"Study of How today's Historians and Journalists in the West Shape the Foreign Policies"
Michael Green speaks about North Korea situation.
His assessment is pretty accurate. However,
If you are interested in these matter, watch this. A Japanese lawmaker, Rui Matsukawa, discusses and explains all.
Note: This took place before South Korea scraped the pact aka GSOMIA. She was spot on about Moon Jae-in.
Kono Taro – Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
(via Minister of Foreign Affair – YouTube)
Well said.
See – “Illegal Colonial Rule” Effect
And, here is Kang Kyung-wha – Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Korea
(5:58~)
She doesn’t make any sense. The bilateral 1965 basic treaty between Japan and South Korea states “the issues were settled completely and finally by this agreement” and the Japanese government actually proposed to the South Korean government to directly compensate individuals but it was the South Korean government which insisted that it would handle individual compensation to its citizens and then received the whole amount of grants.
So, if Korean people want and have the rights to “compensation”, they should exercise their right to the South Korean government. (In fact, some just did.) Also, like I said in the previous post, if colonization was unlawful, like they say, all the western countries must pay the compensations for the former colonies. The current international order will end and chaos and war would follow. Imagine all the countries start ceasing assets of each other.
Update
Taro Kono : The Real Issue Between Japan and Korea Is Trust
– Bloomberg Opinion 4 Sep, 2019In 1965, after 14 years of hard negotiations, Japan and South Korea concluded the “Agreement on the Settlement of Problems concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Co-operation between Japan and the Republic of Korea.” Under the terms of the 1965 Agreement, Japan extended $500 million in grants and loans — a sum that totaled 1.6 times as much as South Korea’s national budget then. All problems concerning claims between the two countries and their nationals were confirmed to be “settled completely and finally.”
In 1965, after 14 years of hard negotiations, Japan and South Korea concluded the “Agreement on the Settlement of Problems concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Co-operation between Japan and the Republic of Korea.” Under the terms of the 1965 Agreement, Japan extended $500 million in grants and loans — a sum that totaled 1.6 times as much as South Korea’s national budget then. All problems concerning claims between the two countries and their nationals were confirmed to be “settled completely and finally.”
Among the eight items in the “Outline of the Claims of the Republic of Korea against Japan” that were raised during negotiations, “accrued wages of the requisitioned Korean[s]” as well as “compensation of damages by war to the requisitioned Korean[s]” were included. The Agreed Minutes to the 1965 Agreement clearly state that the claims that were “settled completely and finally” included any that fell within the scope of these eight items.
Furthermore, when seeking compensation for Korean workers “requisitioned” by Japanese companies during the war, Korean officials explained that their claim included damages for psychological and physical suffering. In response, the Japanese side proposed that its payments be made to individuals. But the Korean representatives asserted that they were putting forward the claims for compensation as a state and that their government would be responsible for distributing any money received from Japan.
Four decades later, in August 2005, South Korea reaffirmed that the $300 million in grants received from Japan had included compensation for the “historical fact of suffering” of the victims of “forced mobilization.” In so doing, the Korean government made it clear that it bore the moral responsibility to allocate an adequate amount of the resources received to provide relief to those victims.
Then, last year, the Korean Supreme Court rendered a series of judgments against Japanese companies, ordering them to pay “compensation” to the former civilian workers. These judgments clearly violated the 1965 Agreement. Yet the Korean government has failed to take any concrete measures to remedy the situation.
In effect, after more than 50 years, South Korea has unilaterally abrogated the pledges made by our two governments. This is the crux of the issue we face now. If an international agreement can be broken because of the domestic circumstances of one country, we will never be able to maintain stable international relations.
I strongly hope that the Korean government addresses this issue from the standpoint of international law as well as bilateral state-to-state relations, and takes concrete actions as a responsible member of the international community.
Japan repeatedly sought diplomatic consultations with the Korean government after the court decisions and referred this dispute to arbitration, as provided for under the 1965 Agreement. However, South Korea refused to agree.
Just as importantly, I would like to reiterate that this issue has nothing to do with the recent update by Japan of its export control measures, which was required to ensure the non-proliferation of weapons-related materials. This decision was made solely from the standpoint of national security.
