Tag: South Korea

I think the President of the KATUSA Veterans Association makes a good point that South Korea is lucky that the abrupt cancellation of a concert recognizing 2nd Infantry Division troops has not received media attention in the US:

The recently disrupted concert meant to celebrate a key U.S. military unit’s centennial could trigger a bout of anti-Korean sentiment in the United States, a keen observer told The Korea Times Wednesday.

“We should put ourselves in their shoes,” Kim Jong-wook, president of the KATUSA Veterans Association, said. “Naturally, they would feel unappreciated for their service. After all, they are here, being a half world away from home, to defend Korea.”

On Saturday, Uijeongbu, the city north of Seoul, which is home to the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division, hosted a farewell concert for its members ahead of its centennial in October. Most of the Korean performers canceled their participation after receiving a flood of protests triggered by NGOs.

The civic groups demanded the singers stay away, arguing that the concert was preempted by the 15th anniversary of two Korean girls who were crushed to death by a U.S. armored vehicle in 2002.

“If the American public find out about what happened, I would have little doubt that they would want their children home,” Kim said.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but I don’t see this story getting any traction either in the US because all the American media cares about now is anything with the word Russia and Trump in it.

Via a reader tip comes this news of the murder of high rise building window worker:

A 41-year-old man was arrested for murder in Yangsan this morning after he cut a worker’s safety cord because the music playing from his cell phone was “too loud”.

Yangsan police say the man went to the top of the 15 story apartment and cut the two men’s safety cord with a knife at 8:13 a.m. this morning who were applying silicon sealant on a 12th floor window.

A 46-year-old worker plunged to his death, while a 36-year-old worker survived as his rope wasn’t completely cut. [Busan Haps]

You can read the rest at the link, but unsurprisingly the suspect who cut the cord was an unemployed drunk.

Britney Spears performs at her first concert in Korea to a 18,000-seat full house audience at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on June 10, 2017. The last time she visited Korea was in December 2003 to promote her fourth album. (Photo provided by iMe KOREA) (Yonhap)

Ian Buruma a very notable author in regards to Asian affairs had this to say in the New Yorker about the US military presence in South Korea and Japan:

The problem is that the existing order, put in place by the United States after the Second World War, might be exactly what hampers efforts to thicken that web. In a sense, America is experiencing the dilemmas typical of an empire in its twilight years. Imperial powers in the middle of the twentieth century used to argue that they couldn’t withdraw as long as their colonial subjects were not ready to rule themselves. But, as the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once explained to a rather baffled William F. Buckley, Jr., the continuance of colonial rule would not make them more ready. If the United States were to give up its policing duties in Asia too quickly, chaos might ensue. The longer its Asian allies remain dependent on U.S. military protection, however, the harder it will be for them to take care of themselves.

The most desirable way to balance the rising power of China would be the creation of a regional defense alliance stretching from South Korea to Burma. Japan, as the leading economic and military power, would be the logical choice to lead such a coalition. This would mean, in an ideal world, that Japan should revise its pacifist constitution after a national debate, led not by a government of chauvinistic revanchists but by a more liberal administration. But we do not live in an ideal world. Abe’s revisionism (he has currently set 2020 as a deadline for the amended constitution) is unlikely to achieve its aims in Japan. Most Japanese are no keener than most Germans to play a major military role once again. And as long as Japanese leaders insist on whitewashing their country’s recent past they will never persuade other countries in the region to trust them.

This is the status quo that dependence on the United States has frozen into place. As much as Abe’s government wishes to remain under the American military umbrella, the American postwar order, including the pacifist constitution, still inflames right-wing resentment. Yet Washington, and especially the Pentagon, which shapes much of U.S. policy in East Asia, has consistently supported conservative governments in Japan, seeing them as an anti-Communist bulwark. Meanwhile, as long as the United States is there to keep the peace, the governments of Japan and South Korea will continue to snipe at each other, instead of strengthening their alliance.  [The New Yorker]

You can read much more at the link, but Buruma’s comments are based on a book he reviewed titled “Avoiding War with China: Two Nations, One World” by Amitai Etzioni.  This analysis seems pretty accurate, does anyone disagree with it?

Co-hosting the World Cup would be the ultimate propaganda win for North Korea because it legitimizes the Kim regime and can be used to show how the world is groveling in awe of the Kim regime’s nuclear and ICBM programs which should be perfected by then:

South Korea will face roadblocks in its bid to bring the world’s greatest football competition to Northeast Asia.

In his meeting with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino on Monday, President Moon Jae-in suggested forming a regional bloc with communist North Korea and other Northeast Asian countries to jointly host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

According to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, Infantino said there will likely be “difficulties,” but also said such a vision itself “can be a very powerful message.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

This is an aerial view of the Hwaseong Dream Park, a youth baseball complex in Hwaseong, west of Seoul, that opened on June 9, 2017. The 242,000-square-meter complex, Asia’s biggest, houses eight ballparks, including four for players in elementary school and one for female players. (Yonhap)

This is yet another example of how empowered the anti-American left currently is in South Korea:

Korean singers on Saturday boycotted a government-backed concert for United States Forces Korea troops after workers and netizens revived a bitter episode involving the American military.

The municipal government of Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province organized the concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 2nd Infantry Division, which is stationed in the city.

USFK commander Vincent Brooks, the 8th U.S. Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, 50 officers and 400 soldiers as well as more than 3,000 civilians attended the free concert at the Uijeongbu Sports Complex.

But the musicians invited ― including soloist Insooni, K-pop bands EXID, Oh My Girl, Sweet Sorrow, punk band Crying Nut and rapper SanE ― neither showed up nor performed.

Insooni, 61, whose father was an African-American USFK soldier, told the audience at the start of the concert that she would not perform her three songs.

