KBS News

29.01.2017.

By Choi Junhyeok

Video at link

Bak Geunhye leaves the Blue House.

Next month Bak Yeongsu and his special investigative prosecution team will set a date for a meeting with President Bak Geunhye. On the 25^th Ee Gyucheol from the prosecution team said “it is necessary to meet face-to-face with the President. Our aim of having completed preliminary investigations by the end of the winter period hasn’t changed.” Specifically, sources say that the schedule for the seizure [of evidence from the Blue House] is set for the second half of this coming week, just after the end of the New Year holidays.

In order to conduct a face-to-face interview with President Bak, firstly the Blue House must be searched and any evidence seized analysed. Once it’s been reviewed the prosecutor selects a particular place to be searched [again] confidentially. The Blue House’s private living quarters and medical area, the private secretary’s office and the office of state, among others, are all slated for search.

Securing proof of the investigators’ suspicion that President Bak accepted bribes and blacklisted political opponents is the core point of the application for the search warrant. A source close to the investigation merely said “we have not yet coordinated with the [alleged] defendants and the Blue House around the scheduling of the search.”

After President Bak is met with face-to-face the prosecution team will also reconsider whether to re-issue the arrest warrant for Samsong Electronics Vice Chairmen Ee Jaeyong, which had been dismissed.

21.01.2017

Gye Hyeonu

KBS News – video at link

Gim Gichun (l) and Jo Yunseon (r)

The figures at the centre of the National Cultural Centre’s so-called “blacklist”, Gim Gijun and Jo Yunseon, have been simultaneously detained. Gim was previously the Blue House [ie Presidential] Chief Secretary and is thought to have been the plan’s instigator while Yun is the Cultural Centre’s Secretary. Today (the 21^st) Bak Yeongsu, part of the special prosecution team, said that Chief Secretary Gim and Secretary Yun have been detained under suspicision of having used their influence abusively and of having committed perjury. At 3:40pm, arrest warrants were issued for Gim and Yun. Seong Changho, Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Jungang prosecutor’s office, revealed that “there are concerns about evidence being destroyed.”

Yun has now become the first incumbent minister to be saddled with disgrace by the special prosecutor. Other high-ranking public officials who have had arrest warrants issued include former Secretary of the Ministry for Culture and Sport, Gim Jongdeok, Undersecretary Jang Gwanju from the Culture Centre and Shin Dongcheol, Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, along with Gim and Yun, making a total 5 people who have been arrested.

Gim held a role as the Presidential Chief Secretary from August 2013 until February 2015. During that period it is suspected that Gim drew up a list of cultural figures and artists who had expressed criticism of President Bak Geunhye’s administration. He is also under suspicion of having required resignation from members of his staff who did not want to cooperate with the blacklist. Both Gim and Yun are alleged to have perjured themselves by having given false testimony regarding the blacklist during a National Assembly investigation hearing.

It’s understood that both Gim and Yun deny the allegations against them. The Public Prosecutors’ Office has designated these alleged offences as serious and anti-constitutional, crimes which have infringed on free thought, free expression and the media. Drawing up and managing blacklists and intervening in the cultural and arts fields threatens the core values of free democracy.

The special prosecuting team said that the blacklist was bolstered to over 10,000 names thanks to criticism from people from all walks of life of the government’s weak response to the Seweol ferry disaster, which occurred on the 16^th of April 2014.

Analysis: The Choi Sunshil affair continues to decimate the Korean establishment – it’s beginning to appear as if there’s no corner of Korean public life which will remain untainted. This particular allegation will be particularly damaging for Bak Geunhye’s adminstration as it amplifies the concerns around illicit government usage of cultural assets during the 2012 election, when teams of government-sponsored netizens flooded social media sites with comments supporting Bak and attacking her opponents. Expect Gim and Yun to be sacked and receive suspended prison sentences if convicted, along with a purge of pro-Bak personages within the various ministries and departments which have been implicated.

16.01.2017

KBS News

By Gang Byeongsu

Video at link

Today (16.01.2017) special prosecutors asked for a preliminary arrest warrant to be filed for Samsung Electronics vice-president Ee Jaeyong. The prosecutors arrived at this conclusion having worked nearly continuously for three days reviewing points of law. Ee Gyucheol from the prosecutor’s office said: “We have requested arrest warrants for violations of laws related to specific economic crimes, embezzlement, and testimony in the National Assembly.”

