It just seems to me that someone who is a failed nuclear negotiator with North Korea partly responsible for the current mess the United States is in; probably should not be the lecturing the current Trump administration on how to handle this issue:
This file photo shows former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill. (Yonhap)
A former senior U.S. diplomat slammed the Donald Trump administration Wednesday for what he called a lack of recognition of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in the face of North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
Christopher Hill, who served in the 2000s as Washington’s chief envoy to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, said he would like to see a greater commitment from the administration toward the alliance.
“This is not about a series of transactions. This is about a relationship that has served us well, and served the Republic of Korea well,” he said during a forum on the North Korean threat, referring to South Korea by its official name.
If Washington can provide such reassurances to Seoul, “that gives us more scope to really go after the North Koreans,” Hill said.
Trump has often linked security cooperation with trade issues. He has pressured South Korea to address its trade surplus with the U.S. and shoulder a larger burden of the cost of stationing American troops there. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but Mr. Hill’s also wants the Trump administration to do more to get China to denuclearize North Korea.
Lawmakers pass a motion reducing the country’s maximum statutory working hours to 52 hours a week from the current 68 hours in a vote during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 28, 2018. (Yonhap)
A video uncovered from the US National archives shows that Japanese forces massacred a number of Korean women believed to have been sex slaves following a battle in China:
Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul National University Human Rights Center unveiled video footage, Tuesday, showing scores of bodies of Korean sex slaves being dumped after being killed by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The Japanese government has denied any responsibility for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women into sexual slavery. But the latest footage contradicts that claim, according to researchers studying the issue.
The 19-second footage depicts a Chinese soldier looking at scores of naked bodies he carried to a hill. In another scene, he takes a sock off one of the bodies before walking away. Another scene shows smoke billowing from what appears to be a mound of human bodies at a different location.
The research team said the footage was recorded Sept. 15, 1944, in Tengchong, a western Chinese village bordering Myanmar, by an Allied Command soldier, surnamed Baldwin. The team recovered the footage from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
In June that year, the Allied Command began attacking Tengchong and a nearby city which were under control of almost 3,000 Japanese soldiers. As defeat became more certain, the Japanese soldiers took their own lives and killed people stationed with them, including the sex slaves. At least 70 sex slaves were believed to have been there with the troops, among whom only 23 survived.
Together with the footage, the team also revealed a document filed by the Allied Command reporting the killing of Korean sex slaves. “Night of the 13th (Sept. 13, 1944), the Japs shot 30 Korean girls in the city,” the document said. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link and below is the actual video.
We had an interesting post in the Open Thread about the mandatory service military obligation for dual US-ROK male citizens. This posting from Ask A Korean highlights what the issue is about:
The unintended consequence of the 2010 law that, all of a sudden, it created a large number of Korean dual citizenship holders who did not even know that they were dual citizens. If you are a draft-eligible age, and you realized only recently that you were in fact a dual citizen, you cannot even renounce your Korean citizenship because of the 2005 law. The result: we have a messed up situation in which diaspora Koreans, who may have never visited Korea and not speak a lick of Korean, may be draft eligible for Korean military. He can enter Korea freely, but may get stopped at the airport on his way out of Korea, like all other draft-eligible male Korean citizens. [Ask A Korean]
Someone who is a dual citizen definitely faces the possibility of getting detained at the airport in South Korea because they have not done their mandatory military service. I had to go deep into the ROK Drop archives to find this, but there have been examples of dual US-ROK citizens being detained at the airport in Korea despite being enlisted in the US military:
The Defense Ministry and the Military Manpower Administration may have to wait for years before they can get their hands on two Koreans who violated the military service law by enlisting in the U.S. Army.
The two Koreans aged 21 and 22 who have U.S. citizenship and residence respectively but retain their Korean nationality volunteered for the U.S. Army without performing their mandatory military service here, the MMA said Friday. Both were supposed to join the Korean armed forces in 2004 but both enlisted with U.S, forces instead. One instead went with them to Germany and both are now ironically with the U.S. Forces Korea as privates first class. (…)
The first came to Korea on leave last June, and the travel ban stopped him from returning to his unit in Germany. He was indicted here the same month but the indictment was suspended because he serves in the U.S. military. He then transferred to the USFK. The MMA says it will make both of them serve in the Korean forces as well. Article 71 of the Military Service Law says those with dual nationality who violate the law must perform their military duties in Korea before they turn 35.
This dual citizenship issue should definitely be a concern for anyone with male children that may be considered dual citizens. However, there is a way to renounce ROK citizenship at age 18 to ensure that the male child is not detained at the airport to do their mandatory military service in South Korea. Here is the information posted on the US Embassy website for the Republic of Korea on this issue:
All malecitizens of the Republic of Korea (ROK), including dual nationals, have military service responsibilities in accordance with the Korean Constitution and the Military Service Law.
Korea’s Military Manpower Administration is responsible for implementation and enforcement of regulations related to military service responsibilities. The following details related to military service have been provided by Korean officials:
Males with multiple citizenships must choose their nationality by March 31 of the year they turn 18. Those who fail to do so are subject to military service obligations.
Male ROK nationals who were born in the ROK but later acquire a foreign citizenship automatically lose their ROK citizenship and are no longer subject to Korean military service, whether or not they notify their loss of nationality to the relevant Korean authorities. However, if these individuals did not abide by military service procedures prior to naturalizing, such as obtaining the necessary overseas travel permits, they may be subject to fines, penalties, and/or incarceration upon return to the ROK.
All male ROK nationals between the ages 25-37, including dual nationals, must obtain overseas travel permits from the MMA if they have not completed their military service and wish to travel overseas. These permits allow applicants to postpone their military service duty up until the age of 37. Those who lived overseas before age 25, must apply for these permits by January 15 of the year they turn 25. Applications may be made through a Korean embassy or consulate.
