ROK and Inter-Korean relations February 2015

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

February 2015

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PM pledges to improve S-N ties
Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo, left, pays a courtesy call to Lee Hee-ho, the widow of President Kim Dae-jung, at the Kim Dae-jung Presidential Library and Museum in western Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung New Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo has promised to help President Park Geun-hye improve inter-Korean ties. Lee made the pledge on Thursday when he paid a courtesy call to Lee Hee-ho, the widow of President Kim Dae-jung. "President Kim laid the foundation for thawing inter-Korean relations, holding the first inter-Korean summit in 2000," Lee said at the Kim Dae-jung Presidential Library and Museum in western Seoul. "But I am worried about the bilateral ties that have recently been strained." [SK NK policy] [Lee Wan-koo]
52-year-old symbol of S. Korean dependence on foreign aid set to disappear
Posted on : Feb.21,2015 08:20 KST People line up to receive donated food during the Korean War. South Korea was once one of the poorest countries in the world and depended on outside foreign assistance but became a donor of foreign aid, joining the OECD and Development Assistance Committee. (Yonhap News file photo) Ministry of Health and Welfare to abolish law that assisted South Korea through its era of postwar poverty “The advanced free countries that are rushing to build welfare states certainly are seeing a lot of results already. But as a country faced with the hardship of having to put so many resources into national defense for the struggle against communism, we have been unable to avoid some shortcomings in developing this area, and we have needed the help of allies to overcome this hurdle. The proof that is all of you, the ones who are helping the people of South Korea in areas such as society, public health, education, and religion.” These words come from a 1965 message of gratitude from then Minister of Health and Social Affairs Oh Won-seon while attending a dinner party for the Korean Association of Voluntary Agencies (KAVA). Oh’s message on behalf of then President Park Chung-hee praised the foreign aid groups tending to the welfare needs of the “impoverished South Korean public.”
Nearly two years in, Pres. Park gets a failing grade for governance
Posted on : Feb.18,2015 13:55 KST Survey of experts criticize Park’s favouring of the powerful, as well as failed appointments and lack of communication On Feb. 17, the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) released the results of a survey of 300 professors, researchers, and other experts who were asked to assess President Park Geun-hye and her administration over the past two years. If this were Park’s report card, she would have gotten a D - a failing grade. With the second anniversary of Park’s inauguration approaching on Feb. 25, the CCEJ interviewed 300 experts in the areas of politics, public administration, public policy, economics, social welfare, medicine, and education between Feb. 2 and Feb. 15. These experts were asked about Park’s governance style, her leadership, her job performance, and her overall policies. In regard to Park’s leadership and governance style, 178 respondents, or more than half (59%), described them as “very undemocratic,” while 55 respondents (18%) said they were “undemocratic.” Just 7% of respondents said they were “very democratic” and “democratic,” respectively. [Park Geun-hye]
Is pro-US ex-general fit for China job?
By Jun Ji-hye Kim Jang-soo, who is expected to be named ambassador to China, has spent most of his professional life in a South Korean Army that is under U.S. influence. If put into the context of the U.S.-China rivalry, it could mean that Kim, former chief of the National Security Office (NSO) of the presidential office, takes a hawkish view on China and its leadership, some detractors say. The U.S. move to station its missile interceptor, or THAAD, could be the first test for Kim. China and Russia together with North Korea are strongly opposed to its deployment. [Hardliner] [ROK military] [Cronyism]
2015 women’s walk for peace in Korea
On May 24, 2015, 30 international women peacemakers from around the world will walk with Korean women, north and south, to call for an end to the Korean War and for a new beginning for a reunified Korea. We will hold international peace symposiums in Pyongyang and Seoul where we can listen to Korean women and share our experiences and ideas of mobilizing women to bring an end to violent conflict. Our hope is to cross the 2-mile wide De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that separates millions of Korean families as a symbolic act of peace. 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s division into two separate states by Cold War powers, which precipitated the 1950-53 Korean War. After nearly 4 million people were killed, mostly Korean civilians, fighting was halted when North Korea, China, and the United States representing the UN Command signed a ceasefire agreement. They promised within three months to sign a peace treaty; over 60 years later, we’re still waiting. Meanwhile, thousands of Korean elders die every year waiting on a government list to see their children or siblings after being separated by the DMZ. In North Korea, crippling sanctions against the government make it difficult for ordinary people to access the basics needed for survival. The unresolved Korean conflict gives all governments in the region justification to further militarize and prepare for war, depriving funds for schools, hospitals, and the welfare of the people and the environment. That’s why women are walking for peace, to reunite families, and end the state of war in Korea. [Peace effort]
"Would Park be President, had the election not been rigged?"