It was the investigations into Choi Sunshil’s intervention in national government affairs which first uncovered these suspicions regarding vice-president Ee. His takeover of the entire Samsung group is now on hold – as he is suspected of having bribed government figures through Choi Sunshil in order to smooth Samsung’s proposed takeover of Jaeil Industries. The prosecution team has surmised that President Bak and Ms Choi must have had some financial relationship and that vice-president Ee had bribed Choi.

Also being investigated, without detention, are vice-president of the Samsung Future group Choi Jiseong and other Samsung employees Jang Chunggi and Bak Sangjin. They were summoned by prosecutors before Ee. Ee’s wife has an appointment for the day after tomorrow (the 18^th) at Seoul Jungang prosecutor’s office.

Analysis: The Choi Sunshil scandal continues to compromise influential figures. While this may seem extremely serious for Ee and Samsung, it’s almost impossible to overstate both the importance of Samsung to the Korean economy (and national psyche) and the amount of influence it has. Even if Ee is found guilty and jailed, don’t expect him to be gone from the national stage for long; his father Ee Geunhee, the Samsung group chairman, was found guilty of similar offences in 2008. He received a fine of $98 million and three years’ prison time, suspended. And while ordinary Koreans dislike the arrogance and corruption of the chaebeol families they also cherish their international reach and understand their importance to the national economy.

15.01.2017

KBS News

By Bak Jinwon

Domestically produced Dongwon tinned fish in a Korean supermarket.

Korean grocery prices and housing costs appear to be comparable with those in developed countries such as the US and Japan. Today (the 15^th) the statistics site Numbeo released figures which show that Korean items such as fruit and rice are rated 12^th most expensive globally, while city-centre apartment costs are reckoned to be amongst the top 10% among 119 countries surveyed. In particular, Korean bananas are the third-most expensive in the world, with a kilo of bananas costing $3.42, or around ₩4,000. The only countries where bananas are more expensive are Mongolia and Bermuda. Oranges, apples and tomatoes are also pricey, being the fourth-most expensive in the world, while Korea has the fifth-priciest rice and potaoes globally. Besides this onions, milk, cheese and beef prices are very high, being ranked in 6^th place of all countries, while bread and cabbage prices are the highest in the world.

It appears as if housing costs are considered to be very high, too. City-centre apartments cost around $6,600 per square metre, placing them 9^th globally for expense. Korea comes behind only a number of countries which are famous for their very high housing costs, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Macao, the UK, Japan, Luxembourg and Sweden. China came in 13^th place and the US came in 44^th place. Rural apartments were found to cost around $3,600 per square metre, comparable to apartments in Taiwan. Monthly rent on a Korean one-room city-centre apartment was found to be around $536, rankng 41^st, while monthly rent of $1,309 for a three-bedroom apartment was 37^th-most expensive.

A cappucino in a café was ranked at 19^th most expensive while the cost of a litre of petrol was ranked at 30^th in the world for cost. A Volkswagen Golf was priced at 25^th in the world for expense. The goods or services which were cheapest in Korea in relation to other countries were internet charges and McDonald’s meals.

Despite the fact that Numbeo tallied up their figures for food costs from amongst 19 separate sales locations, the only items which they found to be relatively cheap were water, alcohol and tobacco. Water and domestic beer were ranked in 38^th place in relation to products sold in other countries, while a box of Marlboro cigarettes were ranked at 44^th place amongst global prices.

Analysis: daily life in Korea is an odd mix of very affordable and very expensive. Some goods and services – public transport, taxis, restaurant meals, locall-produced alcohol and utilities – are very cheap, while supermarket shopping can be surprisingly costly. It’s often cheaper to eat a quick meal of traditional Korean food at a restaurant than it is to buy the same ingredients from a supermarket. And while some types of food which are staples in the west are luxury or niche items in Korea, like cheese, beef and bread, and are considerably more expensive. (I’m also rather shocked by the price of bananas in Bermuda. They can grow them!)

04.01.2017

KBS News

by Jeong Hyeokjin

video at link

NIS headquarters, Seoul.

An official document is leading observers to assume that National Intelligence Agency drew up a cultural blacklist. The media has been given a copy of a two-page confession entitled “Leftism within the Urban Culture Organisation: the need to rectify deviant tendencies.” Part of this document presents claims that regional society has been contaminated by “leftism”, and so in order to push ahead with prosperity, the Urban Culture Organisation must get in the way [of this leftist tendency] and instigate specific management measures. The Board of Audit or the Ministry [of Culture] actually checked whether conditions could be normalised by cutting subsidies or bringing criminal charges and so on [against leftist elements] and utilise the help of the media to highlight any budget wastage by leftist elements within government departments.