Shorty after this, the audience was told that all planned performances had been cancelled, causing many people to leave.

The concert, scheduled for three-and-a-half hours, was cut short by an hour, and went ahead with gigs by the 8th Army Band, the city orchestra and dancing troupe, a gukak (Korean traditional music) band and a taekwondo demonstration.

The boycott stems from a tragedy in 2002 when a 2nd Infantry unit tank accidentally ran over and killed two female middle school students on a street in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.

Even though the unit commander apologized and compensation was paid, two soldiers were found not guilty of killing the students because a U.S. military court at Camp Casey in Dongducheon ruled their deaths were an accident.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but for those that have not, I highly recommend reading my entire prior posting on the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident that provides the context of what happened:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2008/06/gi-flashback-2002-armored-vehicle-accident/

The threats against these groups must have been very serious considering that Insooni pulled out of the concert and her father was a USFK servicemember and grew up around US military bases in Korea.  So who was behind the threats?  None other than the anti-US Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU):

Hours before the event, 10 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ northern Gyeonggi branch also demonstrated against the city government in front of the complex.

A confederation spokesperson said, “Forcing students to congratulate USFK’s establishment with celebrities goes against our educational ethics,” according to the Chosun Ilbo.

So what ethics does the KCTU preach then?  The KCTU was linked to a massive North Korea spy scandal a decade ago and were key members in the violent anti-US protests against the 2005 Camp Humphreys expansion.

The KCTU also played a key role in the violent 2008 anti-US beef protests.  Yes you heard that right these thugs from the KCTU launched violent protests against US hamburgers and steaks being sold in South Korea.

US beef protestors beat a Korean riot policeman in 2008.

10 years of conservative rule had forced the KCTU and other anti-US groups to lower their profile after the anti-US beef protests since the government took action against them and put their leaders in jail.  With the new Moon Jae-in administration in charge, it is clear that these leftist agitators feel they have free reign to once again conduct aggressive anti-US activities just like what we just saw happen in Uijongbu.  Expect more of this to happen in the coming months and years.

Like I have beens saying President Moon is not stupid and the THAAD is not going anywhere.  The whole current environmental assessment issue with the THAAD deployment is just domestic politics:

Chung told reporters Friday that the decision to postpone the full deployment was a domestic measure to ensure a “transparent and democratic process.” He didn’t give a timeframe.

“Our government plans to deal with the THAAD deployment with a few principles while being fully aware of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” Chung said. “The government has no intention to fundamentally change what it has promised under the Korea-U.S. alliance.”

“THAAD was a decision made to protect South Korea and U.S. Forces Korea from North Korea’s growing threats,” he added. “The government will not handle such a decision lightly just because there has been a government change.”

Many South Koreans oppose THAAD because they fear it will have negative economic and environmental effects while being positioned mainly to protect U.S. forces in southern areas. China also strongly objects to the anti-missile battery, fearing it can be used against its military.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link, but the talking point that the THAAD is just there to protect US forces in the southern sections of the country like much of the criticism of the THAAD is stupid.    First of all it is the US-ROK alliance which means the THAAD will protect ROK assets as well.  The US military is not going to let ROK bases get blown up.  Secondly, if a nuclear warhead is launched at a US or ROK base at Busan for example, shooting the ballistic missile down protects the entire city not just the military base.

Finally the environmental concerns talking point has already been disproven and yet people continue to repeat it.  The Congresswoman from the one other location in the world that has an forward deployed THAAD battery, has said Guam has had no problems with the system in the four years it has been there.

I don’t mind criticism of the THAAD deployment, but like so many other issues between the ROK and the US the criticism is largely not fact based.

Considering that this woman had to be extradited from France, that leads me to believe that she knows her money was embezzled, but we will see what the courts decide:

A local court issued an arrest warrant on Friday for a daughter of a late businessman who controlled the operator of a sunken ferry that killed hundreds of passengers in 2014.

The Incheon District Court issued the warrant for Yoo Sum-na, the daughter of Yoo Byung-eun, the de facto owner of Cheonghaejin Marine Co., in light of risks that she “might flee or destroy evidence.”

She was arrested on charges of embezzling 4.6 billion won (US$4.09 million) from Cheonghaejin, the operator of Sewol.

The 51-year-old, who was extradited from France earlier this week, is said to deny the charges levied against her, claiming that the money her design company had received from her father’s company was “fair compensation for consulting services.”

She ran the company from June 2011 till December 2013 with a woman surnamed Ha who was close to her father. She is suspected to have coerced Cheonghaejin to pay her 2.5 billion won under the pretense of providing design consulting.

In another case, she is also accused of making another company of hers pay 2.1 billion won to a company founded by her brother without a justifiable reason.  [Yonhap]

I never thought of this before, but yes Army units from Alaska would have a very limited amount of time to train in darkness since the best months weather wise to train have a lot of daylight:

Six hundred U.S. troops wrapped up a monthlong training rotation to South Korea Monday with something in short supply this time of year at their home station in Alaska — darkness.

Soldiers from the Fort Wainwright-based 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment “Bobcats” spent May living and training at the 3,390-acre Rodriguez Live Fire Range north of Seoul.

“We’re here to build our lethality,” battalion commander Lt. Col. R. Blake Lackey said Wednesday.

That includes being able to operate day and night, the latter being difficult in the Alaskan summer, he said.

“This time of year we’ll be training at 1:30 in the morning and it’s still daylight,” said Staff Sgt. Benjamin Moore, 34, a recon team leader with the battalion.

“When it’s dark in Alaska it’s winter and it’s pretty harsh,” the West Palm Beach, Fla., native added. “So it’s really difficult to get after some of the more basic and fundamental [requirements].”

The Korea rotation has taken the unit “to a higher level of readiness we didn’t think was possible,” Lackey said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.