Tag: politics

You cannot put anything pass the Korean left, so them trying another impeachment scheme is definitely plausible:

The presidential office lambasted the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Monday for spreading false rumors about the government allegedly planning to declare martial law.

Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon condemned DP leader Lee Jae-myung for raising the allegations during a live broadcast meeting with ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon on Sunday.

“We are appalled that the leader of a major political party would spread fabricated rumors on live television,” Jeong said in a press briefing. “If there is even a shred of evidence, please present it.”

Jeong questioned whether the DP is spreading the rumors as part of a broader propaganda campaign focused on the radical idea of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, vowing to sternly deal with its attempts to manipulate public opinion with baseless claims.

“Is this part of a buildup to (Yoon’s) impeachment?” Jeong asked, adding that if there is no evidence, the DP should be labeled a “party of fake news.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what is even stupider about this claim from the opposition party is that if martial law is declared by Yoon, by law the national assembly can overrule it with a majority vote. Currently the opposition party holds the majority of the seats in the national assembly.

The shots that Kamala Harris recently made against Donald Trump demonstrates that her administration would just continue what the Biden administration has already been doing:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said she will not “cozy up to” dictators like North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom she cast as “rooting for” her Republican rival Donald Trump.

In her nomination acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, Vice President Harris took aim at former President Trump, who has long boasted about his personal ties with Kim, stressing she knows “where I stand” in the “struggle between democracy and tyranny.”

“I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump,” she told a cheering crowd of Democrats on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention.

“They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself,” she added.

The remarks reinforced expectations that Harris, if elected, could focus on working together with allies to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats while leaving the door open for dialogue with Pyongyang — largely in line with President Joe Biden’s approach.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The only thing surprising about this news is that it took prosecutors four-months to figure out this was a political hit job and charges should have never been sought in the first place:

A prosecution investigation team has decided to acquit first lady Kim Keon Hee of charges related to her acceptance of a Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor in 2022, legal officials said Wednesday.

The team from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office (SCDPO), which is in charge of the first lady’s case, has recently reported the decision to Lee Chang-soo, the head of the SCDPO, and Lee plans to report it to Prosecutor General Lee One-seok soon, the officials said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Waltz may be touting his ties to South Korea, but what he has not been talking about are the stolen valor claims brought against him:

U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, left, stands next to her newly chosen vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as he speaks during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Minnesota governor Tim Walz, the running mate of presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, highlighted his personal and familial ties to Korea and his long military service. 
  
During their first campaign appearance together in Philadelphia on Tuesday after Walz joined Harris in her campaign against former President Donald Trump of the Republican Party, Walz shared a story about his father, a 1950-53 Korean War veteran, and how his encouragement led Walz to enlist in the military. 
  
“My dad served in the Army during the Korean War, and with his encouragement, at 17, I joined the Army National Guard,” Walz said. 
  
“For 24 years, I proudly wore the uniform of this nation. And just as it did for my dad and millions of others, the G.I. Bill gave me a shot at a college education,” Walz added. The G.I. Bill refers to programs created to assist American military veterans. (……)

As governor of Minnesota, he traveled to South Korea in 2019, along with Japan, to “highlight Minnesota’s long history of engagement with South Korea and future opportunities for economic partnership,” including increasing exports of Minnesota-produced agricultural products, medical devices and clean energy products.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The ongoing saga around the hangbag from hell political hit job continues for Korea’s First Lady:

First lady Kim Keon Hee was interrogated by prosecutors over allegations that she illegally accepted a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor and was involved in a stock manipulation scheme, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Sunday,

Kim was summoned on Saturday for an investigation into graft and stock manipulation cases. She was questioned face-to-face at an undisclosed government building for about 12 hours.

Kim faces allegations that she illegally accepted a Christian Dior handbag valued at around 3 million won ($2,158) from pastor Choi Jae-young during their meeting in Seoul in September 2022, four months after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s inauguration.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This should come as no surprise that J.D. Vance to echoing Donald Trump’s call for U.S. allies to do more for national defense:

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate has vowed to ensure U.S. allies share the burden of promoting world peace, and warned them against what he called “free rides.”

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio made the remarks during a speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday amid concerns that Trump, if reelected, could put pressure on South Korea to increase its financial contributions for stationing the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

“Together, we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace,” he told a cheering crowd at the convention. “No more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Since the political opposition controls the National Assembly the Yoon administration is going to have to continue to deal with these types of shennanigans:

The presidential office said Monday it will not respond to an opposition-led parliamentary hearing addressing an online petition for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.

The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee voted last week to hold two hearings — on Friday and on July 26 — to deal with the petition, posted online on June 20, that calls for the National Assembly to propose an impeachment motion against Yoon over various allegations, including first lady Kim Keon Hee’s acceptance of a luxury handbag in 2022.

“We cannot respond to an unconstitutional and unlawful impeachment hearing,” a senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is the Korean lefts ultimate goal which is to impeach President Yoon.

South Korea has definitely has had its share of political violence to include recently the stabbing of the Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung:

DP spokesperson Han Min-soo also sent best wishes Trump’s way and echoed the PPP’s sentiment that political terrorism must never be justified.

“The Democratic Party suffered an act of terrorism against former leader Lee Jae-myung, and we’ve been battling to fend off the ghosts of such terrible politics based on hatred,” Han said. “We strongly condemn political terrorism that destroys democracy, and we will be on the front lines of the battle against the politics of hatred.”

Yonhap

The conservative People Power Party however condemned the attack and mentioned the recent politcally inspired attacks on both Lee Jae-myung and PPP member Bae Hyun-jin;

Ho Jun-seok, spokesperson for the ruling People Power Party (PPP), wished Trump a speedy recovery, after the Republican presidential candidate had a bullet pierce the upper part of his right ear during a Saturday rally (U.S. time) in Pennsylvania.

“Political terrorism is a threat to democracy and cannot be tolerated for any reason,” Ho said in a statement. “Political terrorism is a product of extremism and politics of hate. Politicians have the duty to unite society through understanding and harmony.”

Ho said South Korean people have also been affected by political terrorism, citing attacks on former presidential candidate and ex-Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung and PPP lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin.

You can read more at the link, but back in 2006 there was also the slashing of then conservative parliamentary member Park Geun-hye who would go on to become President and in 2015 U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert was slashed across the face as well. You can go even further back when Korean President Park Chung-hee was assassinated in 1979 as well.