Category: Korea-General Topics

Here is the latest groveling from President Lee:

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday urged nations involved in the war in the Middle East to take a courageous step toward peace, with a fragile ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran hanging in the balance and threatening the global economy. 

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Lee asked “the warring parties to take a courageous step toward peace that the world desperately wants based on the principles of the protection of universal human rights and lessons from history.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but why wasn’t President Lee speaking up for human rights when the Iranian regime was busy gunning down protesters? Now that the U.S. and Israel are doing something about the regime that supports terrorism and guns down protesters does Lee suddenly care about human rights.

You would think the Korean left who are the ones who champion the memory of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising would side with protesters demanding a better life and government. Then again the Korean left is the same group that makes excuses about North Korean human rights abuses as well. At least the Korean left is consistent in their hypocrisy.

It is pretty surprising how incompetent this Korean Airlines crew apparently were when a DoD civilian experienced a heart attack on a flight two years ago:

Flight attendants aboard a Korean Air flight two years ago failed to act properly to save a Defense Department employee who died of a heart attack midflight, according to a lawsuit filed recently by the woman’s estate. Porscha Brown, 33, a safety specialist at the U.S. Army’s Fort Belvoir, Va., died March 29, 2024, of acute cardiac failure, according to the lawsuit filed March 27 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

She was traveling with three companions on Korean Air Flight KE94 from Washington Dulles International Airport to Incheon International Airport when the incident occurred. According to the lawsuit, Brown began experiencing distress about 12 hours into the 15½-hour flight, clutching her chest and saying, “I can’t breathe.” The complaint alleges Korean Air personnel “failed to properly administer oxygen” to Brown, claiming the airline’s crew “alternated between panicking, observing, and taking notes” as her condition worsened.

Specifically, flight personnel did not follow industry standards or the airline’s own procedures, the suit alleges. Brown was reportedly given an oxygen mask that was not connected to its tank, and crew members did not use the aircraft’s automated external defibrillator, according to the complaint. After Brown lost consciousness, crew members placed the defibrillator next to her but “stood by and did nothing,” the lawsuit states. They also failed to assist two passengers who attempted to use the device to save Brown, according to the complaint.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

President Lee did not offer any ideas, but is he going to get fully behind nuclear to reduce dependency on oil?:

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday it is time for the nation to fundamentally change its economic system, as rising oil prices and inflationary pressures from the war in the Middle East have dampened prospects of an economic recovery. 

However, Lee urged officials to embrace such grave economic conditions as an opportunity to improve the nation’s economic system as he presided over his first plenary meeting of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) to discuss measures to cushion the Middle East conflict’s impact on the economy.

“The war in the Middle East poses a significant threat to our economy in the short term, and in the long term, it is now time to make fundamental changes in South Korea’s economic system,” Lee said. “It is a crisis but also an opportunity.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If you think South Korea already has too many Chinese tourists, well it is about to get worse:

Repeat short-haul visits by Chinese travelers to Korea are expected to rise after Seoul eased multiple-entry visa rules, but analysts say the immediate impact may be limited because of growing competition from Southeast Asia and higher airfares linked to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.

The Korean embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese nationals who had previously visited Korea would now be eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa.

Those holding residency status in 14 major cities — including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou — could also apply for 10-year multiple-entry visas, the embassy said this week. Employees of Chinese companies that have invested at least $1 million in Korea were also eligible for 10-year multiple-entry visas.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

President Lee can rest easy that he can take emergency actions without worrying about getting impeached unlike what happened to former President Yoon:

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday instructed senior officials to take bold measures to address concerns over the energy situation caused by the war in the Middle East, saying the government may issue an emergency economic decree if necessary.

“South Korea, which is highly dependent on external markets and relies heavily on energy supplies from the Middle East, requires more thorough inspections and detailed emergency measures,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting.

Lee urged all relevant ministries to closely monitor the situation and take “preemptive and bold action” to ease concerns over potential disruptions of energy supply.

“Key raw materials, such as urea solution, helium and aluminum, should be strictly managed at levels equivalent to wartime supplies,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If Iran remains a threat in the long term to shutdown the Strait of Hormuz whenever they feel like it, I think coal is going to become an increasingly popular power option until more nuclear plants can come on line:

Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-powered power plants as the government scrambles to secure electricity supplies amid an escalating energy crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to The Korea Times on Monday, a senior official at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said the ministry will extend the operations of three coal-fired power stations that had been scheduled to close this year.

“The timetable for closing them is being rescheduled,” the official said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.