It looks like having prosecutors go after the Korean left’s political enemies is more important than prosecuting crime for regular Koreans:

The average number of unresolved cases per prosecutor nearly doubled last year, data showed Sunday, partly due to a sharp drop in the number of prosecutors on the job with many dispatched to special counsel probes and more quitting ahead of a massive reform in the prosecution system.

The average number of unresolved cases per prosecutor nationwide rose from 73.4 in December 2024 to 135.7 in November 2025, marking an increase of 1.8 times in 11 months, according to the data compiled by Yonhap News Agency.

The sharp rise in unresolved cases came as more than 100 prosecutors were dispatched last year to three special counsel investigations into corruption allegations involving former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, as well as the death of a young Marine. Currently, 54 prosecutors remain assigned to the three special counsel teams to support indictments. 

In addition, five prosecutors were dispatched to another special counsel probe in December over allegations involving e-commerce operator Coupang, while 12 were assigned in February to a special counsel team tasked with a second probe into allegations not addressed in the three special counsel probes involving Yoon and his wife. 

Further strain has come from prosecutors opting to resign or take leave amid mounting workloads and declining morale ahead of a planned overhaul of the prosecution system in October.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is a perfect example of why you have to be careful of what you post on X because so much information out there is not true:

The foreign ministry expressed regret Saturday over what it described as a “misunderstanding” by Israel of President Lee Jae Myung’s remarks on the situation in the Middle East.

In a post on its official X account, the ministry clarified that Lee’s comments reflect “an expression of his convictions regarding universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue.”

The online diplomatic exchange began Friday when Lee shared a video purportedly showing members of the Israel Defense Forces mistreating a Palestinian boy.

Lee drew a parallel between the forced sexual servitude imposed on Korean women under Japanese colonial rule, the Holocaust and wartime killings.

In a follow-up post, he clarified that the video was dated from September 2024 and called for the upholding of human rights and international humanitarian law under all circumstances.

“Human rights are the last safeguard and a value that must never be traded away,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli foreign ministry issued a strong protest against Lee’s original post, calling it “unacceptable” and warranting “strong condemnation.”

It also disputed the relevance of the video, adding the content originated from an account “notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehoods about Israel.”

In a subsequent post, Lee said it was “disappointing” that Israel had not taken the opportunity to reflect on the widespread criticism from people around the world regarding concerns over human rights and international humanitarian law.

Yonhap

Here is the X post that Lee posted:

Here is where Grok confirms the post is propaganda that Lee fell for:

You can read more at the link, but clearly President Lee is more comfortable taking shots at Israel with this X post than he is Iran. Why didn’t President Lee criticize the mullahs when they were busy massacring tens of thousands of protesters? You would think after the Gwangju Incident that the Korean left would be championing the human rights of any protesters being slaughtered by their government.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

South Korea’s defense industry needs to send Putin a gift basket because the war he launched against Ukraine has led to strong growth in weapon sales to European nations:

Finland has decided to additionally introduce K9 self-propelled howitzers. Finland introduced 96 K9 self-propelled howitzers in 2017 and is expected to operate a total of 208 units by introducing an additional 112 units in this second phase.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced on the 9th that it had signed a second export contract for K9 self-propelled howitzers worth 546 million euros (approximately 940 billion Korean won) with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Finnish Ministry of Defence in Helsinki, Finland. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated, “The additional contract was decided after the Finnish military tested the K9 self-propelled howitzer in actual operations for several years and confirmed its exceptional mobility and firepower even in harsh Nordic environments, such as extreme cold and heavy snow.” The second-phase contract volume is planned to be delivered in full by the early 2030s.

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

If this toll through the Strait of Hormuz is allowed to stand it will set a precedent for other global strategic waterways. What is to stop the Houthis to next charge a toll to pass through the Red Sea? Malaysia and Indonesia could charge tolls to use the Strait of Malacca as well if this is the new precedent. The U.S. has long advocated for freedom of navigation and the Hormuz toll is a direct assault on this concept:

Iran has announced plans to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz after a ceasefire with the U.S., and the South Korean government has analyzed that this measure, if implemented, could raise domestic oil prices by approximately 0.5%. Yang Gi-wook, Director of the Industrial Resources Security Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, stated during a briefing by the “Middle East War Response Headquarters” on the 9th, “If tolls are added to the current international oil price level of $90–100 per barrel, a rise of about 1% could occur. Considering that roughly half of domestic gasoline prices consist of taxes, the final consumer price is expected to increase by approximately 0.5%.” However, he added, “It is difficult to specify a response strategy as both the imposition of tolls and their method remain uncertain.”

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

President Lee did not offer any ideas, but is he going to get fully behind nuclear to reduce dependency on oil?:

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday it is time for the nation to fundamentally change its economic system, as rising oil prices and inflationary pressures from the war in the Middle East have dampened prospects of an economic recovery. 

However, Lee urged officials to embrace such grave economic conditions as an opportunity to improve the nation’s economic system as he presided over his first plenary meeting of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) to discuss measures to cushion the Middle East conflict’s impact on the economy.

“The war in the Middle East poses a significant threat to our economy in the short term, and in the long term, it is now time to make fundamental changes in South Korea’s economic system,” Lee said. “It is a crisis but also an opportunity.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.