South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo (R) holds talks with his visiting Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco on military cooperation at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2016. The talks are the first of their kind since the two nations set up formal diplomatic ties 24 years ago. Angola has been North Korea’s traditional ally. (Photo courtesy of Defense Ministry) (Yonhap)
The woman behind the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye decided to make a surprise appearance at a hearing that she did not have to attend:
Choi Soon-sil (R), the woman at the center of an influence-peddling scandal rocking the country, sits next to her lawyer Lee Kyung-jae during the first preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Dec. 19, 2016. (pool photo) (Yonhap)
The close friend of President Park Geun-hye who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal that has led to the president’s impeachment appeared at her first court hearing Monday and denied all charges raised.
Choi Soon-sil attended the first preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul. It was the first time she has appeared before the public since she was called in by prosecutors in late October.
“When I first came from Germany, I thought I should submit to any punishment,” said Choi, who was indicted last month over a string of corruption allegations involving the president and aides.
“But since I arrived here, I have gone through a lot of interrogations,” she said, without finishing the sentence.
When the presiding Judge Kim Se-yun asked whether she meant she denies all suspicions leveled against her, Choi said “yes.”
Choi returned home on Oct. 30 after nearly two months in Europe, following criticism from the public to answer questions raised against her.
“Eight of the allegations raised by the prosecution are that she colluded with the president,” Choi’s lawyer Lee Kyung-jae said. “As she did not collude with the president, she cannot be found guilty of the charges made.”
It is not mandatory for defendants to attend the preparatory procedures, which are meant for the prosecution and defense to discuss how the upcoming court hearings should proceed.
Lee told reporters in a text message earlier in the day she has “expressed her willingness to sincerely go through with the trial proceedings.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see if the prosecutors can prove that she bullied conglomerates into giving her non-profits money. For all we know they could have been willingly giving her money because of her influence with President Park, much like corporations giving money to lobbyists in the US.
It seems the ROK should just bring the fishermen to Panmunjom and let them cross over the border there even if the North Koreans don’t communicate back to them:
Eight North Korean fishermen spent weeks lost at sea. Now they’re adrift in a diplomatic limbo.
The fishermen all said they wanted to go home after being rescued by South Korean maritime police earlier this week, but Seoul has been unable to reach the other side to arrange their return, officials said.
The case offers an unusual glimpse into the communication methods used between the two enemies, which are divided by the world’s most heavily fortified border and remain technically at war.
When the North Koreans didn’t pick up the phone, the South resorted to a form of shouting: broadcasting the request across the Demilitarized Zone via loudspeakers. [Stars & Stripes]
This is pretty much the typical political platform from the Korean left, THAAD is bad and lets talk to North Korea:
Moon Jae-in
“It is inappropriate for the THAAD deployment process to go on under the current political circumstances,” he said.
The commander of U.S. Forces Korea said last month the THAAD battery would be deployed to South Korea within eight to 10 months.
Moon held out the possibility of renegotiating the agreement to deploy the system, saying doing so would not damage relations with the United States. He said if elected, he would work to maintain strong ties with the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea.
Moon came top in a poll of possible presidential candidates released on Thursday by Realmeter, with 24 percent, compared with 19.5 percent for outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is widely expected to enter the race though he has yet to declare his intention to do so.
Moon, who is a liberal, criticized the conservative Park’s policy on North Korea for failing to end its nuclear program.
He said a two-track approach involving more talks would be more effective, adding he would be willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, if certain conditions were met. [Reuters]
I have always thought that South Korea is an ideal location for electric cars to be sold considering the short distances that are driven in the country:
GM Korea’s Chevrolet Bolt EV can travel 383 kilometers (239 miles) on one full charge, the longest distance among EV candidates that confirmed their debut in Korea next year. [GM KOREA]GM Korea, poised to launch the fully electric car Chevrolet Bolt EV early next year in Korea, confirmed Tuesday with the Ministry of Environment that its vehicle can travel 383 kilometers (239 miles) per charge.
It can now drive the longest distance with one full charge among the vehicles set to debut next year.
“Bolt EV is able to travel from Seoul to Busan with one charge,” said James Kim, president and CEO of GM Korea. “It is going to change the paradigm of Korea’s EV market.”
The retail price has not been revealed. Its U.S. price is an estimated $37,500 before tax incentives. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
I guess this guy figures he can ride out the ROK presidential scandal to its conclusion by remaining in hiding:
Woo Byung-woo
The National Assembly is getting close to tracking down Woo Byung-woo, the former presidential secretary for civil affairs who has been on the run to avoid questioning over his role in the abuse of power scandal that led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye.
