Tag: South Korea

Here is something you just don’t see happen with a high profile government official visiting South Korea. Considering he did this to a woman he doesn’t know during a state sponsored trip, you know he is doing this to women working around him in Vietnam:

This photo, provided by the defense ministry, shows Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee (L) shaking hands with his Vietnamese counterpart, Hoang Xuan Chien, in Seoul on Sept. 11, 2025. (Yonhap)

 The defense ministry has summoned a Vietnamese defense attache stationed in South Korea over alleged sexual misconduct by Vietnam’s deputy defense minister during his visit to Seoul last month, military officials said Monday.

According to the officials, Senior Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien inappropriately touched a South Korean public servant during a banquet with high-ranking military officials on Sept. 11.

The Vietnamese vice defense minister was visiting Seoul on the occasion of the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Sept. 8-10.

Given the gravity of the case, the ministry summoned the Vietnamese defense attache eight days later to lodge a protest over the deputy minister’s behavior.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if any of these people knew there were going to be arrested as soon as they got on the airplane:

South Korean nationals who had been detained in Cambodia arrive at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, under police escort on Oct. 18, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

 A total of 64 South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia over alleged online scams arrived home early Saturday on a chartered flight and most of them would face criminal probes as suspects, police officials said. 

The large-scale repatriation came after the torture death of a South Korean college student who was lured to work by a criminal ring in Cambodia that triggered public outrage in South Korea. 

The Korean Air plane carrying them arrived at Incheon International Airport at 8:35 a.m., about five hours after leaving Techo International Airport near Phnom Penh.

Their arrival came days after a South Korean government response team was dispatched to Cambodia to assist the Korean nationals implicated in online scams run by local crime organizations.

The South Korean nationals were reportedly placed under arrest once they boarded the plane and were set to be taken to police stations nationwide for investigations about their alleged involvement in criminal activity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it appears these Koreans are suspected of helping the Chinese gangs to lure Koreans to Cambodia to be exploited. Their defense will probably be that they were forced to it by the gangs. This is definitely a mess for the ROK authorities to figure out.

At this point there really is no reason for the Kim regime to pursue diplomacy with the U.S. They are currently getting all the aid and support they need from the Russians. If the Ukraine-Russia end then the Kim regime may look for a new source of aid. If that is the case diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. would make more sense:

South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha speaks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York on Oct. 17, 2025. (Yonhap)

 South Korea’s top envoy to the United States said Friday that there is no indication yet that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to open in Korea later this month.

Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York, amid lingering speculation that Trump could seek reengagement with Kim when he visits Korea for the APEC gathering slated to take place in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

“President Trump has said he is open to dialogue, and North Korea has also shown an indication (leaning toward dialogue). But there is no sign yet that something will materialize on the occasion of the APEC (summit),” Kang said during the audit session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Could we end up seeing a repeat of the 2008 mad cow riots in South Korea if Trump pressures the ROK to accept wider US beef imports?:

 The owner of a high-profile cow farm in South Gyeongsang Province is opposed to wider imports of U.S. beef. 

Byun Jung-il believes that allowing the import of some kinds of American beef would increase the risk of Korean consumers being exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a zoonotic infection also known as mad cow disease. Korea has had a ban on the import of beef from U.S. cows aged 30 months or older in place since 2008, following widespread protests over the safety of such imports. 

The Donald Trump administration, amid ongoing tariff negotiations with Korea, is seeking to turn the tables by demanding that Seoul lift the ban. Both countries reached an initial agreement in late July to leave the bilateral livestock trade conditions intact. However, subsequent ministerial meetings between Seoul and Washington suggest that the issue remains on the table.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but who in the US is dieing from mad cow disease? ROK consumers should probably be more concerened about the hormones and antibiotics given to US cattle than mad cow disease. However, the ROK ranchers probably give their cattle the same shots.

This bill is coming from the same party that supported unions such as the KCTU conducting violent protests during the prior Yoon administration, but now wants to criminalize protests by citizens speaking out against China:

Korea’s ruling party has introduced a new bill that would prohibit rallies considered to promote hate or discrimination, in response to an increase in anti-China protests ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anticipated visit to Seoul later this month.

The bill, proposed by Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and 12 other progressives, seeks to outlaw rallies aiming to “incite or promote discrimination or hatred” targeting specific races, nationalities or other groups.

This follows a spike in anti-China protests in areas like Seoul’s Myeong-dong and Daerim, where demonstrators have chanted slogans such as “China Out.” Tensions fueled by such gatherings prompted the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to recently issue a safety advisory for its nationals, sparking diplomatic concerns as government officials here prepare for the first visit by a Chinese leader in over a decade for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The real question is why has it taken the ROK government so long to respond to the enslavement and torture of its citizens in Cambodia?:

This photo provided by a reader shows a man whose hands are believed to be tied to an iron bed in a Cambodian criminal compound.

Lawlessness, assaults, torture and deaths are commonplace in Cambodia’s notorious criminal compounds, witnesses and their acquaintances told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday, amid numerous reports of South Koreans being victimized by online scammers operating in the Southeast Asian country.

Testimonies have also surfaced that about one victim dies daily from torture and assaults in the Cambodian criminal camps, called “Wenchi.”

Some of the victims are sold to organized crime syndicates operating in Cambodia’s border towns, such as Poipet and Bavet, and have their organs removed when they can no longer work or have no money to extort.

According to the interviews with the witnesses who had worked for Cambodian crime rings, torture, such as pulling out fingernails or cutting off fingers, is carried out in their compounds and human trafficking, where victims are sold to other camps for money, frequently occurs. (……..)

“If victims go into debt and fail to produce a certain performance, they are forced to sell their organs. They first have their eyeballs removed because corneas are relatively easy to transplant and their unit price is quite expensive,” the witness said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I always thought of Seoul’s City Hall area as Korea’s equivalent of Times Square where people tend to congregate, just without all the flashy screens:

Local governments across Korea are rushing to create their own versions of New York’s “Times Square,” unveiling massive outdoor screens and digital media facades in an effort to boost tourism and revitalize local economies. 

Inspired by iconic landmarks such as New York’s Times Square, London’s Piccadilly Circus, Toronto’s Dundas Square and Osaka’s Dotonbori, municipalities are competing to establish high-tech media zones that double as urban attractions.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Sunday, Seoul’s Gangnam District around Coex was first designated as a “free outdoor advertising zone” in 2016, followed by Gwanghwamun Square, Myeong-dong and Haeundae District in Busan in 2023.

The government’s easing of regulations — once tightened to curb light pollution and visual clutter — has triggered what officials describe as a “new era” in the outdoor advertising market.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.