Quote of the Day:

“Don't judge”

“Don’t put people in a box. You never know once you open the box for ’em what’s going to pop out. So give them a chance. Give them a chance to dream a little bit…I tell our coaches to this day, ‘You never know what a player is going to surprise you to be able to do.’ … Don’t box people in. We have a tendency to do that as humans—we kind of put people in these boxes…That’s the approach I’ve tried to take throughout—we’re not afraid to open the package.”

– Andy Reid

“You always own the option of having no opinion.”

– Marcus Aurelius

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." 

– Benjamin Franklin

1. A general’s journey: Korean immigrant returns to peninsula to lead US soldiers

2. Experts: US withdrawal from Human Rights Council “Negative VS No Effect on North Korean Human Rights Improvement”

3. S. Korea, U.S., Japan in talks for FMs meeting this month: report

4. IMF says S. Korea's economy rebounded in 2024 yet downside risks remain

5.  China's Xi 'seriously' mulling visit to S. Korea for APEC summit

6. Why does it sound so far-fetched to have a Korean president in their 40s?

7. Let's restore democracy in Korea

8. N. Korea executes young woman in public display meant to deter rising crime

9. N. Korean leader calls regional public health modernization 'top priority'

10. Foreign minister meets Chinese ambassador, eyes stronger cooperation

11. Arrested president blames 'left-wing cartel' amid impeachment push

12. Korea and Thailand's top generals discuss military cooperation in Seoul meeting

13. Unification Ministry suspends head of defector support foundation over sexual harassment allegations

14. Senator Bill Hagerty: “US-Korea-Japan Economic Relations, Trilateral Cooperation Key”

15. What Will South Korea’s Post-Yoon Foreign Policy Look Like?

16. Editorial: Prosecutors must end excessive 'special investigations'

17. What is the world thinking about Korea’s political crisis?

18. Beyond the Escape: North Korean refugee chooses her own path

1. A general’s journey: Korean immigrant returns to peninsula to lead US soldiers

​A great story about a great American. This is what makes America great.

A general’s journey: Korean immigrant returns to peninsula to lead US soldiers

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · February 6, 2025

Army Brig. Gen. Jin Pak, commander of the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, shows some of the awards in his office in Daegu, South Korea, Oct. 18, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

DAEGU, South Korea — Jin Pak was 6 years old when he left South Korea alone, flying halfway around the world to reunite with parents he barely knew. They had immigrated to the United States soon after his birth, leaving his grandparents to raise him until they were ready for him to join them.

“Whenever I saw a plane, I’d say that I’m going on that plane and go to America,” he said in a recent interview at Camp Walker in Daegu.

Forty-six years later, the Army brigadier general is back in South Korea, leading the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Daegu.

A naturalized U.S. citizen who was commissioned at West Point, Pak first returned to his native country as a soldier in 2012 to command the 25th Transportation Battalion for three years. In June, he took over the sustainment command, which handles the Army’s logistical operations on the peninsula. He is responsible for approximately 5,600 soldiers and Defense Department employees.

Pak’s journey from a child immigrant to a one-star general in the U.S. Army is both typical and unique.

“I’m very proud of it because it’s an example of how … America is also a place of opportunity,” he said. “I don’t know of many countries where an immigrant, not of that country’s ethnicity, could join their military and rise to the rank of general officer.”

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jin Pak as a child living in South Korea. (Jin Pak)

Pak said his parents left South Korea for reasons that remain unclear to him.

“I’ve asked that question and they’re not very specific about it,” he said. “But I get the sense that they wanted to try something new. I know they were both very ambitious.”

Korean immigrants to the U.S. often left their children behind temporarily, particularly in the decades following the 1950-53 Korean War, said Dae Young Kim, a sociology professor at George Mason University in Virginia.

Many immigrants had limited funds and worked multiple jobs to make a living, Kim said in a video interview last month. Faced with child care costs and work demands, parents found alternative ways to raise their children.

“One option is to be able to bring your own parents to the U.S., and that’s something that some immigrants, including Korean immigrants, have done,” Kim said. “The other option is to send the child [away] so that the children can be taken care of until they reach a certain age and can be somewhat independent.”

Pak arrived in the U.S. in 1978 and moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Elmhurst, Queens, with his parents and younger brother, who was born that same year. He recalled feeling “very out of place” and being bullied for not knowing English.

“My third-grade teacher reported me to my parents because she said I was causing a lot of fights,” he said. “But I was in fights; I wasn’t causing the fights. It was that kind of childhood for a while.”

Pak became a U.S. citizen in 1981. His naturalization certificate is the only official document with his birth date due to inadequate record-keeping in South Korea at the time, he said.

“I don’t have a birth certificate,” he said. “I only know I was born in 1972 because of my citizenship paperwork.”

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jin Pak as an infant living in South Korea. (Jin Pak)

Pak graduated from West Point in 1994. His father, a stoic man who “doesn’t show a lot of emotion,” was proud of his son attending the military academy, he said.

“He actually sent me hand-written letters asking me how I was doing, stuff that I would never have imagined in a million years he would do,” Pak said.

One of Pak’s fondest memories is of his father mailing him candy bars hidden inside a flashlight, a trick soon discovered by the school.

“I’ll never forget that,” he said, smiling.

Pak’s father attended his graduation, but that summer, he suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma. He died less than two years later.

“He saw me graduate, but he never saw anything else, like marriage and grandkids,” said Pak, now a father of two adult children. “I know he would be very proud and happy about it. I do regret that he hasn’t seen my career unfold because I knew he appreciated military service.”

Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · February 6, 2025

2. Experts: US withdrawal from Human Rights Council “Negative VS No Effect on North Korean Human Rights Improvement”

​I was not asked to contribute to this article but I was asked this question by an RFA journalist.

Here is my response to add to the views below:

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond. Human rights are a moral imperative and a national security issues.

There are two issues here. I am confident that the Trump administration supports human rights in north Korea. Recall Ji Seong Ho’s visit to the White House for the State of the Union in the first term.

This action is not a statement about North Korean human rights. This is about the Trump administration’s views toward UN organizations and how they are being misused by countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and north Korea and other lesser minor malign actors. 

However, it is too soon to assess what the long term impact will be from this action on both UN organizations and north Korean human rights. 

What I can be sure of is that those who advocate for human rights in north Korea will continue to be committed to doing everything they can to help the Korean people in the north and they will strongly recommend to the Trump Administration that it implement a human rights upfront approach.  

​This is a Google translation of a VOA report.

Experts: US withdrawal from Human Rights Council “Negative VS No Effect on North Korean Human Rights Improvement”

2025.2.7

• An Jun-ho

https://www.voakorea.com/a/7966127.html

U.S. human rights experts have pointed out that the decision by the U.S. to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council could have a negative impact on the international community’s efforts to improve human rights in North Korea. There have also been claims that the Human Rights Council, where China, a human rights suppressor, is a member, needs reform and that the U.S. withdrawal will have no real impact on improving human rights in North Korea. Reporter Ahn Jun-ho reports.

Robert King, former State Department special envoy for North Korean human rights issues

Robert King, the former State Department special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, said on the 6th that President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the UN Human Rights Council will have a negative impact on efforts to improve human rights in North Korea.

“The U.N. Human Rights Council has been a very effective body in drawing attention to the serious human rights abuses in North Korea,” King said in a phone call with VOA on the same day. “It is very unfortunate that the United States is not an active participant.”

[Recording: Former Special Envoy King] “It will have a negative impact. The UN Human Rights Council has been a very effective body in terms of calling attention to North Korea's serious human rights abuses. And the fact that the United States will not be an active participant is again a very unfortunate situation.”

Former Special Envoy King said in particular that “North Korea would very much welcome the withdrawal of the United States,” and reminded that the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea, established in accordance with a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council in 2013, was established with strong support from the United States.

Trump withdrew from the Human Rights Council during his first term

President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on the 4th.

The United States withdrew from the Human Rights Council in June 2018, during the first term of Trump's administration, claiming that the council displayed chronic bias and resentment against Israel and was ignoring the reforms the United States was demanding.

The United States rejoined the Human Rights Council as an observer in February 2021, shortly after the inauguration of the Biden administration, and served as a member for three years from January 2022 to the end of 2024.

