Latest news with #Korean-Americans
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Korean-Americans criticise Donald Trump Jr for ‘reckless' social media post
The Korean-American Federation of Los Angeles urged Mr Donald Trump Jr not to exploit the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles. PHOTO: AFP SEOUL - An association of Korean-Americans in Los Angeles has criticised Mr Donald Trump Jr, the son of the US president, for 'reckless' comments on social media and urged him not to exploit a riot that devastated their community 33 years ago. The Korean-American Federation of Los Angeles also said an operation by the US administration to round up suspected undocumented immigrants lacked 'due legal procedures'. Mr Donald Trump Jr posted a photograph of a man with a rifle on a rooftop on X with a message: 'Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!' referring to actions by the Korean American community during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles. The federation in separate statements expressed concern over the developments in Los Angeles over the last week and said their businesses were seriously affected by the crackdown and arrests. 'While the unrest has not yet subsided, Donald Trump Jr. ... showed the recklessness of posting a post on X on Sunday, June 8, mocking the current unrest by mentioning the 'Rooftop Korean' from the LA riots 33 years ago,' it said in a statement on June 9 , Los Angeles time. 'As the eldest son of the current president and an influencer with approximately 15 million followers, his actions could pose a huge risk in these icy times, and we strongly urge the past trauma of the Korean people be never, ever exploited for any purpose.' In 1992, some members of the community, armed with firearms, took up positions on store rooftops and reportedly fired on looters, giving rise to the 'Rooftop Koreans' folklore. They had taken their defence into their own hands after they felt official law enforcement was not protecting them from unrest following the police beating of a black motorist Rodney King. Mr Kang Hyung-won, a photojournalist who reported for the Los Angeles Times during the 1992 unrest, said on X in a reply to Donald Trump Jr's post that the picture had been taken by him and it was used without his permission. 'You're using the photo out of context. Please take it down,' Mr Kang said. Mr Kang told Reuters by email his photograph depicted a different situation when law enforcers were not providing adequate protection. '(The) current situation of people expressing a widespread disagreement about an excessive and aggressive enforcement by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while LAPD is present and keeping the city in order is not even remotely similar to the dire situation for Korean Americans of those dark hours during the 1992 LA riots,' he said. Mr Kang said he was consulting a lawyer after having no response to his request that Mr Trump Jr. take down the post. No one from the Washington administration could immediately be reached for comment. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Jr weighs into LA crisis by suggesting protesters should be shot by ‘Rooftop Koreans'
Donald Trump Jr has attempted to make light of the ongoing tensions in Los Angeles by calling for the city to 'Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!' Donald Trump's eldest son posted a meme on X of a Korean-American business owner inspecting a rifle on a rooftop in reference to the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which erupted in response to the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers caught on video beating Black motorist Rodney King. The angry scenes that ensued saw some members of the local Asian diaspora take up arms to defend their businesses from looters and vandals. The Korean-Americans who took action to safeguard their livelihoods were both applauded as symbols of self-reliance and condemned for risking exacerbating existing racial animosity in their neighborhoods. Don Jr's post comes after protesters again took to the streets of the California city over the weekend to rail against his father's crackdown on illegal immigration, scenes that began on Friday when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents met with opposition from the public as they attempted to arrest alleged undocumented migrants living locally. The mass resistance saw vehicles set alight as protesters threw fireworks towards armed law enforcement officers, held aloft placards bearing hostile slogans and shouted 'Shame on you!' Officers in riot gear responded by firing tear gas and flash grenades to attempt to disperse the crowds. ICE operations across Los Angeles County have so far resulted in the arrests of 118 accused illegal immigrants despite the clashes, according to the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump responded to the situation by federalizing the California National Guard on Saturday, a step that was immediately condemned as 'unlawful' by the state's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the move was unnecessary as there were enough LAPD officers on the streets to control the demonstrations. Newsom accused Trump of attempting to 'manufacture a crisis' to distract from his other domestic controversies and of violating California's state sovereignty. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,' he added. Newsom has since sued the administration and challenged Trump's border czar Tom Homan to arrest him, writing on X on Sunday: 'Come and get me, tough guy. I don't give a damn. It won't stop me from standing up for California.' Trump hit back at him on Truth Social, declaring: 'Governor Gavin Newscum and 'Mayor' [Karen] Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. 'These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!' More than 2,000 members of the state National Guard duly arrived in the city on Sunday to assist the LAPD in maintaining order. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has meanwhile threatened to send in the Marines if the chaos continues. At least 10 protesters were arrested on Sunday, following on from the 29 taken into custody on Saturday.