The materials and technologies in question are sensitive because they can be diverted to military uses. The relevant authorities in every country are responsible for appropriately managing exports of such dual-use materials and technologies.
Since 2004, Japan had applied to South Korea simplified procedures for exporting such materials, compared to the rules applied to most countries and regions including the rest of Asia. The arrangement was predicated on sufficient trust between our two governments, which was to be fostered through continuous consultations.
Such consultations have not been held for the past three years, despite repeated requests from the Japanese side. Meanwhile, there have been several inappropriate cases concerning export control related to South Korea. For that reason, Japan concluded it could no longer maintain the simplified procedures applied to exports to South Korea.
This decision was not in any way meant as “retaliation” or a “countermeasure” in relation to the issue of former civilian workers from the Korean Peninsula. Such a linkage only obscures the root causes of two very different problems.
Japan has been acting as a responsible member of the international community, adhering to international law. We hope that South Korea would do the same, so that we can continue to build a forward-looking bilateral relationship.
Finally, I would like to touch upon the Korean government’s decision to terminate the “Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Republic of Korea on the Protection of Classified Military Information” (“GSOMIA”), which had contributed to strengthening security cooperation between the two countries and to ensuring regional peace and stability since 2016. I must say this decision reflects a total misapprehension of the security situation in Northeast Asia. The Korean government has linked its decision to Japan’s update of its licensing policies and procedure for exports. These two issues are of totally different nature and should not be linked together.
When Moon Jae-in became the president of South Korea, the most media in the west portrayed him as Liberal/Progressive. But, I was like “WHAAAT, they don’t know sh*t”. Even now, I’m surprised to see how the western media is so naive and biased – almost ignorant.
See South Korean Politics – Left and Right
But today, I came across an interesting article at The Hill. This is very rare occasion I see this kind of analysis in English. I’m sure “liberal” newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post will refuse to understand and deny this reality.
First, identify the problem. While the U.S. sees mostly a convergence of national interests between South Korea and Japan by virtue of the growing North Korea threat, the reality is very different. Current South Korean leaders subscribe to an ideology of pan-Korean ethno-tribalism. “Common bloodline comes before alliance,” as a former South Korean president said.
Seoul’s relations with Pyongyang and Tokyo need a jolt of reality – The Hill 08/26/19
Many, if not most, Koreans in the South and the North view Japan as an unrepentant former oppressor. They resolutely believe Japan was historically inferior to Korea in culture and material wealth until a dramatic program of modernization in the late 19th century. Deep is Korean condescension against Japan, exacerbated by a collective inferiority complex as manifested in South Korean President Moon Jae-In’s remark, “We will never again lose to Japan,” following Japan’s announcement of restrictions on exports of chemicals that are crucial to South Korea’s semiconductor industry.
Seoul’s relations with Pyongyang and Tokyo need a jolt of reality – The Hill 08/26/19
“pan-Korean ethno-tribalism” is similar to nationalism, but it is a “minjok” ethnocentric ideology combined with “sojunghwa” based on sinocentrism. North Korean ideology called Juche is said to be influenced by this same “pan-Korean ethno-tribalism”.
See my other posts in Category: Ethnocentrism
Moon Jae-in does not care about the human rights abuse in North Korea. Did he ever criticized about it? How about the suffering of people in North Korea? Never. He does not care. What about Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons and missile program? Moon may be secretly very proud of them.
A Japanese teenage girl who was visiting South Korea as a tourist was assaulted by a Korean man in Seoul on Friday Aug 23. When the girl refused his sexual advances, he hurled racial slur and began attacking her.
No news media mentioned (self-censorship of the media) , but the video clearly recorded that this Korean man said “Jjokbari” and other XXX words and hit the Japanese woman. She suffered a head injury.
It is very interesting that all, I mean ALL, the media including TVs and newspapers were trying very hard to play down this incident. About half of the media did not mention any racial slur and most did not report that she got hurt. Some reported that the man only grabbed her hair.
But in this SNS age, it’s all on the web. Media can’t hide everything. Sad thing is that so many online posts in Korean suggested that the video was “fabrication” or they were “payed actors” etc until Korean police verified the authenticity of the video and checked other security cameras in the area. And of course the media did not report anything like this happened either.
