Elementary school students in South Korea will be facing increased scrutiny from teachers for signs of child abuse this year:
South Korea will check all 480,000 children set to enter elementary school this year for signs of child abuse, the Education Ministry said Sunday (Feb 5).
“If soon-to-be enrollees are unaccounted for, failing to show up at preliminary meetings organised by their designated schools, we will pay a visit to their houses and check their living situation,” said an official from the Education Ministry.
This marks the first time that the government conducts a nationwide inspection of pre-school children, after a high-profile case last year revealed a loophole in the current education system to detect child abuse cases.
In February 2016, the body of seven-year-old boy named Shin Won Young, who had been locked up and beaten for three months by his stepmother – was found months after his death. [Strait Times]
So far, so good for Defense Secretary Mattis’ visit to South Korea:
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis (Yonhap)
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday began his two-day visit to South Korea in his first overseas trip aimed at underscoring the U.S. security commitment to the Asian ally amid growing threats from North Korea.
After landing at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, at 12:30 p.m., Mattis headed to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, according to the defense ministry.
Mattis was briefed by USFK Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, including Seoul-Washington’s joint readiness against North Korean threats that include that it is close to test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, military officials said.
He then met with Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and attended a dinner event hosted by Defense Minister Han Min-koo at a Seoul hotel.
Hwang is currently serving as acting president after President Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly over a corruption scandal. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but Mattis has reconfirmed the US commitment to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea despite Chinese objections.
I believe anyone that makes a false rape allegation should face the same punishment as someone convicted of rape. The woman in this case since the sentence was suspended only has to do 120 hours of community service after making an allegation that could of sent the accused to jail and ruined his life:
A woman has been found guilty of falsely accusing a man of raping her.
On Monday, Ulsan District Court sentenced the woman to eight months’ jail, suspended for two years, and 120 hours of community service.
According to the court, the woman falsely accused a man of raping her when she was drunk last year.
But the court found that the woman had consented to having sexual intercourse.
When her boyfriend found out that she cheated on him, she falsely told police the man had raped her.
“Sexual crimes often have no objective evidence other than the statement of the victims,” the court said in a ruling statement.
“Therefore a false claim can greatly hinder the justice system and needs to be severely punished.” [Korea Times]
It seems like the only thing controversial about the final version of the state sponsored history textbooks is the fact that it is an initiative from the Park Geun-hye administration:
State sponsored history textbooks [KBS World Radio]The Ministry of Education released Tuesday the final versions of controversial state-authored history textbooks for middle and high school students, which are supposed to go into use from 2018.
The ministry said it made some 760 edits to the textbooks after drafts were revealed to the public in November, using the feedback it received.
The most notable change is the official description of Aug. 15, 1948, as Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea. Some historians have argued that date should be described as the foundation of the government of the Republic of Korea, because the country was founded in 1919, with the founding of the provisional government in Shanghai by independence activists.
While the state-authored textbooks will call Aug. 15, 1948, Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea, the ministry said authorized private history textbooks can describe the date as the foundation date of the country or the government.
The ministry added that schools will still be able to opt between authorized private history textbooks and state-authored history textbooks from 2018, when the state-authored history textbooks will be put to use.
According to the ministry, other notable changes to the final versions of the state-authored textbooks include extended details on pro-Japan forces during the Japanese annexation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. The state-authored history textbooks admit that the government failed to make strong efforts to discover and take disciplinary action against pro-Japan forces.
The ministry also said the new textbooks admit the delay in the government’s efforts to get the facts straight on Jeju Island’s April 3rd Uprising. It is generally understood that the details of the brutal atrocities committed against suspected leftists on the island in 1948 were hushed up by the government until after the democratization movement of the country in the late 1990s.
The previous drafts of the state-authored textbooks were also criticized for overly praising the work of former President Park Chung Hee. The initial draft of the high school textbook spent four pages describing the former president’s positive achievements, while allotting only half a page for the negatives that accompanied them.
The revised and final version of the high school textbook, the ministry said, admits that Park’s Saemaul (New Village) Movement “had its limits.” But the textbook will still allot nine pages to history related to former President Park. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I don’t see how you can tell the modern history of Korea without a lot of pages on Park Chung-hee considering how long he ruled the country and the sweeping changes he made.
This is a big surprise and it shows how poisonous the political environment in South Korea is right now. With that said Ban clearly doesn’t have what it takes to be President if he can’t handle “fake news” put out by the political opposition:
Ban Ki-moon
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dropped his bid for president Wednesday, capping an end to his three-week journey to the Blue House as he has found himself facing a myriad of controversies and questions over his political skills and qualifications.
Standing before reporters during a hastily arranged press briefing at the National Assembly around 3:30 p.m., the former UN chief announced he would stop seeking to capture the country’s highest elected office while acknowledging that he had wanted to lead the nation as it is mired in a crisis with President Park Geun-hye now impeached.
“I told the people my intention was to bring about national unity because the country was deeply divided,” said the 72-year-old, adding he had wanted to capitalize on his 10-year career as the UN chief to help the country by throwing himself into politics.
Then Ban blamed the political establishment for his decision to drop out of the race, saying, “I have found political players very selfish, whose mindsets are stuck in the past. I have come to the conclusion that it is meaningless for me to continue my path with them. Reflecting on this judgment, I decided to rescind my decision to take a lead in reforming politics and accomplishing national unity.”
Ban used harsh words in denouncing the political establishment and press for having washed his political aspirations away, going so far as to liken critical reports of his domestic activity over the past three weeks to character assassination.
“My sincere patriotism has been tainted by fake news and rumors that are akin to an act of murder of my character, leaving a scar on the UN for which I devoted 10 years as its chief and disappointing many people.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The below article from The Diplomat is a really good article that details the complexities and key players of the current ROK presidential crisis. Like I have always said if it wasn’t for the tablet PC that JTBC News acquired the impeachment likely never would have happened due to the all the backroom deals in place to keep things quiet:
As someone living in Korea and having watched history unfold these last few months, it has been impossible to shake the feeling the media did what the Prosecution Service was reluctant to do. Without media involvement, the engagement of bystanders, and the propinquity of various storylines coming together, it appears possible and even likely the Choi Soon-sil scandal would have been snuffed out like so many other allegations before it. It was only after Park had been impeached and a special prosecutor assigned that more proper investigations began, culminating in the parliamentary hearings and the shocking indictment of Samsung’s chief, Lee Jae-yong. The courts, unfortunately, have yet to demonstrate a change from the norm, flatly denying the special prosecutor’s request for a warrant to arrest Lee, citing “a lack of evidence” despite overwhelming media coverage and Lee’s own admissions in parliamentary hearings to the contrary.
Based on the evidence presented here and in those hearings, it becomes difficult to view the current presidential scandal as a single, isolated incident. Instead, the picture painted depicts a deeply embedded tradition of backdoor dealings on an epidemic scale affecting all levels of government, especially the very bureaus that should be overseeing justice. Beyond influence-peddling, the scandal extends to strong-arm tactics to suppress the truth by manipulating the press, questionable due process in the courts, and possible tampering with the Prosecution Service.
Had it not been for Choi Soon-sil’s tablet, Park may have never been impeached. [The Diplomat]
I highly recommend reading the whole thing at the link. By the way I don’t think I will ever buy another Nature Republic product ever again after reading about the shadiness of its CEO in the article.
