The legal problems for the former first lady continue:
Prosecutors have ordered former first lady Kim Keon Hee to appear for questioning this week over allegations of influence-peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections, legal sources said Monday.
Kim, the wife of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently sent a summons by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to appear as a suspect on Wednesday, according to the sources.
Kim faces charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Political Funds Act in connection with allegations that she helped former People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Young-sun win the party’s nomination for the 2022 by-elections via Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, who in return conducted free public opinion polls favorable to Yoon ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
The former first lady has additionally been accused of involvement in the PPP’s candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.
Farmers on tractors head for protest rally in Seoul Farmers drive tractors through the rain in Geumcheon Ward, southwestern Seoul, on their way to a protest rally downtown on May 10, 2025, calling for a halt to rice imports. Some 1,500 police officers later blocked their advance out of concerns of traffic jams. (Yonhap)
President Trump’s tariffs are definitely contributing to this, but exports across the board are down for South Korea, not just to the U.S.:
South Korea’s exports plunged nearly 24 percent in the first 10 days of May, signaling that the US Trump administration’s tariffs are beginning to take a toll on the trade-dependent economy.
Outbound shipments totaled $12.8 billion during the May 1-10 period, down 23.8 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service released Monday.
Factoring in fewer workdays — five days during the period this year compared to 6.5 days in 2024 — average daily exports fell by just 1 percent, the agency added.
Shipments to China and the US — Korea’s two largest export markets — fell 20.1 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively. Exports to Vietnam declined 14.5 percent, while those to the European Union plunged 38.1 percent. Among the top five destinations, only Taiwan posted growth, with its shipments jumping 14.2 percent.
Replica ship of Joseon Dynasty diplomatic delegation in Japan A replica ship of the Joseon Tongsinsa, a diplomatic delegation sent by the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to Japan, sails off a port in Tomonoura, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, on May 9, 2025, on its voyage for the western Japan city of Osaka as part of events to mark the 60th anniversary this year of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan, in this photo released by the National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage. The dispatch of the Korean envoys began in 1607 for political reasons to promote peace after a destructive seven-year war between the two sides, but its functions were later transformed into something more cultural. A total of 12 such teams of envoys were dispatched until 1811. (Yonhap)
The conservatives have finally settled on a candidate. I guess we will see if it is too little, too late to overcome the huge lead Lee Jae-myung has:
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Sunday he “humbly accepts” his party’s decision to vote down his presidential candidacy, pledging to assist the party’s final candidate Kim Moon-soo’s presidential campaign.
Lee Jung-hyun, a spokesperson for Han, made the remarks during a press briefing held a day after the People Power Party’s (PPP) plenary meeting voted down a motion led by the party’s leadership to replace the party’s presidential candidate, Kim, with Han.
Kim, a former labor minister, had secured the party’s nomination through the primaries, while Han had outperformed him in public polls against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.
Like I had speculated before it does appear that the general officer reductions being considered by the Pentagon could impact USFK and other organizations in the Pacific:
On Monday, Hegseth issued a memo that ordered a minimum 20 percent reduction of four-star active-duty positions and of general officers in the National Guard, as well as an additional minimum 10 percent reduction in general and flag officers — with an aim to “optimize” and “streamline” the U.S. military leadership.
The memo has given rise to speculation that the Pentagon could consider a potential change in the USFK leadership as it seeks to focus primarily on countering evolving threats from China while hoping that regional allies will step up to cope with other challenges, including from North Korea.
Reuters has reported that the USFK commander post and the head of the U.S. Army Pacific might be among the four-star positions that Hegseth might look at.
Asked if the secretary’s order for the reduction would affect the USFK, a U.S. defense official said the Pentagon has no announcements to make at this point.
You can read more at the link, but if the USFK commander is reduced to a three star then the question becomes will the U.S. handover OPCON to the ROK military? This would mean a ROK four-star would lead the Combined Forces Command and the USFK three-star would be the deputy. Dropping the USFK commander to a three-star would put USFK in line with the three-star that commands USFJ.
Additionally if the USARPAC commander is reduced to a three-star shouldn’t the Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commanders also be reduced to three-stars and just leave the INDOPACOM commander as the only four-star in the Pacific?
The video shows a site in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, likely the Baogang Tailings Dam, not near any ocean, contradicting claims of ocean dumping. This area, far from coastlines, handles toxic waste from rare earth processing, causing significant environmental issues like groundwater…