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Citizens' movement promotes renewed Korean politics and reunification
National Citizens' movement promotes renewed Korean politics and reunification A Korean citizens' coalition seeks support from Korean-Americans for Korean reunification as a national purpose that can regenerate South Korea's toxic politics. File Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI upi May 4 (UPI) -- While the divided and dysfunctional South Korean political system is preparing for the June 3 election of a new president after the impeachment of President Seok-yeol Yoon, Korean citizen activists are looking beyond that event. They are promoting a new politics with a broader sense of national purpose that rises above current party politics. This was the message Inteck Seo, co-chair of Action for Korea United (AKU) in South Korea brought to a gathering of representatives of Korean-American organizations in the DC Metro area at the Capitol Visitors' Center on Saturday. AKU is the largest coalition of civil society groups in South Korea promoting reunification. The event was held to mark the 80thyear of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Seo argued that the three pillars on which the North Korean regime had stood - management of the entire economy, ideological control, and the politics of fear - were all crumbling. "The regime is on the brink of collapse," he said, "and we have to prepare for that future." "North Korea recognizes that it can no longer compete with the South," he said. As a result it abandoned the long-standing goal of Korean reunification led by the North earlier this year. Seo cited the U.S. Declaration of Independence which laid out the foundational principle that "all men are created equal and endowed by the Creator" with fundamental rights and freedoms, before listing the particular complaints against the British Crown. The movement for Korean reunification, likewise, needed to begin with a vision and principles that Koreans in the South could unite around before considering methods and processes. The roots of that vision that he called the Korean Dream were to be found in Korea's ancient, pre-division culture, he suggested. In particular the principle of Hongikingan, living to "broadly benefit all mankind "connected Koreans with their past and with the ideals of the Korean Independence movement of the early 20th century. He proposed that a new, unified Korea should be a model liberal democracy with a system of checks and balances; a moral free market economy; a free press; an educational system that cultivated ethical character and a spirit of public service; and freedom of religion and conscience. The examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King showed the power of citizens' movements to spark major cultural and political change. Seo noted that German unification was not a top-down process but was initiated from the bottom-up. Change in Korea would be launched in the same way. He urged Korean-American civil society groups to support the work of AKU in advancing reunification. Fellow keynote speaker Morse Tan, former U.S. Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, noted that in that role he had dealt with terrible atrocities in many countries but North Korea was by far the worst. It had a history of "sadness, oppression, and injustice." "Many of North Korea's problems could be solved through reunification," he added, mentioning human rights and freedoms, and military and nuclear issues. Dr. Suzanne Scholte, President of the North Korean Freedom Foundation, urged a human rights upfront policy towards North Korea by the U.S. government. Her organization engages with people in North Koreat through information broadcast by Free North Korean Radio, staffed by North Korean escapees. It also smuggles in flash drives, SD cards, and radios. David Maxwell, former U.S. Special Forces Colonel who served in Korea, and regular UPI contributor, noted that 30 years of U.S. diplomacy focused on North Korean denuclearization had totally failed in its goal. He proposed the motto "unification first, the denuclearization." Unification policy should be pursued through a focus on human rights and a campaign to flow information into North Korea. The event was organized by Alliance for Korea United-USA and the Congressional host was Rep. Young Kim, CA. Seo now travels to the West coast where he will meet with leaders of Korea organizations in the Seattle area. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 7:12 AM.
