CINA

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Yesterday's regional/local elections in S.Korea

AND THE WINNER IS... (surprise, surprise!) THE RULING CLASS
But (unfortunately) the ruling class in S.K. isn't the working class...

According to K. Herald out of the total 228 electoral districts picking lower-level administrative chiefs, the DP scored victories in 92 districts while the GNP secured 82 posts. Independent candidates won 36 posts while the LFP and the minority Democratic Labor Party garnered 17 posts and three posts, respectively.

Related articles:
☞ Opposition parties secure significant victory in elections (Hankyoreh)

☞ Voters Fire Warning Shot at Government (Chosun Ilbo) 

☞ DP basks in election victory; GNP grapples with debacle (K. Herald) 

☞ GNP leaders to resign after election defeat (Yonhap) 

☞ Followers of late former President Roh return to politics (K. Times)

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Rev. Moonsu, a Buddhist monk burnt himself to death Monday to protest the so-called "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project"!!

Yesterday's (conservative/reactionary) JoongAng Ilbo reported the following:

Monk immolates himself in rivers protest

Locals found the 47-year-old monk Moonsu of the Jogye Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, dead near a stream in Gunwi County, North Gyeongsang, at around 3 p.m. on Monday. He left a suicide note inside his clothes that read, “The Lee Myung-bak administration must stop its four rivers restoration project immediately, eradicate corruption and do its best for poor and underprivileged people instead of the rich.” The note also stated that the monk felt sorry for his family as well as fellow Buddhists.

Last year, president’s administration started the four rivers project to restore the nation’s major rivers - the Han, Geum, Nakdong and Yeongsan. The project has met fierce criticism from opposition parties and civic groups, which protest that ecosystems in and around the rivers will be ruined by this project. They also insist that the government is wasting valuable tax money on a futile effort.

Police said they confirmed that Moonsu bought gasoline from a gas station at around 7:20 a.m. on Monday and seemed to have set fired to himself. “Looking at various evidence, we suspect that he burnt himself to death.”

The monk entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1986 and went on to practice in temples including Haein and Tongdo. From 2006 to 2007, he was the head monk at Daesan Temple in North Gyeongsang.

The local Buddhist community mourned their loss as the Jogye Order sent monks to North Gyeongsang, where Moonsu was found. The Jogye Order announced its official stance on the monk’s death yesterday, stating, “We are truly mourning the loss of monk Moonsu and wish him a peaceful passage to death.”

Around 20 Buddhists from various groups including the Buddhist Ecology Federation held a press conference at Jogye Temple in central Seoul yesterday.

“Monk Moonsu’s self-immolation threw an important question toward us as religious people concerning the value of life,” said monk Sugyeong, head of the Buddhist Economy Federation during the press conference.

Meanwhile, voices of opposition toward the government’s four rivers project became stronger yesterday. The Busan citizens’ group against the four rivers project held an emergency press conference in front of Busan’s city hall urging a halt to the restoration. The civic association Geumganggwon, composed of 45 different groups from the Daejeon, North and South Chungcheong and North Jeolla areas, also held a press conference in front of South Chungcheong provincial office to state their opposition to the project.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2921282

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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed Sunday that it is "most urgent" for the two Koreas to defuse tensions and avoid conflict as Seoul seeks a host of punitive measures against the North for its deadly March naval attack, Joong Ang Ilbo wrote today.
   "The most urgent thing for us to do is to address security risks on the Korean Peninsula, which have been growing since the naval incident occurred," Wen told reporters. "In particular, we have to focus on preventing any possible armed clashes between the two Koreas."

And S.K. surprisingly draw the first conclusions, as Yonhap reported few hours ago:

South Korea's military has deferred a plan to fly anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to North Korea, a defense ministry official said Sunday...
   Seoul has resumed FM radio propaganda broadcasts into the North while preparing to launch loudspeaker broadcasts on the heavily armed border. The loudspeaker campaign, which had been expected to begin in mid-June, is also likely to be to put on hold....