“Withdrawing from the Human Rights Council is a short-sighted decision”

Roberta Cohen, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights. Photo = Brookings Institution.

“This is a very short-sighted view, because the Human Rights Council has many issues to address, not just one,” Roberta Cohen, a former deputy assistant secretary for human rights at the State Department, told VOA in a phone interview that day.

[Recording: Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Cohen] “And I consider it a very short sighted view because there are many issues before the Human Rights Council not just one.”

This is interpreted to mean that it would be inappropriate to withdraw from the Human Rights Council simply because it was critical of Israel, given the many pressing issues it must address, including North Korea.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Cohen emphasized that many important measures related to North Korean human rights begin at the Human Rights Council, and that the Human Rights Council is the starting point for the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea, the publication of its report, and the adoption of a resolution on North Korean human rights based on the report.

He said the United States needs to participate in this process and exert influence, especially since the UN is scheduled to submit a follow-up report to the Human Rights Council in September, updating the COI report published in 2014, after about 10 years.

Regarding the call for reform of the Human Rights Council, he said, “If reform is necessary, the United States must intervene deeply,” and “If the United States withdraws, the opposition forces will take the initiative.”

[Recording: Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Cohen] “I think if the reforms are needed and they are, the US should be involved heavily and walking away cedes the floor to your opponents.”

“North Korean Human Rights, Directly Related to Security∙∙∙Should Be Dealt with at the General Assembly”

There is also an opinion that the North Korean human rights issue should be dealt with at the General Assembly rather than the UN Human Rights Council, as it is directly related to international security.

John Sifton, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch

John Sifton, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, said in a telephone interview with VOA on the same day that “the U.S.’s refusal to participate in pushing for a resolution on North Korea in the Human Rights Council is not helpful (to efforts to improve human rights),” but added that the issue of human rights in North Korea will be led by the European Union (EU), Australia, Japan, and South Korea.

“We have recently been trying to get the UN General Assembly to engage more with the North Korea issue, and we are emphasizing that human rights issues are linked to security issues,” said Director Sifton, explaining that security issues such as North Korea’s provision of weapons to Russia and the dispatch of North Korean troops are directly linked to North Korea’s human rights violations.

He emphasized that “North Korea’s forced labor makes the existence of its nuclear program possible, and oppression allows North Korea to pour all its resources into its nuclear and missile programs,” and that “this is not simply a human rights issue, but an issue of international peace and security.”

Therefore, he added, this issue should be dealt with at the UN General Assembly in New York, not at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

[Recording: Director Sifton] “It's forced labor which allows the nuclear program to exist. It's the repression that allows North Korea to devote all its resources to its nuclear and missile program. (omitted) This isn’t just a human rights matter, this is an international peace and security matter.”

“Human rights violators need to be members of the Human Rights Council... Reform is needed”

When signing the executive order on the 4th, President Trump said, “The United Nations is not currently living up to its potential,” and “Frankly, it is not functioning properly.”

Susan Scholte, Chair of the North Korea Freedom Coalition

In this regard, Susan Scholte, chairwoman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition, said in a phone call with VOA on the same day, “The Human Rights Council, which is supposed to promote and protect human rights around the world, is protecting dictatorial regimes and giving them legitimacy by including them on its board.”

[Recording: Chairman Scholty] “It was supposed to promote and protect human rights around the world but instead it coddles dictatorships and gives them legitimacy by including them as members of the Council. Those who are member states of the HRC should at least be from member states that uphold human rights of their own citizens.”

Although Russia was expelled from the Human Rights Council in 2022, this explains that human rights violators such as China, which do not even protect the human rights of their own citizens, are still actively participating in the Council.

“In today’s world, the human rights violators who cause wars, conflicts and atrocities have an equal voice in the United Nations and the Human Rights Council as the democratic states that defend human rights,” Scholte said. “I can completely understand why President Trump acted as he did.”

“Will have no real impact on North Korean human rights”

There is also a point that while the issues discussed at the UN Human Rights Council have political weight and can arouse public opinion around the world, putting pressure on countries that are suppressing human rights, they do not have actual legal binding force.

Chairman Scholte said that America’s withdrawal from the Human Rights Council “will have no effect on improving human rights in North Korea,” and that “the Human Rights Council has not made any effort to improve human rights in North Korea.”

Andrew Yeo, Brookings Institution Korea Chair. Photo = Brookings Institution.

Andrew Yeo, the Brookings Institution Korea Chair, said in response to VOA’s inquiry that day, “With regard to North Korean human rights, the United States withdrawing from the Human Rights Council will not make a significant difference in practice.”

He went on to explain that the United States has other means and channels to raise North Korean human rights issues, such as the State Department's human rights report.

[Yeo Chairperson] “On NKHR, pulling out of the UNHRC won't make much of a difference practically speaking. The US has other means and platforms to raise North Korean human rights objections including its own State Dept. “human rights reports.”

The chairwoman said, “It is important for the United States to address North Korean human rights issues in international organizations such as the United Nations,” and “It is regrettable that the Trump administration has withdrawn from the council, as the Human Rights Council is a visible window through which human rights issues, including North Korean human rights, can be raised.”

This is Ahn Jun-ho from VOA News.

3. S. Korea, U.S., Japan in talks for FMs meeting this month: report

​Sustain the trilateral cooperation. it is in the US national security interests to do so.

S. Korea, U.S., Japan in talks for FMs meeting this month: report | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · February 7, 2025

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan are in talks to arrange a trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers in Germany later this month, a Japanese news report said Friday.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is considering attending an annual security conference in Munich, which runs from Feb. 14-16, and hoping to hold a trilateral talk with his South Korean and U.S. counterparts, according to the report by Kyodo News Agency.

If realized, Seoul's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will meet with Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

They are expected to discuss their joint efforts to respond to North Korea's military threats and military cooperation with Russia, security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific regions, and China issues.

Seoul's foreign ministry has also been pushing for a bilateral meeting between Cho and Rubio.

Earlier this week, Cho's office said discussions were ongoing with Washington to arrange what would be the first in-person talks between Cho and Rubio since the launch of the Donald Trump administration.

The U.S. and Japanese foreign ministers already held a bilateral meeting in Washington last month.

In this file photo, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reviews a handout at an interagency government meeting in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

nyway@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · February 7, 2025

4. IMF says S. Korea's economy rebounded in 2024 yet downside risks remain

​But President Yoon will likely get no credit for this.

But like in America, do the people feel positive effects in their lives from the economic numbers in these reports?

IMF says S. Korea's economy rebounded in 2024 yet downside risks remain | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · February 7, 2025

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy rebounded in 2024 after a sharp slowdown the previous year, but its outlook remains uncertain as risks are tilted to the downside, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released Friday.

"Economic growth has recovered from a sharp slowdown in 2023, inflation has reached the target, and financial stability risks have decreased," the IMF said in its latest report, attributing the progress to the local authorities' swift policy responses.

The assessment was based on an IMF team's annual meeting with South Korea's finance ministry, the Bank of Korea (BOK) and other relevant institutions during its visit to Seoul in November to discuss the country's economic conditions and policy measures.

Despite the recovery, the IMF warned that downside risks have increased due to high uncertainty surrounding policy shifts in major trading partners, including the United States.

The report also highlighted the domestic political unrest stemming from President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law in December and his subsequent impeachment.

The report said other risks facing Asia's fourth-largest economy included slowing global demand for semiconductors, higher global commodity price volatility and the intensification of geopolitical conflicts.

South Korea's economy is estimated to have grown 2.2 percent in 2024, supported by strong exports despite relatively weak domestic demand, according to the IMF.

Inflation declined to 1.9 percent in December 2024, reflecting the easing of global supply chain disruptions, lower global oil prices and the central bank's restrictive monetary policy stance, the report said.

The IMF further forecast that inflation will remain close to the BOK's 2 percent target in 2025 as the output gap closes.

The country's current account surplus improved significantly in 2024, driven by recovering global semiconductor demand, the report noted.

"It is expected to normalize in 2025 as export growth moderates and import growth picks up in response to strengthening domestic demand," the report concluded.

This file photo, provided by the finance ministry, shows the IMF team, led by mission chief Rahul Anand (3rd from R), speaking during a press briefing in Seoul on Nov. 20, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

khj@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Han-joo · February 7, 2025

5.  China's Xi 'seriously' mulling visit to S. Korea for APEC summit

​Or said another way, Xi is mulling more meddling in South Korean political affairs as well as strategic competition with the US over Korea.

