Category: Anti-American Crap

I guess one way you can look at this is that there was no talks about not deploy it either:

South Korea and the United States exchanged information on key features of the THAAD missile defense system, but there were no discussions on deploying the system to South Korea, Seoul’s ambassador to Washington said Saturday.

“I am aware that there were consultations on the weapons system itself,” Amb. Ahn Ho-young said in response to questions from lawmakers during a parliamentary audit of the embassy. “But there were no discussions at all about deploying a THAAD battery to the Korean Peninsula.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the controversy with THAAD has to do with the left wing view that the deployment with antagonize China because the radar can look into China.  Interestingly enough these same leftists don’t seem to mind that the ROK military already has the Super Green Pine as well as the SPY-1 radars on their Aegis ships that can also have the range to look into China.  This is clearly just another example of the usual suspects on the Korean left trying to demagogue what should not be a controversial issue; protecting South Korea from a ballistic missile attack and instead twisting it into an anti-US issue.

During the period of 2000-2004 USFK servicemembers were subject to a number of anti-American incidents especially after the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident where an environment was created that encouraged altercations with US military members.  Arguably the worst anti-American incident during this time period was the 2002 Seoul Subway Kidnapping.  In September  2002 three USFK servicemembers, Private John Murphy, Private Eric Owens, and Private Shane Tucker were traveling back to Camp Red Cloud in Uijongbu from Seoul on the subway system that runs between the two cities.

The three soldiers were sitting in a subway car when approached by a group of South Koreans led by the the 65 year old Suh Kyung-won.  Suh was a long time anti-US activist and former member of parliament in South Korea that had been convicted in 1989 for spying for North Korea.  Suh’s group was handing out flyers critical of the US military and the armored vehicle accident that happened 3 months prior.  They were handing out the flyers to people on the subway as their group traveled to a major anti-US rally at Kyunghee University.

Suh approached the three soldiers and tried to give them a leaflet.  One of the soldiers Private John Murphy refused the leaflet and Suh slapped him in the face and was accosted by the other members of the group.  Suh said he slapped Murphy in the face because he cursed at him.  Suh however does not speak English so how he would know for sure that Murphy cursed at him or not is open to debate.  Murphy said he responded to the assault by Suh and other group members by swinging wildly to defend himself which included punching Suh in the face.  The three soldiers moved to a different subway car and then got off the subway to wait for another train to get away from Suh’s group.  However, the stop they got off on was the one where the anti-US protest was being held.  The three soldiers now found themselves being ”pulled, punched, kicked and spat upon by demonstrators” as they tried to get away from them.  As the soldiers were being beaten and pulled towards the Kyunghee University stadium by the growing mob the Korean riot police who had been stationed near the university for an unrelated event were able to intervene and rescue two of the soldiers from the mob.

The video opens with a one-minute statement by Suh recounting the evening’s events. The next 100 seconds show a chaotic street scene, with squadrons of riot-geared police and protesters running and cursing. Police are running while escorting Owens and Tucker from the mob.

An alarmed Owens and Tucker are seen running to police behind barricades at the hospital entrance.

“We have three friends. We have three,” shouts one of the soldiers.

“One more,” says the other. “Yellow. Yellow shirt. Yellow,” he said, tugging on his own shirt in an apparent reference to Murphy, who wore a school-bus-yellow shirt that day.

The video cuts to a vivid scene between South Korean protesters and riot police. One policeman bashes a protester with his shield, wounding the protester’s face. Other protesters throw items at police and kick them.

“How come you guys hit us to protect Americans?” the protesters scream.  [Stars & Stripes]

Unfortunately the anti-US Voice of People website that published video of the incident has since removed the video from their website, but fortunately the Stars & Stripes published what was said.  I find it interesting how the xenophobia of the protesters by thinking the police would just give up the soldiers who are being beaten simply because of their nationality.  Their friend Private Murphy remained detained by the mob and brought to the stadium to witness the anti-US rally.  There according to the US military he  ”was photographed, videotaped and allegedly forced to make a public statement about the incident on the train.”  The US military also criticized the Korean police for allegedly letting the demonstrators take Murphy with them.

Private John Murphy during his detainment at a anti-US rally at Kyunghee University.

At the rally one of the key statements that Murphy was forced to say was that the US military should give up legal jurisdiction of the two soldiers involved in the 2002 Armored Vehicle Incident back to Korean authorities.  For those that do not know the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) allows the US military to keep legal jurisdiction over servicemembers involved in incidents while on duty.  Since the armored vehicle accident happened while on duty the US military kept jurisdiction over the case.  If the accident had happened off duty while driving a civilian car the soldiers would have been tried in a South Korean court.  USFK keeps jurisdiction for on duty incidents which is a central tenant of all US SOFAs and is one that is included in SOFAs that the Korean military has signed with other countries that ROK Army troops are deployed in.  The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident is a perfect example of why a SOFA is needed in order to prevent politically motivated mob justice against US servicemembers serving in a foreign country.  The kidnappers of Murphy would later go on to claim that they kidnapped Murphy because they thought the US-ROK SOFA would prevent the police from arresting him.  Even if this was true, this shows how effective the misinformation about the US-ROK SOFA in Korea has been over the years.

The demonstrators that had kidnapped Murphy were from the pro-North Korean group Hanchongryun.  Hanchongryun were some of the most violent protesters duriring the 2008 US beef riots and have a long track record of anti-US and pro-North Korean activity.  This group was actually considered an illegal pro-North Korean collaborator group until Korean President Roh Moo-hyun came to power in 2003 and allowed them operate openly again.  The Hanchongryun members next took Murphy from the stadium to Kyunghee University Hospital where he was forced to apologize to Suh Kyung-won who was sitting in a hospital bed there with a black eye.  Murphy’s time at the hospital was also videotaped.  Here is what Murphy said in the video:

 “I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. I’m very sorry. I’m sorry,” says Pvt. John Murphy to Suh Kyung-won, a former South Korean assemblyman who has accused Murphy of throwing the first punch in a melee that spread from a train car to a sports stadium. Murphy, his palms pressed together and taking cues from a South Korean policeman, tells Suh, “I was swinging. I was not looking … I was scared because everybody was hitting me … I’m very, very sorry.” [Stars & Stripes]

I have seen this video before and clearly Murphy was under duress and even then he clearly states that he was assaulted by the mob first.  After being forcibly brought to the hospital and videotaped Murphy was then released by the mob to Korean police who were actually in the hospital letting the mob use Murphy as a anti-US propaganda prop. Ultimately despite being assaulted, beaten, kidnapped, and forced to make coerced statements, Murphy was charged by the Korean police for assault.

Three USFK servicemembers at the police station after being beaten and abducted by members of the anti-US group Hanchongryun.

