Happy Valentine’s Day ROK Heads!

A pretty badge tragedy at this hotel construction site in Busan:

Six workers died and seven others were injured in a fire at a hotel construction site in the southeastern port city of Busan on Friday, authorities said.

The fire started at the Banyan Tree hotel under construction at approximately 10:50 a.m., presumably from insulating material loaded near a swimming pool on the building’s first floor, according to the Busan firefighting headquarters.

Firefighters rescued those trapped inside using helicopters, but six were later pronounced dead. Fourteen others were safely rescued from the roof, while more than a hundred workers evacuated.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If North Korean artillerymen are manning these systems they are gaining so valuable military experience considering how important artillery fire will be during any contingency on the peninsula:

North Korea is estimated to have sent about 200 pieces of long-range artillery to Russia and is likely to send more troops and weapons in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine, South Korea’s defense ministry said Tuesday.

The assessment came after South Korea’s spy agency earlier estimated the North to have sent some 11,000 troops to support Russia, of which 300 are believed to have been killed, with some 2,700 others wounded.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if these tariffs lead to an invigoration of steel manufacturing in the U.S.:

Acting President Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday the government will respond to the new U.S. tariffs on steel imports based to its pre-prepared measures and pursue further negotiations with Washington to reflect South Korea’s interests.

On Monday (U.S. time), U.S. President Donald Trump signed proclamations imposing a 25 percent tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products, effective March 12, with “no exceptions or exemptions.” The tariffs will apply to millions of tons of steel and aluminum imports, including those from South Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The left is turning to their usual playbook of “racial profiling” to try and stop ICE from deporting illegal immigrants:

A photo of a Korean man who was arrested, Jan. 28, in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown on illegal immigration on charges of possessing sexually exploitative materials involving minors. The original image was shared uncensored. Captured from White House’s X

U.S. President Donald Trump’s massive immigration crackdown across the country is sparking fear, disruption and frustration in both expected and unexpected ways in Korean communities.

Some 110,000 undocumented Koreans, as estimated by the Pew Research Center, are scattered throughout the United States, but in reality, experts say there are many more, and Trump’s sweeping clampdown promises to weed them out.

On. Jan. 31, the White House said a Korean national was arrested for the first time in the latest operation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Living undocumented in Atlanta, the Korean man was found guilty of possessing sexually explicit material depicting minors, according to U.S. authorities.

He is one of nearly 1,000 migrants arrested daily in the immigration crackdown, which the Trump administration claims targets illegal residents with criminal records, such as assault, robbery and driving under the influence.

However, local media reports say many of the arrested migrants have not committed any criminal offenses — a concern that’s putting some people on edge.

“It’s not just criminal illegal immigrants. It’s not even just illegal immigrants. It’s people of color who are being randomly targeted,” said Sam Kim, 39, a U.S. citizen living in Los Angeles, who is trying to mobilize efforts to advocate against what he considers “racial profiling.”

“Criminals need to get punished. I’m not arguing against that,” Kim noted. “But legal, hardworking Koreans in the U.S. should not be mistreated just because of the way we look and speak.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but if you are in the country legally you shouldn’t have any worries about being deported by ICE.