Category: Korean Government

After firing the head of Statistics Korea who also happened to be a female, President Moon has replaced the female Labor Minister as well:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s relatively new administration is becoming synonymous with high turnover, as more women appointees are either being replaced or resigning after a year of service.

Seoul’s Labor Minister Kim Young-joo, one of the few women in government to occupy a high position, publicly disclosed her decision to “resign” on her Facebook page, the Korea Times reported Friday.

Kim has weathered several controversies as the Moon administration introduced a 52-hour workweek and raised the minimum wage. The latter policy drew the ire of small to medium-sized South Korean businesses.  (………..)

Kim’s statement appears to be referring to the Moon administration’s decision to replace her with a newly appointed labor minister, Lee Jae-gap, who heads the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, according to the Korea Times.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link, but how much the economic numbers change will be interesting to see.  Expect the now largely state controlled South Korean media to parrot whatever the new economic numbers are in the future.

So what do you do as President when you don’t like the economic statistics?  You fire the person giving you the statistics and replace them with someone who will give you statistics you prefer:

The Moon Jae-in government is facing backlash for replacing the head of its economic statistics agency, whose reports have shown the economy spiraling downward amid hikes in the minimum wage and the government’s income-led growth strategy.

On Monday, lawmakers from opposition parties criticized the Blue House decision on Sunday to replace the Statistics Korea commissioner.

Floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Kim Sung-tae said the person that should be replaced is not the head of Statistics Korea but Moon’s top economic adviser Jang Ha-sung, one of the architects of the income-led growth strategy.

“It’s like scolding a person who shouted ‘fire’ instead of the person who started the blaze,” said the LPK floor leader Kim.

Ham Jin-gyu, head of the LKP policy committee, stressed that the sacking threatens the independence of the statistics agency.

“Statistics Korea is not a department that sets up policy but rather announces statistics,” Ham said. “It’s worrying to think of what future statistics releases will be, considering that the Statistics Korea commissioner is changed just because they are not happy [with the statistics showing the state of the economy].”

On Sunday, the Blue House announced it was replacing the commissioner of Statistics Korea, Hwang Soo-kyeong. This came as a surprise since she only served 13 months in the job, considerably shorter than the average two years of her predecessors.

There is widespread speculation that Hwang lost her job due to the recent unfavorable reports including the worst jobs report in eight and half years and several reports describing a widening income gap between the rich and poor.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but to make this look even worse is the fact that one of the few women in the ROK government was fired and replaced with a male.  It will be interesting to see how much the statistics change.

I wonder if this proposed ban to save children from so called “harmful” information will include websites that push anti-Japanese viewpoints?:

The government is seeking to prevent children’s access to online communities that advocate hate and discriminatory speech against selective groups of people. The move aims to counter a social rift triggered and widened by extremist, gender-divided online communities _ the far-right troll website Ilbe, frequented almost exclusively by men, and the extreme feminist website WOMAD.

According to a report submitted by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the commission seeks to revise relevant laws to designate such websites that foster hatred and discrimination as “harmful” to children.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the elderly people of South Korea might be the ones making the sacrifice to pay off Kim Jong-un:

Anchor: The government is reportedly mulling a set of reform measures to ensure the sustainable operation of the National Pension Fund, which is expected to run out of money around three years earlier than predicted. The reported measures are, however, drawing strong public criticism as they’re likely to increase the burden for subscribers.
Our Lee Bo-kyung has more.

Report: The Moon Jae-in administration is floating the idea of pension reform as the pension fund for salaried workers and the self-employed is expected to bottom out in 2057, about three years earlier than previously estimated.

An advisory panel on the national pension is set to release its reform proposals on Friday. The proposals reportedly include a move to extend the subscription period to the age of 65 from the current 60.

The committee also recommends the government increase premiums gradually from the current nine percent of a subscriber’s monthly income. Another step could be pushing back the payout age to 68.

