훨훨훨 Wol Wol Wol

사랑도 부질없어 미움도 부질없어
Love is vain, hate too is futile
청산은 나를 보고 말없이 살라 하네
The green mountain, sees me, and says live quietly!
훨훨훨 훨훨 벗어 버려라 훨훨
Flutter, fly away, cast off, fly away
사랑도 미움도 버려라 벗어라 훨훨훨
Love too, hate too, throw off, fly away
아~ 아~ 물같이 바람같이 살라 하네
ahh, ahh, Like water and wind, live.


탐욕도 벗어 놓고 성냄도 벗어 놓고
Leave greed behind, too, and throw away anger
창공은 나를 보고 티없이 살라 하네
The blue sky, sees me, and says live simply!
훨훨훨 훨훨 벗어 버려라 훨훨
Flutter, fly away, cast off, fly away
탐욕도 성냄도 버려라 벗어라 훨훨훨
Greed, too, anger too, throw off, fly away
아~ 아~ 물같이 바람같이 살라 하네
ahh, ahh, Like water and wind, live.
물같이 바람같이 살라 하네
Like water and wind, live.

orig song: Kim Jong-im

Injunction blocks disciplinary action against South Korea's Prosecutor General

A South Korean court has created turmoil on the left by issuing a preliminary injunction against the disciplinary commmittee's judgement that Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, violated his professional duties by improperly investigating judges and failing to the maintain political independence of his office. Other specifications charging his interference in cases where he, his family or subordinates had an interest, and therefore a professional conflict of interest were not addressed by the disciplinary committee. Yoon's petition for a injunction was grounded on a contention that he could not be suspended or removed from office by this disciplinary procedure because the Prosecutor General's office was intended to be independent of outside political interference as a constitutional matter. So it appears that the Prosecutor General's office is now some kind of "fourth branch" of government in Yoon's view. Before the injunction was issued many legal scholars regarded the petition for injunction as unlikely to succeed, particularly because Yoon was only temporarily suspended from office for a short period, two months, and was not barred from reassuming his position as Prosecutor General. Some democratic representatives in the National Assembly and Justice Party representatives are now calling for Yoon's impeachment. Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae, who initiated the disciplinary proceeding, nominally Yoon's superior, is also calling for his impeachment.

Some of the ruling Democratic Party in the National Assembly (174 seats) are calling for the impeachment of Yoon Seok-yeol. Democratic Party leaders however are calling for adherence to the legislative plan to reform the criminal justice process and the offices of prosecutors and judges by implementing the Public Office Corruption Committee, and the separation of investigative and prosecution decisions in law enforcement. The fear is that judges would not confirm a bill of impeachment and that the democratic administration would end in a fiasco. The leaders also wish to stay focused on the worsening pandemic situation in South Korea.

(Image Source- 열린공감TV) Chu Mi-ae Justice Minister of South Korea (left) and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, her insubordinate subordinate.

Chu Mi-ae, the Justice Minister. tendered an offer to resign to President Moon Jae-in when the weak two month suspension decision against Yoon for professional misconduct came down from the disciplinary committee. Clearly, the administration was anticipating a stronger disposition such as dismissal from office. The disciplinary committee's determination suggests a compromise verdict acknowledging Yoon's professional misconduct but unwilling to take on the so called "cartel of special interests" dominating the prosecutorial and judicial branches. The committee left it to the courts to take on the so called "Yoon division," within prosecution offices, along with the media and chaebol interests on the right, supporting Yoon. Consequently, Yoon has returned to work and will continue his attack on the democratic administration by implementing new politically motivated investigations and prosecutions in the hope of toppling Moon Jae-in from power, and tarnishing any significant rival potentially running against him during the next presidential election.

Yoon has stated he is not by any means inclined to resign before the last day of his term of office as Prosecutor General in July 2021. His attorneys in the pending court litigation over the substance of the diciplinary decision said they would try to have it decided on the merits within four months. The timing is interesting because newly proposed legislation creating a cooling off period for judges and prosecutors of one year before they can run for office has been introduced in the legislature. So this would mean Yoon would have to resign by April, in order to run as the conservatives candidate for president in April 2022 if the law becomes effective. Also, Yoon's office intends to continue investigate and prosecute cases in which he has a conflict of interest, such as the Optimus and Lime Fund scandals. He also stated he will prosecute a politically motivated case challenging an agency decision to close a nuclear power facility as an abuse of power within the Moon administration. Supporters of the Moon government regard the nuclear power regulatoy decision as a discretionary function with no outward signs of impropriety, being used as part of a continuing course of conduct by Yoon to topple the democratic administration and in the interim to hamper its abilities to implement criminal justice reforms.

An article in Donga Ilbo, a conservative media source, loyal to Yoon, has alluded to Yoon's apparent "appreciation" for the judicial community's "unbiased decisions" despite Yoon's earlier work removing the Chief of the Supreme Court, Yang Seung-tae, for abuse of power related to former president Park Geun-hye's impeachment scandal.* It is equally as likely that judges and justices are intimidated by Yoon who has the backing of some of the most powerful chaebol leaders in South Korea, who themselves have been protected by Yoon's office from prosecution for various illegal acts and scandals. Among these are CEOs from the leading media cartels and industry. So the observation could also be construed a veiled threat, prominently displayed before the affair is concluded.

*윤 총장은 서울중앙지검장 시절 양승태 전 대법원장 등 고위 법관들이 연루된 이른바 사법행정권 남용 의혹 수사를 직접 지휘했는데도 법원이 집행정치 사건에서 두 차례나 선입견없이 판단을 해준 것을 놓고 주변에 사법부에 대한 고마움을 표시했다고 한다. 윤석열 “내년 7월 임기때까지 물러날 생각 없어”…소송 준비 만전; https://www.donga.com/news/Society/article/all/20201227/104653420/1

The trial of former Justice Minister Cho Guk and his family in the courts by Yoon's office is one of several examples of cases initiated and manipulated for political reasons in ways that are outside the scope of normal investigative and judicial processes. For example, Cho Guk's wife was indicted shortly after he was appointed Justice Minister with a mandate to reform the prosecution of political figures and senior government officials in South Korea to eliminate documented prior prosecutorial abuses. For this political reason both he and his wife were indicted. His wife, Chung Kyung-shim, a college professor with a serious disability, was jailed pending trial for six months. She was found innocent of four charges against her in the initial indictment filed in September 2019, which was issued without a formal prior investigation. Then last December after months of litigation, when she was found not guilty, the prosecution submitted a second indictment, based upon many of the same operative material facts. The protracted "first trial" ended last week with Professor Chung Kyung-shim found guilty last week of eleven charges in the "second indictment" in a stunning reversal. The case was manipulated at the whim of the prosecution as the defense raised effective defenses as to the state's case. The only bump in the road was the release of Chung from jail pending trial after six months when the court felt pre-trial confinement could no longer be justified. She is now again in confinement after the sentence of four years announced last week. One doesn't need to speculate much on what sort of pressures Yoon's office can bring to bear on judges who don't rule in the manner desired. The principal charge in Yoon's disciplinary proceeding was based on evidence he condoned unauthorized and unwarranted investigations into the backgrounds and personal and financial circumstances of sitting South Korean judges. Observers noted a similar practice during the dictatorship period of South Korean history.

It isn't a leap to view these developments as a prelude to a dictatorial rule by Yoon Seok-yeol in the not too distant future. But for the covid pandemic and the public health restrictions on political assemblies, hundreds of thousands of democratic supporters would be in the streets every weekend demanding Yoon's impeachment. The failure, thus far, to achieve or even recognize a legal limit on Yoon's power or the systemic social and political corruption it represents bodes ill for the future of the South Korean government. It is clearly headed down an authoritarian right wing path. Nevertheless, South Korean establishment right wing media cartels insist in an Orwellian twist, that these developments represent a warranted judicial response to democratic President Moon Jae-in's "despotism."

Biegun's last tour in Seoul characterized by self serving posture; US media's flaky leaflets campaign

In a December 10 article Yonhap News Agency described a talk given, in Seoul, by Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun who played a significant role as the US envoy for negotiations with North Korea. In the talk Biegun made self serving remarks blaming North Korea for the failure of nuclear talks with the US to go forward:

Reflecting on the deadlocked negotiation process, he expressed regrets over North Korean counterparts missing opportunities just in "search for obstacles."

"Regrettably, much opportunity has been squandered by our North Korean counterparts over the past two years, who too often have devoted themselves to the search for obstacles to negotiations instead of seizing opportunities for engagement," he said.*

*Biegun says diplomacy 'best' and 'only' course to resolving N.K. challenges, Yonhap News, Dec. 10; https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20201210007900325

Let's look at how Reuters characterized the state of negotiations between the US and North Korea on Dec. 4, 2020:

Talks over reducing international sanctions on North Korea in return for concessions from Pyongyang broke down in the wake of a summit between Trump and Kim in Vietnam in February 2019, which ended with no deal.

