Category: Korea-General Topics

It looks like the Moon administration is thinking the Biden administration is probably at its most amiable time to push this initiative thinking they are desperate for a foreign policy “victory”:

Suh Hoon, director of national security, said Monday that he plans to discuss President Moon Jae-in’s recent proposal to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War in the United States this week.    

“The communication channels between the two Koreas are up and working again, it is time to reaffirm where we stand on inter-Korean and North-U.S. relations,” Suh told a group of reporters upon arrival at Reagan airport on Monday.    

“The declaration to end the Korean War will also be discussed [with my counterparts],” he said, adding that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and possible sanctions relief for North Korea may also be included in the conversations.  

The Moon government from its early days has been calling for a formal declaration to end the Korean War, with the call repeated again at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York last month, when Moon gave a speech. The Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I guess we will see if the Biden administration falls for this or not.

A Korean War peace treaty is something that North Korea has long sought as a way to end the presence of US troops in South Korea. If there is peace why is USFK needed?

President Moon has been saying all the right things that USFK will remain after any peace treaty is signed, to include claiming Kim Jong-un understands this as well. However, this is likely just rhetoric to prevent energizing South Korean conservatives against a peace treaty before next Spring’s presidential election.

Remember Moon is a very skilled politician that needs to keep the Korean right at bay and public anxiety down.  If he openly advocated for a USFK withdrawal, that would give the South Korean right an issue to strongly attack him and the ruling party with and cause much public anxiety after decades of security guarantees provided by US forces.  

Expect the Moon administration to continue to push this initiative along with dropping sanctions while North Korea pressures the Biden administration with their weapons provocations. This is all intended to push the Biden administration into a deal the Kim regime wants while Washington can claim a foreign policy victory by ending the provocation cycle.

The easiest way to get less riot police at the THAAD site is for the protesters to assemble and protest in an area that is not blocking a public road that leads to the THAAD site:

A human rights committee under the National Police Agency (NPA) has recommended the law enforcement authorities to reduce the number of riot police deployed to a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile base in the southeastern county of Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

“As the current number of riot police there can lead to a violation of the protesters’ freedom of assembly and demonstration, the authorities should actively take necessary measures,” the committee said during a regular meeting held late September.

The NPA committee consists of 13 members ― 12 external members and one police officer from the audit and inspection division. 

The committee further asked the authorities to submit additional data, based on which it can judge whether the police are guaranteeing the protesters’ freedom of assembly and demonstration.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Remember when the Korean media was in lockstep condemning South Korean conservatives for rallying last year against President Moon? The leftist organization, KCTU has held multiple rallies since then and threatening to hold illegal “guerrilla rallies” to get around COVID restrictions with hardly any criticism from the media:

The Seoul city government has prohibited South Korea’s major umbrella labor group from staging street rallies this month in accordance with a law on preventing the spread of infectious diseases, an official said Sunday.

The measure came in response to a formal report submitted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on its plan to hold outdoor rallies in some areas of the capital on Oct. 20. The KCTU stated it will carry out a general strike on the day.

City authorities, however, sent an official document to the KCTU notifying it of a decision to forbid such rallies. The city government plans to maintain a ban on street rallies as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, with stringent social distancing restrictions in place.

It raises the possibility that KCTU members will again push for “guerrilla-style” illicit rallies as they did in downtown Seoul in July that led to the arrest of the labor organization’s leader, Yang Kyung-soo.

Under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Seoul mayor is empowered to prohibit rallies in the city.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but as much as I dislike the KCTU at some point they need to be allowed to hold their rallies along with other organizations. As South Korea is quickly increasing its vaccination status there has to come a point where a level is reached where groups can gather again. Protests and rallies are a strong part of the democratic process in South Korea.

It looks like South Korea is looking at becoming the latest country to accept reality and figure out how to live with COVID:

South Korea said Sunday it will set up a committee this week for a strategy on the “New Normal” of “living with COVID-19,” with the vaccination campaign picking up speed.

The government plans to hold the inaugural meeting of the committee later this week, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, according to health authorities. 

Private sector experts are expected to participate in the meeting with government officials to discuss ways to carry out the envisioned transition in the economic, education, security, coronavirus control and quarantine sectors.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It took a while to get going, but once the infrastructure was in place South Korea has made quick gains getting their population the COVID vaccine:

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday.

A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country’s 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The number of fully vaccinated people stood at 27.2 million, or 53 percent of the total or 61.6 percent of the adult population, the KDCA said. 

Health authorities expressed optimism that the country will be able to fully inoculate over 70 percent of the population by the end of October thanks to people’s willingness to get vaccinations and smooth vaccine supplies

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Korean left is going to be triggered by this news:

A history museum in memory of former President Park Chung-hee will be formally opened in the southeastern city of Gumi this week, the municipal government said Monday.

The President Park Chung Hee History Museum featuring nearly 5,700 pieces of relics left behind by the former leader will be opened to the public on Tuesday, according to the municipality of Gumi, 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The museum built near the late Park’s birthplace in the city will display or store 5,649 pieces of relics commissioned by the Park Chung-hee Memorial Association in 2004, it said. The opening ceremony is slated for 11 a.m. and there will be no other celebratory events in consideration of COVID-19, it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This makes sense that there would be a rise in breakthrough infections considering how many more people in South Korea continue to get vaccinated. Plus most of the breakthroughs are from the Johnson & Johnson one shot vaccine that has a lower efficacy rate than its mRNA counterparts:

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Thursday that more than 5,000 COVID-19 breakthrough infections, mostly among young men who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, have been detected as of Sept. 12. 

According to the KDCA, 5,880 people tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated with the one-shot vaccine.

This means 40.2 people per 100,000 fully vaccinated patients have been subject to breakthrough infections. By age group, people in their 30s made up the largest ratio, of up to 110.1 per 100,000. (……)

From Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, 10.2 percent of new cases, or 20,895, were believed to be breakthrough infections.

By vaccine type, people getting Janssen shots made up the largest portion, with 161.2 out of 100,000 testing positive, followed by 33.5 people receiving Pfizer jabs, 27.6 receiving AstraZeneca and 24.2 receiving Moderna.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

South Korea has a waste crisis, but NIMBYism is causing new landfills and incinerators from being constructed:

The ministry is planning to announce statistics for 2020 in December, and the figure is expected to have surged further, as people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic have come to depend more on online shopping for food and daily necessities, resulting in their production of more waste from packaging and other disposable materials. 

Once waste is produced, there are only two ways to dispose of it ― in a landfill or by incineration. This has inevitably raised the need to create additional landfills or build more incineration plants.

But it has been difficult for the authorities to find eligible sites, because local residents fiercely oppose the siting of such facilities in their regions. 

Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province has been facing protests from residents in Yeongtong District due to its plan to renovate an incineration facility there. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is a needed public service that no ones wants in their backyard.

Here is the latest on Korea’s vaccination efforts:

Debate is arising over the government’s plan to allow COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 12 to 17 starting next month. 

Some parents say the inoculations will ensure their children’s safety and allow them to be more active, while others say they are concerned about potential side effects

The health authorities said, Monday, they plan to start offering vaccinations for children in that age group in the fourth quarter and will announce details within this month after consulting with the education ministry.

They are considering providing the Pfizer vaccine as recommended by the Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, adding the vaccine has been proven safe for use for the age group in various countries including Japan and the United States.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.