After the plans were leaked in media reports last Friday, people began voicing outrage about the possible changes, posting over one thousand online petitions on the Web site of the presidential office.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

As I have been saying, the South Korean leftists want to get rid of the Defense Security Command and then claim they are conducting “reforms”:

A committee studying how to reform the military’s Defense Security Command (DSC) recommended on Thursday to abolish all legal underpinnings for the 70-year-old intelligence unit and substituting it with something new.

The committee also called for cutting the DSC’s workforce by at least 30 percent and shutting down all its regional units.

It was revealed last month that the DSC drew up contingency plans for martial law last year in case the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and chaos ensued.

Chang Young-dal, head of the committee, said at a press conference that after two months of deliberation, it recommended abolishing the legal foundation for the current DSC and setting up a new intelligence unit with a new name.

“We assess that if we achieve all reform measures, there will not be illegal meddling in political affairs or illegal surveillance of civilians,” said Chang, adding that a reformed DNC would not conduct activities that would negatively “affect the morale” of military officials by exerting a sense of “privilege.”   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but is there anyone that does think that whatever the reformed DSC becomes it won’t be stocked with leftists?  Maybe Moon can have Im Jong-seok chair the “reformed” DSC?

Here is the latest on the so called attempted coup that South Korea’s political left is claiming the Defense Security Command was planning to execute:

Rival parties on Wednesday exchanged barbs over a controversy surrounding the military intelligence unit’s documents written last year to prepare for the imposition of martial law to curb anti-government protests.

The war of words further intensified after the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) claimed Tuesday that the Defense Security Command (DSC) had also devised a similar plan in 2004, when former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached.

In March 2004, Roh was impeached by parliament on charges that included illegal electioneering, but he was reinstated by the top court about two months later.

The controversy was sparked as a civic group disclosed DSC documents last month that showed the unit had set up detailed plans for declaring martial law last year to curb civilians’ candlelight protests against then corruption-ridden President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached by parliament.

The group also claimed Monday that the DSC allegedly wiretapped phone conversations between Roh and his defense minister more than a decade ago and carried out illegal surveillance on millions of civilians.

President Moon Jae-in earlier ordered an independent probe into the DSC.

The LKP raised doubts about how the Center for Military Human Rights Korea could secure such classified documents.

Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the LKP, even said Tuesday that it is absurd that military reforms are being moved by a civic group, whose chief is struggling with his sexual identity.

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) condemned Kim’s remarks.

“The floor leader of the largest opposition party is misleading public sentiment. It is questionable that the LKP is trying to defend the DSC,” said Baek Hye-ryun, a spokeswoman at the party.

The ruling party regarded DSC documents as evidence for a de facto coup. But the LKP, which was the ruling party under Park’s government, claimed that they might have been just drawn up to prepare for emergency situations, not for rebellion.

“The DSC documents were kind of the risk management manual, not documents over an attempted rebellion or coup,” said Kim Byong-joon, the LKP’s interim leader.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but considering the DSC’s charter planning for the defense of the ruling government is part of their job description.  If thousands of protesters showed up and stormed the Blue House to remove President Park if the Constitutional Court did not approve of her impeachment, should the DSC be expected to sit back and let it happen?

If so, that means South Korea’s left believes in mob rule and not a constitutional government.

It looks like the Korean conservative party in an effort to protect the DSC is claiming that the organization once drew up martial law plans to protect former left-wing President Roh Moo-hyun:

The Defense Security Command (DSC) on Tuesday dismissed an opposition floor leader’s allegations that it drew up a document on the possible imposition of martial law after the 2004 impeachment of liberal former President Roh Moo-hyun.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party raised the allegations amid criticism that the DSC explored the possibility of imposing martial law to quash public protests against then corruption-tainted President Park Geun-hye.

“Rep. Kim’s argument is different from facts,” the DSC said in a text message sent to reporters.

“The DSC under the former government checked if there was any problem (on the part of the DSC), and there was nothing whatsoever that indicates the unit considered the (possible invocation of) martial law,” it added.  [Yonhap]

The roles of the DSC includes planning security measures and gathering information regarding military-related activities. Its primary mission is to protect national security, which includes anti-espionage and anti-terrorism activities and protecting defense industry-relation information.  The commander of the DSC reports to the Defense Minister, but can report directly to the President as well.

