Tag: South Korea

Does this issue in South Korea sound familiar to Americans?:

Doctors staged a massive rally in Seoul on Sunday in protest against what they call the government’s “unilateral” medical care policy.

Around 7,000 members from the Korean Medical Association gathered in central Seoul to voice their anger at so-called Moon Jae-in Care, which the government says is focused on providing comprehensive medical services to the general public at reasonable prices.

The participants shouted out slogans such as “Let’s banish Moon Jae-in Care” and “The government has come up with a delusional policy.”

Many in the medical profession have been opposed to the plan costing 30.6 trillion won ($27.9 billion) that will be implemented in stages up to 2022. The government is aiming to greatly expand National Health Insurance coverage for most medical treatment, which includes various medical procedures and tests.

“We have set up a committee with the government to discuss the issue but we will immediately halt all talks and put up a strong fight, as discussions are void of truth with the government taking steps to unilaterally push forward the plan,” said Choi Dae-jib, the president of the association.

Doctors have consistently complained that policymakers are railroading the plan without proper consultation with those in the medical field and without regard for how the program will be funded in the long term.  [Yonhap]

Here is the latest on the online opinion rigging scandal in South Korea that has largely been buried by the headlines out of North Korea:

A power blogger known online as Druking and his associates face allegations that they engaged in a systematic campaign during last year’s presidential election to sway public opinion in favor of President Moon Jae-in by manipulating the comments section on news articles.Text messages obtained exclusively by the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday offer a glimpse into how the group worked and the extent of their ties with the Democratic Party.

The blogger, Kim Dong-won, and his associates used an encrypted messaging app called Telegram to exchange links to articles where they would apparently leave comments and use software to “like” ones that were favorable toward Moon, then a presidential candidate.

In a series of messages dated April 17, 2017, an associate of Kim who allegedly developed the rigging software posted a link to an article about each candidate’s platform. The comment that ended up receiving the most likes on that article was one that criticized the Liberty Korea Party, Moon’s opposition.

“Those LKP people like Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye and Hong Joon-pyo, they always talk about representing ordinary citizens. As if they would.” That comment received 837 likes.

On the same day, another member uploaded a link to an article about Moon’s platform. Comments such as “Young and old alike support Moon Jae-in” and “Go Moon” received the most likes, ranging from 100 to 200. The consistency between the comments of news articles posted to the Telegram chat room suggests the group had a hand in manipulating those comments.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but of interest is that Druking’s group was not only targeting conservatives, but coordinating with Moon Jae-in friends to target liberal rivals such as Ahn Cheol-soo:

In an earlier message dated April 6, 2017, Kim sent out a link to an article about Moon starting his campaign from Gwangju and wrote, “I ask for your support.” In the comments section, Kim had left a post criticizing Ahn Cheol-soo, one of Moon’s rivals.

“At the time, Ahn was rising in ranks and it looked like the election might be Ahn versus Moon,” said a member of the group who requested anonymity, “so we focused on criticizing Ahn in the comments.”

The messages also indicate ties between the group and Kim Kyoung-soo, then a lawmaker and close friend of Moon. “This link to the article was sent by Rep. Kim Kyoung-soo, so we better work on it once more in the morning,” the blogger, Kim Dong-won, wrote in the chat room in July 2017.

The revelation is the latest implicating the Democratic Party in the online manipulation scandal.

I have to wonder if Druking’s group was also used by the Moon campaign to target former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon?  Ban withdrew from seeking the ROK presidency due to what he called all the “fake news” allegations brought against him.

Overall though it is pretty clear that outside of conservative media in South Korea, this story is largely going under the radar.

Not suspicious at all:
1. N Korea tells S Korea to send back the Ningpo 13 or no "reunions" between S Koreans & their loved ones held hostage in NK.https://t.co/NYHj0sp0GS
2. N&S agree to "reunions" on 8/15.
3. This happens:https://t.co/oVc10eaNl7@RefugeesMedia @UNrightsSeoul

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) May 15, 2018

Considering that JTBC was the lead network used to take out former President Park Geun-hye by finding the highly suspicious tablet computer, I would not be surprised at all if they are now trying to create a narrative that these defectors were kidnapped:

The shift in the ministry’s attitude has made other defectors nervous. One woman who came to South Korea in 2008 and is raising a son here said, “I haven’t slept more than an hour a night since the inter-Korean summit. People like me who have been living quietly could be dragged off to North Korea any moment.”

