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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
South Korean election officials investigate voting irregularities
June 1 (UPI) -- Ahead of South Korea's snap presidential elections on Tuesday, the nation's diplomatic relations with North Korea and China have risen to the fore -- and officials are investigating voting irregularities. 'The relations between South Korea and China have become the worst ever,' Lee Jae-myung, the left-leaning presidential candidate leading public opinion polls, said in remarks to The New York Times. 'I will stabilize and manage the relations.' The already historically low diplomatic relations between South Korea and North Korea, as well as its relations with China, further soured after then-South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was removed from office over imposing martial law in April, a move that was short-lived. The bellicose North Korea has distance itself from South Korea following the failed 2019 Hanoi summit between Korean Korean Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, which continued during Yoon's conservative administration. Pyongyang last year ended its founding goal of reunification and named South Korea its 'principal enemy.' The Yoon administration also shook a delicate diplomatic balance between Washington and Beijing. China was South Korea's biggest post-Cold War trading partner, but the United States was its main military ally. Early voter turnout was strong, but poll watchers expressed concern over irregularities. In past elections, the National Election Commission dismissed the irregularities as 'simple mistakes' or 'minor mistakes.' The NEC has pushed back on claims of polling irregularities. South Korean independent presidential candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn said on Sunday he is withdrawing from the race to support People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo, local media reported. 'I will withdraw my efforts to supporting Kim Moon-soo to protect the government,' he said. My final task is to prevent election fraud. Fortunately, Kim has pledged to address election irregularities.' Polling places are scheduled to receive ballots from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, which is a holiday because of the election. 'We are at a critical juncture,' Lee said on social media Sunday, 'and it is in the hands of each and every one of you that we can return this country to its people, halt the retreat of democracy, and create a truly great Korea. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
4 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
South Korean election officials investigate voting irregularities
1 of 3 | Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung gestures during his final campaign rally for the South Korean presidential election in Seoul on Monday. South Korea will hold its presidential election on Tuesday. Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/EPA-EFE June 1 (UPI) -- Ahead of South Korea's snap presidential elections on Tuesday, the nation's diplomatic relations with North Korea and China have risen to the fore -- and officials are investigating voting irregularities. "The relations between South Korea and China have become the worst ever," Lee Jae-myung, the left-leaning presidential candidate leading public opinion polls, said in remarks to The New York Times. "I will stabilize and manage the relations." The already historically low diplomatic relations between South Korea and North Korea, as well as its relations with China, further soured after then-South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was removed from office over imposing martial law in April, a move that was short-lived. The bellicose North Korea has distance itself from South Korea following the failed 2019 Hanoi summit between Korean Korean Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, which continued during Yoon's conservative administration. Pyongyang last year ended its founding goal of reunification and named South Korea its "principal enemy." The Yoon administration also shook a delicate diplomatic balance between Washington and Beijing. China was South Korea's biggest post-Cold War trading partner, but the United States was its main military ally. Early voter turnout was strong, but poll watchers expressed concern over irregularities. In past elections, the National Election Commission dismissed the irregularities as "simple mistakes" or "minor mistakes." The NEC has pushed back on claims of polling irregularities. South Korean independent presidential candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn said on Sunday he is withdrawing from the race to support People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo, local media reported. "I will withdraw my efforts to supporting Kim Moon-soo to protect the government," he said. My final task is to prevent election fraud. Fortunately, Kim has pledged to address election irregularities." Polling places are scheduled to receive ballots from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, which is a holiday because of the election. "We are at a critical juncture," Lee said on social media Sunday, "and it is in the hands of each and every one of you that we can return this country to its people, halt the retreat of democracy, and create a truly great Korea.