This happened within a week after Japanese foreign minister Kono Taro expressed “concern” about anti-Japan demonstrations in South Korea and safety of Japanese tourists and asked South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha to take necessary measures to ensure safety of Japanese tourists in South Korea.
政府間が難しい問題に直面しているからといって、国民の交流が妨げられる必要はない。むしろ、こういう時だからこそ国民交流を積極的にやっていくべきだ」と述べました。
そのうえで、韓国国内で日本を非難する集会などが開かれていることに関連して「韓国の外交当局が邦人の安全保護などにはこれまでも対応してくれており、続けてもらえると思っている。日本を訪問する韓国の方に危害が及ぶようなことがないように日本側としてもしっかり対応したい」と述べました。
I’ve been saying the same thing since 2007!!!
South Korea’s Limited Freedom of Speech and Five Laws
I told ya.
South Korean government and its supreme court now officially insists that Japanese annexation of Korea, aka “colonization/occupation”, was illegal. Therefore, Koreans insists they have the right to seek compensation for the “illegal colonial rule”
by using the phrase “illegal colonial rule,” the court in substance adopted the standpoint that Japan’s colonial rule was legally invalid. This will have the effect of making most of the law-based activities by Japan during colonial rule “illegal,” giving most South Koreans who lived under colonial rule the right to seek damages for the “illegal” activities. In short, the ruling not only placed the individual rights of South Koreans who lived in the colonial period to seek compensation outside the framework of the 1965 agreement, but also, by recognizing the scope of the “illegal” activities broadly, effectively allowed a wide spectrum of people to seek damages associated with Japan’s colonial rule.
Essentially, what they are saying is that a colonization is legally invalid therefore the conscription, aka “forced labor”, is illegal, so Japan must pay individual compensation. This court ruling effectively nullify the bilateral 1965 basic treaty between Japan and South Korea which states ‘ The High Contracting Parties confirm that the problems concerning property, rights, and interests of the two High Contracting Parties and their peoples (including juridical persons) and the claims between the High Contracting Parties and between their peoples, including those stipulated in Article IV(a) of the Peace Treaty with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, have been settled completely and finally.’
The court decision has opened a Pandora’s box and could lead to a slew of disputes that would present a fundamental challenge to the peace and security of north-east Asia and the postwar order.
… Seoul will need to find an appropriate balance between respecting the decision of its courts on the one hand, and honouring international law by upholding the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty that ended the Allied occupation of Japan and the 1965 Japan-South Korea normalisation agreements.
… The agreements deliberately waived future compensation claims against Japan in an attempt to avoid a new, dangerous cycle of revenge. As such, they are the foundation of the postwar international order.
“Japan-South Korea tensions challenge postwar order” – Financial Times
No western countries ever apologized nor pay any compensations whatever to former colonies. They don’t even acknowledge their brutality of their colonial rules. The White literally enslaved Asians under their colonial rule. Japan treated Taiwanese and Koreans as citizens.
If colonization was unlawful, like they say, all the western countries must pay the compensations for the former colonies. The current international order will end and chaos and war would follow.
Congrats Korea!
See – Kono Taro: If Korea wants to rewrite history, they need to know that can’t be done
A Korean(-American?) killed a Japanese-American in the US.
OK, fine, it happens.
https://www.apnews.com/ed5760638441455d8c29d26988a4c774
She used to own a Japanese restaurant. WHAT??
A South Korean newspaper reports as follow
http://www.koreatimes.com/article/1218337
“Korean, Ms Kyung Hee Dowdle was arrested for killing Toshio Ota, a Japanese-American”
WTF?? A killer suspect = Ms. A victim = without Mr…
Related articles:
Korean Prostitution, aka “Sex Slaves”, ring busted in USA
More and more South Koreans ditching their nationality. This year more than 30,000 chose to lose South Korean passports while annual average of around 20,000 in the past 10 years.
About 72% chose the US, 11% Canada, 8% Japan, and 3% Australia. About 5,000 Koreans chose Japanese nationality over Korea’s in a year. Looks like they are escaping from South Korea to free and liberal countries.
Who wants to live in a ultra nationalistic brainwashing crazy country like South Korea? I certainly don’t.
What about Japanese? In 2018, only 1058 chose to lose Japanese nationality.
