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Tweet of the Day: Squid Hunters

Picture of the Day: Christmas Tree? at ROK National Assembly

Christmas tree at National Assembly
Christmas tree at National Assembly
A large Christmas tree is lit up at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 8, 2021, after a lighting ceremony attended by Speaker Park Byeong-seug and other dignitaries. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

South Korea Will Likely Not Join U.S. Diplomatic Boycott of Winter Olympics

Considering the Moon administration’s chummy relationship with the thugs in Pyongyang, it should be no surprise they will not take a stand against the democracy crackdown in Hong Kong, crushing of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and the aggressive territorial expansion activities of the CCP:

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun (Yonhap)

South Korea is seeking to play its “role as the previous host nation” of the Winter Olympics, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Thursday, alluding that Seoul is less likely join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Games. 

Choi made the remarks during an interview with local radio station TBS, stressing that the upcoming Beijing Olympics are a “relay of Northeast Asian Olympics from PyeongChang to Tokyo and Beijing and are very meaningful.” 

His remarks suggest that Seoul is tilting toward opting out of the US-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games slated for Feb. 4 to 20. But he clarified the “government has not yet made any decisions.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Prosecutors Cannot Find Any Crimes to Charge Yoon Suk-yeol With

You have to figure since the prosecutors are controlled by the Moon administration that there really isn’t anything they can remotely find that would stick to Yoon:

Lee Jae-myung (left) and Yoon Suk-yeol
Lee Jae-myung (left) and Yoon Suk-yeol

Prosecutors on Tuesday decided to not pursue an investigation into main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, diminishing the likelihood that either presidential nominee will have their prospects affected by a prosecutorial probe.  
   
The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said that they decided to drop a probe into allegations that Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, violated the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act when Kim’s company garnered a great number of sponsors for an exhibition held at the Seoul Arts Center in December 2016 after Yoon was named prosecutor general.  
   
Prosecutors looking into the allegations decided that there were no charges to pursue against the couple because Yoon was still the chief of the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office at the time of the exhibition, and the anti-graft law does not address actions by a public official’s spouse. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Government’s Add Home Treatments Feared to Have Caused Record COVID Spread in South Korea

According to experts the COVID spread is likely going to get much worse before it gets better in South Korea:

The government’s COVID-19 quarantine measure of home treatment for non-critical patients is feared to have increased infections among family members as well as the number of serious cases, health experts said Wednesday. 

This concern was raised as the country’s daily new number of coronavirus cases soared to a record high of 7,175 for Tuesday, a sharp rise of 2,221 from the previous day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Health experts are now saying the number of daily infections could reach 10,000 in a few weeks.

The number of critically ill patients also hit an all-time high of 840.

Along with the high numbers, the government’s policy of expanding home treatment for COVID-19 patients ― a measure to counter a shortage of hospital beds ― has fueled concerns because a patient’s family members have to stay at home under self-quarantine and may contract the virus.

In Seoul alone, more than 8,800 people were under home treatment as of Tuesday.

The experts warned that at-home treatment could lead to secondary infections among the patient’s family members and thus further fuel the increasing trend in cases here.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this at home treatment policy may help explain why Japan has such a significantly lower COVID spread than nearby South Korea.

Korean Court Upholds 30-Year Jail Sentence for Parents that Beat and Starved 8-Year Old to Death

I just can’t wrap my mind around how anyone could do this to an 8-year old kid. Also how did no one at the elementary school not realize what was going on?:

A 28-year-old woman (R) and her husband head to a court in Incheon on March 5, 2021, to undergo a court questioning on charges of abusing their daughter to death. (Yonhap)

 An appellate court on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s 30-year prison sentences for a couple in their 20s convicted of abusing and starving their 8-year-old daughter to death. 

The third-year elementary school child died at their home in Incheon, west of Seoul, in early March after suffering nearly three years of maltreatment and violence by her biological mother and stepfather, 28 and 27 years old, respectively. 

The case became known after the couple called for emergency help, saying their child was not breathing.

Rescuers dispatched to the scene found the child dead with many bruises on her body. Her weight was only 13 kilograms, nearly 10 kg less than those of her peers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: Biden Admin Never Took End of War Declaration Seriously?

Picture of the Day: Military Meeting in North Korea

Military meeting in N. Korea
Military meeting in N. Korea
This photo, released by the Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 7, 2021, shows a meeting of the North Korean Army’s educationists, presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on Dec. 4 and 5. Kim stressed the need to prepare them “to be true soldiers immensely loyal to the idea and leadership of the Workers’ Party,” according to the agency. (Yonhap)

Media Wonders When Yoon Suk-yeol’s Wife Will Start Campaigning with Husband

Some people don’t want the limelight and if Yoon’s wife doesn’t want to campaign people should respect that decision:

Kim Kun-hee / Korea Times file

With the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) having officially launched its presidential election committee, the party is now focused on when the wife of its presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, will join her husband’s campaign.

It has been over a month since Yoon become a candidate, Nov. 5, and less than 100 days are left before the election. But Yoon’s wife, Kim Kun-hee, has yet to make a public appearance in sharp contrast to Kim Hye-gyeong, the wife of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who has frequently accompanied the former Gyeonggi Province governor, and even personally appealed to voters.

Although Yoon said she will make an appearance at the appropriate time, the DPK continues to take aim at Kim due to allegations of illicit behavior surrounding her. Kim has been accused of playing a role in a stock manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, and academic plagiarism among others. In addition, she is also haunted by her mother’s conviction in a series of fraud cases. (……….)

Kweon added that Kim was not the kind of person who enjoys the spotlight. 

Im Tae-hee, a senior official of the PPP election committee, also said rather than coming to the fore, she may support Yoon behind the scenes. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

South Korea COVID Daily and Critical Cases Surge to Record Highs

South Korea’s surge in COVID cases just continues to get worse:

People wait in line outside a coronavirus testing center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 8, 2021. (Yonhap)

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high on Wednesday as infections continued to surge around the country amid waning immunity and colder weather.

The country confirmed 7,175 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 489,484, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The daily tally was up by 2,221 from a day earlier, the biggest daily jump since the pandemic began early last year. The previous record of 5,352 was set on Saturday. The average daily infection cases were 5,012 for the seven days ending Tuesday.

Infections were rising especially among older adults who suffer a drop in vaccine efficacy and children who have yet to receive their first shots, according to the KDCA. 

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients also jumped to a record high of 840, up 66 from a day ago, putting further strain on the country’s already overwhelmed health care system. More than 83 percent of them were aged over 60.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but with waning efficacy of vaccine shots it makes me wonder if the Moon administration will eventually require booster shots in order to enter certain businesses?

By the way something that continues to be very unusual is how in Japan, just a short distance away the seven day daily COVID case average is 107 in a country with well over double to population of the ROK.