Some 31,500 North Korean defectors live in South Korea, and many are feeling unsure of their status amid the thaw. They have been seen as having the potential to build bridges between the two sides if the two Koreas reunify but could now find themselves treated as obstacles to the smooth running of the political machine.

They are complaining about the South Korean government’s indifference and ostracism by other South Koreans. To them, it would be a devastating signal if some of the restaurant staff are sent back to the North.  (……………)

Meanwhile, the women who appeared in the JTBC report are living in fear, scared that their identities and whereabouts may be exposed. They have claimed that their comments were taken out of context in the JTBC report.

Civic groups supporting North Korean defectors also said their comments were not portrayed accurately. They simply said they miss their homes and wish to see their parents, but the report made it sound as if they were forced to come to South Korea against their will.

Kim Byung-Jo at the Korea National Defense University said, “North Korean defectors really know the good and bad points of both Koreas. It is important for the government to ensure that they do not feel nervous.”  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Women collect wild tea at a field in Hwagae Village in the southeastern town of Hadong on May 15, 2018. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has designated the region, which was certified in 2008 as the first to grow tea on the Korean Peninsula, as one of its world agricultural heritage systems in recognition of the site’s traditional tea-growing methods that maintain biodiversity. (Yonhap)

Here is who is reportedly replacing General Brooks as the next USFK commander:

The Donald Trump administration is expected to name Robert B. Abrams, a four-star Army general, as the new U.S. Forces Korea commander, according to a diplomatic source Wednesday.

Abrams will replace Gen. Vincent Brooks, who will leave his post as commander of United States Forces Korea (USFK) possibly as early as this summer. An official announcement naming Abrams, currently commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, as the new head of the USFK is expected to come at a later date, and the replacement is expected to take place in July or August.

The White House is also expected to soon officially name four-star Adm. Harry Harris, the outgoing chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, as ambassador to Seoul, a long-vacant position. A diplomatic source well informed on the matter told the JoongAng Ilbo, “The duo of Harris, a four-star Navy admiral, and Abrams, a four-star Army general, stand at the front line in the case of any problems arising amid the rapidly changing situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

Their appointments would complete the Trump administration’s reshuffling of the diplomatic and security lineup over the Korean Peninsula. Abrams, 57, is the son of a 1950-53 Korean War veteran, Gen. Creighton W. Abrams Jr., a former Army chief of staff and commander in Vietnam who is known for legendary exploits in World War II. His two brothers are also in the military.

Abrams was born in 1960 in Germany and has spent more than 30 years in active service. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Abrams received a master of science degree from Central Michigan University and a master of strategic studies degree from the United States Army War College. He has led units in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Abrams also previously served as a senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and a strategic war planner for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He became the 22nd chief of United States Army Forces Command in 2015, commanding some 229,000 active duty soldiers. The Army Forces Command includes some 776,000 soldiers and 96,000 civilians.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the Dokdo front:

South Korea urged Japan on Tuesday to retract its repeated territorial claim over Dokdo, a pair of rocky outcroppings in the East Sea, saying it will only impede efforts to move forward bilateral ties.

It was a reminder of longstanding diplomatic rifts between the neighboring countries despite a call for firm unity among regional powers to handle Pyongyang’s recent peace overtures.

In a statement, South Korea’s foreign ministry denounced the description of sovereignty over Dokdo in Japan’s yearly foreign policy document, known as the Diplomatic Bluebook, reported to the Cabinet earlier in the day.  [Yonhap]

Maybe the ROK government should summon the Japanese ambassador and have Flag Eater Man,  Finger Chopping Lady, Knife in the Gut Man, Weed Killer Man, the Dokdo Riders, and Bee Man all to waiting for him so they can demonstrate their Dokdo patriotism.  Despite the hyperbole over this issue, I believe Korea clearly wins on the Dokdo debate, but why muddle this issue with the stupid East Sea issue?:

The ministry summoned Koichi Mizushima, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to lodge a formal protest. He refused to answer questions from reporters, entering the ministry building.

Kim Yong-kil, director general for the ministry’s Northeast Asian affairs, told the minister that Seoul can’t accept Tokyo’s unilateral naming of the body of waters between the two nations, officials said.

In the diplomatic paper, Japan said the waters shouldn’t be called the East Sea.

