Category: Politics-Korea

This is the first time I have heard of an abuse of power allegations where a national assemblyman had aids do household chores for them. For all the things for a cabinet nominee to resign over, being too lazy to dump your own trash was not on my bingo card:

Gender Equality Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo stepped down Wednesday amid criticism over alleged workplace abuses during her time as a lawmaker.

Kang has come under fire during her parliamentary confirmation hearing for various allegations, including having legislative aides perform her household chores, such as disposing of food waste at her home.

“I offer my sincere apologies to the people for the pain I have caused,” Kang said on her Facebook page. “I humbly accept the criticism and will live with self-reflection.”

“I am truly sorry to President Lee Jae Myung, who trusted me and gave me this opportunity,” she added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the real question is does South Korea really need a Gender Ministry? What do they really do?

There was no way Lee Jae-myung was going to keep such a high popularity rating. Like all other ROK presidents before him his approval rating is beginning to slide the longer he is in office:

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating slid for the first time since his inauguration in June after rising for five consecutive weeks, a survey showed Monday.

According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, positive assessment of Lee’s performance fell 2.4 percentage points to 62.2 percent from the previous week, while negative assessment rose 2.3 percentage points to 32.3 percent.

The pollster said controversies surrounding ministerial nominees during last week’s confirmation hearings and damage from the recent torrential rains appear to have negatively affected the approval ratings.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Investigators clearly want to get their hands on the former first lady’s butler in order to put pressure on him to turn on Kim Keon-hee in an effort to arrest her. Jailing her is payback and revenge for what Yoon’s prosecutors did against the left wing politician Cho Kuk that saw him and his wife receive jail sentences:

A local court on Wednesday issued a detention warrant for a close aide of former first lady Kim Keon Hee amid growing suspicions that he evaded the special counsel’s probe into multiple allegations surrounding Kim.

The warrant was issued against Kim Ye-seong, known as the former first lady’s “butler” or close aide, due to concerns that he might ignore summons from investigative authorities without valid reasons, according to the special counsel team led by Min Joong-ki.

Kim is believed to have fled to Vietnam in April and has refused to comply with the special counsel’s summons.

Following the court’s decision, the special counsel is expected to move swiftly to invalidate Kim’s passport.

The aide is suspected of receiving 18 billion won (US$13.1 million) in dubious investments from several companies through his rental car company IMS in 2023.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Mr. Tan is claiming that President Lee was part of a gang rape and murder of a woman as a juvenile. I find this very hard to believe considering how long he has been in the public spotlight. Evidence of something like this occuring would have definitely leaked out by now:

Police have opened an investigation into a Korean American professor for possible defamation charges after he allegedly made damaging comments about President Lee Jae Myung with false information, officials said Tuesday.

The investigation against Morse Tan, dean of Liberty University School of Law, came after a conservative civic group had filed a complaint with the police, accusing Tan of defaming Lee by spreading false information about him.

In June, Tan said during an event in Washington that Lee had been involved in the gang rape and murder of a girl during his youth, and that he was sent to a juvenile detention center and unable to finish middle and high school.

The civic group said these claims are unfounded.

Tan, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice under the first Donald Trump administration, is known for promoting conspiracy theories about election fraud in South Korea.

According to the civic group that filed the complaint, Tan also claimed that the June 3 snap election won by Lee was rigged.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but with Tan currently in Korea it will be interesting if the ROK government tries to detain him or just let him go back to the U.S. and deny future entry.

We will see in a couple of years where his approval rating is at because new Presidents usually do have a honeymoon period when it comes to approval ratings:

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating rose for the fifth consecutive week to 64.6 percent, a survey showed Monday.

According to the survey by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, the positive assessment of Lee’s performance rose 2.5 percentage points from the previous week, while the negative assessment fell 1.4 percentage points to 30 percent.

The pollster said Lee’s approval rating has continued to rise for the fifth straight week since taking office on June 4.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Some people have no sense of shame if they think ordering employees to do chores around their house is okay:

Gender Equality Minister nominee Kang Sun-woo apologized Monday for having legislative aides perform her household chores, such as disposing of food waste at her home, amid opposition criticism and calls for her resignation over alleged abuse of power. 

Kang offered the apology during a parliamentary confirmation hearing on her nomination, when she was pressed by opposition lawmakers, including Rep. Lee Dal-hee of the People Power Party, who actually brought a plastic bag of food waste to the hearing to make her point. 

“I sincerely apologize for the controversy I’ve caused. I offer my heartfelt apologies to the aides who may have been hurt in the process,” Kang told lawmakers at the National Assembly. 

“I humbly accept my shortcomings and will take this as a lesson to be more mindful in my words and actions, and to move forward with greater care and consideration,” she said.

Kang, a two-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, was nominated for gender minister late last month. 

The controversy arose after some of her staff members raised allegations that she ordered her aides to do her household chores and repair her toilet, claiming that her abusive behavior amounts to “gapjil” — a Korean term used to describe a power-abusing workplace practice by a superior.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is one of the main reasons why Lee Jae-myung needed to become President, to avoid prosecution:

A district court said Tuesday it has decided to postpone President Lee Jae Myung’s trial on charges of misusing public funds, following two similarpostponements last month.

During a hearing on the case, the Suwon District Court said trial proceedings will remain on hold without setting a date for the next hearing, suspending the case.

The court cited the need for Lee to “fully dedicate himself to fulfilling his constitutional duties and ensure continuity in state affairs” as the president as the reason for suspending the trial.

Under the decision, the trial will remain on hold until the court sets a date for proceedings to resume.

The decision came amid speculation the court could postpone the fourth preparatory session as the Constitution exempts a sitting president from criminal indictment except in cases of treason or insurrection. Lee was elected president last month.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like former President Yoon’s wife is trying the tried and true hospitalization tactic to avoid investigations and going to court:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yook Suk Yeol, was hospitalized on Monday at a medical center in Seoul for an undisclosed illness.

She was admitted to Seoul Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, where she has been receiving outpatient treatment for health issues. Her health condition was reported to be not critical. 

Kim’s hospitalization came after President Lee Jae-myung named Min Joong-ki, former chief of the Seoul Central District Court, last week to lead a special counsel probe into Kim over various allegations, including stock price manipulation, her acceptance of a luxury bag and interference with the election nomination process, with preparations under way for the official launch of the probe.

Her health has reportedly deteriorated since November, when allegations of influence peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections emerged. 

Last month, she failed to comply with a summons from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office regarding the case, submitting a letter explaining health issues as the reason for her absence.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.