This undated file photo shows former President Park Geun-hye entering a Seoul court. In an appeals trial on Aug. 24, 2018, the Seoul High Court sentenced Park, 66, to 25 years in prison for conspiring with her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to force Samsung and other conglomerates to donate money to two foundations under Choi’s control. In April, a lower court handed out a 24-year jail term for Park. (Yonhap)
GIs have been dealing with shady landlords for decades, but in my opinion things have actually improved though it appears foreign students are now a bigger target:
Some landlords are targeting international students.
International students here are increasingly falling victim to real estate-related fraud.
In one case, a Vietnamese student, 28, didn’t get her room deposit of 5 million won back because her landlord said she didn’t pay any monthly rent. But she claimed she paid six months’ rent in a lump sum but didn’t receive a receipt.
“The real estate procedure is complicated for international students,” one Chinese international student, surnamed Jing, told Dong-A Ilbo. “And it is harder to understand the jargon when they speak in Korean.”
Foreign students, now numbering 120,000 here, often fall victim to the fraud.
The paper cites four types. The first is a makeshift contract. Instead of a standard template contract, the landlords arbitrarily draw up one that does not protect the rights of foreign tenants.
The second is the cash transaction.
The third is the imposition of repair costs on the tenants. In the second and third cases, the landlord tries to take advantage of the foreign students’ inability to speak Korean or lack of related knowledge.
The fourth is a conflict when a student sublets a room to another tenant without a contract, which a landlord can use as an excuse to eject the tenants. [Korea Times]
This is just another indication that President Trump is not about to sign up for a “pretend denuclearization” deal with the North Koreans like Seoul, Beijing, and Moscow want him to do:
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from left, is greeted by North Korean Director of the United Front Department Kim Yong Chol, center, and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, second from right, as he arrives at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 6, 2018.
South Korea on Saturday called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unfortunate and said that continued diplomacy was most crucial in resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.
The statement by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by the lack of support from China, the North’s only major ally that’s engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.
While describing the delayed trip as a setback, the ministry said it would be most important for the allies to pursue “substantial progress” on denuclearization. South Korea expects China to continue serving a “constructive role” in international efforts to solve the nuclear crisis and noted that Beijing continues to express commitment to fully implement sanctions against the North, the ministry said.
“While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe it’s most important for the North Korea-U.S. dialogue including Secretary Pompeo’s visits to North Korea to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula.” [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but what is going on is that I think President Trump is sending a message to not only North Korea, but to Beijing and Seoul as well. China is not strictly enforcing sanctions on North Korea and even the South Koreans have not been effectively enforcing sanctions either. This is going to come down to who is going to blink first because the North Koreans will not commit to real denuclearization unless sanctions are fully enforced on them. As long as other countries like China continue to not strictly enforce sanctions the Kim regime will feel no expediency to denuclearize at the pace the Trump administration wants.
The 7th Air Force in South Korea is about to get a new commander:
LTG Thomas Bergeson
The Korean government on Thursday conferred a medal of merit to Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, the outgoing commander of the U.S. 7th Air Force, for his contribution to peace and stability on the peninsula.
Defense Minister Song Young-moo gave Bergeson the Gukseon Medal, the second-highest class in the Order of National Security Merit, on behalf of the Korean government, his office said. Bergeson, who took the commander post in July 2016, is set to leave the position next week.
“[Bergeson] has contributed greatly to safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through a show of strong deterrence capabilities against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” the Defense Ministry said.
“He was recognized for his contribution to establishing the strong combined defense posture by enhancing the combined operations capabilities,” it added.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, the commander of the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, is set to succeed Bergeson. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Here is the latest on the Druking online opinion rigging scandal:
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
A partisan squabble over an opinion-rigging scandal involving an incumbent governor resumed Thursday as the team of investigators led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum decided not to request an extension of its operating term.
Thirteen special counsel investigations have been carried out in Korea, and Huh is the first not to seek an extension of the team’s term.
