Tag: Moon Jae-in

The THAAD battery already has what is called an initial operational capability, so this doesn’t stop the deployment of the THAAD battery as claimed.  All this announcement of an environmental assessment means is that the four additional launchers cannot be installed.  This ultimately means less THAAD interceptors to defend the country to appease those against the deployment:

The government will conduct a full-scale environmental study on the U.S. military’s deployment of a controversial antimissile battery in Korea, a senior security adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Thursday, stressing that the probe will delay the installment of the battery.

Chung Eui-yong, head of the National Security Office of the Blue House, addressed the latest controversy surrounding the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad system. An investigation of top security officials from the previous administration is currently ongoing to find out if they intentionally withheld from the Moon government information on the delivery of four additional launchers for the system.

“In order to conduct a more thorough environmental-impact study, I think [the deployment] may take more time than originally planned,” Chung said. “But I cannot predict how long the environmental study will take.”

Chung made the remark as he arrived in Washington to meet with senior U.S. officials to prepare for the upcoming summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but does anyone else find it interesting that a one year environmental assessment needs to be done on a golf course that was dug into the top of the mountain whatever natural vegetation and wildlife there has already been developed over?  Are they going to assess the potential damage the launcher back blast area will have on the putting greens before it can be installed?

That is what opposition parties in Korea are supposedly claiming:

Since the Blue House’ probe of the incident, the Thaad deployment may have to stop for a while. The four additional launchers cannot be activated anytime soon. Public criticism of the deployment is spreading. While opposition parties believe the presidential office is attempting to sway public opinion to support a cancellation of the deployment, the Pentagon insists the deployment procedure was transparent. Our internal friction could also damage a summit in June in Washington between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but in my opinion the Blue House is looking for reasons to put the Defense Ministry on the defensive and possibly clean house.  This allows the Blue House to appease their left wing base that is against the THAAD deployment without actually cancelling it.  I would be very surprised if President Moon tries to cancel the THAAD deployment considering the ramifications to the US-ROK alliance.

Plus I think President Moon being the experienced politician he is wants negative public opinion against the deployment which he can use for upcoming cost sharing talks between the US and the ROK.  President Moon can basically counter President Trump’s demand for the ROK to pay for THAAD by saying the majority of the ROK population does not want THAAD so why should they pay for it?  This allows the ROK to get the defense benefits of THAAD without having to pay for it.

This is playing out like I expected, the Moon Jae-in administration will make protests and complaints domestically to appease their base that was against the THAAD deployment, but ultimately will not change it and just blame the last administration for deploying it:

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday South Korea’s ongoing probe of the delivery of a U.S. missile defense system is not intended to reverse its deployment agreement between the two countries but to conduct it with appropriate domestic procedures, according to the presidential office.

Moon ordered a probe on Tuesday into the “undisclosed” delivery of four additional launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system after the defense ministry failed to report it to the presidential policy advisory panel in a recent briefing.

During a meeting with visiting U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, he said South Korea will continue to host the THAAD under the correct domestic procedures.

“Procedures over THAAD are entirely domestic ones; we do not intend to change the existing decision or send a different message to the U.S.,” Moon told Durbin at the presidential office, according to presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Moon Jae-in begins long, arduous task of rebuilding the Sunsh … and never mind. https://t.co/thOeOUA539

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) May 30, 2017

A standard THAAD battery comes with six launchers, you would think the President’s staff would know this, even Wikipedia knows this:

South Korea’s presidential office made it clear Tuesday that it has not received any formal briefing from the defense ministry on the presence of additional THAAD rocket launchers here.

The ministry said it has already briefed Cheong Wa Dae on the issue, responding to President Moon Jae-in’s call for a probe into the matter related to the allies’ missile defense system.

Moon said it’s “very shocking” that the ministry had kept secret or did not announce the introduction of four more THAAD rocket launchers, according to his spokesman Yoon Young-chan. The equipment arrived in Korea apparently weeks or months ago.

A ministry official, however, said Wee Seung-ho, deputy minister for policy, briefed Moon’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong on pending defense issues last Friday.

“At that time, he reported the entry of four additional launchers (into South Korea),” the official said on the condition of anonymity, adding it reflects the ministry’s official position.

Moon’s office refuted the ministry’s statement.

There was no report on the extra THAAD launchers waiting to be installed at a former golf course in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which has been chosen as the THAAD site, said Cheong Wa Dae.

