Category: Korean Government

Concerns Mount that the National Assembly is Providing No Checks and Balances on Moon Administration

This is what the Korean left has wanted to acheive for years, a rubber stamp national assembly:

Main opposition United Future Party members condemn the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)’s unilateral legislative actions during a party meeting at the National Assembly, Thursday. They all wore ribbons which read “DPK: Abuse of power, Collapse of democracy.” Yonhap

Concerns are growing over the frequent railroading of controversial bills by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) without enough time for them to be discussed at the National Assembly, with the ruling party giving the excuse that the bills are related to “urgent issues.”

Calling such moves “autocratic,” opposition parties claim the ruling bloc is ruining democracy by taking advantage of its supermajority status, holding 176 among the Assembly’s 300 seats.

At a plenary session of the Assembly, Thursday, the DPK passed two of three real estate bills, which are aimed at enhancing tenants’ rights in the wake of soaring housing prices, with the remaining one likely to be passed at an upcoming plenary session to be held next Tuesday. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this issue is just another example of the unintended brilliance of the filibuster concept in the U.S. Senate that forces a large consensus to get bills passed. Maybe Korea needs a filibuster rule added to their National Assembly.

Impeachment of ROK Justice Minister who Stifled Blue House Corruption Probes, Fails

Since the Korean left controls the National Assembly the failure of this impeachment is no surprise, but the Korean right did have an opportunity to describe how Choo Mi-ae is has stopped probes into Blue House corruption:

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the United Future Party explains the intent of the impeachment motion to the lawmakers before the voting on Thursday.  [YONHAP]
Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the United Future Party explains the intent of the impeachment motion to the lawmakers before the voting on Thursday. [YONHAP]

On Monday, the UFP submitted a motion to impeach Choo to the National Assembly. It was signed by 110 lawmakers. All 103 lawmakers from the UFP, all three lawmakers from the People’s Party and four independent lawmakers who were formally members of the UFP co-sponsored the motion.    
   
Although the motion was struck down, it appeared that at least two members of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) or its allies had voted to support it.    
   
According to Rep. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the UFP, not all 110 lawmakers who sponsored the motion participated in the voting. Two UFP lawmakers and one independent lawmaker were absent. (……)

“A justice minister is a servant of the people, not a specific political faction. As a servant to the people, the minister must maintain political neutrality, not abuse power of office, never submit to outside pressures and faithfully respect laws,” Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, spokeswoman of the UFP, said before the voting started. “But Choo’s actions clearly violated her duty to serve the people.”  
   
“Shortly after she took office, she reassigned the prosecutors who were investigating corruption and abuse of power allegations against key members of the Moon Jae-in administration, without consulting the prosecutor general,” Bae said, pointing to the move as retaliation.   
   
Bae also said Choo had illegally intervened in the prosecution probes, and such actions are in violation of the law governing the prosecution. Choo also disgraced the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution by publicly criticizing the prosecutor general, Bae said.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have long chronicled how Choo was specifically chosen to stop all prosecution attempts to investigate the Blue House. Choo has even promised to investigate the prosecutors who were leading the Blue House corruption probes as payback.

Just think that prior ROK President Park Geun-hye was impeached for far less than this.

North Korean Defector Questions ROK Unification Minister Nominee on his Communist Background

Does anyone else see the irony of a prominent North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly questioning the Unification Minister on his past communist background?:

Rep. Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and current lawmaker of the conservative United Future Party, at Lee's confirmation hearing shows off a photograph of himself at a press conference following his defection to the South, arguing it proves he has renounced North Korea's Communist ideology in contrast to Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young. [YONHAP]
Rep. Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and current lawmaker of the conservative United Future Party, at Lee’s confirmation hearing shows off a photograph of himself at a press conference following his defection to the South, arguing it proves he has renounced North Korea’s Communist ideology in contrast to Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young. [YONHAP]

Opposition lawmakers on Thursday bombarded Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young with questions about his ideological leanings during a National Assembly confirmation hearing that was largely devoid of policy discussions over the deteriorating state of inter-Korean relations.    

The fiercest attacks came from Rep. Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and defector elected as a South Korean district representative in April. Thae led the conservative United Future Party’s (UFP) charge against Lee, accusing him of not renouncing his supposed former Communist beliefs.    

Lee was a founding member and first chair of Jeondaehyup, or the National Council of Student Representatives, an influential left-wing student union active in the struggle against South Korea’s military junta throughout the 1980s.  

The group’s prominent pro-unification activities, like its dispatch of a student delegation to Pyongyang in violation of domestic law in 1989, led many on the right to accuse Jeondaehyup of being a pro-North organization, though many of the group’s leaders, including Lee and former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, have since entered the mainstream of South Korea’s liberal establishment.  