Its uncommon allies in the hunt: average angry Koreans.
Several people, including Woo and the presidential friend at the center of the scandal, Choi Soon-sil, did not obey summonses by a bipartisan special legislative committee that held a series of public hearings last week to grill key suspects in the scandal.
Former and current lawmakers have come together to offer a nearly 15 million won ($12,855) bounty for details on the whereabouts of Woo, who has earned the nickname “mikkuraji” (loach) in local media, a Korean term for someone hard to catch.
A personal aide of Rep. Sohn Hye-won from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, who is one of the committee’s 18 members, said on a CBS radio show Tuesday morning that ordinary Koreans were eagerly hunting Woo down. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link, but the summons papers has to be handed to him in person to be legally binding. This is why he is remaining in hiding so no one can hand him the papers that would legally force him to appear in public for questioning about the scandal.
It looks like it will be a few months before the ROK Constitutional Court rules on the legality of the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye:
Justice Bae Bo-yoon, spokesman of the Constitutional Court, said Monday that the court will review all grounds cited in the impeachment motion. [NEWSIS]The Constitutional Court said Monday it will scrutinize all grounds cited in the National Assembly’s motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye, indicating that the trial will be a long process, possibly as long as six months.
The court held its first meeting Monday morning to discuss how it will proceed with the trial. The National Assembly on Friday passed a motion to impeach Park for alleged constitutional and legal violations, as she gave a friend influence in state affairs.
Justice Bae Bo-yoon, spokesman of the Constitutional Court, said Monday that the court will review all grounds cited in the motion, rejecting speculation that the court would review only key charges to reach a speedy ruling.
“We cannot use our discretion to have selective hearings,” he said. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The South Korean government has now responded to North Korea’s invasion drill:
South Korean officials were quick to condemn the movements.
“(We) view the drill from yesterday as a childish act to display that their system is undiminished, in response to our internal situation,” South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said.
“Kim Jong Un has been continuously visiting its military units since November and it has been escalating tension. We strongly condemn it.” [CNN]
It is just amazing to me that Choi Soon-sil would leave a tablet computer with so much sensitive information on it in her former office with no password protection for anyone to open up and check out:
JTBC reporter Shim Su-mi reports where and how she found the tablet PC Thursday night. [JTBC]In its evening news program on Thursday, JTBC refuted rumors concerning how its reporter discovered presidential friend Choi Soon-sil’s tablet PC in October before anyone else, which proved to be a crucial piece of evidence against her.
Ko Young-tae, former head of The Blue K, a shell company suspected to be headed by Choi, accused JTBC during the parliamentary hearing on Wednesday of changing its statement on how it came to possess the tablet.
“JTBC first said that it found the tablet in a trash can in Germany, and then changed its statement to say that it found the tablet PC among things that Choi threw out of her house after being informed by Choi’s household manager,” Ko said in the hearing. “And then it changed its statement once more to say the tablet PC was found at my desk at my company.”
JTBC Newsroom anchor Sohn Suk-hee and JTBC reporter Suh Pok-hyun on Thursday evening provided explanations to rumors surrounding how the tablet was first discovered by its reporter.
An explanation was provided the first time that JTBC reported on the case, which was on Oct. 24, when Suh said during Newsroom, “JTBC reporters searched one of the offices that used to belong to Choi, and in one of them we found her tablet among things Choi left behind.”
Sohn and Suh provided the same explanation during the program on Thursday evening, and added that the tablet was first obtained by JTBC reporter Shim Su-mi, who visited the office of The Blue K in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, on Oct. 18.
According to JTBC, Shim found traces that both The Blue K and Widec Sports appear to be owned by Choi and found the former office of The Blue K before any other journalists. Shim received permission from the building manager and entered the office, finding a desk and the tablet there.
“The office was on sale for two months, and real estate agents could enter freely,” Suh said. “So the reporter entered an office that was not owned by anyone at the time.”
Shim, in finding the tablet, saw its charger was missing. She bought a charger for the tablet model, came back and opened six files, examined them and left the tablet there, according to JTBC.
She then returned two days later, for fear that the evidence inside could be destroyed by Choi or her confidants. She copied the files inside, and broke the news on Oct. 24. That same day, she handed the tablet over to prosecution.
At the parliamentary hearing Wednesday, a few lawmakers demanded JTBC reveal how it came to examine the tablet in the first place, as rumors that Ko or Choi’s ex-husband, Chung Yoon-hoi, chief of staff to Park from 1998 until 2004, gave it to JTBC. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
