Tag: South Korea

If you think South Korea already has too many Chinese tourists, well it is about to get worse:

Repeat short-haul visits by Chinese travelers to Korea are expected to rise after Seoul eased multiple-entry visa rules, but analysts say the immediate impact may be limited because of growing competition from Southeast Asia and higher airfares linked to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.

The Korean embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese nationals who had previously visited Korea would now be eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa.

Those holding residency status in 14 major cities — including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou — could also apply for 10-year multiple-entry visas, the embassy said this week. Employees of Chinese companies that have invested at least $1 million in Korea were also eligible for 10-year multiple-entry visas.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

President Lee can rest easy that he can take emergency actions without worrying about getting impeached unlike what happened to former President Yoon:

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday instructed senior officials to take bold measures to address concerns over the energy situation caused by the war in the Middle East, saying the government may issue an emergency economic decree if necessary.

“South Korea, which is highly dependent on external markets and relies heavily on energy supplies from the Middle East, requires more thorough inspections and detailed emergency measures,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting.

Lee urged all relevant ministries to closely monitor the situation and take “preemptive and bold action” to ease concerns over potential disruptions of energy supply.

“Key raw materials, such as urea solution, helium and aluminum, should be strictly managed at levels equivalent to wartime supplies,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Really what is Russia going to do if South Korea sells arms to Ukraine? Do more threatening bomber flights around the peninsula like they are already doing?:

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said Moscow will have to resort to “retaliatory measures” in the event South Korea provides lethal weapons to Ukraine, a Russian media report showed Saturday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko made the remarks in an interview with Russia’s Tass news agency, as he mentioned an initiative to supply Ukraine with U.S. weapons, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).

“We have consistently conveyed to the South Korean side through various channels Russia’s principled position on the inadmissibility of the participation of South Korea in the direct and indirect supplies of lethal weapons to the Kiev regime, including as part of the PURL initiative,” Rudenko was quoted as saying.

“Otherwise, the bilateral relations between Russia and South Korea may be seriously affected, and we will be forced to resort to retaliatory measures. I hope that we won’t be forced to resort to such steps,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

One Korean Middle East expert is calling for Korea to send troops and ships to assist Gulf Arab allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:

Korea risks undermining its defense export ambitions in the Middle East if it fails to support key Gulf partners during the current conflict, a Middle East expert warned, arguing that trust built in times of crisis, not just technology, determines future arms deals

Jang Ji-hyang, a principal fellow and director of the Center for Regional Studies at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said Seoul has focused too narrowly on its alliance with the United States and its role as a middle power, while overlooking its strategic ties with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Korea Times

You can read the whole interview at the link, but something the Gulf Arab countries could use would be for Korea to send air defense units to help them defend against the drones they have been dealing with. This would show proactive support to the Gulf Arab countries while not being involved in active offensive operations against the Iranians if Korea wants to continue to hedge on this war.

As the war with Iran drags on more governments are going to have to implement fuel saving policies like this:

The government will strictly enforce a mandatory five-day vehicle rotation system for the public sector to respond to possible oil supply disruption amid persisting tensions in the Middle East while implementing additional energy-saving measures, the climate ministry said Tuesday. 

Starting Wednesday, the government will beef up monitoring of the public sector’s compliance with the license plate-based rationing system, under which cars are divided into five groups based on the last digit of their license plate numbers and each group is prohibited from driving on a designated weekday, according to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. 

The system has been in place but run loosely. Electric and hydrogen vehicles are exempt from such restrictions.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit weird that Taiwan is bringing up this issue now when South Korea says the labeling they have been using for Taiwan has been in place since 2004. Did the Taiwanese government just notice this now?:

Taiwan said Wednesday it has changed South Korea’s name in its immigration systems from “Korea” to “South Korea,” in a reciprocal move as Seoul continues to list it as “China (Taiwan)” on its e-arrivals despite its repeated calls for a “correction.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry also warned that it will take further corresponding measures if it hears no positive response from Seoul by the end of this month.

The ministry said in a statement that the change took effect March 1, with the nationality of South Koreans on its foreign resident certificates now listed as “South Korea,” instead of “Korea.”

It said the measure came as a reciprocal measure, as Seoul has yet to “correct the inappropriate labeling” of the island state in its e-arrival card system.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is the excuse the ROK appears to be going with on why they can’t help open the Strait of Hormuz:

Should Korea decide to send a mine countermeasure vessel to the Strait of Hormuz, just reaching the area could take three months or longer, military officials said, highlighting the operational challenges facing any potential naval deployment. 

Officials familiar with the matter said that even if a decision is made, the timeline and preparation for getting assets into position would be shaped not only by the challenges of transit, but also by the difficulties of moving vessels through a high-risk environment.

While some have raised the possibility of redirecting the Cheonghae Unit — currently operating in the Gulf of Aden — to the Hormuz mission, the unit is not equipped with the mine-sweeping helicopters needed to safely operate in a mine-threat environment. Deploying a dedicated mine countermeasure vessel or an Aegis destroyer from a Korean port would therefore require a separate deployment process.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but if the ROK wanted to support Trump they would find a way to do it. The easiest way would be to say we can’t provide a countermine ship, but we can redeploy a ship on the anti-piracy mission to link up with U.S. Navy countermine ships to help patrol the Strait.

I have more respect for nations that just say participating in this war is not in their national interest. With UAE announcing that Korea is now their number one priority to export oil to there is no need for Korea to get involved in this.