Biegun’s visit comes as incoming U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to reset relations with Seoul, which have been strained by Trump’s demand that South Korea pay billions of dollars more for maintaining the U.S. troop presence on the peninsula.

Relations between the allies were also complicated by South Korean frustrations with U.S. objections to some of its efforts to engage with North Korea.*

*U.S. envoy to visit South Korea next week: sources, Reuters staff, Dec. 4, 2020: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-northkorea-biegun/u-s-envoy-to-visit-south-korea-next-week-sources-idUSKBN28E1Y7


Note the use of the passive voice, talks "which ended with no deal," rather than the US walked out of the Hanoi Summit in a stunt designed for world wide media play. The US showed up at Hanoi to present a list of expanded demands not previously discussed, basically throwing Beigun's hints at a flexible negotiating posture out the window. The US posture presented a transparent bait and switch manuever designed to bring Kim Jong Un to the table for another momentous photo op for Trump with no substance. The US walk out embarrassed and humiliated the North Korean leader and gave the leadership group in North Korea a lesson in US duplicity it will likely never forget. The following June 2019 summit at Panmunjom was similar media stunt less embarrassing for Kim, but similarly conducted on the US side as a media event for Trump with no substance. Clearly Beigun bears some responsibility for this.

Beigun's role as the head of the US negotiating working group which ostensibly was to lay the groundwork for negotiations with North Korea, essentially devolved to blocking or otherwise frustrating South Korean initiatives with North Korea. The South Koreans were warned "not to get too far out in front," and "to get on the same page," as the US. US envoys said there can be "no daylight" between US and South Korean approaches. South Korean initiatives to open the liaison office with North Korea, and their military agreements to lower tensions along the DMZ, Joint Security Area, and Northern Limit Lines were criticized. North-South plans to survey, restore, and use the east coast and west coast railways were effectively blocked by US sanctions threats. Obviously, South Korea wanted to reopen the joint production facility at Kaesong, and the Geumgansan resort in North Korea. At one point a South Korean envoy was told by Washington, "don't bother coming to Washington" if you are going to bring up these plans.

The current wave of US "human rights" manufactured propaganda aimed against North Korea, and indirectly at South Korean diplomatic initiatives that present the prospect of success in relations with North Korea, involves US dismay that the North Korean defectors it sponsors in South Korea can no longer send balloons, drones, or other materials over the DMZ to North Korea. According to US propaganda, the prohibition on these dangerous activities impairs the "free speech" of South Koreans in general. This is absurd. No one has the right to go to the JSA and yell or otherwise transmit their personal political messages to North Korea. One could imagine the response of guards at the JSA to such activities. Is that restriction a "free speech" violation? Obviously not. Military and civilian activities along the DMZ and NLL are subject to severe restrictions. All flights within 20 km of the DMZ are restricted, and in the Eastern region of the DMZ the restrictions are extended to 40 km.

The notion that private individuals have a right to send airborne objects over the DMZ is absurd and militarily provocative. One cannot use their own loudspeakers along the DMZ either. Neither can the South Korean government according to the agreements it has made with the North. These are reasonable time, place and manner restrictions rather than an encroachment on free speech. These restrictions were negotiated by the freely elected government of South Korea and the criminal offenses related to these acts were legislated by the National Assembly. These laws serve the end of reducing the tensions along the DMZ and reducing the chance of incidents that may result in deadly escalations. US criticism in the Congress, executive branch, VOA and other venues represents blatant US interference in South Korean sovereignty.

The notion that the US knows better how to reach to North Korean people, or even that it cares about the North Korean people is simply not credible. In any case, no one is stopping the US from broadcasting its incessant propaganda to North Korea via VOA Korea or RFA. Worse, the US position on this issue, presumes that it and its paid North Korean defector NGOs know better how to negotiate with North Korea than the freely elected government of South Korea. Direct contact with South Korea and South Koreans, through diplomatic channels, limited economic projects, tourism, cultural exchanges, sports events, humanitarian aid, and public health cooperation, represent the best way to open North Korea to initiatives to encourage peace, prosperity, human rights and a path to denuclearization in the North. This is obviously the preferable course rather than the coercive US maximum pressure approach which punishes the North Korean people, encourages hostility, and has as its ultimate object, regime change. One thing the Hanoi summit clearly demonstrated is that the US has no genuine interest in negotiation but essentially is stalling for time while praying the North Korean communist regime will collapse from the "maximum pressure" being applied.

The blog has reviewed in several instances the "step by step approach" to negotiations favored by four of the original six parties, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and China. Reciprocity in step by step negotiations builds mutual trust in contrast to the all or nothing, "one bundle" or so called "Libyan approach" favored by the US and Japan. The outcome of the Libyan approach is demonstrably predictable. Mr. Biegun's feigned US flexibility portrayed in his public statements proved to be little more than window dressing for a hypocritical US regime change policy of maximum pressure. Blaming North Korea is the go to position for failed US negotiators.

Addendum 12.22

Ironically 38North.org published an article by Olli Heinonen Dec. 18, disputing the contention that there is a Uranium enrichment facility at Kangson. The article suggests the facility could be for manufacturing centrifuge components but is not an enrichment facility. Oddly, the article states in an aside that there must be such a "third facility" somewhere, but doesn't provide a basis for this assumption.*

New Evidence Suggests Kangson Is Not a Uranium Enrichment Plant, OLLI HEINONEN, Dec. 18; https://www.38north.org/2020/12/kangson201217/

I'm taking note of the article because according to Thae Yong-ho a well known North Korean defector in South Korea, and now a conservative National Assembly representative, the existence vel non of the so called Kangson secret enrichment facility was a dealbreaker at Hanoi. (See our discussion: Thae Yong Ho Says Secret Uranium Enrichment Facility Dealbreaker in Hanoi, March 14, 2019). In Beigun's January 31, 2019, presentation at Stanford, during the question and answer period, Beigun noted the pitfalls of confusing intelligence assessments and priorities with diplomatic policy goals. Noting the potential problem beforehand seemingly had no impact on the outcome of the summit. Allegedly, the US side's eagerness to test a dubious intelligence theory nevertheless resulted in the Hanoi Summit's theatrical denouement.

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol suspended for 2 months by Discipline Committee

Yoon Seok-yeol, current Prosecutor General of South Korea. Yoon is the current leading contender on the right to be a candidate for president of South Korea.

Yoon Seok-yeol was suspended for two months by a Disciplinary Committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice after a hearing of two days. Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae referred six allegations of professional misconduct to the committee for disposition. The committee found grounds to support four of six charges of misconduct against South Korea's top prosecutor. Some of these six allegations pertained to his earlier service as the Chief of the Seoul Central District Branch Office. The decision to discipline Yoon, the sitting Prosecutor General of South Korea was described as "unprecedented" by YTN news in their brief news bulletin and video. Which of the six charges of misconduct were recognized by the committee was unclear.

Both before and after each of the two days of hearings at which testimony was adduced, Yoon's attorney's moved to cancel the hearing based on a contention that the committee's authority over the prosecutor general was unfounded and unconstitutional. Additionally Yoon asserted in one motion that the hearing officials all had conflicts of interest. According to one report, discussions with Yoon's representatives resulted in three officials being replaced by alternate committee members. A renewed motion on the second day of hearings, was summarily dismissed. Yoon doesn't recognize the committee's standing or decision and intends to challenge the determination in court. The Ministry of Justice indicated that the decision will be forwarded to the Blue House for approval or denial as soon as possible. News accounts concerning the committee hearing process indicated that President Moon's office would or could not modify the decision but only approve or disapprove it.

It’s fair to say that democratic and progressive elements in South Korea are disappointed by the decision having looked forward to Yoon’s dismissal from office and perhaps other administrative sanctions. Reportedly, there were lengthy deliberations among the board members keeping them up virtually all night until the decision was announced at approximately four am, Seoul time. It does have the appearance of what we in the US call a “compromise verdict.” As an administrative disciplinary board, it is likely that some members did not feel comfortable treating Yoon Seok-yeol’s transgressions in more decisive fashion. Yoon is currently considered the leading conservative candidate for the next presidential election in South Korea in 2022. An outright dismissal from office would have rocked the South Korean political world. The equivocal nature of the decision ensures the ongoing political controversies and legal maneuvers, concerning alleged criminal acts by Yoon, his wife, and mother in law will continue. Yoon’s critics will point to the anticipated opening of the Public Official Corruption Committee which is a new body appointed by the 20th Session of the National Assembly. This body has the authority to hear criminal corruption cases referred for criminal prosecution. Yoon’s critics want his case to be the first case heard by the new body. Critics also call for his impeachment by the National Assembly.

Incidentally, the National Assembly introduced a proposed election law requiring prosecutors and judges who wished to run for electoral office to leave their office at least one year before registering as a candidate. This law if enacted would require Yoon to resign in March 2021 in any case if he wishes to run for office.