President Park Geun-hye of South Korea is facing political troubles and unpopularity, due to her leadership style, squabbles in her inner circle, suppression of dissent and free expression, and the recent court ruling that the government agency interfered in the last election which elected her president. The photo above shows posters critical of Park that surfaced in Pusan, a southern city with strong conservative constituents. The following is an editorial in the Hankyoreh Newspaper, Seoul, Korea. Would Park be President, had the election not been rigged? An appeals court’s ruling about election interference by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) provides judicial confirmation that there is a major problem with Park Geun-hye legitimacy as president of South Korea. This makes it clear that the 2012 presidential election was a rigged game and that Park was the greatest beneficiary. [Park Geun-hye] [Election] [NIS]
[Editorial] Would Park be President, had the election not been rigged?
Posted on : Feb.11,2015 15:45 KST An appeals court’s ruling about election interference by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) provides judicial confirmation that there is a major problem with Park Geun-hye legitimacy as president of South Korea. This makes it clear that the 2012 presidential election was a rigged game and that Park was the greatest beneficiary. Despite this, the Blue House is remaining tight-lipped about the entire affair. Facing a barrage of questions by reporters on Feb. 10, Blue House spokesperson Min Kyung-wook declined to comment, only remarking that even a spokesperson has the right to remain silent. One can conjecture the extent of the Blue House’s shock and consternation. It’s no wonder that Park is getting a big headache, with the legitimacy of her presidency in question at the same time her approval rating is plummeting. [Park Geun-hye] [Election]
S.Korea Must Give Defectors Real Opportunities
North Korean defectors in South Korea earned just W1.47 million a month on average last year, two thirds the overall average monthly wage of W2.33 million (US$1=W1,092). A survey on 12,700 defectors by the Korea Hana Foundation, which helps them settle here, also found that they worked 47 hours on average a week, 2.9 hours more than workers on the whole. There are now some 25,000 North Korean defectors in South Korea. Making sure that the defectors can make a living and care for their families may be the first step toward reunification. If the South fails to embrace them and help them assimilate, how is it going to care for the 25 million North Koreans after reunification? Defectors face a harsh reality. They are often paid lower wages than South Koreans in the same jobs and in many cases not on time. In the latest survey, 25 percent of defectors said they were discriminated against. Unemployment among North Koreans here stands at 6.2 percent, almost double the overall rate of 3.2 percent. And 32 percent of North Korean defectors rely on government support to make ends meet. The time has come for South Korean society to throw away its bias against defectors and come up with genuine opportunities for them. The government must bolster actions to help defectors learn new skills, offer them a wider range of work training programs and put a system in place to help them find a stable job. Most of all, major businesses need to offer defectors jobs. It would be an investment for the future, since they will need North Korea experts to prepare for reunification. And they should treat them equally with their South Korean counterparts. [Defectors] [Labour]
Park administration staying suspiciously quiet on conviction of NIS director
Posted on : Feb.11,2015 15:47 KST Former National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-hoon is taken into custody from Seoul High Court in Seocho district after being found guilty of ordering online interference in the 2012 presidential election, Feb. 9. Won appeared at the court under the guard of a vanguard right-wing organization made up of ex-marines. They appreciated Won‘s contribution to election interference that benefited Park Geun-hye. (by Lee Jeong-a, staff photographer) President and ruling party had previously pledged to get to the bottom of allegations that the NIS interfered in 2012 election “Sometimes I’d like it if even the spokespeople were given the freedom and right not to say things. A kind of ellipsis, if you will. . . .” This was the response from a Blue House spokesperson at a briefing on Feb. 10 when asked to assess the verdict the day before against former National Intelligence Service director Won Sei-hoon. Won had been taken into custody after an appeals court found him guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act. It was a somewhat awkward statement of position from an individual spokesperson who was not at liberty to talk about the case, but it was also a reflection of the mood at the Blue House, which would prefer not to talk about the ruling at all. But with the ruling now offering legal acknowledgement of the NIS’s interference in the 2012 presidential election, this silence from President Park Geun-hye and the Blue House - who had previously stressed the need for an “exhausting investigation and fair trial” - leaves them open to charges of irresponsibility as the head of an executive in charge of Constitutional government. Many are noting how much of a reversal it is for Park to keep quiet about the ruling now after her previous comments about the NIS allegations during the election campaign. [NIS] [Park Geun-hye] [Election]