PS. The biggest problem is that many South Koreans are highly nationalistic and try to influence other countries politics and media in favor of Koreans. For example, you often see Korean names in Journalism or Academics. Many Koreans try to push their nationalistic views through education and media. Yes it’s similar to Chinese communist party has been trying to do.
An Associated Press investigation shows that the abuse of these so-called vagrants at Brothers, the largest of dozens of such facilities, was much more vicious and widespread than previously known, based on hundreds of exclusive documents and dozens of interviews with officials and former inmates.
Yet nobody has been held accountable to date for the rapes and killings at the Brothers compound because of a cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of government, the AP found.
…
The current government, however, refuses to revisit the case, and is blocking a push by an opposition lawmaker to do so on the grounds that the evidence is too old.
…
Ahn Jeong-tae, an official from Seoul’s Ministry of the Interior, said focusing on just one human rights incident would financially burden the government and set a bad precedent. The Brothers’ victims, he said, should have submitted their case to a temporary truth-finding commission established in the mid-2000s to investigate past atrocities.
“We can’t make separate laws for every incident and there have been so many incidents since the Korean War,” Ahn said.
In another words, “if South Korea could use this against Japan, we would use this forever. Otherwise, we ignore and cover this up”
[Related]
It’s just the latest of the Korean spa prostitution rings. Please do not pretend to be Japanese or use sushi restaurants. I really don’t like the way South Koreans use “Japanese” to try to hide their identity. See other examples: “I’m Zapanese…”
Prostitution ring busted at Asheville ‘spa’
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Three women face prostitution charges tied to a home on Rose Hill Road that they operated as a spa, WLOS reports.
On Friday, the Buncombe County Anti-Crime Task Force arrested 63-year-old Kum Sun Morrison, 54-year-old Kyung Ah Kim and 54-year-old Myong Suk Jaco.
All three women are listed as Asheville residents in the warrants, according to WLOS.
Morrison is charged with felony promoting prostitution for profit. Warrants state that she is accused of maintaining a residence for prostitution, that the residence was a known place of prostitution, and that the spa charged a $60 entry fee.
Kim and Jaco are both charged with offering sex for money. Both women bonded out.
https://myfox8.com/2018/11/19/prostitution-ring-busted-at-asheville-spa/
성 매매 알선하고 마약공급까지, 한인 곳곳서 함정수사 덜미
2018-11-23 (금) 김철수 기자 글꼴크게작게인쇄이메일facebooktwitter구글
미 전국적으로 한인 성매매 업주들이 함정단속에 걸려 체포되고 있는 가운데 노스캐롤라이나 애쉬빌 지역에서 스파를 운영하며 성매매를 해오던 한인 여성 3명이 경찰의 단속에 걸려 체포됐다.번콤 카운티 강력범죄 단속반은 지난 16일 애쉬빌 주택가에 스파를 차려놓고 성매매를 일삼던 한인 모리슨 금선(63), 김경아(54), 제이콥 명석(54) 3명을 체포했다고 밝혔다.
경찰은 이날 체포된 3명의 여성들 가운데 모리슨씨의 경우 성매매 관련 지명 수배자로 등록이 되어 있었으며, 주택가에 스파를 차려 놓은 뒤 손님 한 명 당 60달러를 받고 성매매 업소를 운영한 것으로 알려졌다.
이보다 앞선 지난 7일에는 달라스 지역에서 한인 모자가 성매매 여성들을 조직적으로 관리 및 운영해온 혐의로 체포됐다. 이들은 손님들에게 코카인과 발기부전 치료제 등도 공급해온 혐의도 받고 있다고 현지 언론이 전했다.
달라스 법원이 공개한 소장에 따르면 한인 헬렌 김(58)씨와 아들 멘도사 주니어는 ‘달라스에 방문하는 사업가들이 하룻밤 잠자리를 위해 여성 20명과 코카인 등 마약을 원한다’며 접근한 경찰의 함정수사에 덜미를 잡혔다.
김씨와 아들은 함정수사에 나선 형사에게 ‘여성 1명당 2,000달러씩, 총 4만 달러가 필요하다’고 구체적인 금액을 제시했고 특히 김씨는 선금을 요구하면서 함정수사에 나선 경찰이 5,000달러를 미리 지급하기도 했다.