(2nd LD) China's Xi 'seriously' mulling visit to S. Korea for APEC summit | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · February 7, 2025

(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping may visit South Korea later this year to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Seoul's National Assembly Speaker's office said Friday.

During talks with Woo Won-shik in China's northeastern city of Harbin, Xi said he is "seriously considering" attending the APEC gathering to take place in Gyeongju, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, around late October or early November.

"It is customary for a Chinese leader to attend the APEC summit," Xi said.

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (L) speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in China's northeastern city of Harbin on Feb. 7, 2025, in this photo provided by Woo's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Woo and Xi's 42-minute meeting took place as the South Korean National Assembly speaker was visiting Harbin to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Asian Games later in the day.

It marked the first time since 2014 that Xi has met a Korean Assembly speaker.

In the meeting, Xi also said he hopes to maintain "stability" in the Seoul-Beijing relationship, noting that the bilateral relationship has contributed to "peace" and "development" in the region.

"China and South Korea should work together to consolidate the strategic and cooperative partnership amid heightened uncertainties in the region and across the globe," Xi added, calling for deeper trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Woo called for bilateral cooperation in advanced technologies and supply chains as well as progress in negotiations to expand the countries' free trade agreement.

On the ongoing political turmoil in South Korea, Xi said he believes South Koreans have the "wisdom and power" to solve the situation, referring to the martial law fiasco and the push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to Woo's office.

Woo told Xi that South Korea is responding to the situation in accordance with related laws and the Constitution, explaining the country is not unstable.

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (L) speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a hotel in China's northeastern city of Harbin on Feb. 7, 2025, in this photo provided by Woo's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The two also discussed other various topics, including China's ban on Korean culture content as well as a project aimed at excavating the remains of Ahn Jung-geun, a well-known Korean independence fighter during the colonial era.

During Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945, Ahn led Korea's independence movement in China, assassinating Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first prime minister and resident-general of Korea, at Harbin Station.

As for culture, Woo told Xi it is difficult to find Korean content in China, while South Koreans enjoy diverse Chinese content from movies to games.

"It is essential that young adults in the two countries communicate with each other and have an amicable relationship through cultural exchange," Woo said.

Meanwhile, Woo also attended a luncheon hosted by Xi on Friday, along with Thomas Bach, chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and other leaders of Asian nations.

Woo discussed the upcoming APEC summit and cooperation with those countries with the officials.

nyway@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · February 7, 2025

6. Why does it sound so far-fetched to have a Korean president in their 40s?

​When I was in Korea in December after the martial law incident and initiation of the impeachment, the anecdotal evidence I obtained from my multiple discussions is that most people seem to want anyone other than Lee Jae Myung and President Yoon.

They want new blood. But do they want young blood?

Excerpts:

In the US, the minimum age to become president is 35, compared to 40 in South Korea.

...

It was also only in 2022 that Korea passed legislation that lowered the age of eligibility for national and local elections from the previous 25 to 18.

“There are younger leaders in Europe with prime ministers in their 30s and 40s,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University said via phone.

“But younger leaders don’t always translate into good leadership — age might not be a factor that we should consider heavily when electing our president,” he added.

Why does it sound so far-fetched to have a Korean president in their 40s?

asianews.network · by Jung Min-kyung

February 5, 2025

SEOUL – Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative Reform Party, recently vowed to shake up the country’s aging political order, in a speech some viewed as suggesting his bid for president.

The 39-year-old politician, who turns 40 next month, making him legally eligible to run for the presidency here, mentioned liberal US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama as examples of younger leaders who led a country. “We need to end the age of outdated politics,” he stressed in the middle of the crowded Hongdae area, known as a center for youth and nightlife in Seoul.

While Lee sounds hopeful, he faces major hurdles in becoming president, as South Korea may not be yet for a president in his or her 40s, according to one political commentator.

“In most Western countries, people believe the president or the prime minister is the representative of the people. The sentiment in South Korea is different,” said Park Sang-byeong, “As people here believe our leader is ‘imperial,’” according to the commentator by phone Monday.

“It’s also about a lack of respect we give to young leaders as a society and the voters disapprove of a leader younger than them thinking that he or she will have a lack of experience,” he added.

South Korea’s status as an aging society coupled with its low birth rate is likely to work as further hurdles for the rise of younger leaders, according to Park.

South Korea has formally become a “super-aged” society where the share of its population aged 65 or over surpassed 20 percent, as of December last year. On top of it, the voter turnout for those in their 60s and 70s has outpaced that of younger generations, in the latest presidential election.

For the 2022 presidential election, the voter turnout for those in their 60s came to 87.6 percent, ranking No.1 among all age groups, according to data from the National Election Commission.

Voters in their 70s came at No. 2 with 86.2 percent and those in their 50s at 81.4 percent. Those in their 20s came to 71 percent and 30s at 70.7 percent. Those aged 18, an age group that was allowed to vote for the first time in the presidential election that year, came to 71.3 percent. Those over 80 came last with 61.8 percent.

As a result of the election, currently impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was 62 at the time of the inauguration, was elected. Yoon’s predecessors President Moon Jae-in and President Park Geun-hye were each 64 and 60 at the time of their inaugurations, respectively.

“With the overall population declining and the society aging, it’s going to be difficult for younger candidates to become president,” Park said.

Late start?

Democratic US Presidents Kennedy and Obama were leaders elected by the people who left lasting legacies in the history of American politics. They were two of the nine US presidents who entered the White House in their 40s.

In South Korea’s constitutional history, there were only two presidents who took power in their 40s: Park Chung-hee, who was in office from 1962 until his assassination in 1979, and Chun Doo-hwan, who was in power from 1980 to 1988. But both figures seized power through military coups and the elections that supported their rule were undemocratic and marked with irregularities.

The median age at inauguration for Korean presidents is 62.

Overall, the Constitution here requires the president to be older than most other countries.

In the US, the minimum age to become president is 35, compared to 40 in South Korea.

In the UK, where the prime minister performs the same function as the president, there is no set minimum age for becoming prime minister, although the minimum age to be a member of Parliament is 18.

It was also only in 2022 that Korea passed legislation that lowered the age of eligibility for national and local elections from the previous 25 to 18.

“There are younger leaders in Europe with prime ministers in their 30s and 40s,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University said via phone.

“But younger leaders don’t always translate into good leadership — age might not be a factor that we should consider heavily when electing our president,” he added.

asianews.network · by Jung Min-kyung

7. Let's restore democracy in Korea

​Accept responsibility AND expose the opposition and malign influence from China and north Korea.

Denying responsibility and blaming others only undermines the legitimacy of exposing the opposition and malign influence from China and north Korea.

Leaders take responsibility.

Instead of fighting for political life you must fight for the life of democracy and the soul of Korea.

Excerpt:

At the center of this turmoil is President Yoon. He now deflects responsibility, claiming that nothing actually happened and shifting blame onto the Minister of National Defense and military officers. In the courtroom, blatant denials and sophistry to deny his responsibility abound, while outside, his supporters justify conspiracies and irrational rhetoric under a black-and-white worldview of “I am right, and the opposition is the enemy.” It raises concerns that such dangerous movements might continue to undermine the legal process for restoring democracy and rally followers, leading to a broader crisis of defiance against legal authority.

Let's restore democracy in Korea

donga.com

Posted February. 07, 2025 07:48,

Updated February. 07, 2025 07:48

Let's restore democracy in Korea. February. 07, 2025 07:48. .

Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who is currently on trial for alleged charges of heavy involvement in insurrection related to the December 3 martial law incident, referred to the individuals arrested in the violent protests at the Seoul Western District Court as “the 60 patriotic warriors of the Western District Court.” Kim also distributed money he had received while in detention to these individuals. Meanwhile, Kim Yong-won, a standing member of the National Human Rights Commission, posted on Facebook, saying, “If the Constitutional Court dares to impeach the president against the will of the sovereign people, then the people must smash the court to pieces, leaving no trace behind.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt declaration of martial law shook the very foundation of South Korea’s hard-won democracy and the principle of separation of powers. He used the military, which is a state-controlled monopoly on force, to reject unfavorable election results and suppress a legislature dominated by the opposition party. Now, even the judiciary, tasked with judging this constitutional violation, is becoming a target of violent extremism. If such violence is tolerated, and if further incitement to violence is left unchecked, South Korea’s democracy risks becoming a victim of escalating chaos.

