Tag: South Korea

I guess we will see next week if the ROK can strike a deal or not with the Trump administration. What will be interesting is if a deal is struck will the likely Lee Jae-myung administration in two months stick to it?:

The United States will engage in trade negotiations with South Korea next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, stressing the “first mover advantage,” as countries are striving to strike deals with the U.S. to minimize the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy on their economies.

In a Bloomberg interview, Bessent touched on plans for upcoming negotiations with South Korea and Japan. Earlier this month, Trump imposed steep “reciprocal” tariffs on the two allies and dozens of other countries but later placed a 90-day pause on the new tariffs.

“We had Vietnam in last week. We (have) Japanese in on Wednesday. … South Korea next week,” he said. “So it’s going to move fast.”

The secretary underscored there will be a “first mover” advantage as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament Monday (Tokyo time) that Japan will not make compromises for the sake of quickly wrapping up tariff talks with the U.S.

“I think there will be advantage to our allies, especially a first mover advantage,” he said. “Usually, the first person who makes a deal gets the best deal.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As expected it looks like Lee Jae-myung is going to win the Korean presidency in a landslide because of his name recognition, the PPP being tarnished by Yoon’s impeachment, and the fact the PPP is fractured and cannot rally around a single candidate:

This undated composite photo shows Lee Jae-myung (L), former leader of the Democratic Party, and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo. (Yonhap)

A former leader of the Democratic Party (DP), Rep. Lee Jae-myung, is leading the race for the presidency of South Korea with nearly 49 percent support, a poll showed Monday. 

South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3 as the Constitutional Court removed former President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his failed martial law bid. 

According to the survey conducted by Realmeter on 1,506 adults aged over 18 from Wednesday to Friday, Lee topped the list with 48.8 percent.

Former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, who joined the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and declared his bid last week, came next with 10.9 percent, down 5.4 percentage points from the previous week.

Acting President Han Duck-soo made his first appearance in the survey with 8.6 percent, though he has not officially announced his presidential run. 

Former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon received 6.2 percent, and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo garnered 5.2 percent, followed by Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker of the minor opposition New Reform Party, at 3 percent. Support for other potential candidates was below 3 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I was never a big fan of moving the Presidential office to Yongsan and it appears who ever the new Korean President ends up being, it will move yet again:

Following the removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, many are wondering if the next administration might relocate the presidential office, currently located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, back to the previous location of Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, or to a new site.

“Regardless of which party takes power, I think the majority of the public is unlikely to agree with the presidential office remaining in Yongsan in the long term,” said Rep. Kim Min-seok, a senior leader of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, appearing on a radio program Tuesday.

He added that the ousted Yoon had not allowed sufficient public discussion when he moved the top office out of Cheong Wa Dae to Yongsan.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but I believe they should just move it back to Cheongwadae. It is a beautiful complex in the heart of Seoul, but would need to have a major security scan done since it has been open to the public for so long. When it opened to the public I made sure to go and visit Cheongwadae because I figured the Presidential office would eventually move back there. It was pretty cool to be able to mostly freely walk around an area that had for the longest time been closed to the public. I will need to post pictures of the visit when I get a chance.

Appeasement of North Korea is what one analyst expects and the Korean left’s track record on this issue shows this will likely come true:

Sung-Yoon Lee, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., said Yoon’s removal “virtually enthrones” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as the likely next president. Lee, who has not formally announced a run for the presidency, faced Yoon in the 2022 election.

In December, he famously scaled a wall at the National Assembly to block Yoon’s martial law decree. Yoon defended his decision, accusing the Democrats of obstructing legislation and conducting politically motivated investigations of government appointees. “If Lee Jae-myung or another [Democratic Party] politician takes power, we can anticipate big changes — mostly for the worse for South Korea’s national security and its alliance with the U.S., based on the ignoble record on North Korea policy …,” Sung-Yoon Lee told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. (…..)

“Politicians are prone to switching colors on various issues,” Sung-Yoon Lee said. “But Lee Jae-myung and his fellow lawmakers are united and unswerving when it comes to appeasing Kim …”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The DPK leader Lee Jae-myung has a clear advantage going into the snap election caused by former President Yoon’s impeachment due to his name recognition. It will be interesting if any member of the PPP can consolidate support to effectively take him on in such a short campaign timeframe:

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, shakes hands with floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday, after the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office. Newsis

The date for the election has not yet been decided, but acting President Han Duck-soo is expected to designate the date during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. It is most likely to be held on June 3, exactly 60 days after Yoon’s ouster was finalized. 

