Tag: South Korea

Inflatable characters are seen in the stands Sunday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, while the Doosan Bears face off against the Lotte Giants. The KBO last Thursday announced plans to continue no-spectator games for several more weeks after recent spikes in Covid-19 cases in Korea. [YONHAP]

The fact that this was not leaked to the activist groups to and block the convoy means that the Moon administration sees no need to play the anti-US card yet:

New interceptor missiles were brought onto a U.S. THAAD missile defense base in South Korea on Friday as replacements, the defense ministry said, in a surprise overnight operation aimed at minimizing friction with local residents opposed to the base.

Also brought onto the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in the central town of Seongju were power generation equipment and other items to be used to improve the living conditions of troops stationed there, according to the ministry.

The ground transport operation, which began around 10 p.m. Thursday, ended around 6 a.m., officials said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The logistics warehouse cluster infection continues to grow:

South Korea said Thursday that it will beef up quarantine measures in the Seoul metropolitan area over the next two weeks to stem further spread of the new coronavirus in the densely populated area amid eased social distancing.

Under the measure, health authorities will apply a strong social distancing scheme in the capital city and surrounding areas through June 14.

Public facilities, including museums and art galleries in the region, will be shut down, with companies urged to adopt flexible work systems and follow quarantine rules.

Entertainment establishments such as bars and clubs in the metropolitan area will be strongly advised to close down over the period, according to Health Minister Park Neung-hoo.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the ROK Health Minister is saying if they can’t get the cluster infection under control it could undermine the school reopenings that have been happening recently.

Here is the latest dustup between the Moon administration and the American led United Nations Command:

A feud between the government and the United Nations Command (UNC) seems to be intensifying as the former has complained of a series of recent decisions by the command regarding inter-Korean issues.

Some critics, including senior government officials, say the U.S.-led UNC, which administers the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), has overstepped its authority regarding the Moon Jae-in administration’s peace initiatives on the Korean Peninsula as part of efforts to maintain its presence here. 

The latest friction occurred, Tuesday, after the UNC concluded that both South and North Korea violated the Armistice Agreement when they gunfire was exchanged inside the DMZ, May 3, adding that it was unable to determine whether North Korean soldiers fired intentionally or by mistake. 

The findings are in stark contrast to the Ministry of National Defense’s conclusion that the shots fired by North Korean troops across the border were accidental, a stance later echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. As a result, the ministry expressed regret over the UNC’s findings immediately after its announcement, saying in a press statement that the command reached its conclusion without a practical investigation of the gunfire from the North. 

Korea Times

If there was no evidence to support that it was an accidental firing than that is what the UNC should report. The UNC was doing its job while the Moon administration would rather they support the political position they took on shooting incident.

Of course here come the usual suspects to include North Korea’s favorite bag man Im Jong-seok to condemn the UNC:

Former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok said in a recent interview with a local magazine that the UNC was trying to exceed its authority.

“The command has to do only what it has to do over entry into and exits from the DMZ and passage over the MDL, but it is acting like it has special rights. This needs to be fixed as soon as possible,” he said.

Moon Chung-in, the special security adviser to President Moon, also said in a media interview, last September, that the UNC was the “biggest barrier” to improving inter-Korean relations.

“The UNC blocks North-South Korean transactions across the DMZ. According to the Armistice Agreement, it only has to administer the DMZ and the MDL. Should it continue doing so, South Korean people may have antipathy toward the command,” he said.

Im Jong-seok makes it seem that the UNC should just be gate guards that allow free passage of anything the Moon administration wants to do to include violating sanctions.

I have been saying that after the April elections that if the Moon administration did not feel like that their was momentum in their inter-Korean strategy that they would eventually play the anti-US card. This may be their first trial balloon towards playing the anti-US card.

If you ever wondered what former President Park was convicted of that landed here in jail for 33 years, Dr. Tara O has a really good write up about it that is well worth reading:

During the initial trial, the prosecutor wanted a 30 year jail sentence.  Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Se-yoon (김세윤) judged that Samsung’s provision of three horses owned by Samsung and associated costs (insurance, fee) worth ₩7.29 million ($6.4 million) to equestrian Chung Yu-ra was a bribe, and interpreted that Park “received” the bribe.  The judge deemed that the total amount of “bribery” received or requested was ₩23.2 billion ($18 million).  As mentioned earlier, she did not receive any money, and there is no evidence that proves bribery occurred.  On April 6, 2018, Judge Kim sentenced Park to 24 years in jail and fined her ₩1.8 billion ($16.2 million), stating “she does not show remorse.”  In fact, she stopped attending the trials after October 2017, after she realized the court was rigged.

The prosecutor appealed the case and at the appeals court, the “bribery amount from Samsung” increased to $8.68 billion ($7.8 million).  The judge increased Park’s sentence to 25 years and the fine to ₩2 billion ($180 million).  The Supreme court returned the case to the Seoul High Court, instructing it to split the case.  She also received additional jail sentences of 8 years from other cases, for a total of 33 years of prison sentences.

East Asia Research Center

I recommend reading the rest at the link, where she compares Park’s treatment to the treatment of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s wife’s corruption trial. I have always said that Korea is a rule by law country and not a rule of law country and this is a perfect example.

Despite recent cluster infections South Korea’s schools have begun their phased reopening:

Schools finally reopened Wednesday after a monthslong closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, putting to the test the government ability to control outbreaks at schools.

In a phased reopening plan, high school seniors became the first group to attend in-person classes, 79 days after the original semester start day of March 2. The other students, including preschoolers, will return to school by June 8.

The government has postponed school reopening five times already, as parents and school officials worried about potential coronavirus outbreak. Small clusters of infections added to the anxiety amid prolonged social distancing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the preventive measures should be something closely watched by school administrators in the United States to implement best practices.