After this incident the US embassy and military in South Korea was furious and demanded action by the Korean government against Suh and the Hanchongryun members that were responsible for the beating and kidnapping.  They also demanded that the charges be dropped against Murphy which later they were by the Korean police.  Despite a mob beating and kidnapping of these soldiers, only one person ever received any punishment.  24 year old Yongin University student Koh Min-soo was fined $8,500 and given three years probation for the assault and kidnapping of the US soldiers.  However, the judge presiding over the case said during sentencing that the fight was provoked by Murphy and that Koh was responding to help an older Korean.  This is of course ridiculous when later Korean prosecutors admitted they dropped charges against Murphy because they determined that Suh struck Murphy first and then abducted him. However, defenders of Suh would later say that this was just a cultural misunderstanding:

Reminds me of the subway incident with some USFK soldiers in 2002. In my view the incident was a series of cross-cultural misunderstandings. I’ve met Suh Kyung Won personally on a few occasions and his public behavior over the years does make me believe that he probably touched one of the three US soldiers in one way or another, as he is accused of doing. No responsible public figure wants to be seen with him anymore, and he likes to make a scene and make himself a victim at demonstrations. But a man of his age can physically push a young man around in Korea, or at least do it and not then get a violent response, which appears to be what he got from the soldiers.

Americans think that once someone touches you you are authorized to unleash more than is necessary to merely get out of the situation. Angered by that, the students accompanying Suh dragged one of the soldiers on to the campus of nearby Kyunghee University to make him “apologize.” Well knowing that a US soldier had been taken by Korean students somewhere against his will, the riot police outside the school still chose not to raid the campus and rescue the guy. Like I’m saying, Koreans just don’t think “detaining” someone to make a point is full-fledged kidnapping or hostage taking, and the police, being Korean, knew instinctively that the soldier would be coming back soon enough. It was not worth breaching the unwritten rules of engagement that exists between students and riot police.

I do not think this was a cultural misunderstanding.  Suh and his goons clearly saw an opportunity to provoke an incident when they saw the GIs on the subway.  They took advantage of this opportunity and ultimately got away with assault and kidnapping.  Does anyone think that if the situation was reversed and an elder American man struck a younger Korean and then a mob of GIs pounded on the younger Koreans that people would defend the GIs for this behavior?  Better yet what if the GIs then went and took the younger Koreans as hostages, brought them on to a US military installation and then forced them to make coerced anti-Korean statements to air on the Armed Forces Network?  That is basically what happened and if GIs ever did such a thing it would lead to huge protests and outrage.  Yet when the same thing happens to GIs it is hushed up and quickly forgotten.  Here on the ROK Drop these incidents are not forgotten and hopefully shining a light on these incidents can help other people from becoming provoked into an incident like the one these soldiers unfortunately found themselves in.

Note: You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link: 

It appears that the leftist affiliated religious groups have been able to keep the extreme left wing thugs in check at least for last night as no violence was reported. The leftist groups claimed that half a million was going to turn out for their protests but judging by the pictures from the left leaning Voice of People website, they were probably able to get about 50,000-70,000:

View of beef protest at night looking towards City Hall.

The view of the protesters looking the opposite direction away from City Hall.

Yonhap News tends to confirm this with a report that says “tens of thousands” attended the protests. Even the Voice of People report put the number at 60,000 which is a far cry from the half a million claim from the protest organizers. Frankly I’m not impressed at all by the turn out.

I think this once again shows how the leftist movement in Korea has lost the support of the general Korean public. When they are able to turn out 250,000 like they did earlier in these protests that is when you know they are supported by the public but the turn out now shows it is just the usual leftist groups which have been augmented this week with their allies in the leftist religious groups.

The long lines of Korean citizens earlier in the week buying in mass quantities US beef is a sure indication that public opinion is quickly turning on these leftist groups:

The other thing to realize in regards to turn out for these protests is that these leftist groups bring out all their children in order to inflate their numbers as well as indoctrinate the next generation of leftist activists:

A persistent GI myth perpetuated around Korea in the early 2000’s was the dumping of  formaldehyde down a drain on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul in February 2000 by a USFK mortician.  Spectacular headlines were splashed across Korea’s media outlets especially on the internet about how the mortician had exposed the millions of people in Seoul to cancer causing chemicals.  This incident reached such mythical proportions in Korea that the most popular monster movie in Korean history was based on it.

This incident all started when the so called environmental group Green Korea released reports over the internet about the dumping of formaldehyde on Yongsan followed by leading protests against USFK.  Green Korea, a group no one had heard of before, quickly became the darlings of the Korean media.

Here is a press release they released concerning the 2000 water dumping:

Nowadays the U.S army’s toxic fluid dumping to Han-river is main issue in Korea. On February 9th, in the US Eighth Army Mortuary Building, 480 bottles of formaldehyde, used for embalming were dumped in a drain without any detoxification.  It has been confirmed that the US Army has been releasing Formaldehyde for long periods of time into the Han-River.

Mr. Albert L. McFarland after issuing an order to pour these fluids down the drain, was refused by his subordinate on the basis that the drain led to the Han River, and that the chemicals are known to cause cancer and birth defects. Mr. McFarland swore at the soldier, and ordered him to execute the order. Do you know why Mr. McFarland ordered like that? The only reason is that the boxes were covered with dust.

This case was reported to the Headquarters of the Eighth Division in a statement made by the soldier who executed the order.  On July 10th, the Headquarters concluded that, ‘there was no problem if the chemicals were diluted with water’. Formaldehyde is a very toxic chemical. This is the label of the bottle. It was written like this Poison, Can not be made none poisonous.

This case serves as an exemplar for how the US and US military is deceiving, purposefully or not, Korea and its people. They asserted that the American bases in Korea caused no harm or damage to the environment, and that the US military is abiding by US EPA regulations, and that it is environmentally much safer than Korean bases or companies.  However, the fact that the US military is disposing of toxic fluids such as formaldehyde in the Han River, where 10 million people use it for household use, is in itself an outrage and mockery to the Korean people.  [Green Korea United]

These accusations by Green Korea were repeated over and over again in the Korean media with one editorial in the nation’s largest newspaper the Chosun Ilbo asking, “Would they dump toxic chemicals into the Potomac River?”:

These toxic chemicals are widely known to cause cancer and birth defects. The Han river supplies drinking water for over 10 million citizens residing in metropolitan Seoul and its satellite cities. Are Koreans disposable people?

The news is ethically repulsive. Environmentally, the act is destruction-friendly. In psychiatric terms, it comes close to an act of quasi-murder [oh my!].  For, what matters here is the sick mind and attitude that made possible the dumping of the cancer-causing substance. Whether or not the quantity of the discarded was enough to cause cancer is not the issue here.

Notice how this article sounds almost exactly like the Green Korea press release.  It makes you wonder if Green Korea wrote it for the Chosun Ilbo.  Green Korea and their media and political allies demanded the imprisonment of the USFK mortician and even the resignation of the USFK commander.  These sensational headlines also caused widespread public condemnation of USFK in Korea with no one in the media actually interested             in finding out what really happened.  Of course the truth of what really happened that day on Yongsan is of no concern to these people, establishing the mythology is.

Let’s look at what really happened that day.  There was formaldehyde dumped down the drain on Yongsan Garrison in February 2000, that fact is not in dispute.  However, a number of the myths surrounding this fact are in dispute.  The first myth is the amount of chemicals dumped.  Green Korea claims that 60 gallons of formaldehyde was dumped into the Han River when in fact only 20 gallons was dumped.  The next myth are the claims that the people of Seoul were exposed to cancer causing chemicals.  The formaldehyde was diluted first of all by running water, then was processed through the Seoul waste treatment system, and finally through the Nanjido central metropolitan treatment plant along with 1.9 million gallons of other sewage and waste that was processed through these facilities that day.

