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.
You can read more at the link.
It is great to see that the ROK Marines are participating in this very important exercise underway in Australia. According to the article 840 ROK Marines are participating in the Talisman Sabre exercise. The article did not say where in Australia they are at, but it is probably the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland:
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson has highlighted the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance as he attended an exercise conducted by the South’s Marines as part of multinational drills under way in Australia, his office said Wednesday.
Brunson observed the live-fire drills by the Marine Corps, held as part of the Talisman Sabre exercise, as he made a three-day visit to Australia this week to discuss defense cooperation and review interoperability outcomes for South Korean and U.S. troops in relation to the multinational drills.
The live-fire demonstration by South Korean Marines from the 11th Artillery Battalion, the 1st Tank Battalion and the 1st Marine Division mobilized the K9 self-propelled howitzer, Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system and K1A2 main battle tank.
“Observing our ROK Marine ally during this live-fire exercise at Talisman Sabre showcases the strength and readiness of our alliance,” Brunson said, referring to the South by the acronym of its formal name, the Republic of Korea (ROK).
“These complex combined, joint all domain training events are absolutely essential for enhancing our interoperability and collective defense capabilities,” he said.
You can read more at the link.
I think the article meant Mt. Surak not Mt. Seorak. Mt. Surak is the large mountain that the old Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu is located at the base of. Mt. Surak is definitely a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul:
A new forest retreat has opened on the slopes of Seoraksan in northern Seoul, offering city dwellers a rare chance to unplug in nature without leaving the city.
Surak Hue, which officially opens Thursday, is Seoul’s first public forest lodge built within city limits. The 23.1 billion won project ($16.7 million) was jointly developed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Nowon-gu over seven years.
Located in Nowon-gu’s Sanggye-dong neighborhood, Surak Hue is built across 9,800 square meters of woodland and features 25 rooms in 18 buildings.
You can read more at the link.
According to the article, unsurprisingly the Korean woman in this altercation was drunk. Some people really should not drink, especially when traveling overseas:
A video of a Korean woman assaulting a Vietnamese woman at a self-photo booth in Hanoi has gone viral online, sparking outrage among local residents, according to news reports Wednesday.
The Vietnamese victim revealed the incident in her social media post on Tuesday, saying she and her friend were using the booth around 9 p.m. on July 11, after paying properly and within their allotted time.
A Korean woman approached them while they were taking photos, and according to the victim, told them to hurry up and come out.
Security camera footage shows the Korean woman striking the victim on the arm and a full-blown physical altercation began when she snatched her hat. The two women grabbed each other’s hair. Despite attempts by their companions and staff to intervene, the fight lasted several minutes.
The footage showed the Korean woman kicked the Vietnamese woman after she fell to the ground and continued assaulting her after they exited the booth.
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.
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.
The crux of this issue is that from Japan’s perspective Japanese citizens during the Imperial era were mobilized to work in industries to support Japan’s war effort. At the time, Imperial Japan considered Koreans as Japanese citizens. The ROK wants special mention that Koreans were discriminated against and forced to work at these sites which the Japanese viewpoint disagrees with. Their viewpoint is that Koreans were mobilized to work just like Japanese in support of the empire:
South Korea on Tuesday called on UNESCO’s heritage oversight body to step in if Japan continues to backtrack on its promise to honor wartime forced labor victims from its UNESCO World Heritage-listed industrial sites.
South Korean Ambassador to UNESCO Bak Sang-mee made the call during a session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Paris, about a week after Seoul’s attempt to place the industrial sites on this year’s WHC agenda was blocked by a rare vote among member states, including both South Korea and Japan.
Seoul sought to bring attention to Japan’s lukewarm efforts in implementing WHC recommendations on presenting the full history of the Meiji industrial revolution sites, which were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2015.
One of the sites is Hashima Island, where many Koreans were taken to toil during World War II, when Korea was under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
“The case of the site of Japan’s Meiji industrial revolution is notable for the committee’s consistent request through four consecutive decisions for the development of an interpretation strategy that allows for an understanding of the full history of each site,” Bak said. “However, nearly a decade later, its implementation remains insufficient and continues to raise concerns.”
You can read more at the link.