Bak Yeongsu, a member of special prosecuting team, said that when he saw these documents he judged their style to be consistent with documents produced by the National Intelligence Service. Last month on the 15^th was when the documents were first suspected to be very similar to documents produced by the National Intelligence Service, which is based in President Bak’s residence, the Blue House. The provenance of the document as being from the NIS was accurately confirmed by anti-forgery watermarks made up of large characters at the centre and small characters appearing at the corners. It’s [also] written in a mixture of Korean and English, a style of writing which has almost disappeared from other government departments, and it is written in Ming dynasty printing style, with the main body of the text written in Gothic text.

The special prosecutor will summon NIS officials soon to confirm the process of arraignment for prosecution and also how this document had been distributed.

03.01.2017

KBS News

Video at link

Jeong Yura after her arrest.

Anchor: It seems as if Jeong Yura has been arrested, in the first instance, for an illegal overstay, is that correct?

Correspondent: Yes, that seems to be the case. It’s been revealed that Ms Jeong did not get an extension to her German visa once it expired. Additionally, through the Schengen free movement agreement, it is would not have been illegal for Jeong to have stayed in Denmark. As we first informed you, Jeong’s detention seems to reflect in part the Korean domestic situation, with the Korean government having decided that she ought to be arrested [by the German authorities].

Anchor: So with everything we know so far taken into consideration, whereabouts do we think Ms Jeong’s child is right now?

Correspondent: It’s now known that Ms Jeong’s child is staying with its nanny, a woman in her 60s, but when our reporter broadcast from the house yesterday no sign of their presence could be seen. They’re probably staying in a city-centre hotel to avoid Korean reporters. The whereabouts of the two remaining male members [of Jeong’s family] are unknown.

Anchor: When reporters first saw Ms Jeong at the courthouse, how was her demeanour? How did she seem?

Correspondent: In photographs taken of Ms Jeong at that point, one can see that her lips were chapped and she appeared rather gaunt. However, when reporters asked her questions during the brief moment when they saw her she replied easily and without hesitation. So we can assume that she has had help to prepare answers in advance when meeting with crowds of reporters outside the courthouse.

Anchor: It’s been reported that Ms Jeong managed to make her way into exclusive horse-rising circles [within Germany], but has the truth of this claim been checked at all by the media?

Correspondent: Yes, it was last Saturday, and we reported that Jeong had barricaded herself into a nearby horse-riding course at the time. The manager of the horse-riding facility in question confessed the truth, that Ms Jeong has been hiding in their riding habitat for months, as was reported by the media.

Analysis: blanket coverage today across Korean news media of Jeong Yura’s arrest in Germany for immigration violations. Jeong’s decision to overstay her visa in Germany was probably the best of a bad series of options: return to Korea and face extended scrutiny of her and her mother Choi Sunshil’s links with President Bak Geunhye, attempt to the leave the country for another destination and risk the media finding out, or stay on in Germany illegally. She probably didn’t anticipate that the Korean government would ask the German authorities to arrest her as soon as her visa expired. The detailed and almost pedantic nature of the coverage – revealing that Jeong’s nanny is a woman in her 60s, for example – illustrates just how important this story remains within the Korean news cycle.

03.01.2017

KBS News

Video at link

Mr Jeong attacks Ms A’s car with a fishing hammer

A man in his 30s attacked a car with a hammer because the driver had honked their horn at him when he had switched lanes. He was detained by police. The incident occurred on the 14^th of October of last year at half-seven in the morning in Busan’s Haeundae district, when a Mr Jeong threatened a Ms A, a 49-year-old female, and used a hammer of 25cm in length to beat the side of Ms A’s car and her mirrors ten times. He is suspected of having damaged the car. A police officer who is a fishing enthusiast confirmed that Jeong had used a fishing hammer, typically used to break up frozen bait.

Analysis: violent crime between strangers is astonishingly rare in Korea, particularly when considering that the vast majority of Koreans live in very densely urbanised areas. Driving is often chaotic and bad-tempered but physical confrontations and attacks between drivers are very uncommon – as demonstrated by national press coverage of this event. Korean criminal law places the blame for any assault or confrontation on whoever is least injured – self-protection isn’t a valid defence in court – and I believe it’s this particular aspect of Korea’s legal system which acts as a very effective deterrent against violence. Of course, as Mr Jeong’s behaviour shows, sometimes people will still engage in violent crime.