Tag: politics

Here we go again with the nuclear-free pipe dream; can anyone explain a good rationale of why Kim Jong-un should give up his nuclear weapons?:

 U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un only on the condition that the latter agrees to reduce his country’s nuclear capabilities.

“On the condition that (Kim) would agree that he would be drawing down his nuclear capacity. To get that,” Biden said when asked on what preconditions that he would agree to meet the North Korean leader.

“The Korean Peninsula should be a nuclear-free zone,” he added while speaking in the second and last presidential TV debate with his Republican rival, President Donald Trump.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Moon administration has been trying to find ways to get Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to resign since he will not go along with covering for corrupt ruling party politicians. This could be another attempt to pressure him to quit by going after his wife:

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae ordered the nation’s top prosecutor on Monday to take his hands off the ongoing investigations into a high-profile fund scandal in a move she claims is intended to ensure a “fair” and “independent” probe into those cases.

The unusual order came a day after the justice ministry raised speculation that Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl failed to conduct a thorough investigation into opposition politicians and prosecutors allegedly implicated in the case.

“It is necessary to guarantee a fair and independent investigation into the Lime case and the case involving the prosecutor-general’s family,” Choo said, directing the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office and the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office to not follow Yoon’s orders and only report the results of the investigations to him.

Lime Asset Management Co. is suspected of covering up massive losses and subsequently suspending fund redemption worth an estimated 1.6 trillion won (US$1.39 billion).

Kim Bong-hyun, a key suspect in the case, has alleged that he bribed a former senior aide to President Moon Jae-in, and also lobbied influential opposition politicians and incumbent prosecutors.

“The possibility of the prosecutor-general’s involvement in determining the truth behind the Lime case cannot be completely removed,” Choo said.

The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) responded in a statement that Yoon has “become unable” to orchestrate the investigation into the Lime case.

On the case involving his family, the SPO said Yoon was never involved or briefed on the investigation and therefore had no comment to make.

The prosecution is looking into allegations that Yoon’s wife was involved in manipulating stocks in Deutsch Motors and that her company took bribes disguised as donations.

Choo’s directive calls on the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office to remove a prosecutor and investigator from the team in charge of the Lime case following allegations they were lobbied by Kim.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the people now running the investigation are all allies of Choo Mi-ae, so it is pretty clear how this “investigation” against Yoon’s wife will turn out.

Always remember that Korea is a rule by law country and not a rule of law country.

Is anyone surprised that the person who assigns prosecutors was not found of any wrong doing?:

The prosecution on Monday cleared Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae of allegations that she had abused her power to arrange special treatment for her son while he was serving the military in 2017.    
   
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced Monday it found no grounds on which to indict Choo, her son or her former aide after a monthslong probe into the allegations.    
   
Choo and her family have been battling accusations that her son, surnamed Seo, had received special treatment when he was serving in the Korean Augmentation to The United States Army, or Katusa, from November 2016 through August 2018. At the time, Choo was the chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).   (…….)

The prosecution added that Seo had asked Choo’s aide to inquire the military about the extension, not his parents.    
   
The prosecution also dismissed the suspicion that Choo or her husband had asked the Ministry of National Defense to arrange the extension. Although a document purported to be a military record created by Seo’s commander on June 15, 2017 said that Seo’s parents had made a request to the ministry, the prosecution said it failed to find any record from the ministry to corroborate it.   

Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but since Choo’s aid supposedly helped her son that makes it okay then?

That is what some political observers in the Korea Times are speculating about:

Some political watchers say signs of a political slump for Moon have already emerged, citing the continuous fall in his approval rating and hints of defiance among his supporters over key policies ― two important characteristics of a lame duck presidency.

The support rate for Moon, which hovered over 70 percent in early May following the nation’s good response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) landslide victory in the April 15 general election, has been on a steep decline, falling to 39 percent in a Gallup Korea poll, Friday.

The drop has become clearer in recent weeks amid criticism of the government’s latest real estate policy, which produced the opposite result of its intention of preventing speculative purchases and stabilizing the housing market. Public sentiment became even more negative as some senior Cheong Wa Dae officials owning multiple homes were reluctant to sell their properties despite the presidential chief of staff’s recommendation to do so.

Kim Hyung-joon, a professor at Myongji University, pointed to several signs indicating a political slump for Moon.

“The core situation of the political slump in a president’s fourth year is the loss of support from their base,” Kim said. “In Moon’s case, women, people in the capital area and those in their 30s or 40s were his core base, but they have broken away from him because of his policy failures.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is what prosecutor reform looks like in South Korea, get rid of the prosecutors that investigate corruption in the ruling party:

Elite prosecutors are accusing the administration of retaliation for their investigations targeting politicians and officials close to President Moon Jae-in, with some stepping down in protest in the past week.    
   
The Ministry of Justice said Friday that Kim Nam-woo, deputy head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, recently submitted his resignation. Kim was in the midst of investigating allegations that Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s son was given preferential treatment, and ultimately let off the hook, after he went AWOL from the military in 2017.    
   
Kim, 51, was a top prosecutor who had served in key posts, including the head of the policy planning department within the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the head of the criminal department within the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.    
   
After Choo took office in January, Kim was named the deputy head of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office. In his new post, he led the investigation into Choo’s son.    
   
Since January, Choo carried out three major reshuffles of the prosecution’s ranks. The latest, concerning senior prosecutors, took place on Aug. 7. Kim was left out, while three of his classmates from the Judicial Research and Training Institute who entered the program in 1997 were promoted in the latest reshuffle.    
   
