Category: Korea-General Topics

It is one thing to say your open to the possibility of joining and quite another to actually join. I guess we will see what happens in the coming years:

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has said he will “positively review” South Korea’s joining of Quad, a U.S.-led anti-China security partnership, if invited, according to a report.

Yoon made the remark in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal on Monday (U.S. time), saying he does not expect South Korea to receive an invitation any time soon, but if approached, “will positively review joining.”

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is made up of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, and is seen as a partnership aimed at countering China.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Depending on what time he leaves for the Presidential office Yoon’s motorcade could have a major impact on Seoul traffic. Hopefully he leaves for work early to avoid this:

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to commute to the new presidential office in central Seoul from his private home for about a month after his inauguration while his official residence is renovated, officials said Sunday.

Yoon has decided to remodel what is now the foreign minister’s residence into his official residence in line with his plan to move the presidential office and residence out of Cheong Wa Dae in an effort to connect better with the people.

Renovation work on the foreign minister’s residence in Hannam-dong will begin on Yoon’s inauguration on May 10 and is expected to take around a month, and Yoon plans to commute to his new office from his private home in Seocho-dong in southern Seoul, transition team officials said.

“We will be mainly taking the Banpo Bridge on our commute as it is the closest one to Seocho Ward. … The route could change depending on the situation,” an official told Yonhap News Agency.

Yoon’s commute could worsen traffic congestion because roads are blocked for his motorcade.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

A much needed drop in restriction for South Koreans has finally come:

Korea’s daily Covid-19 cases dropped below 50,000 on Monday, the first day of freedom from two years of social distancing regulations.  
   
The country reported 47,743 new Covid-19 cases Monday, raising the total caseload to 16,353,495, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). This was the first time in 68 days for cases to go below 50,000, since Feb. 9 when infections started to soar.  
   
Along with the continued drop in new infections, the number of Covid-19 patients in critical condition totaled 850 as of Sunday midnight, down by 43 from the previous day.  
   
There were 132 new deaths from Covid-19. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

These are going to be great space based capabilities for the ROK once they are put into orbit by SpaceX:

South Korea has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch five spy satellites by 2025, with the first launch on a Falcon 9 rocket by the end of 2023. 

A spokeswoman for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) confirmed the deal April 11, saying the 2023 launch would deliver an 800-kilogram electro-optical infrared satellite to low Earth orbit.

“The deal was made to launch five satellites involved in the ‘425 project,’” DAPA spokeswoman Park Geun-young told SpaceNews, referring to a space-based reconnaissance project the defense ministry launched in 2018 for closer monitoring of North Korea’s military activities. Under the project, five satellites — four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites and one featuring an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) telescope — will be launched to low Earth orbit between 600 and 700 km by 2025, enabling South Korea’s military to observe the nuclear-armed neighbor’s key military facilities every two hours with 30-50 centimeters resolution imagery, according to a 2019 report produced by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. The spokeswoman declined to share the terms and conditions of the deal, as well as launch schedules for the other four satellites.

Space News via a reader tip

You can read more at the link.

It appears South Korea is trying to pull a balancing act in regards to the current situation in Ukraine by only giving non-lethal aid to not upset the Russians too much, but still appear they are doing something to the rest of the global community:

South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook has reiterated Seoul’s stance against the provision of any lethal arms to Ukraine during last week’s phone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, his office said Monday.

Suh repeated the position in response to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov’s request for anti-aircraft weapons in their phone call on Friday.

“Suh had explained that there are limits in providing lethal weapon systems to Ukraine, given our security situation and its potential impact on our military’s readiness posture,” Boo Seung-chan, the spokesperson for the defense ministry, told a regular press briefing.

South Korea has provided Ukraine with non-lethal military supplies worth 1 billion won (US$804,100), such as bulletproof helmets and blankets, as well as medical items in March.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

COVID case totals continue to drop in South Korea:

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the first time in seven weeks on Monday, as the omicron wave is slowing after reaching its peak in mid-March. 

The country added 90,928 new COVID-19 infections, including 21 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,424,598, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 

Monday’s tally marks the first drop to five digits since the Feb. 22 count of 99,562. It is also nearly a two-month low after the 90,438 registered on Feb. 16.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Remember after the Delta variant the Korean government tried to a living with COVID strategy to almost immediately scrap it when the omicron wave hit. I guess this time we will se if the Korean government actually means to start living with COVID:

As COVID-19 infections are gradually showing signs of slowing down, the government is gearing up to shift to a “post-Omicron” era, in which the coronavirus might be treated as an endemic disease and COVID-19 might be managed more routinely within the general medical system. 

The country added 164,481 new infections on Saturday, raising the aggregated total to 15,333,670. The number of patients in a critical condition marked 1,114, with 329 COVID-19-related deaths.

The health authorities view that infections have entered a downward trend, with nearly 30 percent of the country’s population of 51 million having been infected.

While the government plans to announce a detailed roadmap for the post-Omicron era later this week, it has already started scaling down pandemic response measures.

Beginning Monday, screening centers installed at public health centers will no longer offer free rapid antigen tests, as local clinics are set to play a bigger role in testing and treating patients. The public testing sites will only offer PCR tests to priority groups, such as people aged 60 or over.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears the Moon administration before leaving office might do away with all COVID restrictions:

The government has decided to ease COVID-19 social distancing measures further, Friday, in what is anticipated to be the last adjustment on the distancing rules before scrapping all quarantine regulations in the coming weeks. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it will relax social distancing measures from Monday to April 17, allowing multiuse facilities such as eateries and cafes to receive sit-in customers until midnight, pushing the limit on operating hours back by one hour to midnight from the current 11 p.m. 

The limit on the number of people for private gatherings will be eased to 10, up from the current eight. 

The ministry said all COVID-19-related curbs, except mandatory wearing of face masks, will be removed if the virus situation stabilizes in the next couple of weeks.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.