Japan Times
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Aide to South Korean candidate suggests review of wartime labor solution
Wi Sung-lac, a South Korean lawmaker who advises presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on diplomacy, has offered the view that the solution offered by the country's previous administration to resolve the wartime labor issue with Japan needs to be reviewed in some way. In a recent interview, Wi said the solution lacks public consensus and should be supplemented if possible. However, Wi said that if Lee, former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, wins the June 3 presidential election, his new administration will focus on cooperation with the United States and Japan, which share South Korea's liberal democratic values. The administration of then-South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a plan to have a Seoul-affiliated foundation pay compensation to Korean plaintiffs in wartime labor lawsuits on behalf of Japanese companies sued by them. Wi said that while he understands the direction the previous government had tried to take in offering a solution, there are some aspects that are difficult for the public to support. He added that this is a sensitive historical issue and that a process to hear the public's opinions was necessary. Wi did not provide specifics on the review of the solution but said that a Lee administration might discuss historical issues more than the Yoon administration. At the same time, there are many ways that Japan and South Korea can cooperate on security and other issues, Wi said, emphasizing that historical discussions will not restrict current or future cooperation. A former diplomat, Wi served as South Korea's chief delegate to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear development program and as South Korean ambassador to Russia. Wi said that a firm South Korea-U.S. alliance, Seoul's strong partnership with Tokyo and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation will be the core of Lee's foreign policy if he comes to power. Meanwhile, Wi criticized the Yoon administration for placing too much emphasis on the United States and Japan, saying that South Korea's relations with China and Russia are at their worst. South Korea's geopolitical situation makes it difficult for the country to do away with its relations with neighboring countries and a comprehensive response is necessary, Wi said, expressing his desire to improve relations with China and Russia. To resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, Wi stressed the importance of negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang and those between Seoul and Pyongyang, as well as those of multilateral frameworks.
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Kim Shin-jo: The bizarre life of a failed North Korean assassin who became a pastor in the South
Kim Shin-jo, a former North Korean commando who later became a pastor in South Korea, has died at the age of 82. He was known for his involvement in a failed assassination attempt on then-South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968. Kim's death was due to old age, according to his church, Sungrak Church in Seoul. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday. He is survived by his wife, whom he met after resettling in South Korea, and their two children. In 1968, Kim was part of a 31-member North Korean commando unit that attempted to infiltrate the South Korean presidential palace to assassinate Park, who had been South Korea's authoritarian leader since 1961. The North Koreans had slipped undetected through the Koreas' heavily fortified border and came within striking distance of Park's palace. After battles that raged for two weeks in the nearby hills, all but three of the intruders were killed. Two survivors were believed to have returned to North Korea, while Kim was the only one captured alive by South Korean forces. In a news conference arranged by South Korean authorities, Kim stunned the nation by saying that his team came 'to slit the throat of Park Chung-hee.' The infiltration, which also killed about 30 South Koreans, happened at the height of Cold War rivalry between the rival Koreas which was split into the U.S.-backed South and the Soviet-supported North at the end of the World War II in 1945. After the incident, Park's government launched reservist forces, established a military unit tasked with attacking North Korea, had students take military training at schools and introduced residential registration card systems. In media interviews, Kim said he was pardoned because he didn't fire a single bullet during the shootouts and was persuaded by South Korean officials to disavow communism. He said South Korean intelligence authorities later had him travel across the country to make speeches critical of North Korean systems at schools, companies and other places. Kim said he later learned that his parents in North Korea were executed. Kim was ordained as a pastor in 1997. Kim said the 1968 attack was made at the order of North Korea founder and then leader Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. Kim Il Sung died of heart attack in 1994, handing over power to his son Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un. 'I earlier didn't know why Kim Il Sung wanted to kill President Park,' Kim Shin-jo said in a 2009 interview with South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. 'But I came to know the reason as I spent time here. Kim must have been afraid of a poor country such as South Korea becoming rich. As the economy improved, South Korea would secure more money to buy weapons. From Kim Il Sung's perspective, he couldn't help killing President Park to achieve communization of South Korea.' But in a 2007 autobiography by Park Geun-hye, daughter of Park Chung-hee who became South Korea's first woman president in 2013, she said when she met Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in 2022, the younger Kim said the 1968 incident was orchestrated by 'extremists' as he apologized for the incident. Park Geun-hye said Kim Jong Il told her that they all received unspecified due punishments. Kim Jong Il's reported comments couldn't be independently verified. Kim Jong Il died of heart attack in late 2011.