There are different categories under which dual nationals qualify for an overseas travel permit, with classification determined by factors including parents’ citizenship or residency status, time spent abroad, and time spent in Korea.
In cases where an applicant obtained a travel permit based on their parents’ overseas residency status and the parents have now returned to the ROK, the permit can be cancelled and the applicant subject to military service.
An overseas travel permit can be cancelled and an applicant subject to military service if an applicant lives in the ROK for at least six months in a period of one year, or has engaged in for-profit activities in the ROK for a total of 60 days or more during a one year period.
It seems the me the ROK government is trying to walk a very careful line of stopping draft dodgers while still being able to give people who are legitimately foreign citizens the opportunity to renounce their Korean citizenship to avoid the mandatory military service obligation.
The latest rotational unit to come to Korea has a history that stretches back to the Korean War:
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division colors are uncased at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. PAK CHIN U/U.S. ARMY PHOTO
The 3rd Infantry Division is back on the Korean Peninsula for the first time since the Korean War.
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Stewart, Ga., began a nine-month rotation Friday by unfurling its unit colors at Eighth Army’s new headquarters south of Seoul.
The “Raider Brigade” replaces soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.
“This is the first time soldiers wearing the 3ID patch have served [on the peninsula] since fighting in the Korean War,” Raider Brigade commander Col. Mike Adams said at the ceremony. [Stars & Stripes]
Unionized workers of GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., call for the retraction of a GM decision to close GM Korea’s factory in Gunsan, 274 km south of Seoul, during a protest held amid rain near the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Feb. 28, 2018. On Feb. 13, GM announced it would close the Gunsan car assembly plant, citing low productivity. (Yonhap)
This seems pretty outrageous to me that former President Park is looking at 30 years in jail when murderers and rapists in South Korea get far less time than that:
The prosecution demanded a 30-year prison term for former President Park Geun-hye, Tuesday, at the latest hearing in a corruption trial stemming from an influence-peddling scandal that removed her from office. It also called for the court to fine her 118.5 billion won ($110 million). The Seoul Central District Court held the final hearing for Park, who again refused to appear citing health problems. If she is found guilty, the sentencing for Park, who was indicted for receiving 59.2 billion won in bribes among 18 charges, will be held April 6.
The harsh sentence demand was widely expected as taking 100 million won ($97,000) or over in bribes is punishable by a minimum prison term of ten years. The Supreme Court sentencing guideline stipulates that a minimum of an 11-year prison term be imposed for those who received 500 million won or over in bribes. Choi Soon-sil, Park’s longtime friend and the central figure in the scandal, who faced 13 out of the 18 charges Park did, was sentenced to 20 years.
Prosecutors said Park deserved harsh punishment for the influence-peddling scandal that undermined constitutional values and the public trust in the judicial system. The charges against her were substantiated by evidence including witness statements and meeting minutes made by the presidential chief of staff and presidential secretaries, they added. “Park is the central figure in the influence-peddling scandal. She was head of state and a political figure with ultimate power, and had full authority in managing administrative affairs,” the prosecution said. “She gave powerful discretion to a private individual, Choi, thereby subjecting the public to the unprecedented trauma stemming from the scandal, from which we can never easily recover.”
Such an act, the prosecution added, violated the public’s expectation that the country would be governed by socially agreed-upon principles, and that individuals would be respected for their own merit not for their connections. “It also violated the public expectation that people should be guaranteed a fair opportunity regardless of their occupation or status and lead a life in a free and just country,” it said. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I have yet to see the prosecutors show evidence that President Park ordered someone to pay a bribe.
I do agree that the above statement “She gave powerful discretion to a private individual, Choi, thereby subjecting the public to the unprecedented trauma stemming from the scandal” is a valid point. Choi Soon-shil definitely used her position as a close friend of Park Geun-hye to benefit herself and President Park gave her that platform. However, does a politician have criminal liability because one of their friends are corrupt? If so there should be a whole lot more Korean politicians heading to jail than just Park Geun-hye.
Here is an update from the Stars & Stripes on the ongoing Yongsan Garrison relocation:
Yongsan Garrison
The Army garrison has started to shrink, although it’s still hard to tell from outside. The relocation is not expected to be completed for at least two more years.
Yongsan’s population, including the nearby K-16 air base, has plunged from 22,000 in May to 13,500 following the historic move in July of the Eighth Army from its aging red brick headquarters to Camp Humphreys.
It’s expected to drop as low as 8,000 by Aug. 18 according to the current trajectory, garrison commander Col. Scott Peterson said as he laid out a timeline during a town-hall meeting earlier this month.
The food court and post exchange have reduced hours. Gone is the Popeyes near the schools, which had been a popular student hangout. The commissary reduced the number of registers from 17 to 10 after much-needed equipment was transferred to Humphreys. The library also is being cut in size and no longer operates a drop box.
U.S. Forces Korea made the first adjustment to the perimeter in December when it closed a main access point along with some living quarters and offices, sealing off a section of a northern corner known as Camp Coiner. This area will be the U.S. Embassy’s new home.
Camp Kim, which has a USO building that closed Feb. 21, the Special Operations Command Korea and an office for vehicle registration, is on track to close in July, Peterson said, stressing that was contingent on SOCKOR’S plans.
“What’s left of the garrison will stay like it is for the next six to 12 months with no major adjustments to the perimeter. Inside the base, however, there will be some additional reductions of stuff, the losses of a few conveniences,” Peterson told residents gathered in a base chapel.
The next major milestone will be in December 2019 when the on-post hospital is due to close, triggering the departure of the last major unit. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read much more at the link, but I can remember 20 years ago talk of relocating Yongsan Garrison so it is good to see after all these years it is finally happening.