Addendum Dec. 16: Some clarification from an SBS report on the "four out of six" specifications or charges against Yoon found to be supported by the disciplinary committee are portrayed in this graphic:

Four specifications were found to be substantiated by the disciplinary committeee. The first substantiated charge deals with the creation and distribution of results of unwarranted investigation into judges in the Justice Department. Two other specifications dealt with the so called Channel A News incident, in which a reporter for Channel A, Lee Dong-jae, corresponded with a defendant in jail for financial crimes and threatened the defendant or otherwise improperly attempted to induce him either directly or through his agent mulitple times to commit perjury to incriminate Yoo Shi-min, a well known liberal media pundit and director from the No Mu-hyun foundation. It is alleged that the Yoon's close subordinate Han Dong-hun coordinated these unlawful activities with the Channel A reporter. Subsequently, Lee and Han were placed under investigation. The two specifications charged that Yoon interfered with prosecutors investigating the Channel A incident, and interfered with the investigation itself. The fourth charge found to be supported by the committee was that Yoon harmed the political independence of the prosecutors office.

Two specifications of misconduct of the six were not found by the court. The findings appear not to have been addressed rather than a finding of no misconduct. Number five alleged improper meeting with owners of the media (subject to investigation or litigation at the time). Number six involved interference with prosecutors investigating his own conduct.

South Korea's Prosecutor General seeks to avoid Disciplinary Committee hearing

South Korea's highest prosecutor is trying to avoid a professional disciplinary hearing scheduled for December 10 by filing a petition with South Korea's Constitutional Court claiming that the process is unfair, violates the law concerning investigation of prosecutors, and is subject to undue influence from the Ministry of Justice which filed the complaint against Yoon.

(Image source- YTN 12.5) Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, "there's a problem with the prosecutor disciplinary law;" Yoon files petition with Supreme Court and seeks injunction.

The disciplinary complaint filed against Yoon by Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae’s office alleges six instances of professional misconduct by Yoon. Perhaps the trickiest charge among them is that he ordered improper investigations of sitting judges, in light of Yoon’s strategy of attempting to obtain early judicial intervention. Justice Minister Chu told reporters that the investigation of judges at Yoon’s direction was clearly unlawful. Other charges involve alleged obstruction of investigations or proceedings in which he had a conflict of interest (these potentially could involve himself, his family members or his subordinates); leaking information to the press (press-prosecution collusion); unethical contact with parties related to ongoing investigations or litigation (also involving the press), and politicizing the prosecution function (targeting high profile political figures on the left for prosecution and declining to prosecute figures from the right). Pending the investigation Yoon has been suspended from his duties. Yoon is also seeking an injunction to stop the disciplinary proceedings, and potentially his suspension, as well, presumably while the Constitutional Court addresses the substance of legal issues raised in his petition. Experts differ in their expectation of what the Constitutional Court might do.

Today there is an unrelated general meeting of representative judges scheduled and the question is whether or not the gathered jurists would add the issue of Yoon’s alleged surveillance of judges to their agenda. There is clearly not a formal procedure or enough time for the judges meeting to adequately consider the issues raised by Yoon’s claims of constitutional issues or any of the other procedural issues or specific charges against him. YTN reported that if ten jurists attending the professional gathering of judges requested it be placed on the agenda it could be added. Yet, such consideration would render little more than the judges opinions or bias in relation to the issues or matters raised, unless the agenda item or items were narrowly construed. A fear is that such consideration might influence the disciplinary hearing on December 10. Conceivably the Supreme Court itself might be influenced by any relevant pronouncements by the judicial community that emerge from the meeting.

Critics on the left note the hypocritical clamor from the established media regarding Yoon’s alleged independence as a guarantor of constitutionalism is to be expected. The three largest media cartels Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo, and Donga media are implicated in issues raised by instances of Yoon’s alleged misconduct. Observers note the prospect of the Constitutional Court allowing a preliminary injunction to preclude the disciplinary hearing from taking place would establish a precedent for prospective judicial interference in disciplinary procedures involving government attorneys. Justice Minister Chu stated there is nothing improper about the disciplinary process. Finally, pundits observe the legal challenge in the Constitutional Court to the disciplinary hearing process by Yoon is a stalling tactic by a desperate man, who although accustomed to stalling litigation he doesn’t like until it dies from change of administration or the statute of limitations, is running out of options. Once his removal from office is obtained, pending collateral investigation and litigation against Yoon’s family, subordinates, and economic interests he has been protecting up till now could potentially proceed unimpeded. President Moon Jae-in stated he will follow the determination of the disciplinary hearing with respect to Yoon’s dismissal.


Note: the original publication of this post incorrectly identified the Supreme Court as the venue for the substantive appeal of the disciplinary hearing determination against Yoon Seok-yeol. The appropriate jurisdiction was the Constitutional Court. 6.28.21

An observation on AI threat analysis

In the legitimate role of threat analysis there is a structural problem with China which involves the language/cultural/historical perceptual barrier. So there is not only a need for an analyst with a strategic and/or tactical analytic background, but they also need to be able to read the language and be well versed in the history and culture. This is a very small group of people here in the US. Frankly there is an institutional bias against cultivating such people or allowing them policy input, lest they get "uppity."

It is so much easier for a generalist in the national security realm, such as generals and policy makers not to have to deal with reports that go against their material inclinations. What policy makers, who are typically industry flaks, are looking for is targeting analysis, not policy analysis. They make the policy. The actual analysts or so called experts who do rise to the top of political and tankie institutions dealing with foreign and national security policy have demonstrated the appropriate deference to the policy makers' institutional goals and their preconceived policies and propaganda. Naturally, they tend to articulate the perspective to which they have been conditioned over the course of their careers by the institutional incentives in place.

The policy makers’ biggest hangup is when people who are in fact expert analysts tell them something that doesn’t jive with the drive for the latest deployment plan for a numbered fleet, weapon system, new base or next war. This happens, not often, but still happens occasionally. Usually a few of these people come out of the woodwork on the eve of the next invasion. So there is a risk to preconceived policy objectives as formulated by public relations and propaganda managers when they have human analysts who know what they are talking about “go rogue” so to speak. With AI, the generalists with their MBAs and degrees in international relations who think they are qualified to speak on any problem anywhere on earth, don’t have to cope with actual experts who may disagree publicly with they say.

AI can substitute for expensive recruitment systems to procure, retain and develop adequate human resources necessary to conduct reliable analysis. Having an adequate pool of this sort of human talent takes years to develop and requires long term planning and resource allocation. This aspect of “threat analysis” policy has always been wanting in the US because it was never a high enough priority. Typically the problem isn’t even recognized until the eve of a crisis with a particular country or in a particular region, usually when the US is on the brink of initiating another war. AI will not compensate for this void. With the proposal to go to AI threat analysis even worse policy disasters are in store. So I think the rule is don’t tell me about policy, just tell me where to drop the bombs. AI can fulfill this role.

Amusing Yoon - Trump contrast

(Source- 정치초단 11.24) Yoon Seok-yeol, is this the US? Are you Trump? There is no basis to this lawsuit!

SBS reported that Yoon Seok-yeol would file a petition for injunction against the disciplinary proceedings against him and the attendant suspension of duties as Prosecutor General of South Korea. The reporter suggested without any legal grounds that Yoon's petition would be successful and block the administrative disciplinary proceedings against him. The report given within less one hour of Minister of Justice, Chu Mi-ae's announcement, is regarded as part of a media strategy to support Yoon and undermine the democratic administration. It was noted that virtually no one from mainstream media in South Korea attended Minister Chu's press conference. The action was described as a boycott of the Ministry of Justice's announcement by the conservative press.* Yoon absurdly conflates himself with an independent branch of government in the constitutional scheme of government.

* 정치초단 11.24, youtube; 윤석열 직무정지' 반응 통쾌하다! SBS 이현영의 희망회로! JTBC의 변희재 드립 "홍석현 회장님 힘내세요" 충성 보도 등 ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ejYxC51WhA

There appears to be an interesting parallel in the treatment of Minister Chu by opposition politicians and conservative media and the similar "bypassing" of Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.* Namely, there is a sexist innuedo by conservative media and other critics that she is incompetent and that her actions are not worthy of serious consideration.

*Kang Kyung-wha opens up about sexism in “male-centered culture of vested interests” Posted on : Nov.17,2020 17:02 KST Modified on : Nov.17,2020 17:02 KST Hankyoreh South Korea By Gil Yun-hyung, http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/970335.html

Yoon Seok-yeol's mother in law indicted for medical fraud scheme

Yonhap News is reporting that the Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's mother in law, Ms. Choi, has been indicted for a medical fraud scheme. Ms. Choi is charged with establishing, illegally and without required medical credentials, in late 2012, a medical organization, and then for five years from 2013 onward participating in the management and operation of a medical convalescent facility in Paju. She is 74 years old. She is accused of misappropriating over 2 billion won in medical benefits She has been indicted without a warrant for pre-trial arrest. Some observers find the determination of no pretrial detention suspicious because she allegedly has suborned perjury, and obstructed justice in other trials in the past.