At the center of this turmoil is President Yoon. He now deflects responsibility, claiming that nothing actually happened and shifting blame onto the Minister of National Defense and military officers. In the courtroom, blatant denials and sophistry to deny his responsibility abound, while outside, his supporters justify conspiracies and irrational rhetoric under a black-and-white worldview of “I am right, and the opposition is the enemy.” It raises concerns that such dangerous movements might continue to undermine the legal process for restoring democracy and rally followers, leading to a broader crisis of defiance against legal authority.

한국어

donga.com

8. N. Korea executes young woman in public display meant to deter rising crime

​Do public executions bring stability or do they foment resistance and the potential for instability?

N. Korea executes young woman in public display meant to deter rising crime - Daily NK English

The sudden execution immediately following the trial shocked onlookers who had gathered to watch the proceedings

By Seon Hwa - February 7, 2025

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · February 7, 2025

FILE PHOTO: A clip from a video showing North Koreans being called up to face a public criticism in March 2023. (Daily NK)

A young North Korean woman was publicly executed by firing squad in late January in Sinuiju, North Pyongan province, following her conviction for murder, Daily NK has learned.

The execution was reportedly carried out in public as a deterrent amid rising violent crime linked to economic hardship. According to a source in North Pyongan province, the execution took place on Jan. 20 at an empty lot near Chaeha market, following an immediate public trial by city police and court officials.

The condemned woman, identified only by her surname Lee and in her early 20s, was convicted of murdering an elderly couple in their 70s last October. The case had initially gone unsolved, with Daily NK reporting in November that authorities had failed to identify any suspects after a month of investigation. Three months later, Lee was arrested, swiftly tried, and executed.

Prior to the murders, Lee had worked at a bag factory in downtown Sinuiju. During the public trial, authorities revealed she had received multiple warnings for theft before being dismissed by the factory’s party committee in October. Though North Korean workers fired for misconduct are required to accept hardship assignments from their local people’s committee labor section, Lee had repeatedly failed to report to her assigned post.

According to trial testimony, when Lee ran out of money, she approached an elderly couple she knew and asked for shelter. While staying with them, she discovered their savings, murdered them, and fled with the cash. The judge condemned her for killing the elderly couple who had shown her kindness.

The sudden execution immediately following the trial shocked onlookers who had gathered to watch the proceedings. Disturbingly, children under 10 were present in the crowd. “We didn’t know there would be a public execution. A lot of children there were traumatized seeing their first public execution,” the source said.

While public executions in North Korea have decreased in recent years, authorities appear to be returning to harsher measures as economic conditions deteriorate and violent crimes increase. “As people struggle to make a living, more violent crimes are being committed. The authorities are responding with more public trials and firing squad executions, hoping to deter such crimes,” the source explained.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · February 7, 2025

9.  N. Korean leader calls regional public health modernization 'top priority'

​Cosmetic or substantive?

N. Korean leader calls regional public health modernization 'top priority'

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

This photo, published by the Korean Central News Agency, Feb. 7, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a regional hospital in Kangdong County. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a regional hospital, highlighting the wide gap between urban and rural areas and pledging to make the modernization of regional health service a "top priority," state media reported Friday.

Kim attended the ceremony Thursday, which marked the start of construction on Kangdong County Hospital and General Service Center under the "Regional Development 20X10 Policy," the Korean Central News Agency said.

Kangdong County is a rural area located near Pyongyang.

In his speech at the ceremony, Kim emphasized the urgency of improving regional people's cultural living environment to eliminate the "distinctions" between towns and the countryside, saying the ideal goal is to make "the whole country enjoy the same cultural level."

The leader called it a "top priority" to modernize and advance the public health service, pledging to develop it into a soil that "cultivates the might of the country's life and into strong roots for regional rejuvenation."

He also said building public health facilities and multifunctional bases for cultural life is an urgent task that will accelerate "the simultaneous and balanced development of all fields and regions," unveiling a plan to build 20 hospitals across cities and counties each year, starting in 2026.

Kim added that the general service center, which will include movie, sports and cultural facilities, will enlighten the people and nurture them into cultural pioneers and creators.

North Korea has been pushing for the Regional Development 20X10 Policy since last year, aiming to build 20 modern factories in cities and towns annually for a 10-year period to improve the material and cultural lives of the people. In August, Kim ordered an expansion of the policy to other areas, including hospitals and science and technology distribution centers.

Kim In-ae, deputy spokesperson at South Korea's unification ministry, explained that while North Korea focused on factories for groceries, consumer goods and other essentials last year, it began this year with the construction of facilities related to public health care and other amenities.

In his speech, Kim "acknowledged difficulties in hospital construction, citing (challenges related to) medical equipment, tools, technology, materials and finances," she said in response to skepticism about the North Korean leader's construction ambitions in the sanctions-laden country.

In March 2020, North Korea reported that Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a general hospital in Pyongyang and ordered its completion by October that year, but no reports about its completion have been published. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

10. Foreign minister meets Chinese ambassador, eyes stronger cooperation

Foreign minister meets Chinese ambassador, eyes stronger cooperation

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

By Kim Hyun-bin

Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul, Cho highlighted the steady development of Korea-China relations through positive exchanges over the years. He called for continued close cooperation between the two countries to achieve more practical and fruitful outcomes this year.

“We have seen steady growth in bilateral ties through positive engagements,” Cho said. “I hope that both nations can achieve more tangible and meaningful results through even closer cooperation.”

Cho also expressed expectations that the Chinese Embassy in Korea, under Dai’s leadership, will play a vital role bridging the two countries in various fields.

One key topic discussed was the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled to be held in Gyeongju later this year. Cho emphasized the importance of close communication to ensure successful preparations for the summit.

Dai pledged full cooperation in preparing for the APEC summit and vowed to work toward further advancing bilateral relations across various sectors.

“China is committed to fostering stronger ties with Korea and ensuring the success of important regional events like the APEC summit,” Dai said.

Amid growing geopolitical complexities surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Cho underscored the need for continued strategic communication between Seoul and Beijing to safeguard peace and stability.

“Given the increasingly complex situation on the Korean Peninsula, it is essential for Korea and China to maintain strategic communication to uphold peace and stability,” Cho said, urging China to play a constructive role in resolving regional issues.

Dai agreed, highlighting the shared interest of both countries in maintaining peace on the peninsula. He reaffirmed China’s commitment to constructive engagement.

“China will continue to play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Dai said.

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

11. Arrested president blames 'left-wing cartel' amid impeachment push

​I am not sure cartel is the right word but there is certainly a cabal that is under the malign influence of China and north Korea.

But you must take full responsibility for taking what you believe are necessary actions to protect democracy and Korea. Own up to what you have done and expose the cabal.

Arrested president blames 'left-wing cartel' amid impeachment push

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

Ruling party torn over distancing itself from embattled leader

By Lee Hyo-jin

Detained President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday accused his political opponents of forming what he described as a "left-wing cartel" to push for his removal, claiming that the ongoing impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court was being distorted for this purpose.

His remarks, delivered by ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers who visited him at the Seoul Detention Center, came a day after he denounced the legal proceedings as an "impeachment maneuver" built on false narratives surrounding his short-lived martial law imposition late last year.

While the visit reflects the loyalty and support of many PPP lawmakers for the embattled leader, Yoon's steadfast stance — leaving many Koreans bewildered — adds complexity for the ruling party. The party must also prepare for the potential removal of Yoon from office, which could lead to a snap election.

"(The president said) the country is facing difficult times, and the Democratic Party of Korea and left-wing forces have formed a powerful cartel, relentlessly fighting against us," Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun told reporters after meeting the president at the detention facility in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. Fellow PPP lawmaker Kim Min-jeon joined the visit.

The president also said he "realized the extent of the distortions after appearing at the Constitutional Court," and thus, he believes attending the hearings to speak on his own behalf was the right decision.

