Tag: South Korea

The purge of President Lee’s political enemies using the martial law scandal continues:

 A special counsel team indicted former People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho on Sunday on charges related to ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid last December.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s investigation team said Choo was indicted without physical detention on allegations that he blocked party lawmakers from participating in a parliamentary vote to lift the martial law decree issued on Dec. 3 last year. (……..)

Choo, once considered a key ally of Yoon, is accused of deliberately and repeatedly changing the venue of an emergency party meeting on the night of Dec. 3 at the request of Yoon. The PPP was the ruling party when Yoon was the president.

Due to the changes, only 18 of the PPP’s 108 lawmakers took part in the parliamentary vote to lift Yoon’s decree, which passed unanimously early the next morning among the 190 lawmakers present.

Choo immediately denounced prosecutors for what he called an “unwarranted” indictment based on fabricated charges, claiming he had not received any request from Yoon regarding the martial law.

“The special counsel proceeded ahead with its political indictment without further evidence, even after its request for an arrest warrant was dismissed for failing to substantiate the charges,” Choo said in a press release, accusing the investigation team of political persecution.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Notice that the ROK government did not completely rule out the possibility that indirect talks may be going on with North Korea which is using the joint drills as leverage:

South Korea is not considering adjusting its joint military drills with the United States as part of efforts to resume stalled talks with North Korea, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Sunday.

Wi made the remarks when asked whether Seoul might review the regular exercises with Washington to help revive inter-Korean dialogue, as Pyongyang has dismissed Seoul’s overtures since President Lee Jae Myung’s first six months in office.

“If we are to resume dialogue, we need to consider what cards we can use. While there are many possible options, we are not directly considering using the Korea-U.S. joint exercises as a card,” Wi said during a press briefing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This presidential aide ends up being the fall guy when he wasn’t even the one doing the influence peddling the Deputy Floor Leader for the Democratic Party was. The aide simply responded to the text message. I am sure the presidential office will find this guy some other cush job somewhere for being agreeing to be the fall guy:

The presidential office said Thursday it has accepted the resignation of a presidential aide over allegations of influence-peddling, as the aide was linked to an improper request on personnel appointment. 

The office said Kim Nam-kuk, the presidential secretary for digital communications, offered his resignation earlier in the day. 

His resignation came two days after ruling Democratic Party (DP) deputy floor leader Moon Jin-seog was caught on camera reading a Telegram message between himself and Kim during a parliamentary session.

In the message captured on Moon’s mobile phone, Moon asked Kim to recommend an acquaintance to the top post of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association’s (KAMA). 

Kim replied that he will recommend the figure to presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik and Kim Hyun-ji, a longtime aide of President Lee Jae Myung appointed as Lee’s personal secretary in September.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is what happened to Moon Jin-seog the actual guy trying to use his influence to get a friend of his appointed to a position:

On Wednesday, the presidential office said it issued a warning to “the official who had delivered inaccurate information in an improper manner,” referring to Kim.

The guy who tried to influence peddle gets a warning while the person who responded to the message is forced to resign.

If former President Moon could not get these people back after all the appeasement he did with North Korea, how does President Lee think he can get them released?:

The presidential office on Thursday confirmed that six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea and vowed to make efforts to secure the release of them by swiftly resuming talks with Pyongyang. 

The six citizens, including three North Koreans who had defected to South Korea, have been held in the North on charges of espionage and others since between 2013 and 2016.

They include three missionaries arrested by the North Korean authorities from 2013 and 2014, namely Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil. The presidential office did not disclose the identities of the three North Korean defectors to protect the safety of their families in the North.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is quite a high number of Koreans who choose to live alone, the article says that South Korea aging population is the main driver of this:

South Korea’s demographic structure is shifting at its fastest pace yet, with the share of single-person households surpassing 36 percent for the first time last year and the senior citizen population crossing the 10 million mark, new government data showed Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s statistics yearbook on social security, the number of single-person households reached a record high of nearly 8.05 million last year. This marks a sharp rise from 5.2 million households in 2015 to 6.64 million in 2020, with the figure first exceeding the 30 percent threshold.