선금을 받은 김씨는 지난달 16일 한인이 운영하는 일식당에서 경찰을 만나 성매매 여성 3명을 직접 확인시켜줬다. 김씨는 지난 달 24일 또 다시 형사를 만나 다른 성매매 여성 25명도 준비됐다며 나머지 금액을 요구했다.
달라스 법원에 따르면 김씨는 2007년에도 성매매 업소를 운영한 혐의로 적발돼 보호감찰 3년을 선고 받기도 했다.
Kum Sun Morrison, Kyung Ah Kim and Myong Suk Jaco
全米で韓人（コリアン）の売春事業主がおとり捜査に掛かって逮捕されている中、ノースカロライナ州のアッシュビル地域でスパを運営して売春をしていた韓人女性3人が、警察の取り締まりに掛かって逮捕された。
バンコム郡凶悪犯罪取り締まり班は去る16日、アッシュビルの住宅街にスパを構えて売春をしていた韓人のモリソン・クムソン（63歳）、キム・ギョンア（54歳）、ジャコ・ミョンスク（54歳）の3人を逮捕したと明らかにした。
警察はこの日逮捕された3人の女性のうち、モリソンは売春関連の指名手配者に登録されていて、住宅街にスパを構えて顧客1人あたり60ドルを受け取って売春店を運営していた事が分かった。
これより前の去る7日には、ダラス地域で韓人の母子が売春女性を組織的に管理および運営していた容疑で逮捕された。これらは顧客にコカインとバイアグラなども提供していた容疑も受けていると現地メディアが伝えた。
ダラス裁判所が公開した訴状によれば、韓人のヘレン・キム（58歳）と息子のダニエル・メンドーサ・ジュニアは、「ダラスを訪問する事業家が一晩泊まるため、女性20人とコカインなどの麻薬が欲しい」と近付いた警察のおとり捜査によって捕まった。
キムと息子はおとり捜査を行っていた刑事に対し、「女性1人当り各2,000ドル、計4万ドルが必要だ」と具体的な金額を提示して、特にキムは前金を要求しておとり捜査を行っていた警察が5,000ドルをあらかじめ支給した。
前金を受け取ったキムは先月16日、韓人が運営する日本料理店（Sushi Bar）で警察に会い、売春女性3人を直接確認させた。キムさんは先月24日に再び刑事に会い、違う売春女性25人を用意したと残金を要求した。
ダラス裁判所によれば、キムは2007年にも売春店を運営した容疑で摘発され、保護監察3年を宣告されていた。
https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=104&oid=005&aid=0001150045
http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=6744020
Also, Koreans are demanding Disney’s Dumbo movie is also not tolerable. It’s a
Even the communist party of China uses this in the propaganda posters.
[Related article]
Rising Sun Flag : How South Korea Fabricates & Use Nationalism to Fuel Conflict
Origin of South Korea’s anti-Rising Sun flag campaigns
– South Korea’s anti-Rising Sun flag campaigns are racist and historically unfounded.
Rising Sub Flag
The Republic of Korea hosted a navy fleet review at Jeju Island on October 10 to 14, 2018. South Korea requested all participating countries to display only their national flags and the flag of the Republic of Korea on their vessels. Japan balked at the demand, with the then-Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, since replaced, claiming the display of the Rising Sun Flag should be mandatory under Japanese law. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha urged Japan to be more considerate about Japan’s controversial colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and stated that her ministry will review “possible and appropriate options” before deciding to take stronger international actions when asked whether South Korea could raise the issue with the United Nations.[25]
Japan announced on October 5, 2018, that it will be withdrawing from the fleet review because it could not accept Seoul’s request to remove the Rising Sun Flag. Defense Minister notified the South Korean government of its decision. Both nations reiterated the need for continued defense cooperation.[26]
When the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force was established in 1954, it adopted the Rising Sun Flag (Kyokujitsu-ki) as its ensign to show the nationality of its ships. It was approved by GHQ/SCAP. On 28 September 2018 an official of Japan’s Ministry of Defense said that the South Korean navy’s request lacks common sense and that they would not partake in a fleet review, since no country would follow such a request.[27] On October 6, 2018, JSDF Chief of Staff Katsutoshi Kawano said the Rising Sun Flag is the Maritime Self-Defense Force sailors’ “pride” and that the MSDF would absolutely not go if they had to remove the flag.[14][28]
Korea did not object to Japan’s adoption of the Rising Sun Flag for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in 1952, nor to the entry into Korean port carrying the flag on a warship at the 1998 and 2008 navy fleet review held in Korea.[29] Korean negative campaigns against the Rising Sun Flag began in 2011 when a Korean football player Ki Sung-yueng was accused of making a racial gesture, which he defended claiming he was annoyed at having seen a Rising Sun Flag in the stadium.[30] The next year in 2012, a word “war crime flag” was coined in South Korea to spread bad image of the flag.[31][32] An analysis indicates that Korean reactions to the Rising Sun Flag stem from the complicated emotion of excessive nationalism and nationalistic complex toward Japan.[33]
