Dr. Tara O over at the East Asia Research Center has another very interesting article published about how government compensation payments to “meritorious persons” from the Gwangju Uprising are so much higher than those given to Korean and Vietnam War veterans:

The Gwangju Incident that began on May 18, 1980 is referred to as “5.18” in Korea.  Those designated as 5.18 Yugogja (5.18 “Meritorious Persons”) and their families receive extensive benefits from the South Korean government.  Unlike Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, whose status is determined by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans, the 5.18 Yugongja is determined in Gwangju.  While technically it falls under the Prime Minister’s office, de facto, the process and the decisions are made at the local government level.  However, it is the national government that pays the benefits.

East Asia Research Center

Below is an excerpt of a chart that shows the differences in compensation. Click the link to see the full chart:

Besides the extreme difference in compensation here is what makes this issue even more controversial is that the lists keeps growing. Plus politically connected people who were not even at Gwangju are now being selected as “meritorious persons” and getting the free cash and benefits:

For an event that occurred 39 years ago, it seems the number of 5.18 Yugongja should fall over time.  However, the number has been increasing, especially in recent years. In 1990, the first year the 5.18 Yugongja designation occurred, the number was 2,224.  As of August 2018, the number was 4,403.  In 2017, the number was 4,377, so it has increased by 26 in 8 months.  How is this possible?

It includes even those who were not present in Gwangju.  National Assemblyman Lee Hae-chan, the leader of the Deoburreo Minju Party, publicly admitted, “I became a Gwangju democracy Movement Yugongja, although I hadn’t even gone to Gwangju (then).” (0:30).  Lee Hae-chan was the former Prime Minister under Rho Moo-hyun and Education Minister under Kim Dae-jung. At least 30-40 other politicians are thought to be designated as 5.18 Yugongja.

This has caused conservative politicians to demand the release of the names of this growing list, but unlike the list of Korean and Vietnam War veterans this list is being kept secret. I think it is fair to say that certain people do not want the list released because it will show how it has become a way to reward politically connected people, thus why it keeps growing.

This “meritorious person” list reminds me of the National Medal of the Order of Merit for National Foundation where politically connected people are given generous stipends for this medal.

I am trying to think of an equivalent of politically connected corruption in the U.S. using a national medal of designation and I can’t think of one. The Presidential Medal of Freedom has long been given to politically connected people, but they are not getting huge payouts like in the ROK. Can anyone think of equivalent in the U.S. where politically connected people are getting huge payouts for an award or designation?

The USFK commander’s remarks makes me wonder if he inadvertently spoke about something already being discussed at higher levels?

The U.S. Department of Defense has reaffirmed that the issue of the American troop presence in South Korea is not directly related to denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang, multiple Seoul officials said Thursday.
It delivered the message recently to Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense amid a controversy over U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) chief Gen. Robert Abrams’ remarks at a congressional session, which were seen as signaling the possibility of the U.S. troop withdrawal — or drawdown — after a peace treaty is signed with North Korea, according to the officials.
In response to a senator’s question Tuesday about the USFK, the commander said his troops will stay on the peninsula, “Until there is a peace treaty, because we still remain in a state of armistice, a cessation of hostilities, until such time that there is a peace treaty between all of the parties.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Hey, where's *MY* military-industrial complex money? I've been writing blog posts, op-eds & acts of Congress about North Korea in my spare time for 16 years & I've yet to see dime one! Should I send a bill to Raytheon? https://t.co/SDgaRMvju2

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) February 10, 2019

That is what this Korea Times editorial is claiming:

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang gave the wrong gift to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during his visitto the latter in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, with a group of lawmakers.

The gift in question was a scroll with Chinese calligraphy he presented in person. The photo of the occasion has been posted on media websites and carried in newspapers. 

There are two problems ― the first being plain to see and the second more subtle and more damaging. 

The first is “Dear Pelosi” written on the right side of the scroll. Missing isthe honorific “Madam” or job title “Speaker” or “Madam Speaker” ahead of her last name. 

Addressing the speaker just as Pelosi is inappropriate at best and ignorant at worst. 

Then, “Dear” looks misplaced because it is not a letter but a scroll. Then, it violates the usual rule of scroll writing that allows for the name of the writer with their pen name and stamp of their seal, not that of the recipient. 