Gulf Today
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
US should learn from Korean War when negotiating with Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent contentious meeting with President Donald Trump raised eyebrows among many Americans. Vice President JD Vance called the Ukrainian president 'disrespectful,' but the circumstances of the meeting in the Oval Office were not unusual in diplomatic history. When Dwight Eisenhower took office intending to end the Korean War quickly, he found himself at odds with then-South Korean President Syngman Rhee. Elected in November 1952, Eisenhower promised a swift conclusion to the conflict, whereas Rhee opposed this approach, advocating for the reunification of North and South Korea by force. Rhee insisted on securing a mutual defense treaty with the US if his military plans could not be implemented. Eisenhower faced significant challenges in negotiating the armistice agreement, which took seven months. He assumed office Jan. 20, 1953, and the ceasefire deal was signed on July 27. During this period, Rhee proved to be a major obstacle for Eisenhower. Concerned that Rhee might sabotage the negotiations, Eisenhower considered three options: overthrowing the 'often unreliable ally' (Rhee), negotiating a bilateral security pact with South Korea or withdrawing US troops. The first option, known as Operation Ever-ready, received serious consideration from US officials in mid-1953 as a potential solution to Rhee's objections to parts of the proposed armistice agreement. However, this option was never put into action. Eisenhower recognized that Rhee preferred the second option — negotiating a bilateral security pact with the US— to deter potential attacks from the North following the ceasefire. The third option, pulling out American troops, was impractical for the US, as substantial military resources had already been committed since the beginning of the war. Withdrawing American soldiers and potentially losing to communism would have been more damaging for the US than for South Korea. At that time, South Koreans constituted about 60% of United Nations troops. Rhee even threatened to withdraw South Korean forces from the UN coalitions to undermine America's efforts toward a truce agreement. To pressure Eisenhower, Rhee released anti-communist prisoners of war without consulting the US. These anti-communist POWs were individuals conscripted by the communist North after the war began, who had since expressed their loyalty to the democratic South. Upon the ceasefire, the North demanded their return, asserting they belonged to their military; the South objected on humanitarian and political grounds. Rhee's release of these anti-communist POWs was a major event that could have derailed the armistice negotiations. Eisenhower was taken aback. The POWs event prompted Eisenhower to seriously consider the second option of establishing a mutual defense treaty with South Korea. He sent his assistant secretary of state, Walter Robertson, as a special envoy to South Korea. In the end, the two leaders reached an agreement to secure an armistice in exchange for the US-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty and economic assistance. The armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, followed by the U.S.-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty on Oct. 1, 1953. Despite this, the rift between Eisenhower and Rhee was not resolved after the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty. On July 30, 1954, the two presidents met at the White House. Eisenhower urged Rhee to establish normal diplomatic relations with Japan. Rhee refused, citing that Japan had justified its brutal 36-year colonial rule over Korea in the name of industrialization. Eisenhower countered that the past should be left behind and that both countries needed to move forward. Rhee said that would not happen in his lifetime. Eisenhower became so furious that he abruptly left the meeting. When he returned shortly after, Rhee quickly stood up and exited the room. Astonishingly, just four months later, Eisenhower granted Rhee's wish. Rhee was thrilled to see the US-South Korea Mutual Defence Treaty take effect and secured aid from the US. Eisenhower's humanitarian diplomacy, which prioritized the interests of vulnerable Koreans, ultimately proved effective. In 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson requested Park Chung-hee to deploy South Korean troops to Vietnam, the South Korean president agreed to his request. Over the course of eight years, from 1965 to 1973, about 300,000 South Korean soldiers, averaging around 50,000 each year, fought alongside US forces in the Vietnam War, conducting 563,387 military operations. More than 5,000 South Korean soldiers were killed in action, with more than 10,000 wounded. It is time for Trump to reflect on the complex and nuanced nature of international diplomacy. The potential agreement between Trump and Zelensky could be even more beneficial than that of Eisenhower and Rhee. This is because Ukraine has significant deposits of natural resources, such as titanium, graphite, lithium and uranium, which are vital for America's national security. In contrast, South Korea did not provide such an abundance of valuable minerals.