[Editorial] Now time for an investigation into how the NIS rigged the election
Posted on : Feb.10,2015 17:37 KST Modified on : Feb.10,2015 17:56 KST Won Sei-hoon was taken into custody after an appeals court found him guilty of violating the Public Official Election Act and the National Intelligence Service Act. During his tenure as director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Won mobilized the agency to make posts on social media that supported certain candidates in the 2012 presidential election, and criticized others. The appeals court‘s ruling is noteworthy since it convicted Won of violating the Public Official Election Act, a charge that had been dismissed by the lower court. In a word, the South Korean judiciary has acknowledged that a state institution interfered in the 2012 presidential election. Considering the scope of the NIS’s online activities that have come to light thus far, the court was entirely justified in its decision. [NIS] [Election] [Park Geun-hye]
Lee MB’s memoir being investigated for possibly having leaked secrets
Posted on : Feb.11,2015 15:49 KST “The President’s Time”, the memoir by former President Lee Myung-bak. For controversial memoir, Lee drew on Presidential Archives, and may have released info without proper permission Lee Myung-bak’s memoir is under investigation by prosecutors for possible violations of the Presidential Records Act and leaking of official secrets. At issue is the inclusion of confidential details related to inter-Korean relations and summit diplomacy from Lee’s term (2008-13) in the recently published book titled “The President’s Time,” which are suspected to come from designated presidential archive materials. The upcoming investigation to determine whether confidential material was read and leaked will now have to include questioning of Lee and the advisers participating in the drafting of the memorials, along with the Presidential Archives, which keep the records. [Lee Myung-bak]
Nearly Half of N.Korean Defectors Unemployed
Only 53.1 percent of North Korean defectors were employed in 2014, 7.7 percent less than the overall employment rate of 60.8 percent in South Korea. A survey of defectors by the Korea Hana Foundation, which helps defectors adjust to life in the South, on Monday shows that there has been some improvement in the economic conditions of defectors, but they still lag behind in terms of employment. When they do have jobs they rarely pay much. Some 19.8 percent of defectors are day workers, more than three times the rate of the population as a whole (6.1 percent), and just 6.1 percent are self-employed, about three times less than the overall rate of 16.2 percent. Wage earners among defectors work 47 hours per week, 2.9 hours more than the average worker's 44.1 hours. And they earn W1.47 million per month, about W760,000 less than the average W2.23 million (US$1=W1,100). The average employment period for a defector is only 19 months, compared to 67 months in the population at large. Still, two-thirds or 67.6 percent of the respondents said they are satisfied with their life here. Of these, 47.4 percent said because they can do what they want here, and 42.3 percent said they are better off than the North. But 25.3 percent said they have been discriminated against or ignored because they come from the North. Some 58.4 percent of young defectors said they are reluctant to admit they come from North Korea, up four percentage points from 2012. [Defectors] [Labour]
Human Rights Body Raps Blocking of Leaflet Campaign
The National Human Rights Commission on Monday said banning the privately organized floating of propaganda leaflets into North Korea violates freedom of expression and advised the government to relent. Eight out of 11 review panel members sided with activist groups at a meeting on Jan. 26, and one abstained. "The privately organized spread of propaganda leaflets is a form of free speech protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," the NHRC said. "Restricting their dissemination is tantamount to obeying the North's demands at the expense of South Koreans' human rights." The NHRC said measures that block freedom of speech must have a clear reason, and North Korean threats do not constitute such a reason. The panel members who supported the government's ban said the lives and safety of residents near the border outweigh the public's right to freedom of speech. [Propaganda]
Ex-NIS Chief Jailed for Meddling in 2012 Election
