I am surprised that the number of Koreans supporting the expansion of the U.S.-ROK alliance is this high:
Koreans are carefully weighing the possible consequences of expanded security cooperation with the United States, especially regarding possible conflicts with China, a survey suggests.
Joong Ang Ilbo
In a recent survey of 1,000 Koreans over the age 18 by the JoongAng Ilbo and the East Asia Institute, 81.8 percent agreed that the Korea-U. S. alliance should address not only issues of the Korean Peninsula but also those of the region at large.
However, though the Korean public favors expanding the U.S.-ROK alliance, they don’t want the ROK to become involved in a conflict over Taiwan:
Should a conflict break out between the United States and China in the Taiwan Strait, a majority of respondents wanted Korea to take no part in the clash.
Slightly more respondents said Korea should remain uninvolved in a clash over Taiwan than those who said Korea should play a role in the conflict, 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent.
When asked more generally what Korea should do in a potential conflict between the two superpowers, 50.3 percent said Korea should stay neutral; 45.2 percent said Korea should support the United States; and 4.2 percent said that Korea should support China.
Luckily for South Korea countries back in 1950 came to their aid when they were attacked by aggressive Communists, but now the majority of Koreans want to turn their backs on a country very similar to them facing aggressive Communism today.
A lot more interesting findings from this survey can be read at the link.
It is good to see how stringent the rape sentences have been getting in South Korea because it was not like this in the past:
In this file photo, a man, known as the “spin kick assailant” for his brutal attacks on a female stranger, leaves a court in the southeastern port city of Busan on June 12, 2023. (Yonhap)
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attacks on a female stranger for the purpose of rape.
The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment’s elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the back of the head and then continually assaulting her until she passed out.
He was given a 12-year prison term on charges of attempted murder by a district court in October last year, but the Busan High Court raised the sentence to 20 years in June after prosecutors changed his charge to attempted rape murder after detecting his DNA in her jeans.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Long time Korea expert Victor Cha, who now teaches at Georgetown University, is a big advocate of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan:
The three leaders agreed to “inaugurate a new era of trilateral partnership” to counter military threats from North Korea and “aggressive behavior” from China in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement at the time.
“As we embark together in this new era, our shared values will be our guide and a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which our half-billion people are safe and prosperous, will be our collective purpose,” the statement said.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force joined warships from the U.S. and South Korea in several military drills this year, including a ballistic missile defense exercise on Aug. 29 near Jeju Island, south of the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan’s “institutionalization in the broader scope of cooperation really is unprecedented,” Cha said.
“It is transforming the U.S.-[South Korea] and U.S.-Japan alliances from being more than just private goods that provide exclusive benefits to allied partners, to also publicly benefit the world,” Cha added.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
This would be a very interesting summit if it ever happened. I wonder if they would do it if China said North Korea has to attend as well?:
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida talk during a visit to the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi on Sept. 10, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed Sunday to work toward realizing a trilateral summit with China, the presidential office said.
The two held talks on the margins of a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, expressing their pleasure at meeting a total of six times since March, when Yoon traveled to Tokyo to mend bilateral relations badly frayed over historical disputes.
“The president said the two countries should continue active meetings in the second half of the year and smoothly implement the process to hold a South Korea-Japan-China summit,” the presidential office said in a press release. “Prime Minister Kishida said he would actively respond.”
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