Amid this tight schedule, the country’s major rival parties — Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) and the more liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) — are expected to launch election preparations this week, setting up respective election committees that will decide on a road map for their primaries and campaign plans.

If the election date is set for June 3, the parties must determine and register their candidates by May 11, a day before the official campaign period launches. Those currently serving as local office chiefs or ministers have to resign at least 30 days before the election if they want to join the race, meaning by May 4.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It took a couple of days, but impeached President Yoon has now released a message to his supporters:

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol said Sunday he will always stand by his supporters, two days after the Constitutional Court ruled to remove him from office, while not issuing any message of his accepting the court’s decision.

“As long as you — young people — do not lose confidence, our future will be bright. Though I step down from presidency, I will always stand by you,” Yoon said in a message, released by his legal team, to a group of his supporters.

Yoon said he is grateful for their support, saying that “realizing the nation’s grave crisis situation, you have made a journey to defend freedom and sovereign rights, which will be recorded as a great history.”

It marked Yoon’s second statement since Friday, when the court upheld his impeachment over his brief martial law declaration in December.

On Friday, Yoon said he was sorry for not being able to meet public expectations and it has been the greatest honor of his life to serve the nation.

With Yoon’s ouster, South Korea should hold a snap presidential election within 60 days of the court’s ruling.

Some political observers said Yoon’s Sunday message was apparently aimed at rallying support from his aggressive supporters ahead of the presidential election. In a meeting with leaders of the People Power Party on Friday, Yoon called for thorough preparations for the party to win the election.

The Democratic Party denounced Yoon for “instigating” ultra-right forces, saying that Yoon has not apologized for his “illegal” martial law declaration despite the court’s decision.

His message “appears to be nothing more than a refusal to accept and a mockery of the Constitutional Court’s ruling,” South Korea’s largest party said in a statement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that the DPK is claiming that Yoon is instigating right wing forces when it has been incredibly peaceful after Yoon’s impeachment. Could you imagine how much violence would have happened over the weekend by the Korean left if Yoon was reinstated?

The only thing I find surprising by this ruling was that it was unanimous:

The Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

The verdict, which was read by acting court chief Moon Hyung-bae and televised live, took effect immediately, requiring the country to hold a snap presidential election to pick Yoon’s successor within 60 days, which many expect to fall on June 3.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link., but considering all the judges voted in support of impeachment then why did it take so long to reach this decision?

I think this is where the political crisis has really impacted South Korea, which is the inability to effectively negotiate tariffs with the Trump administration because you don’t know who will be President week-to-week:

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, right, speaks at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Thursday, during a meeting with businesspeople to discuss countermeasures against U.S. reciprocal tariffs. In the middle is Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo.

Korea has been hit with the highest reciprocal tariff rate among the 20 countries that have free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States.

With it clear that Seoul had failed to persuade Washington to impose lower tariffs on Korean products compared to those from major exporters like Japan and the European Union, concerns are growing over Korea’s diplomatic approach and future trade negotiations with the U.S.

The White House announced on Wednesday (local time) that the U.S. will impose a 26 percent reciprocal tariff on Korea, while charging 24 percent on Japan and 20 percent on EU member states.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Drugs are a growing problem in South Korea that hopefully this drug seizure will help to combat:

South Korea’s customs authorities and Coast Guard on Wednesday seized approximately 1 ton of smuggled cocaine on a foreign vessel docked on the country’s east coast, officials said.

The Donghae regional office of the Coast Guard and the Seoul Regional Customs deployed around 90 personnel to search the ship docked at a port in Gangneung after receiving a tip-off from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at around 6:30 a.m.

The FBI had warned that a 32,000-ton carrier suspected of carrying drugs was entering Korean waters on the day, according to the officials.

The Norwegian-flagged vessel is believed to have departed from Mexico and traveled through Ecuador, Panama and China before arriving in Korea.

Authorities discovered 50 boxes each containing about 20 kilograms of cocaine hidden aboard the ship.

The seized drugs have an estimated market value of 500 billion won (US$341.7 million), equivalent to around two million doses.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.