Category: Korean Government

Court Allows South Korea’s Prosecutor General to Return to Work

The latest attempt to take out South Korea’s Prosecutor General by the Moon administration has failed for now, but you know they will continue to go after him with everything they got:

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl arrives at the Supreme Prosecutors Office in Seoul on Dec. 1, 2020. (Yonhap)

A Seoul court on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction requested by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over his suspension, in the first legal decision in a monthslong feud between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and the top prosecutor.

The Seoul Administrative Court ruled that suspending Yoon from duty was tantamount to dismissing him, which damaged the prosecution’s core principles of neutrality and independence.

The injunction will remain in effect until 30 days after another court decision is made. Yoon has filed a separate lawsuit against his suspension, along with having sought a preliminary injunction. 

Soon after the court’s decision came out, Yoon arrived for work at the Supreme Prosecutors Office. 

“I will do my best to safeguard the spirits of the Constitution and rule of law,” he said before heading to his office for the first time in a week.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yoon has to put up with all these attacks simply because he would not cover up corruption occurring in the Moon administration.

President Moon Remains Silent About His Administration’s Attempt to Oust the Prosecutor General

The Moon administration wants everyone to believe that the President did not know anything about the Justice Ministers attempt to oust the Prosecutor General for daring to investigate Blue House corruption:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is surrounded by reporters at the National Assembly, Tuesday, without answering questions over her conflict with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. Yonhap

Moon’s silence is widely seen as supporting Choo’s handling of the conflict with the top prosecutor, who, according to the minister, has not only committed various misdeeds but also violated the political neutrality required of a senior civil servant. Yoon, who has recently emerged as a favorite in polls for potential presidential candidates, has expressed, albeit tacitly, that he would consider a life in politics after his term ends in July next year.

The opposition parties are expressing their anger at the move by Choo, accusing Moon of trying to oust Yoon because he had initiated investigations into corruption allegations involving presidential aides. “The President himself should speak about the lawlessness of the justice minister,” Rep. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said in a statement. 

Joo criticized the President for being a coward. “If the President is discontent with the prosecutor general, he should take on the political responsibility and dismiss Yoon. The suspension of the prosecutor is a very regrettable moment in our legal history. The entire administration has been mobilized to oust the prosecutor general for baseless reasons.” 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Korean Government Says They Will Achieve “Net Zero” By 2050

Here is just another example of a governmentsmaking a grand proclamation, but put it so far out in the future that no one in power now can be held accountable for it:

Ban and Kim said the country needs a new alternative for coal and nuclear power if it is to realize the “net zero” goal by 2050. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul.

The ever-manifesting global alliance on lowering carbon emissions to curb the feared consequences of global warming has recently forced the South Korean government to announce on Oct. 28 the country would go “net zero” by 2050 ― bringing the net amount of carbon emissions to zero. The announcement came after the Moon Jae-in administration in July released the Green New Deal, a set of future-oriented policies invested with 73 trillion won ($66.2 billion) to minimize carbon emissions, as part of the game-changing Korean New Deal plan to restructure the country’s economy.

But the Green New Deal stoked doubts and drew criticism over its superficiality and lack of detailed plans, as well as its focus on job creation and the economy rather than the dire environmental concerns already affecting lives. Since then, people have demanded an incisive and critical evaluation of the country’s ongoing carbon reduction efforts that embrace both future industries and future generations. (…..)