One thing that seems certain is that Moon did not receive any briefing on the subject during his visit to the ministry a week after taking office. It’s not clear whether he first raised the THAAD issue.

The State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, a de-facto transition team for Moon, also said that it was told about only two THAAD launchers in operation, not about the other four, when receiving a briefing from the ministry.

The truth behind the dispute remains unconfirmed.  [Yonhap]

The Joong Ang Ilbo is reporting that the Defense Ministry may be trying avoid an environmental assessment for the four launchers:

“The president was briefed that four launchers, in addition to the two already installed in Seongju, were clandestinely brought in and stored in Korea,” Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary for public relations, said Tuesday. “Today, Moon ordered his senior secretary for civil affairs and chief of the national security office to conduct a thorough investigation over how the four additional launchers were brought in.”  (…….)

“Moon asked his aides to investigate why the four additional launchers were brought in, who made the decision, why it was not made public and why the new administration was not told about it,” Yoon said. “He also ordered that the investigation must look into the suspicion that the four launchers were kept secret in order to avoid an environmental impact assessment.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

If an environmental assessment was done for two launchers, what difference would four more make?  They have to tear up a few more putting greens to put them in?  It is not like an old growth rain forest needs to be cut down to put the launchers in.

You can read more at the link, but I would not be surprised if this is a political show to demonstrate to Moon’s supporters that the new administration is going to get tough on the Defense Ministry in regards to the THAAD deployment without actually changing the decision.

I guess we will see what happens.

President Moon is very skilled politician because this announcement will go over very well with the Korean public:

President Moon Jae-in has decided he will not use the Blue House budget to pay for his private expenses, including groceries for his wife and himself and even food for his pets.

“From now on, meals that are not parts of official meetings will be paid from the president’s own money,” said Lee Joung-do, general affairs secretary of the Blue House. “We will stop using the state budget to pay for meals and personal purchases of the presidential family. It is the president’s strong will to clearly distinguish what should be paid with tax money and what should not.”

Until now, money from the special expense account of the Blue House was used to pay the living expense of the president and his family. Lee said Moon’s decision will save a considerable amount.

Special expenses accounts exist for almost all government ministries for activities that require confidentiality. Because no receipts are required, the accounts are often used for non-official purposes.

Although the Blue House did not make a comparison, the move appeared to be the latest in a series of actions taken by Moon to differentiate himself from predecessor Park Geun-hye.

A minor part of the presidential abuse of power and corruption scandal that led to Park’s impeachment and removal involved a personal health trainer she hired as a presidential secretary. Park used the special expenses account to pay for her clothes and beauty treatments. She saved most of her annual salary of 210 million won ($187,835).

According to Lee, 16.2 billion won was allocated to the special expense account of the Blue House this year. As of now, 12.7 billion won remains, and Moon wants to save 5.3 billion won to use for job creation for the young and programs for needy people.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Korean president's eldest son releases video game to fanfare: https://t.co/krlqRDMMi3 pic.twitter.com/fuZUENFIVj

— KoreaJoongAngDaily (@JoongAngDaily) May 26, 2017

It did not take long for President Moon to demonstrate his Dokdo cred:

President Moon Jae-in’s tie featuring Dokdo eared seals has become a huge hit and has sold out in major online malls.

Moon wore the tie during a meeting with the major party floor leaders on Friday.

The tie received further public attention the same day when it was caught on camera during a press conference where Moon announced Kim Yi-su as the new chief justice.

A designer company made the tie to celebrate Korea’s 112th anniversary of proclaiming sovereignty over the East Sea island in 2012.

The eared seal on the orange tie is a kind of sea lion that was commonly found on Dokdo in the 18th century. Japanese fishermen hunted the seals to extinction during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea.

The tie is priced at 55,000 won ($48).  [Korea Times]

President Moon Jae-in (3rd from R, front), Kwon Yang-sook (4th from R, front), widow of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, and other participants attend a memorial at the tomb of Roh in the southeastern city of Gimhae on May 23, 2017, to mark the eighth anniversary of Roh’s death the same day. (Yonhap)

Gwangju ceremony gets full treatment after nine subdued years https://t.co/coPD6mzh6q pic.twitter.com/b5Q5iradb3

— KoreaJoongAngDaily (@JoongAngDaily) May 18, 2017