bring up more demands for apologies when it would reflect negatively on their own current human rights failures. It would no doubt be a bold measure, but I see no other way of ending the current impasse.

Considering how President Moon’s approval ratings continue to drop you would think the opposition party would be gaining in popularity, but this is not the case:

The approval rating for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) dropped below 30 percent last week. It rose above 30 percent in the first week of March for the first time since October 2016 and remained there for 13 weeks.
The support rate for the LKP had reached a peak of 34.3 percent in the third week of May but dropped over the last two weeks.

In the latest poll of 2,002 adults over 19 conducted by Realmeter for four days from June 3 to 5 and on June 7, the LKP’s approval rating came to 29.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the week earlier.

The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recorded 40.5 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous week, while fluctuating between 38.7 and 40.2 percent for the past six weeks. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It took two weeks but finally the sunken tour boat in Hungary has been lifted:

The Hungarian sightseeing boat carrying Korean tourists that tragically sank in the Danube River in Budapest nearly two weeks ago was salvaged Tuesday, leading to the immediate discovery of four more missing bodies.  

The Hableany, which sank near Margaret Bridge in the Danube River in Budapest, was lifted by a large floating crane, the Clark Adam, after operations to fasten four cables to the hull of the vessel were completed the previous day.  

Hungarian authorities began lifting the wreck around 6:40 a.m. local time. The wheelhouse of the boat could be seen above the surface of the water within half an hour and the deck and cabins were in view within two hours.  

The Hableany, or Mermaid, carrying 33 Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew capsized on the evening of May 29 after it was struck by a larger Swiss ship, the Viking Sigyn, helmed by a Ukrainian captain. Seven survivors were rescued immediately after the sinking and seven bodies recovered.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Bodies from the recent boat sinking in Hungary continue to be found:

 The five bodies found in the Danube River in the last two days were all confirmed to be South Koreans missing in last week’s deadly sinking of a sightseeing boat in Hungary, officials said Wednesday. 
That puts the death toll of last Wednesday’s tragedy in central Budapest at 12 Koreans, with 14 others still unaccounted for. Two Hungarian crew members also remain missing. Seven other Korean passengers were rescued right after the accident.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

A horrible tragedy has occurred in Hungary:

 South Korean and Hungarian workers carried out joint operations on Saturday to search for 21 missing victims of this week’s tourist boat sinking in Budapest, officials said, although high waters and strong currents remain tough challenges.
They conducted surface-level searches up to 50 kilometers down the Danube River from the site of Wednesday’s disaster that left seven Koreans dead and 21 people missing, including 19 Koreans. 
The South Korean team, consisting of staff from the Navy and fire agency, was to search the river three times on the day with four boats provided by the Hungarian authorities.
In response to requests by South Korea and Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria have also been conducting search operations in parts of the Danube River.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has traveled to Hungary and the Ukranian boat captain that struck the tourist boat has been arrested.

Whatever dreams Roh Moo-hyun may have had, President Moon his former Chief of Staff is moving forward with them and considering the current poor economy and state of affairs with North Korea is not going so good:

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Roh, who jumped off a cliff behind his home in Bongha amid the prosecution’s widening probe into allegations that his family members accepted illicit funds.

In his memorial address, National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, who served as Roh’s first chief of staff, said bidding farewell to the late president was too much of a grief to bear.

[Sound bite: National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang (Korean)]
“Your election on December 19, 2002 was itself the symbol of resolving regionalism.
Three state tasks have yet to be accomplished: ‘The Era of East Asian Peace and Prosperity,’ 
‘Democracy with the People,’ and ‘Balanced Development of a Co-prosperous Society’
We will march again for the dream of Roh Moo-hyun.” 
 
Moon added that South Koreans overcame the anguish of his death and participated in candlelight vigils to create a new nation moving towards peace.

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said the late president embraced challenges no one had ever dared to take on and endured setbacks never before experienced. 

Lee said Roh’s existence was hope for the ordinary people and his defiance was the people’s dream.

Also in attendance was former U.S. President George W. Bush, who was in office when Roh was South Korea’s president from 2003 to 2008, and First Lady Kim Jung-sook.

[Sound bite: Former US President George W. Bush (English)]
“President Roh stood for what he believed was best for his country. And may we have some differences but no disagreement ever outweighed our shared belief of the U.S.-South Korea relationship.”

KBS World Radio

You can read more at the link.

If you find yourself in trouble in Hongdae there may be a foreigner on patrol with the police to assist you:

Amid a rising number of foreign residents, tourists and multiracial families here, Mapo-gu Office in western Seoul has launched a patrol unit comprised of foreigners, to offer help to foreign residents and tourists in the areas around Hongik University Station.

The district office said, Monday, that it held a welcome ceremony for the unit, Friday, consisting of 20 volunteers including foreign residents from Nigeria and China. 

The move follows an influx of more and more foreigners in the district. 

According to the population and housing census in 2017, the number of multiracial family members living in Mapo-gu was 5,585. Also, the Hongdae area is one of the most popular tourist destinations visited by many foreigners and local residents, together with Yeonnam-dong next door which has gained popularity recently. 

The unit members will patrol twice a week for four hours. The patrol course will include Yeonnam-dong and the area near the university, known colloquially as Hongdae. Their main jobs are to provide translation to tourists and listen to their complaints as well as solve conflicts among foreign residents.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The war on tobacco in South Korea continues:

South Korea unveiled its “tobacco endgame” plan that calls for adopting uniform, plain packaging for all cigarettes and more graphic warning labels to push people to quit smoking, the government said Tuesday.
The comprehensive endeavor, reached by the public health policy review committee, aims to lower the smoking rate for men significantly from 38.1 percent in 2017, the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The percentage of male smokers in the country has been falling steadily since 2008 with the government wanting the figure to fall to lower than 29 percent by 2022.
The ministry said indoor smoking areas will be banned, with all products containing nicotine to be classified as tobacco goods and subject to tougher restrictions.
The ministry added that for the time being, an increase of the price of tobacco products is not being considered. The government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won (US$1.70) per pack on Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won per pack.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is no doubt that smoking is bad for you, but how come these measures aren’t taken against other industries that are bad for people’s health like drinking too much soda?

President Moon has found time to attend an anniversary event for the Gwangju uprising, I wonder if he will find time to attend a memorial event next month for the 13 ROK Sailors killed in the 2002 West Sea Naval Battle by North Korea?:

President Moon Jae-in called for an end to wasteful political strife over the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, Saturday, saying the country still owes a huge debt to the residents of the city. 

Attending the 39th anniversary of the movement against the then military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan, he offered an apology, as the country’s sitting president, for the many deaths that resulted in the brutal crackdown that followed. 

He lamented continued reckless remarks by some politicians and scholars to distort or play down the truth behind the historic event, officially named the Gwangju Democratization Movement.

“As a Korean, I feel tremendous shame when facing the reality of preposterous remarks denying and insulting the May 18 Democratization Movement still being uttered out loud without any hesitation,” he said in a speech at the ceremony held in the city, 268 kilometers south of Seoul.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if President Moon will say he feels “tremendous shame” about the “preposterous remarks” by those that deny that North Korea sunk the ROK naval ship the Cheonan killing 46 sailors back in 2010. The memorial service was in March and President Moon did not attend.

As far as the Gwangju Uprising, I always recommend people read Linda Lewis’, Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising for a good analysis of what happened back in 1980.