It looks like President Moon stepped into an unforced controversy with some remarks he recently made:

A coalition of adoptive parents and adoption activists slammed President Moon Jae-in Tuesday for remarks about allowing people to swap their adopted children if they fail to get along, saying they could discourage people thinking about adopting.  

In a press conference held near the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, representatives of the group, whose name roughly translates as the National Adoptive Families’ Coalition, also criticized the Blue House’s follow-up explanation of Moon’s remarks, calling it a “secondary attack” on adoptive parents-to-be.  

The controversy began Monday as Moon was taking questions from Blue House correspondents in a New Year’s press conference. At one point, the topic turned to the October death of Jeong-in, a 16-month-old toddler who allegedly suffered physical abuse from her adoptive mother.  

The case caught public attention only recently after a local broadcaster aired an investigative report on it.  

“It is heartbreaking to hear about the deaths of young children abused at home, and I agree that the country has to address the issue full on,” Moon said Monday during the press conference. “We have to come up with a system that will be able to detect earlier on signs that the children are being abused at home, and then separate the children from their parents once these signs are detected.”  

Then came the contentious statements.  

“There should be thorough research beforehand to find out if the parents are fit to adopt children […] and even after the adoption, the family should be checked on to see if the adoption is working out,” he said. “If it is not, then there should be measures to cancel the adoption. […] If the problem is that the parents don’t get along with the children, then they should be able to find ways to make it work, such as changing the adopted child.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration is in damage control right now and are already walking back President Moon’s comments.

Here is the latest shake up in the South Korean government:

President Moon Jae-in has picked Chung Eui-yong, former director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, as his new foreign minister, Moon’s office announced Wednesday. 

He also nominated Hwang Hee, a ruling Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker, as culture minister and Kwon Chil-seung, another DP lawmaker, as SMEs and startups minister in a partial Cabinet reshuffle, according to Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication.

The nominees face confirmation hearings at the National Assembly, the dates of which have yet to be set.

If appointed, Chung will replace Kang Kyung-wha, who has served as Moon’s first foreign minister. 

Chung had worked as Moon’s top security adviser for three years since the launch of the Moon administration in May 2017.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If you are going to commit suicide at least do it some place private and not in the middle of a shopping mall:

A man in his 40s died in an apparent suicide inside a shopping mall on Yeouido, Seoul, according to police, Monday. 

The man jumped off the first basement level of the IFC Mall to the third basement level at about 4:20 p.m. last Friday.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. 

There were a considerable number of visitors inside the shopping mall when the man died, with some people witnessing the scene firsthand.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Major conglomerates in South Korea are ready to push back against the ruling party’s attempt to make them give up profits to other companies not making profits. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out:

The move is sparking backlash from large business owners, with major companies claiming the measures are only implemented in socialist or communist countries. Companies have also been criticizing the proposal over the lack of guidelines determining on which level a company is deemed profitable.

The ruling party has stressed that the profit-sharing scheme would not be compulsory and that each company’s voluntary participation would be encouraged through various incentives. However, business insiders believe the government will continue to pressure firms to take part in the initiatives.

“The government says it is voluntary but will continue to pressure firms to take part in the profit-sharing scheme,” an industry official said. “The Moon Jae-in administration has restrained companies with dozens of new regulations that severely impact business operations. This administration has pressured companies financially much more than other previous governments.”

Dozens of corporations including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Kakao and Woowa Brothers are expected to be subject to the scheme as they have been able secure large profits amid the prolonged pandemic.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is the responsibility of the government that shutdown companies like restaurants and bars to subsidize them through tax money, not other private businesses.

Yes, hope isn’t a strategy, but that seems like U.S. policy for a number of years, hoping North Korea denuclearizes:

Outgoing US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday that hope alone will not resolve the North Korea issue, highlighting the importance of combined exercises between Seoul and Washington amid the North’s threat to continue developing its nuclear capabilities.

Harris made the remark at a webinar in Seoul, one day after President Moon Jae-in said South and North Korea can discuss issues regarding the allies’ combined military exercises, if necessary, in response to the North’s repeated calls to halt the joint maneuvers.

“While we hope for diplomacy with North Korea to be successful, we all can recognize that hope alone is not a course of action,” the ambassador said, citing the North’s “unrelenting pursuit of nuclear weapons” and China’s “malign activities.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This article says that Lee was directly approached by former President Park for a bribe, which is not correct. The alleged bribe was money that Samsung was paid to a sports foundation to fund her friend’s daughter’s equestrian team. The funding of the equestrian team the court considered a bribe though Park never received a dime of money from Samsung:

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Monday, in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. He was put behind bars again less than three years after he was allowed to walk free.

The Seoul High Court gave Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., the prison term for bribing Park and her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to win government support for a smooth father-to-son transfer of managerial power at Samsung. 

“He actively and readily offered bribes to Park upon her demand for them, and engaged in improper activities in soliciting, although implicitly, Park’s support in the transfer of managerial power (at Samsung),” the court said in the verdict.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but notice how Lee is being treated by the Korean courts compared to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk.