This was a horrible accident believed to have been caused by icy roads:

At least three people were killed and 43 others injured Monday in two expressway pileups in southwestern South Korea following heavy snow, authorities said.

At least six of the 43 hurt were said to be in critical conditions.

The first accident occurred at 12:23 p.m. when a tank truck carrying nitric acid reportedly ran into a small pile of cars involved in an earlier accident inside a tunnel on a highway connecting Suncheon and Wanju in North Jeolla Province.

About a dozen other vehicles ran into the truck, which had spilled its load and caught fire, according to police and rescue officials.

The third and latest victim was found in a car crushed under the tank truck. Those injured have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty concerning that doctors currently do not know how the latest Korean to contract the coronavirus became infected with it:

The 30th case of the new coronavirus in Korea was confirmed Monday as the wife of Patient No. 29, an 82-year-old Korean man who had been volunteering with low-income senior citizens and spent days visiting several medical clinics and pharmacies before his diagnosis.  

Patient No. 30, a 68-year-old Korean woman, tested positive for the virus the previous day, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Her husband, Patient No. 29, who had not traveled overseas in recent months nor come into contact with any known coronavirus patients, was confirmed as having tested positive for the new coronavirus earlier Sunday.  

How the elderly couple, who are residents of Jongno District, central Seoul, contracted the virus is still unclear. Authorities are scrambling to trace all the people they came in contact with in the past two weeks amid heightened concerns of secondary and tertiary infections.  

Patient No. 29 had a pre-existing heart condition and visited two different local clinics and two pharmacies prior to going to Korea University Anam Hospital’s emergency room in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, Saturday morning, with complaints of chest pains. The doctor there discovered through a CT scan that the man had symptoms of pneumonia and tested him for the coronavirus. The couple is being treated at Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul, one of the state-designated facilities for the virus, officially called Covid-19, since Sunday, and they are both in a stable condition with mild fevers. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but if they cannot put this man in proximity of other coronavirus patients that likely means there are people infected in Seoul with the virus that don’t know it.

I wonder if this a sanction violation, though I doubt the Russians really care:

North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Un was filmed riding through the snow on a white stallion last year, has spent tens of thousands of dollars on 12 purebred horses from Russia, according to Russian customs data.

Accompanied by senior North Korean figures, Kim took two well-publicized rides on the snowy slopes of the sacred Paektu Mountain in October and December.

State media heralded the jaunts as important displays of strength in the face of international pressure and the photos of Kim astride a galloping white steed were seen around the world.

North Korea has a long history of buying pricey horses from Russia and customs data first reported by Seoul-based NK News suggests that North Korea may have bolstered its herd in October.

According to customs data reviewed by Reuters, Russia exported 12 horses worth a total of $75,509 to North Korea last year.

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

Here is something else THAAD related that will rile up leftists in South Korea:

Korean officials Friday denied that they have discussed with Washington construction fees for a base in Korea housing the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system, contradicting a 2021 U.S. Army budget proposal suggesting that the multi-million dollar budget will be covered by Korea.

The denials came in response to local media reports earlier yesterday saying that the U.S. Department of Army’s proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year showed $49 million would be used for construction on the Thaad site in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang.

In the proposed budget, the U.S. Army described the article as “Korea funded construction,” implying that Seoul would pay. Of the total amount, $37 million was set aside for site security, lighting and weapons storage, while about $7 million was earmarked for electricity, sewers and road works.  

The budget also stated that Washington would allocate $1 billion for enhancing Thaad systems around the world, stoking fears here that the United States might pressure Seoul to partially cover some of those fees as well.

The U.S. budget proposal raised red flags in Korea because the allies agreed in 2017 – when parts for the antimissile system arrived in Seongju amid a major backlash from local residents – that Seoul would provide the land for housing Thaad, while Washington covered other costs of deployment.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but why don’t the leftists get this worked up about the Patriot missile batteries spread out all around South Korea? I already explained the answer to that one at this link.

Here is the latest on what North Korea’s now very delayed Christmas gift could be:

North Korea may be prepared to test-fire an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to threaten the U.S. mainland, the U.S. northern commander has said, citing rocket engine tests Pyongyang conducted in December. 

Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, made the remark in a statement submitted for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s earlier warning of a “new strategic weapon” and a “shocking actual action.”

“While Kim did not specify what this new weapon would be, recent engine testing suggests North Korea may be prepared to flight-test an even more capable ICBM design that could enhance Kim’s ability to threaten our homeland during a crisis or conflict,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The ruling left-wing Democratic Party of Korea is trying to silence a liberal university professor critical of their recent actions:

Lim, a professor at Korea University’s Center for Korean History, contributed a column to the Kyunghyang Shinmun on Jan. 29, urging the public to vote for parties other than the DP to hold it accountable for the current political tumult. 

Citing an internal power struggle in the criminal justice system and political strife between the ruling and opposition parties, Lim wrote that public loathing of politics is deepening. 

“The Liberty Korea Party [LKP] is somewhat responsible, but the DP is more responsible,” she wrote, “because it is serving the administration’s interests rather than the people’s desires, although it proudly defines itself as an administration backed by candlelight protesters.” 

At the end of her column, Lim urged voters to “tame the political parties” in the upcoming April general elections. “Let’s create political parties that are trying to satisfy the people,” she wrote. “I, therefore, propose, ‘Let’s vote for parties except for the DP.’” 

On Feb. 5, the DP asked the prosecution to investigate Lim and two Kyunghyang Shinmun officials, saying the column violated election laws. While the DP did not publicize that action, Lim said on Facebook Thursday that she was the subject of a criminal complaint.

“I recently got a phone call from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office that a complaint was submitted against me,” Lim said in an exclusive interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday. “I was accused of conducting illegal campaign activity before the official campaign period and violating a ban on encouraging the voters to cast ballots [for a specific political party]. The complainant was DP Chairman Lee.” 

Lim, a modern history professor who specializes in student activism, did not hide her disappointment at the DP. “I am baffled,” she said. “The DP won power through a democratization movement. The key to democratization movements is freedom of speech. They used to fight for such freedoms, but they demanded a probe against me because I criticized them. It is shameful that the DP is using the word democratic in its name.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

Considering the Moon administration has put journalists in jail for reporting accurate information, why Professor Lim be surprised she had a complaint made against her? The only reason the complaint is being dropped is because she is a left-wing activist. If she was a conservative professor I doubt the complaint would have been dropped.

I do have to wonder if Professor Lim will come out in support of the journalists that were jailed?