The Sankei Shimbun criticized South Korea’s attitude toward the Rising Sun Flag, since even the United States, who was Japan’s opponent during World War II, has not protested formally against the Rising Sun Flag.[34][35] The president of Sankei Shimbun Minagawa Hoshi said the corporate logo flag of the Rising Sun Flag design of the Asahi Shimbun, which is praised for being conscientious in Korea,[36] never had any such issues.[37]
In response to some allegations in Korea that the Rising Sun Flag is the same as the Nazi flag of Germany, the reporter Kisaragi Hayato of Searchina explained the origin of the Rising Sun Flag is the Sun and thus different. Furthermore, if South Korea insists that national symbols that Japan used to invade neighboring countries (in the past) should not be used at all, then Korea should also send objections to the use of for example the Union Jack which is the national flag of the United Kingdom and the tricolore Flag of France (Drapeau français), because these were traditionally used by the European countries during European colonialism, the first wave of European colonization (1415 to 1830 CE) and New Imperialism (late 19th and early 20th centuries).[38][39]
A Korean newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper raised a question that if Koreans accuse the Rising Sun Flag, why they are silent about the flags of China and North Korea which were opponents of the Korean War and killed hundreds of thousands of Korean people.[40]
Vietnamese students in South Korea raised voices after the South Korean president Moon’s remarks of honoring Korean Army in Vietnam war.
Korean’s are condemning Japanese for wrong doings all around world and creating “symbol of hatred” everywhere while ignoring wartime massacre and women suffering from Korean army. This is such hypocrisy.
Koreans Whitewashing Atrocities in Vietnam War
Korean Army Comfort Women in Vietnam
Korean “Sex Slaves” for the US Soldiers
South Korean government has not yet acknowledge nor apologized any of above. You can Watch the videos of victims of Korean Army.
Yes, I’ve been saying this for more than 10 years.
South Korea’s Limited Freedom of Speech and Five Laws
U.N. special rapporteur warns on the right to freedom of expression in South Korea
A closer look at human rights in the Korean Peninsula
It’s time for human rights groups to encourage the government of South Korea to examine its repressive lawsWhen we talk about human rights in the context of the Korean Peninsula, international media organizations and transnational human rights groups project by default the issue of human rights violations and curtailment of freedom to North Korea alone.
This significantly situates the country as one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry found that abuses in North Korea were without parallel in modern times. These include extermination, murder, slavery, torture, arbitrary arrest, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. North Korea also operates prison camps where perceived opponents of the regime are sent to face torture and other forms of abuses. Collective punishment is used to silence dissent. The absence of independent media, civil society, and freedom of religion are also observed.In 2016, an American college student, Otto Warmbier spent 17 months in detention for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. The Korean regime claimed that he contracted botulism and was never tortured. Unfortunately, he died a few days after he was released in coma.
The regime, however, never ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. And even if it did with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR), Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Convention on the Rights of the Child – it still fails in periodic reports.
Nevertheless, as we put significant attention to these cases of human rights violations in the North, we can have a holistic understanding of human rights in the peninsula by also taking a closer look at political rights violations in South Korea in the context of dissent against its government. South Korea, after all, claims to be a democratic state.
According to Amnesty International, one of the most important human rights issue in South Korea continues to be the National Security Law, which is used arbitrarily to curtail freedom of expression and association, providing long sentences or the death penalty for loosely defined “anti-state” activities.