The second is the four Chinese characters writ large. 

Chinese characters were used by the upper class to boast of their knowledge and show their superiority over the ordinary classes in the Joseon Kingdom, a tradition that has survived in pockets of society. 

Moon and his aides should have remembered what happened after the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Mar-a-lago Hotel in Florida. 

Trump quoted Xi as telling him that Korea belonged to China during their private walk. Trump’s lack of historical knowledge and resultant gullibility, most likely shared by much of the American public, is reinforced by Western society’s Sino -centric view of Asia.

It wouldn’t be a great exaggeration if Moon had helped strengthen such a Western belief with his Chinese gift. Of course, the chance is that Pelosi won’t be as single dimensional as Trump. 

Then, the meaning of Moon’s favorite phrase is detrimental to Korea’s image _ the Yellow River of China flows through countless turns and twists but only heads east.

The speaker uses it to express his conviction that North Korea’s denuclearization and establishment of a peace structure will eventually be achieved despite many challenges.

But the history of the phrase is rather unsettling. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the “Dear Pelosi” on the scroll really does stand out and just looks odd to be on there. Besides that does anyone really think Speaker Pelosi knows the difference between Chinese characters and Hangul? Does anyone even think she knows where the Yellow River flows and the significance of the phrase?

Plus she probably receives so many gifts that this one will probably just be stored away somewhere or given to someone. It seems to me the Korea Times is making more of this than they should.

I guess we will see in a few days of South Korea’s optimism is warranted:

South Korea’s top trade official on Wednesday sounded a cautious note of optimism on his recent sales pitch to key U.S. officials and lawmakers for exempting South Korean cars from possible U.S. tariffs.
Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said there is neither justification nor actual benefit for the United States slapping tariffs on South Korean cars, as South Korea, a close ally of the U.S., does not pose a threat to U.S. security.
Washington is set to issue a report by Feb. 17 into whether U.S. President Donald Trump should impose tariffs on foreign autos on national security grounds based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
“The U.S. reaction was not bad,” regarding South Korea’s request for an exemption from possible U.S. tariffs, Kim said in a briefing in Sejong, adding that Washington officials praised South Korea’s efforts to revise their bilateral free trade dea

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if President Trump is given briefing notes to review before he talks because this is a big difference in numbers he misstated:

U.S. President Donald Trump said South Korea’s payment for the U.S. troop presence will increase further only days after both sides signed a one-year deal for the defense cost sharing. 

“Working with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, they (South Korea) agreed to pay, yesterday, $500 million (560 billion) more toward their defense,” Trump said in a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday (local time).

On Sunday, Seoul and Washington signed the one-year provisional deal on defense cost sharing, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) for the upkeep of United States Forces Korea (USFK).

Under the 2019 SMA, the South will pay 1.04 trillion won toward the upkeep of stationing 28,500 U.S. troops here, up 8.2 percent from the previous year. This is an increase of 78.7 billion won, compared with last year, not the amount stated by Trump.

It remains unclear why the U.S. president made the remark with such an obviously factual error. But it is highly likely that he overstated the amount to score a political point there and raise his approval rating.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Only Bob Mueller can save Korea now. https://t.co/c3Wtg3I9It

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) February 9, 2019

I would not be surprised if he used the Chinese plane again just for safety purposes; a train journey from North Korea to Vietnam just seems too long of a trip to take though it would be a pretty awesome way to see China:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un flew to Singapore on a rented Air China plane, instead of his aged official jet, last June for his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. What he will use to travel to Vietnam’s Hanoi for a second meeting with Trump is a point of speculation that will likely remain a mystery until his arrival there.
Many say Kim is likely to fly on the state jet, codenamed “Chammae-1,” this time because the distance of travel, about 2,760 km, is only slightly more than half of the 4,700 km flown last June, and the Soviet-era jet, even if it’s aged, can sufficiently cover the flight.
But others say that Kim could rent a plane from China again if he places priority on safety. 
Some even suggest that he could use his special train to travel all the way to the Southeast Asian nation through China for the Feb. 27-28 summit, just as he traveled to the neighboring nation by train last month, noting that Vietnam also has the same rail specifications as North Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.