“The Moon administration’s announcement of net zero is a welcome sign after the Green New Deal caught flak from many experts, including myself, for putting climate ambitions in the backseat to concentrate on the COVID-19-hit economy,” said Ban, now heading the National Council on Climate and Air Quality (NCCA) established in 2019 directly under President Moon. “It also seems inevitable after China and Japan announced earlier this year going net zero by 2060 and 2050, respectively, and U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden promised to push for net zero by 2050 with a $2 trillion budget and new carbon adjustment fees and return to the Paris Agreement.” 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

President Moon Orders Investigation of State Agencies Involved In Investment Fraud

Another week and yet another case of Blue House corruption:

President Moon Jae-in on Friday attends a ceremony at the Blue House to receive credentials from new foreign ambassadors to Korea. Moon ordered the government to investigate their agencies' decision-making process to invest large funds in the troubled Optimus Asset Management.  [YONHAP]
President Moon Jae-in on Friday attends a ceremony at the Blue House to receive credentials from new foreign ambassadors to Korea. Moon ordered the government to investigate their agencies’ decision-making process to invest large funds in the troubled Optimus Asset Management. [YONHAP]

President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered the ministries to investigate their affiliated agencies’ decision making that led many of them to make dubious investments in a private equity fund suspected of large-scale fraud.    

“Moon ordered the government ministries to conduct thorough investigations into the state-run institutions’ investments [in the Optimus Asset Management], separately from the ongoing probe by the prosecution,” said Kang Min-seok, spokesman of the Blue House.    

Moon gave the order following media reports on state-run institutions, including the Korea Communications Agency, making massive investments in Optimus products.    (……….)

It’s the second time Moon commented on the Optimus scandal. After media reports detailed a link between a former presidential aide and the Optimus scandal, suspicions emerged that the company had lobbied top politicians and officials to avoid an investigation. Moon responded Wednesday that the Blue House must cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation.    
   
Reports were also made that Interior Minister Chin Young was an investor at Optimus. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Chin, his wife and son invested a total of 500 million won in Optimus funds in February. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but you would think with all the fraud and corruption going on people would be protesting for impeachment like what happened with former President Park Geun-hye.

Oh, that’s right the people can’t protest because they will be arrested.

Justice Minister’s KATUSA Scandal Causing Drop in President Moon’s Approval Rating

No matter how much more his numbers go down I don’t see President Moon replacing Choo Mi-ae because how well she has squashed every scandal against his administration:

Choo Mi-ae

The growing allegations surrounding Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae over her son’s military service are beginning to affect the approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), as support for the President and the party has dropped significantly among men and the younger generation.

In a poll of 1,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Wednesday, 45.7 percent of the respondents believed Moon was doing a good job, down 2.4 percentage points from a week before, while 49.5 percent disapproved of his job performance, an increase of 1.4 percentage points.

The decline was large among people in their 20s, whose support for Moon dropped by 5.7 percentage points; among men, by 9 percentage points; and among students, 10.7 percentage points.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the ruling party is trying to claim that Choo’s attempts for favorable treatment for her KATUSA son were just something any concerned parent would do. How many parents in Korea can call up the Defense Ministry and advocate for extended leaves, assignments in Seoul, and requests to be an interpreter at the Winter Olympics?

ROK Justice Minister Criticized for Covering Up KATUSA Son’s Absence Without Leave

Another week and yet another corruption allegation coming from a member of the ruling government:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae leans back in her chair during a session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Answering to opposition lawmakers’ questions, Choo denied allegations that she ordered her aide to make a phone call to her son’s military unit in 2017 to forge his unauthorized leave as a sick leave. Yonhap

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is in the hot seat over her alleged illicit use of her prior position in the ruling party to help her son receive preferential treatment during his mandatory military service years ago.

She is the second justice minister to be embroiled in allegations of using influence for family members, following Cho Kuk who allegedly helped his children gain fraudulent admissions to prestigious universities, although the position is meant to require a higher morality in law abidance than other officials. There is now rising criticism that these allegations involving former and incumbent justice ministers are damaging the spirit of equality, fairness and justice ― the so-called key values that the Moon Jae-in administration has pledged to pursue since its inauguration.

The allegations concern Choo’s son surnamed Seo, who was assigned to the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army (KATUSA) to carry out his mandatory service from 2016 to 2018.

