At this point the damage has been done to the creditability of early voting, lets just hope this is not a very close election:

The National Election Commission (NEC) decided Monday to allow COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine to put their votes into ballot boxes themselves after an earlier decision to collect their votes in unofficial containers first sparked widespread complaints of foul play.

The election watchdog came under fire following revelations virus-infected voters and people under self-isolation were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes and election officials instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during early voting Saturday. 

The indirect voting sparked suspicions of election rigging, but the NEC has flatly rejected such claims.

On Monday, the NEC held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and decided to allow virus patients to put their votes into ballot boxes the same way as other voters in the March 9 election after regular polling closes.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is okay to bash Japan, but not okay to bash China because they will actually harshly retaliate is basically what the experts are warning:

 South Koreans avidly took part in boycotting Japanese brands when bilateral tensions escalated in the past years, given the history of the two countries. This time, the antagonism is directed at another neighbor in Northeast Asia: China.

While the situation may appear negligible and based merely on online skirmishes over the origin of cultural elements such as the pickled side dish kimchi or hanbok, a recent survey shows that the level of anti-China sentiment in Korea is notable. At this time when certain presidential candidates may be looking to take advantage of this sentiment to shore up support, experts warn of potential dangers, given how crucial bilateral relations between the countries are. (…..)

Andrew Yeo, SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korean Studies and a senior fellow at the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, said, “It is always tempting to drum up nationalism and anti-foreign sentiment during election season, which can create unintended consequences of permanently damaging bilateral relations between Korea and China.”

China remains Korea’s No. 1 trading partner. The Moon Jae-in administration has also largely relied on Beijing for progress in relations with Pyongyang, given the North’s close alliance with China. 

“Whoever wins the election will need to maintain ties to Beijing given the significance of economic ties between Korea and China,” Yeo said via email.

“There may be greater pressure to decouple from China and join U.S.-led coalitions if the anti-China sentiment is sustained for a prolonged period, which neither China would take kindly. However, given the size and influence of China’s economy in East Asia, Korea will need to sustain a sizeable degree of trade and investment with Beijing,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Oops:

A small South Korean military drone crashed into and left minor fire damage atop a water tower at a U.S. military outpost in Busan, according to a South Korean military spokesman.

The collision occurred around 9:14 a.m. Thursday at the Busan Storage Center, small installation in the southern coastal city, a spokesman said under the customary condition of anonymity.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but interestingly the drone was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Via a reader tip comes this news of irregularities once again with the early voting processes. If Yoon Suk-yeol loses a close election the ineptitude of the early voting will likely lead to mass protests. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, but clearly mass early voting and absentee ballots are once again damaging the creditability of an election:

Early voting for COVID-19 patients in the presidential election has ended with claims of election fraud, as voters alleged the National Election Commission (NEC) mishandled ballots at polling sites across the country.

Rival parties slammed the NEC’s “unpreparedness,” warning that polling station workers’ unprofessional handling of the early voting could trigger another vote-rigging controversy, following a previous conspiracy theory surrounding the 2020 National Assembly elections.  

On Sunday, the NEC released a statement on the previous day’s early voting for COVID-19 patients across the country in which it apologized for “any inconvenience caused to voters.”

“The voting method for COVID-19 patients was fully in compliance with laws and rules, with the presence of election observers recommended by political parties,” the NEC said in the statement.

“However, we should admit that there were shortcomings in carrying out COVID-19 patients’ early voting due to the unprecedentedly high turnout and limits in personnel and facilities.” The apology came after media reports and social media postings about the NEC’s mishandling of COVID-19 patients’ votes across the country on Saturday.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what Ahn gets in return for joining the campaign of Yoon wins the Presidency. They do seem like quite the odd couple to be joining campaigns:

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok on Friday dismissed rumors of a co-chairmanship with Ahn Cheol-soo as various rumors about Ahn‘s next steps arose since his stepping out of the race. 

Ahn, the chairman of the minor opposition People’s Party, conceded his candidacy to the People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday. There were rumors about Ahn‘s next moves, including one about him possibly becoming a co-chairman of the main opposition once the two parties merged after the election. 

As local reports raised the possibility of Ahn undertaking a co-chairman position in the merged party, Lee dismissed the idea, saying he has not considered such an option. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if North Korea tries and claims this is a space launch like they did on their last missile test? Who launches supposed satellites into space from a TEL?:

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, in the latest flare-up of tensions just four days ahead of the presidential election here.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 8:48 a.m. and that the missile flew around 270 kilometers at a top altitude of 560 km.

The latest launch, the North’s ninth show of force this year, came less than a week after it claimed to have conducted a “reconnaissance satellite” development test that the South called a ballistic missile launch.

“The North’s recent series of ballistic missile launches are a significant threat to not only the international community but also peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters. “We strongly urge the North to immediately stop them.”

The North appears to have launched the missile at a steep angle from a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) from the Sunan airfield, a JCS official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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