It looks like South Korea is having the same problem many other countries are having with vaccine hesitancy:

Deaths following Pfizer jabs are exceeding those after AstraZeneca shots, although experts say that many of the casualties were over the age of 74, with weaker immune systems and pre-existing medical conditions.  

Since the vaccination program began on Feb. 26, a total of 153 cases of death after inoculation had been reported as of Monday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Pfizer accounted for 93 cases and AstraZeneca 60.  (……….)  

Enthusiasm for the shots isn’t high. As of Monday, the booking rate for Covid-19 vaccinations — the percentage of people in an age group who have made reservations — was only 55.9 percent among people aged 60 to 74, who are eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The booking rate for people between the ages of 60 to 64 was only 47.4 percent.  (……….)

Health authorities, however, explained that none of the deaths reported so far are related to the vaccinations.  

“On the elderly without underlying diseases who died after inoculation, we could find the causes of death through an autopsy, such as cardiac infarction, heart rupture or pulmonary embolism,” an official from the KDCA told the Korea JoongAng Daily.  

“We don’t think there is a meaningful difference [between AstraZeneca and Pfizer in terms of deaths] seeing the situations abroad,” the official added.  

The death rate per 100,000 vaccinated people was similar between Pfizer (2.71 per 100,000 people) and AstraZeneca (2.62 per 100,000 people), and those results were similar to other countries, according to the KDCA.  

For example, in the U.K. where a larger number of inoculations have being done, there were 3.19 deaths per 100,000 people for Pfizer, and 3.29 for AstraZeneca. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is what people who attended a meeting with President Moon are claiming he said:

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday expressed skepticism over the idea of a big joint military drill by Korea and the United States this year — after Washington supplies Covid-19 vaccines to Korean troops.    
   
Moon had a luncheon with leaders of five political parties at the Blue House Wednesday to discuss last week’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, where the two leaders reached a series of agreements on economic cooperation and a vaccine partnership.    
   
Chairman Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Acting Chairman and Floor Leader Kim Gi-hyeon of the People Power Party (PPP), Justice Party Chairman Yeo Yeong-gug, People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo and Open Minjoo Party Chairman Choe Kang-wook attended the meeting, accompanied by their spokesmen.    
   
“Considering the Covid-19 situation, wouldn’t it be hard to hold a large-scale military exercise?” Moon was quoted as saying by Justice Party spokesman Lee Dong-yeong. “The United States will also make a decision taking into account North Korea-U.S. relations.”    
   
According to Lee, Moon made the remarks in response to Justice Party Chairman Yeo ‘s proposal that a Korea-U.S. joint military exercise scheduled for August be canceled or delayed to revive inter-Korean talks.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Unfortunately the Army senior leadership brought this criticism on themselves. Everyone outside of the Pentagon could see this train wreck coming:

The chairwoman of a House Appropriations Committee subpanel slammed Army officials at a hearing Monday over what she called insufficient answers to questions on how the service is combating gender bias, specifically with its new combat fitness test.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., grilled Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston on why so many women are unable to pass the service’s new combat fitness test.

“The test shouldn’t be structured in a way that is unfair and makes it so lopsided that it’s impossible for women to really be able to succeed and that definitely will reflect in your recruitment and retention efforts. So it looks like you have a problem and I hope you recognize that,” Wasserman Schultz said during a hearing of the subcommittee on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies about Army quality-of-life issues and installation updates.

The Army Combat Fitness Test has long been criticized by Congress for its design, which lawmakers say comes at a disadvantage for women who struggle to pass the test. Data revealed in April shows 44% of women failed the ACFT, compared to 7% of men, Wasserman Schultz said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the Pentagon’s efforts to create a gender neutral test caused them to become gender blind on what that would ultimately mean. You can’t implement a test that disadvantages females and think Congress is going to go along with it. The updated ACFT 3.0 eliminates the gender neutral elements of the ACFT which was one of the main reasons the test was created in the first place.

The way I look at this is that very few females want to join combat arms. Do I really care if for an example an Army nurse or a truck driver cannot do a leg tuck and instead does a plank? No I do not, so why kick this person out of the Army? The Army could not function if it kicked out the amount of females that the ACFT in its prior format would have removed from the force.

This is a horrible tragedy over in Namyangju:

A woman was mauled to death by a stray dog in a suburb near Seoul on Saturday afternoon. The 59-year-old died of excessive bleeding a few hours after the dog bit her neck. 

The dog’s attack was filmed by a closed circuit camera set up in the neighborhood, and police later captured the dog, which looked like a hybrid of Pungsan Dog and Samoyed.

This is not an isolated incident at a time when many pedigreed dogs end up on city streets and turn into strays, baring fangs and attacking people and livestock alike.

Last week, packs of strays raided a poultry farm in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, culling around 800 chickens. It was the second attack at the farm after strays struck a week earlier and killed about 250 chickens.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

You may soon be able to walk outdoors in South Korea without a mask if you are vaccinated. Really why wait until July 1st, why not just drop the mask mandate for vaccinated people now?:

South Korea announced Wednesday that people who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors starting in July, as part of incentives for those participating in the public vaccine campaign.

The incentive program announced at a daily interagency coronavirus response meeting also included a plan to lift the gathering ban for direct family members who have had their first vaccine dose.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but governments are finally realizing that the mask mandates after getting a vaccine is a disincentive to getting the vaccine.

The Moon administration is already trying to backtrack on the Joint statement made by President Moon and President Biden during last week’s summit:

The government has stepped up efforts to prevent any fallout from President Moon Jae-in’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden adversely affecting South Korea’s ties with China, with the foreign minister saying their post-summit statement touching on Taiwan was “theoretical and principled.” 

President Moon and his U.S. counterpart held their first in-person meeting at the White House last week and their joint statement referred to the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It also referred to freedom of navigation and overflights in the South China Sea and beyond.

Despite not directly mentioning China, it was seen as a sign that South Korea agreed with the U.S.’s anti-China campaign, and this drew a strong response from Beijing. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.