To further clarify this point let’s look at the man in the middle of this controversy Mr. Albert McFarland.  To this day, this man is the subject of widespread condemnation in Korea with no one reporting his side of the story.  The ROK Drop has come into possession of some documents from the investigation that clearly shows McFarland’s side of the story that further clarifies that the formaldehyde was no danger to the public.  Note that none of the excerpts from the documents I am showing here are FOUO or classified:

McFarland was taking over and trying to clean up the facility he inherited when the prior supervisor had to return to America due to an illness in his family.  Part of the clean up was to dispose of the old formaldehyde.  McFarland decided to dispose of the old formaldehyde the same way he was trained to do it in the United States and has always done it, including his prior assignment in Panama.  This was all done in accordance with prior established procedures.  I guess that answers the question the Chosun Ilbo had if Americans would dump formaldehyde in the Potomac River.  It makes you wonder why the Chosun Ilbo didn’t bother to investigate and find out how US morticians are trained before making such claims?

The rest of the excerpt of this document concerns another myth put out against McFarland that he recklessly put the people who worked under him in danger.  As can be seen in the document an Industrial Hygiene Survey was done prior that rated the mortuary as being of “normal limits” which classifies its workers as not needing protective equipment.  Here is another excerpt from a document that further shows how absurd this claim is:

The next myth is that McFarland made racial slurs towards the Korean workers, once again there is always another side to the story:

Reading through the documents and witness statements it is clear that McFarland does lose his temper and say unprofessional things.  The other Korean witness confirms that McFarland would often call Mr. Kim stupid and another soldier that worked at the mortuary said that McFarland used to call Kim stupid and that he acts like a child and would make off color comments to him.  McFarland was definitely unprofessional in how he spoke to Mr. Kim, but none of the documents supported any claims of racial slurs used by McFarland.

It is clear that Mr. Kim had plenty of reason to dislike McFarland.  Reading through to documents even more discloses that Mr. Kim had even more reason to dislike McFarland:

So McFarland is the new boss and he begins making the employees and soldiers actually do their jobs and not hang out in the commissary all day and is extremely critical of the work they are doing.  It makes you wonder what the two Korean workers were doing at the commissary in the first place, but I’m sure people can draw their own conclusions on that.  Also if we have learned anything from these documents, it is that you don’t want to die while stationed in USFK:

Yes, the hero of the Korean environmental movement is a guy that throws away people’s body parts because he too lazy to put them back in the person’s body.

Obviously Mr. Kim did not like McFarland and preferred the prior supervisor Mr. Pool because he let him hang out in the commissary all day.  It doesn’t take any stretch of the imagination that Mr. Kim saw an opportunity to get back at McFarland when he had him dispose of the formaldehyde down the drain that day.  After disposing of the fluid he contacted Green Korea and staged pictures in the mortuary and then Korean media sensationalized the story.

So why was Green Korea and the Korean media so interested in sensationalizing this incident?  Well let’s go back to that prior Chosun Ilbo article to answer this one:

 “Are they here to defend us? Thanks but from whom?” The answer to the question is in a sense becoming more and more ambiguous and ambivalent in the post inter-Korean summit detente.

Frankly, some Koreans are also scared of the idea of a defense by those who commanded to dump the toxic substance; who murdered many Korean hostesses, the poor souls, who had to sell sex to earn their subsistence; and, who care little about those Koreans suffering from constant bombing exercises like the one in Maehyang-ri. Why are they reluctant to fully disclose the facts about Nogun-ri massacres?  Is the SOFA really a fair arrangement?

This incident happened in February 2000, but didn’t make massive headlines until July 2000.  The first inter-Korean summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il happened in June 2000; the public in Korea was delirious with unification fever and perceptions of North Korea changed dramatically from one of animosity to one of a misunderstood uncle.  Today we know that the summit and the follow on Nobel Peace Prize to Kim Dae-jung was bought with a $500 million dollar bribe to Kim Jong-il by Kim Dae-jung.  We also know today that the bribe and follow on aid packages given to Kim Jong-il in the name of the Sunshine Policy went on to expand his military and advance his ballistic missile and nuclear programs to the point that North Korea now possesses a nuclear bomb.

The Sunshine Policy is now recognized as an utter failure, but back then the Korean people thought very differently and this led the anti-US movement in Korea to exploit this change in sentiment by trying to create a perception that the United States was the reason for the continued division of the country and not North Korea.  They also used this incident to demand changes to the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement which they claim is unfair, which is of course another GI myth.  They used this incident to further their aims which to this day this incident continues to be demagogued in South Korea with continued hatred of Mr. McFarland and claims of US environmental crimes.

So what ended up happening to Mr. McFarland?  Well he was investigated by the military and was the focus of vicious protests against him by Koreans that wanted him tried and jailed.  The investigation found that he did nothing wrong and it was recommended no action be taken against him.  The commanding officer disagreed and ended up suspending McFarland for 30 days without pay probably to appease the Korean public’s anger.  Well as history has shown with the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident, offering sacrificial lambs to appease public anger in Korea does not work.  The demagogues just whipped the masses into more of a fury and used the suspension of Mr. McFarland as evidence that USFK is committing great environmental crimes and don’t care about Koreans.  They continued to protest and make demands that the USFK commander resign.

Then the South Korean Ministry of Justice got involved even though they have no jurisdiction over McFarland since the incident happened on duty and on a US military base which the US-ROK SOFA agreement states is a case that is in US jurisdiction.  McFarland did not attend the trial but was fined $4000.  USFK paid the $4000 fine, probably once again in the hopes of appeasing public anger.  Of course this only encouraged the anti-US movement even more.

Unhappy with the results, the Seoul District court ordered a re-trial.  Yes you heard that right, McFarland was convicted once and since the anti-US groups didn’t like the verdict another trial was ordered.  That is how it works in Korea, it is “rule by law” instead of “rule of law”.  It is this manipulation of Korean law for clearly partisan political purposes, why a SOFA agreement with Korea exists in the first place.

The new trial sentenced McFarland to six months in jail, which was more jail time than a taxi driver that raped a newly arriving American Army private at Incheon airport ever saw because his original conviction was overturned because the US private did not show enough evidence of resisting the rape.

What else is so hypocritical about the protests, anger, and down right demagoguery of this issue is that when Korean companies contaminate the Han River, Green Korea could care less:

It is shocking news that 29 timber companies were found to have released 271 tons of formalin over the past three years into streams feeding the Han River, the main source of drinking water for Seoul and Kyonggi Province.

Formalin is basically a watered-down version of the highly toxic formaldehyde.

The discovery vividly testifies to the futility of the government’s campaigns to preserve water resources and protect the environment. […]

The timber companies have used the chemical to prevent the decay of their products to preserve the original patterns and the quality of wood used to make furniture or flooring.

Although the companies had the financial capability to install facilities for treating the polluted water, they simply did not bother.  [Korea Times]

Lumber companies dump 271 tons of chemicals directly into the Han River with no treatment at all and it is worthy of a brief mention in the Korea Times; a Yongsan mortician drains 20 gallons of formaldehyde mixed with water down a drain that is the established procedure for disposing of the fluid, which then gets processed through not one but two water treatment plants and months of protests occur, an entire nation is brainwashed to hate the mortician Mr. McFarland, he is tried twice and jail sentence give to him, and even a blockbuster monster movie is created to further exploit this myth.  Truly incredible, and yet people wonder why there is a SOFA Agreement in place?