Related articles:

☞ Deadly silence at the DMZ (Asia Times, 5.29)
☞ China urges efforts to ease tensions (Yonhap, 5.30)
☞ Torpedo attack gives leverage to US, China (K. Times, 5.30)

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The following is the full text of MB's today's "Address to the Nation" (in Pyongyang it'll be possibly interpreted as "Declaration of War"!!):

Fellow Koreans,
I am standing here today, keenly aware that the Korean Peninsula is facing a critical turning point.

My fellow citizens,
The Cheonan was sunk by a surprise North Korean torpedo attack. Again, the perpetrator was North Korea. Their attack came at a time when the people of the Republic of Korea were enjoying their well-earned rest after a hard day's work. Once again, North Korea violently shattered our peace.

The sinking of the Cheonan constitutes a military provocation against the Republic of Korea by North Korea.

Since the end of the Korean War, the North has perpetrated incessant armed provocations against us, including the bombing attack against the presidential delegation at the Aung San Martyr's Mausoleum in Myanmar and the bombing in midair of Korean Air Flight 858. The North Koreans, however, have never officially admitted the crimes they committed. This time is no different. They continue to insist that my Government fabricated the sinking of the Cheonan.

I am not surprised by such North Korean behavior and this was the reason why I emphasized, from the very beginning, the importance of conducting a thorough and objective scientific investigation into the incident. I also asked the nation to exercise patience and self-restraint. It was important for us not to come to any hasty conclusion until the results of the investigation came out.

Finally, on May 20th, the international joint investigation group released their conclusive findings, backed by definitive evidences. With the release of the final report, no responsible country in the international community will be able to deny the fact that the Cheonan was sunk by North Korea.

Fellow citizens,
We have always tolerated North Korea's brutality, time and again. We did so because we have always had a genuine longing for peace on the Korean Peninsula. But now things are different. North Korea will pay a price corresponding to its provocative acts. I will continue to take stern measures to hold the North accountable.

From this moment, no North Korean ship will be allowed to make passage through any of the shipping lanes in the waters under our control, which has been allowed by the Inter-Korean Agreement on Maritime Transportation. The sea routes meant for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation must never again be used for armed provocations.

Trade and exchanges between the Republic of Korea and North Korea will also be suspended. We still remember the killing of an innocent South Korean tourist by a North Korean armed guard at the Mt. Kumgang resort. More recently, North Korea unilaterally confiscated South Korean assets at this same resort. Worse yet, the North sank the Cheonan taking the precious lives of our young sailors. Under these circumstances, any inter-Korean trade or other cooperative activity is meaningless.
However, we will continue to provide assistance for infants and children. Matters pertaining to the Kaesong Industrial Complex will be duly considered, taking its unique characteristics into consideration.

From now on, the Republic of Korea will not tolerate any provocative act by the North and will maintain the principle of proactive deterrence. If our territorial waters, airspace or territory are violated, we will immediately exercise our right of self-defense.

The North's military provocation against the Cheonan on March 26 violated the Charter of the United Nations and contravened the existing agreements reached for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, including the Korean War Armistice Agreement and the Basic Agreement between South and North Korea.

In close consultations with the nations concerned, the Government will refer this matter to the UN Security Council, so that the international community can join us in holding the North accountable. Many countries around the world have expressed their full support for our position.

I solemnly urge the North Korean authorities to do the following. Apologize immediately to the Republic of Korea and the international community. Immediately punish those who are responsible for and those who were involved in the incident. These are basic measures that the North has to take before anything else. If the North continues to make excuses and wild assertions as it has always done in the past, they will not find any place to stand in the world.

My fellow Koreans and our compatriots in North Korea,
The overriding goal of the Republic of Korea is not military confrontation. Our goal has always been the attainment of real peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Our goal is to bring about prosperity for all Koreans. Our vision is to realize the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The Republic of Korea is no longer what it once was-an impoverished nation, suffering from the scars of war. Rising above the ruins of war, the Republic of Korea has achieved an impressive miracle of progress guided by the constitutional foundations of liberal democracy and a free market economy. The Republic of Korea is continuing its confident march toward the center stage of the world.

