This news just continues to justify my belief that the special counsel over the Druking scandal was put together as part of the cover up to protect Kim Kyoung-soo:
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum speaks during a press briefing over the Druking case on July 20, 2018. (Yonhap)
Special prosecutors probing a high-profile political scandal involving an influential blogger and a prominent governor said Wednesday it will not seek to extend their designated term and plans to wrap up the investigation this Saturday.
The team of 87 investigators, led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum, was launched on June 27 after the National Assembly passed a bill on the independent probe into an alleged massive rigging of online news comments.
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, then a ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, allegedly conspired with an influential power blogger, known by his nickname Druking, into manipulating comments in online news articles to benefit the DP, between October 2016 and early this year.
Under the law regarding a special prosecution, the special counsel is given an initial two-month term to dig into the case and can seek an additional 30-day term if deemed necessary.
In Wednesday’s press briefing, the special prosecution said it will deliver its official result of the opinion rigging probe next Monday.
Huh has faced criticism that his team is not doing enough to crack the case. Critics have questioned the independence of the special prosecution, saying the fact that the probe is targeting Gov. Kim, a potential presidential candidate who is known for his close ties to President Moon Jae-in.
Huh sought an arrest warrant for Kim earlier this month. The court turned it down citing a lack of reasons for it.
The suicide of Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, a veteran politician from a minor progressive party, over his alleged connection to Druking, is also seen as another factor that has affected the probe. [Yonhap]
With the elimination of the special counsel, now Governor Kim and his left wing political defenders can go around on the now largely left-wing controlled media and claim the special counsel found nothing and Kim has been cleared. The media will probably not point out though that the Special Counsel could not even arrest low level people for questioning much less try to question Governor Kim. The media also likely won’t mention that the Special Counsel was able to only search the office of Governor Kim that had been open for one month. I would not be surprised if the office was opened specifically for the Special Counsel to search and find nothing.
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
For those that don’t know Kim Kyoung-soo is a trusted friend and confidant of ROK President Moon Jae-in. The power blogger called Druking alleges that Kim directed his team’s online opinion rigging operation to turn public opinion against liberal rival Ahn Cheol-soo and then conservative rivals during the last presidential election. When Druking’s team did not receive the political payback they had been promised they turned on Kim Kyoung-soo and began targeting President Moon with their opinion rigging software. Once they turned on Moon that is when authorities arrested them, not when they were targeting conservatives.
I have always maintained that Kim Kyoung-soo and others from the Moon administration involved in this scandal would never be held accountable. You can say what you want about the Korean left, but they know how the circle the wagons and protect their own. This is just more evidence of this.
Typhoon Soulik has arrived and is drenching South Korea in heavy rain; be safe out there:
A solar panel swept off the roof of a senior citizens center in Samyang-dong, Jeju City, knocking over a telephone pole as Typhoon Soulik passed Thursday. [NEWS1]As Typhoon Soulik landed in Korea earlier this morning, the national weather administration warned of extremely strong winds and heavy rains throughout the country.
“The typhoon will bring on Friday strong winds of 30 to 40 meters per second [67 to 89 miles per hour] on land and winds of over 50 meters per second in mountainous areas,” said the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). “With this kind of wind, glass windows, street lamps and electricity poles can break. Watch out for your safety.”
This was the first time in six years that a typhoon has landed in Korea. Typhoon alerts were issued in Jeju Island, South Gyeongsang, the Jeolla and Chungcheong regions, and in the cities of Sejong, Gwangju, Busan and Daejeon Thursday afternoon.
The weather agency said it will rain more than 50 millimeters (two inches) per hour in Jeju Island, the southern coastal regions and in Gangwon as the typhoon moves northeast across the peninsula.
The medium-sized typhoon left destruction in its path as it passed near Jeju Island from Wednesday to Thursday. Some 30 trees were uprooted in Jeju City, some 12,000 households lost power across the island – of which some 4,600 had not recovered power as of press time Thursday – and at least one person went missing. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to call the North Koreans since South Korea doesn’t want to use the word “enemy”?:
South Korea is considering deleting its reference to North Korea’s military as “our enemy” in its defense white paper to be published later this year, multiple government sources in Seoul said Wednesday.
