Category: Korea-General Topics

In the apartment complex I used to live a, the vigilant ajushi would put one of those huge stickers that was hard to remove on people that did not park appropriately. I used to laugh seeing people the next morning trying to pull that thing off and get to work on time:

Public anger is rising over “thoughtless” car owners who park their vehicles taking up multiple parking spaces, limiting the slots available to other vehicles and inconveniencing others.

An internet user uploaded a posting on Bobaedream, an online community for motorists, criticizing a van owner who took up four parking spaces in an underground parking lot, Monday.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is a big win for Japan because they can point to this ruling in regards to the ongoing diplomatic battle about the Korean court ruling to reimburse forced laborers from World War II:

 South Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery lost their second lawsuit against the Japanese government Wednesday, suffering a setback in their efforts to hold Tokyo accountable for war crimes. 

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the case brought by 20 plaintiffs, including surviving victims forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II, citing sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from a civil suit in foreign courts.

“When we recognize exemptions of sovereign immunity, diplomatic clashes will inevitably ensue,” the court said. It also cited a few examples of court cases after World War II that were rejected for deliberations based on sovereign immunity.

It also took note of the 2015 bilateral agreement between Seoul and Tokyo to resolve the dispute. Despite some procedural problems, the agreement was reached after listening to opinions of the victims, euphemistically called “comfort women,” and some of them have received money from the foundation set up under the deal, the court said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it seems pretty inconsistent that sovereign immunity applies in this case and not the forced laborer case. Maybe the 2015 comfort women agreement between Japan and South Korea is why sovereign immunity applies in this case and not the other.

The Moon administration COVID vaccine plan has fallen apart and they are now looking towards the Biden administration to bail them out from all the criticism they are receiving domestically:

South Korea is “earnestly discussing” forging a swap deal with the United States to secure COVID-19 vaccines, the South Korean foreign minister said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong revealed the bilateral consultation under way between Seoul and Washington, during a parliamentary session. 

“Currently, (South Korea) is discussing (the potential swap deal) with the U.S. side quite earnestly,” the foreign minister said, responding to a query by Rep. Park Jin of the main opposition People Power Party.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but considering the vaccine hesitancy in the US and the growing stockpiles of vaccines because of it; I would not be surprised if a deal is worked out.

The participation of South Korea in the IAEA team probably isn’t going to matter since the opposition to this Japanese plan is political and not scientific:

Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi said Monday that he thinks South Korean experts can be part of a U.N. nuclear watchdog-led monitoring team for his country’s planned release of radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. 

South Korea has expressed concerns about potential health risks over Japan’s plan to release over 1.2 million tons of Fukushima’s contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean and said it wants to take part in safety verification efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Korea is seeing the same problem many cities in the US are seeing with e-scooters just strewn around all over the place on sidewalks:

Electric scooters, an innovative eco-friendly form of transportation, have gained increasing popularity in Korea since their sharing platforms were commercialized in 2018. (………)

Users can unlock an e-scooter on the street by scanning a QR code using their smartphone, ride to their destination and park it there after their trip. Unlike rental bicycles, e-scooters do not have designated parking areas they should be returned to.

The “dockless” scheme is what makes the personal mobility devices convenient for riders, but on the other hand, it creates inconvenience for pedestrians, who frequently find pathways blocked by e-scooters left standing in the middle of sidewalks.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Seoul plans to start issuing fines to e-scooter operators with improperly parked scooters.

If there wasn’t enough issues of contention between South Korea and Japan and here is yet another one:

South Korea is considering lodging a complaint with an international tribunal against Japan’s decision to dump a huge amount of contaminated wastewater from a crippled nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

President Moon Jae-in issued the instruction before meeting with Japan’s new ambassador here, Koichi Aiboshi, to receive his credentials.

In an internal meeting, Moon ordered his government to “proactively consider” bringing the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Chinese are loving this decision as well because they can bash Japan while they continue to freely pollute the oceans themselves. Additionally the waste water will not be released until 2 years from now as they treat it. The treatment is supposed to clean it enough to be safe to release. This seems like something that international nuclear inspectors should monitor just build confidence in the process. It probably won’t matter though to those bashing Japan.

Here is another example of a Tom Hanks like stranding at an airport:

A man seeking asylum status in Korea was allowed to leave Incheon International Airport and enter the country after being stuck there for 14 months, as his refugee application had been denied. 

Incheon District Court made a ruling, Tuesday, to allow temporary dismissal of his status as an “internee” and granted him the right to stay at a local hospital in order to undergo medical treatment. 

The man, whose nationality was not revealed, from his home country due to political persecution and arrived at Incheon International Airport in February 2020. But his refugee application was denied by the Ministry of Justice, as the final destination of his flight was another country, with Korea as a transfer point. Refugees can make applications as asylum seekers at immigration checkpoints. 

Since that time, he had been living in the transit zone of the airport. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the pandemic in South Korea:

Korea may be at the beginning of a fourth big wave of COVID-19 infections, according to health experts, with the daily caseload reaching its highest level in three months amid sporadic cluster infections across the country. 

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country reported 700 daily new cases for Wednesday, the highest level in 91 days, bringing the total caseload to 107,598. Among the new cases were 674 local infections and 26 cases from overseas.

Medical experts who viewed that Korea has already entered its fourth wave of infections expressed concerns that the daily caseload could cross into the thousands unless the government introduces tighter social distancing measures, considering deepened public fatigue from the year-long pandemic and increased outdoor activities in the warming weather. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the vaccine efforts in South Korea:

The government is temporarily suspending AstraZeneca vaccines for people under 60 after a third blood clot developed in a patient after an AstraZeneca shot.  
   
Korea’s Covid-19 vaccination Task Force team said Wednesday that a medical worker in her 20s was diagnosed with blood clots in her legs and lungs twelve days after she got her first AstraZeneca jab on March 17.    
   
She developed shortness of breath on March 29.   
   
This was the third case of blood clot problems following AstraZeneca inoculations. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.