CINA

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Two days ago(1.23) the (conservative/bourgeois-reactionary)JoongAng Ilbo published the following: In what appears to be the latest force gathering President Park Geun-hye’s strongest advocates from across the country - a tiny but solid conservative base in Korea - waves of protesters took to the streets Saturday to demand the government to re-implement martial law and “wipe all the ppalgaengi from Korea,” a derogatory term for 'communists'...

The ppalgaengi they were referring to include the 350,000 anti-Park Geun-hye protesters who braved sub-zero temperatures nationwide on the same day... The pro-Park rally began at 2 p.m. on Saturday in front of Daehnamun gate in central Seoul, where throngs of Park apologists held a banner urging the government to declare martial law. At one point, a Buddhist monk rose to the center stage and claimed, “all ppalgaengi should be killed”...(here you can read the full report)

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South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday mounted a strong defense of the plan to deploy a US missile defense system(aka THAAD) to the Korean Peninsula, saying it is a "necessary self-defense measure incomparable to any other"...(source: Yonhap, 1.23)

Well, since more than one month - at least once a week - he keeps repeating the same bullshit...

But today's Korea Times gave us an new, very important reason, why THAAD never should be deployed in S. Korea: The new U.S. government is likely to attempt to deploy more assets of its global missile defense (MD) program on and around the Korean Peninsula in addition to a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery... Washington is also expected to pressure Seoul to join the U.S.-led MD system... Should this materialize, it could provoke a severe backlash from China, which could trigger a fierce arms race in the region...(the full article you can read here)

PS. The United States is prepared for any North Korean missile launch, including the possibility of shooting it down if it were coming toward the U.S. or allies... U.S. officials said the country is fully capable of defending itself and allies against North Korean missiles, with Defense Secretary Ash Carter saying the U.S. would shoot down a missile if it were coming toward the U.S. or allies...(source: Yonhap, 1.20)

So why S. Korea needs to deploy THAAD, when the "United States is (...) fully capable of defending itself and allies against North Korean missiles..."?? Questions upon questions..(^^)

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Yesterday's Yonhap News Agency reported the following: South Koreans took to the streets Saturday to demand scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye's resignation and the arrest of corporate leaders over bribery charges, marking the 13th straight weekly rally. Braving cold weather amid snow flurries, hundreds of thousands of protesters held a candlelight vigil in central Seoul...

...to call on Park to immediately resign and the Constitutional Court to speed up its review over the legality of Park's impeachment. With some 2,300 civic groups in attendance, demonstrators strongly called for the arrest of the heads of local conglomerates(aka chaebol), including Samsung Group, over bribery charges in connection to a corruption scandal involving Park and her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil...

Today's Hankyoreh wrote that: The 13th weekly candlelight demonstrations in central Seoul on Jan. 21 blazed with calls for chaebol reform(the demo's main motto: "Let's fight together to bring down the 'Chaebol Republic'!"). The day before the event, its organizers with the group Emergency Citizen Action for the Resignation of the Park Geun-hye Administration had been worried enough about falling participant numbers to issue an “appeal to see the candlelight revolution through.” But despite heavy snow and subzero temperatures, the organizers estimated around 320,000 attendees, far more than the estimated 130,000 who showed up the weekend before. The increase appeared to reflect a sense of concern among citizens after a court ruled on Jan. 19 to reject an arrest warrant request for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Many participants stressed the need not just for a new administration, but also fundamental societal reforms - particularly to South Korea’s chaebol...(the full article you can read here)

Here you'll get KCTU's report(in Korean), incl. lots of pics...

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[1.20, early in the morning] Gwanghwamun (protest)Tent Village in central Seoul(사진: 신유아)...

[1.21] Gwanghwamun Square in the afternoon...
 

But despite freezing cold and snowdrifts... THE STRUGGLE GOES ON!!

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Last Friday(1.13): Korea Times headline reads as follows: Ban Ki-moon supports THAAD deployment (in S. Korea)

Yesterday's JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon threw his weight behind the installation of a U.S. advanced missile defense system on Sunday in a move to woo security-sensitive conservatives in what is seen as his journey toward the Blue House...

On the same day the Chinese Global Times published the following: Ban Ki-moon(...) is throwing his weight behind the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system on South Korean soil... Because of his previous role as UN secretary-general, he is expected to have more understanding over why Beijing and Moscow cannot tolerate any move to break the balance of the region... Once THAAD is set up, the current strategic balance among China, the US and Russia will be wrecked and the three sides will sharply confront one another. In that case, the Korean Peninsula will only turn into a zone filled with direct clashes of interests... South Koreans probably think that once Seoul actually sets the system up, China will find that nothing more can be done. Such thinking is too naïve. The THAAD installation in South Korea will pose a hazardous challenge to China's security and core interests. Beijing's stance on the issue can't be bargained over... (the entire piece you can read here)
 

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Last Saturday(1.14) afternoon/evening(KST) in central Seoul: About 100,000 South Koreans braved biting cold to take to the streets to demand scandal-tainted President Park Geun-hye resign...

It was the 12th consecutive Saturday rally, which has been organized over an influence-peddling scandal centered on Park and her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil. With some 1,500 civic groups involved, the new year's second rally at Gwanghwamun Square - held with the mercury well below zero(-8°C/apparent air temperature: -15°C) - also called for the arrest of corporate leaders...

...who allegedly bribed organizations linked to Choi in exchange for favors from the government...(source: Yonhap/VoP, 1.14)

KCTU's detailed report(in Korean), incl lots of pics, you'll get here.

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