There is yet another corruption probe into the Blue House where a key witness was found dead:

An investigator at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office who was previously dispatched to work for the Blue House was found dead on Sunday afternoon in an apparent suicide, just hours before he was scheduled to appear for questioning in a widening election-meddling probe.

The investigator, who was only identified as a 48-year-old man, was found dead on Sunday at around 3 p.m. in an office owned by his acquaintance in Seocho District, southern Seoul, according to police.  

Police found in the office what appeared to be a handwritten note, in which the investigator apologized to his family. Police said the memo did not contain anything about the probe he was involved in.  

Just three hours later, he was supposed to appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office as a witness to offer his testimony about his time in the Blue House senior secretary for civil affairs office. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this investigator was going to testify about Blue House officials that had improperly tampered with the election of the city of Ulsan’s mayor. This alleged tampering allowed a left-wing candidate with close ties to President Moon win the election.

It seems that Korean workers would only be furloughed if there was U.S. troop cuts in South Korea. This is essentially what happened in the 2004-2005 timeframe when 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division was removed from the peninsula which helped lead to a number of U.S. military camp closures. We are not at that point yet with the current cost sharing issue:

Either on normal tours of duty or under a rotational scheme, American troops have comfortably adapted to their new lives in Korea thanks to seamless administrative, health, transportation, communications and cleaning services on the ground.

At the core of their adaptation is a little-known group of around 12,500 South Korean workers, many of whom are gripped by concerns that they could face unpaid leave or furloughs should defense cost-sharing talks between Seoul and Washington go awry.

The concerns have hardened into fears for Kim Hyun-woo, agitated by the passing thought that he could fail to bring home the bacon should he be furloughed by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), albeit temporarily. He used an alias due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“Though my wife works part time, I am the breadwinner, shouldering all costs related to food, mortgage repayments, education fees for my children and so on. You know what would happen to my family should I be forced to go on leave,” Kim told Yonhap News Agency.

“I hope that my worries about the furlough will be cleared soon, but I also wish that South Korea and the U.S. can find a good compromise, not a hurried one that could end up damaging the interests of both sides,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There is yet another corruption scandal involving the Blue House:

Prosecutors raided the Blue House Wednesday for documents related to allegations that the presidential office covered up a probe into the former Busan vice mayor and accusations that he took bribes. 

The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced that it dispatched its prosecutors and investigators to the Blue House at 11:30 a.m. to accept related documents from Blue House officials without physically entering the main Blue House premises. 

It was the third time that prosecutors carried out a raid of the Moon Jae-in Blue House, all conducted in a manner that respected the security sensitivity of the area.

Yoo Jae-soo, Busan’s former vice mayor for economic affairs, is under investigation for allegedly taking nearly 50 million won ($42,400) in bribes. On Nov. 27, a court in Seoul issued a pretrial detention warrant for Yoo, and he’s now detained at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center in Songpa District, southern Seoul.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the corruption at the Blue House links backed to ousted Justice Minister Cho Kuk and claims the government was spying on private citizens.

Like I said before, President Trump does not respond well to threats:

U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks about the possibility of using force against North Korea appears intended to warn against possible provocations ahead of the year-end deadline the regime set for Washington to show flexibility in their deadlocked nuclear talks, analysts said Wednesday.

Trump made the threat of military action on Tuesday, just hours after the North reiterated that the deadline is approaching and warned that it is entirely up to Washington what “Christmas gift” it wants to get.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has set the deadline for Washington to come up with an acceptable proposal to move forward the nuclear negotiations, warning that Pyongyang could otherwise take a “new way.”

“Now we have the most powerful military we’ve ever had and we’re by far the most powerful country in the world,” Trump told reporters during his trip to London to attend a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders.

“And, hopefully, we don’t have to use it, but if we do, we’ll use it. If we have to, we’ll do it,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at he link, but is everyone ready for an interesting 2020?

The article doesn’t say what condition the aircraft was in other than the pilot was injured. Hopefully he the pilot isn’t injured too badly:

 A pilot from a United States Air force unit in the South Korean city of Gunsan sustained injuries while landing an F-16 fighter jet at the unit’s air base Monday.

The pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing suffered minor injuries while trying to get out of the fighter on the runway at around 3:30 p.m., according to military sources. 

The pilot was sent to a hospital, although the exact reason the pilot tried to exit the cockpit and the overall condition F-16 at the time of the landing remain unclear. 

No crash or explosion were reported at the base on South Korea’s west coast, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.

Following the incident, the head of the 8th Fighter Wing temporarily halted all military and civilian flight operations from Gunsan. Investigators are currently looking into the exact cause of the mishap.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure threatening President Trump is a good course of action for the North Koreans. He doesn’t seem to respond well to threats:

North Korea said Tuesday that a year-end deadline is drawing near for the United States to come up with a new proposal in their nuclear negotiations, warning it is entirely up to Washington what “Christmas gift” it wants to get.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae-song issued the warning, saying Pyongyang has tried hard “not to backtrack from the important steps it has taken,” referring to a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests and other measures it has taken to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization. 

The warning apparently means that unless the U.S. comes up with a new negotiating proposal acceptable to Pyongyang, the communist regime could restart testing of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.