The current indictment against Choi was brought under the special law for enhanced punishment for economic crimes.

Yoon himself is under investigation by the Ministry of Justice on suspicion of unethical private contacts with the corporate heads of the Chosun Ilbo and Joongang media groups. At the time Joonang's subsidiary JTBC had a defamation complaint pending against a conservative pundit. Chosun Ilbo was being investigated for financial misconduct by the head of its Chosun TV. Yoon is suspected of other professional misconduct including investigating judges in critical cases and interfering in cases in which he has a conflict of interest.

(Image Source- 열린공감TV) Chu Mi-ae Justice Minister of South Korea (left) and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, her insubordinate subordinate.

Last April Choi Kang-uk (no relation to Ms. Choi the accused) an Assembly member on the left accused Yoon of interference in the earlier investigation of his mother in law's three business partners in the illegal medical scheme. The partners have been already been found guilty of fraud, but no charges were brought against Ms. Choi at that time. The reason given that upon her unqualified appointment as director of the medical organization, Ms. Choi obtained a waiver of legal responsibility. Upon reinvestigation of the case, it has been reported that prosecutors revealed one of the partners gave a statement that the legal waiver document is a forgery.

In another development Joongang Daily has reported that a record exists of Yoon meeting with his former colleage, Lee Kyu-chol, during the pendency of an investigation into the Optimus Fund. Allegedly, at the time of their meetings, Lee was advising Optimus which was suspected of financial violations in the management of private and government investments. Yoon, head of the Seoul Prosecutors Central District Branch Office gave a clean bill of health to Optimus which stayed in business a while longer ruining thousands of investors when the investment fund finally collapsed due to financial fraud. This particular report in the Joongang Daily may be a turning point in the remarkably friendly relationship demonstrated by the major media cartels and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. Typically they have either ignored reports of suspicious acts by Yoon or his family or caste aspersions on those generating the allegations.

The Blue Roof is reporting in their analysis that Minister Chu Mi-ae has suspended Yoon pending investigation:

https://www.blueroofpolitics.com/p/breaking-news-alert/

LA Times bias evident in article about THAAD affair in South Korea

This is a critique of the recent LA Times article presenting an erroneous view of the THAAD affair in South Korea:

From a crab shack to Hyundai, China’s wrath over a U.S. missile defense system still weighs on South Korea, By VICTORIA KIM NOV. 19, 20202 AM; https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-19/south-korea-china-beijing-economy-thaad-missile-interceptor

The THAAD incident demonstrated not so much the undue commercial influence of China on current South Korean policy as the reemergence of traditional Korean foreign policy values formulated to retain sovereignty amongst overbearing and more powerful competing great powers in the region. The reappearance of such an outlook in South Korea after more than 125 years of domination by foreign powers reflects the true emergence of democracy and independence. This has been reflected in the long sought removal of the US presence in Yongsan in central Seoul, (site of the old Japanese imperial garrison), and the removal to Pyongtaek of US military bases and forces from the traditional bases and operating areas north of Seoul and close to the DMZ. Similarly, the current administration of South Korea is not going to lock itself into an anti-China Indo-Pacific alliance which will further restrict its freedom of action to adopt policies seen to be in its national interest.


First of all, it was the prior pliable, corrupt conservative administration of Park Geun-hye that agreed to allow the installation of THAAD launchers in South Korea. The LA Times article focuses it's critical remarks implicitly on the current democratic South Korean administration which acted to block the erection of any additional THAAD batteries. This occured after a vehemently opposed local reaction and the strong Chinese reaction arose during the installation of the first unit in Seongju, South Korea. By way of comparison, Japanese communities objected to installation of anti ballistic missile systems on land in their own country, and the central government stopped the development and construction of AEGIS ashore facilities in July 2020. (The US claims it is only suspended).

What Americans need to keep in mind, is that South Korea is no longer a military dictatorship which will automatically submit to the dictates of US military commands or "diplomats" concerning South Korean defense policy. Nor is the current representative government merely a conservative successor of the corporate chaebol and militarist interests remaining from the dictatorship period of the 20th Century. This is evident in the democratic Moon adminstration's resistance to extortionate US military cost sharing demands for a greater than 400 percent increase in the ROK contribution. It is also manifest in the ongoing contest over when and whether operational control of the ROK armed forces during wartime will ever be transferred to South Korea.

It should be noted that the LA Times estimate of the damage to the South Korean economic interests as a result of the THAAD incident is placed at the low end of estimates. The US made no effort to mitigate these losses but to the contrary followed with extortionate demands on military cost sharing and extended military commitments beyond the scope of the current alliance to the entire Indo-Pacific. There are also technical questions about the effectiveness of the THAAD system and whether its high altitude detection envelope doesn't in fact leave most of South Korea undefended from North Korean missiles with the Korean military in the position of having to purchase and construct other ABM systems anyway. This suggests that Chinese accusations that the system is actually more likely to be directed against China than North Korea are well founded. What the LA Times article also leaves out is that US defense planners and Pentagon representatives have been promoting the notion of deploying US offensive intermediate range missiles in allied countries in the Asian theater. This discussion revealed the true intention of US planners and their complete disconnect from political and economic realities on the ground, not only in South Korea, but in East Asia generally.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Sexist Foreign Policy

This article from the Hankyoreh about Foreign Minister Kang's presentation on sexism in foreign policy was illuminating:

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said she has been constantly aware of discrimination and prejudice toward women while working in a “male-centered culture of vested interests.” Her remarks were seen as reflecting awareness of persistent speculation about her being “bypassed” as South Korea’s first female foreign minister.

While participating in a conversation at the “Future Dialogue for Global Innovation” co-organized by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the network tvN on Nov. 16, Jared Diamond, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of the book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” commented on the lack of an environment where women are able to show their capabilities. In response, Kang said, “I’m very working very hard in this important position of being the first female foreign minister, but there are times when I feel myself asking, ‘Is this kind of [response] because I’m a woman?’”

Kang Kyung-wha opens up about sexism in “male-centered culture of vested interests” Posted on : Nov.17,2020 17:02 KST Modified on : Nov.17,2020 17:02 KST Hankyoreh South Korea By Gil Yun-hyung, http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/970335.html

Wow. Here are my observations:

1) S.Korea is the weakest of among the three pertinent states including the US and Japan who typically seek obsequious foreign policy from South Korean leaders.

2) Kang Kyung-wha is a brilliant and able diplomat who represents the new democratic policy of asserting South Korea’s sovereignty against overbearing allies previously accustomed to demanding and getting their way. Her determination and independence are mistaken for some kind of feminine “weakness” that succumbs to naive idealism and unrealistic expectations in a harsh world rather than the actual foreign policy of the Moon Jae-in administration.

3) The male dominated ultra conservative governments of the US and Japan are sexist in nature.

4) South Korea is a male dominated patriarchal society with a deeply seated sexist bias. Therefore, attempts to sway its erstwhile overbearing allies are going to tend to move her out of the way to appease their sexist inclinations.

5) I noticed the inappropriate demeanor and “touchiness” of Pompeo’s early interaction with Foreign Minister Kang. When he didn’t get his way in policy terms, the Korea passing and other protocol slights not only to Kang, but to the entire Moon cabinet began.

Very interesting article.

상사화 Magic Lily

안예은 – Ahn Ye-eun: Lyrics, melody, original performance


사랑이 왜 이리 고된가요
Love, why is it this painful
이게 맞는가요
Is this right
나만 이런가요
Am I the only one this way
고운 얼굴 한 번 못 보고서
Not able to see your kind face once
이리 보낼 수 없는데
I can't send you this way

사랑이 왜 이리 아픈가요
Why does love hurt this way
이게 맞는가요
Is this right
나만 이런가요
Am I the only one
하얀 손 한 번을 못 잡고서
Not holding your pale hand one time
이리 보낼 순 없는데
I can't endure this.

다시 돌아올 수 없는
Unable to return again
그 험한 길 위에
Upon that rugged path
어찌하다 오르셨소
How is it you came
내가 가야만 했었던
I was supposed to go alone
그 험한 길 위에
Upon that difficult path
그대가 왜 오르셨소
Why did you come

기다리던 봄이
As the awaited spring
오고 있는데 이리
is coming, you leave me
나를 떠나오
in this way
긴긴 겨울이
As the long, long winter
모두 지났는데
is completely past
왜 나를 떠나가오
Why do you leave me

다시 돌아올 수 없는
Unable to return again
그 험한 길 위에
Upon that rugged path
어찌하다 오르셨소
How is it you came
내가 가야만 했었던
I was supposed to go alone
그…

Chilgapsan 칠갑산

칠갑산 Jo Un-pa 조운파

콩밭매는 아낙네야 Bean patch tending woman
배적삼이 흠뻑 젖는다 Summer jacket dripping wet
무슨설움 그리 많아 What sorrow is so great
포기마다 눈물심누나 At each plant dropping tears?