Seo apparently had two consecutive sick leaves for a combined 19 days in June 2017 for knee surgery, which was rather long compared to other cases. However, there are no military record regarding this leave, although Seo’s lawyer claims he submitted all the necessary documents at that time, including medical certificates from doctors. At the time Choo was the head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

In response to the allegation, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said at a National Assembly session Tuesday that the leave was approved according to due procedure but there were some administrative errors.

It is also alleged that after the 19-day sick leave, Seo did not return to his base and did not report this until his absence was noticed by a senior soldier two days later. He was also absent for a further two days. One of Choo’s aides allegedly called an officer at Seo’s unit and asked him to record the four-day absence as part of annual leave ― a request that was complied with ― according to the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), formerly the United Future Party.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but how pathetic her son must be to sham out of KATUSA duty? He should sent to make up the mandatory military service time he missed in a frontline ROK infantry unit.

Moon Administration Accused of Manipulating Statistics

There is an editorial in the Joong Ang Ilbo that discusses how even liberal politicians are attacked by the Moon administration’s allies for not following the party line. The editorial also mentions how the Moon administration has been manipulating statistics which should be no surprise after the head of Statistics Korea was replaced for not producing government friendly statistics:

Finally, even statistics have turned into a magic tool to cover up the government’s repeated failures in real estate policy. Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee said that housing prices rose by 11 percent during the three years of the Moon administration, based on data from the Korea Appraisal Board, making a fool out of anyone who agrees with the neutral analysis by the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) that said home prices skyrocketed over 50 percent.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hong Nam-ki said he would change the statistical methods that only covered new contracts to include renewed contracts after rental prices continue to skyrocket after the Aug. 4 real estate measures.

Two years ago, the Moon administration replaced the head of Statistics Korea after it produced data that showed failures of the income-led growth policy ardently pushed by the administration.

The international community always punishes a country that manipulates statistics. North Korea could not join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015 due to its history of manipulating statistics, said Kim Byung-yeon, an economics professor at Seoul National University. Greece faced a national bankruptcy after manipulating statistics.

The powers that are working against common sense are based on the Moon loyalists’ firm belief that “our president has done nothing wrong.” Even North Korean leader Kim Jong-un admitted to his economic failures at a Workers’ Party meeting last week, even though he is the “supreme being without any error.” And yet, criticizing the Moon administration is prohibited, as the government presents statistics selectively. This weird situation is undeniable evidence that Korea’s democracy has regressed.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Korea’s National Health Insurance Service May Go Bankrupt in Three Years

Via a reader tip comes news that Korea’s National Health Insurance Service may go bankrupt by 2023 due to changes made by the Moon administration:

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unexpectedly large health insurance deficit this year. Critics were quick to blame the deficit on President Moon Jae-in’s policy, dubbed “Mooncare,” which plans to expand the coverage of the state-run health insurance to 70 percent by 2023, and warned of its failure. But experts and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) view it’s too early to worry.

According to data from NHIS, the health insurance deficit reached 943.5 billion won in the first half of the year, up 548.9 billion won from a year earlier, as the country has suffered from financial difficulties due to the unprecedented pandemic.

The deficit marked the third year in a row that the health insurance balance has been in the red. In 2019 the current account deficit stood at 3.2 trillion won and in 2018 it was at 177.8 billion won after running a surplus for seven straight years. 

The administration vowed to continue expanding NHIS coverage, especially for those in the low-income brackets, children and elderly, but Mooncare is facing strong protest from political opponents and medical doctors.

Critics of Mooncare claim premium increases are inevitable and the health insurance fund may run out of money as early as 2023 if the President maintains his rigid stance on boosting the health insurance coverage rate to 70 percent by the end of his term. Conservatives warns that if Mooncare’s pace remains unchanged, health insurance finances will be left severely depleted.

Korea Times

It seems like common sense that you cannot expand coverage of something without increasing taxes to pay for it. However, with politicians they like to make voters think they are getting something for nothing and someone will eventually have to pay for it long after the politician is out of office.