If the current pace continues, the ministry projects single-person households will reach 8.55 million by 2027, 9.71 million by 2037 and nearly 10 million by 2042, cementing the model as the country’s dominant living arrangement.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

To restore communications with North Korea will require South Korea to make concessions of some kind. When Lee uses wording such as “shared growth”, that is likely code for whatever monetary concessions the ROK government plans to give to North Korea to restore these communcations:

President Lee Jae Myung proposed restoring communication channels with North Korea on Tuesday, saying it will serve as a starting point for “peaceful coexistence” between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Lee made the remarks during an event to mark the launch of the 22th Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, stressing that unification is a path that must be taken regardless of whether it takes decades or even a millennia.

“The historic task given to us is to end hostility and confrontation between the two Koreas, and to build a new inter-Korean relationship based on peaceful existence,” Lee said, suggesting the Koreas begin by restoring their dialogue channels that have been suspended for seven years.

He stressed the need for “shared growth” that benefits both Seoul and Pyongyang, and called for gradual efforts to start cooperation in areas of global interest, such as climate and environmental issues, disaster, safety, and public health.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

South Korea continues to make strides in their efforts to add a space industry to their economy:

Arirang 7, South Korea’s multipurpose satellite, has successfully entered orbit after lifting off from a space center in South America, the country’s space agency said Tuesday.

Also known as the Korea Multipurpose Satellite 7, the satellite was deployed from the Vega-C rocket 44 minutes after launching from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 2:21 p.m. Monday (French Guiana time), or 2:21 a.m. Tuesday (Korean time), according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA). The rocket is operated by France-based Arianespace.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the developer of Arirang 7, confirmed the satellite’s condition when it made contact with Russia’s Antarctic ground station at 3:30 a.m. (Korean time).

KARI also verified its successful orbital insertion through data from Arianespace.

Arirang 7, equipped with an ultra-high-resolution electro-optical camera and an infrared sensor, is expected to provide high-quality imagery for environmental and disaster monitoring, and urban heat island analysis.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like this deal will allow South Korea via UAE to sell arms to Islamic militant groups in Africa that UAE is backing:

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to work together to export defense equipment and nuclear reactors to third countries, marking a significant expansion beyond their fast-growing bilateral trade in these sectors. President Lee Jae Myung’s aides announced the agreement Tuesday during a briefing in Abu Dhabi, following a summit between the leaders of the two nations.

Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, told reporters that the two countries will elevate their defense cooperation by jointly developing defense equipment, establishing a manufacturing base in the UAE and pursuing defense sales not only to the UAE’s Middle Eastern neighbors but also to countries in Africa, Europe and North America.

The plan will “increase the likelihood” of South Korean defense exporters securing deals in these regions, Kang said, noting that the potential value of such contracts could reach a combined $15 billion.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

After 13 years since the sale of KEB happened it appears the Lone Star saga may finally be over:

An international arbitration body for investor–state dispute settlement has ruled in favor of South Korea in its challenge to the award for private equity fund Lone Star over its 2012 sale of a local bank, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Tuesday.

The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)’s annulment committee has nullified the earlier decision ordering South Korea to pay Lone Star US$216.5 million in compensation plus interest, Kim said in a briefing.

“The government’s compensation liability, which was roughly 400 billion won based on the current exchange rate, has been retroactively extinguished,” Kim said. “I believe that, thanks to our people’s support, the country’s fortune is moving in a positive direction.” 

Under the latest ruling, Lone Star is required to pay South Korea’s legal costs incurred during the proceedings — about 7.3 billion won (US$4.98 million) — within 30 days, Kim added.

South Korea had appealed the ICSID’s 2022 ruling to pay the compensation to Lone Star, after the private equity fund filed a suit in 2012 claiming that the South Korean government interfered with the sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), incurring $4.67 billion in losses.

The presidential office said it welcomes the ruling that has now “corrected the error.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but basically Lone Star made a bunch of much money in Korea by selling the Korea Exchange Bank and then tried to take its profits outside the country.  Their sale of the KEB led to large protests which caused the government to try and stop the sale any way it can. This all happened back in 2012 and was just one of a handful of anti-U.S. issues activists were using to stoke anti-American sentiment in Korea at the time.