All countries across the globe are competing with one another to ensure the prosperity of their own citizens. At the same time, all nations are working together for the sake of co-prosperity and peace in the global community. The entire world is changing. Changes are taking place faster than ever.

But, what is the situation in North Korea? Nothing has changed over the last sixty years. It is a country still holding onto an empty ambition of forcefully reuniting the Korean Peninsula under the banner of communism. It is a country that still believes in making threats and committing terrorist activities. North Korea's goal is to instigate division and conflict.

For what reason and for whom is it doing what it does?

As compatriots, I am truly ashamed.
It is now time for the North Korean regime to change.
Today, no country can maintain peace and make economic development on its own. It is imperative to conduct exchanges and cooperate with the world and to join the path that everyone else is taking. It is time to look at reality and make that courageous decision. It is time for the North Korean regime to start thinking about what is truly good for the regime itself and its people.

The Korean Peninsula must not be left standing as the danger zone in Northeast Asia. The two Koreas must take the initiative and resolve this problem. The Peninsula must become a new cradle of world peace.

Fellow Koreans,
Permeating this War Memorial of Korea are the spirits of the soldiers of the Republic of Korea and United Nations who shed blood on this land. Also dedicated here was the monument memorializing the 46 fallen warriors of the corvette Cheonan.
Through the Cheonan tragedy, we learned a painful lesson once again. We had been forgetting the reality that the nation faces the most belligerent regime in the world.

We have to admit that our Armed Forces made mistakes as well. On the occasion of this incident, the Government will solidify the national security readiness. The discipline of the Armed Forces will be reestablished, military reform efforts will be expedited and combat capabilities will be reinforced drastically. The ROK-US joint combat readiness will be further strengthened on the basis of strong ROK-US alliance.

Public awareness of the importance of national security will be strengthened as well. We must never waver in the face of threats, provocations and divisive schemes by the North. We must become one when it comes to national security.

Fellow citizens,
Regardless of how rough the storm may be, we will continue to walk steadily on the path toward a prosperous nation, a compassionate society and a strong country.
The great people of the Republic of Korea will build an even greater country.

Fellow Koreans,
Let us all join forces and march forward together.

Thank you very much.

Source: Korea Times, 5.24

Related articles:
☞ Seoul: North will pay for sinking (al-Jazeera)
☞ South Korea suspends trade with North (Guardian)
☞ South Korea lashes out at North Korea (CNN)

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While since today - surprise, surprise!! - 'Seoul officially held Pyongyang responsible for the sinking of the "CheonAn" navy frigate', not everyone in S. Korea seems to be really convinced...

Unsurprisingly(^^), today's ("left"-liberal)Hankyoreh has some problems with the "evidences" provided by the "Int'l Investigation Team":

Indisputable evidence?

A Korean military official points at the fragment of a propeller labeled “I am North Korea” and says, “I found it!”
   The fragment has been presented as the evidence that North Korea was responsible for the attack on sunken Navy vessel Cheonan by the joint military-civilian investigation team.　
   The joint investigation team has insisted that serial number on the fragment of a propeller includes North Korean-style characters. Some, however, have voiced concern about the announcement, saying that this fragment may be too old to trace to the manufacturer.
   According to Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, during a telephone conversation between President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday, Lee promised to present “indisputable evidence” in reporting the findings of the joint military-civilian investigation team.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/421693.html

Related stuff:
☞ Seoul: N. Korean torpedo sank ship (al-Jazeera)

☞ DPRK warns retaliation will triger "all-out" war (Xinhua) 

☞ North Korea slams report that it torpedoed... (CNN) 

☞ Tension set to heighten as Seoul takes steps (K. Herald) 

☞ 'The Official Announcement Edition' (Marmot's Hole) 

☞ Gov't warns against 'groundless rumors' (K. Times)

