Category: Korea-General Topics

This is just another example that a country should not rely on China for key ingredients in their supply chain for critical needs especially something as important as diesel fuel:

 South Korea said Sunday it plans to import urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, from Australia this week in a bid to ease its supply shortage that has caused soaring prices.

The government has decided to mobilize military aircraft to bring 20,000 liters of urea solution from Australia, the finance ministry said after a meeting on security and the economy.

“The country plans to mobilize all available diplomatic channels to import thousands of tonnes of urea within this year not only from Australia but also from other countries, including Vietnam,” the government said.

South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, known as diesel exhaust fluid, in recent weeks, as China tightened exports of fertilizers and related materials, including urea, in October amid a power crisis caused by a coal supply shortage. Coal is the main feedstock for urea.

South Korea heavily relies on China for its supply of urea water solution, as 97.6 percent of its import came from China in the first nine months of this year. In around 2013, local manufacturers of urea shut down business as they lost price competitiveness over foreign rivals, such as China and Russia.

In Korea, a relatively high portion of diesel cars caused a shortage of urea water solution.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Good to see that things are slowly getting back to normal:

 People flocked to churches and temples in South Korea on Sunday to attend worship services on the first weekend since the country began easing virus restrictions as part of steps to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

South Korea on Monday kicked off the first of the three-stage “living with COVID-19” scheme to gradually phase out coronavirus restrictions as more than 70 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated. 

Under the eased rules, in-person worship services are now allowed to take up to 50 percent of their capacity regardless of attendees’ vaccination status. 

If the attendees are comprised only of fully vaccinated people or those who submit negative PCR test results, no such cap is applied.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

What kind of sad life must you have if the first thing you want to do when living with COVID measures are implemented is go protest at a comfort woman statue:

Boisterous shouting matches plagued the site in central Seoul of a girl’s statue symbolizing victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery Wednesday as supporters and detractors of the victims resumed rallies for the first time since distancing rules were eased.

Before rallies were banned under COVID-19 rules last year, the site near Japan’s Embassy had become a battleground every Wednesday, as supporters of the sexual slavery victims held a weekly “Wednesday rally” demanding an apology from Japan and conservative detractors held an opposing the protests.

After more than a year of hiatus, rallies resumed between the two sides at the statue site Wednesday, as eased social distancing rules went into force this week in line with the government’s “living with COVID-19” scheme.

Early Wednesday morning, about 10 anti-Japanese activists turned up at the site, holding banners calling for the resolution of the sexual slavery issue and shouting through loudspeakers that they won’t leave until all “pro-Japanese” forces are gone from the site.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the fact that there was pro-Japanese protesters is actually pretty amazing. Anyway judging by the picture the police greatly outnumbered everyone at the protest.

Studies have shown that vaccinated people are far less likely to be hospitalized. With Korea’s high vaccination rate it makes sense that case numbers should not be the metric to follow but hospitalizations and deaths instead:

Korea will gradually return to normal as planned even if infections rise to 10,000 a day, an official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare promised Monday. 

The number of daily COVID-19 cases has been rising again to around 2,000 a day since last week as Koreans threw caution to the wind ahead of the phased return to normal that started Monday.

But the government is determined to shift its focus from counting infections to severe cases and deaths because the vaccination rate has increased.

“The ratio of COVID patients between unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people is about 70 to 30. If this trend continues, the medical system will be capable of handling some 5,000 new cases a day,” Son Young-rae of the ministry said.

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

So it begins:

South Korea loosened its COVID-19 social distancing measures Monday following “public fatigue” from the prolonged pandemic response and the increased number of vaccinations. The government’s plan, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, is to ease restrictions over three steps, each lasting four weeks, followed by a two-week evaluation period. Each step will introduce new business hours, curfews and limits to public gatherings.

Public businesses in metropolitan areas have been typically open until 10 p.m. during the pandemic. Under the plan announced Monday, restaurants and cafes are allowed open for their normal business hours. Time restrictions and music bans at gyms and bathhouses were also lifted.

The Health and Welfare ministry described its step-by-step plan as “the roadmap for gradual return to normal,” with the goal of becoming “the better Korea.” (………)

U.S. Forces Korea, the military command responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the peninsula, announced last month that the South Korean government would recognize proof-of-vaccination cards issued for U.S. service members.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Look who wants to start a real estate corruption agency, the person accused of being involved in a massive real estate scandal:

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, has said that, if elected, he will launch a real estate supervisory service in an effort to root out corruption in the property market.

Lee made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, saying he would give the service powers to conduct investigations into any irregularities that arise in the real estate market.

The pledge comes as Lee has been accused of involvement in a massive corruption scandal surrounding an apartment development project undertaken in Seongnam, south of Seoul, in 2015 when he was the city’s mayor.

“We have to create a real estate supervisory service with actual powers to wield investigative authority and investigate every day,” Lee told Yonhap at a hotel in Seongnam.

Yonhap

This is what people in Korea should probably be concerned about:

 If the envisioned supervisory service is launched, he said it will look into irregularities, such as speculative purchases of farmland, and force the sales of plots that are not being used for farming.

So if you have a plot of land you are holding on to for whatever reason Lee will make you sell it. If elected people better hurry up and put a hobby garden on whatever land they own.

It will be interesting to see how effective these COVID patrols are going to be over the weekend:

South Korean police in metropolitan districts will be cracking down on COVID-19 violations over Halloween weekend, particularly in areas frequented by foreigners and young adults.

Roughly 200 additional police officers and city workers from Yongsan, Hongdae, Itaewon and other popular districts in Seoul will conduct joint patrols between Thursday and Sunday, a senior law enforcement official told Stars and Stripes on the customary condition of anonymity.

“Patrollers, including city council officers and cops, will check whether folks are keeping a safe distance from others, wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings,” the senior law enforcement official said Wednesday. “We’ll visit businesses and guide folks to follow disinfection guidance as well.”

Although Halloween is not officially observed in the country, the holiday prompts parties and other events catered toward younger crowds and foreigners. Districts like Itaewon and Hongdae in Seoul are known for their foreigner-friendly businesses and are home to numerous bars and nightclubs.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here was one final gesture by former President Roh to atone for his role in the Gwangju Uprising Incident:

Former President Roh Tae-woo used his last will to ask for forgiveness from victims of the military’s brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980, his son said Wednesday. 

Roh Jae-heon unveiled the will of his father, who died Tuesday of chronic illness at age 88, to reporters at a funeral altar for the late president in Seoul. 

“He thought he had infinite responsibility for all things that happened, whether it is good or bad, because he cared a lot about the country and his duty,” Roh Jae-heon said. “He was looking for forgiveness for his faults and responsibility, particularly related to the pain of the May 18 democratic movement victims and also various events that happened during his tenure.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration is actually give Roh a five-day state funeral.

Roh actually did a lot for modern day South Korea such as hosting a very successful Olympic Games in 1988, removing nuclear weapons from South Korea, and opening diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. The most important thing he did is transition the ROK into a full democracy. However, his ties to former President Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup and the Gwangju Uprising Incident will mean he will never have a positive legacy that will be remembered:

Roh Tae-woo, South Korea’s last general-turned-president who played a key role in a 1979 coup before winning election through a direct vote at the start of South Korea’s democratization, died Tuesday, aides said. He was 88.

Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, was recently admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated but failed to recover, they said.

The former president received surgery for prostate cancer in 2002 and was frequently admitted to hospitals while living at his residence in Seoul. He also suffered from cerebellar atrophy and asthma, which together kept him largely out of the public eye.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.