I would love to see someone in the media interview a victim’s family member from the Cheonan attack about this protest in support of Kim Jong-un in downtown Seoul:
South Koreans stage a rally praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in front of the KT building in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, on Sunday. The rally was organized by the Paektu Praise Committee, a radical activist group. Participants in the rally wear flower headpieces as they hold up signs welcoming Kim’s possible visit to Seoul. [NEWS1]A pro-North Korean group staged a rally praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, on Sunday, despite being reported multiple times for violating the National Security Act.
The rally was organized by the Paektu Praise Committee, a radical activist group. It was not stopped by police even after conservative groups filed complaints against the organization for praising the North Korean leader, which is a violation of South Korea’s National Security Law.
About 50 members of the Paektu Praise Committee participated in Sunday’s rally. During the protest, members praised Kim in speeches and dedicated a dance performance in his name. Some of the speakers were children and teenagers. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but what a disgrace the Korean far left is praising a ruthless killer like Kim Jong-un.
This is an issue I hope at some point the Trump administration confronts the Moon administration on because this blockade of the THAAD site is ridiculous and could be ended at any time by the Korean government:
Tractors block the road to the site of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery
“The buildings we have weren’t built to house soldiers,” she said. “It’s not unlivable, but it’s not nice.”
She says the protesters not only force her troops to fly in and out every week via helicopter, but also stop U.S. vehicles from shipping in goods and supplies.
“Currently, the only way on and off of the site is by helicopter,” she said. “A week at a time at least, every single one of my soldiers is away from their barracks room, their family.”
She said if the gates weren’t blocked they wouldn’t require the extended rotations and could keep more people at Carroll, which is only a 25-minute drive away.
Spc. Josiah Welch, a THAAD operator, said conditions have improved since he started at the site in November.
“There was pretty bad mold initially,” said the 25-year old from Winter Park, Fla. “There was a week where we didn’t have running water – we had baby wipe showers.”
Now they have air conditioning and showers, he said.
The military finally began shipping fresh food three times week last month, reducing some reliance on pre-prepared field rations, Theilacker said. [Stars & Stripes]
Members of nongovernment organizations call for the deportation of “fake refugees” from South Korea in a rally held in downtown Seoul on Oct. 14, 2018. (Yonhap)
The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was blocked entry to the Jeju Navy base by a group of kayak protesters on Thursday.
Some 200 civic activists in kayaks paddled out to the sea off the base to protest the 2018 International Fleet Review, interrupting the entry of the U.S. aircraft carrier.
The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the Navy’s largest warships participating in the naval event, has been rescheduled to enter Friday, according to a South Korean Navy official, Munhwa Ilbo reported.
The U.S. warship attended a nautical parade, as scheduled, which is a highlight of the fleet review that featured 40 ships and 24 aircraft demonstrating their naval prowess. The fleet review runs until Sunday. [UPI]
You can read more at the link, but the Korean left has long been unhappy about the Jeju naval base largely because it was pushed through by a prior conservative administration. One of the main reasons for the base was because of the territorial claims that China was making towards Ieodo a submerged rock that is home to a Korean research station off the coast of Jeju.
If the US signs a peace treaty to end the Korean War these leftist protesters will be emboldened to do things like claiming that the US military presence is no longer needed because there is “peace”. The Moon administration will do little to nothing to stop the protesters from disrupting US military operations much like what we are currently seeing with the THAAD site in Korea that is still blockaded by protesters.
