Category: Politics-Korea

No apology will ever make the Korean left happy on this issue. Just like with the comfort women issue, they need to keep this issue alive to bash their political enemies with. So in the grand scheme of things this apology is meaningless to the Korean left:

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nam Yeong-shin apologized Friday for the military’s brutal crackdown on protestors during a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju, vowing to fully cooperate with an ongoing probe into the case. 

This is the first time in 40 years that an Army chief officially apologized for the bloody incident.

“I believe that the military’s involvement in the May 18 Democratization Movement is gravely wrong,” Nam said during a parliamentary audit of the Army on Friday. “I’d like to offer a sincere apology to victims and bereaved families.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is another example of how Korea’s libel laws are used to attack people for political reasons. In this example they were used by the Moon administration to attack a liberal political rival for the Presidency. The fact that the verdict has now been overturned is likely a sign that a deal has been struck that Lee will be the next Presidential candidate for the Korean left:

 Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung was acquitted on Friday of violating election law, winning a high-profile retrial that could have cost him his governorship. 

The Suwon High Court overturned its previous verdict and found him not guilty of spreading false information during televised debate shows in the runup to the 2018 local elections. 

In July, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the appeals court in a ruling that said Lee should not be punished for what he said during the debates, as they were not intended to deliberately disseminate misinformation.

“It is more important to guarantee freedom of expression (during a debate) to offer (debaters) room, free of legal responsibilities,” Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo said while delivering the livestreamed verdict, adding that it is impossible to hold a politician accountable for every inaccurate expression he or she makes.

In the retrial, the court echoed the view of the highest court, saying that Lee’s comments during the debates were no more than “answers to the questions” from a rival debater and that they were not seen as deliberate acts of disseminating false information, even if they might sound evasive and defensive.

You can read more at the link, but the libel laws were also used to go after his wife as well for posting supposed false information on Twitter. She was previously cleared of the allegations as well. Could you imagine if in the U.S. politicians and their supporters could be charged for libel for giving false information on Twitter and during debates? We would have no politicians left. 

Anyway this is just an example of how clever and ruthless the Moon administration was to win the Presidency. ROK Heads may also remember that they got Ban Ki-moon to drop out of the race by using what he called deliberate “fake news” against him. With Ban and Lee out of the race Moon then had a clear path to the Presidency after former President Park’s impeachment.

The Democratic Party of Korea appears to really be enjoying the crackdown on their conservative critics:

Lee Nak-yon, the head of the ruling Democratic Party, said in a Facebook post Saturday that the police should work to prevent rallies planned for Hangeul Day, which falls Oct. 9. He thanked law enforcement for almost perfectly preventing illegal protests on Oct. 3.

“We are somewhat relieved at the moment, but some organizations have announced plans for more rallies on Hangeul Day,” Lee wrote, adding that preventing mass gatherings will help the country stay clear of the virus and shore up its struggling economy.

“Whatever the reason may be, illegal gatherings and deterring virus control measures are by no means acceptable. I hope the police do the same and block illegal rallies on Hangeul Day while preventing potential danger.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but it is clear they plan to use the coronavirus as an excuse to stop anti-government rallies for as long as possible.

ROK Drop favorite Dr. Tara O has a good article on how the Moon administration is busy arresting conservative leaders and threatening more arrests if a car parade is held over the upcoming holiday weekend in Seoul:

On September 28, 2020, the government arrested Kim Kyung-jae (김경재), former President of the Korea Freedom Federation (한국자유총연맹), and Kim Soo-yeol (김수열), the head of IlpaManpa Patriots Alliance or IlpaManpa (일파만파) for short.  The two were arrested and jailed for alleged conspiracy to hold an “illegal” assembly on August 15, 2020, Liberation Day.  IlpaManpa’s members are mostly military veterans, especially Korean Military Academy alumni.

On September 23, 2020, the Jongno District Police Department in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant against Kim Kykung-jae and Kim Soo-yeo on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act and the Infectious Disease Prevention Act. (…………)

Kim said, “We must express our anger over the evil acts and faults of the Moon Jae-in regime, even during the Corona-19 outbreak.”  “The only way to express our mind without getting caught in the Coronavirus trap that has been laid by the government is the car parade method, which is getting more attention recently.”  They opposed the assembly ban notice issued by the police and again filed a lawsuit for suspension of execution at the Seoul Administrative Court.

On September 25, 2020, The Chief of National Police Agency Kim Chang-ryong (김창룡) instructed the police to “take full action against the assembly,” including checkpoints to block entry, on site arrests, fines, license cancellation, and car towing.  The Police Chief refers to rallies, even with the cars as “illegal,” but had not explained how rallying inside cars spread Coronavirus nor did he provide scientific evidence for such a claim.

East Asia Research Center

As always make sure to read the whole article at the link.

Isn’t amazing how subways, amusement parks, and anti-US protests don’t spread coronavirus but conservative rallies and even car parades do?

Is anyone surprised that the person who assigns prosecutors was not found of any wrong doing?:

The prosecution on Monday cleared Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae of allegations that she had abused her power to arrange special treatment for her son while he was serving the military in 2017.    
   
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced Monday it found no grounds on which to indict Choo, her son or her former aide after a monthslong probe into the allegations.    
   
Choo and her family have been battling accusations that her son, surnamed Seo, had received special treatment when he was serving in the Korean Augmentation to The United States Army, or Katusa, from November 2016 through August 2018. At the time, Choo was the chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).   (…….)