“In particular, (Kim) made clear that (the government) can’t accept Japan’s unjust claim regarding the East Sea name,” the ministry’s spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said at a press briefing. “(He) stressed that the East Sea is the correct name that has been used for more than 2,000 years in our country.”

f Koreans want to call the body of water East Sea I have no problem with that, but internationally the term Sea of Japan makes more sense.  That is because East Sea is not East of Japan and thus makes no sense for an international observer not invested in the Dokdo/East Sea issue when they see it on a map.  Korea would make a better case for renaming the body of water if they had a more generic description such as “Asian Sea”.

They could always go with my suggestion and just call it the “Nameless Sea”.

Here is what one man said he saw happening at a closed USFK base in the Western Corridor:

A dump truck pulled into view ahead, coming up from the back gate down to the front gate, both of which had been left wide open. Maybe it was just taking a shortcut?

As I followed it down, a few minutes later I heard another truck behind me. I jumped into the brush again. But this truck stopped at a corner, engine idling. I heard what sounded like someone dumping out fluids from containers onto the ground.

Finally, after at least 10 minutes, a door slammed and the truck pulled out. I hugged the brush as the truck trundled past me on its way downhill.

Once it was out of sight, I hiked up to where it had parked, but couldn’t find any trace of whatever was dumped out. So I escaped before a third truck could come.

Heading downhill, the front gate was still wide open and several dump trucks were parked in front.

Months earlier, the Seoul City Government tested the soil and groundwater around six USFK sites in the city, searching for signs of contamination by U.S. forces. One site was the Eighth U.S. Army Religious Retreat compound, which would’ve been used for weddings, not storing Agent Orange or formaldehyde.

The contamination tests in Seoul didn’t reveal anything too scandalous, but even if they had, I’d remember that U.S. base that once stood proudly between Seoul and North Korea, turned into a toxic waste dump.  [Korea Times via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but local nationals illegally dumping is something I have seen plenty of times before in Korea from mechanics dumping oil into storm drains and septic trucks pumping their waste directly into a stream.

As I have been saying for some time, if a peace treaty is agreed to with North Korea, the South Korean left will then challenge the relevancy of the US-ROK alliance:

Two progressive civic groups on Sunday called for a review of the character of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in line with the two Koreas’ efforts for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The ,  and Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society issued the call, with Seoul and Washington set to hold a third round of negotiations this week on sharing the cost for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops in the South.

“As (the two Koreas) are in the process of implementing the Panmunjom Declaration and establishing a peace regime, the character and size of the USFK, and the scope of its activities should be reviewed,” the two groups said in a joint statement.  [Yonhap]

The PSPD and Minbyun are both extreme left wing pro-Pyongyang organization that have long been anti-US.  For example PSPD is one of the groups behind the ongoing THAAD protests, blamed the US for Christian missionaries kidnapped by the Taliban, was a member of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA that even had one of their own set himself on fire outside one of the FTA meetings in Seoul.  PSPD was also one of the lead organizations against the relocation of US forces to Camp Humphreys.

Minbyun on the other hand are basically Kim Jong-un’s personal lawyers in South Korea.  They have long been used to legally attack North Korean defectors, one of the groups behind the US beef riots, and have long attacked the USFK relocation plan.

ROK President Moon Jae-in has said that after a peace treaty he wants US forces to stay.

Moon, however, has said that the USFK is a matter of the Seoul-Washington alliance and that it has “nothing to do with” a peace treaty that the two Koreas agreed to pursue to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended only with a truce.

Remember though that Moon is a very skilled politician that needs to keep the Korean right at bay and public anxiety down.  If he advocated openly for a USFK withdrawal that would give the South Korean right an issue to strongly attack him with and cause much public anxiety after decades of security guarantees provided by US forces.  That is why I think it is a possibility that the Moon administration may publicly say they support USFK, but will then have their surrogates do things to make life difficult for USFK such as what Minbyun is proposing:

Regarding the allies’ talks on the cost of American troops here, the civic groups called for more transparency in spending procedures, more parliamentary oversight and a ban on the use of money for supporting the deployment of U.S. strategic assets.

Possibly the future of USFK could look a lot like the current THAAD site in Seongju.  President Moon will say all the right things that he supports USFK, just like he supposedly supports the THAAD site, but will set conditions to make it difficult for its continued existence.  Minbyun and PSPD’s current efforts could just be the start of a larger strategy to make life more difficult for USFK if a peace treaty is signed.  All the while expect the Moon administration to say how much they support USFK.