South Korea simmering, next step boil?

Submitted by soryang on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 10:36am

In Busan, South Korea earlier today:

Demonstrators calling for Yoon government to step down and for Kim Gon-hee, first lady, to be prosecuted. Allegations that Yoon/Kim Gon-hee interfered in Corporal Choi (JAG type) investigation into Choi's cause of death by drowning; interfered in PPP polling before presidential general election to select presidential nominee; interfered in PPP party nominations in last general election; plus abuse of prosecutorial powers as personal domain of Yoon and Kim, all amount to general abuse of power roiling a public suffering from a bad economy, rising housing prices, inflation, and debt.

Demonstrations against Yoon in Seoul today-

This is Gwanghwamun the main plaza in the center of Seoul (near the old seat of government during the Lee Dynasty and Japanese colonial administration). The US embassy is nearby. This is a huge crowd, estimated by organizers at 100,000. Police sources said 9,000. There was also a demonstration earlier organized by the Democratic Party and other civic groups that extended from Namdaemun to the City Hall plaza.

Crowd right in front of the gate at Gwanghwamun:

… Citizens light candles in Gwanghwamun areaOn the 23rd, the 4th outdoor rally hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to “denounce Kim Gun-hee and Yoon Seok-yeol’s state affairs corruption and call for a special investigation” and the 2nd citizen’s march to “promote a special investigation of Kim Gun-hee and Chae Sang-byung! Clarify the state affairs corruption! Reject Yoon Seok-yeol” are being held one after another. Reporter Lee Jun-heon

“We will come out to the square until Yoon Seok-yeol steps down”… Citizens light candles in Gwanghwamun area

Another-

This is the party demo in front of City Hall and extending to Namdaemun, the old southern gate in central Seoul. Lee Jae-myung is there with democratic National Assembly reps.

Last one:

There was a large Korean Federation of Trade Unions demonstration during the day on Thursday. Crowd size was estimated at 10,000 by police, organizers said 100,000.

There will be another trial judgement and sentence announcement in a second case against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on the 25th (in two days). He is by far the most popular political leader in South Korea. Another conviction and sentence against him will only fuel the fire. If he is ordered imprisoned pending appeals, South Korean opposition will explode. The object is to disqualify him from office (the National Assembly) and to disqualify him from running for the presidency again.

(edits- okay think I finally have this cleaned up)

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Korea politics candlelight demo
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Submitted by soryang on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 12:27pm
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Why Korean academics are voicing concern about the state of their nation

Statements and declarations denouncing the current state of affairs in Korea are sweeping the country like wildfire, with hundreds of academics signing on to calls for the president to step down

The declaration on the state of the nation written by professors and researchers of Kyung Hee University and Kyung Hee Cyber University, released on Nov. 13, included the much-anticipated statement: “President Yoon Suk-yeol, a violator of human sanctity and democracy, should immediately resign from office.”

A deluge of similar declarations and proclamations written by college professors calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation has swept across the nation. The wave started with the political statement written by Gachon University’s professors’ union on Oct. 28, and as of Thursday 7 pm, 3,400 academics from over 30 universities in South Korea have joined the cause.

“If we look at South Korea’s modern history, these kinds of statements issued by professors are a sign that academics have reached their limit — they can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the state of the country,” remarked Kim Yong-lyun, a professor of education at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Recently, such declarations are cropping up at a considerable speed, even considering the actions taken by civil society. The wave created by this relay of declarations will be nothing short of explosive,” he added.

I love that the scholar intellectual class in South Korea still feels an obligation to fulfill its social duty to act as the conscience of the Korean people. It's an old scholar class tradition from the late Chosun and Lee Dynasty periods where the center of classical scholarship the Sungkyunkwan provided the best minds to administer government from the yangban class. Their role in society periodically involved public appeals to government to reform its ways.

The modern academics anticipate that if the Yoon administration in South Korea continues on its current trend, everyone will become victims of the state. By signing their names they know they will be put on a "state enemies" list for retribution by the Yoon political prosecution clique. Even if less than a full blown dictatorship emerges, they and their families may suffer consequences for taking a stand in support of reform and democracy.

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Submitted by QMS on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 1:16pm
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wonder if the US has their fingers
in this? Has the hallmarks. Thanks
for keeping us up on it. Seems the
Korean people are pretty well behaved
in their demonstrations?

