If the conservatives want any chance at beating Lee they need to rally around Han Duck-soo and soon:

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of South Korea’s main liberal Democratic Party, holds a lead in a potential three-way race for the country’s next election, but support for the conservative bloc shows signs of resurgence, shows a new poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted by Realmeter from April 30 to May 2, found Lee leading with 46.5 percent support in a hypothetical matchup against former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is running as an independent, and Lee Jun-seok of the centrist Reform Party.

Han garnered 34.3 percent of support, and Lee Jun-seok trailed with 5.9 percent.

In a separate scenario replacing Han with Kim Moon-soo, the candidate of the main conservative People Power Party, Lee still led the field with 46.6 percent, with Kim at 27.8 and Lee Jun-seok at 7.5 percent.

Han and Kim are expected to begin negotiations soon to merge their candidacies in a bid to challenge the liberal frontrunner.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if Kim Jong-un thinks he may be able to export some of these tanks to Russia if the war with Ukraine keeps dragging on?:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a tank factory and expressed satisfaction over the upgraded structural design of indigenous tanks, while emphasizing the need to modernize the military with advanced tanks, the North’s state media reported Sunday.

Kim inspected the factory’s production status, modernization and progress in implementing research tasks related to core tank technology, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

It did not disclose the name or location of the factory or the date of his visit, describing it only as an “important” tank factory.

“To replace the armoured weapons of the last century in our army with latest tanks and armoured vehicles is the most important issue in the building of armed forces and modernization of the army,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying during the field guidance.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Han Duck-soo is actually from the Honam area and was paying his respects to the dead from the 1980 Gwangju Uprising Incident when he was assaulted by protesters:

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited a national cemetery honoring victims of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising Friday as the first stop of his election campaign for the June election but was met with protests. 

Han traveled to the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju, 357 kilometers south of Seoul, hours after formally announcing his bid for the June 3 election. Upon arrival, he was confronted by demonstrators expressing opposition to his presence.

On Thursday, Han resigned from his roles as acting president and prime minister, positions he had held following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December.

As Han attempted to enter the cemetery, a participant in the rally struck him on the head with a protest placard, prompting immediate intervention by security personnel. Han reportedly did not sustain serious injuries.

Facing strong opposition and a standoff that lasted approximately 20 minutes, Han ultimately paid his respects with a silent tribute at the cemetery’s entrance before leaving the site.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the fact the Korean left sent protesters after Han like this makes me think they are concerned he is a real threat to Lee Jae-myung winning the upcoming Presidential election.

South Korea really needs a Constitutional convention because the Koren Democratic Party just continues to abuse their impeachment power. Now they are planning to impeach the Supreme Court Chief Justice because they don’t like how the court ruled on the election law violation case involving their leader Lee Ja-myung. They have no cause to impeach him other than they don’t like how the court ruled. It wasn’t like the decision was even close, it was a 10-2 verdict and they still want to impeach him:

The Democratic Party (DP) was set to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday during which it was expected to discuss measures to the Supreme Court’s decision to remand an election law violation case involving its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.

During an emergency general meeting of its lawmakers later in the day, the DP is likely to discuss whether to push for the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who handed down the ruling last week. 

The Supreme Court ruled that Lee should be retried on allegations of making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, reviving the possibility that Lee could receive a sentence barring him from running in the June 3 presidential election.

The DP has strongly condemned the court’s unusually swift ruling on the high-profile case, calling it a “judicial coup.”

Yonhap

The only coup going on is the from the Korean Democratic Party which continues to impeach members of the government. Their continuing impeachment of government officials is what directly led to the failed martial law plan by impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. Their impeachment actions combined with Yoon’s failed martial law attempt has done nothing, but destablize what had been strong Democratic nation.

Here is the latest on leading Korean Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s legal problems:

An appellate court will hold the first hearing of a retrial in an election law violation case involving Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 15, just weeks before the June election. 

The Seoul High Court set the date just one day after the Supreme Court struck down the lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation in March and remanded the case for a retrial. 

Yonhap

It appears regardless of what happens Lee will be able to run for President. What is not clear is if the trial can continue while he is President and what happens if he is convicted:

The appeals court said it has requested a court official to directly deliver a summons to Lee to attend the hearing.

If Lee does not appear at the hearing, the court would need to reschedule the trial, making it unlikely that a verdict will be delivered before June 3.

Even if Lee is sentenced before the election, he would likely appeal it, which would enable him to run in the race. 

There is currently no clear rule on whether a criminal trial in progress may continue if the indicted individual is later elected president.

Earlier in the day, the DP proposed a bill that suspends an ongoing criminal trial for a president-elect, which is seen as a move to mitigate legal risks surrounding Lee.

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

This relocation of aircraft off of Kunsan AB makes sense if the goal is to free up space there to station F-35’s as has been recently speculated:

The U.S. 7th Air Force is forming a second “Super Squadron” of 31 F-16 Fighting Falcons at Osan Air Base, its largest installation in South Korea and the one closest to the North Korean border. The shift will draw down resources at Kunsan Air Base, about 115 miles southwest of Seoul, and lead to the inactivation of two fighter squadrons there.

The Air Force began evaluating the concept of a super squadron — which includes one-third more aircraft than standard units — last summer to determine whether it could generate more sorties with fewer resources, 7th Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Rachel Buitrago said by phone Thursday. In July, nine aircraft and 150 airmen from Kunsan arrived at Osan to establish the first 31-jet squadron. This month, additional F-16s and roughly 1,000 more airmen will relocate from Kunsan to Osan to form the second squadron, Buitrago said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.