In a bit of poetic justice, in October 2006 it was discovered that a number of anti-US groups including those in the Korean environmental movement like Green Korea were linked to the Il Shim Hoe North Korean spy scandal; not that the people invested in perpetuating this myth really care.

Further Reading:
The Mortician’s Tale – Asia Times
Great Dumping Scandal of 2000 – USinKorea

Note: You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link: 

Comments:

• Dada
  8:30 am on March 18th, 2008 1

Yo GI Korea… I am curious… Just how much money are you gettin paid from the Japs for all your hard work in slandering South Korea? And I am being real serious here.

• GI Korea
  9:07 am on March 18th, 2008 2

Does it bother you that much that you cannot counter the facts I presented that you have to resort to unsubstantiated claims against me?

Instead of claiming slandering why don’t you point it out?

• Peter Hungus
  2:10 pm on March 18th, 2008 3

Dada need pacifier…..boo hoo hoo!

• Kalani
  2:16 pm on March 18th, 2008 4

Hey…I saw it in the movies. If I saw it in the films, it must be true.

How dare you try to confuse me with facts!!!

But truthfully…nice to read the facts in this case. Long but interesting. Nice job…

Also very disturbing about what was done to the bodies. It does raise some legal questions about the appropriateness of the actions by the mortuary staff before Mr. MacFarland’s appearance and their suitability for their positions if they were disposing of body parts after the autopsy. It also says something for the former boss who allowed the practice. I wonder if family members in the states who had their loved ones undergo autopsies in Korea ever knew about this? We’re talking big time legal suits. I left my heart in Korea might take on new meanings.

One point though… Green Korea was quite active for many years before the Yongsan case. They were involved in the Saemangeum affair which I sided with their views — as well as the Kooni Range closure fight which I didn’t. However, as a whole, I agree that they seem to have an agenda that is slanted towards nailing the USFK.

• Pete
  8:45 pm on March 18th, 2008 5

If my memory is correct Mr. MacFarland was selected as USFK’s civilian employee of the year soon after the incident. But I don’t think he ever went to jail.

• Surabol
  12:20 am on March 19th, 2008 6

Is it also true that fans can’t suffocate you to death during your sleep?

• CPT KIM
  1:29 am on March 19th, 2008 7

Whatever happened to Mr. Kim? Is he still KGS in same job?

• GI Korea
  1:43 am on March 19th, 2008 8

Kalani, I agree the treatment of the bodies is definitely disturbing and I can understand why McFarland was so pissed off about it. This may also provide additional motive on why Kim went to Green Korea and the media to have leverage to save his own skin for obvious incompetence of his official duties. If I was the parents of deceased soldiers processed through that mortuary I would be highly upset about what was going on there.

I looked around Green Korea’s webpage and they have been active with the Saemangeum affair since 1997 however they didn’t start making big headlines until 2000 along with their Kooni Range activities that also became big news in 2000. My opinion is the group is a anti-US front group which has to pick a few non-US environmental issues in order to keep the appearance of being an environmental group instead of the anti-US group that they really are. The fact that the Korean environmental movement was linked to the Ilshimhoe spy scandal only further validates this.

Pete, As far as I know McFarland is still working at the mortuary which I actually find to be a good thing because he obviously cares about the job he is doing and that mortuary is probably extremely squared away right now. As far as being employee of the year I do not know but judging by his efforts to fix the mortuary I wouldn’t be surprised.

He was sentenced to jail but the sentencing was all show because the Korean court system does not have the power to send him jail due to his SOFA status. So the whole conviction was a sham and was nothing more then legal theater for the anti-US groups to bash USFK with.

• GI Korea
  1:46 am on March 19th, 2008 9

CPT Kim,

As far as Mr. Kim I do not know what his status is but judging by his documented incompetence in caring for the bodies processed through the morgue as well as his actions in allowing unauthorized pictures to be taken in the mortuary I wouldn’t be surprised if he was no longer working there.

Also just the fact that Mr. McFarland is still working there leads me to believe that Mr. Kim is probably gone because I can’t imagine those two still being able to work together, but like I said I do not know for sure and would appreciate anyone who knows to leave a comment.

• Nomad
  2:22 am on March 19th, 2008 10

Excellent post, GI Korea.

• Mike McStay
  2:54 am on March 19th, 2008 11

You Know I wonder if, “The Host 2” will be the revenge of Mr Kim?

I also wonder if “The Host 3” will be about the canal and Korea awaking a Soju Godzilla.

Could make for some interesting films.

• Jerry
  3:32 am on March 19th, 2008 12

One other bit of information that wasn’t presented anywhere (that I saw), the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant enters the Han River downstream from any water intake facilities. Yes, it flows into the ocean, not into the Seoul City (or any other city) domestic water distribution system. On the other hand, all the stuff from the lumber industry does in fact enter the river upstream of Seoul and then gets sucked into the Seoul City water distribution system (which supplies water all the way to Pyeongtaek, it’s a huge system).

• Jerry
  3:33 am on March 19th, 2008 13

Oops, not into the ocean, into the West Sea.

• Wedge
  6:43 am on March 19th, 2008 14

Great post, GI Korea. The only improvement would be to find out what Korean hospitals do with their excess formaldehyde, which I suspect is the same exact thing.

• Wedge
  6:46 am on March 19th, 2008 15

But hey, how did Dada ever find out you were on the Japanese payroll? You need better OPSEC.

• Dangerous Chemical Leaked into Taegu Water Supply
  9:34 am on March 20th, 2008 16

[…] will go into an uproar about this chemical spill like it did when USFK mortician Albert McFarland poured 20 gallons of diluted embalming fluid down a drain at the Yongsan Garrison mortuary that was processed through two different water […]

• usinkorea
  7:36 pm on March 19th, 2008 17

USFK made a big mistake allowing the fine to be paid and not stone walling the Korean courts. This was clearly a line of duty infraction, and if don’t repect the SOFA, who the hell will? It set a bad precident and gave credence to the likes of Green Korea.

Also, back in 2000, and for some time after that, the Green Korea site had nothing but USFK-related material on it. I checked the site frequently for a long period of time, and in my memory, the notes about the reclamation project and other affairs not related to USFK or the US Embassy were not put up until months or a couple of years after the dumping incident.

The way it seemed to me based on watching the site and reading up on this years several years ago, Green Korea did as frequently happens in Korean civic groups as it gained in recognition thanks to the press championing it against USFK in 2000 —- it began taking onboard other environmental groups that were already operating before Green Korea became a national figure or were organized afterward. Either way, it seemed clear to me they had affilitated themselves with Green Korea in the typical umbrella fashion of Korean civic groups.

It wasn’t until this expansion that Green Korea really seemed to become a national movement, and from my looking at the site back then, unless I’ve gotten knocked in the head hard between now and then and dreamed all this up, none of the non-USFK, US Embassy stuff was on the site before the group mushroomed.

I do remember they had up one typical base waste oil page up that focused on a ROK installation, but I did not see the land reclamation or any other non-US related stuff in Korean or English when I was watching back then.

As for the new documents, they did clear up one big question I had never been able to satisfy before: how long had Mr. Kim been working for USFK?