When asked what the president meant by "distortions," the lawmaker suggested Yoon was referring to the testimonies of key witnesses, including Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, former commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, and Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Yoon's impeachment trial over his botched martial law imposition continues to unfold at the Constitutional Court. Since Jan. 14, the court has held six hearings, with Yoon personally attending five.

Rep. Kim Min-jeon, left, and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party speak to reporters after their meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

During the proceedings, key military and intelligence figures involved in the martial law have testified, with some making statements against the president.

At Thursday’s hearing, Kwak testified that Yoon had directly ordered him to "drag out the lawmakers inside the National Assembly chamber" through a secret phone call during martial law. If true, this suggests Yoon sought to prevent lawmakers from gathering to vote on lifting the emergency military rule.

During a hearing on Tuesday, the former NIS deputy director said that the president called him minutes after declaring martial law and instructed him to "clean them all up," referring to a list of key political figures.

Yoon refuted both allegations.

Regarding Kwak’s statement, he said his instruction to "pull out military personnel" had been misinterpreted, denying that he gave orders to drag out lawmakers. However, Kwak testified that no military personnel were inside the Assembly chamber when he received Yoon’s order.

As for Hong’s testimony, the president insisted that his phone call with the former intelligence official was unrelated to the night’s events and instead was referring to separate anti-communist investigations.

Yoon alleged that these "false accusations" were part of a broader political maneuver to frame the martial law as an insurrection and ultimately remove him from office.

The Constitutional Court is expected to issue a ruling in the coming months. If it upholds his impeachment, the nation will hold a presidential election within 60 days.

President Yoon Suk Yeol's supporters hold a rally near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Tuesday, calling for Yoon's release from detention. Yonhap

While opposition parties are gearing up for the election, the PPP has refrained from openly discussing the topic because this may be seen as a betrayal of the embattled president whose core supporters have helped boost the party’s approval ratings.

"An early presidential election is ultimately based on the assumption that the Constitutional Court will uphold the impeachment. But since the court has yet to make a decision, it would be inappropriate to assume an outcome and start preparing accordingly," PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se said in an interview with SBS Radio on Friday.

Kwon also defended his visit to Yoon in detention on Monday, saying, "It is natural for the ruling party leader to visit a sitting president. I wanted to hear his thoughts and check on his well-being."

Political commentator Park Sang-byeong noted that these visits by PPP members to Yoon are aimed at courting the president’s loyal supporters and allowing the physically detained leader to continue appealing to conservative voters.

“It’s unlikely that PPP lawmakers will distance themselves from Yoon in the short term. Their political interests are focused on strengthening their influence within the party. With the president’s hardcore supporters now serving as the party’s main base, detaching from Yoon would risk losing those loyal supporters,” Park said.

However, he cautioned that the party’s continued alignment with Yoon could backfire if the court upholds the impeachment.

“A majority of centrists disapprove of the president and may shift further left if Yoon is formally impeached. Abandoning this group will ultimately lower the conservative party’s chances of winning the presidential election,” the commentator said.

Nevertheless, the jailed president expressed gratitude to the public for their support, especially from younger generations, and vowed to uphold his dignity as head of state, according to the lawmakers who visited him at the detention center.

The Korea Times · February 7, 2025

12. Korea and Thailand's top generals discuss military cooperation in Seoul meeting

​Little attention is paid to these middle power activities.

We must keep in mind that Korea is a global pivotal state that chooses to be a peaceful nuclear power, that is a partner in the arsenal of democracy, and supports the rules based international order.

Not mentioned in this article is that Thailand maintains a military presence in Korea in the United Nations Command (even if only symbolic):

The "Korea UN Command Honor Guard" members are military personnel from various nations serving under the United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea, primarily composed of soldiers from the United States, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Thursday

February 6, 2025

 dictionary + A - A 

Korea and Thailand's top generals discuss military cooperation in Seoul meeting

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-02-06/national/defense/Korea-and-Thailands-top-generals-discuss-military-cooperation-in-Seoul-meeting/2236592

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 14:56

• 
  
• LIM JEONG-WON
• lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo, right, and his Thai counterpart, Gen. Songwit Noonpackdee, attend a welcoming ceremony for the Thai general at the JCS headquarters in central Seoul on Feb. 6. [JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF]

The top generals of Korea and Thailand met in Seoul on Thursday to discuss ways to strengthen military cooperation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The talks between JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and his Thai counterpart, Gen. Songwit Noonpackdee, focused on cooperation on drones and cyberspace, as well as combined drills, according to the JCS.

They also shared the view on the importance of a joint response to regional security, the JCS said, noting their talks marked the first meeting between the two sides in about nine years.

Korea has made efforts to strengthen military cooperation with Thailand through its regular participation in the annual Cobra Gold exercise in the Southeast Asian country.

Last week, some 370 Korean troops departed for Thailand aboard a warship to join the multinational exercise set to begin later this month. Korea has been a full participant in the exercise since 2010.

Yonhap 

13. Unification Ministry suspends head of defector support foundation over sexual harassment allegations

Friday

February 7, 2025

 dictionary + A - A 

Unification Ministry suspends head of defector support foundation over sexual harassment allegations

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-02-07/national/northKorea/Unification-Ministry-suspends-head-of-defector-support-foundation-over-sexual-harassment-allegations/2237543

Published: 07 Feb. 2025, 17:27

Cho Min-ho, president of the Korea Hana Foundation [YONHAP]

The Unification Ministry on Friday suspended the head of the Korea Hana Foundation, a public institution supporting North Korean defectors, from duties over allegations he sexually harassed an employee.

The action came after the foundation's board of directors last month recommended dismissing President Cho Min-ho over allegations that he made sexually discriminatory and harassing remarks to an employee. The dismissal process is currently underway.

Earlier in the day, the Unification Ministry, which oversees the foundation, notified its decision to suspend Cho from duties until a disciplinary action against him is finalized, foundation officials said.

During this period, Lee Joo-tae, the foundation's secretary general, will serve as acting president.

Yonhap

14. Senator Bill Hagerty: “US-Korea-Japan Economic Relations, Trilateral Cooperation Key”

Important reporting from VOA that is not always seen in mainstream US media. South Korean media will pick up on this. It is important that there is strong bipartisan congressional support for trilateral cooperation. Hopefully the Administration will recognize the value and embrace this.

This is a foundational mission of VOA: to explain US policy views to the outside world.

This is a Google translation of a VOA report. 

Senator Bill Hagerty: “US-Korea-Japan Economic Relations, Trilateral Cooperation Key”

2025.2.7

Lee Jo-eun

https://www.voakorea.com/a/7965736.html

Senator Bill Hagerty, a close associate of President Donald Trump, emphasized that the economic relationship between the US, South Korea, and Japan can serve as a foundation for continuing cooperation among the three countries. Regarding the issue of defense cost sharing, he said that President Trump will look at all relationships with strong allies such as South Korea and Japan. Reporter Lee Jo-eun reports.

Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, who served as ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration, said on the 6th regarding trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, “I believe that our economic relationship can become the fundamental core of this important strategic relationship.”

[Recording: Rep. Hagerty] “I think that our economic relationship can absolutely be the fundamental core of a strategic relationship that’s critical right now. And as I talked to business leaders in Seoul, I talked to business leaders in Japan, I talked to business leaders here in America. They want to see our nations working more closely together… “Our strategic interests are aligned.”

Rep. Hagerty made this response to a question about how the U.S. and Japan should deal with Korea’s current complex political situation during a discussion on U.S.-Japan relations hosted by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank, and said that business leaders from the three countries also want closer cooperation among the three countries.

“Our strategic interests are aligned,” he stressed, citing the need for joint research and development (R&D), particularly in terms of advanced technologies and supply chain protection.

“Political Issues Between Korea and Japan: The Biggest Obstacle to US-Korea-Japan Cooperation”

He also pointed out that the biggest obstacle to US-ROK-Japan cooperation is political issues between Korea and Japan.

[Recording: Rep. Hagerty] “My frustration with the trilateral relationship frankly, is more directly related to the frustration between at the political problems between Japan and South Korea. I'll just be very blunt about it. Historical issues come up from time to time. Every time they do, you can count on a political leader scoring points and taking a bump in the polls in their home country. And it just happens. It's a political fact of life. But as I talked to business leaders, they want to get past this. They see the need to work together.”