The human rights discourse in the peninsula illustrates that human rights violations against democratic freedoms also exist in South Korea. These, however, happen based on varying and distinctive socio-political differences of the two Koreas, and their shared common factors.
Worrying trend
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report that there is a worrying trend of increased arbitrary use of the National Security Law (NSL) in South Korea since 2008 by law enforcement agencies, in the name of security and public safety. This undermines citizens’ right to freedom of association and freedom of speech.Data showed that the number of NSL cases increased by 95.6% from 46 in 2008 to 90 in 2011. The figure of those charged under the “vaguely worded clauses” of the law significantly increased by 96.8% – from 32 in 2008 to 63 in 2011.
These data show that the South Korean government, through the NSL, has been justifying the act of arbitrary arrests of individuals by imposing clauses of the law in the name of security. In one particular case, members of the Socialist Workers League were investigated under the abovementioned law and found guilty on the grounds of violating NSL Article 7(1) “propagating or instigating a rebellion against the State” even if the members conducted a peaceful protest. They were imprisoned for two years and suspended for 3 years.
Also in the case of Kim Myeong-soo, the NSL has been used as reference to curb academic debate on the study of North Korean issues. He was a bookseller and a PhD student questioned for selling 140 books and possessing 170 others “with the intention of endangering the existence and security of the State”. In his testimony, he mentioned that the books used as substantial evidence against him during the trail are materials for anyone who studies North Korea or North Korean literature like any other scholars. In 2012, Kim Myeong-soo was sentenced to 6 months in prison and two years’ suspension, prompting him to abandon his doctoral thesis.
The human rights situation in South Korea might be incomparable in terms of practice, but it only shows that South Korea’s government has been using state-enforced and strict security legislations as mechanisms to justify its violations in order to protect its security interests.
The absence of institutionalized human rights protection policies in North Korea and South Korea’s stringent security legislation provide a space for the further curtailment of human rights in the peninsula.
It is important to recognize that both countries, in the absence of reunification, want to preserve and protect their respective ideological and political standing against each other. Thus, both Koreas possess distinct security concerns and interests that would prevent them from deviating from the status quo.
Undoubtedly, both countries are ready to facilitate repressive tools in order to protect their survival from any external threats.
It is high time for human rights groups to also encourage the government of South Korea to examine the need to modify repressive clauses of the National Security Law, and take a holistic approach in tackling the discourse of human rights in the Korean Peninsula. – Rappler.com
You don’t have to be an U.N. special rapporteur to tell that freedom of opinion and expression in South Korea is severely oppressed.
I wrote about “South Korea’s Limited Freedom of Speech and Five Laws” before. But I admit he brought up another aspect of the problem.
20. Given the potential scope of government access, common forms of online anonymity may be “superficial and easily disturbed.” For example, reliance on pseudonyms or even widely available encryption tools (such as HTTPS websites that encrypt web traffic by default) may be insufficient. Users that have an urgent need to avoid discovery – particularly those who wish to express minority views or disclose sensitive information in the public interest – may be compelled to turn to sophisticated anonymizing software and tools, which can be technically complicated or cumbersome to use. Given the burden and risks involved, many may choose not to speak at all.
21. The mere prospect of government access to customer identity data may also deter individuals from expressing themselves freely in their private communications. As a result, the mere existence of a legal regime that facilitates government access to such data “creates an interference with privacy, with a potential chilling effect on rights, including those to free expression and association.” This chilling effect may have a disproportionate impact on attorney-client relationships, journalists and their sources, whistleblowers, human rights defenders, and minorities and vulnerable groups.
26. Warrantless government access to customer identity data violates the legality, necessity, and proportionality criteria set out above. Instead, such access should only be granted pursuant to legal criteria defined with sufficient precision, and an order by a competent and impartial judicial body certifying necessity and proportionality to achieve a legitimate objective. My analysis of relevant international jurisprudence and practice indicates that this view is shared by respected international and regional bodies and a growing number of States.
VI. CONCLUSION
39. For the reasons identified above, I submit that Articles 83(3) and 83(4) of the TBA pose a grave risk to the freedom of expression of Internet and telecommunications users in the Republic of Korea. Articles 83(3) and 83(4) permit telecommunications operators to disclose customer identity data to select government authorities without a judicial warrant. Both the mere prospect of disclosure and the actual disclosures themselves interfere with anonymous expression and communication protected under Article 19(2) of the Covenant. An analysis of international law and practice indicates that the lack of judicial pre-authorization for government requests for customer identity data constitutes an unnecessary and disproportionate restriction under Article 19(3). The risk to freedom of expression is exacerbated by the reality that the Republic of Korea has among the highest number of user data requests per capita.
