Category: Korean Government

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.

It would be interesting to see how many people in Korea would support this ban? I wonder how this would be enforced though?:

The nominee for the Korea Media Communications Commission (KMCC) said Tuesday he would consider introducing a ban on teenagers’ use of social media platforms to protect underage users from harmful content online.

Kim Jong-cheol, a professor at Yonsei Law School who was nominated last month by President Lee Jae Myung to lead the KMCC, made the remark during his parliamentary confirmation hearing.

“I believe it is absolutely necessary,” Kim said in response to a question on whether South Korea should introduce age restrictions similar to those adopted by Australia.

“Youth protection is one of the core issues among my key responsibilities, and I am prepared to pursue this task with a strong commitment,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Fighters For A Free North Korea will have to secretly as possible launch their propaganda balloons towards North Korea:

 The National Assembly passed Sunday a bill led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) that would give police legal authority to block attempts to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets near border areas.

The amendment to the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers allows police to intervene in the launch of leaflets near the inter-Korean border, aiming to prevent activities that could heighten tensions between the two Koreas.

The bill was passed at a plenary session, shortly after the main opposition People Power Party (PPP)’s filibuster ended through a vote 24 hours after it began. 

The DP has argued that the legislation is necessary to protect the safety of border residents and to help reduce military tensions, while the PPP opposed the bill, saying it infringes on freedom of expression.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is something that should make the Trump administration happy:

South Korea will raise defense spending by 7.5% next year to $44.8 billion, with $13.6 billion dedicated to strengthening its forces, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. The increase is part of a nearly $500 billion national budget passed Tuesday after rival parties reached a deal, the Finance Ministry said in a separate statement.

The move follows U.S. pressure on allies, including South Korea, to spend more on defense amid heightened threats from China, Russia and North Korea. The Ministry of National Defense said the expanded budget will help Seoul respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, adjust to a shifting global security landscape and invest in science and technology. Though lower than the 8.2% hike requested by military officials, the increase is South Korea’s largest since an 8.2% jump in 2019.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

So now it looks like any conservative that made social media comments about the failed martial law plan is now subject to arrest as well:

A special counsel team detained former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn Wednesday on charges of inciting an insurrection following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law.

Hwang, who served under former President Park Geun-hye, made Facebook posts following the martial law imposition Dec. 3 to call for the eradication of pro-North Korea forces and those involved in alleged electoral fraud.

He also called for the arrest of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and then People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.

Investigators from special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team executed a detention warrant for Hwang at his home in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward after he ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Hwang was targeted by the investigation after an online news outlet highlighted his X post. There is probably a lot of conservatives scrubbing their social media accounts now that this can be used as an excuse to detain them.

This is clearly being targeted at people protesting against Chinese influence in South Korea:

 President Lee Jae Myung urged officials on Tuesday to take stern measures against the sp

read of hate speech and disinformation, calling such acts crimes that must be stamped out.

Lee made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, stressing that such extreme expressions spreading across social media and through other channels fuel social anxiety amid a growing polarization in society.

“There are still anachronistic acts of discrimination and hatred based on race, origin or nationality in some parts of our society,” Lee said.

“On social media, hate speech targeting specific groups is spreading indiscriminately, while false and manipulated information remains rampant,” he said.

Lee’s remarks came as South Korea has seen growing anti-China demonstrations by some conservative groups. Last week, the chair of the Korean Red Cross resigned following revelations about his past racist comments about foreign ambassadors.

Lee strongly denounced those acts as crimes that threaten democracy and everyday life, and urged police to do their utmost to root out such behaviors.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if you protest against China you are supposedly racist. So when the anti-Japan or anti-U.S. protests inevitable start up at some point by the Korean left will President Lee ask for those people to be arrested as well?

The incompetent martial law attempt by former President Yoon appears now to be used as an excuse to conduct a complete purge of conservatives from the Korean government:

The government will launch a task force to investigate whether public officials were involved in illegal activities or misconduct in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law attempt last December, the prime minister’s office said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok made the proposal during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, stressing that the government’s top priority is to uphold the sovereignty of the people and democracy.

“We will swiftly conduct an internal investigation into public officials who participated in or cooperated with the martial law bid and secure the grounds for taking appropriate personnel measures,” Kim said in his opening remarks.

All 49 central government agencies, excluding those under the presidential office or independent bodies, will be subject to the investigation, which will run through Jan. 31.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The DPK is looking to end the only institution that is a check on their power the Supreme Court by packing it with leftist sympathizers:

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)’s recent legislative proposal to expand the number of justices on Korea’s Supreme Court from the current 14 has ignited a passionate debate. Advocates argue that reform would make the judiciary more representative, correct a long-standing conservative bias and ease the court’s workload. Critics fear the move is less about balance and more about power. Whatever one’s political sympathies, Korea would be wise to look abroad before proceeding. The experiences of Poland and the United States offer sobering warnings.

When Poland’s right-wing populist Law and Justice Party came to power in 2015 by capturing the presidency and a parliamentary majority, a wave of fear swept through Polish civic circles. The opposition worried that the judiciary remained the last check on the populists’ power, while party leaders countered that the courts were elitist, politically biased and hostile to the will of the people. On that basis, the government embarked on an ambitious project of “judicial reform.” They lowered the Supreme Court retirement age to remove senior judges, introduced a new disciplinary system that gave politicians greater power to punish or remove judges deemed disloyal, and expanded certain courts to stack them with loyalists — pejoratively dubbed “neo-judges.”

Defended as technical fixes, in practice these changes enabled the ruling party to increasingly capture the judiciary. Judges who resisted were harassed, sidelined or disciplined. Trust in the impartiality of Poland’s judiciary collapsed. The European Union condemned the reforms as violations of democratic norms and launched infringement proceedings. Nearly a decade later, after the populists’ fall from power, Poland’s Supreme Court now has competing chambers that issue contradictory rulings, deepening uncertainty and further eroding public trust — a clear illustration of how such reforms, even if well-meaning, can breed dysfunction.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

A very different Chuseok experience for former President Yoon and his wife this year:

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol and then-first lady Kim Keon Hee celebrate the Chuseok holiday in this video message released in 2023. Courtesy of the Presidential Office

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, spent their first Chuseok in jail without any special meal, according to the Ministry of Justice, Monday.

Until last year, the ministry’s Korea Correctional Service provided inmates with special meals during the mid-autumn harvest festival that falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, as well as during the Lunar New Year, in accordance with the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Inmates.

Due to budget cuts for special meals in prisons this year, however, the agency stopped offering special food during Chuseok and the Lunar New Year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.