“Frankly, my frustration with trilateral relations is more directly tied to the political issues between South Korea and Japan,” Hagerty said, adding that whenever historical issues arise, he sees political leaders trying to boost their approval ratings and score points at home.

While continuing to say that this is a “political reality,” business leaders emphasized that the two countries recognize the need to overcome this political conflict and cooperate.

“I think we need to continue to look for opportunities for trilateral economic cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, and expand and strengthen that,” Rep. Hagerty said. “As economic ties deepen and become stronger over time, political conflicts will relatively diminish.”

[Recording: Representative Haggerty] “But I think we continue to find economic opportunities to work together Japan, South Korea, the United States, and broaden and deepen the economic relationship so that over time, the economic relationship grows deeper and stronger and relatively speaking, the political differences become smaller and smaller and smaller… I do think that that can be sort of the ballast and the stabilizing foundation of a relationship that will endure the ups and downs of the politics… “We have the same strategic interest and we have the same strategic concerns.”

He added, “I believe this can be a kind of counterweight that can withstand political ups and downs and a basis for stabilizing relations,” and repeatedly emphasized, “We share the same strategic interests and concerns.”

Rep. Hagerty's remarks came amid bipartisan support for strengthening trilateral cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan in Congress.

Mark Warner, Democratic Senator

Senate Intelligence Committee ranking Democrat Mark Warner also recently told VOA, “We know there have been historical tensions between Japan and Korea for centuries,” but “We believe it is in the best interest of the region for the United States, Korea and Japan to continue to cooperate.”

“Trump will look at all aspects of relations with Korea”

In the talk that day, Rep. Hagerty said that with the United States running a deficit budget and a huge national debt, the burden on future generations will increase as defense spending increases, and it will not be easy to convince American taxpayers to spend more on defense.

He added, “I think President Trump will look at all aspects of our relationships, especially with our strong allies like Japan and South Korea,” and stressed that while increasing defense spending is one way, allies should also look for ways to strengthen cooperation by leveraging all capabilities, including joint training, research and development, and production.

[Recording: Representative Haggerty] “I think President Trump is going to look at every relationship with our allies and particularly strong allies like Japan, like South Korea, others. Let's find ways to be stronger together. And it's not just the sheer amount of expenditures, though that's one measure, but it's also finding ways to do joint exercises. It’s finding ways to do joint R&D, finding ways to do joint production, co-production, all of these things that leverage our capabilities.”

While there is a bipartisan consensus in Congress on the need to increase defense spending by allies, there is a strong perception among Democrats that alliances are transactional relationships and that increased spending should not be pressured.

In the talk that day, Rep. Hagerty pointed out that the U.S. has an “asymmetrical and non-reciprocal relationship” with its trading partners regarding President Trump’s remarks on imposing tariffs on allies.

He continued, “These countries are now fully developed countries, so we had to put a certain limit on their GDP,” adding, “They do not need or deserve our subsidies.”

[Recording: Rep. Hagerty] “We have an uneven set of relationships with our trading partners. We have non reciprocal relationships with our trading partners… We should have put a GDP per capita limit on it because these nations now are fully developed nations. They don't deserve nor need our subsidization… President Trump would be more than eager to work with our counterparts… So we’re going to have to sit down and figure out how to get to reciprocal terms on many aspects of trade.”

He added that “President Trump will work more actively with our trading partners,” and that the U.S. should create more favorable terms for trade in various aspects with its trading partners.

Republicans' views on imposing tariffs on allies contrast with Democrats'.

Rep. Ami Bera, D-N.Y., speaks to VOA in her office on Jan. 15, 2025.

Rep. Ami Bera, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee, recently told VOA regarding President Trump’s tariff remarks on allies including South Korea, “We should be looking for ways to increase trade and economic exchanges between our two countries,” adding that Trump “wants to target some of our enemies, not our allies.”

This is Lee Jo-eun from VOA News.

​15. What Will South Korea’s Post-Yoon Foreign Policy Look Like?

​We have weathered many different administrations in South korea. But we do need to be concerned always, regardless of who is elected. The alliance requires sustained work to keep it on the right track to support US and South Korean national security and national prosperity. Will pragmatism prevail on both sides?

Conclusion:

From my meetings in Seoul during early 2025, I gleaned that South Korean foreign policy leaders will be rethinking some of the Yoon administration’s excesses, returning to moderation and balance. There is, of course, significant concern that the new U.S. president will seek to break the South Korea-U.S. alliance, but such worries are largely overstated. In fact, more pragmatism and less ideology in both Seoul and Washington will benefit stability on the Korean Peninsula, lower regional tensions, and promote global security worldwide.

What Will South Korea’s Post-Yoon Foreign Policy Look Like?

thediplomat.com

And should the United States be worried?

By Lyle Goldstein

February 06, 2025

From left: South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, then-U.S. President Joe Biden, and then-U.S. First Lady Jill Biden wave during the Official State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, April 26, 2023.

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Amid the world’s seemingly endless political turmoil, the recently chaotic situation in Seoul deserves special notice. As I witnessed first-hand in early January, there is much to celebrate in the brave citizens and parliamentarians who stridently refused – putting their own lives on the line – to turn the clock back in South Korean history and acquiesce in the face of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s brazen announcement of martial law on December 3. Yoon is now behind bars, having been indicted on insurrection charges, while the Constitutional Court considers the impeachment motion against him.

Yoon had recklessly insisted martial law was necessary to stave off both internal and external threats to the country. Many of Washington’s Northeast Asia experts are now in a tizzy, since Yoon had emerged in recent years as the “poster boy” for the United States’ newly revitalized system of alliances around the world. As an analysis in the Washington Post put it, “Biden bet heavily on Yoon,” promoting the partnership in many ways – not least by having South Korea host a high profile third Summit for Democracy in March 2024, one of the previous administration’s signature diplomatic initiatives.

To put it mildly, Washington now has some significant egg on its face. As one Seoul political expert put it just before the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president: “We just really haven’t gotten much pushback from the Biden administration for the fact that the ally who they courted and who courted them has gone totally off the reservation.”

Yoon’s prominence in the West among the leaders of the “free world” emerged out of a set of particularly unique circumstances. It was not simply that the former prosecutor with little foreign policy experience could effectively croon “American Pie” before a swooning American audience. In March 2022, he was elected by a slim margin in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The South Korean population apparently felt more inclined to trust conservatives in this evidently more dangerous world, wherein the country seemed to be threatened now by not only North Korea, but also a rising China and a now a demonstratively aggressive Russia as well.

With the passing of “engagement,” the mood had darkened considerably in Seoul, mirroring a new, bellicose swagger evident around the world among the leading democracies. Confrontation with increasing arms races, demonstrations of strength, and allied summitry were the order of the day.

Yoon leaned into this new foreign policy environment. He used summit pageantry to try raise his stock at home. But joining the “new Cold War” meant more than just photo-ops with world leaders. Most dramatically, Yoon broke with all previous South Korean leaders by choosing to put historical bad feeling aside and to dramatically increase the salience of Seoul’s relations with Tokyo. For Washington strategists, these developments were a dream come true. The project of reconciling Japan and South Korea had long been a major U.S. goal with the hope of consolidating alliance efforts intended to counter China’s rise.

Just as dramatically, Yoon took up a role for South Korea in European security as well. For the first time, the South Korean president traveled across the world to attend the NATO summit in Spain in June 2022. Emphasizing Seoul’s new close relationship with the North Atlantic alliance, Yoon attended both subsequent NATO summits in 2023 and 2024, too. Again, for Washington, this seemed to mark a great achievement. Not only had NATO been expanded to include Finland and Sweden, but potent technological and military allies like South Korea and Japan were now affiliating closer and closer with what could increasingly be called a “global alliance.” Moreover, the newly dynamic alliance now increasingly took China as a leading concern, in parallel with the Russian threat.

South Korea’s emergent role in the Russia-Ukraine War went well beyond summitry and rhetoric, moreover. Seoul has become a major exporter of weapons to countries like Poland, allowing such countries, in turn, to deliver large quantities of their older stock of weaponry to Ukraine for use in the ongoing war. While most South Koreans evidently do not want their country to directly arm Ukraine, rumors had long circulated about such transfers, for example of crucial artillery munitions. Unquestionably, South Korea has made quite a financial windfall in exports from the tragic Russia-Ukraine War, but hopefully that conflict is nearing its long-awaited denouement.