When the images were staged of him dumping the chemicals came out from Green Korea, I wondered if he were a new employee and a plant.

The USFK documents seem to clearly show what GI Korea said: it was a classic case of a new boss coming in and taking charge and shaking things up and the old employees becoming disgruntled.

• Disinterested
  8:24 am on March 20th, 2008 18

Mr Kim was fired shortly before he went to Green Korea. And yes Albert “Bones” Mcfarland is still around.

• How Things Get Stupid and Out of Control «
  10:39 pm on March 21st, 2008 19

[…] How Things Get Stupid and Out of Control Remember back in 2000 when the US was accused of poisoning the water supply in Seoul with formaldehyde? The blog ROK Drop has a very accurate break down of what happened and how the local press was played like a fiddle by these radicals. Take a few mintues and ready this, very enlightening. […]

• The final cut: March 2008
  8:52 pm on March 27th, 2008 20

[…] March 27, 2008 the 2000 water dumpingGI KOREA TELLS IT LIKE IT IS…GREAT POST. I STILLED LIKED THE KOREAN MONSTER MOVIE THAT THIS SO […]

• GI Korea Really A Nork Spy
  4:56 am on April 1st, 2008 21

[…] you all haven’t caught on yet, I’m not only accepting bribes from the Japanese, but I am even linked to North Korean spies so says the Sports […]

• ROK Drop — Keeping the USFK Gravy Train Rolling Since 1950.
  10:23 am on April 1st, 2008 22

[…] has decided to quit blogging. (2) If you all haven’t caught on yet, I’m not only accepting bribes from the Japanese, but I am even linked to North Korean spies so says the Sports Chosun. (2) […]

• MJ Miller
  4:41 pm on May 7th, 2008 23

I was stationed at Yongsan from 97-00 and worked a few yards from the old main gate (pre-bridge days). While this was going on the protesters outside the gate (we would watch from the walkover bridge) were shooting rockets and water balloons filled with Han River water over the walls into the office complex area just east of the gate. It was quite a scene, 50 or so people and about 4x that number of “journalists”.

The bigger joke was the fact that every day on my walk to work from Bokwang-Dong (right on the river SE of Yongsan Garrison), I would pass auto repair shops that were draining used motor oil, coolant, and transmission fluid straight into the street or curbside drains – sewer and run-off drains that *did* run directly to the river without the benefit of waste treatment processing.

That’s the nice thing about living in Korea (6+ yrs as of this writing) – if there’s a way to blame your problems on someone else, the gov’t, press, and people will beat that horse until it’s WAAAAAAAY past dead.

• More Sogogi-gate Weirdness — ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal
  11:31 am on May 8th, 2008 24

[…] no further then the Yongsan Water Dumping Issue, the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident, the GI Crime issue, or the US-ROK SOFA issues.  All these […]

• More Sogogi-gate Weirdness — ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal
  11:31 am on May 8th, 2008 25

[…] no further then the Yongsan Water Dumping Issue, the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident, the GI Crime issue, or the US-ROK SOFA issues.  All these […]

• Breaking the Korean Mind Block of US Beef Protests
  6:28 am on May 9th, 2008 26

[…] because demagoguery is the order of the day in Korea because it works. Look no further then the Yongsan Water Dumping Issue, the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident, the GI Crime issue, or the US-ROK SOFA issues. All these issues […]

• mizar5
  4:42 pm on June 20th, 2008 27

If Green Korea were a legitimate environmental group, wouldn’t they focus on the substandard environmental standards in Korea, instead of slandering the US Army?

• Looking for the Next Spike in Anti-US Activity
  12:06 pm on June 26th, 2008 28

[…] anti-US activity over a variety of issues — The Great Water Dump was the most memorable one (GI Korea’s Review). But, the Koon-ni/Maehyang-ri Bombing Range Saga was also finally picked up by average Koreans. […]

• Huh?
  7:55 pm on September 20th, 2008 29

I don’t know why you folks like to downplay the FACT that formaldehyde was dumped down the drain on yongsan and it did make its way into the han river. Irregardless of the quantity, the fact remains the us army was responsible for this dumping. REMEMBER: the us army, air force, navy and marines are here as guests. Dumping chemicals, of any type, into the korean waste/water systems and/or the ground is wrong. Don’t bitch about how the koreans treat their country; it is their country – they can do as they see fit with it. But the us military is a guest here and must follow and OBEY their own rules for environmental issues – or is it just being a hypocrite? like always?

• Sick of it
  10:32 pm on October 15th, 2008 30

I agree with Huh, I dump lots of chemicals into the drain here in Korea and I mean a lot. Formaldehyde is nothing compared to what others dump. I saw a guy draining his motor oil into the open sewer system. I didn’t say anything because its his country. Again, formaldehyde is nothing and in fact check out the history of formaldehyde’s history used as a preservative in food and beverages.

It’s their country, what nonsense is that? ever hear of an ocean current or something called wind? How about the jet-stream?

• GOREA
  12:51 am on October 20th, 2008 31

Al Mcfarland was voted civilian of the year again.

• ????????
  5:07 pm on December 25th, 2008 32

[…] : http://rokdrop.com/2008/03/18/gi-myths-the-2000-yongsan-water-dumping-scandal/ […]

• An engineer
  2:28 am on September 7th, 2009 33

I’m an engineering student, who uses a lot of chemicals for research. Before saying that they were compliant to the regulations, you should check ‘safety precautions-Waste Disposal’ here. http://www.ehs.berkeley.edu/pubs/factsheets/49for…
They clearly limit the amount of formaldehyde you can dilute and drain one day.

• GI Korea
  5:40 am on September 7th, 2009 34

You are citing a fact sheet from Berkley not USFK.

If you read the investigation documents McFarland followed the procedures that he was trained to follow as a mortician to dispose of the fluid because USFK had no established procedures to do so that he could find. So he just followed the disposal instructions on the USFK Material Safety Data Sheets as well as the procedures that he brought with him from his prior duty station in Panama.

• Brandon
  5:28 pm on September 23rd, 2009 35

What the hell! Are you kidding me? Formaldehyde? Have you seen the stuf f koreans put in the river? They dont care what goes in the river! I fish here in Korea all the time, especially in the HAN. Its absolutely ridiculous how dirty Koreans are. I also metal detect on the beaches and the sh1t I dig up is incredible. When on the beach Koreans just get up and walk away leaving all their trash laying exactly where they left it. Koreans pollute their waterways like crazy and care nothing for the environment. When I first read the article and seen that a organization was claiming to be a GREEN KOREA, I thought, hmm this has got to be some bullshit with some nice NORTH KOREAN funding. Thats all these organizations that are ANTI U.S are, North Korean funded.

Look at the leaders of all the Anti American Protest, Its always the same guys leading and antagonizing the situation. A great recent example was the FTA and the mad cow disease protest near city hall where the korean people beat their own country men and locked down the city hall street for a month, what kind of bullshit is this? Koreans need to get a grip of this media shit and realize when they are being fooled. Heres my solution, if you dont like the U.S in Korea and the fact the U.S has drastically boosted South Koreas economy to become one of the top ten in the world. If you dont like that we stopped the North Koreans from raping and killing your ancesters. If you dont like that Americans are in your country. Well then get the hell out, better yet lets box all the AntiAmerican Koreans up and ship them to North Korea you ungrateful little communist. So what the guy dumped some chemicals down the drain, KOREANS do worse every day, SO what the girls were killed up north by that tank a few years back, LET’S contact the families of all the vets KIA’s MIA’s and WIA’s in the Korea war and get them protesting! I hate these sympathetic waiting in the shadow bastards waiting to pounce or make someone elses life miserable because they want to seem important or got a different agenda! Wake up Koreans and kick the sh1t out of these people! They are giving us both a bad name!

