Two former Park Geun-hye administration officials have received pardons from President Yoon after they had already completed their jail sentences. However these pardons will allow them to run for public office again:

This combination of file photos shows Kim Kwan-jin, left, former defense minister, and Kim Ki-choon, former presidential chief of staff. The two officials, who served in key positions during the Park Geun-hye administration, have been included on the special pardon list on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday.

Former Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon ― both of whom served under former President Park Geun-hye before her impeachment ― have been included on a special pardon list, the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday.

The two were among the 450,000 people expected to be granted pardons and regain rights, including the right to run for public office, by President Yoon Suk Yeol on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

Kim Kwan-jin, 74, who served as defense minister and national security adviser under Park, was convicted in 2019 of meddling in politics by ordering the military cyber command to post online comments to sway public opinion in favor of conservative politicians.

He is currently serving as vice chairman of the presidential defense innovation committee.

Kim Ki-choon, 84, who served as chief of staff to Park between August 2013 and February 2015, was found guilty in 2017 of playing his role in creating a blacklist of artists critical of the administration.

Korea Times

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Here is the latest building that will grace Seoul’s skyline in the next few years:

A 100-story landmark building will be built in central Seoul’s Yongsan District, which will also feature a pedestrian bridge linking buildings at the 45th-floor level, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, Monday.

These are part of the city government’s revived plan to transform the 500,000-square-meter former railyard into an international business district.

The land has been vacant for 10 years after the previous development plan had been canceled due to the global economic crisis. The state-run railway operator KORAIL holds 70 percent ownership of the land.

Korea Times

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South Korea has found another customer for their growing defense industry:

During the talks held on the sidelines of the World Defense Show, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defense and the arms industry, the ministry said. 

On the margins the defense exhibition, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Saudi defense ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to pave the way for cooperation in the defense industry and joint weapons development. 

Under the MOU, the two sides will launch a bilateral committee to jointly conduct research and development of weapons systems for continued cooperation in the defense industry, DAPA said.

Yonhap via a reader tip

Besides this MOU the ROK also secured a deal to sell missile interceptors to Saudi Arabia as well:

South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 has clinched a US$3.2 billion deal to export mid-range surface-air-to missiles (M-SAM II) to Saudi Arabia, Seoul’s defense ministry said Tuesday.

LIG Nex1 inked the contract with the Saudi defense ministry to sell Cheongung M-SAM II in November, the ministry said.

It marks LIG Nex1’s second overseas sales of Cheongung-II following a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 2022.

Yonhap

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The South Korean public understands what I have been saying for years, U.S. North Korea policy is at odds with reality because North Korea is never going to give up their nuclear weapons. The best that can be done is probably a deal that limits the amount of nuclear weapons they have and possibly eliminated their ICBM program:

Nine out of ten South Koreans are skeptical about the possibility of North Korea abandoning its nuclear program, a survey showed Monday, as the reclusive country continues to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

According to the Gallup Korea poll of 1,043 adults, commissioned by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, 91 percent replied that the North’s denuclearization was “impossible.”

Of them, 41.4 percent considered denuclearization to be “not possible at all,” while 49.7 percent said it was not possible.

In last year’s poll, 77.6 percent of the respondents said they believed North’s denuclearization was impossible.

Korea Times

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This may be signaling that the ROK may be interested in developing their own nuclear submarines in the future:

Adm. Yang Yong-mo (R), chief of naval operations, poses for a photo with Rear Adm. Thomas Buchanan (L), the commander of Submarine Group 10, which oversees Ohio-class submarines at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia on Feb. 2, 2024, in this photo provided by the South’s Navy on Feb. 4.

South Korea’s top naval officer visited a key naval submarine base in the United States for the first time and stressed the need to strengthen ties against growing North Korean threats, the South’s Navy said Sunday.

Adm. Yang Yong-mo, chief of naval operations, visited the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, a southeastern coastal base home to key nuclear submarines, on Friday (local time), according to the Navy.

It marks the first time for a South Korean Navy chief to visit the base, which operates nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), a key U.S. strategic asset. SSBN is a sea-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad that also includes intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Yonhap

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It looks like there will not be any more jail time for Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong:

A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Monday in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered the not-guilty sentence for Lee, three years and five months after he was indicted on charges of involvement in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. to solidify his managerial control of the group at a lower cost.

Lee was charged with stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger, where three Samsung C&T shares were offered for one Cheil share. 

The merger was seen as crucial to Lee’s succession as the heir of the family-controlled group, as his father, Lee Kun-hee, had suffered a heart attack the previous year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.