Given what has transpired in the last year, however, it is reasonable to ask whether Yoon’s enthusiastic embrace of various Biden administration initiatives, such as the fulsome NATO embrace, were prudent and wise.

North Korea has been providing weapons in large quantities to Russia, possibly in exchange for sensitive technology related to satellites and missiles. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang, where the two countries inked a new mutual defense treaty. More recently, Pyongyang dispatched 11,000 “volunteers” to fight side by side with Russia in the Kursk area of the front. Previous governments in Seoul had built up pragmatic relations with the Kremlin. Such ties, which also had a robust economic component, had been successful in forestalling the North Korea-Russia relationship that is now in full bloom.

In addition, Yoon’s dramatic warming of security ties with Tokyo simultaneously alienated Beijing, with the predictable result of increasing tensions in Northeast Asia. No wonder China has not moved to veto the newly robust rapprochement between Russia and North Korea. Beijing has the necessary leverage, but has clearly decided to look the other way.

From my meetings in Seoul during early 2025, I gleaned that South Korean foreign policy leaders will be rethinking some of the Yoon administration’s excesses, returning to moderation and balance. There is, of course, significant concern that the new U.S. president will seek to break the South Korea-U.S. alliance, but such worries are largely overstated. In fact, more pragmatism and less ideology in both Seoul and Washington will benefit stability on the Korean Peninsula, lower regional tensions, and promote global security worldwide.

Authors

Guest Author

Lyle Goldstein

Lyle Goldstein is the director of the Asia Engagement Program at Defense Priorities.

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thediplomat.com

16. Editorial: Prosecutors must end excessive 'special investigations'

​Are excessive special investigations harmful to democracy or do they help it?

Of course the answer is: It depends.

Editorial: Prosecutors must end excessive 'special investigations'

https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2025/02/07/DVKY7FTWBZCYPP4YCJQVS44GXQ/

By The Chosunilbo

Published 2025.02.07. 09:14

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun / Newsis

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun, a former prosecutor who had previously played a role in indicting Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on charges of stock manipulation and accounting fraud related to the controversial merger between two Samsung affiliates, apologized for the indictment. “I apologize to the public and junior legal professionals,” he said on Feb. 6. His remarks came after Chairman Lee was acquitted of all 19 charges in both the first trial and the appeal.

“I drafted the prosecution’s logic and the evidence,” Gov. Lee admitted, acknowledging that he had not done enough to persuade the court. However, he did not apologize to Chairman Lee or Samsung, which endured a seven-year legal battle.

Chairman Lee’s acquittal raises questions about the prosecution’s practice of conducting “special investigations.” In their effort to indict Lee, prosecutors summoned over 110 executives and employees a total of 430 times and carried out more than 50 raids. It would be difficult to find another case where a business leader and a company were subjected to such extensive scrutiny. This was not a standard investigation but a full-scale extermination campaign aimed at dismantling an individual and his corporation. From the perspective of Samsung and Lee, the term “extermination” is not an overstatement.

In 2020, Samsung exercised its right to request a prosecutorial investigation review committee, a panel of outside experts tasked with assessing the legitimacy of the prosecution’s investigation. Prosecutors established the review system as a safeguard against excessive investigations. However, prosecutors retaliated by requesting an arrest warrant for Lee. The court dismissed the warrant, and the review committee advised that Lee should not be indicted and that the investigation should be dropped. Nevertheless, prosecutors pushed forward with their case, filing 19 charges against Lee. This was not a standard investigation but a targeted manhunt.

Criminal investigations should be based on concrete allegations and supporting evidence. Yet in Korea, the prosecution often launches “special investigations” that work in reverse. Prosecutors first identify a target and then scour for charges. They investigate one allegation, and if that fails, they move on to another. A common tactic in this process is to expose personal weaknesses and use them as leverage against the suspect. Prosecutors who conduct these coercive, ethically dubious investigations call themselves “specialists” and operate with an air of superiority.

In 2019, the prosecution’s Special Investigations Division was renamed the Anti-Corruption Division for the first time in 46 years, but the controversial practice of “special investigations” persists. What is the point of separating general and “special” investigations? The prosecution must end its heavy-handed investigative tactics.

​17. What is the world thinking about Korea’s political crisis?

​Excerpts:

What countries like Japan, Australia, Vietnam and Britain all have in common is a recognition that Asian geopolitics are not just determined by the bipolar U.S.-China competition. They recognize that the region is also multipolar and that working with like-minded states increases each of their influence to shore-up the U.S. led system and, when necessary, moderate U.S. behavior. Japan has stood out as a key partner in multipolar Asia since Shinzo Abe renewed a more active diplomatic stance for his country a decade ago. But Japan alone was not enough. Korean governments hewed to the idea that Asia’s future was being determined in the bipolar dynamics of U.S.-China relations far longer than Australia, Britain or others — and there was great excitement when Yoon embraced multipolarity and the Indo-Pacific as foundational concepts for his foreign policy. 

The question now for many governments is whether President Yoon has blown up this new strategy in addition to his own government.  

This is also the question that hopeful officials in Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang are likely asking themselves. A neutered and passive Korea would suit their strategies perfectly. 

Nobody in politics in Seoul should get a pass on this question. While media and National Assembly debate will overwhelmingly be about domestic politics, the question should be asked to emerging leaders on both sides of the aisle: “What will you do to keep Korea’s global influence strong as we come out of this political crisis?”

Friday

February 7, 2025

 dictionary + A - A 

What is the world thinking about Korea’s political crisis?

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-02-07/opinion/columns/What-is-the-world-thinking-about-Koreas-political-crisis/2235562

Published: 07 Feb. 2025, 00:00

Michael Green 

The author is CEO of the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). 

The drama around President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law gambit and subsequent impeachment and indictment continues to be one of the major international news stories around the world. For many abroad the chaos in Korea’s domestic politics does not comport with their positive image of Korean culture and technology. Despite the constant negative political news out of Seoul, the international name recognition of BTS, Samsung or Nobel Prize Laureate Han Kang is probably still higher than that of any politician — a good thing for Korea’s international brand right now.  

However, in key foreign ministries and intelligence agencies overseas, there is undoubtedly an acute focus on how developments in Seoul will impact their own diplomatic strategies in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific. While I am of course not privy to the innermost discussions about the Korean political crisis in capitals around the world, I can guess from multiple discussions what is at stake for them. 

For Washington the stakes should be obvious. There is broad bipartisan U.S. support for building on the Camp David summit President Biden hosted with President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in August 2024. Reconciliation between Tokyo and Seoul was probably the Biden administration’s highest priority in East Asia. Success would enhance deterrence against North Korea; limit Chinese coercive pressure on Asia by linking bilateral alliances into a denser “lattice work”; and strengthen the argument that Asia’s future should be set by democratic norms and not historic grievances against Japan and other imperial powers. That consensus is not complete in Washington, however, because President Donald Trump has demonstrated no personal conviction around the strategy for Asia that most of his senior officials and fellow Republicans in Congress support. Advocates of a stronger U.S.-Korea alliance in Washington will be worried that distraction from Yoon’s pro-alliance agenda — or worse, a reversal — might tempt Trump to treat Korea the way he has close allies like Canada recently.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is barely holding on to power with his minority government and has little bandwidth to make major diplomatic moves with Seoul. But behind the scenes in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party his main nemesis is Takaichi Sanae, who is ready to use the nationalist card against Korea to undermine Ishiba’s position if anti-Japanese politics emerge in Seoul. In a recent survey of Japanese security experts I conducted, over 80 percent said that continuing to build security and diplomatic cooperation with Korea is of high importance, but many worry that politics in Seoul and Tokyo could get in the way.

Canberra will be worried about developments in Seoul as well. Prime Minister Scott Morison upgraded Australia-Korea relations in 2021 to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has made strengthening trilateral Australia-Korea-Japan relations a priority and the Albanese government could use Korean diplomatic, development and capacity-building help to shore up the Pacific Islands and parts of Southeast Asia against China’s growing military, economic and political expansion. Bilateral defense and commercial ties are growing, marked by Hanwha’s delivery of self-propelled artillery to Australia’s army this year but Yoon’s embrace of an Indo-Pacific strategy aligned well with Australia’s approach particularly well and the question is whether the diplomatic leg of the relationship is now in jeopardy. 