B

• Brandon
  5:29 pm on September 23rd, 2009 36

Ok, here we go.

What the hell! Are you kidding me? Formaldehyde? Have you seen the stuf f koreans put in the river? They dont care what goes in the river! I fish here in Korea all the time, especially in the HAN. Its absolutely ridiculous how dirty Koreans are. I also metal detect on the beaches and the sh1t I dig up is incredible. When on the beach Koreans just get up and walk away leaving all their trash laying exactly where they left it. Koreans pollute their waterways like crazy and care nothing for the environment. When I first read the article and seen that a organization was claiming to be a GREEN KOREA, I thought, hmm this has got to be some bullshit with some nice NORTH KOREAN funding. Thats all these organizations that are ANTI U.S are, North Korean funded.

Look at the leaders of all the Anti American Protest, Its always the same guys leading and antagonizing the situation. A great recent example was the FTA and the mad cow disease protest near city hall where the korean people beat their own country men and locked down the city hall street for a month, what kind of bullshit is this? Koreans need to get a grip of this media shit and realize when they are being fooled. Heres my solution, if you dont like the U.S in Korea and the fact the U.S has drastically boosted South Koreas economy to become one of the top ten in the world. If you dont like that we stopped the North Koreans from raping and killing your ancesters. If you dont like that Americans are in your country. Well then get the hell out, better yet lets box all the AntiAmerican Koreans up and ship them to North Korea you ungrateful little communist. So what the guy dumped some chemicals down the drain, KOREANS do worse every day, SO what the girls were killed up north by that tank a few years back, LET’S contact the families of all the vets KIA’s MIA’s and WIA’s in the Korea war and get them protesting! I hate these sympathetic waiting in the shadow bastards waiting to pounce or make someone elses life miserable because they want to seem important or got a different agenda! Wake up Koreans and kick the sh1t out of these people! They are giving us both a bad name!

B

• Korea.com | Gateway to Cyber Korea » “But how could the government possibly conduct a project that hurts water quality?”
  7:23 pm on December 6th, 2009 37

[…] degree.  GI Korea has frequently pointed out that Koreans pollute their own rivers, it is only when Americans do it, that it becomes […]

• Mallory
  5:41 pm on July 19th, 2010 38

Well…im only 13. And Albert McFarland is my grandpa…its a very long story. And there is a great reason why i havnt met him before. Its great when you try to look up for biological grandpa and all this pops up on the internet. He is really a great guy from wat my mom tells me. And i dont really understand this whole thing but im sure he wasnt trying to harm anyone. All this is stupid. But if anyone happens to know were he is now that would be soo very much appreciated if you would please tell me. And if you knew a way to contact him…that would be greatly appreciated too. I would really like to meet him one day. Its hard growing up without a grandpa.

• Brandon
  5:42 pm on July 20th, 2010 39

I know your grandfather, I need to know your email.

• Mallory
  2:38 pm on July 21st, 2010 40

blondiechik2015@aim.com

• Mallory
  3:01 pm on July 21st, 2010 41

Sorry! Thats my old one my new one is malloryolivia15@aim.com.

• david M.
  3:09 pm on October 19th, 2010 42

I served with Mcfarland. He is not an ethical person. For the record, he misused Army funds when he was stationed in the United States after his Korean assignment. The general at his location offered him the opportunity to retire immediately or face charges. He retired and eventually found his way to his job in Korea.

When I knew him in the Army, he was arrogant, dishonest, and self-serving. He took away from the morale of upright soldiers. This is ironic in light of his past service in much earlier years in Vietnam as a Green Beret.

• Hamilton
  5:59 pm on October 19th, 2010 43

David M. Color me skeptical.

• James Meyer
  12:25 pm on November 8th, 2010 44

I can not see Mr Mcfarlands hurt all things concidered he did abandon his own children during VET’Nam war and sighn off on someone adopting the out from under him to avoid child support this is not the actions of a MAN at all he should me tried for crimes against humans and stand a genivea trial.

• Troy Supanik
  2:10 am on November 10th, 2010 45

James Meyer, you do realize your daughter is on here trying to locate a solid man in her life besides her Uncle. I would suggest you keep your dim witted comments to yourself. If you want we can discuss the “actions of a MAN” but I think a public forum is inappropriate.

• Dunwoody Garage Door
  6:15 pm on January 9th, 2011 46

I searched for instance completely unique, but discovered your web-site! And must say regards. Great study. Will occur back.

• The top ten Korean horror movies – how many have you seen?
  11:58 am on January 25th, 2011 47

[…] the belief – as did his commenter – that Host was an anti-American military movie (covered here by ROK Drop) but I think Mike does an excellent job of explaining his view of why it […]

• Mike
  10:08 pm on January 25th, 2011 48

Life is too hard for GIs in Korea? Here’s an idea: pack up and go home!

Most Koreans want GI bases in the middle of Seoul about as much as Americans want a Korean army base in the middle of Washington D.C.

Seriously. You don’t have to keep blabbing on about harsh and unfair it is for you in Korea. Just go home. That will solve your problem.

• ChickenHead
  10:55 pm on January 25th, 2011 49

Silly Mike…

Educated Koreans want Americans GIs in Korea. Average Koreans don’t really care unless it comes to their attention in a bad way. Agitators complain for other reasons. Korean leaders want to continue the great security deal they are getting. American leaders like to keep America’s influence in the region.

GI Joe would just rather be home with his family, dog and car… but no matter how much he babbles on about harshness or unfairness, nobody is going to allow him to pack up and go home.

You are whining about the wrong whiners.

• Retired GI
  11:46 pm on January 25th, 2011 50

Mike, guess what, Korea and it’s two seasons (one of which smells like kaka) kind a sucks, as far as being a “country” is concerned.

But the high quality of Korean Prostitutes really helps with the harshness of the winters and smell of the summers.

Let me know when your Men are able to protect Korea. What has it been, 60 years and you still can not defend yourselves.

• fe52999g
  9:39 pm on January 4th, 2013 51

RETIRED GI and Brandon, foad you wastes of space

• Dr Chris
  10:12 pm on July 1st, 2013 52

A lot of these documents are missing, broken links.

Nevertheless, an argument is never helped by fallacies, such as well, it is harmful but not that harmful that we wouldn’t do it to our own rivers too; or yes it is harmful but Koreans themselves harm their rivers in a lot of ways too (2 wrongs make a right fallacy). And then there’s the boy are they stupid not to realize how lucky they are to have us there to protect them (attacking the source fallacy; also red herring). And finally, it wouldn’t have been a probem if the tree huggers had not needed an issue (unreliable source).

The fact is that harmful chemicals should not be dumped in other countries’ rivers under any curcumstances.

