Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (L, front) speaks at a meeting of government officials and military commanders at a government building in downtown Seoul on Aug. 2, 2017, to prepare for the upcoming annual Ulchi exercise to train for national emergency situations. (Yonhap)
That is what this editorial in the Korea Times is claiming:
Victor Cha
This means that who the next U.S. ambassador to Seoul will be is ever more important. He or she should be communicative with Koreans and have Trump’s trust ― giving a nudge when the president wobbles and making sure it gets noted. In that sense, Victor Cha, a former Bush operative and professor at Georgetown couldn’t be a worse candidate, according to five people in the know.
Putting their suggestions together, the result is Cha, who would act as if he were Caesar the Conqueror, trying to get his way no matter what at the risk of a great deal of friction with the Moon Jae-in government. That would be possible and dangerous because he, if appointed, would exert influence at key junctures when his boss was distracted, and the North’s asymmetric threat will peak. Some say that it is better now without a resident at Habib House in Seoul than Cha in it. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at link, but basically since Cha is not a supporter of engagement with North Korea the academics the Korea Times spoke with think he is a bad choice for US ambassador.
From a military perspective something that I know Victor Cha has pushed for in the past is to have Seoul take over OPCON of Korean forces. This is something that left wing ROK presidents wanted in the past and then when the US called their bluff on this issue they started playing delay games until a conservative president took power and put it off entirely. I think Cha would probably also be a strong advocate for the ROK to pay more for the US-ROK alliance which is another key President Trump initiative.
This is a really horrible story about a boy trapped in a locked bus in Gwangju:
Officials from Gwangju’s office of education and local kindergarten groups visit a 5-year-old boy who was left behind on a school bus for more than seven hours on July 29, 2016. He has yet to regain consciousness. [GWANGJU METROPOLITAN OFFICE OF EDUCATION]Choi was 5 years old when he was left behind on a school bus on July 29 last year. The driver neglected to check whether any students were aboard and his teacher forgot to take roll.
For seven and a half hours, Choi was alone, barely able to breathe in the scorching heat. Temperatures hit more than 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in Gwangju, where he lived, and by the time police found him, his body temperature hovered around 42 degrees. He was unconscious.
Choi now lies on a hospital bed in Chonnam National University Hospital, unmoving except to occasionally cough. In the year since, he has yet to regain consciousness.
Choi is one of a number of similar cases. In January, a 3-year-old was left on her kindergarten bus for more than an hour in Daegu after coming back from a field trip. In February, a 6-year-old boy was left for 40 minutes on a school bus in Gwangyang, South Jeolla. The child was rescued after a passerby called police. In May, a 5-year-old in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, was abandoned for two and a half hours.
Choi’s mother spends day and night by his side, waiting for her son to wake up. The hospital fees are being covered by the bus operator and the Gwangju School Safety and Insurance Association. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but the bus driver and the teacher were both given a few months in jail for not accounting for all the students getting off the bus.
I would not be surprised if the Moon administration is trying to appease the US and the Korean right by saying they are approving the deployment of four additional THAAD launchers while not actually letting them on the site because of the blockade built by protesters. This in turn would appease their left wing base by not letting the launchers on to the site:
A Defense Ministry official here said Tuesday, “The deployment of additional launchers will be handled through a transparent process. That entails convincing local residents and notifying them beforehand of the deployment.” He added, “That means we will not deploy them by surprise in the middle of the night as the first two THAAD launchers were in Seongju in April.”
A Cheong Wa Dae official said, “We will convince local residents and then deploy the THAAD launchers according to the agreement between the defense ministries of both countries.”
But that could take a long time since locals continue to protest. “There is no way that the government will send in riot police to ensure the deployment,” a government source said. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but what does everyone else think? Does anyone think the protesters will drop their blockade and let the launchers access the THAAD site?
This initiative probably will help to make the restrooms cleanlier as long as people don’t throw the toilet paper on the ground instead:
Trash bins are set to vanish from public restrooms in Seoul subway stations in phases from Aug. 1, according to Seoul Metro Friday.
The men’s restroom trash bins will be removed first. The women’s bins will be removed from Sep. 1 to allow sanitary waste bins to be installed.
The project, “Trash bin free restroom,” aims to make public restrooms cleaner without the bad odor. It is already in effect on subway lines five to eight and will be extended to all Seoul subway lines except nine.
Seoul Metro is positive that after a trial the project will reduce odors and make the restrooms more welcoming. [Korea Times]
A group of high school girls wears gas masks in a career exploration activity at the Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy in Daejeon, 164 km south of Seoul, on Aug. 3, 2017. (Yonhap)
It will be interesting to see if this statement from Lindsey Graham gets China attention or not to reign in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions:
Senator Lindsey Graham
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will go to war with North Korea if the communist regime continues to threaten the U.S. with its nuclear and missile programs, an influential Republican senator said Tuesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) relayed his discussions with the president on NBC’s “Today Show.”
“There will be a war with North Korea over the missile program if they continue to try to hit America with an ICBM,” the senator said. “He’s told me that. I believe him. If I were China, I would believe him, too, and do something about it. You can stop North Korea, militarily or diplomatically.” [Yonhap]
It seems like President Duterte has nothing good to say about every world leader to include Kim Jong-un:
Rodrigo Duterte
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest controversial remarks target the North Korean regime, and they come just a few days ahead of his hosting a meeting of foreign diplomats at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.
In his typical colorful rhetoric, Duterte professed his hatred for war and described North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un as a “fool” and a “son of a bitch” who is “playing with dangerous toys.”
“This Kim Jong Un, a fool…. He is playing with dangerous toys, that fool,” Duterte said in a speech live-streamed on Facebook to tax officials on Wednesday. Then, he commented on Kim Jong Un’s appearance. [Newsweek]