홀어머니 두고 시집 가던 날 The day she left her widowed mother to marry
칠갑산 산마루에 On the Chilgap mountain ridge
울어주든 산새소리만 Only the sound of a weeping mountain bird
어린가슴속을 태웠소 Burned within a child's heart.

홀어머니 두고 시집 가던 날 The day she left her widowed mother to marry
칠갑산 산마루에 On the Chilgap mountain ridge
울어주던 산새 소리만 Only the sound of a weeping mountain bird
어린가슴 속을 태웠소 Burned within a child's heart

Original song Ju Byung-son (1989). Lyrics and melody - Jo Un-pa 조운파

Recent Significant Air Operations in the Chinese theater

There have been several developments in East China and South China Seas recently related to US-Chinese military operations. Naturally, the issues pertain to Taiwan. One event of note took place on October 15, when a Taiwan commercial charter aircraft carrying ROC military personnel was denied clearance through the Hong Kong ATC to land at an airfield on Pratas (Dongsha) Island operated by Taiwan. Ostensibly the reason for this was reported by the ATC as hazards to flight below 27,000 feet. The prop driven aircraft in question had a ceiling of 25,000 feet and was compelled to return to Kaohsiung. Apparently there was no notice of any hazards to flight in the region and the Taiwan Defense Minister disputed the PRC explanation.

As it turns out, there was a report of extensive Chinese military air live fire exercises later posted on Weibo by PRC national defense officials on October 22. The dates that the exercises took place in the South China Sea were not specified in the public information report. Shin In-kyun, a well known South Korean defense analyst published the report in his October 23 account of the incident. It isn't clear if these extensive PRC live fire exercises Shin described as involving one hundred aircraft with thirty pilots getting live fire air combat training were the basis for the diverted ROC charter flight.

Another significant military aviation event which resulted in complaints from the PRC was the alleged overflight of Taiwan by a US RC-135w on October 23. There were conflicting indications from US commmands as to whether the flight had overflown Taiwan or not. The PRC complaint regards US military activities over Taiwan's territorial airspace as US interference in Chinese internal affairs. This blog has an account derived from Sin In-kyun's Daily Defense program showing a US Airforce C-40 overflying Taiwan in June of this year.

Last but not least, four US B1-b bombers have deployed to Guam. It was reported that their flight route took them through the Sea of Japan where they conducted joint operations with Japan's Self Defense Air Forces. Aircraft spots on Oct 24 reported a section of B1-b's flying into the South China Sea region south of Taiwan on October 24.

There have been other relevant air operations in the region since October 15, many of which can be viewed on the Aircraft Spots twitter feed, which I have found to be a reliable source in recent years. Among those are the routine air reconnaisance missions flown by the US south of the DMZ and Northern Limit Lines between North and South Korea, I refer to as the Seoul Patrol.

Sources and links:

Taiwan’s defence chief rejects Hong Kong’s explanation for turning back government flight to Pratas Islands; Oct 16, Danny Lee
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3105815/hong-kong-rejects-suggestion-it-deliberately-stopped

China-US rivalry: PLA monitored American warplane as it flew over Taiwan, PLA source says; Oct 24, Kristin Huang
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3106935/china-us-rivalry-pla-monitored-american-warplane-it-flew-over

中, 전투기 100대 동원 실탄 훈련! 대만 침공 D-Day 카운트다운; Oct 23, 신인균의 국방TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXZqz30l9ys

Cat and Mouse Games over Taiwan? Jun 16;
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2020/06/cat-and-mouse-games-over-taiwan.html

https://twitter.com/AircraftSpots/status/1320026229915807745

Seoul Patrol; June 1;
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2019/06/seoul-patrol.html

Sky, Wind and Stars

(Image source- Jack Jung twitter 10.21.20) Prelude poem, Poet Yun Dong-ju.

To my dying day I will look to heaven,
without a hint of shame,
Even tho' the leaves in the wind,
Tormented me.

With a heart singing of stars,
All things destined to die,
I must love,
This is the way I must walk
The path provided.

Tonight too, the wind brushes the stars


Poetry is above all a personal interpretation. I envy Mr. Jung who as young man can devote himself to his work translating. For me it is a pastime in my old age. This is my personal interpretation (corrected for an error)* of the original he was so kind to as to publish on twitter.

* Note: Edited 01/10/22 to reflect proper translation of the verb "look up to heaven," or "before heaven" which is an idiomatic expression meaning in the context of having nothing to be ashamed of before God. Professor Peterson did a program on this poem Prelude, and Yun Dong-ju, the author, on his youtube video 우물 밖의 개구리 The Frog Outside the Well on January 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OCZILe8rfs. The verb I stumbled on was 우러러 in the first line.

South Korean seaman killed attempting to defect

(Source - 열린공감TV, 9.28 ) Victim officially reported missing at 1251 pm Sep 21. Missed his 1200 to 1700 pm wheelhouse watch.

(Source - 열린공감TV, 9.28 ) Position of Mugungwha maritime patrol ship south of Yeonpyeong Island, at point where shoes were found on stern. Red star 2.2 km south of the smaller Yeonpyeong Island, (below the pointer), 13 km south of NLL.

(Source - 열린공감TV, 9.28 ) An unidentified fire light estimated at 10 pm, Sep 22 north of Northern Limit Line. Believed killed by North Korean gun fire while adrift in water.

Lee was a crewman on the Mugunghwa number 10, West Sea Division of Fisheries Regulation cutters, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs. He intended to defect to North Korea. There are several circumstances pointing to this. One deck CCTV camera was inoperative on the vessel on Sept 18. Later, it was determined that the other deck camera was also inoperative. Lee left the steering house watch for unexplained reasons during early morning hours of the midwatch on September 21. At 1135 am, when shipmates noticed he didn't show for mess, they searched the ship and surrounding waters. Man overboard was reported to maritime authorities at 1251 pm. His shoes were found on the deck, stern starboard side. He was wearing a life jacket. He took another floatation device with him large enough to support his upper body above the water. Military authorities confirmed later from unspecified classified communications that Lee had indicated he intended to defect to North Korea. It was widely known by relatives and acquaintences that he was deep in gambling debts he was unable to pay, and that his wife was separated from him pending divorce.

(Source- Channel ANews Top 10 7.27)
Route of South Korean defector to North on July 19, 2020.


In Sept 2013 South Korean sentries observed a South Korean male approaching the Imjin River in an attempt to defect to North Korea. He failed to obey their commands to stop and return to the south and ran into the river. They shot him dead as he tried to cross to North Korea. On July 19, 2020, a former North Korean defector did successfully cross the Han River from Gangwha Island back into North Korea and was accused of bringing the corona virus with him by the North Koreans.

가야지 I Must Go

박범훈 곡 (Pak Beom-hun music) /김영임 노래 (Kim Yong-im lyrics)


가야지~ 가야지~~ 꽃 피고 새 울면 나는 가야지
I must go, I must go, as the flowers bloom and birds cry
산 넘고 물을 건너서 혼자 가야지
Crossing over the mountains, and crossing the waters, alone I must go
꽃이피면 꽃에서 자고 바람불면 바람에 자고
If flowers bloom, I sleep among them, when the wind blows I sleep in the wind,
머나먼 길 울며 불며 혼자 가야지
The distant path cries and calls, I must go
우리 절 부처님은 마음씨도 좋아
Our season in Buddha's spirit is good
오냐 오냐 잘가라고 나무~ 아미~ 타~불 아~~~
Come, Come and go well, Buddha bring peace to my soul

가야지~ 가야지~~ 꽃 피고 새 울면 나는 가야지~
I must go, I must go, as the flowers bloom and birds cry
산 넘고 물을 건너서 혼자 가야지~
Crossing over the mountains, and crossing the waters, alone I must go
속절없는 세상살이 소리없이 지고마는
Inevitably, life of this world, without sound, sets and finishes
꽂잎처럼 훠이~ 훠이~ 홀로 가야지~
Like the leaves of a flower, go! go! I must go
우리 절 부처님은 마음씨도 좋아
Our season in Buddha's spirit is good
오냐 오냐 잘가라고 나무~ 아미~ 타~불 아~~~
Come, Come and go well, Buddha bring peace to my soul



Saw a beautiful performance by Bohyun Seunim (monk) of I Must Go on a S.Korean interview program. Hoped to capture the essence of the song in the translation.* How does a song about death and the impermanence of life provide comfort? This is something Bohyun Seunim tried to explain in her interview. It is not dwelling on fate or as sadness, but to provide comfort. As a top musical performer with an aspiring career 27 years ago, how is that she gave up the interests of the material world for the asceticism of the temple? It was her path (My Way), After many years she returned to performing to provide comfort for charitable benefits.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJWu5EQs3_A

Abe's brother Kishi Nobuo appointed Defense Minister

The South China Morning Post covered Kishi's appointment well in their September 16 article:

"Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s decision on Wednesday to appoint his predecessor’s brother as defence minister sparked an immediate reaction from China over his Taiwan ties.

