This photo shows a concept baby carriage, which the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has made. The stroller won the grand prize at the 2016 SPARK International Design Awards. UNIST provided this photo. (Yonhap)
South Korean protests have a track record of causing crazy people to do stuff like this. I don’t what this guy expected JTBC to do? The tablet with the files on it was legitimate news that they couldn’t simply ignore because it would lead to mass protests against the sitting President. If this guy wants to be pissed off at anyone he should be upset with President Park and her friend behind this scandal Choi Soon-sil:
A truck driven by a South Korean man in his 40s slammed into the main gate of broadcasting channel JTBC on Monday, whose initial reports on President Park Geun-hye’s alleged documents leaks led to her impeachment earlier in the month.
The 45-year man surnamed Kim crashed his 1.5-ton truck into the main entrance of JTBC in Mapo in western Seoul at around 7:25 p.m. apparently in protest of the television channel’s reports on Park, according to the police.
Wearing the Marine Corps uniform, Kim tried to break into the gate by driving his truck back and forth some 10 times, but his vehicle was stuck between the doors before the police arrested him at the scene.
The incident left JTBC’s glass doors broken and the door frames warped, but caused no further damage, according to the firefighting authorities.
At the time of arrest, Kim was carrying a letter for JTBC’s president and a placard on his truck, which satirically recommended the JTBC head as the next South Korean president.
The police quoted Kim as saying that “The entire country is in a bind because of (JTBC’s) reports on a tablet PC.” The police said they will interrogate him to find out the exact motive. [Yonhap]
The Army has stripped Maj. Gen. David Haight of three ranks, Army Secretary Eric Fanning said Friday, following revelations contained in documents and interviews of Haight’s decade-long extramarital affair and “swinger lifestyle.
A board of his peers called for Haight to be busted to lieutenant colonel, a demotion that will cost him nearly $43,000 per year in pension pay. Fanning, in an interview, said he had accepted the recommendation after a panel of three officers reviewed Haight’s conduct — and his secret second life — and determined that lieutenant colonel was the last rank in which he had served satisfactorily.
Fanning spent hours discussing the case with other general officers and read the investigative report twice before accepting the recommendation, he said.
“He’s going to be retired as a lieutenant colonel,” Fanning said. “Pretty big drop.” [USA Today]
For those that have been through SHARP training the actions of the soldiers involved is a textbook example of what the US Army encourages soldiers to now do:
Key details of a Fort Drum account of soldiers rescuing a drugged woman at a Watertown bar have been called into question by city police.
The 10th Mountain Division public affairs office, in a news release issued earlier this week, said three soldiers rescued a woman they believed was drugged at the Paddock Club, Public Square, on Oct. 28, and that it led to an arrest.
The trio, Staff Sgt. Anthony Ciccariello Jr., Sgt. James Smith and Spc. Evan Lipp, were presented a commander’s coin by division commander Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Bannister on Nov. 16 for their efforts that night.
Detective Lt. Joseph R. Donoghue Sr. said the unnamed woman, whom the post claimed was taken to the hospital, was actually seen and cleared by Guilfoyle Ambulance staff, who let her leave with a friend. No one has been charged in connection with the incident.
The incident, which took place about 10:30 p.m. that night, remains under investigation by city police. [Watertown Daily Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but I am not sure what caused the soldiers to think she was “drugged” other than to say she was a little “off”. This is what the 10th Mountain Division news release said:
These Soldiers discovered a female at a local bar had taken an unknown drug from a man in the bar and was acting overly impaired. Their training kicked in and the result was a suspect being questioned by police and a potential victim being checked out by paramedics. [DVIDS]
If they saw someone putting something into her drink you would think they would say that in the video. It appears the real reason this incident reached the point it did was because the woman was being groped by the two men:
“I noticed that the two males had the female on one of the couches and they were molesting her,” Lipp said. “I noticed that she was barely conscious. It didn’t look right.”
Lipp said he didn’t want to overact so he asked Ciccariello and Smith to assess the situation.
“We agreed with Lipp and my immediate reaction was to go and get the bouncers,” Ciccariello said.
Unfortunately, the bouncers said that the woman and her friend came into the bar with the two men and there was nothing that the bar staff could do, Ciccariello said. But that didn’t stop the three soldiers. [New York Upstate]
If the soldiers in the video did see a drug secretly put into her drink they definitely did the right thing based off of the training they have received. However, if this woman was just being obnoxious should it be the responsibility of soldiers to determine which women are too drunk to be with other men at a bar?