The special counsel team’s probe lost momentum after the court rejected its request for a warrant to detain South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on the suspicion that he colluded with a group led by an influential blogger to manipulate public opinion on the internet.
The special counsel has decided to indict Gov. Kim without detention, saying an extension of the probe is unnecessary as it has collected enough evidence to prove the charges against him.
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party floor leader Kim Sung-tae slammed the decision, vowing to “find out the truth” behind the case through next month’s parliamentary audit and a parliamentary inquiry.
“Everyone knows that Druking’s group and key advisers to the Moon Jae-in administration undermined democracy by manipulating online comments,” Rep. Kim Sung-tae said during a meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday.
Accusing the Moon administration of “incapacitating” the special counsel and criticizing it for not dismissing Seoul police Chief Lee Joo-min who led the initial probe into the case, Rep. Kim called on Huh to change his mind and request an extension before his special investigative rights expire Saturday. [Korea Herald]
Judging by these statements it appears that President Trump is not about to agree to any “pretend denuclearization” deal with North Korea in return for dropping sanctions:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday North Korea must “get rid of the nukes” before seeing any relief from international sanctions, making clear that he’s waiting for more tangible actions on denuclearization.
Speaking at a rally in West Virginia, Trump said he wanted to take the “massive sanctions” imposed on the North for its nuclear and long-range missile tests and launches “off quickly,” but emphasized Pyongyang must take denuclearization steps first.
“Can I be honest? I haven’t taken off the sanctions. We have massive sanctions,” said the former real estate mogul before cheering crowds. “I want to take them off quickly. But they have got to get rid of the nukes. Got to get rid of the nukes,” stressed Trump.
Trump’s remarks jibed with the U.S. government’s decision on Tuesday to slap sanctions on two Russian shipping companies and six Russian vessels for under-the-table dealings with North Korea in violation of UN sanctions. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see what the Kim regime will do in response. They could just decide to wait out the clock and see if President Trump is defeated in the next election and try again for a “pretend denuclearization” deal with another President.
Warner Bros. tried to create a Korean blockbuster film and failed miserably:
When Warner Bros. Korea’s “V.I.P.” was criticized by the internet last year over its inappropriate depiction of its female characters, the film company thought things could not get any worse. But its latest release, “Illang: The Wolf Brigade,” proved that it had yet to hit rock bottom.
Featuring high profile actors, including Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo and Jung Woo-sung, joined by the award-winning director Kim Jee-woon, “Illang” is an adaptation of the 1999 Japanese animated film “Jin-Roh,” which is known as a seminal sci-fi movie. With a star-studded cast and a massive production budget that exceeded its first locally-produced hit, “The Age of Shadows” (2016), which sold 7.5 million tickets, Warner Bros. Korea had high hopes for “Illang.”
However, “Illang” sold merely 897,000 tickets and was forced out of theaters in three weeks – a shockingly poor performance for a film that cost 19 billion won (＄17.04 million) to make. The film needed to sell six million tickets to break even. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
So why did this movie fail? I would start with the stupid plot:
The Korean adaptation relocates the story from post-World War II Japan to South Korea in 2029, a period after the two Koreas have declared a five-year preparation for unification. Fearing rapid growth in Korea following the planned unification, the world’s superpowers impose economic sanctions against the country. The economic difficulties lead to public outrage and result in the emergence of an armed terrorist group named Sect, which opposes the formation of a joint government between South and North Korea. In response, the government launches a special police unit to quell Sect. Feeling threatened by the growing influence of the special police unit, the national intelligence agency plots to bring the unit down.
Got all that? Is it any wonder the audience ratings for this movie were bad especially when it involves significantly changing the plot of a high respected classic Japanese anime.
High waves are seen off Seogwipo on the southern resort island of Jeju on Aug. 22, 2018, as Typhoon Soulik moves north toward the Korean Peninsula from seas near southern Japan. (Yonhap)
