Category: Korea-General Topics

I actually like Mr. Pizza, but it looks like they are willing to use dirty tricks against their pizza rivals:

A Mr. Pizza sign [YONHAP]

Korea’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to slap a fine of 400 million won ($302,158) on local chain operator Mr. Pizza for obstructing a rival’s operations.  
   
The punitive action against Mr.Pizza came in response to the company’s interference with Pizza Union Coop’s operations, including disrupting the supply of ingredients, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.  
   
Pizza Union Coop was founded by individuals who previously operated Mr.Pizza stores but left the franchise following disagreements with the market’s second-largest player. 

In 2017, Mr.Pizza directly opened new locations near Pizza Union Coop’s stores where it rolled out massive discount promotions.  
   
The regulator said it was evident that Mr.Pizza opened its directly controlled stores with the intention to obstruct the operation of Pizza Union Coop, as it previously opened such shops only in busy areas, including Gangnam in southern Seoul.  
   
It also filed a lawsuit against the founder of Pizza Union Coop for defamation and exerted influence on ingredient suppliers to cut off shipments to the newly established firm. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The protesters don’t care about facts like this, they only care about push anti-Japanese narratives and bashing the Yoon administration:

This image provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Aug. 27, 2023, shows locations, marked by dots, in South Korea’s territorial waters where radiation tests are being or will be conducted by Seoul, as Japan began to release radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Yonhap)

The radiation levels in the waters near South Korea remain well below the standards for drinkable water defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), Seoul’s oceans ministry said Sunday.

It was the first such test conducted on 15 locations in three areas of South Korea’s territorial waters after Japan began to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean last Thursday.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it released the results of the radiation tests, carried out Friday, on five locations in the southeastern waters, and plans to disclose the rest of the test results on 10 other locations as soon as they are available.

In the latest result, the concentration levels of cesium-135 and cesium-137 stood at 0.067-0.094 and 0.077-0.098 becquerel per liter, respectively, compared with the WHO’s 10 becquerel per liter for drinking water.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t know if this is really a fight worth having for the Yoon administration:

The government is considering relocating a bust of revered independence fighter Hong Beom-do from outside the defense ministry headquarters due to his past record of collaborating with Soviet communist forces, officials said Monday.

Earlier, the defense ministry said it is considering relocating the busts of five Korean independence fighters, including Hong’s, from the Korea Military Academy in northern Seoul, sparking protest from opposition parties and the Heritage of Korean Independence, an association representing the independence fighters and their descendants.

The move is seen as being in line with the Yoon administration’s push to align closer with the United States and Japan in the face of growing cooperation among North Korea, China and Russia.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but of course the opposition party is backing keeping the busts of communist supporters in place.

It looks like the violent protesters in South Korea will have young conscript riot police to assault again:

South Korea announced Wednesday that it sought to revive the recently abolished conscripted police system to strengthen the state’s crime prevention capabilities.

According to the announcement, which came amid the recent surge of crimes seemingly targeting random people, the government plans to add up to 8,000 conscripted police within nine months.

“In order to enhance (the police’s) capability to prevent the occurrence of crimes, the government will proactively move to reintroduce the conscripted police system,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in an announcement at the Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday.

Han said that the measure is for “ensuring safety and protecting the lives of ordinary citizens from ‘senseless crimes.'”

The conscripted police system — in which draftees serve as an alternative to regular compulsory military service — was phased out under a policy direction announced in 2017 by former President Moon Jae-in, due to the shrinking population and the shortage of military-aged men.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

The Fukushima waste water issue is new anti-Japan issue the Korean left can demagogue for many more years bash Japan and Korean conservatives with because it is easy to demagogue. This is because most people don’t read up on what the radioactive waste water is which is harmless in the doses being discharged. Most people also don’t realize South Korea and other countries dump waste water from their nuclear plants into the ocean as well. If these leftists are so concerned about the environment how come they are not protesting outside South Korean nuclear plants?:

South Korea’s main opposition party warned it would take a series of actions condemning the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s policies on Japan as Tokyo began a phased release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday afternoon.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the head of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in an emergency meeting gathering all of the party’s lawmakers that Yoon, with his “leniency with Japan,” was “no less responsible for the destruction of our seas being undertaken by the Japanese government.”

“The Yoon administration practically acted as a spokesperson for Japan, even as it was going to pollute our waters with radioactive waste,” he said. “Our party will not stop fighting against Japan’s reckless acts of environmental destruction.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but t

If this crazy guy couldn’t buy brass knuckles to commit his crime he could have just as easily used a hammer. Are those going to be banned too?:

The suspect, second from right, charged with rape and murder at Sillim-dong, Seoul, leaves Seoul Gwanak Police station after an investigation, Saturday. Yonhap

Growing concerns over the possible criminal use of self-defense weapons are sparking calls for tougher regulations on the products. 

Fears come in the wake of a heinous crime involving a 30-year-old man who assaulted a woman, on a hiking trail in southern Seoul, with two brass knuckles, after which, he raped her, Thursday. The victim died, Saturday.

“It scared me because it is so easy to buy them online, and I also wonder if I can actually use brass knuckles in self-defense in an urgent situation,” said Lee So-heon, 26, a university student who also lives in southern Seoul.

The latest attack adds to a recent string of violent crimes that have alarmed the public. Ahead of the murder case, a knife-wielding rampage occurred near Sillim Station, July 21, followed by a similar incident at Seohyeon Station in Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 3, which sparked a surge in the sales of self-defense weapons.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Former President Moon must be pretty concerned that the investigation into the Scout Jamboree fiasco will find cronyism during was to blame for the poor location and extravagant spending by organizers chosen by his administration. This is likely what is causing him to come out and preemptively attack the Yoon administration to place blame on them:

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol hit back at former President Moon Jae-in on Monday for accusing the government of mismanaging the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, citing a newspaper editorial that called Moon “shameless” for his remarks.

Moon wrote in a Facebook post Sunday that the country “lost many things” due to the Jamboree, including national dignity and pride, leaving people only to feel embarrassed.

The comments appeared to lay blame on the current government after a lack of preparation left many Jamboree participants struggling to cope with a scorching heat wave earlier this month.

“A leading newspaper of our country said in today’s editorial that it is like a thief turning on the master with a club and a thick face with no shame,” a presidential official told reporters when asked about Moon’s remarks. “We take note of that assessment.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.