Angry self-employed businessmen from across the country call for the government to revoke the recent sharp increase of the minimum wage during a rally amid heavy rains at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul on Aug. 29, 2018. Many self-employed persons gave up their businesses in the wake of the hike. (Yonhap)
Participants in a national rally of monks at Jogye Temple, the headquarters of Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, march on the streets calling for sweeping reform of the order following the ouster of its disgraced executive chief Rev. Seoljeong over a series of corruption allegations. (Yonhap)
A group of activists stages a rally at the city hall in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on Aug. 16, 2018, to express their opposition to the government’s plans to build a wind power generation complex in the city. (Yonhap)
Like I had previously said, An may have gotten off criminally, but his career is over politically considering 20,000 people were motivated to come out and protest like this:
A protestor holds up a sign of a handcuffed An with the words “guilty” scribbled across his forehead. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won
Around 20,000 people rallied in downtown Seoul, Saturday, to protest a court’s recent decision to acquit former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung of sexually assaulting and harassing his former secretary.
The public anger over the ruling in favor of the fallen political star in a high-profile #MeToo case signals a critical juncture in the months-long movement. The protest organizer expected only up to 2,000 participants.
The crowd, mostly dressed in black and of varying age groups, chanted slogans such as “A judiciary that protects sex offenders is an accomplice,” while holding placards stating, “No country for women” and “We, the survivors, are all Kim Ji-eun” (the alleged victim in An’s case). [Korea Times]
Here is some interesting facts about the case:
When Kim Ji-eun disclosed the sexual offenses by An in March, he first admitted to the crime on Facebook saying, “My office’s statement it was a consensual sexual relationship was wrong. This is all my fault.” However, he changed his statement after an investigation started, saying they had consensual sex.
The Seoul Western District Court ruled last Tuesday there was “insufficient evidence” that the accused used his position of authority to coerce the victim into having unwanted sex, saying the incident did not involve “the degree of physical force that makes it impossible for the victim to resist.” (…….)
In a letter read out to the protesters through her lawyer, Kim Ji-eun also reiterated this point.
“Do I have to kill myself to be recognized as a true #MeToo victim?” Kim’s letter read. “I was physically and sexually assaulted by An that day; I did everything in my power to show I did not want it to happen; I could not run away because I knew that I would be fired.”
Kim also denounced the court proceedings for not questioning An’s testimony.
“Dear judges: Did you ask An why he said sorry to me; why he first wrote on Facebook it was not a consensual relationship; and why he destroyed his phone before the prosecutors got to him? Why did you not question the perpetrator?” Kim said in the letter.
The protesters also said they were frustrated at the court’s failure to recognize the sexual intercourse between the employer and the employee as a rape only because there was no physical coercion or verbal threats. [Korea Times]
Activists stage a rally in front of a court in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, 200 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 16, 2018, denouncing a Seoul court ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung not guilty of sexually abusing his former secretary Kim Ji-eun. The 54-year-old politician was indicted in April on charges of forcing Kim to have sex with him four times and molesting her multiple times between the middle of last year and early this year in Seoul and while on overseas business trips. The Seoul court said that there was not sufficient evidence to prove An used his position to have sexual relations with the plaintiff. (Yonhap)
I don’t think these protesters are going to find too many objections from men in regards to their demands towards Facebook:
A group of female protesters went topless in a rally against Facebook, Saturday, protesting its “discrimination,” based on a policy that bans posts showing women’s breasts but allows men’s naked torsos. Ten women wearing masks and sunglasses carried signs that read, “Why do you delete posts in which I willingly showed my breasts?” and “Set me free from what is virtually a modern corset,” near company headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul.
Soon after photographers and police arrived, the protesters lined up and took off their T-shirts to show a Korean character drawn on their chests to deliver the message “My body is not pornographic material.”
Police forcibly covered the women with blankets despite fierce protests, with some women shouting, “Why are police officers covering us? Why do they keep suppressing us?”
The highly “liberal” move came about a week after Facebook unilaterally deleted an account that posted a message with a photo of a topless woman, slapping the account holder with a one-month suspension. Facebook said the post violated company policy on uploading photos containing naked body parts and sexual acts. “Facebook is used by all age groups, which is why we need to create an environment where a majority of people feel safe,” the company was quoted as saying. “We understand the women’s group and where they are coming from. We must delete the topless photos for now.” [Korea Times]