• Erin
  5:12 pm on April 20th, 2014 53

Hello…I was wondering if anyone has Mac’s current email/phone/address? I would really like to catch up with him. I was the US soldier that was working along Kim when this all happened. Mac was a great mentor to me and have nothing but great respect for him. Would love to say Hi. Thanks!

• Smokes
  5:57 pm on April 20th, 2014 54

Erin he’s still here, look him up in the global. Don’t really see anyone posting his contact info here.

Taxi cabs are probably the top area where incidents between USFK servicemembers and Koreans happen.  In fact the first USFK servicemember tried in a Korean court all the way back in 1967 was a taxi cab related incident.  The place where the second most amount of incidents happen between servicemembers and Koreans has to be the Seoul subway.  Gusts of Popular Feeling has an informative posting that brings to light one of the most well known subway incidents that happened back in 1995 when an American soldier was assaulted for trying to protect his Korean wife.  Here is an excerpt from the New York Times article that explains what happened:

It all began when an American soldier put his hand on a Korean woman’s rump.

The version that has captured the local imagination is that a group of drunken American soldiers were rampaging through the subway, molesting Korean women, and that the soldiers then attacked good citizens who dared protest the errant hand.

The American understanding of events starts with a fact that the Koreans tend to leave out: The American soldier and the Korean woman whose behind he patted were in fact a married couple.

The Americans say the problems arose when some angry young Koreans on the subway accused the American of sexually harassing the Korean woman. When the Korean woman explained that she was the American’s wife, the Korean men allegedly spat at her and slapped her — leading the woman’s husband to punch the man who slapped her.

In any case, the result that evening in May was a huge brawl in the subway. It has reverberated through the country and underscored the delicacy of the mission of the 37,000 American military personnel in bases in South Korea.  [New York Times]

The soldier in question, his wife, and his friends that were with them initially received jail time, but after appealing, their sentences were reduced to fines while the Korean who started the brawl got away totally free.  This was 1995 and you would think the Koreans and the Korean legal system in general would have evolved since then.  Guess what, things haven’t changed that much.  If anything it can be argued that things have only gotten worse with soldiers being attacked & kidnapped on the subway, beaten, and then forced to make coerced statements on national television among a host of other highly dubious incidents that the Koreans involved were not punished for. In fact these attackers of GIs are often considered heroes!

Justice for GIs continues to be hard to find in Korea and it didn’t start in 1995 and it shows no signs of ending today.

Note: You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link: 

The useful idiots this weekend sure didn’t have much of a turn out for their anti-US protest:

An unexpectedly small anti-U.S. military protest turned into a large shoving match Saturday afternoon but ended without serious injuries.

At least one anti-U.S. military protester briefly attacked U.S. soldiers entering Camp Casey’s main gate; however, the attackers were subdued and the soldiers were not injured, base security officials said.

Between 75 and 150 protesters attended at various times from 4 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., far below the 1,000 that had been expected last week.  [Erik Slavin, Stars & Stripes]

So does anyone think that these protesters who attacked the soldiers walking into the gate will be charged with any crimes?  Now just imagine if a group of soldiers went and attacked some Koreans walking into building somewhere, what do you think would happen to them? 

It is also important to remember that these protesters are from the North Korean fifth column Hanchongryun, who are protesting over the Beauty Shop Bandit case.  They are pissed because the local police will not file arson charges against a suspected GI because there is not enough evidence.  If they are so pissed off about not having arson charges brought forth than why aren’t they protesting in front of the Dongducheon city hall than?  Plus Hanchongryun is demanding a change in the Status of Forces Agreement.  What change they want they never specify but I can assume they want a change where GIs go to prison whether they have a fair trial or not.  They could cares less about the findings of the local authorities, they just want mob justice against the bastard GIs. 

Anyway their protest was so small the local Korean merchants didn’t even bother having their own counter-protest:

Members of the pro-U.S. military Dongducheon Merchant Association observed the protesters but did not organize a formal counter protest.

It is good to see that the idiots at Hanchongryun are going out of style.  Why can’t Roh Moo-hyun takes these clowns with him to Pyongyang this week and leave them there? 

The North Korean fifth column, Hanchongryon have now found their latest anti-US cause:

As many as 1,000 anti-American protesters are expected outside Camp Casey on Sept. 29, police officials confirmed this week.

Part of the protest centers on a 2nd Infantry Division soldier who was investigated in connection with a May 19 beauty shop fire outside the Camp Hovey gate. Uijeongbu prosecutors said this week that they don’t have enough evidence to charge Pvt. Dustin T. Roper with arson but that the Ministry of Justice likely will charge him for destruction of property and breaking and entering.

Roper also will appear in South Korean court on Oct. 8 for an unrelated assault trial, according to defense attorney Jung Jin-sung.

Anti-U.S. groups have noted on the Internet that no arson charge was filed and held a small protest rally in August. [Stars & Stripes]

Some of you may remember my earlier postings on the Beauty Shop Bandit which included a video of the son of the beauty shop owner protesting in front of the Blue House.  So what do these people want since the accused is being charged and investigated by the Korean authorities?  None other than the usual leftist talking point of changing the big bad SOFA Agreement:

“What I want is very clear,” said Choi Kang-sung, 31, the owner’s son. “Put [Roper] in Korea detention and get him a fair punishment.”

Choi said he also wanted a public apology, compensation and revision of the status of forces agreement.

He said he is a member of the minority, leftist Democratic Labor Party, which generally opposes U.S. presence in South Korea.

First of all why the heck is Choi and your leftist goons protesting in front of Camp Casey than?  Shouldn’t they be protesting in front of the police station or the Dongducheon city hall who are responsible for the charges and investigation?  Secondly, what does this have to do with the SOFA Agreement?  The soldier is being tried in Korean court.  Choi and his leftist goons will only be happy when the SOFA Agreement is changed to where every GI bastard accused of offending a Korean in anyway is sent to jail without trial.  Notice that Choi makes no demands for a fair trial.  He just wants the soldier thrown in jail and USFK to show him the money.  In short he wants the North Korean system of justice to prevail in South Korea which is no surprise coming from these leftist goons. 

You can read more over at Lost Nomad.

No matter what your feelings about the Iraq War is, I would hope everyone would agree that this is absolutely disgraceful. 

UPDATE #2: The anti-US blame game being played in Korea is now making headlines in the US:  (HT: Nomad)

South Korea‘s frustration over the plight of Christian volunteers seized by the Taliban is starting to focus on the United States, a frequent target of resentment here. Politicians and citizens of all persuasions are increasingly calling on Washington to help resolve the 15-day-old standoff, believing the United States to be the only country capable of pushing Afghanistan to meet the captors’ demands that Taliban prisoners be freed.  […]

An anti-American backlash could boost liberals who have increasingly pushed for Seoul to assert its independence from Washington at the expense of the conservative pro-U.S. opposition that now holds a commanding lead.

What is ironic about this whole thing is that the leftist anti-US politicians are the very reason that Korea has little influence with the US and with what is going on in Afghanistan.  If anyone thinks electing another leftist liberal politician is going to change this fact, they will be sadly mistaken and instead will become even more irrelevant.

_______________________________

UPDATE #1: The Taliban has agreed to meet Korean diplomats:

“A South Korean diplomatic delegation is to meet the Taliban for face-to-face talks to look for ways and solutions to free the South Korean nationals,” Ghazni governor Mirajuddin Pattan said.