Former National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon was sentenced to three years in jail on Monday for interfering in the 2012 presidential election. Last September, a Seoul district court cleared the 64-year-old of election tampering but found him guilty of a lesser charge of "intervening in politics." But the Seoul High Court on appeal ruled that Won "willfully neglected" an online smear campaign carried out by an NIS staffer against the rivals of Park Geun-hye, who was the ruling party hopeful at the time and won. "It is fair to say Won had the intention to intervene in the election by willfully neglecting these activities," Seoul High Court Judge Kim Sang-hwan said in his ruling. Won has already served time for corruption and finished a stretch five months ago. Now he heads back to prison. Before he was led away by court officials, Won claimed innocence, saying he "worked hard" for the public and the nation. His lawyer said Won intends to appeal. [NIS] [Election]
South Korean activist arrested for allegedly praising Pyongyang
Hwang Sun arrested days after American deported on similar charges; critics say government cracking down on free speech January 14, 2015 8:03AM ET South Korean officials on Wednesday arrested a leftist activist for allegedly praising archrival North Korea, just days after an American was deported on similar charges and adding to criticism that the government of South Korea has been seeking to limit free speech and suppress dissidents. The Seoul prosecutors' office arrested Hwang Sun soon after the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant, according to court spokesman Kim Dae-hyun. Hwang is the former spokeswoman for a now-disbanded leftist party and has long been hounded by claims that she supports Pyongyang. In an Internet talk show she hosted between 2011 and 2013, Hwang dressed in black and mourned the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in late 2011. She also introduced an editorial of the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper. Hwang angered conservatives in 2005 when she gave birth by cesarean section during a visit to Pyongyang. [Repression] [NSL] [Free speech]
Korean reunification still on the agenda in 2015
3 February 2015 Author: Jong-sung You, ANU Disasters and political scandals dominated South Korean politics in 2014. And hopes for progress on North–South relations on the Korean peninsula were left unfulfilled. At the beginning of 2014 — in Dresden, Germany — President Park Geun-hye had unveiled her government’s vision for Korean reunification. She established a ‘unification preparation committee’. But North Korea criticised the Dresden Declaration as Seoul’s attempt to absorb the Pyongyang regime. There were some attempts to restart high-level talks, though little progress was made as both sides showed little willingness to make concessions. Seoul has refused to remove sanctions against the North, known as the 5-24 measures, under which all economic exchanges between North and South Korea are suspended. [Sterile] [SK NK relations]
Unification Minister says sanctions on North could be lifted if dialogue takes place
Posted on : Feb.7,2015 15:14 KST Ryoo Kihl-jae also criticizes former President Lee’s disclosure of sensitive inter-Korean details in his recent memoir Unification Ministry Ryoo Kihl-jae said on Feb. 6 that South Korean sanctions against North Korea could be lifted if the two sides have dialogue. Analysts read the remarks as signaling a more open stance from the administration, which previously said it would only “discuss” lifting the so-called “May 24 measures” if Pyongyang agreed to dialogue. “Economic cooperation isn’t happening right now because of the May 24 measures, but the administration has actually done all the studies on those measures,” Ryoo said on Feb. 6 in a lecture held at Seoul’s Ritz Carlton Hotel at the invitation of Woori Bank. “If South Korean capital is invested after the main contract for the Rajin-Hasan project is completed, the situation with the May 24 measures starts to become very awkward,” he added. Ryoo also said the administration was likely to be more accepting of exchange because of events related to the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial occupation. “This year is the 70th anniversary of liberation, so the administration is planning to allow as much [exchange and cooperation] as possible in areas like society/culture, religion, and sports,” he explained. [SK NK policy] [Sanctions] [Preconditions]
S. Korea to face budget crunch for key defense projects: data
