Category: Korea-General Topics

These new GTX trainlines will connect northern Gyeongi and parts of Gangwon provinces to Seoul in about 30 minutes. The hope is that these express trains will push development furhter away from Seoul in an effort to decrease property prices in the city:

President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) speaks during a public meeting over intercity transport on a train at Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Monday to move up the completion of the Great Train Express (GTX) commuter rail networks as he visited a train station in Seoul’s suburbs to check progress on a new service line.

The GTX networks are set to enter service next year, starting in March with the GTX-A line connecting Suseo Station in Seoul’s Gangnam Ward with Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of the capital.

The GTX-C line connecting Yangju, 29 km north of Seoul, to Suwon, just south of the capital, is set to begin construction at the end of the year, while the GTX-B line connecting Incheon, just west of Seoul, to Namyangju, just east of the capital, will begin construction early next year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Kim regime plans to prop up their thug allies Hamas with more weapons:

National Intelligence Agency [JOONGANG ILBO]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered “comprehensive support for Palestine,” South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers at a closed-door audit on Wednesday. 
  
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told members of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that Pyongyang “is planning how to fully exploit” the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, according to conservative People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum, who attended the meeting. 
  
Yoo also said that the NIS told lawmakers it “detected orders from Kim to provide comprehensive support for Palestine.” (….)

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) report follows the discovery of North Korean weaponry in the possession of Hamas, which conducted an armed raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,400 people and abducting over 200 into the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if President Yoon actually follows through on debt reduction because it easy to say, but as we see with U.S. politicians, it is actually harder to follow through on:

President Yoon Suk Yeol cited reducing the national debt and stabilizing prices as his top priorities in an address to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

“The approach our government is taking in managing our finances is to avoid passing on unaffordable debts to the country’s future generations,” the president said in a budget speech delivered before the members of the Assembly.

“A sound fiscal policy is crucial to stabilizing prices in the long run and protecting our economic security,” the president said, adding that the International Monetary Fund has appraised his administration’s take on balancing the budget as heading in the right direction.

Yoon stressed that a sound fiscal policy was “not just about cutting down on spending, but about using taxpayers’ money more efficiently and responsibly, with efforts to not let a single dime go wasted.” He said that the budget would primarily be spent on strengthening the country’s essential functions such as national defense, education, health care and social security for the vulnerable.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

This think tank is calling for 100 modernized tactical nuclear weapons to defend South Korea, but believes they should be stored in the U.S.:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) talks with officials during a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute in Pyongyang on March 27, 2023, in this file photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim guided the work to mount nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles, and the institute reported the recent years’ work and production for bolstering the North’s nuclear forces, both in quality and quantity, according to the KCNA. (Yonhap)

South Korea and the United States should modernize around 100 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to support the security of the South against North Korea’s growing threats, a research report said Monday.

The Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Rand Corp. made the suggestion in a joint report, stressing the North has “already established a nuclear weapon force that could pose an existential threat” to South Korea and is “on the verge” of posing a serious threat to the U.S. 

“Kim Jong-un appears to be planning a force of at least 300 to 500 nuclear weapons… the 300-weapon threshold could almost be reached in 2030,” the report, titled “Options for Strengthening ROK Nuclear Assurance,” said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This ruling from the South Korean human rights watch dog recommends improving the living the conditions for three Russians hiding from military service in the departure area of Incheon International Airport:

Three draft-eligible Russians, who have been stranded at Incheon International Airport for over one year unable to get asylum approval from the South Korean government, deserve humanitarian assistance from local authorities, the state human rights watchdog said Monday.

The three Russian men have been living in the airport’s departure waiting area since October 2022 after fleeing to avoid being drafted to fight against Ukraine. They applied for asylum after landing at the airport, but the Ministry of Justice rejected their applications, saying a simple evasion of military service does not constitute grounds for refugee status.

The Russians then filed a lawsuit to nullify the ministry’s decision, and the Incheon District Court ruled in favor of two of them in February. The ministry then appealed to a higher court, leading the Russians to continue to live virtually homeless somewhere within the airport terminal.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is the DP once again demagoging a tragic accident to score political points. There was clearly poor planning at the local level that contributed to this tragedy, however the opposition makes it seem like President Yoon should of been out there leading crowd control that tragic night:

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, delivers a speech at Seoul Plaza in the capital city during a memorial event to mark the first anniversary of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations last year, in this photo taken on Sunday. (Yonhap)

The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Sunday to get to the truth about the deadly Itaewon crowd crush and work to hold those accountable to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Lee made the pledge during a memorial event held to mark the first anniversary of the deadly crowd crush that took the lives of 159 people during Halloween celebrations in the popular hangout district of Itaewon.

“It has been one year since 159 universes, and 159 worlds collapsed, but nothing has changed. The desperate appeals by the bereaved families are again ignored today, and those in power are only bent on covering up the truth,” Lee said in a speech at Seoul Plaza.

“We will reveal the truth by quickly passing special legislation on the Itaewon tragedy, hold those responsible accountable and make sure something like this won’t happen again,” Lee said.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It makes sense that people would not be in a festive mood only one year after the deadly Itaewon crowd crushing tragedy:

This photo, taken Oct. 28, 2023, shows safety fences set up in an alley of Seoul’s Itaewon to prevent a possible increase in people ahead of Halloween. (Yonhap)

 South Koreans avoided boisterous Halloween celebrations Saturday, the eve of the country marking one year after the deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district that claimed 159 lives, with people mourning the death of the victims.

The crowd crush, the deadliest ever in South Korea, took place in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, a Saturday night when about 100,000 people flocked to the area for Halloween celebrations.

Late Saturday, Seoul’s crowded entertainment areas, including Itaewon and Hongdae, were bustling with citizens and foreign tourists, just like any ordinary weekend, but there seemed to be no uproarious Halloween celebrations.

“I used to enjoy Halloween parties, but I’ve decided to spend this year’s Halloween quietly due to last year’s accident. I think it would be difficult to enjoy Halloween in Itaewon,” said Kim Hyung-seok, 28, who visited Itaewon with his girlfriend.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am actually surprised there has not been another Korean President that has ever visited Qatar considering all the past business deals ROK businesses have completed in the Middle East:

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, speaks with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at a ceremony for signing memorandums of understanding during their bilateral summit at the Amiri Diwan palace in Doha on Wednesday. This marks the first state visit by a Korean president to Qatar. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korea and Qatar signed deals amounting to some $4.6 billion during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s bilateral summit with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on Wednesday. 
  
Yoon was greeted in an official welcoming ceremony, followed by bilateral talks, a ceremony to sign memorandums of understanding (MOU) and a state luncheon, according to the presidential office. 
  
Yoon is the first Korean president to make a state visit to Qatar.

The two sides discussed expanding cooperation beyond energy and construction to investment, defense, agriculture, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.