Tag: anti-US

Activists convicted of crimes during anti-US protests over the 10 years of conservative rule in South Korea have been pardoned:

“We selected seven major conflicts of our society and pardoned those involved in the cases for the sake of social unity,” Minister Park said.

Of the 107 activists, 13 were convicted of holding demonstrations against the Lee government’s decision to resume imports of U.S. beef. Moon also pardoned 11 people who were convicted of participating in illegal protests to condemn the Park administration’s poor handling of the Sewol ferry’s sinking in 2014 and 22 convicted of holding illegal rallies to denounce a comfort women deal with Japan signed during her presidency. 

The ministry said Moon also pardoned 13 people convicted of holding illegal rallies over the Park government’s decision to allow the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) anti-missile system. Participants in rallies to both support and oppose the deployment were pardoned. 

Seven people convicted of holding illegal strikes at Ssangyong Motor in 2009 also received special pardons. 

Moon also issued special pardons to 19 people who were convicted of holding illegal rallies against a government plan to build a naval base in Jeju. The plan was initiated by the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2007, when Moon was serving as the presidential chief of staff. After the plan faced fierce protests from Jeju residents, Moon repeatedly expressed regret that the government failed to listen to their opinions at the initial stage.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but what President Moon has endorsed is that holding illegal rallies is okay.

So how would the Moon administration react if conservative activists made up a phony issue like the 2008 US beef protests, occupied and closed down central Seoul, and violently attacked police?

Here is an interesting article about an ex-State Senator trying to get memorials that represent Korea’s modern history built in Oregon:

As a young boy during the Korean War, John Lim witnessed his father being forcibly conscripted by the North Korean People’s Army.

The incident was only the beginning of a series of greater tragedies. Branded as a communist, his father, who was a fire captain in his hometown of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was shot dead by South Korean authorities after the three-year conflict. The entire family was destroyed, and Lim himself nearly died from tuberculosis.

His brushes with death, however, did not kill his dreams. In 1966, a penniless Lim took a flight to the U.S. and pursued religious studies while working as a janitor, painter and gardener. He then ventured into business, boasting acumen in retail, health food and real estate, among other areas.

In 1992, Lim set a milestone in Korean-American history, becoming a state senator in Oregon. After serving five straight terms, he is now seeking to “set up memorials dedicated to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and former South Korean presidents who contributed to the country’s economic and political development, such as Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung.   [Korea Herald]

Here is something else I found of interest in the article, Lim’s group tried to take over the MacArthur statue in Incheon after hate groups wanted to tear it down:

The five-year project was initiated after some liberal civic groups called for the demolition of a MacArthur sculpture at a public park in Incheon last year.

The Lim-led Korean War Memorial Foundation of Oregon initially sought to take over the statue, but then decided to have a new one made. In 2000, it established a 5-acre memorial park within a city park of Wilsonville near Portland to commemorate the war and U.S. veterans, with the support of the Seoul government, the city and South Korean businesses there.

Long time ROK Heads may remember how in 2005 huge riots broke out in Incheon as ROK veterans groups defended the MacArthur statue from the anti-US leftist hate groups that had vowed to tear it down.

Fortunately the anti-US hate groups failed to tear down the castle after the Braveheart style battle to defend the hill.  For those that haven’t been there before Jayu Park in Incheon where the MacArthur statue stands is well worth checking out as well as taking a walk through Chinatown below the hill.