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Submitted by soryang on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 1:56pm
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@QMS

Last weekend, at the candlelight demo, and Thursday at the labor union demo, there were limited pushing and shoving between police and the crowd. It seems that at the labor demo, the police armed up with riot shields, almost as if they anticipated trouble. In the earlier candlelight demo, I think the issue was the same trying to force the crowd into a limited defile by using a steel fence barrier. At the candlelight, a few people objected and resisted being pushed, including a legislator, who was seriously beaten by police. The same shoving match occurred at the labor demo, several people were arrested at each. I think the judges released these people. Investigators tried to get warrants to search and seize evidence from demo leaders but I think the court turned these down as well. The demo leaders allegedly promoted illegal demos. The court didn't accept that. Demonstrators accused the police of excessive force.

I haven't heard of any violence yet this weekend. If Lee is jailed this week, or the police get rough in the future, I expect tempers to flare. On the whole though, the demonstrators are very tame, and the candlelight demonstrators assemble with their families, so violence is unlikely. They are very well behaved.

Imo the US is involved up to their eyeballs with the Yoon administration. They are delighted with it. The demonstrators think Yoon is leading them down a path to war with the north, and even with China, with its obsequious disposition toward the US and Japan, and the overreaching Indo-Pacific policy. Yoon's relations with North Korea are terrible. It also appears with the North Koreans in Kursk nonsense, which he has embraced.

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Submitted by earthling1 on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 2:13pm
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by the mass of people coming out into the streets. It is reminiscent of the 60s here in America.
Marches, protests, sit-ins, even love-ins were rampant over Vietnam, the Warren Report (not), the draft, civil rights, even the Equal Rights Amendment (where the hell did that disappear to).
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. The government manipulated MSM will never show the American people what they are failing to do. Stand the fuck up, damn cowards.
Rant off.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Submitted by soryang on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 4:22pm
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@earthling1

...on the Korean democracy movement in 2017. Hadn't seen anything like it since I was a teenager here. Except I saw it on the streets in Seoul at the tail end of the Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship. Seeing the student resistance movement on Itaewanno. I admire the activism and thoughtfulness of ordinary people there. When they are pushed back they don't take it sitting down.

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Submitted by QMS on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 4:59pm
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@soryang
.
.
seems stronger there relative
to the thin rags we endure

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Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 11/23/2024 - 11:19pm
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.

and dealing with Smokey's absence….just want you to know I’m still thinking about you. I hope the memories are bringing you comfort.

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Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

Submitted by soryang on Sun, 11/24/2024 - 8:35am
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@snoopydawg

It's very thoughtful of you to say so.

We are muddling through this. It's an emotional roller coaster. With the disarray in our lives currently, Smokey's death was over the top.

Fortunately, a close Korean-American friend of my wife just returned from South Korea, where she had been for a year to get her dual citizenship qualifications to get public healthcare in the ROK. She stayed with us in this cramped apartment. Another Korean-American friend, I've known them for many years, joined up with the two of them for several days, so Ms. So could forget about our troubles for a while with friends. I call the three of them, the three musketeers. The latter's husband with his son in law, are the one's who saved Smokey and I from the flood, when the police didn't come get us. Ms. So had fled to the their home on higher ground earlier to save our van. After Ms. So's friends left, returning to reality was quite a shock.

Smokey was a trooper to the end. I'm sorry his last days with us were so tumultuous.

Writing and commenting here lets me escape into a sense of normalcy, with the C99 community. Everyone here keeping me abreast of the latest, is giving me a sense of stability or continuity in spite of bad news, losses and difficulties. Thanks again snoopy. Appreciate the entire community here.

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Submitted by Dawn's Meta on Sun, 11/24/2024 - 10:58am
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@soryang Our Tekel poil dur has been with us even when we didn't have a permanent home, living in appart hotels and b&bs for a year. They are so forgiving and try so hard to make our lives better.

Over the rainbow bridge, in good health, playing, and waiting for you and Mrs So.

I send wishes for healing, a home, and good health.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

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Submitted by soryang on Sun, 11/24/2024 - 11:45am
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@Dawn's Meta

I had no idea. I really don't know much about dogs, except how strong the bonding is with families and people who care for them. When we adopted Smokey and the vet said he was part Dachshund, I was surprised. When I was away driving cross country, he was alone with Ms. So at home quite a bit for long while. So I could give him some commands in Korean and he understood. He was so smart.

Thanks for your good wishes Dawn. 고맙다는 말씀을 드리고 싶었어요.

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