The move is in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to halt “all hostile acts” against each other, seek to alleviate tensions and “practically eliminate the danger of war.”
“It would be contradictory if we hold consultations (with the North) over measures to halt hostile acts, which are mentioned in the Panmunjom Declaration, while leaving the description of the North Korean military as an enemy in our government’s official paper,” a government source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.
“We have been striving to come up with a way to use a phrase or word that would sufficiently reflect the North’s military threat instead of using the ‘enemy’ expression,” he added. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but here we go again with the pretend game. We already have “pretend denuclearization” going on and now we have “pretend non-enemies”.
we are nearing the point where the u.s. will need to decide whether to acknowledge that the dprk isn’t disarming and never agreed to, or get angry that the dprk is breaking promises it never made https://t.co/NyMRRAq35b
This image released by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) on Aug. 22, 2018, shows the expected route of Typhoon Soulik. The typhoon is expected to move north toward the Korean Peninsula from the sea south of Japan to hit South Korea within the coming days together, bringing heavy rains and strong winds. (Yonhap)
The North and South Korean governments are trying to use this week’s inter-Korean family reunions to create a strong emotional response both domestically and internationally to justify future economic cooperation. However, sanctions continue to be in place against North Korea over their nuclear program which prevents the South Korean government from giving the Kim regime the payday the Kim regime has long wanted. However, if the ROK government pushes the Trump administration on this issue President Trump should hold a press conference with Mr. Hwang In-cheol and other abductees and ask when their family reunions are going to happen?:
As a lucky few Korean families meet decades after being divided by war, Hwang In-cheol looks on lamenting the absence of his father, whose plane was hijacked by the North.
Hwang was only two when his father Won left for a business trip in 1969, never to return. Now 50, he has spent his life missing a man he only knows from pictures.
Scores of elderly North and South Koreans who were separated by the 1950-53 conflict met for the first time in decades Monday, hugging each other tearfully.
But none of them was among the thousands of South Koreans Seoul says were kidnapped by the North after the war.
“The sight of the families reuniting looks very nice but these one-time reunions are not a solution to the problem,” Hwang said.
“I hope that day for me comes soon. I’m hoping that my father will be alive until then.” [Japan Times via a reader tip]
You can read more at the link, but Mr. Hwang’s father was abducted as part of the hijacking of Korean Air YS-11 back in 1969. You can read about the hijacking at the below link:
This reminds me of the old Keys to the Kingdom book that used to be sold in Korean villes to GIs a long time ago:
Major book retailers have stopped selling an “obscene and racist” book about Filipinas.
Online retailers, including Aladin, Yes24 and Bandi & Lunis, have removed the e-book, “How to Treat Bar Hostesses in the Philippines.”
This move came after a tweet about the book was widely spread earlier this month. Many people have taken issue with the contents, which objectify Filipinas from a Korean man’s perspective.
“Once you go to the Philippines, you will soon be attracted to nightlife and meet many kinds of women there. Language won’t be a problem. A few words will be enough to communicate with them,” the book’s author, identified just as “Kevin Cho,” writes.
“Even if you are not a womanizer in Korea, you will definitely be one in the Philippines. This is not the case only for Koreans but also Japanese and Americans. The fact that the Korean Wave is sweeping across Asia makes you feel even more proud. While studying English there, women can be either medicine or poison.”
In the book, published three years ago by Scene in the Moonlight, Cho urges readers to “make the best use of Filipinas, who can give unforgettable memories.” [Korea Times]
It's remarkable how far down you have to read in some news articles to see that these “reunions” are closely monitored & brief visits, terminated by the abductee’s return to captivity & isolation. What a heartbreaking “reunion” that must be. https://t.co/WgCK1McSnQ
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours a hot spring resort in Yangdok, South Pyongan Province, in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 17, 2018. (Yonhap)
