Category: Korea-General Topics

Here is the latest virtue signaling over the Gwangju Uprising:

The Army said Tuesday it has revoked 33 commendations that were awarded to soldiers in the name of an Army chief for their roles in a bloody crackdown during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

The move is the latest in a series of military efforts to address past wrongdoing by the troops during the brutal crackdown on civilians who rose up against the military junta, led by then Army Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, in the nine-day revolt.

Chun seized power through a coup on Dec. 12, 1979, and ultimately became president in August 1980.

After a review of the commendations related to the Gwangju crackdown operations, the Army found a total of 33 troops had received commendations, Bae Seok-jin, the Army spokesperson, said in a press briefing. 

“The Army decided to revoke the 33 commendations at a merit review committee on April 28,” Bae said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty surprising that a year and a half after this disaster that remains from victims are still being found:

President Lee Jae Myung visited the renewed recovery operation site for victims of the Jeju Air passenger jet crash at Muan Airport, calling for a full investigation into shortcomings in the government’s initial recovery efforts.

The visit on Monday came after victims’ remains were discovered during a reinvestigation launched by the Lee administration in February this year, more than a year after the country’s deadliest aviation disaster on Dec. 29, 2024.

The discovery sparked public outrage, with the earlier recovery operation criticised as careless and incomplete.

Lee expressed frustration over the prolonged recovery process, saying, “The recovery of the remains has been delayed far too long.”

“This renewed search must be conducted thoroughly. Please also examine whether there are problems with the existing manuals,” Lee told officials at the recovery site at Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province. “It does not appear that the existing manuals were faithfully followed. Please look carefully into the causes as well.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This makes me wonder if people across the world will have to eventually renovate their businesses and homes to accommodate robots in the near future?:

A redesigned central atrium of Hyundai Motor Group’s headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group is signaling its broader transformation into a robot-friendly mobility firm by deploying a range of advanced service robots throughout the carmaker’s renovated headquarters lobby.

The initiative aligns with the group’s much-touted vision to evolve into a physical artificial intelligence (AI) firm. At this year’s CES tech fair in January, the carmaker drew attention for presenting its robotics vision to become a leading physical AI player in the mobility sector.

The firm has introduced three robot services as part of its headquarters remodeling project: the DAL-e Gardener watering robot, DAL-e Delivery robot and the quadruped Spot security robot.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

So where has this Lee been when his KCTU labor union buddies were busy assaulting police, raiding offices of politicians they don’t like, running extortion rackets, spying for North Korea, intimidating members of the media and families, disrupting USFK operations, and destroying property during conservative presidential administrations? Now that President Lee is in charge of the country he wants them to play nice:

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday warned that excessive labor-related demands by unionized workers could end up doing more harm than good to the unions and other fellow workers, urging a more responsible approach from unions when dealing with labor issues.

“While companies should treat workers as valuable partners in corporate management, workers and labor unions must also have a sense of responsibility,” Lee said during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae.

“If certain labor organizations face public outcry for excessive or unfair, self-serving demands, it would harm not only the unions themselves but other workers as well,” Lee said, urging a sense of solidarity with fellow laborers. 

Lee’s remarks came as a major labor union of Samsung Electronics Co. has threatened to launch an 18-day general strike starting May 21, demanding high bonuses in proportion to the company’s record high revenue.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There is probably a lot worse abuse then a face slap going on in these South Korean companies employing foreign workers:

A video showing a Bangladeshi worker being assaulted at a factory in Incheon has sparked public outrage, prompting a government response and a police investigation.

Authorities are looking into the case, and civic groups are calling for stronger structural measures to prevent repeated abuse of migrant workers. The incident comes shortly after another case involving a Thai worker, deepening concerns over the treatment of migrant workers in Korea.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

If China is unhappy about this defense cooperation this should be a sign to India that the products they are receiving are high quality. The Chinese would not be complaining if South Korea was selling them junk equipment:

China would see India’s attempt to expand defense industry cooperation with South Korea in artillery and anti-aircraft guns as “inevitably sensitive” given Beijing’s border dispute with New Delhi in the Himalayas, according to analysts.

After meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as part of his three-day visit to India, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced that Seoul and Delhi had agreed to upgrade their economic cooperation, focusing on vital sectors such as shipbuilding, defense and artificial intelligence.

Lee said South Korea fully backed India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India policy and hoped to “actively” support the production and operation of Indian defense equipment and discuss cooperation such as in technology development.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This news shouldn’t be surprising considering President Lee’s track record of being welcoming to China:

Members of Congress blasted South Korean leadership over a “left-wing government closely aligned with China,” that they accused of “attacking” American companies and showing favoritism to Chinese-led businesses. 

In a letter led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., more than 50 members of the House of Representatives expressed their concern to Republic of Korea (ROK) Ambassador to the United States Kyung-wha Kang over what they deemed to be “discriminatory” business practices from the ROK.  

“Many American tech companies have faced a range of regulatory actions that seek to punish them while shielding Korean domestic competition,” the letter reads. “Recent research by think tank Competere shows such regulatory actions by the ROK government will cost $1 trillion in combined economic damage to the U.S. and Korean economies over the next 10 years, with the U.S. economy losing $525 billion and American households losing nearly $4,000 each.”

Fox News

You can read more at the link.