Nobuo Kishi, 61, is the younger sibling of former leader Shinzo Abe, although he was adopted by his maternal uncle as a baby and carries his surname.

Kishi is known for his close ties to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, having represented the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over the years in engagements with current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other Taiwanese leaders." *

*Taiwan ties of Japan's new defence minister Nobuo Kishi spark reaction from China, SCMP, by Julian Ryall and Maria Siow, Published: 8:45pm, 16 Sep, 2020; https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3101818/taiwan-ties-japans-new-defence-minister-nobuo-kishi-sparks

( Source- 호사카유지TV youtube 9.20; photo NHK 9.15 ) Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi

Hosaka Yuji, political science professor at Sejong University in Seoul did a commentary on the appointment of Kishi as defense minister on his youtube channel September 20. Due credit to the professor as the source of the analytical interpretation loosely summarized in the next two paragraphs.

This appointment of Abe's brother suggests a balancing act by Japan's new Prime Minister Suga. Kishi is regarded as not really senior enough to be Defense Minister and may reflect Abe's continued influence in the new cabinet. Kishi is a hard liner and part of the Abe-Aso (anti-China) faction. Before Kishi's appointment there was public discussion in media that an anti-ballistic missile system wasn't enough of a deterrent to protect Japan, implying that the new cabinet might be receptive to the installation of ballistic missiles possibly in Okinawa.

( Source- 호사카유지TV youtube 9.20; photo news.livedoor.com ) Nikai Toshihiro, with Chairman Xi

Nikai Toshihiro, as the Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party on the other hand is said to lean toward mainland China. His retention as LDP Secretary General reflects a priority concern for the Japanese economy and a desire to encourage tourism and to maintain a positive economic relationship with mainland China. Nikai was an early supporter of Suga for the Prime Minister's office. Economic retaliation from China could be expected in the event of deployment of offensive ballistic missile systems, similar in nature to the response South Korea experienced after the US deployment of a THAAD battery allegedly directed against the North Korean threat.


Soon after Abe stepped down he visited the Yasukuni Shrine. One of the accounts said Abe visited to apologize to Japan's war dead for not completing his mission to amend the Japanese constitution to change restrictions on Japan's use of military force. The SCMP article cited above points out Kishi's ties to far right groups, and concludes with the observation that Kishi agreed "there should be debate on Japan deploying nuclear weapons." China's discomfort with Kishi's appointment is understandable. Kishi Nabusuke the maternal grandfather and model figure to Abe and his brother, was an accused war criminal, never tried, who became prime minister of Japan under US sponsorship. So the current defense minister, like his older brother, is a historical revisionist who rationalizes Japanese invasions, occupations, and crimes against humanity in East Asia during the 20th Century. This remains a source of rancor in relationships with China and other East Asian states. The latter understandably are wary of Japan's intentions.

The potential problems and risks of Japanese historical revisionism, incident to the right wing revival of Japan's imperial legacy, to coin a phrase, "to make Japan great again," is seldom acknowledged in US media.

Correction Sep 23- The original version of this article mistakenly identified Nikai Toshihiro as the Chief Cabinet Secretary when he was in fact, retained as LDP Secretary General. Katsunobu Kato, serves as new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's chief cabinet secretary. One of his initial concerns appears to be Chinese military operations in East Sea.*

* Japan should hold Senkaku defense drills with US, LDP says Lawmakers call for stronger presence around East China Sea islands; Nikkei Asian Review, Sep. 23, 2020; https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-should-hold-Senkaku-defense-drills-with-US-LDP-says

Deceased Mayor Park Won-soon- Trial by Media in South Korea

Kim Jae-ryun is the attorney spokesperson who represents the alleged victim of deceased Mayor Park Won-soon. She has accused the former mayor of indecent assault and sexual harassment against her as yet unnamed client, the mayor's former personal secretary. The client was referred to Kim Jae-ryun, after receiving mental health treatment after her alleged rape. For as yet unexplained reasons the investigation which initially focused upon unknown Mr. A from the mayor's protocol office was then turned to target the mayor.

Attorney Kim has a questionable background as a bona fide representative of women's rights and the "me too" movement in South Korea. As a former public official at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Kim Jae-ryun, berated, insulted and threatened a mother whose daughter had been murdered in connection with workplace sexual harrassment. Kim's response suggests she was protecting the employer's interests against those of the wronged surviving mother. There is a witness to the meeting which occured during the prior administration. There is a recording of the conversation of the victim's mother with Kim Jae-ryun in which the latter repeatedly yells rudely, berates the mother, and then threatens her with legal action.

( Source- 열린공감TV 09.14 ) Attorney Kim Jae-ryun presents doubts and presumptions as certainties (narrator).

Kim Jae-ryun is a conservative having served as a public employee during the conservative Park Geun-hye administration. She had a role as a director in the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation which was established with funds provided under the agreement between Japan and the Park Geun-hye administration to settle the outstanding claims of the survivors of the wartime sex slaves of the Japanese Imperial Army. Survivors weren't consulted. The claims were allegedly settled for a sum equivalent to about nine million dollars. Kim's husband Ryu Je-woong, in a supervisory role at YTN News, was alleged to have edited reporting about the Park settlement to paint it in the best possible light. Ryu is also alleged to have improperly supressed a news report in 2015 implicating Samsung Chairman Lee Gon-hee in a sex scandal where there was video evidence of him engaging prostitutes. Several months later in 2016, the independent investigative journalism group Newstapa reported the Samsung Chairman's sex scandal. In another instance, Ryu allegedly chose an editorial policy of painting survivors of the victims of the Sewol Ferry Disaster during the Park Administration as gold diggers rather than grieving family members. The workers union at YTN demanded his dismissal.

( Source- 열린공감TV 09.12 ) The accuser appears friendly to the mayor at the office Christmas party. She decribed a happy fourth year Christmas at the mayor's office, and wished the mayor "man se!" on social media.

Something that hasn't been made clear during the Kim Jae-ryun press conferences during the funeral services of Mayor Park, nor in her recent public statement is that the client she represents left the deceased Mayor's office in July 2019. At that time she left a turnover file describing the duties of her office for the benefit of her successor. It is clear from her personally recorded statements in the file, that she held the mayor in the highest esteem, regarded him an honorable man, and as a three term mayor of Seoul, a figure of historic importance. Further she said it was a privilege to serve him as personal secretary, and that the smallest tasks were to be viewed in the role they played supporting the mayor's office. The record of the secretary's own words belie the accusations that "she suffered for four years" because the mayor indecently assaulted her and sexually harassed her.

( Source- 열린공감TV 09.12 ) Who is holding onto whose arm? Picture of the complainant with Mayor Park on the office hiking outing.

Beyond this, Attorney Kim's statements initially failed to make it explicitly clear that after she transferred to a different city office, in July 2019, her client accused a different city employee, Mister A, of raping her after an office party April 14, 2020 at which she had became intoxicated. Many viewers of news reports were left with the mistaken impression that the mayor was a rapist. Attorney Kim's client claims, without her consent, she was taken to a hotel room and raped by this employee from the mayor's protocol office. Apparently, after the hotel CCTV video showing their interaction in front of the hotel, authorities concluded that there was a "relationship" between the parties, and that Ms. Kim's client accompanied the alleged rapist to the hotel room willingly. Attorney Kim calls internet presentations of the video "fake news."

It is conceivable that there is a sexist element to the treatment of the April 14 case by the authorities. The CCTV video alone doesn't seem dispositive. It is evident that the female employee felt wronged by an unfair official disposition of the case. As the former secretary of the mayor, she must have felt especially wronged by the handling of the matter. According to Attorney Kim's faulty logic, there is a connection between the April 14th alleged rape incident, and the case against the mayor, because they reveal a common fundamental problem in the treatment of sexual offense matters by the Office of the Mayor. But the investigation was a police matter. Oddly, the putative victim of the mayor's unwanted actions, never timely followed the procedure for filing an official public complaint against the mayor. Legally, the impact of the April 14, 2020, incident on the state of mind of the victim actually undermines the case presented against the deceased mayor, and affords an ulterior motive to bring actions against him, directly and indirectly, in terms of the specific allegation that he had sexually assaulted and harassed her and caused her "suffering for four years."

( Source- 열린공감TV 09.14 ) An undated picture of Mayor Park at the office celebrating his birthday. The complainant initiates body contact in an overly familiar manner.