South Korea will likely lack some 30 trillion won (US$27.5 billion) to fund defense projects over the next five years, data showed Sunday, causing concern over a delay in key programs to boost military capabilities. According to the data by the defense ministry, the country's arms procurement agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), estimated that 96 trillion won would be required to implement defense projects scheduled for completion between 2016 and 2020. "The amount is some 30 trillion won more than the government's fiscal plan appropriated for the purpose," a ministry official said, requesting anonymity. "The finance ministry has earmarked 66 trillion won for defense projects in its five-year plan to be completed by 2018." The data was presented to Rep. Baek Gun-ki of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy at his request. "It would be inevitable to modify the schedule of big-ticket defense projects. We are considering reducing the required resources to 70 trillion won by redrawing the mid-term plan," the official said, adding that the ministry will finalize the 2016-2020 defense plan next week. [Military expenditure]
N.Korea 'Staging Biochemical Warfare Drills'
North Korea has boosted biochemical warfare drills as part of its regular winter exercises, intelligence agencies here believe. "Military intelligence believes that the North has carried out at least a dozen massive biochemical drills since late last year," a senior South Korean official said Thursday. "We believe that could pose a real threat." The North has often staged small-scale biochemical warfare drills, chiefly in summer, but not in winter when strong winds could potentially wreak havoc with any hazardous substances that escape into the air. "These are clearly offensive drills planning a biochemical attack," a military officer here said. Soldiers frequently practice firing multiple rocket launchers wearing gas masks. The U.S. Air Force in South Korea has started supplying troops with personal protective equipment as the threat of biochemical attacks from the North mounts The North is believed to rank third in the world in terms of biochemical warfare capability, with an estimated 2,500 to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons that could kill the entire population of South Korea. [cbw]
In GDP to welfare ratio, South Korea is at the OECD bottom
Posted on : Feb.6,2015 16:53 KST OECD countries’ welfare expenditures as a percentage of GDP South Korea’s GDP-welfare ratio is rising, but due to changes in OECD data collect, now last among 30 countries Last year, the ratio of South Korea’s GDP to its public expenditures on social welfare was the lowest among members of the OECD, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, recently published figures show. In 2013, South Korea ranked 31st out of all 32 OECD countries. In addition, as of 2013 - the most recent year for which figures are available - South Korea was 28th out of 30 countries in terms of its total tax rate (which includes annual taxes as well as contributions to social insurance, such as pension and health care. This confirms once again that South Korea is a prototypical “low-tax, low-welfare” country, meaning that the contributions made, and the benefits received, by the South Korean public are small.
Part-time workers occupy McDonald’s to protest 27 years of oppression
Posted on : Feb.4,2015 17:57 KST One worker who allegedly was pushed out of her job due to union activity has sparked backlash against fast food giant The Part-Time Workers’ Union announced that it would occupy two Seoul branches of McDonald’s - located in Sinchon neighborhood and at Yonsei University - on Feb. 7. “During the 27 years since McDonald’s opened its door in South Korea in 1988, it has habitually oppressed workers without showing any intention of correcting these practices. For that reason, we are taking the extreme step of occupying McDonald’s branches,” Lee Hye-jeong, secretary general for the union, said in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh on Feb. 3. “Even though problems connected with McDonald’s employment of part-time workers came to light last year, McDonald’s has given no indication that it means to address these problems. By occupying the branch, the union means to send McDonald’s a message: we are watching you, and we will not remain silent if you continue to treat your part-time workers with cruelty,” said Lee. [Labour]
New ruling party floor leader demanding “equal partnership” with the Blue House
Posted on : Feb.4,2015 17:54 KST In setting up a clash with President Park, Yoo Seong-min could be risking his appeal in the ruling party’s conservative support base The ruling Saenuri Party’s newly elected floor leader marked his first official day on the job on Feb. 3 with harsh criticisms of the Blue House, demanding an “equal partnership” between the party and the presidential office. Lawmaker Yoo Seong-min was elected to the position on a platform of putting the party front and center in governance. Meanwhile, party leader Kim Moo-sung emerged from his low profile to echo Yoo’s message in a representative’s speech, part of parliamentary negotiation the same day. A power battle between the Blue House and Saenuri Party (NFP) over leadership in governance affairs, with a focus on sensitive issues like policy initiatives, appointments, and amending the Constitution, could be on the way. In their Feb. 3 remarks, both Kim and Yoo described the current governing situation as being in a “comprehensive state of crisis.”