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo (R) holds talks with his visiting Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco on military cooperation at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2016. The talks are the first of their kind since the two nations set up formal diplomatic ties 24 years ago. Angola has been North Korea’s traditional ally. (Photo courtesy of Defense Ministry) (Yonhap)
The woman behind the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye decided to make a surprise appearance at a hearing that she did not have to attend:
Choi Soon-sil (R), the woman at the center of an influence-peddling scandal rocking the country, sits next to her lawyer Lee Kyung-jae during the first preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Dec. 19, 2016. (pool photo) (Yonhap)
The close friend of President Park Geun-hye who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal that has led to the president’s impeachment appeared at her first court hearing Monday and denied all charges raised.
Choi Soon-sil attended the first preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul. It was the first time she has appeared before the public since she was called in by prosecutors in late October.
“When I first came from Germany, I thought I should submit to any punishment,” said Choi, who was indicted last month over a string of corruption allegations involving the president and aides.
“But since I arrived here, I have gone through a lot of interrogations,” she said, without finishing the sentence.
When the presiding Judge Kim Se-yun asked whether she meant she denies all suspicions leveled against her, Choi said “yes.”
Choi returned home on Oct. 30 after nearly two months in Europe, following criticism from the public to answer questions raised against her.
“Eight of the allegations raised by the prosecution are that she colluded with the president,” Choi’s lawyer Lee Kyung-jae said. “As she did not collude with the president, she cannot be found guilty of the charges made.”
It is not mandatory for defendants to attend the preparatory procedures, which are meant for the prosecution and defense to discuss how the upcoming court hearings should proceed.
Lee told reporters in a text message earlier in the day she has “expressed her willingness to sincerely go through with the trial proceedings.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see if the prosecutors can prove that she bullied conglomerates into giving her non-profits money. For all we know they could have been willingly giving her money because of her influence with President Park, much like corporations giving money to lobbyists in the US.
Via a reader tip, Thae Yong-ho the North Korean diplomat who defected with his family from the North Korean embassy in the United Kingdom, has spoken out for the first time:
Thae Yong-ho at the North Korean embassy in west London CREDIT: KATIE SCHUBAUBR
Mr Thae spoke to the committee behind closed doors, but Lee Cheol-woo, the committee chairman, told newswire Yonhap that he had become increasingly aware of the “gruesome realities” of the authoritarian regime.
Mr Thae promised to devote his life to “freeing the North Korean people from repression and persecution,” said Mr Lee.
“There are many ranking North Korean officials suffering from depression over concerns they will have to live like slaves for a long time if the North’s young leader rules the country for decades,” he quoted Mr Thae as saying.
“Thae said that he had come to grasp South Korea’s democracy and (economic) development by watching South Korean dramas and movies during his long stay in foreign countries,” added Mr Lee.
Mr Thae, who fled with his wife and two sons, will begin his resettlement process on Friday. He has vowed to work for Korean unification, but he will likely continue to live under tight security.
“I will engage in public activities even if it threatens my own safety,” he is reported as saying. [The Telegraph]
You can read more at the link, but you would think this guy would want to keep a low profile because he is definitely going to be a target of North Korean reprisals. He likely has a poison needle with his name on it right next to the one for fellow outspoken defector Park Sang-hak. It will also be interesting to see how outspoken the ROK government will allow him to be if a Korean left wing politician likely takes power after the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.
This probably the legal answer they are giving to avoid responsibility of violating international law by stealing the US Navy drone:
The Chinese navy on Thursday seized the drone, which the Pentagon said was being operated by civilian contractors to conduct oceanic research. The U.S. lodged a formal diplomatic complaint and demanded the drone back.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun issued a statement late Saturday saying that a Chinese navy lifeboat discovered an unknown device in the South China Sea on Thursday.
“In order to prevent this device from posing a danger to the safe navigation of passing ships and personnel, the Chinese lifeboat adopted a professional and responsible attitude in investigating and verifying the device,” Yang said.
The statement said that after verifying that the device was an American unmanned submerged device, “China decided to transfer it to the U.S. through appropriate means.”
The U.S. said that “through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return” the unmanned underwater vehicle, according to a statement from Peter Cook, spokesman for U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. [Associated Press]
