In today’s connected society it is not very smart to make a comment like this about the Philippines and not expect to get blowback:
Rep. Lee Un-ju / Yonhap
Many Filipinos have reacted with fury after a Korean lawmaker belittled their country during a recent interview with Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo.
The reactions came after Rep. Lee Un-ju of the minor right-wing Bareunmirae Party said the people of Korea “would have lived in a country worse than the Philippines” if former military dictator Park Chung-hee had not ruled the country.
“Filipino soldiers shed their blood and died in Korea,” Romeo Santos Mandinggin, a Filipino man and a fan of Korean culture, told The Korea Times. “By all means she should (apologize), but I doubt she will.”
Belittling the Philippines, which was one of the first countries to send troops to South Korea during the Korean War (1950-53), is nothing but a disgraceful act, another Filipino said.
“The Philippines may not be as rich as Korea is right now, but part of Korea’s development is due to the help of Filipinos even after the war,” Jerry Yusi said.
The lawmaker made the comment as she defended the economic policies of Park, whom she compared with former dictators in other countries such as the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos.
“There have been many dictators across East Asia and Africa,” Lee said. “Most of them failed to develop the economy, unlike former President Park. We should recognize his achievement.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but if you haven’t already I recommend reading my prior posting about Hero of the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Dionisio Ojeda who led Filipino troops during the Korean War.
I doubt this will become a major trend because the North Koreans will likely increase security on their side of the DMZ to prevent more defections:
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the eastern land border on Saturday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
With its surveillance equipment, the South Korean military detected the soldier crossing the military demarcation line at 7:56 a.m., the JCS said.
“Related agencies plan to investigate him regarding the details of how he came to the South,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters, adding that there were no “special activities” from the North Korean army on the front line.
“Following demolition of guard posts between the South and the North, our security operations on the front line have had no problem,” a JCS official said. “The soldier is safely in our custody.”
This is the first defection case after the two Koreas completely destroyed 10 front-line guard posts each and since the demining of a ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Friday. [Yonhap]
Once again the Duffel Blog meets real life because this article almost seems like satire:
Lt. Col. Paul Goossen, shown at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in December 2017, has been relieved as commander of the 69th Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Evenson)
A commander of a B-52 Stratofortress squadron at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, was recently relieved from duty after sexually explicit and phallic drawings were discovered inside the bomber’s cockpit screens during a recent deployment, Military.com has learned.
A command-directed investigation anticipated to be released by Air Force Global Strike Command in coming weeks will show that Lt. Col. Paul Goossen was removed from command of the 69th Bomb Squadron Nov. 27 because penis drawings were discovered on a moving map software displayed on the nuclear-capable B-52’s Combat Network Communication Technology (CONECT), according to a source familiar with the incident. [Military.com]
You can read more at the link, but if people are offended by this, they would be terrified by the things I have seen in porta-potties while deployed.
Helicopter in response to a fire at DMZ delayed due to new requirement for #SouthKorea to notify #NorthKorea first, per the 9/19 inter-Korea military agreement. Why did #MoonJaein give sovereignty to Kim Jong-un? Is it his to give?https://t.co/uUqqJgrbg7
released after top court rulingConscientious objectors are greeted by family members after being released on parole from a detention house in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Nov. 30, 2018. Fifty-eight people who were jailed for refusing to serve through the country’s military draft were freed on the day following the Supreme Court’s Nov. 1 ruling that religious and conscientious beliefs are valid reasons for refusing to serve. (Yonhap)
After the ROK completes this railway inspection they will know how much cash they will need to handover to Kim Jong-un to upgrade his railway lines while he does little to nothing in return. The artillery along the DMZ is still there pointed at Seoul and the ballistic missiles and rockets are still there pointed at other cities in South Korea:
A South Korean train departed for North Korea on Friday for an 18-day joint railway inspection that the Koreas are conducting as part of efforts to modernize, and eventually reconnect, rail lines across their border.
The train, made up of six cars and carrying dozens of South Korean officials and experts, left Dorasan Station, just south of the inter-Korean border, around 9:05 a.m. for Panmun Station, near the North’s border city of Kaesong.
The train will be used to inspect 1,200 kilometers of rail track in the North through Dec. 17.
The inspection is part of a summit agreement between the leaders of the Koreas, signed in April, to modernize and eventually reconnect rail systems across their border in a bid to foster reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
“The inter-Korean railway connection project is intended to overcome division and open a new future of the Korean Peninsula,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a ceremony at Dorasan Station to mark the launch of the inspection. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if the South Korean officials on this train will get to see the North Korean child slave labor in action maintaining the rails?
The ‘chain gang’ of children works along a stretch of railway (Image: Daily Mirror)
Condolences to the friends and family of Captain Joonki Min:
Air Force Capt. Joonki Min, an emergency room nurse assigned to the 51st Medical Operations Squadron, was found dead at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018.
An airman working as an emergency room nurse assigned to the 51st Medical Operations Squadron was found dead at Osan Air Base in South Korea, according to a press release.
Air Force Capt. Joonki Min, 45, a Korean-American from Forest Park, Ill., was found at his on-base residence Monday, the 51st Fighter Wing’s public affairs office said Thursday. It did not provide more details, saying the cause of death is under investigation. [Stars & Stripes]
Even if the person’s email was hacked why was state agencies sending classified documents over an unclassified network to begin with? This is worse than the alleged hacking:
Cheong Wa Dae is looking into possible hacking cases, in which emails intended to create a rift in alliance between South Korea and the United States have been sent out using the accounts of at least two senior officials.
Citing recipients of these emails, the presidential office said this is to either steal classified information on North Korea policy or drive a wedge into the South Korea-U.S. alliance by using fake documents.
“We take each case very seriously and asked the National Police Agency to look into them thoroughly,” a presidential aide said asking not to be named.
The latest cases increased concerns over fake news at an alarming rate. This was because vernacular newspaper The Asia Business Daily, after obtaining a fake document on the U.S. mistrust of South Korea, published a related story on Nov. 27.
“It is way beyond a misreport and what we’re facing is the most malicious case in journalism history,” said Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom. “The way false information has been produced and disseminated is very elaborate.”
He added Cheong Wa Dae will “hunt down those who are responsible,” claiming the information itself was aimed at creating a rift between the two allies and therefore is anti-governmental.
In the first case, someone who pretended to be Presidential Secretary for State Affairs Yun Kun-young sent mails at the beginning of this year to multiple ministry officials.
The suspect then demanded recipients to hand over digital documents related to North Korea policy.
It remains uncertain how many shared classified information with the suspect.
One of the recipients raised a question over why such sensitive content was sent through Yun’s private email address, and not the one created by Cheong Wa Dae. He called Yun to confirm accordingly. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but they don’t know who conducted the alleged hacking. Considering that the alleged hacking was done with the purpose of creating a rift in the US-ROK alliance, China or North Korea seem like likely suspects.
Received a postcard on my way to office that I'm asked to fill out to welcome Kim Jong Un when he visits Seoul possibly later this year. I guess this is what they call surreal. pic.twitter.com/IPqWPu4IQY
released after top court ruling
