Category: Korean Government

President Elect Yoon is going to see a full pressure campaign to get him to stop the move to the Ministry of Defense. It doesn’t matter where you work, established interests are always hesitant to embrace change:

The office of President Moon Jae-in voiced concerns Monday about President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, saying it could leave a security vacuum at a time of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, made the remark to reporters after a National Security Council meeting, saying it is unreasonable to relocate the defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the presidential office in such a short period of time before Yoon’s May 10 inauguration.

“Now is the time to unite security capabilities, as the security crisis on the Korean Peninsula is escalating,” Park said. “Therefore, it is necessary to look sufficiently into concern that sudden, unprepared relocations of the defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Cheong Wa Dae crisis management center could cause a security vacuum and confusion.”

Park said Cheong Wa Dae will convey its concerns to Yoon’s transition team. 

Yoon’s spokesperson expressed regret and said they will stick to the relocation plans.

“If President Moon Jae-in refuses to cooperate on an essential part of the most significant project in the transfer of power, there is no way to force him,” Kim Eun-hye said in a statement.

Upon taking office, she said, Yoon will continue to work from his current temporary office in Tongeui-dong near Cheong Wa Dae to handle pressing state affairs, making clear once again that Yoon will not move into Cheong Wa Dae.

“At the stroke of midnight on May 10, President-elect Yoon will fulfill his promise to fully open Cheong Wa Dae without fail,” she added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Yoon Suk-yeol campaigned on reducing the size of the Presidential office and it appears moving it out of the Blue House to possibly the Defense Ministry compound is how he plans to do this:

The defense ministry compound in Yongsan, central Seoul, has emerged as a new candidate to host the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government’s presidential office, officials close to the president-elect said Tuesday.

Yoon is pushing for the dismantling of Cheong Wa Dae, a secluded compound of the current presidential office and residence, and its relocation to the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun Square at the heart of the capital in accordance with his campaign pledges to depart from imperial presidency and better communicate with people and the press.

But critics have raised concern that Gwanghwamun, a busy downtown area, is unfit as the venue of the presidential office and its supplementary facilities due to security and other reasons.

Yoon is now actively considering relocating Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House, to Yongsan’s defense ministry compound due to its potential advantages in security management, according to the officials.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the article states the Defense Ministry has enough office space to accommodate the amount of Presidential office employees Yoon plans to bring over. If this happens this will be a big win for the ROK military which will have easier access to the incoming Yoon administration.

There really isn’t much the ROK can do to stop North Korea’s missile development other than making sure they have adequate ballistic missile defense in place:

 South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook inspected the combat readiness of the military’s missile command Monday amid a recent series of North Korea’s missile launches, the ministry said.

“Understanding the gravity of the current situation, the troops must maintain a thorough readiness position against any situations,” Suh was quoted as saying during his visit to the Army Missile Command.

He said the military’s ability to detect missiles and respond to possible attacks is more crucial than in the past, as North Korea’s recent provocations pose a serious threat to the peace and security of South Korea and the world.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As always when it comes to fake news, what is important is who is the one defining what North Korea related fake news is?:

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) has set aside funding to start systematically monitoring “fake news” related to North Korea next year, though it is unclear whether the government plans to levy penalties for reports deemed false.

The ministry has earmarked $170,000 (200 million won) for the project to counter fake news in its budget for the fiscal year 2022. Announced on Friday, the budget’s total amount reaches $1.27 billion (1.5 trillion won), a 1.86% increase from 2021.

“There are frequent occasions when misinformation or manipulated information related to North Korea gets spread mainly through new media,” unification ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo said in a regular briefing on Monday, referring primarily to online platforms.

“Hence, the purpose [of this project],” she said, “comes from the need for more systematic monitoring, considering how such incidents cause various bad influences such as distorting the environment for pursuing policies.”

NK News

You can read more at the link.

This was always a concern that this agency would be used for partisan purposes by whoever was in charge at the time and that is what the opposition is claiming is happening now with the collecting of phone records of conservative media figures:

The state-run anti-corruption office is under fire over allegations that it searched through the phone records of reporters and citizens critical of the organization and the government. 

The agency claims that this was a due, legal process and that it only checked the information of those who had phone calls with some of the people it is investigating. However, there is speculation that this may expand into an illegal surveillance scandal.

When checking phone records, the investigation agency receives personal information including subscriber name, resident registration number and address from the relevant telecommunications company. If the person whose phone records were checked asks the telecommunications company, it has to inform them of the details of when and which investigative agencies have requested data within the past year.

According to local telecommunications companies, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) has asked for the phone records of at least 10 journalists from several conservative news outlets on multiple occasions. 

In detail, the CIO requested the phone records of six reporters from the Chosun Ilbo on 12 occasions from July to October, while it also rifled through the phone logs of three reporters from the Joongang Ilbo 11 times from May to October.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The Korean opposition party is not happy with President Moon’s latest interview:

Members of the country’s conservative opposition bloc have criticized President Moon Jae-in’s recent interview with Time magazine, taking issue with Moon’s description of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un as honest, enthusiastic and determined, as well as the timing of the article’s publication on Thursday, the day before the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Yoo Seong-min of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), a former four-term lawmaker and former presidential candidate in the 2017 election, posted on Facebook Thursday that Moon’s courting of Kim is delusional and upsets South Korean people, especially considering North Korea has issued a series of statements mocking Moon and his peace efforts.

“Who is Kim Jong-un’s honesty, passion and determination for? Is it for North Korean people? Is it for South Korean people? Or is it for North Korea’s nuclear missiles?” Yoo said. “The appearance of the President being swayed at Kim Jong-un despite so many humiliations is frustrating as a South Korean citizen.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

You would think they would have vetted this guy for property speculation before giving him the job:

The presidential secretary for anti-corruption, Kim Gi-pyo, has offered to resign, the presidential office said Sunday, following allegations of real estate speculation involving multimillion dollar loans.

President Moon Jae-in also immediately accepted his resignation, according to Park Soo-hyun, Cheong Wa Dae’s senior secretary for public communication.

“Presidential secretary Kim Gi-pyo has expressed his views that, although he did not acquire the real estate for purposes of speculation, he should no longer be a burden to the state affairs given the public’s expectations of a public servant’s ethical and social responsibilities,” Park said at a briefing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but yet another Moon administration official bites the dust for unethical conduct.

It is believed that this appointment came in response to the election of 36-year-old Lee Jun-seok to the leadership of the opposition People Power Party:

Cheong Wa Dae’s appointment of a 25-year-old as a presidential secretary has created stir among politicians and citizens. While the presidential office tried to demonstrate its efforts to meet young people’s needs by appointing the political rookie to the high-ranking position, many citizens ― especially young ones ― view the appointment as “unfair” amid the reality where it is difficult for the majority of young people to get a job despite years of struggle.

On Monday, Cheong Wa Dae announced Park Seong-min’s appointment as the secretary for youth-related affairs, a newly created position. 

Park was one of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) spokespeople representing young members, and was picked as a member of the party’s Supreme Council last August by then-party Chairman Lee Nak-yon. Still studying at Korea University, Park plans to request a leave of absence from the university soon, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

She will get a salary and other perks equivalent to those of first-level government officials in the nine-tier public servant system, in which the first-level is the top level. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Lee Jun-seok was elected into Parliament a decade ago and worked his way up through the ranks to his current position. This is in contrast to Park Seong-min who has not been elected to anything and yet was appointed to her position.