Category: Korean Government

This is a perfect example of why you have to be careful of what you post on X because so much information out there is not true:

The foreign ministry expressed regret Saturday over what it described as a “misunderstanding” by Israel of President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks on the situation in the Middle East.

In a post on its official X account, the ministry clarified that Lee’s comments reflect “an expression of his convictions regarding universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue.”

The online diplomatic exchange began Friday when Lee shared a video purportedly showing members of the Israel Defense Forces mistreating a Palestinian boy.

Lee drew a parallel between the forced sexual servitude imposed on Korean women under Japanese colonial rule, the Holocaust and wartime killings.

In a follow-up post, he clarified that the video was dated from September 2024 and called for the upholding of human rights and international humanitarian law under all circumstances.

“Human rights are the last safeguard and a value that must never be traded away,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli foreign ministry issued a strong protest against Lee’s original post, calling it “unacceptable” and warranting “strong condemnation.”

It also disputed the relevance of the video, adding the content originated from an account “notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehoods about Israel.”

In a subsequent post, Lee said it was “disappointing” that Israel had not taken the opportunity to reflect on the widespread criticism from people around the world regarding concerns over human rights and international humanitarian law.

Yonhap

Here is the X post that Lee posted:

Here is where Grok confirms the post is propaganda that Lee fell for:

You can read more at the link, but clearly President Lee is more comfortable taking shots at Israel with this X post than he is Iran. Why didn’t President Lee criticize the mullahs when they were busy massacring tens of thousands of protesters? You would think after the Gwangju Incident that the Korean left would be championing the human rights of any protesters being slaughtered by their government.

When you think about it most of these senior public officials are likely older and have more time to accumulate wealth. $1.3 million in average wealth is not that outrageous, but it does show you can do well in South Korea working in government:

Senior public officials in central and local governments have more than 2 billion won (US$1.3 million) in personal wealth on average, data showed Thursday.

A total of 1,903 senior officials declared an average of 2.09 billion won in personal assets as of end-2024, up about 30 million won from the average figure a year earlier, according to the Government Ethics Committee data.

Of the total, 616 officials, or 32.4 percent, had assets exceeding 2 billion won, followed by 538 with 1 billion won to 2 billion won and 374 with 500 million won to 1 billion won. The rest had less than 500 million won.

President Lee Jae Myung reported 4.97 billion won in assets, up 1.88 billion won from his last disclosure, mostly due to book royalties, his salary and unrealized gains of his exchange-traded fund investment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

President Lee is pushing for a self reliant defense of Korea, whatever that means:

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday underscored the importance of self-reliant defense capabilities, citing a “very complex and fluid” international situation, as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has disrupted global energy markets. 

“I believe self-reliant defense capability is essential to our integrated security posture,” Lee said during a regular security meeting with senior officials, according to Cheong Wa Dae. “We must be able to defend ourselves without relying on outside assistance, and we do have such capabilities.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if South Korea has so called self reliant defense capabilities than why is President Lee using them to help open the Strait of Hormuz where much of Korea’s energy passes through? Iran is essentially committing an act of war against South Korea by blockading ships designated to go to South Korea from departing the Persian Gulf.

This shouldn’t be terribly surprising that the ROK President was against the deployment of USFK assets to assist with the war against Iran:

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that a potential relocation of military assets owned by the U.S. military stationed in South Korea will not affect the deterrence posture against North Korea. 

Citing media reports that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) might have recently shipped out some weapons, including an anti-missile defense system, Lee told a Cabinet meeting, “If you ask if our deterrence strategy against North Korea is severely affected (because of a possible shift of such assets), I can say absolutely not.” 

The remarks by Lee did not explicitly comment on the possible movement or repositioning of USFK’s military assets. 

However, South Korea has expressed its opposition against USFK’s possible shift of its military assets, but it is a “stark reality” that South Korea’s opinions would not be fully accepted, Lee said. 

“Our government expects the USFK to fully contribute to stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula, which I believe it has done so far,” Lee said.

“Depending on how the situation unfolds, however, the USFK may dispatch some air defense systems abroad in accordance with its own military needs. While we have expressed opposition, the reality is that we cannot fully push through our position.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the Iran War has any impact on Lee’s approval rating if oil prices rise sharply enough to where it impacts the Korean economy:

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating fell slightly from a week earlier last week, marking its first decline in six weeks, a survey showed Monday.

Lee’s approval rating stood at 57.1 percent, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous week, according to the survey by Realmeter, commissioned by a local business news outlet. Of those surveyed, 38.2 percent said they did not approve of Lee, up 1 percentage point over the cited period.

Realmeter partly attributed the drop in approval rating, which came despite positive financial and economic indicators, to recent social debates over the fairness of the government’s push to merge major cities and provinces and lowering the age for criminal punishment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately no one was hurt in this crash caused by the now former Forestry Service Chief driving drunk:

President Lee Jae Myung has dismissed the minister of the Korea Forest Service, Kim In-ho, after he was found to have committed an unlawful act, Lee’s office said Saturday, without further elaborating.

“We have found that the minister of the Korea Forest Service caused trouble by committing a serious violation to existing laws, and decided to dismiss him from the post,” Lee’s office said.

The presidential office did not elaborate on what specific law Kim violated but warned it will react sternly to any violations of law by high-ranking officials going forward.

Later in the day, police confirmed they have booked Kim on charges of driving under the influence.

Kim is accused of subsequently ramming into a bus and a car while drunk driving at an intersection in the Bundang district of Seongnam at around 10:50 p.m. on Monday, according to the Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

If the ROK government provides legal status to the babies of illegal immigrants they will create further incentive for illegal immigrants to come to South Korea. They only have to look at what happened in the U.S. to see what will happen in the ROK:

Multiple bills aimed at establishing a birth registration system for undocumented migrant children born in South Korea remain pending in the National Assembly, leaving thousands of children without legal recognition and access to basic services, despite growing calls for legislative action.

At least two proposals pending in the parliament seek to create a legal framework allowing the registration, certification and amendment of birth records for non-Korean children, who are currently excluded from the country’s family registry system. No law has yet been enacted.

Under existing rules, children born to foreign parents cannot be formally registered at birth even if they are born in South Korea, as the family registry system applies only to Korean nationals. Without a resident registration number, many face difficulties accessing health care, education, child care and social protection.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the National Assembly better get this trade deal ratified soon or face 25% tariffs:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that there is no trade deal with South Korea until its legislature approves it, days after President Donald Trump threatened to increase “reciprocal” and other tariffs on the Asian country.

Bessent made the remarks during a CNBC interview, as South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan is set to visit the United States for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to address the renewed trade tension.

“The South Korean parliament has not passed the trade deal,” he said. “So there is no trade deal until they ratify it.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the DPK now has their kangaroo court to jail all their political enemies with:

The ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday pushed through a bill to establish special tribunals for insurrection and treason charges linked to the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration, ending a daylong filibuster by the main opposition People Power Party.

Lawmakers first adopted a motion to cut off the filibuster, which passed 185-1. The Assembly then approved the bill 175-2, including two abstentions, with 179 of 298 lawmakers voting. Lawmakers from the People Power Party boycotted the vote.

The revised bill requires the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court to set up at least two dedicated panels each to handle insurrection, treason and rebellion cases tied to the martial law declaration by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.