____________________________

Early today rumors of a hostage rescue mission were swirling around, but were quickly put down by the Afghan government. These rumors caused the Taliban to threaten to kill four more prisoners as the hostage crisis continues on for yet another day.

Also today the blame America campaign being waged by the Korean media and government went into overdrive. I almost don’t even know where to begin. Let’s start with Choe Sang-hun’s article in the New York Times:

On Tuesday, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group based in Seoul, issued a statement accusing Washington of watching the hostage crisis “as if it were a fire across the river.”

“As everyone knows, the Taliban’s demand is something the U.S. government can help resolve, not the Afghan or South Korean government,” the statement said. “The South Korean government, citing its alliance with the United States, dispatched troops for the U.S. war against terrorism. Now why can’t it use the spirit of the alliance to help persuade the U.S. administration and save its own people?”

So who is the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) to be waving the “spirit of the alliance” card you may ask? Well they are just another anti-US group that was a member of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA that even had one of their own set himself on fire outside one of the FTA meetings in Seoul.

You want some more “spirit of the alliance” from the PSPD? How about this quote from them after the defeat in local elections of the ruling Uri Party:

Mr. Kim of the PSPD said, “The Roh Moo-hyun government should look back to its identity. In the past, the government said it would resolve economic polarization, but it pushed talks for a free trade agreement with the U.S. In addition, the government said it would say what it has to say in diplomacy, but it allowed the U.S. forces to move their base to Daechu-ri.”

The PSPD has been one of the leading groups trying to stop the USFK transformation and relocation to Camp Humphreys and now all of the sudden they are one of the biggest defenders of the “spirit of the alliance”.

The “spirit of the alliance” doesn’t end there. The PSPD has in the past joined forces with North Korean apologists the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) which last year was linked to a North Korean spy ring, to attack the very alliance the PSPD are now advocating:

In the declaration, they demanded that the U.S. government apologize for crimes involving GIs, thoroughly investigate the massacres of Koreans during the Korean War and offer compensation. They also called for an immediate closure of the Koon-ni bombing range in Maehyang-ri, Kyonggi Province and revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the U.S. and south Korea.

The 200 figures who signed the declaration included former Deputy Prime Minister Han Wan Sang; Kang Man Gil, professor emeritus at Korea University; Kim Jong Bae, co-leader of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and Dang Byong Ho, chief of the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).

There is more, but I think everyone gets the picture of who the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy group really is. There is plenty more absurdity to come and one of my noted useful idiots Chung Dong-young never fails to deliver. Courtesy of the Marmot’s Hole is this letter to President Bush from the former Korean Unification Minister:

If the 23 (now 21) hostages were American and not Korean, we ask what would the US have done in this situation. Koreans believe that since this crisis is a part of the War on Terror, the US is the main party and not a third party. We appeal to the US to think of the hostages as Americans and take specific measures to solve this crisis.

We respect that there is a “seen principle” among nations that they should not negotiate with terrorists, but there is also an “unseen principle”. We remember the case where an American female journalist was released in exchange for five Iraqi female prisoners, which means there is a recognition that there is an exemption to the non negotiating principle.

Saving a life is more important than one’s obligations and profit. If Pres. Bush was to step forward and save the hostages, then people around the world will continue praising you for your determination, leadership, management, and love.

So who is Chung? Well he is just another one of these “spirit of the alliance” guys that has also just happened to blame the US for the Japanese colonization of the peninsula prior to World War II, blamed the US for the Korean War, and blamed the US for the Gwangju Incident. So it isn’t really surprising he is blaming the US now if the hostages die and of course he is not alone. Via Sonagi comes this quote from Roe Hoe-chan who I just featured in my latest Korea Finder:

Assemblyman Roe Hoe-chan said, “If the US doesn’t show sincerity with regard to the hostage crisis, it’ll practically be a declaration that the US doesn’t care about the safety of Koreans because of its own interests. It’ll be difficult for our citizens to tolerate that. He continued, “If hostages continue to be killed because of America’s rigid stance, anti-American sentiments will be even stronger than in the aftermath of the deaths of Hyo-sun and Mi-seon.”

It was only a matter of time before some demagogue tried to link this current crisis to the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident for their own political advantage. The fact the Roe is the first to do it is not surprising in the least.

You can always count on Oh My News to keep the absurdity coming:

The South Korean government indirectly asked for the United States, which exercises undue influence over the Afghan government, to be more flexible with its principled policy not to negotiate with terrorists.

“Undue influence”? I think the fact that the US military liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban and has continued to pour blood and treasure into making Afghanistan a sustainable state for the past six years is DUE INFLUENCE, which Korea does not have because they have never been committed to fighting terrorism in the first place. The Roh administration could care less if the government of Afghanistan collapsed tomorrow if it wasn’t for the hostages. There is plenty more laughers in the Oh My News article, but I’ll leave everyone with this quote:

On top of this, the Taliban are also plunging the leadership of South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun into an even worse crisis, trouncing the whole South Korean diplomacy that, before the tragic incident occurred, has smoothly — and successfully to date — handled the North Korean nuclear issues. Namely, inter-Korean affairs have all of sudden dropped to sideshows in terms of foreign policy priorities.

You mean to tell me that North Korea firing missiles all over the Pacific Ocean, testing a nuclear bomb, reneging and then renegotiating a signed agreement that to this day they have failed to fully implement is a sign of Korea’s smooth and successful foreign diplomacy? If this is the case these hostages are most certainly doomed.

There is a whole lot more examples I can provide of the blame game being perpetuated against the United States, but I think it is pretty clear the blame America campaign is currently in overdrive. The fact is that the Korean left and their media allies could care less about these hostages because according to Representative Roe’s own admission, they are trying to turn the hostage crisis into an anti-US issue equivalent to what happened in 2002. Remember it took months for the media and the activist groups to distort what happened during the accident that year in order to set the conditions necessary for the anti-US orgy of hate that took place, that ultimately led to the leftist Roh Moo-hyun being elected president.

The Korean left has no chance of winning the presidential election this year in Korea unless they can find another anti-US issue to rally behind. Chung Dong-young is one of the leftist candidates running for president thus expect him to lead the charge to blame the US for any future deaths of the hostages and use his North Korean linked activist groups to push it on the public. This is the real “spirit of the alliance” in Korea.

I have to wonder why the Hankyoreh was not preaching this advice back in 2002:

Information spreads over the Internet so fast it makes borders irrelevant. Talk among Koreans is no longer “our little secret.” There is nothing that can be done after talk that is emotional or uncontrolled is distorted or exaggerated and starts to spread. Korea is not an isolated island.

That is what makes the negative comments and other responses about this kidnapping all the more worrisome. Malicious comments not only push out the serious and thoughtful ones, but are also expressions of reckless hate. Most are expressions of hate towards Korean Christianity, but no small number of comments express hate towards the kidnappers. The people writing these malicious comments may enjoy relieving their pent up emotions, but hate spreads hate as if it were contagious. The vicious cycle of infectious hate eats away at people’s good disposition and makes the whole of society sick.

Korea was a sick and down right cancerous society in 2002 after the armored vehicle accident, and the Hankyoreh sure didn’t care about "negative comments" and "reckless hate" towards Americans then.  However, the Hanky doesn’t want this same "reckless hate" being directed toward the Taliban now?