The prosecution added that Seo had asked Choo’s aide to inquire the military about the extension, not his parents.    
   
The prosecution also dismissed the suspicion that Choo or her husband had asked the Ministry of National Defense to arrange the extension. Although a document purported to be a military record created by Seo’s commander on June 15, 2017 said that Seo’s parents had made a request to the ministry, the prosecution said it failed to find any record from the ministry to corroborate it.   

Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but since Choo’s aid supposedly helped her son that makes it okay then?

I don’t think this is going to get much traction considering the control of most of the media the Moon administration has, but I am sure South Korean conservative politicians are enjoying this payback after what former President Park went through:

In response to the controversy over the reporting time to Moon, Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said the incident is a national disaster due to the Moon administration’s lackluster security awareness.

“The Moon administration’s rosy prospects have led to the loss of a precious life of a South Korean citizen,” he said. 

“President Moon needs to explain what he did for three days from Monday.” 

He added that the government may have wanted to hide something from the public by disclosing the incident three days later.

The current situation leaves Moon in a similar situation to that faced by his predecessor in the wake of the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014. While the ferry carrying more than 300 passengers was sinking, the rescue operations were bungled, causing people to speculate on what then-President Park was doing for the first critical seven hours. Many still question the claims of presidential aides that she was receiving updates at her residence.

Rep. Joo Ho-young, the PPP floor leader, said President Moon should have attended the ministerial meeting on early Wednesday morning considering the severity of the incident.

“It is questionable about President Moon’s follow-up measures. It is not comprehensible whether President Moon was unaware of the incident or he ignored it,” Joo said.

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link.

A whole bunch of friends of President Moon have been illegally receiving monthly government checks:

Close associates of President Moon Jae-in received illegal monthly payments while serving in top posts of presidential advisory groups, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said Thursday.    
   
According to the BAI’s latest audit of the Blue House, the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development paid 4 million won ($3,400) in monthly salary to Song Jae-ho from January 2019 to last January. Song was head of the committee during the period, and he received 52 million won in total.    
   
The committee chairman is a part-time position, so Song was not eligible for a monthly salary. The committee explained to the BAI that it paid the monthly salary to Song because he served full-time as a consultant.    
   
The BAI concluded the payments violated the law governing the committee, which prohibited any routine payment of a fixed consulting fee to the chairman. 

Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip

You can read more about other friends of President Moon that were given so called advisors jobs and received illegal monthly payments. Apparently the Blue House is very upset with the new BAI Chairman Choe Jae-hyeong, for uncovering this scheme:

The audit report was announced amid escalated tensions between BAI Chairman Choe Jae-hyeong and the administration.   

After Choe took office in 2018, the practice of going easy on the Blue House ended. For the first time in 15 years, the BAI conducted aggressive audits on the Blue House. Eight audits were conducted in 2018 and seven in 2017.   

In recent months, the BAI went further and conducted audits on four presidential committees for the first time since Moon took office.    
   
The BAI’s report also said the Blue House had violated the law governing contracts involving the government when it created a video clip to celebrate Children’s Day in May. The BAI said the Blue House paid a subcontractor 50 million won without following proper legal procedures.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

At the link you can read how the Blue House is upset with Choe for not ruling favorably on nuclear project; they then were pressuring him to step down. When he wouldn’t they then tried to get a ruling party confidant appointed to the BAI board which Choe refused. Choe said he wants a neutral candidate to fill the opening. The audit of the Blue House is believed to be Choe’s counterattack against the ruling party’s attempts to remove him.

It will be interesting to see if anything happens to all these people that received illegal government payments. It seems at a minimum they should have to pay it all back.

Here is the latest on the ruling party’s attempt to defend the ROK Justice Minister meddling to receive preferential treatment for her KATUSA son:

In particular, DPK spokesman Rep. Park Sung-joon’s remarks, in which he compared Choo’s son to the late independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, have brought strong criticism from the opposition and the public. (……….)

Citing Choo’s account, Rep. Park said in a statement, Wednesday, “Choo’s son lived up to what independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun said: ‘it is soldiers’ duty to sacrifice themselves for the country.'” (……….)

Seo served as a member of the Korea Augmentation Troops to the United States Army (KATUSA), a position that Rep. Woo Sang-ho was apparently derogatory about in describing the “easy” duty of such soldiers when he tried to defend Choo against the allegations that she used her influence to have him assigned to an “easier” post.

“Serving as a KATUSA is an easy posting itself, so the dispute is meaningless,” Woo said in a media interview, Sept. 9. “Taking leave or not, or having a post or another ― these are meaningless as a KATUSA.”

His remarks led KATUSA reservists calling for an apology.

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but KATUSAs demanding an apology for being called out for easy service is mildly amusing. Truthfully it really depends on what unit they end up in. I have seen some KATUSAs who were worked very hard by their U.S. military leadership while others did very little. Overall though being a KATUSA is better duty than being a draftee in a frontline ROK Army unit.

Minister Choo claims she did nothing wrong in regards to seeking favorable treatment for her KATUSA son:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae apologized, Sunday, over snowballing allegations that she abused her power to seek special favors for her son during his mandatory military service.

However, Choo denied the allegations in a Facebook post. She said the prosecution, which has been looking into the case, should fear nothing but the people and “be faithful” in uncovering the truth.

“I am deeply sorry for causing troubles to the people over my son’s military duty at a time when COVID-19 is afflicting every part of society,” she wrote.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.