Constitutional Court Chief nominee Kim Yi-su (L) apologizes to bus driver Bae Yong-joo for sentencing him to death about 40 years ago prior to his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 8, 2017. Then military judge Kim handed down the capital punishment to Bae for killing four policemen when driving his bus carrying civilian militia members though a police cordon during a pro-democracy movement on May 20, 1980. (Yonhap)
For UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is returning soon to South Korea. It will be interesting to see if in five years he will attempt to run for President again:
Ban Ki-moon
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will begin his tenure as distinguished professor and emeritus director of the Institute for Global Engagement at Yonsei University from July.
“The Institute for Global Engagement was established in April at the university to coordinate among students and professors activities including global and domestic missions and volunteer programs,” said Nam So-hyeon, a PR official at Yonsei University in western Seoul.
“It’s not yet decided what Ban will be teaching at the university.”
The university is also planning to open a sustainable growth center once Ban begins his tenure.
“Ban is known for his initiatives and engagement to combat climate change,” said Yonsei University President Kim Yong-hak.
“His participation at the center will bring about advances in its climate change research.”
Ban has been teaching at Harvard University as the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow since April. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Another setback for President Moon’s Sunshine 2.0:
This file photo, taken on Feb. 20, 2014, shows the reunions of family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War held at Mount Kumgang in North Korea. (Yonhap)
North Korea rejected South Korean lawmakers’ call to hold a reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, saying Wednesday there can “never be any kind of humanitarian cooperation” between the two countries unless 13 North Koreans “detained” in the South are returned.
They include a group of 12 workers from a restaurant in China run by the North Korean government, whom Seoul says defected voluntarily. Pyongyang claims they were kidnapped by South Korea’s spy agency.
The North also wants a 13th citizen, Kim Ryon-hui, a vocal Kim Jung-un endorser here who wishes to go back home. She left her home in Pyongyang to seek advanced medical treatment in China for a liver illness. She asserts to have been deceived by a Chinese broker in 2011, who told her she could make a fortune in the South and then return to China or North Korea. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
If anyone has ever wondered why there aren’t more US Marines stationed in South Korea here is the reason:
Maj. Gen. Robert Hedelund, the outgoing commander of U.S. Marine Forces Korea, said he has about 75 Marines on his staff and their main mission is fostering the relationship with South Korean forces and facilitating training exercises.
The commander of the small contingent of Marines based in South Korea says the corps does not have enough forces to permanently expand its presence on the divided peninsula.
Unlike the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Marines do not have operational units stationed in South Korea despite the growing threat from the North. Instead, Marines travel from Japan to the peninsula on a rotational basis to conduct training exercises with their South Korean counterparts.
Maj. Gen. Robert Hedelund, the outgoing commander of U.S. Marine Forces Korea, said he has about 75 Marines on his staff and their main mission is fostering the relationship with South Korean forces and facilitating training exercises. [Stars & Stripes]
This was NK's 5th launch since Moon. This one landed in NK waters & 1 was surface-to-air. The remaining 3 landed in/near Japan/Russia's EEZ. pic.twitter.com/hfa3XPAmze
This is a life-size model of a new bullet train on display in the square in front of Changwon Station in Changwon, 398 km southeast of Seoul, on June 7, 2017. Korea Railroad Corp. and Hyundai Rotem, a train-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, have developed the electric multiple unit train for the first time in the country. (Yonhap)
It is already pretty easy for foreigners to get around South Korea and the Seoul government is starting a program to make it even easier:
The Seoul metropolitan government said Sunday it will operate an inter-city bus connecting major tourist attractions in South Korea starting this week to provide visitors a chance to explore the many hidden treasures in the country.
The “K-travel Bus” exclusively serves foreign tourists, residents and students who want to travel outside the capital city, to boost travel to smaller cities and rural areas, a municipal official said. The initial two-day tours will run till the end of the year.
Under the planned service, foreigners can choose one of five destinations from Seoul — the southeastern city of Daegu, Ganghwa Island in Incheon near Seoul, the northeastern province of Gangwon, the southwestern province of South Jeolla and the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang. [Yonhap]
This will give the US Navy something to think about:
North Korea fired several short-range antiship cruise missiles Thursday morning off its eastern coast, which flew about 200 kilometers (124 miles) after peaking at an altitude of 2 kilometers before landing in the East Sea, local military officials said.
The first missile, detected by South Korean authorities at 6:18 a.m., was followed by “several more” projectiles for “several minutes.” The type of missile was not immediately known, as is often the usual case. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from the vicinity of North Korea’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan, Kangwon Province.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries are cooperating for further analysis. It was North Korea’s fifth missile test since President Moon Jae-in took office on May 10, and its 10th this year. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link. Here is what President Moon had to say in response to the 5th North Korean missile test since he took office:
After receiving reports about the provocation from the JCS as well as national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, President Moon convened a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at 2 p.m. at Cheong Wa Dae to discuss countermeasures.
During the meeting, Moon made it clear that his government will never compromise on issues related to national security, presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.
“North Korea will only face the deepening of its isolation and economic trouble should it stick to this provocative mode,” Moon was quoted as saying.
The President also vowed to enhance the country’s ability to defend against the North’s nuclear and missile threats while maintaining the ROK-U.S. combined defense readiness, according to Park. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but degrading THAAD’s capability like President Moon is currently advocating for does not sound to me like enhancing the country’s capability to defend against missile attacks.
Great job by these soldiers serving up at Panmunjom for rescuing this ROK farmer last week:
U.S. and South Korean soldiers attached to the United Nations Command Security Battalion in the Joint Security Area on the border with North Korea rush a South Korean farmer to a U.S. Forces Korea helicopter that carried him to a hospital on May 31, 2017.
U.S. and South Korean soldiers stationed in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the country from the North responded to a different kind of emergency last week.
A farmer in Taesong-dong, the only South Korean village located in the heavily fortified area, got his right leg caught in a tractor Wednesday. His mother, who was with him, called the village chief, who contacted the civilian affairs company with the security battalion at the nearby Joint Security Area.
Soldiers acted quickly, rendering first aid while the farmer was bleeding profusely. U.S. Forces Korea, meanwhile, sent a helicopter to medevac him to a hospital, Jung Dongho, a public affairs officer with the security battalion, said Friday.
The farmer, who was only identified by his surname Choi, was flown to the Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, where he underwent surgery for four hours. He remains hospitalized so doctors can monitor his condition, Jung said, adding it took just over an hour from the time of the 5:15 p.m. accident to get Choi to the hospital. [Stars & Stripes]