[Editorial] Stop this childish film censorship, before South Korea is a total laughingstock
Posted on : Feb.3,2015 16:04 KST A poster for the documentary film "The Truth Will Not Sink With the Sewol" The administration and local governments have been caught conspiring to hurt the international prestige of South Korean cinema and its industry. First, we saw the petty antics of the city of Busan and its attempts to politically manipulate the Busan International Film Festival. Now, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is triggering a backlash in the film community by trying to introduce an advance review system for the country’s film festivals. Basically, it is trying to change regulations in the Promotion of Motion Pictures and Video Products Act granting exceptions to advance ratings reviews for KOFIC-recommended festival pieces. Its aims are easy enough to figure out. Last month, KOFIC withdrew its review exception recommendation for “2015 Euratchacha Independent Films,” a feature exhibition at the independent film venue Indiespace. As a result, three films with “restricted” ratings could not be shown. One of them, called “Self Referential Traverse: Zeitgeist and Engagement,” was a documentary intended to lampoon President Park Geun-hye. By announcing plans to change the regulations on ratings review exemptions, KOFIC is basically declaring plans to institutionalize this very kind of interference. It’s the same thing we saw when Busan pressured the festival last year not to show “The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol,” a documentary on the April 2014 Sewol ferry sinking. The aim is prevent anything that displeases the administration from finding its way onto festival screens. [Censor]
Gov't seeks to disband anti-state activist groups
2015/01/21 12:16 SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- The government will push for measures to disband "anti-state" activist groups that attempt to praise, encourage or propagandize North Korean political ideals, the justice ministry said Wednesday. In an annual policy report to President Park Geun-hye, the ministry said the plan reflects growing public opinion that the government should put forward steps to ban the activities of such anti-state, pro-enemy organizations. Activist groups such as the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification, founded in 1993, and the Korean Federation of Student Councils were previously ruled as "organizations that threaten national security" by the nation's top court. However, these groups have been active for years since there is no clear code of law that prohibits them from being active. Watchers said one of the possible government measures will be the revision of the National Security Law to ban any "anti-state" activities attempting to praise, encourage or propagandize North Korean political ideals. Currently, an amendment to the draconian law, which allows local courts to disband anti-state, pro-enemy organizations, is pending at the National Assembly. [Repression] [Democracy]
Seoul Eyeing Export of 24 Fighter Jets to Peru
Korea is pushing for the sale of 24 FA-50 home-grown light attack fighter jets to Peru. The military wants to sell the jets for US$1 billion and will submit a bid this month, a spokesman said Tuesday. Including extra weaponry and munitions, the total earnings could be as high as $2 billion. Peru will select a model in the second half of this year. There will be competition from Russia's YAK-130, Italy's M-346, and China's L-15, but the government here claims Korea has an advantage. This is because Korea Aerospace Industries, the manufacturer, won an order in November 2012 to supply the Peruvian Air Force with 20 KT-1 basic trainer jets for $200 million. Seoul has increased exports of FA-50 light attack fighters and T-50 supersonic advanced trainers. It sold 16 T-50s to Indonesia in 2011, while signing contracts with Iraq in 2013 and the Philippines in 2014 for the supply of 24 FA-50s and 12 FA-50s. [Arms sales]
Experts say Lee MB’s memoir claims are of questionable accuracy
Posted on : Feb.3,2015 15:59 KST “The President’s Time”, the memoir by former President Lee Myung-bak. Lee had garnered criticism for making public sensitive details about negotiations with North Korea Facing criticism for the descriptions of confidential aspects of South Korea’s relations with North Korea and foreign countries that appear in the memoir of former president Lee Myung-bak, titled “The President’s Time”, Lee’s aides have been responding by making one-sided claims of debatable accuracy. On Feb. 2, Kim Du-woo, former Senior Secretary to the President for Public Information who oversaw the writing of Lee’s memoir, appeared as a guest on a KBS radio show. When asked why Lee did not move forward with a summit proposed by North Korea, Kim said, “North Korea was asking for US$10 billion as a condition for the talks. If the talks didn’t come off, the South Korean public would still have had to foot the bill. In that case, we probably would be standing before a hearing or facing an investigation by a special prosecutor right now.” According to the memoir, in the fall of 2009, North Korea offered to hold a summit in exchange for US$10 billion, funds it would then use to set up a national development bank. This appears to be the section Kim was referring to. But neither Lee’s memoir nor Kim’s remarks provide the historical context for the claims they are making, which makes them prone to misinterpretation, experts say. In a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh on Feb. 2, a source familiar with North Korea who was deeply involved in these negotiations said, “North Korea told us they wanted to set up a financial institution similar to South Korea’s development bank [KDB], and they asked us to help them. But this was not a precondition for holding a summit.” [Lee Myung-bak] [Disinformation]