In London, the Foreign Office Asia Hands will likely be deflated by political developments in Seoul. After Brexit and Britain’s search for a global role independent of Europe, Korea stood out as a promising anchor in Asia. The 2023 Downing Street Accord laid out an ambitious agenda for UK-Korea relations, including joint action to enforce UN factions, cooperation on hosting the AI Safety Summit, and negotiating an FTA. London and other European capitals will also be watching to ensure that Korea’s strong stand on Ukraine and participation in the IP-4 summitry with NATO will continue. 

Some key Southeast Asian friends of Korea are no doubt watching anxiously as well. Vietnam upgraded relations with Korea to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, putting behind the painful experience of the Vietnam War to celebrate the 30th anniversary of bilateral normalization. Korea is the top investor in Vietnam and the country’s fourth largest trading partner, enjoying high levels of trust across Southeast Asia according to annual surveys by the Singapore-based Institute for Southeast Asian Studies. What Vietnam or other states in Southeast Asia want from Korea is primarily commercial, but strategically-minded Vietnamese officials will notice if Seoul’s diplomatic stance on the Indo-Pacific shrinks back to what it was before Yoon came to power, as will officials in Singapore or Indonesia. 

What countries like Japan, Australia, Vietnam and Britain all have in common is a recognition that Asian geopolitics are not just determined by the bipolar U.S.-China competition. They recognize that the region is also multipolar and that working with like-minded states increases each of their influence to shore-up the U.S. led system and, when necessary, moderate U.S. behavior. Japan has stood out as a key partner in multipolar Asia since Shinzo Abe renewed a more active diplomatic stance for his country a decade ago. But Japan alone was not enough. Korean governments hewed to the idea that Asia’s future was being determined in the bipolar dynamics of U.S.-China relations far longer than Australia, Britain or others — and there was great excitement when Yoon embraced multipolarity and the Indo-Pacific as foundational concepts for his foreign policy. 

The question now for many governments is whether President Yoon has blown up this new strategy in addition to his own government.  

This is also the question that hopeful officials in Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang are likely asking themselves. A neutered and passive Korea would suit their strategies perfectly. 

Nobody in politics in Seoul should get a pass on this question. While media and National Assembly debate will overwhelmingly be about domestic politics, the question should be asked to emerging leaders on both sides of the aisle: “What will you do to keep Korea’s global influence strong as we come out of this political crisis?”

18. Beyond the Escape: North Korean refugee chooses her own path

Beyond the Escape: North Korean refugee chooses her own path

The Korea Times · February 1, 2025

Park Eun-mi, second from left, celebrates her birthday with Freedom Speakers International (FSI) staffers in 2018. Courtesy of FSI

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

Before she became a public speaker, author, influencer, political commentator, podcast co-host with me and Ivy League graduate, I received an unforgettable phone call from North Korean refugee Park Yeon-mi in late 2013 or early 2014. It was the first and only time in 13 years of knowing her that I have heard her yell.

Her voice rang out with an emotional mix of joy and disbelief: “THEY FOUND MY SISTER!” As if I had not heard her the first time, she repeated it, just as loudly. After more than six years of separation and uncertainty if Eun-mi was even alive, Yeon-mi had been informed by South Korean government officials that her older sister had safely escaped to South Korea.

I have known Eun-mi for 11 years but knew about her before meeting her. Yeon-mi had even gone on a South Korean TV show talking about her sister asking people for help to find her. When I met Eun-mi, it was like meeting Bigfoot or another mythical legend. I had heard about her but had no idea I would ever meet her.

Eun-mi joined Freedom Speakers International (FSI) in May 2014 before we were even an official organization. At that time, she had no desire to follow in her younger sister’s footsteps as a public speaker and later as an author. Instead, her heart was set on becoming a teacher.

At the time, Eun-mi was at the ABC level of English so she needed to improve that first. It would have been easy for Eun-mi to ride on Yeon-mi’s coattails, leveraging her sister’s fame for her own opportunities. Instead, she focused on her dream of teaching, acquiring new skills, and building a new life in South Korea. In early 2020, both Park sisters graduated from college, Yeon-mi in the USA and Eun-mi in South Korea.

Jan. 16 is the birthday of Eun-mi and FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo, and I met her for dinner to celebrate.

Over the years, Eun-mi’s story has been intertwined with FSI’s journey. Some moments stand out vividly.

In one of our early tutoring sessions, Eun-mi surprised me by requesting to learn “Airport English.” When I finally figured out what she meant, we role-played scenarios like lost luggage and navigating security. It was a delightful and practical lesson that reflected her enthusiasm and determination to learn. She wasn’t just curious. She was going to go to the U.S. again to see Yeon-mi. She had been confused about many things about navigating her way through the airport and understanding directions from airplane staff. It had been only the second flight of her life – her first was to freedom in South Korea. It was a learning lesson for me about the importance of tutors making study sessions relevant to the lives of North Korean refugees studying with us.

Eun-mi has celebrated her birthday with us several times, including bringing a cake to our office in 2018. It was a touching moment because she wanted to share her birthday with us. Her gesture of gratitude and joy reminded us of the deep bonds we’ve built over the years.

We have had other touching and hilarious moments over the years. For example, she complains that I am too tall and that makes her look short in photos. So she began stepping on my toes while standing on her tippy-toes in the effort to make herself look taller.

Park Eun-mi giving a speech at the 17th FSI “I am from North Korea” English Speech in Seoul in February 2023 / Courtesy of FSI

In 2021, after graduating from college and getting hired as a teacher, she came to us and said she was ready to become a public speaker. In 2023, on her third try, Eun-mi won the Grand Prize at FSI’s 17th North Korean Refugee English Speech Contest. This victory was not handed to her because of her connections but was earned through preparation, practice, and perseverance. She sought feedback from me and asked me to be her mentor for the speech contest, she embraced critiques, and honed her craft to deliver an award-winning speech.

Today, Eun-mi is a college graduate and an elementary school teacher. Her success represents the culmination of years of hard work and the fulfillment of her goal. Watching her achieve this milestone has been one of the most rewarding experiences for all of us at FSI. Eun-mi’s gratitude often humbles me — she’s shared countless times how much FSI has meant to her and her family. As we celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago, she reflected on the lessons she’s learned from us over the years. Hearing her speak so warmly about our impact reminded me why we do what we do.

She also reminded me of things I had said to her in mentoring sessions long ago, when we worked together on her YouTube channel recently, and worked on an early draft of her memoir. Some I didn’t remember, but they sounded like things I would say. Her ability to internalize and apply those lessons speaks to her dedication and self-awareness.

Eun-mi’s story is a reminder that every North Korean refugee’s journey is unique and not all are ready from the start to open up about their experiences. Of the about 30 memoirs published by North Korean refugees in English that I am aware of, it took them on average about 11 years to publish books. That’s despite people around them encouraging them.

Eun-mi’s choice to focus on teaching instead of public advocacy underscores the diversity of paths that North Korean refugees can take once they are given the freedom to choose. After she settled down, she began considering other options, and one of those has been public speaking.

Her journey from a new arrival in South Korea to a confident and accomplished teacher and public speaker exemplifies the transformative power of education and mentorship. Stories like hers are why FSI exists—to empower individuals to achieve their dreams and contribute meaningfully to society.

We first met Eunmi in May 2014 after hearing about her from her sister Yeon-mi. We used to meet very often before Yeon-mi went viral with a speech in late 2014 and moved to the USA. We were finally all together again in June 2024 when Yeon-mi, Eun-mi and their mother all spoke at an FSI event.

Park Eun-mi, seated on the left, Park Yeon-mi, seated on the right, with their mom, seated at the center, at an FSI event moderated by Casey Lartigue in Seoul, June 2024 / Courtesy of FSI

As we celebrated Eun-mi’s birthday last week, we also looked ahead to the future. Over dinner, slices of cake and champagne, we talked about the projects we’re working on and the goals we hope to achieve together. We parted, all feeling thankful to know one another.

Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is the chairman and co-founder of Freedom Speakers International with Lee Eun-koo, and co-author with Han Song-mi of her memoir "Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughter’s Search for Her Mother and Herself.”

The Korea Times · February 1, 2025

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com