Tag: South Korea

I figured it was only a matter of time before the South Korean media picked up on some of the inaccurate comments about Korea that Donald Trump has been repeating.  I figure by now he has to know his comments are untrue, but just repeats them because they resonate with uninformed voters.  It is pretty sad that we have gotten to the point that politicians have to craft messages that appeal to the uninformed:

Trump’s rise in popularity also garnered attention in South Korea after his remarks on the security of the two Koreas and the American military involvement.

Initially, South Korean media covered Trump’s remarks against women and immigrants as noteworthy international headlines, speculating that Trump’s popularity was American conservatives’ reaction against Obama’s more liberal policies, such as the Affordable Care Act and marriage equality.

However, Korean interest in Trump increased after he suggested that South Korea gives nothing back in exchange for U.S. military protection.

“(Whenever) they’re in trouble, our military takes care. You know what we get? Nothing,” he said during a South Carolina rally last month.

His comments made in 2011 before the 2012 presidential election also resurfaced in hindsight, when he also said that the U.S. military protected South Korea, but “they don’t pay us.”

Trump made similar remarks on Korea again last Sunday, saying that South Korea makes “a fortune” from their exports. “Between Samsung, and LG, and Sharp, they all come from South Korea,” he said, misidentifying Japanese company Sharp as Korean.

“Why are we defending everybody? And these are rich nations. South Korea makes billions and billions. We get nothing. We are like the stupid people that go and defend everybody,” he added.

His remarks drew some ire from the public, and South Korean news outlets described Trump’s remarks as “misinformed” or “misguided,” citing that South Korea has long shared the cost of having a U.S. military presence in the country.

Korea currently has about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the country to help defend against North Korea. Additionally, it is also seen as being in America’s interests to be within geographic proximity to China.

Last year, Korea renewed its agreement with the United States to pay 920 billion won ($770 million) toward the upkeep of U.S. troops here, a 5.8 percent increase from the previous year.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

A unification observatory, a tourist attraction in Goseong, a town around 200 kilometers northeast of Seoul near the border, is closed for the third day on Aug. 23, 2015, amid military threats from North Korea, with high-level talks between the two neighbors slated to resume later in the day to discuss how to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula.  [Yonhap]

This photo taken on Aug. 25, 2015, shows a traffic signpost collapsed as strong wind and rain were caused by Typhoon Goni in the southeastern coastal city of Busan. The strong typhoon is expected to reach the sea 160 kilometers off the city’s eastern coast at 3 p.m. that day. (Yonhap)

Beauty meets art in #AmorePacific R&D Centerhttp://t.co/USwKoHpnOT pic.twitter.com/gs3oCqSt7h

— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) August 23, 2015

Not much really since the ROK is trying to balance showing action to their domestic audience and not broadcasting things that would upset the Kim regime to where it would make it very difficult for them to deescalate.  The propaganda speakers are also a bargaining chip because the ROK right now is broadcasting little propaganda, but could threaten to broadcast more if things do not deescalate:

The loudspeakers that the military is using consist of 40 or so high-output 500 watt digital speakers that are around 4m by 3m in size. During the day, the broadcasts can be heard more than 10km away in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. At night, the sound carries as far as 24km. At the moment, the messages are broadcast intermittently. North Korea also began broadcasting propaganda into South Korea on Aug. 17. Since North Korea is using antiquated analogue loudspeakers, its broadcasts are reportedly hard to even understand in South Korea. The broadcasts that the South Korean military is sending into North Korea typically are not very political, focusing more on news in North and South Korea, world affairs, and the weather. One female defector from North Korea also takes part in the broadcasts, telling the story of how she defected and talking about her life in South Korea. But the fact that South Korea could use the broadcasts to criticize the North Korean regime if it so chose appears to be putting pressure on North Korea.  [Hankyoreh]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like it will be a rainy week for everyone in South Korea as Typhoon Goni passes through:

Typhoon Goni is expected to strike Japan’s southern island Kyushu and move north along the East Sea.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast Sunday that the 15th typhoon of the season will hit Kyushu on Tuesday morning before moving northeast to pass the East Sea near Dokdo Islet on Wednesday.

The weather agency forecasts the typhoon will bring rain to Jeju Island and the eastern parts of Korea on Monday.

Rains are expected for the entire nation on Tuesday, with strong winds and heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters expected for the coastal areas of the East Sea.

The tropical storm is also expected to bring strong winds and waves in the southern and eastern seas, putting residents in the coastal areas on alert.  [KBS World Radio]

First of all you have to be stupid to believe you are being drafted into the military based on a random text message that pops up on your phone.  With that said the prankster deserves whatever punishment the authorities give him:

South Korean police vowed Sunday to sternly take action against the spread of groundless draft rumors amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas.

The move came after a series of false conscription text messages and rumors were massively circulated after the North fired artillery across the border last Thursday.

A 23-year-old college student surnamed Kim was arrested Thursday for spreading massive draft texts. The message said “discharged men aged between 21 and 33 will be drafted once the war is imminent,” adding that all should check their designated military camp’s website on the ministry’s homepage once the war declaration is confirmed. The message was sent under the name of the Defense Ministry.

Kim reportedly claimed that it was a prank. [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

If any ROK Heads have a few billion dollars lying around you could use it to buy the Korean retail giant Homeplus if you are interested.  It will be interesting to see what changes will be made once Homeplus is sold off:

Private equity groups are expected to submit final bids to take over the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain Homeplus, valued at about 7 trillion won ($5.86 billion), amid growing speculation that two Korean retail firms are mulling to join the deal when the preferred bidder is announced, according to sources on Sunday.

Five shortlisted private equity firms formed three consortiums for Monday’s final bidding for Homeplus, wholly owned by Tesco. The British retail giant put up its Korean unit for auction in a bid to scale back the mounting debt and fund a turnaround plan.

Sources said the Korean confectionery company Orion and local retail giant Hyundai Department store are eyeing to join the bid as strategic investors.

“As Orion continues to show a strong will to buy Homeplus, there’s potential that it will link up with a private equity fund to be selected as a preferred bidder,” an official at an investment bank said.

The snack-maker, which failed to make the final list of five bidders, has been seeking a foray into the supermarket industry as its growth slows.

The preferred bidder is expected to be announced in September while the takeover deal to be wrapped up by the end of this year.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

Chang Ho-kwon (L), the eldest son of prominent independence fighter and dissident Chang Joon-ha, receives a glass of beer from a man pretending to be a Japanese Army officer during an event in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo Ward on Aug. 18, 2015, to display a C-47 cargo plane as part of festivities to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. The two are re-enacting an episode in which the elder Chang returned home from China aboard the same type of cargo plane and was offered a glass of beer from a Japanese officer at the now-defunct Yeouido airfield on Aug. 18, 1945, three days after Korea gained independence from the Japanese rule. (Yonhap)

Russia invites two Koreas to discuss trilateral cooperation on cross-border economic zone http://t.co/7wcmllAVhJ

— KEI (@KoreaEconInst) August 19, 2015