The Moon administration is claiming they are not socialists:

Many foreign experts, in particular, have criticized Seoul government for tipping the balance of economic policies toward socialism, which they claim violate free market principles and will eventually lead to an exodus of foreign capital.

The nation’s top economic policymaker, however, strongly refutes this criticism describing the Moon administration’s income-led growth policies as an inevitable choice to tackle the ever-deepening issue of polarization and to ensure sustainable growth.

“I would disagree with such an argument,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times at the government complex in central Seoul, Jan. 10.

“I believe they have gone too far. In an era of per-capita income of $30,000, it will be difficult for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to move forward without addressing such issues as polarization and the fair distribution of wealth,” he added.  (…….)

This means that the government is pursuing a two-pronged strategy ― on one hand, boosting growth potential through innovation, and on the other hand, narrowing economic inequalities by enhancing social safety nets for the underprivileged. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is a great way for the Moon administration to make it appear they are contributing to the international coalition defending the Strait of Hormuz when in reality they just added a liaison officer:

South Korea’s decision to send troops to the tense Strait of Hormuz for “independent” naval operations drove home its desire to cement alliance cooperation with the United States and avoid straining ties with its trade partner, Iran, analysts said Tuesday.

Capping monthslong deliberations that pitted security cooperation with Washington against economic relations with Tehran, Seoul announced it would temporarily expand areas of operations for its anti-piracy Cheonghae unit to cover the passageway off Iran.

The naval unit, now stationed in the Gulf of Aden, will operate independently of the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), a U.S.-led military coalition to safeguard freedom of navigation in the waterway, though it would cooperate with the coalition if need be. Two South Korean liaison officers will be dispatched to the IMSC.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but basically the ROK ship on anti-piracy duty in the Gulf of Aden can be asked by the US coalition for help through a ROK liaison officer that is deployed to assist them.

This is not a surprise considering the North Koreans have been so far this year behaving:

South Korea and the United States will modify their springtime combined exercises in order to support diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

Since the nuclear negotiating process began in 2018, the South and the U.S. have either scaled back or made other modifications to joint military drills in an effort to avoid provoking Pyongyang that has long denounced such maneuvers as a rehearsal for invasion.

“We’ve been smoothly preparing for planned combined drills,” a senior ministry official said. “If diplomatic efforts are under way, we will conduct (the drills) within the bounds to be agreed upon between the South and the U.S.”

The stance was part of the ministry’s comprehensive policy plan for the new year, which Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reported to President Moon Jae-in at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters in the South Chungcheong Province in the day.

In line with the policy, the two countries are expected to replace their usual large-scale springtime exercise, Key Resolve and Foal Eagle maneuvers, with a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX), called Dong Maeng, just as they did last year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Dong Maeng means “alliance” in English and it is what they replaced the UFL exercise with last summer. It looks like Key Resolve is going to use the same name. Even with the downsized exercise and name change the North Koreans still complained about it last year.

Another failed so called green energy project in South Korea:

A 46-meter-tall solar power tower in Daegu that cost 11.6 billion won ($10 million) was demolished last month after eight less-than-stellar years. 

The country’s first solar power tower was built by Daesung Energy and the Daegu Metropolitan City in 2011 under the Lee Myung-bak administration, which promoted a low-carbon, green growth strategy. 

The Daegu city government, aspiring to become a leading solar city, provided 20,300 square meters (218,507 square feet) of land to build the tower in the city’s Buk District. It was meant to be a solar power plant and employed 450 heliostats, reflective mirror panels that concentrate sunlight on the top of the tower. The concentrated solar energy was supposed to reach up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) and drive turbines to produce energy of up to 200 kilowatts per hour, enough for 80 households.

Of the 11.6-billion-won budget to build the tower, 7.15 billion won came from the Korean Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (Ketep), a state-run institute under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, while Daesung invested some 4.5 billion won.

But the solar plant, after being plagued by many problems over the years and unimpressive research results, has been reduced to rubble. 

Daegu’s city government disclosed Wednesday that Daesung Energy demolished the tower last month, spending around 200 million won to do so. 

The tower never delivered on any of its promises. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Ambassador Harris has already spoke out against President Moon’s idea to restart tourism into North Korea and the State Department has now formally put the Moon administration on notice:

The U.S. State Department said Washington expects every member of the United Nations to abide by North Korean sanctions, apparently objecting to remarks by South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he could use inter-Korean projects to “broaden international support” for a partial sanctions exemption for Pyongyang.

In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo last Friday in Washington, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said it was crucial for all UN members to abide by UN sanctions when asked about Moon’s recent remarks to possibly allow individual tourism to the North.

When the reporter pointed out that individual tours to the North are not subject to current sanctions, Ortagus, without clearly mentioning anything about Moon’s idea, stressed that the Donald Trump administration was hopeful Trump’s special relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would lead to a “diplomatic breakthrough.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this is all part of the Moon administration’s attempt to generate anti-U.S. sentiment prior to April’s legislative elections. Remember the ruling party cannot run on their record because of how poorly the economy and North Korean relations have been. Instead expect the Moon administration to create divisive issues with the U.S. and Japan to drive nationalistic voting in April. They likely hope this this combined with the new election law will be enough to maintain control of the legislature.