Initially, there were three separate criminal complaints filed by attorney Kim on behalf of her unnamed client. The first one alleging sexual assault against her client by the Mayor is going nowhere because the accused mayor is dead. The second suit involves so called secondary damage to her client by spreading information against her and subjecting her to threats aimed at inhibiting investigation of the her charges against the mayor. The problems with this second complaint are multiple. It is those close to the complainant who are spreading information about the victim on the internet. It is the attorney for the putative "victim" who is conducting a one sided campaign in the media. The mayor is dead, there is no material connection to the mayor in the so called secondary damages suit. There is a third cause of action against three individuals who are charged with aiding and abetting the mayor's alleged crime of sexual assault. This suit indirectly seeks to obtain compulsory process to unearth the facts related to the underlying allegations agains the mayor by investigation of the mayor's actions over the past four years, which the court has already stated it will not investigate, by alleging a cover up. In proceedings related to the third criminal complaint, a Seoul court decided July 22, that it would not issue a warrant to seize and search the mayor's hand phone because the investigators presented insufficient evidence that the mayor had committed any of the underlying crimes described against the alleged victim.

In her interview today September 14 on KBS 1 Radio, the attorney refers to an April 14th incident complaint, filed September 9th. She alleges the April matter is related to an alleged course of conduct of sexual assualt and sexual harassment by the mayor. She suggests the unfavorable dispositon of the investigation by authorities somehow suggests collusion by the mayor's office. What makes for a good conspiracy theory does not make a viable theory at law. The mayor had nothing to do with this alleged April crime, a rape which was committed by an employee of the mayor's protocol office after an office party, two months after the mayor's last known contact with the putative victim on February 6, 2020.

So it appears that the one sided publicity campaign aimed at libeling the mayor's reputation continues unimpeded in the media by the alleged victim's attorney and right wing allies in the press while the investigation stalls in the courts for lack of evidence. Reporting on the case, investigative critics have noted that Attorney Kim, does not follow the regulations provided in the Seoul City Manual for reporting sex crimes when evaluating measures not timely taken by her client before she was allegedly raped by an office worker in the unrelated April incident. Attorney Kim and her client have disclosed scant evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the deceased mayor. Further the attorney speaks in conclusory terms about accused parties and the complainant, when no judgement has ever been reached at law. In other words, the mayor is referred to as the offender instead of the accused. Likewise, she refers to her client as the injured party rather than complainant. This is not consistent with the professional practice of law in South Korea. All this leads to the conclusion that this whole venture is a political media play, rather than a legitimate search for justice.

Finally, it must be said in light of the complainant's friendly and inappropriate closeness to the Mayor and her evident infatuation with him, that the mayor may have indulged himself with her obvious affection. This is not an appropriate relationship in an office environment nor between a person in authority and a subordinate. According to the reporting cited here, the personnel of the mayor's office received ample instruction on appropriate behavior in the office in this regard. Pretending that one didn't know what was improper or how to report sexual harassment, is not credible. Yet, it appears likely, based upon the known evidence, that anything the mayor may have done with the pututive victim. which is unproven at this point, amounted to no more than unprofessional, inappropriate, or unethical behavior rather than criminal misconduct. The central premise of the complainant, that she experienced four years of suffering because of sexual assaults and sexual harassment by the mayor, based upon what one can see, is thus far, completely unsupported.

Note: the first two graphics originally posted with this story were erroneously attributed and described, so they were removed. (09.15, 1300 local)

Did South Korea's UFP conservative party lift its new name from a Nippon Kaigi slogan?

(Source- 알리미 황희두 09.08 youtube 논란 터진 '국민의힘', 발칵 뒤집혔다 )

(Source- 알리미 황희두 09.08 youtube 논란 터진 '국민의힘', 발칵 뒤집혔다 )

The new name for the Mirae Tonghap Dang / United Future Party, the conservative opposition party in S.Korea, (called Mi Tong Dong for short), has been changed to People's Power Party ( 국민의힘당 / Gukminuihim Dang), which has a possible Japanese connotation. Mi Tong Dong had a double meaning of "with America Party." Several years ago the Japan Conference, a far right organization called Nippon Kaigi, had a slogan " people's power." Many of the politicians in LDP in Japan that control the party, and the government of Japan, are members of this organization. Shinzo Abe is a member. It is so wacky to think that the South Korean conservatives adopted these words from the Nippon Kaigi slogan as their new party name, labeling themselves as pro-Japanese, which of course they are. That isn't likely to get them any more votes. More likely they wished to be identified as a "people's party," which, as the representatives of the rich and powerful special interests, they definitely are not.

(Source- 뉴스반장 , 09.08)

황조가 (Hwangjoga)-이정표 (Lee Jung-pyo)

황조가 (Hwangjopa)-이정표 (Jungpyo Lee) from KBS 바람의 나라 ost

Lee Jung-pyo is the singer/composer.

The lyrics of a poem ascribed to King Yuri ( 19 BCE- 18CE ) of the Goguryeo Kingdom ( 고구려 高句麗 ) from the three kingdoms period. The song title is Hwang Jo Ga 황조가 , Yellow Bird Song according to the Hanja explanation in naver.com. This was the theme song from the KBS historical drama Kingdom of the wind 바람의 나라 (2008). The series was a rendition of the Jumong legend. Jumong was the founder of the Goguryeo Kingdom. Yuri was the second king.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goguryeo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingdom_of_the_Winds

My translation may not do the song justice:


There fluttering oriole.
Affectionate bond
between male and female.
When a lonely feeling arises in my small body,
Who shall go together
with me?

URL for the performances by Jungpyo Lee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=232&v=KJFpkS4fgCE&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giRqJTLTp6o&feature=emb_logo

Love First Church responsible for SARS-CoV-2 upsurge in South Korea

(Source- JTBC News Sep 2, uploaded youtube Sep 4) Corona 19 verified positive cases related to the Love First Church, 1117 people. Cases related to the Gwanghwamun assembly on August 15: 441. Jeon Gwang-hun, "pastor" (center) with his mask on for a change, after his release from the hospital.

In a public statement, the General Association of Korean Churches expressed support for the government's current emergency measures related to the corona virus including the temporary restriction on in church face to face worship services and encouraged churches to use online means to conduct worship services. The Christian church organization also expressed regret in its public statement that Jeon's First Love Church was supporting right wing political groups opposed to government health policies. A total of ten Christian group organizations met with President Moon in the Blue House and expressed support for the government's public health policies to address the current corona virus situation in South Korea.

Sep. 7 Update: Jeon Gwang-hun’s bail has been canceled YTN News just reported in a news bulletin. This has been confirmed by the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office. It is expected he will be taken into custody by police and go back to jail today.

South Korean Far Right Extremists Plan Another Illegal Public Assembly

Promotional image for October 3, "freedom right faction" assembly "Again" 10.3, at 1400. Travel carrier logistics for attendees, and "amp" teams separately; speakers prepare. "hand phone off."


After the illegal political assemblies in Seoul on National Liberation Day, August 15, several of the organizers tested positive for sars-cov2 infection. The mass gatherings resulted in a resurgence of the corona virus throughout South Korea. There are over a thousand confirmed cases of sars-cov2 among members of the Love First Church. Despite the church's efforts to thwart public authorities ability to track their members movements, at least 399 members were confirmed to have been present at the Gwanghwamun demonstrations on August 15. The leader of this church, the demagogue Jeon Gwang-hun, has also tested positive. His attendance at the public assembly was a violation of his terms of probation. He also violated the public assembly restrictions imposed by the city of Seoul as an emergency public health measure. Jeon violated a 14 day quaratine period when members of his congregation with whom he had contact were tested positive for the virus in the period immediately before the August 15 assembly. Jeon's church allegedly concealed membership and advised members on ways to avoid public health investigations, also unlawful in South Korea. Jeon was hospitalized temporarily after August 15, and has attended public press conferences since. The question on everyone's mind is why is this individual who is threat to the public health and safety of South Korea not back in jail where he belongs?

Instead he and his right wing allies in other extremist groups have planned more demonstrations on October 3, again in downtown Seoul, in violation of the city's emergency prohibition of public gatherings of more than ten people. Before the August 15 demostration, lawyers for these groups, obtained judicial permission for public assembly despite city health measures prohibiting them. The lawyers obtained approval by representing that not more than 100 persons were expected to attend. This was a fraud on the court. To date there are no reports of any sanctions being taken against the lawyers or petitioners who committed this fraud. There is widespread public criticism of the judge who let Jeon Gwang-hun out on bail pending trial. Also the judge who permitted the demonstations to go forward in mid August has been pilloried in public media. There are calls for impeachment of both.

The scheduled unlawful demonstration for October 3, National Foundation Day, is a demonstration calling for the release of former Park Geun-hye from prison, and the impeachment of current president Moon Jae-in. It is clear that the intent of the far right is to continue the effort to undermine the Moon administration by spreading the sars-cov2 epidemic throughout South Korea.

Recently, a South Korean judge ruled in response to petitions filed by churches to overturn the current emergency measure prohibiting in person attendance at church worship services, that current government restrictions did not improperly interfere with freedom of religion. In light of the current sars-cov2 situation, and the widespread familiarity among many church members with remote attendance of religious services possible online, the temporary interest in public health outweighed the concern for the right to religious freedom. This decision, the public uproar with the August 15 unlawful assembly, and the associated resurgence of the corona virus that demonstration aggravated, renders unlikely the possibility that applications to overturn the city prohibition on public assemblies will be approved again.