Los Angeles Times
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Column: For Korea's baseball champions, it's time for spring training. In Irvine
Baseball comes back to life every year on the back fields, during those peaceful mornings between the time pitchers and catchers report and the time exhibition games begin. The rhythms of these practice fields are comforting and familiar: pitchers cover first base, infielders take ground balls, hitters take swings off an actual pitcher after a winter of working out in the batting cage. No stadiums. No crowds. Baseball has come back to life in Irvine, where the reigning champions are training for the new season. Not the Dodgers, of course. They'll report to spring training in Arizona on Feb. 11. These are the Kia Tigers, the champions of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). They opened training camp last week at the Great Park in Irvine — not at the stadium there, where USC plays its home games, but on Field 8 and Field 9 of a baseball and softball complex primarily used by youth teams. The bright red banner adjacent to the first base dugout on Field 8 displays the team slogan in white letters: 'One Heart, One Team.' None of the 10 KBO teams trains in South Korea this year: three opened training camp in Arizona, one in Florida, three in Australia, one in Japan, one in Taiwan, and the Tigers in Irvine. In three weeks, the Tigers will join five other KBO teams in Okinawa, Japan to complete spring training and play exhibition games. The Tigers opened training camp in Tucson two years ago and in Melbourne, Australia, last year. In selecting a training site this year, spokesman Sangwoo Park said, the Tigers prioritized a safe environment, field availability and a Korean community. Irvine is home to more than 20,000 Korean-Americans — more than any United States city outside Los Angeles and New York, according to census data compiled by the Korean American Grassroots Conference — and Korean food is widely available. 'Everything is expensive here, especially food,' Park said. 'But the weather is good.' Mornings on the back fields can be the best time to interact with a player, either at Camelback Ranch with the Dodgers or here with the Tigers. Workouts are free, here or there. Two Tigers fan friends decided to meet here. Hyemm Kim came from Vancouver, hoping for a picture with her favorite pitcher. Seokyeong Yoo came from Korea, hoping for a picture with her favorite catcher. In both cases, mission accomplished. As Pat and Colleen Wisdom watched practice, they talked about how delighted they were to travel 60 miles instead of 6,000 to see their son Patrick wear his Tigers uniform for the first time. The couple lives in Murrieta, and they had no idea where a Korean team would hold spring training. 'We're in Irvine?' Colleen Wisdom recalled saying. 'I said, 'What?' ' Infielder Patrick Wisdom, 33, is one of the Tigers' three foreign players, the maximum allowed per team under KBO rules. Wisdom, a former first-round draft pick, hit 28 home runs for the Chicago Cubs four years ago, 25 three years ago, and 23 two years ago. He hopes to leverage a strong season in the KBO into interest from major league teams next winter. His parents, meanwhile, have learned that high-speed rail can cover the roughly 220 miles from Seoul to the Tigers' home city of Gwangju in about two hours. 'We're hoping to go for Opening Day and stay for a few weeks,' Colleen Wisdom said. The Tigers' other two foreign players, pitchers Adam Oller and James Naile, have spent a combined 18 years in professional baseball without completing a full season in the majors. The Korean players on the Tigers have asked them for sightseeing suggestions here, even though Oller grew up in Texas and Naile in Missouri. Naile said he was pleased to see one of his Korean teammates text him a picture from the Griffith Observatory on a recent day off. Oller, 30, is in his first season with the Tigers. Naile, 31, joined the Tigers last season. He left home in January, bound for spring training in Australia, and did not return to family and friends back home until Halloween. 'This year, our spring training is in California, so it's great,' Naile said. 'That's an extra month in the United States. 'Last year, I would just tell stories of how great it was. We won the championship, but it was hard for them to understand what was going on so far away. With this, they're able to come check it out.' Park, the team spokesman, says he already has a favorite place to eat, a Korean restaurant about a mile from the Tigers' hotel. Its name is BCD Tofu House, and it bills itself as 'The House That Tofu Built.'
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Korean-Americans rally in D.C. against President Yoon's impeachment
Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Braving the winter cold Sunday, a group of Korean-Americans rallied in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol to protest the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. They represent a growing push back against the effort to impeach Yoon in the wake of his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Yoon's approval rating plunged to 11% in the wake of the declaration but has now rebounded to 46.6%, according to a poll by the Penn & Mike polling agency in Korea, published on Jan. 14. In a statement, the rally organizers said the "Republic of Korea is facing a grave political crisis" that they described as "an ideological civil war." Their goal was to make Americans aware of the "threat to democracy" in an important U.S. ally. Yoon was impeached at the second attempt by a vote of the National Assembly, South Korea's legislature. The Assembly is controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The impeachment charges are now being heard by the Constitutional Court. James Daniel Shin, a speaker at the rally, said that they wanted Americans to understand the nature of the crisis. "South Korea has no functioning government," he said. "The opposition party brought impeachment charges against over 20 government officials prior to the martial law declaration." Speakers also expressed support for a strong U.S.-Korea alliance, which they saw as threatened by the DPK and its coalition allies. The first impeachment charges against Yoon, filed on Dec. 4, included endangering national security through pro-Japanese "diplomacy antagonizing North Korea, China, and Russia." This language was removed from the impeachment charge of December 14 that was passed by the National Assembly. The rally in D.C. was organized by a coalition of eight Korean-American nonprofits and civil society groups including: America Korea United Society, Alliance for Korea United Washington, Korean Freedom Alliance, One Korea Foundation, as well as Korean Veterans of the Vietnam War. An estimated 200 people attended the event. It followed similar rallies held over the past month in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
