It is amazing that President Yoon agreed to a meeting with Lee Jae-myung where he basically told Yoon he needs to agree to things to help put his wife in jail and help the oppostion impeach him:
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung asked President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday to agree to a special probe into suspicions surrounding a Marine’s death and to resolve suspicions surrounding his family in an apparent reference to first lady Kim Keon Hee.
Lee made the demands during his first-ever meeting with Yoon at the presidential office, which followed the ruling People Power Party’s humiliating defeat to Lee’s Democratic Party (DP) in the April 10 parliamentary elections.
Lee also asked that the president accept his election pledge to give 250,000 won (US$182) in cash handouts to the entire population and agree to a special bill aimed at determining the truth behind the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush that left 159 people killed.
Yonhap
And then for good measure Lee Jae-myung throws in some Dokdo nonsense where he actually tries to get people to believe Yoon would give up the islets to Japan:
Lee listed a series of other issues, including those related to foreign policy, saying he hopes Yoon will consider shifting to a “national interest-centered practical diplomacy” and make active efforts to ensure “the people’s pride is not damaged with regard to relations with Japan,” citing Tokyo’s territorial claims to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, the two countries’ shared history and the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
You can read more at the link, but I don’t see what the point of this meeting was? If Yoon thinks giving Lee Jae-myung this forum to attack him will help in future cooperation, I think he is mistaken. The only thing the opposition wants to cooperate with Yoon on is impeaching him like they did to former President Park. By the way is that not the two most forced smiles you have ever seen in the above picture?
Another sector of the Korean defense industry could be receiving some work in the near future in the United States:
The world’s largest shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. of Ulsan, South Korea, has signed a deal to seek U.S. government shipbuilding and maintenance contacts in alliance with Philly Shipyard Inc., which employs around 1,000 at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard site in South Philadelphia.
An agreement to “explore a potential business relationship” for government work was signed April 12 by Won ho Joo, chief executive of HD Hyundai’s naval and special ships unit, and Steinar Nerbovik, who has run the Philly yard since 2014 on behalf of its owner, Norway-based Aker ASA. The deal announced this week follows a February visit by U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro to Korean shipyards where he invited owners to invest in U.S. shipyards to build for military and civilian clients.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
The defense industry continues to be a major growth sector for the South Korean economy:
South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace Co. is expected to export an additional batch of Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Poland, a deal estimated at around 2.2 trillion won (US$1.6 billion), multiple sources said Tuesday.
A Polish delegation, led by Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda, plans to observe a test-firing of the K239 Chunmoo MLRS at the state-run Agency for Defense Development’s Anheung testing site in Taean, 109 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday.
A successful test of the system, modified to fit a Polish military vehicle, is expected to lead to a deal, sources familiar with the issue said.
As Poland committed to buying 288 units of the Chunmoo and signed a contract to purchase 218 units in November 2022, the anticipated deal is likely to cover the remaining 70 units, they noted.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Apparently the endangered Korean gorals are having a mass die off:
A dead goral is seen on the side of Misiryeong Road in Seorak National Park on April 4. Courtesy of the National Park Conservation Network
The long-tailed goral, a species both classified as endangered and recognized as a national treasure, has faced significant mortality issues over the past five years, with six out of 10 deaths attributed to exhaustion and starvation.
This issue is especially severe in the regions of Hwacheon and Yanggu in Gangwon Province, near the demilitarized zone, where approximately 80 percent of goral deaths have occurred, with 77.4 percent dying from starvation.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link, but apparently increased fencing around the areas Gangwon province where they live has made it difficult for these animals to find food.
With President Yoon continuing his foriegn policy outreach to Japan, it is a certainy that the Korean left will demonize and attack him. North Korea will very likely play along with this strategy by continuing their provocations in order to damage Yoon in hopes of getting another Korean leftist elected as President three years from now:
And despite being generally welcoming of ties with the West, the two opposition parties are more cautious than the Yoon government when it comes to engaging in geopolitical rivalry. Specifically, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung warned during the recent election campaign that South Korea should not become involved in the Russia-Ukraine war or China-Taiwan tensions.
The opposition might not directly stop Yoon from pursuing his foreign policy, but they are likely to pressure the president to pay attention to domestic political issues.
Moreover, opposition parties will be pushing the Yoon government to demonstrate what diplomatic “wins” the country has secured through its partnership with Japan and the United States. Notably, if the point of strategic partnership with the United States and Japan is to ensure security in East Asia, some voters may legitimately ask why it has failed to deter North Korea’s continued military provocations.
If the Yoon government cannot demonstrate diplomatic successes, opposition parties are likely to frame his foreign policy as one-sided “subservient diplomacy.”
Asia Times
You can read more at the link.
These two may despise each other, but it appears each knows they now need each other if any legislation will ever pass in the Korean parliament:
President Yoon Suk Yeol called main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday and proposed that they meet at the presidential office next week, his office said.
Yoon proposed the meeting after congratulating Lee of the Democratic Party and other party members on their win in last week’s parliamentary elections, according to senior presidential secretary for public relations Lee Do-woon.
“The president proposed to Chairman Lee in the phone call that they meet in Yongsan next week if it suits him,” the senior secretary said during a press briefing, referring to the district where the presidential office is located.
“The president said they should first meet and start communication, and in the future meet frequently, drink tea, have meals together and talk by phone and discuss state affairs,” he added.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