[Editorial] Break this cycle of inter-Korean tensions every year
Posted on : Feb.2,2015 18:09 KST Modified on : Feb.2,2015 18:12 KST Signs of heightening tensions are in the air on the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, a coarse battle of nerves is leaving no way in for dialogue between Pyongyang and either Seoul or Washington. At this rate, we look to be in for a repeat of the situation of previous years, where things deteriorated rapidly over the joint South Korea-US military exercises starting in early March. North Korea’s state-run media quoted leader Kim Jong-un as saying during an inspection of joint air force and navy exercises - a seemingly pointed display for the US - that he was “not willing to sit down anymore with mad dogs.” It was as direct a response as one could imagine to US President Barack Obama’s remarks on Jan. 22 predicting a collapse of the regime. The exercises themselves involved an air and ocean strike against an island off Wonsan posing as a US aircraft carrier. It’s rare to see such shows of force directed squarely at Washington. Pyongyang certainly is misguided to try to deliberately ramp up tensions ahead of the annual military exercises in South Korea. It should recognize that it certainly stands to lose more when the Korean Peninsula is a tenser place. Another problem is the string of recent statements by senior US officials echoing Obama’s regime collapse predictions. On a Jan. 30 visit to Seoul, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller said, “The fact that we have a new executive order [from early January] devoted to this [sanctions against North Korea] it really shows how committed the president is.” A day earlier, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said she personally “agreed” with Obama’s remarks. What this shows is that for all that the US is supposed to be adopting “two-track” approach of pressure and dialogue with North Korea, it apparently has little real interest in dialogue. The State Department’s Special Representative for North Korea policy, Sung Kim, said North Korea had refused to agree to an attempted meeting with a representative in China on Jan. 30; North Korea responded on Feb. 1 by saying Washington was the side that rejected its own proposal for a Pyongyang visit by Kim. Seoul owns a hefty share of responsibility for this. The state of tensions on the peninsula is directly correlated to the situation in inter-Korean relations. Any chance for dialogue in January passed by amid South and North both demanding that the other “act first.” Little right now suggests any sort of communication will be taking place in February either. The South Korean government is insisting that the North reported for talks unconditionally, but Pyongyang is unlikely to go along if it feels uncertain about what the discussions would focus on. Seoul needs to find a way out of this “game of uncertainty.” To do nothing about a situation that is only going to raise tensions amounts to a dereliction of duty. Not only does it make all the talk about reunification unrealistic, but it also leaves the prospects for resolving the nuclear issue that much bleaker. Seoul needs to break this vicious cycle of the same things happening every year. [Joint US Military]
South Korea’s Police State Wages War on Proponents of Democracy
By Stephen Gowans The South Korean police state has cracked down, with varying degrees of intensity over the years, on virtually any public expression of leftism, including anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism, and anti-imperialism. Some degree of intolerance of leftist dissent is emblematic of all states in capitalist societies. Even in liberal democratic societies, which are believed to tolerate dissent to a higher degree than other societies, the security services have had a long history of surveillance “on the side of the political/economic status quo” and against those “who challenge the powerful and the wealthy.” The history of the political police in such societies is one of “conservatism” where “the targets of state surveillance form a kind of roster of (working class) radicalism” and where those who pursue the class war from the bottom up have been seen as subverting “the proper political and economic order” and therefore are deemed legitimate subjects for surveillance and disruption. This is “an activist conservatism on behalf of capital against its perceived enemies.” [1] South Korea’s police state differs from that of other liberal democracies in degree only, the difference due to its daily confrontation with a state, parked on its northern borders, which embodies leftism, and which, in its official ideology of self-reliance and rejection of foreign domination—to say nothing of its existing as one of the few top-to-bottom alternatives to capitalism—acts as an inspiration to many South Koreans. It’s virtually impossible to be committed to anti-imperialism and convinced there’s a better alternative to capitalism without espousing values which significantly overlap those of the North Korean state. Consequently, it’s virtually impossible for anyone in South Korea who embraces any kind of serious leftism not to be accused of being a North Korean fellow-traveller—someone who sympathizes with many of North Korea’s aims and values, without having a formal connection to it. [Repression] [Censorship] [NSL] [UPP] [Democracy]