KBS (the national public broadcaster of South Korea) fabricated the images in the documentary in order to imprint Koreans anti-Japan sentiments.
I’ve seen too many of this kinds of fabrications from South Korea…
I really want to know what Alexis Dudden and Mike Honda have to say about this.
Koreans Whitewashing Atrocities in Vietnam War
Korean Army Comfort Women in Vietnam
Korean “Sex Slaves” for the US Soldiers
Korean War Masacres (Bodo League massacre) in 1950
They would deny and dismiss because Alexis Dudden is politically motivated hypocrite activist, and Mike Honda is an ass-kisser to the voters in Korean town and China town. I wrote Diggin’ own grave: Rep. Mike Honda 10 freaking years ago and now he is gone because he was “caught trading favors for campaign contributions“. And Alexis Dudden really needs to learn a thing or two from professor Park Yu-ha.
I’m sick of their hypocrisy and lies and double standard.
South Koreans are notorious for condemning other countries while ignoring own wrong doings. In fact, South Korea has never apologized nor paid any compensations to Vietnamese victims while Koreans are asking apologies and compensations from Japan for Japan’s annexation every month or so.
Now, Vietnam is starting to criticize South Korea…naturally.
Vietnam criticizes Korean leader for honoring war veterans – The Korea Times 2017-06-13
President Moon Jae-in’s recent remarks on South Korean soldiers who participated in the 1960-75 Vietnam War are fueling anti-Korean sentiment in the Southeast Asian country.
In a speech to mark the June 6 Memorial Day, Moon lauded the soldiers who fought in Vietnam for their contributions to economic growth in the 1960s and 70s.
“The soldiers resolutely answered the call of the Republic of Korea. In the middle of the jungle and under sweltering heat, they carried out their duties faithfully. That’s true patriotism,” Moon said. “Their sacrifice laid the foundation for the country’s economic growth.”
Moon spoke about the soldiers apparently to urge people to remember fallen national heroes. However, this angered many Vietnamese, who contend Korean soldiers massacred thousands of civilians during the war.
“We ask the Korean government not to talk or behave in a way that hurts the feelings of the Vietnamese people and has a negative influence on the two countries’ friendship and cooperation,” Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswomen Le Thi Thu Hang said in a press release, Monday.
The ministry has lodged a complaint with the Korean Embassy in Vietnam regarding Moon’s speech, the press release reads.
This is the Vietnamese government’s “first-ever official warning” against Seoul regarding its alleged wartime massacres, Ku Su-jeong, an activist who has long dealt with the issue, told The Korea Times.
“I’ve heard low-key messages from Vietnam through unofficial routes, but have never seen a message like this,” she said.
Continue reading “Koreans Whitewashing Atrocities in Vietnam War”
Not only South Korea has a history of having “Comfort Women” for the UN army in South Korea after the Korean war, South Korea Army used Comfort Women in Vietnam during the Vietnam war.
The ROK Army Used Vietnamese Comfort Women
This is the text of a scoop article written by the Washington Bureau Chief of TBS Television (at the time), which was published in the Shukan Bunshun Magazine dated April 2, 2015.
This is based on the original version which I received from the author directly, so it may be slightly different from what was actually published after editing.
This is true history revealed by Mr. Yamaguchi’s painstaking research. These are facts recorded in official documents of the United States government. It also includes detailed accounts by people who have direct knowledge of the situation at the time.
In addition, the Korean Hankyoreh newspaper recognized “This is vexing, but difficult to refute.”
http://japan.hani.co.kr/arti/international/20445.html…
However, this event is being ignored in its entirety by The Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo newspapers in Korea, as well as by the Korean government. Have any of the Japanese media aside from Bunshun and the Sankei group covered this scoop? Come to think of it, this should be included in the McGraw-Hill history textbooks in the U.S.!
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We all have to remember North Korea is NOT a normal country.
They are brainwashed as hell.
A Japanese on Korea 