The scandal involving President Moon Jae-in’s wife’s wardrobe has finally come to light, but the journalist that first began to document improprieties of the first lady was riddled with lawsuits from the Blue House for doing so:

It all began with a column published on June 11, 2019, in local newspaper the Joongang Ilbo, which pitted veteran journalist Nam Jeong-ho against the presidential office in a legal battle that lasted for two years. 

In his column titled “First Lady Kim Jung-sook’s Bucket List?” he cautiously but unequivocally alleges that the first lady had made the most of the official overseas trips taken with her husband, President Moon Jae-in, as opportunities to explore some of the world’s renowned cultural heritage sites and museums on taxpayers’ money. 

Nam said he was overwhelmed by what happened to him afterwards. He first received a letter from the presidential office urging him and his company to print corrections according to unusually lengthy and detailed guidelines. He ignored a letter from LKB & Partners, one of the nation’s top law firms which was representing the first lady. Weeks later they sued him, after the two sides failed to reach an agreement arranged by the Press Arbitration Committee.

Nam compares his legal battle against Cheong Wa Dae to a showdown akin to David and Goliath. 

“I felt pressure (when I looked at the sender of the thick package of documents because I knew who they were),” Nam said in a phone interview with The Korea Times on Monday. “There were lots of naysayers around me and they encouraged me to do what Cheong Wa Dae asked me to do. They said Cheong Wa Dae would mobilize all the resources it could to win the battle.”

Korea Times via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but Mr. Nam should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t thrown in jail like other Korean journalists critical of President Moon.

It looks like there will be a little bit less depleted uranium in South Korea:

South Korea has handed over some 1.1 million rounds of potentially hazardous ammunition stored here for decades to the U.S. military for shipment to the United States, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday.

The country’s Air Force recently sent the depleted uranium ammunition to the U.S. 7th Air Force based in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, to ship them to the U.S. by sea by mid-April, according to Democratic Party Rep. Kim Jin-pyo.

Under a 1975 arrangement with the U.S., the South had stored the ammunition in a military airport in Suwon, just south of Seoul. The arrangement had long been plagued by public concerns about its potential radiation risks.

It remains unknown how that arrangement was brought about.

The ammunition is known to have been created to mount on A-10 anti-tank aircraft.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

That is pretty bad when China is outpolled by North Korea is a survey like this. Additionally these survey results give a mandate to incoming President Yoon’s agenda to strengthen ties with the U.S.:

Nearly 87% of South Koreans think their country ought to develop closer ties to the United States than to any other nation, according to a poll released Monday.

The survey found 86.8% of respondents believe Seoul should develop closer economic, foreign and security policy ties with Washington. The Federation of Korean Industries commissioned the poll, which was conducted March 24-28.

Just 5% of respondents said North Korea ought to be the top partner with South Korea, and 3.2% said China. The European Union was cited by 2.1%, and 1.4% said Japan.

The poll surveyed 1,000 people and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The federation, an association of large businesses, seeks to “promote sound economic policies,” according to its website.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I think this survey says more about China than the U.S. because is demonstrates the level of distrust many South Koreans have with the CCP. It would be interesting if this same poll was conducted in multiple countries in the region to see if similar results are found.

With a high number of Korean celebrities that have completed their military service why should BTS be exempted?:

Saturday’s meeting between officials of the agency of boy band BTS, Hybe, and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee went without discussing the K-pop sensation’s possible military service exemption, a high-ranking official said, while hinting it could be discussed in the new administration.

There was “no mention about the military service at all,” Ahn Cheol-soo, chief of Yoon’s presidential transition committee, told reporters after his visit to the Hybe headquarters late Saturday. “It is something that should be decided in the newly launched (Yoon) government, after discussion with the National Assembly,” Ahn said, leaving the door open for discussions in the future.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It appears the Moon administration before leaving office might do away with all COVID restrictions:

The government has decided to ease COVID-19 social distancing measures further, Friday, in what is anticipated to be the last adjustment on the distancing rules before scrapping all quarantine regulations in the coming weeks. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it will relax social distancing measures from Monday to April 17, allowing multiuse facilities such as eateries and cafes to receive sit-in customers until midnight, pushing the limit on operating hours back by one hour to midnight from the current 11 p.m. 

The limit on the number of people for private gatherings will be eased to 10, up from the current eight. 

The ministry said all COVID-19-related curbs, except mandatory wearing of face masks, will be removed if the virus situation stabilizes in the next couple of weeks.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty clear the Kim regime has no shame when they are bashing the ROK Defense Minister for provocative comments, but they are the ones firing missiles everywhere and likely preparing for yet another nuclear test. If the North Koreans weren’t conducting all their provocations there would be no need for the ROK to develop a preemptive strike capability:

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lambasted South Korea’s defense chief for talk of “preemptive strike” capabilities and warned that the South may face a “serious threat” for such a “senseless” remark, according to Pyongyang’s state media Sunday.

In her rare press statement issued the previous day, Kim Yo-jong called South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook a “senseless and scum-like guy” for mentioning a preemptive strike at a “nuclear weapons state.”

Last Friday, Suh publicly stressed that his troops have the capabilities to “accurately and swiftly” strike the origin of North Korea’s missile firing as well as command and support facilities in the case of clear signs of a launch toward the South.

Yonhap

You can read more about Kim Yo-jong’s screed at the link.