Ban testing water for presidency
General Ban Ki-moon 'Everyone close to him convinced he will run,' senior UN official says By Jung Min-ho U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is testing the water to decide whether to run for the presidency in 2017, a source at the U.N. said Sunday. "Everyone close to him is convinced that he will run for president," a high-ranking U.N. official, who refused to be named, told The Korea Times. [Ban Ki-moon]
Navy to force protesters out of Jeju naval base site
The Navy began taking measures Saturday to drive sit-in protesters out of the construction site of a naval base on a major southern island to complete the construction project by December as planned, triggering strong resistance from the protesters. Civic groups, environmental activists and some residents in the village near the construction site have staged protests in a make-shift tent at the entrance of the site since October last year when the Navy began constructing apartment buildings to be used as an official residence for military officers to work at the naval base. About 1,000 officials, including some 800 police officers, were in place at the scene to eject the protesters. [Jeju] [China confrontation] [Repression]
[Analysis] President Park facing a crisis of leadership, and low approval
Posted on : Jan.31,2015 14:35 KST Modified on : Jan.31,2015 14:44 KST Nearing two years in office, exceptionally low approval is remarkable due to lack of external crisis President Park Geun-hye is facing a crisis. Before even reaching the second anniversary of her inauguration as president, her approval rating has plummeted to the 20% range. It looks like Park will find it even harder to run the country as her administration enters its third year. An approval rating in the 20% range is news enough, but the true severity of the problem becomes clear when considered in the light of recent trends. According to a poll by Gallup Korea, Park’s approval rating is at its worst since she took office, hitting new lows for three weeks in a row. [Park Geun-hye] [Public opinion]
Blue House openly expresses “dismay” about former president’s new memoir
Posted on : Jan.31,2015 14:06 KST Officials’ view likely reflects that of President Park; Lee says an even more contentious memoir coming late in Park’s term The Blue House expressed open messages of “dismay” and “concern” on Jan. 30 over content in former President Lee Myung-bak’s memoir, prompting Lee’s camp to urge them to “make their judgment after reading the memoir rather than press reports.” The book’s release on Feb. 2 could result in the long-simmering feud between the current and former administrations erupting into open conflict. Major content from Lee’s memoirs, titled “The President’s Time,” was released in the media ahead of the book’s official publication early next week. The Blue House is concerned with two passages: one referring to a vote on revising the Sejong Special Autonomous City plan, where Lee and then-Hannara Party (predecessor to today’s Saenuri Party) leader (and current president) Park Geun-hye were sharply opposed in 2010, and another providing detailed information about inter-Korean relations and behind-the-scenes meetings during Lee’s term (2008-13). [Lee Myung-bak] [Park Geun-hye]
Lee MB memoir’s revelations of diplomatic moments sparking controversy
Posted on : Jan.30,2015 16:24 KST “The President’s Time”, the memoir from which some contents were released on Jan. 28 by former President Lee Myung-bak. The full release is on Feb. 2. Former president shares potentially explosive details of behind-the-scenes negotiations with North Korea and China Controversy is flaring over former President Lee Myung-bak’s memoir, in which he discloses the “hidden history” of summits with North Korea and China. Critics say Lee, who has been out of office less than two years (his term was 2008-2013), not only violated international diplomatic protocol but left a major headache for future relations with Pyongyang and other governments. A longstanding diplomatic saying is, sausages and diplomacy are two things you don’t show the making of. A Jan. 29 advance release of Lee’s autobiography, with a Korean title that translates as “The President’s Time,” shows a number of details that read as provocations or slights against former diplomatic counterparts. In detailing behind-the-scenes meeting between the South Korean Ministry of Unification and North Korea Unified Front Department for a summit in Nov. 2009, Lee claims that North Korea demanded 100,000 tons of corn, 400,000 tons of rice, 300,000 tons of fertilizer, and US$100 million worth of asphalt pitch. Earlier, he writes that Unified Front Department chief Kim Yang-gon, said he would “be dead if he went back” to North Korea without an agreement at a 2009 meeting in Singapore with then-Minister of Labor Yim Tae-hee. [Lee Myung-bak]

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