The August 15 demonstrations were estimated as being about 20,000 persons in size. As many as 35,000 persons might be expected at the October 3 National Foundation Day demonstration. While large enough to generate another public health crisis for the current administration, assemblies of this size are small by Seoul standards accustomed to crowds of hundreds of thousands. The relative small size of the August 15 demonstrations indicates the relative lack of public support for public health violations in the midst of an epidemic. The lack of public support for conservatives in South Korea is why they lost the general elections on April 15. None of their extremist unorthodox tactics have succeeded in restoring their lack of public credibility. Consequently, very few United Future Party conservative politicians have openly supported the demonstrations during the pandemic.

Jeon portrays himself as a religious martyr, with a sacred vision. As such, he says, he is indifferent to the voluminous public criticism of his crusade to rid South Korea of President Moon Jae-in. He suggests that his actions will be viewed favorably in the history books and in heaven, even thousands of years from now. Clearly, he is a megalomaniac. He will be remembered in the same way that the traitors of Eulsa are remembered.

Doctors Strike in South Korea During Pandemic

(Source- 열린공감TV youtube, 8.31) 터졌다! 의사 파업 진짜 이유! 돈 받아먹었다! Disclosed, the real reason for the strike! We took the money.


The current strike by medical residents and doctors in South Korea during the resurgence of the corona virus epidemic statewide is the latest in bizarre opposition tactics by the far right in South Korea. The true nature of the strike and the reasons for it are misrepresented in conservative media in South Korea and the US. Articles such as the one below by Reuters fail to include the history or political context of this otherwise implausible strike and the unreasonable refusal of leaders of Korean medical organizations to suspend the strike during negotiations with the government:

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea ordered doctors in the Seoul area to return to work on Wednesday as they began a three-day strike in protest of several government proposals, including one to boost the number of doctors to deal with health crises like the coronavirus...


...The strikes come as South Korea battles one of its worst outbreaks of the coronavirus, with 320 new cases reported in the 24 hours to midnight Tuesday, the latest in more than a week and a half of triple-digit increases.

The walkouts on Wednesday forced South Korea’s five major general hospitals to limit their hours and delay scheduled surgeries, Yonhap news agency reported.*

*South Korea orders striking doctors back to work amid surge in coronavirus cases: Sangmi Cha, Josh Smith, August 25;
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea/south-korea-orders-striking-doctors-back-to-work-amid-surge-in-coronavirus-cases-idUSKBN25M048


There are obviously stressful conditions on residents and other doctors working in clinics and hospitals throughout South Korea as a resurgence in corona virus infections prompted largely by deliberately non-compliant churches, in particular the so called Love First Church led by far right demagogue, Jeon Gwang-hun. Government indemnity claims against Jeon now total 20 billion won for costs of patient treatment and public health measures. However, the stated grievances for the medical strike adversely affecting medical services in South Korea now, particularly at larger hospitals, are largely opportunistic and pretextual. The health reforms proposed to be implemented by the Moon Jae-in administration have been in the works since medical studies on the deficiencies in the national health system began in 2013. Studies by the Seoul National University medical school, in 2013 and 2015 during the conservative Park-hye administration recommended virtually the same policy measures the Moon administration now proposes to implement.

(Source- 열린공감TV youtube, 8.31) "Because doctor's livelihoods are being made impossible..."

The measures from the current administration aim at creation of a state medical college and a substantial expansion in the number of medical school graduates by four thousand doctors over a ten year period. The expansion in the number of doctors is directed at alleviating a serious shortage of health care providers in the countryside as opposed to large cities. Medical students attending the state medical training program would be required to provide medical services in the countryside for ten years. It is said that newly licensed doctors have no desire to move to more rural venues to provide health care because of the lack of "career development." Critics of the medical strike by residents and doctors in South Korea during the resurgence of the corona virus say the providers are acting as a special interest just "protecting their rice bowl." However the timing of the strike in current public health emergency circumstances in the face of a resurgence of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic is extremely suspect. The real goal is a cynical political desire to bring down the Moon administration by allowing the current resurgence in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic to spread across South Korea.


The strike is being carried out as a political vendetta against the reform minded democratic administration of Moon Jae-in. According to one investigative news source, a substantial number of senior physicians, and University medical doctors responsible for the education and training of the residents, and other providers have been under investigation by the police, for violations of anti corruption laws which prohibit receiving gifts, rebates, or other unlawful compensation from drug companies aimed at promoting sales by illegal means. The scope of the investigation is large, and has already found tens of millions of dollars in unlawful compensation, rebates, gifts and other favors from pharmaceutical companies paid to medical providers since 2016.

(Source: Media:gate News, 3.23.18) 최대집 Choe Tae-jib, the current President of the Korean Medical Association, conservative activist linked to the Taeguki movement in the past. Choi once said he would risk imprisonment to bring down "Moon Jae-in care." The Korean Medical Association and the Association of Medical Residents left the table and went back on strike, despite achieving an agreement in which proposed measures would be suspended and subject to further negotiations until the current pandemic outbreak abated and public health conditions stabilized.

Among the prohibited practices are pharmaceutical companies paying physicians' medical study abroad; attendance at conferences abroad with all expenses paid; cash rebates; paying active hospital providers and clinicians to represent the companies abroad; golf tourneys, expensive dinners, etc. Hospital administrators, pharmacists, drug company salesman, drug wholesalers, and importers, are also subject to the "Sunshine Act." Potential criminal penalties are two years in prison, a 30 million won fine, and one year suspension of medical license. The proceeds of corrupt rebates and other illegal compensation from drug companies can also be seized by the government. Apart from encouraging this strike, targeted providers have procured high priced legal representation to stall the investigations as long as possible either to exceed the statute of limitations or wait until the current administration is replaced in 2022. If a right wing administration came to power these cases would likely disappear. It is anticipated that a resurgence of the epidemic in South Korea would have an adverse affect on the fortunes of the incumbent democratic party.

So the current government is labeled as "fascist" by the medical community because of pending police investigation into their widespread corruption. Apparently the Korean Medical Association views extensive record keeping requirments and investigations to eliminate medical corruption as "totalitarian." Beyond that, promoting a public medical university education to produce additional doctors with a view toward terms of service in the countryside is regarded as "communism."

(Source- 열린공감TV youtube, 8.31) So the citizens are unaware of the matter (at hand), the professionals cover it up. Picture shows Korean Medical Association President, Choe Thae-jib smashing his head on the podium in the negotiation conference room.

Senior doctors are not openly encouraging the strike, but their organizations left the negotiating table saying the government "couldn't be trusted." Choe Tae-jib, ( 최대집 ) the President of the Korean Medical Association, said when he was running for that office that he would do everything he could including the most extreme tactics like a general strike, no matter what the sacrifices were to bring down "Moon Jae-in care." In other words his admitted objective is to destroy the current health care system in South Korea, which had been so successful until just recently in protecting public health in South Korea. Choe Tae-jib, has a known right wing resume, having supported the far right Taeguki movement and being active in other conservative movements for years.*

* 의협회장 당선자 최대집은 누구…"문재인 케어 저지, 민노총 수준 강한 투쟁" Medi:Gate News, 8.03.23 20:11최종 업데이트 18.03.24 09:45;
http://www.medigatenews.com/news/2109458116

Much like the scholar strikes and demonstrations outside the palace gates, which would immobilize the old Chosun dynasty in contentious times, there are always actors behind the scenes motivating their subordinates to carry out the actions to paralyze the government. Poisoning the well is an old Korean political strategy sure to serve as an evil omen to spread public fear and weaken, if not overthrow the presiding ruler. After the intentional infliction of the second wave of corona virus epidemic on South Korea by right wing fundamentalist demagogues intentionally violating public health rules, the general medical strike is the follow up punch choreographed by the right wing medical doctors and their sponsors unwilling to submit to the rule of law under a freely elected democratic government.

Update Sept. 4:
Today it was reported that Dr. Choe, as the head of the KMA, signed an agreement with the Korean Health and Welfare Department after conducting negotiations with a representative from the Democratic Party in the National Assembly. The Residents Association disagrees with him having conducted an agreement without first checking with the residents' organization, and criticized the move as a betrayal of his office. One of the pertinent objections is that Choe agreed to leave the issues of the establishment of a state hospital to train doctors for public service and the expansion of the numbers of doctors to be produced by the medical education system in South Korea in abeyance during the upsurge in Sars 2 Cov cases rather than obtaining a complete rejection of those proposals. In other words the issues are still subject to resumption of negotiations. It is questionable whether and how many doctors and residents will comply with the agreement that calls for them to return to their clinical duties serving the public in hospitals and clinics around South Korea. One report stated categorically that approximately 700 providers refused to return to work in Taegu.

It is believed that Choe compromised with the government because of the overwhelming public criticism of the medical community for abandoning their posts during a national emergency. Many residents seem to be impervious to the public reaction.