This seems to be yet another example of the loss of confidence in the Korean economy considering that Elliott was losing money in their investment into Hyundai Motors:

New York’s Elliott Management has completely cashed out of the Hyundai Motor Group, selling all of its shares in three related auto companies.

It is estimated that the fund lost money from the holdings, holdings which may have cost $1 billion.

The sale of the shares was widely reported in the Korean press, and Financial Supervisory Service data show no Elliott Management holdings in any of the companies. Hyundai Motor would not confirm the unloading of the stake.

Local press reports say that the shares were sold before the end of last year. Elliott Management revealed its equity interests in the group in April 2018.

Recent disclosures show the fund had owned 2.9 percent of Hyundai Motor, 2.1 percent of Kia Motors and 2.6 percent of Hyundai Mobis before the sale.

The estimate of losses on the holdings is based on the fact that when Elliott first acquired the shares, they were trading at higher prices than they are now. Hyundai Motor shares were in the 150,000 won ($129) to 160,000 won range in early 2018. They are now trading at about 130,000 won.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Even though this is about as minimal military support the Blue House could have provided to the U.S. for the Strait of Hormuz mission, the Korean left is still predictably upset about it:

The progressive Justice Party made clear its firm opposition to the government’s decision.

“The deployment of the Cheonghae unit to the Strait of Hormuz can lead to hostile relations with Iran, so I cannot agree with it. In addition, the decision means the unit’s mission has changed, so the National Assembly has to decide whether to approve the plan,” Justice Party Chairwoman Sim Sang-jeung said.

Party for Democracy and Peace Spokeswoman Rep. Park Joo-hyun also said, “The dispatch means Korea will join a war between the United States and Iran without any justification and it will eventually end up with hostile ties with traditional ally, Iran.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but when did Iran become an ally of South Korea? Iran has an important economic relationship due to its oil, but is hardly an ally that would defend South Korea. In fact Iran has had an important military relationship with North Korea for many years; the very country that tried to destroy the ROK during the Korean War and continues to be committed to the overthrow of South Korean democracy.

Then again to some members of the Korean left anyone assisting North Korea is considered an ally.

Condolences to the friends and family of the British English teacher who was found deceased recently at her school in Gwangju:

A British woman in her 20s has been found dead at a middle school in the southwestern city of Gwangju, police said Thursday.

A janitor found the 25-year-old woman, who has been teaching English, in a research room of the school around 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday and reported the case to police.

The English instructor, whose name was withheld, was lying on her back, and there were no signs of fighting with any intruder at the scene, according to the police. 

Her acquaintances have told police that she was supposed to undergo a surgery the same day for a disease that hurt her back and made it difficult for her to breathe.

Yonhap

Despite the drop in Beijing’s pollution levels, it is still far worse than Seoul’s:

Ultrafine dust in the capitals of Korea and China are composed of similar elements, though some of the elements’ ratios differ greatly, a joint research team of Korean and Chinese researchers announced Wednesday.

The Chinese government’s restrictions on fossil fuel emissions seem to be causing the difference, as Beijing’s air quality improves – and Seoul’s does not. 

At this point, however, further analysis is needed to pin down the exact reasons why. 

Korea’s joint research with China was the latest effort by the two neighboring countries to battle ultrafine dust, which Korea often blames China for, even as the latter adamantly denies responsibility for Korea’s air pollution.

Jeon Kwon-ho, a researcher from the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in Incheon, said the fundamental purpose of the recent research was to find out the sources of ultrafine dust in Seoul and Beijing. 

So far, the research team can say that the pollutants causing ultrafine dust seem to be derived from industrial plants and vehicle exhaust emissions.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if this declaration is a prelude to any kind of provocation that the North Koreans may be thinking of in the near term:

North Korea declared Tuesday on the global stage that it will no longer adhere to its moratorium on nuclear and missile tests, citing “brutal and inhumane” sanctions led by the United States on its regime.

“We found no reason to be unilaterally bound any longer by the commitment that the other party fails to honour,” Ju Yong-chol, a counsellor at North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva, reportedly said during the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament. 

He accused Washington of applying “the most brutal and inhumane sanctions” against Pyongyang.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I kind of figured that they would wait to see how the whole Iran situation played out before making in provocative moves.

This whole situation makes me wonder if the only reason Byun enlisted was to be activist like this:

South Korea’s first transgender soldier on Wednesday pleaded to be allowed to continue to serve after the military decided to discharge her. 

Byun Hee-soo, an Army staff sergeant in her 20s, voluntarily enlisted as a man in 2017 and underwent sex reassignment surgery in November last year. A military panel decided not to allow the noncommissioned officer to stay in the Army. 

Right after the decision was announced, Byun came out in public and held an emotional press conference before TV cameras, requesting equal treatment for sexual minorities and the right to complete the military service.

“I hope that sexual minorities in the military can carry out their duties without discrimination and I want to set a good precedent in this kind of case and want to add power to make that happen,” she said while wearing a military uniform.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.