Here is an interesting ruling from the Constitutional Court that these four officials impeached by the DPK controlled National Assembly should be reinstated:

The Constitutional Court of Korea on Thursday dismissed the National Assembly’s impeachment motion against Choe Jae-hae, who had been suspended from his duties as chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and three prosecutors, reinstating them immediately to their positions.

Thursday’s rulings were seen as a potential indicator of how the court might approach key issues in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial, including his claim that the main opposition party has obstructed state affairs by impeaching key administration officials.

The court had yet to announce the date for Yoon’s verdict as of Thursday afternoon.

Yoon has argued several times during his trial that the main opposition Democratic Party’s attempts to impeach these four officials were among the reasons behind his decision to declare martial law, claiming that a succession of impeachments of high-ranking officials has paralyzed state affairs.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Trump is signaling at some point there will be a reach out to the Kim regime. However, with the administration tied down trying to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia, the North Korea issue will likely remain on the back burner:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed his desire to reestablish the relationship that he had with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, boasting that he “got along great” with the reclusive leader and still has a “great” relationship with him.

During a press availability, Trump made the remarks, describing the North Korean leader as a “nuclear power” with “a lot of nuclear weapons,” as his administration is pursuing the goal of the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea.

“Well, I would,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question of whether he has a plan to reestablish the relationship he had under his first presidential mandate.

“I had a great relationship with Kim Jong-un (of) North Korea. If I wasn’t elected, if Hillary got in, you would have had a nuclear war with North Korea,” he added, as he sat next to North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House for talks.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think Trump is exagerating that there would have been a nuclear war if Hillary was elected. She more than likely would have continued the Obama era policy of strategic patience which was basically doing nothing with North Korea.

I give Trump credit for doing something different in regards to North Korea during his first term though it didn’t work. His outreach did reduce tensions for two years, but still did not slow down North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and advanced missile systems to deliver them.

Fining and deporting him after he pays his fine is probably the proper punishment for this attention seeking idiot:

An American YouTuber known as Johnny Somali, who is currently on trial for offensive behavior, could be deported and banned from reentering South Korea if convicted, a local lawyer said.

The 24-year-old whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael faces three charges, which include obstruction of business and violations of the Minor Offenses Act. He is not physically detained, although he is banned from leaving the country.

Kim Ju-hyeong, a senior attorney at the law firm Majung, who specializes in immigration and industrial accident law, said if he is found guilty of any of the charges, the local immigration office will likely demand he leave the country.

“Foreigners are ordered to leave the country, either voluntarily or forcibly, if their criminal actions result in a fine of more than 3 million won ($2,058). Considering the multiple charges against Ismael and the serious nature of his offenses, it is very unlikely that he will receive a lighter penalty than this,” he said.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Korea is a country where judges tend to factor in public sentiment when making decisions. That is why you see both the DPK and PPP trying hard to court public opinon against and for Yoon before the court’s impeachment decision:

Police buses surround the Constitutional Court in central Seoul, Wednesday, to prevent violent clashes as a verdict on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment nears. Yonhap

As political gridlock deepens over the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, meaningful policy debate has all but vanished from Korea’s political landscape.

Following Yoon’s sudden release from detention last week ahead of the Constitutional Court’s ruling, both the ruling and opposition parties have escalated their rhetoric, with loud protests now dominating the National Assembly. With the Assembly’s role as a national representative body increasingly sidelined, concerns are mounting that the growing partisan conflict will not only undermine the court’s decision but further destabilize the country, according to experts.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Wednesday that it would not directly confront the opposition’s escalating street protests calling for Yoon’s impeachment.

“If serious issues arise, the PPP will take collective action, just as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has. However, we will not resort to street protests or hunger strikes to pressure the Constitutional Court, as the DPK is doing. Instead, we will express our stance through official parliamentary channels,” PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul.

However, the conservative party’s decision appears to be driven more by political strategy than policy concerns. The party seems cautious that organizing an official rally could give a platform to the more extreme voices within Yoon’s support base, potentially alienating centrist voters, whose support is already fragile.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

If the Korean government changes this regulation will this lead to the Korean leftists to start another mad cow crisis like what happened in 2008?:

The U.S. nationwide cattlemen’s group asked the Trump administration Tuesday to help lift South Korea’s import ban on American beef from cattle aged 30 months or older, noting that similar curbs have been lifted in China, Japan and Taiwan.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sent its comments to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer as the USTR has requested those comments to “assist in reviewing and identifying unfair trade practices, and initiating all necessary actions to investigate harm from non-reciprocal arrangements.”

The age restriction on U.S. beef was put in place in 2008 amid fears over mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the violent mad cow riots in 2008 has to rank up there as one of the most ridiculous anti-US protests ever in Korea. The 2000 Yongsan Water Dumping Incident protests are probably the only ones more ridiculous than the mad cow riots.

On the surface the claim the six event ACFT causes less injuries than the prior three event APFT may not seem to make sense. More events mean more opportunities to get injured. However, there is a reason why the numbers may be unchanged or less, how easy the ACFT is:

Researchers at the Rand Corp. examined data related to the administration of the test and found that the new one presented a similar or lower injury risk than the previous Army Physical Fitness Test. The Army Combat Fitness Test, launched in 2022, was designed to better prepare troops for the rigors of combat. Another aim was to curb preventable injuries. “More than half of soldiers experienced a new injury in 2021, so success in reducing the risk of injury could have a significant impact on both medical costs and lost workdays,” the report released Monday said.

Stars & Stripes

This statement shows these researchers do not have proper understanding of what is happening with the ACFT and injuries:

The study found that soldiers who failed the test were about 20% more likely to have an injury in the 180-day window following it. Better performance on the test also was associated with reduced risk of injury in that 180-day window, Rand said.

The Soldiers that fail the ACFT which is very easy to pass are usually the ones that immediately go on profile to delay having to take the ACFT again. Repeated failure of the ACFT can lead to being chaptered from the Army. The Soldiers that pass the ACFT tend to not go on profile because they don’t need to avoid taking the ACFT again. The fact the ACFT is so easy to pass is likely why injuries remain the same or are lower compared to the three event APFT.

The injury risk I think is actually very similar because the worst event for a Soldier’s body with the APFT was the situp that led to many back injuries. The Army replaced this injury prone event with another back breaking event, the deadlift. For lower leg injuries I would not be surprised if the sprint drag carry combined with the two mile run doesn’t lead to more lower leg injuries. However, the minimum times are so low on the 2-mile run not much effort has to be put into it to pass. Maybe the little effort put into the run is actually better for preventing leg injuries?

I still remember the good old days when ajummas tent followed units around in the field and now there is an AAFES mobile exchange instead:

U.S. troops arriving here for the annual Freedom Shield exercise have access to snacks, beverages and cold-weather gear, thanks to a mobile field exchange set up for the first time in a decade. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service erected the mobile field exchange, or MFE, on this base south of Seoul as part of the large-scale defense training involving thousands of American and South Korean troops.

“One of our responsibilities is to ensure that the necessities of our airmen, soldiers and Marines supporting this exercise are met,” Air Force Col. Jeff Elliot, commander of Osan’s 51st Mission Support Group, told Stars and Stripes on Thursday. “And with that, we partnered with AAFES to make sure that we could get that quality of life.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su bows while issuing a public apology during a briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Monday, after Air Force fighter jets accidentally dropped bombs on residential areas last Thursday. Yonhap