After stating that he officially renounced North Korea’s Juche state ideology after defecting to the South, Thae argued, without evidence, that he was taught in the North that members of Jeondaehyup recited anti-American slogans in front of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s portrait every morning.  

Lee denied that he ever harbored a belief in Juche, responding that such attempts to vet a candidate’s ideology belonged to the playbook of North Korea or South Korea’s past authoritarian governments, and were not appropriate in modern South Korean democracy.    

“In the North such things like ideological defection may be forced upon [people] but in the South, ideology and morality are not imposed,” Lee said. “That [Thae] has asked me about my ideological beliefs shows [Thae] still lacks an understanding of democracy in the South.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but The Yong-ho knows enough about democracy to get elected to the National Assembly.

Korean Government Trying to Stop Korean War Hero from Being Buried in the Seoul National Cemetery

General Paik Sun-yup is arguably South Korea’s greatest Korean War hero and if he was to pass away in the near term he may not be allowed to be buried or even have his body removed from the Seoul National Cemetery:

General Paik Sun-yup

It became known on May 26, 2020 that the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs recently visited the hero of the Korean War, General Paik Sun-yup (백선엽) and said, “If the National Cemetery Act (국립묘지법) is revised, [we’re] worried that General Paik could be interred at the National Cemetery in Seoul, only to be pulled out.”  General Paik is 100 years old this year and his ability to move has been known to have degraded.  The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said, “I heard that General Baek’s health is not good, so we wanted to ask about his general health status,” but General Paik’s family said “Our family is considering even the most evil scenario.”

East Asia Research Center

You can read the rest at the link, but what is going on is that the newly elected National Assembly dominated by the Korean left, is trying to change the National Cemetery Act to remove the graves of “pro-Japan, anti-minjok [Korean] figures interred in the National Cemetery and install tombstones describing their pro-Japan activities.” This would effectively prevent him from being buried in the Seoul National Cemetery if passed. If General Paik was to pass away before this Act was changed he would face having his body removed from the cemetery.

If the Korean left hates General Paik so much for helping stop a North Korean invasion, establishing the Republic of Korea, and speaking out against communism over the years, then an offer should be made for him to be interred in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. There I believe he would be properly recognized for his contributions during the Korean War and to the nation of South Korea.

I had the chance to talk to General Paik many years ago and got him to sign a copy of his book, From Pusan to Panmunjon.  He was fascinating to talk to because his great memory of events that occurred and people he met during the Korean War.  If you haven’t read his book I highly recommend reading it because of the ROK perspective it provides in regards to events during the Korean War.

Is President Moon’s “Green New Deal” Really Green?

I like how investing in tech has some how become “green”:

President Moon Jae-in

He said it is important to protect jobs and the entire industrial ecosystem with a can-do spirit.

The president reaffirmed a swift push for the Korean version of the New Deal, which has a focus on the fields of digital and green projects.

He said the government is stepping up efforts to support skilled manpower in new industries, including artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, drones, bio-health, smart ships and future vehicles.

The government will help them participate in joint research programs with global universities, research institutes and entrepreneurs, he added.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but there is nothing “green” about tech when considering how rare earth minerals are extracted.

Additionally, the branding of “Green New Deal” seems intended to get the international liberal media to back it than any concern about the environment. If the international media starts giving it glowing media coverage that will likely lead to positive domestic opinion as well.

British English Teacher Found Dead at School in Gwangju

Condolences to the friends and family of the British English teacher who was found deceased recently at her school in Gwangju:

A British woman in her 20s has been found dead at a middle school in the southwestern city of Gwangju, police said Thursday.

A janitor found the 25-year-old woman, who has been teaching English, in a research room of the school around 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday and reported the case to police.

The English instructor, whose name was withheld, was lying on her back, and there were no signs of fighting with any intruder at the scene, according to the police. 

Her acquaintances have told police that she was supposed to undergo a surgery the same day for a disease that hurt her back and made it difficult for her to breathe.

Yonhap

Moon Administration Continues Efforts to Replace Private Sector Hires in the Korean Government

I hope no one is surprised that the Moon administration is busy removing private sector hires from the government and replacing them with bureaucrat allies:

The Gwanfia is back, though it may never have left to begin with.

It seems that more senior bureaucrats than ever are parachuting into top posts at government-controlled institutions since the start of the Moon Jae-in administration.

Gwanfia is a portmanteau of the Korean word gwanryo, meaning “bureaucrat,” and Mafia. 

The latest is the appointment of former Blue House economic chief Yoon Jong-won as the chief executive of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).

Almost all positions filled during the Park Geun-hye administration by executives from the private sector are now held by bureaucrats. 

The heads of three major state-run banks – Korea Development Bank (KDB), Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank), Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) – and the leaders of the major financial associations – the General Insurance Association of Korea (GIAK), the Credit Finance Association and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (Kodit) – had been selected from the private sector. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.