It is arguable the South Korean political left want to either disband or “reform” the DSC before pursuing their own goal of creating a confederation with North Korea.

The last of Korea’s old guard has passed away:

Former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil died Saturday at age 92. Kim died at 8:15 a.m., an aide said.

Kim was taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul from his home in Shindang-dong, and he was already dead on arrival, hospital officials said.

He is believed to have died of old age.

Born in 1926, Kim graduated from the Korea Military Academy and played a key role in the 1961 military coup led by Park Chung-hee, who rose to president and ruled South Korea for 18 years.

Kim served as prime minister twice, first from 1971-1975 and then from 1998-2000.

He also served nine terms as a lawmaker and was considered one of South Korea’s most influential politicians in the 1980s-90s. He was known as one of the “three Kims,” together with former Presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.  [Korea Times]

The modern Korean history that Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil was part of is simply incredible. He was even responsible for an agricultural first by creating Jeju’s first tangerine orchard in 1968.

https://www.rokdrop.net/2015/11/kim-jong-pil-describes-how-started-jejus-first-tangerine-orchard/

You can read more about Kim Jong-pil’s historical significance at this ROK Drop link.

It looks like President Moon is in Russia setting conditions for any future summit between Putin and Kim Jong-un:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in began his three-day state visit to Russia on Thursday for a bilateral summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that will likely focus on ways to boost the countries’ economic cooperation, as well as joint efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

Moon’s trip marked the first state visit to Russia by a South Korean leader since 1999, according to his office Cheong Wa Dae.

He was set to deliver a special speech at the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, becoming the first South Korean president to do so in history.

He will also meet Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev later in the day for bilateral talks on ways to expand their countries’ bilateral cooperation, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The Moon-Putin summit will be held on Friday, marking the third of its kind since Moon took office in May 2017. The two first met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit held in Germany in July. They last met in September, when Moon attended the annual Eastern Economic Forum held in the Russian city of Vladivostok.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It has long been known by Korea watchers that President Moon Jae-in’s Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok has prolific communist and pro-North Korean past.  Over at One Free Korea, Dr. Tara O has a guest post that provides detailed background information that shows how immersed Im was in communist ideology before entering the Blue House.  What I found really interesting was how during the Roo Moo-hyun administration Im founded a group that collected royalties for the Kim regime in North Korea:

In 2005, Im Jong-seok founded and led as chairman, the South-North Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation (남북경제문화협력재단). The Foundation has been collecting royalties from MBC, KBS, SBS, and other TV and online broadcasters for North Korean TV footage. According to the Ministry of Unification, the foundation collected an estimated $1,876,700 over 13 years and transferred the royalties to North Korea until the Cheonan sinking in 2010. It is still collecting royalties on behalf of North Korea’s Chosun Central Broadcasting Commission, with the plans to transfer the money once the sanctions are lifted. The foundation even called the Ministry of Defense Public Affairs and demanded royalties for using the missile test footage in July 2017. North Korea does not pay for footage from South Korean broadcasts.

The foundation also has other revenue streams. One is membership and the other is education & research. It collects about 32,700,000 Won (~$30,000) on average for its annual membership. It also became a contractor to the Seoul City and Seongdong District governments, developing South-North “peace education” programs. What is interesting is that the contract with Seoul City was signed on the same day as when Park Won-soon, Seoul City Mayor, appointed Im Jong-seok as the Deputy Mayor on June 11, 2014. Im was the campaign manager for Park prior to that in 2014, and successfully led to Park Won-soon’s re-election.  [One Free Korea]

You can read much more at the link where Dr. O in painstaking detail lists all of Im Jong-seok’s communist and pro-North Korean ties.  Does anyone think that Im Jong-seok who less than a decade ago was collecting royalties to send to the Kim regime is interested in being an honest broker now between the US and North Korea?