“I won’t beg for a promotion,” Kim was quoted as telling other prosecutors, according to the officials within the prosecution.    
   
“Many of the prosecutors who faced political revenge for going after the powers-that-be say they carry resignation letters in their pockets to submit anytime,” one prosecutor said.  
   
Choo has repeatedly demoted prosecutors who investigated key allies of Moon, a list that notably includes Han Dong-hoon.   
   
Han, the lead prosecutor of an investigation into former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family for alleged academic fraud and financial corruptions, was demoted as the deputy head of the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office in January. He was further demoted in June to work as a researcher at the Institute of Justice.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link about the retaliation against prosecutors to include the prosecutor that uncovered the real estate speculation scheme by President Moon’s close associate Sohn Hye-won who received a jail sentence for it.

It appears that the Korean public is tiring of the overreaching by the ruling Korean left:

The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has continued on a downward spiral as a result of botched real estate policies and the autocratic passage of controversial bills, further narrowing the gap with the main opposition Untied Future Party (UFP) to below 1 percentage point, a survey showed, Thursday.

In the poll of 1,510 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Wednesday, 35.6 percent said they support the DPK, while 34.8 percent expressed support for the UFP. The approval rating of the DPK fell 2.7 percentage points from the previous week, while that of the UFP rose 3.1 percentage points. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is an opinion piece in the Asia Times by Jason Morgan, an associate professor at Reitaku University in Japan, that calls for the release of former President Park Geun-hye:

In late 2016, in a journalistic feeding frenzy of rumors and innuendo, Park’s close friend Choi Soon-sil was accused of Svengali-like behavior. Millions of South Koreans, deeply disturbed by the chicanery of those in high office, hit the streets. Impeachment followed, and the hysteria carried over to Park’s subsequent trial.

But do rumors and headlines translate into hard facts? Despite glaring inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case and cavalier refusals to follow due process, Park was impeached, convicted, and hit with a compound sentence of 33 years behind bars. In a country where a murderer may face 12 years, that is an astonishing punishment.

The evidence used against Park was based on media reportage, not objective proof. Her trial was held four days a week, making it nearly impossible for her defense team to prepare. Meanwhile, the media and prosecution kept up an onslaught of innuendo.

When it came to allegations of corruption, Park was convicted of “implicit solicitation.” Since there was no evidence of wrongdoing and the court was unable to prove that Park had committed any crime, the judiciary introduced the concept of implicit solicitation – which by definition means that there is no evidence.

Park has not been found to have received a single penny from the alleged corruption – a crime the prosecutor’s office has been frantically looking for ever since the 2016 scandal erupted, without success.

Asia Times

You can read more at the link, but these are all facts we have covered here before, but it is good to see them spreading to other media publications. However, with the Moon administration’s control of the Korean media and the international media’s love affair with President Moon, I suspect that Park will be languishing in prison for quite some time.

If you ever wondered what former President Park was convicted of that landed here in jail for 33 years, Dr. Tara O has a really good write up about it that is well worth reading:

During the initial trial, the prosecutor wanted a 30 year jail sentence.  Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Se-yoon (김세윤) judged that Samsung’s provision of three horses owned by Samsung and associated costs (insurance, fee) worth ₩7.29 million ($6.4 million) to equestrian Chung Yu-ra was a bribe, and interpreted that Park “received” the bribe.  The judge deemed that the total amount of “bribery” received or requested was ₩23.2 billion ($18 million).  As mentioned earlier, she did not receive any money, and there is no evidence that proves bribery occurred.  On April 6, 2018, Judge Kim sentenced Park to 24 years in jail and fined her ₩1.8 billion ($16.2 million), stating “she does not show remorse.”  In fact, she stopped attending the trials after October 2017, after she realized the court was rigged.

The prosecutor appealed the case and at the appeals court, the “bribery amount from Samsung” increased to $8.68 billion ($7.8 million).  The judge increased Park’s sentence to 25 years and the fine to ₩2 billion ($180 million).  The Supreme court returned the case to the Seoul High Court, instructing it to split the case.  She also received additional jail sentences of 8 years from other cases, for a total of 33 years of prison sentences.

East Asia Research Center

I recommend reading the rest at the link, where she compares Park’s treatment to the treatment of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s wife’s corruption trial. I have always said that Korea is a rule by law country and not a rule of law country and this is a perfect example.

The South Korean government is trying to get maximum political benefit from everyone pronouncing Kim Jong-un as dead:

 The recent brouhaha surrounding the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed how “fake news” can affect the economy, such as stock and financial markets, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Thursday.

Speculative reports about Kim’s health spread wildly after he failed to show up at a key national event last month. CNN reported Kim could be in “grave danger after surgery” while some other media outlets went as far as saying that he was believed to be in a coma or already dead.

South Korean officials, including the unification minister, repeatedly rejected such rumors as fake news, but speculation persisted until Kim appeared in public last week, smiling broadly and showing no signs of illness.

“We’ve witnessed the effect fake news has on the stock and financial markets,” the minister said during a press briefing.

“When analyzing intelligence, we cannot but take into consideration the effect it can have on the political situation and how it can actually affect the economy. What’s more important is to take responsibility in handling intelligence,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but just because the so called North Korea experts the media turns to was wrong about Kim Jong-un doesn’t mean every expert critical of anything the Moon administration does is wrong as well.