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Today's 30th anniversary of the Gwangju Democracy Uprising in the Korean media:
☞ S. Korea honors May 1980 pro-democracy uprising (Yonhap)
☞ Gwangju democracy uprising 30 years on (JoongAng Ilbo)
☞ Korea marks 1980 Gwangju uprising (K. Herald)
☞ Gwangju and Bangkok (Korea Times)

Today's Hankyoreh also "celebrated" the date - but in its own inimitable(^^) way:

President Lee Myung-bak shakes hands with Chun Doo-whan, president during South Korea’s military dictatorship, who says “Have you decided not to attend the May 18 Democracy Movement commemoration ceremony for protestors in Gwangju? Those people were really out of control rioters, weren’t they?” President Lee and President Chun smile in front of the May 18th National Cemetery in which victims of the brutal suppression that took place during May of 1980 are buried.
   Above late President Chun, a sign pictures him as a soldier who was deployed to Gwangju and suppressed protesters at that time and says, “This type of person is ... an elder who is to be admired.” Above President Lee, a sign pictures him as a riot police officer repressing a candlelight vigil demonstration and says, “This type of person is ... a church leader.”
   The phrases “respected elder” and “leader of a church” point to the absurdity of both individuals as one to be admired and one who talks of adhering to Christian values while supporting and ordering violent acts against civilians.
   Chun was found guilty of the bloody suppression against innocent civilians that took place on May 18 in 1980.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/421281.html

☞ Lessons of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising (Chosun Ilbo)
☞ Meeting Marks Anniversary of Kwangju Uprising (KCNA)

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On Monday(5.10) an interesting CNN report described the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ, a.k.a. MDL) as a peerless eco-paradise on the peninsula: Hundreds of species of rare birds migrate here. The DMZ is also home to wild boar and Korean water deer... Some soldiers and farmers have even reported seeing black bears and leopards... Described as “an accidental paradise”.... the DMZ is certainly one of the few places in both Koreas that tigers might yet dwell...

On the same day, according to Chosun Ilbo, the S. Korean Ministry of "Defense" announced, "If N. Korean involvement in the Cheonan incident is confirmed, as a military measure we are examining the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts across the MDL."

Well, this f*cking (complete infantile!!) idea is the same as the S.K. gov't would announce tomorrow to declassify Sorak-san for a combat aircraft training area...
And let's call it what it is: ECO-TERRORISM!!!

Related articles:
☞ Psychological Warfare on the List... (DailyNK, 5.10)

☞ MoD considers resuming psychological warfare... (Hankyoreh, 5.11) 

☞ U.S. thinks North sunk Cheonan.. (JoongAng Ilbo, 5.12)

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An increasing number of S. Korean citizens are protesting/resisting against one of the most dumbest(!) projects of the MB administration - the so-called "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project".
Just yesterday thousands of people demonstrated in downtown Seoul(*) against the economical useless and eco-disastrous(**) project:

Last Thursday's (bourgeois) Korea Herald published the following interesting coverage about some environmental aspects of the project:

River project poses threat to ecological system

Hoeryongpo, about three-hour drive south of Seoul, is a small village where a dragon-like lake twists and turns around the houses and trees.

The river’s century-old sedimentation activities of have created a sandy plain surrounding the town, which has become a habitat for migratory birds and plants.

“This unique landscape may not be found in Korea any more,” said Lee Won-young, professor of urban planning at the University of Suwon, while looking at the village from the observatory last week.

As part of the government’s Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, construction is underway for dredging and damming the Nakdong River, which runs through the eastern part of the country.

When one of the planned dams is completed in the upper stream of Naesungcheon, a tributary of the Nakdong River, the professor said, less sand will flow into the waters surrounding the village and will change the ecology of the area.

“The sand in the Korean Peninsula, mostly from granite, filters water through the space between grains. In particular, the sandy plains, frequently spotted along the Nakdong River, provide a perfect habitat for wildlife,” Lee said.

“However, I heard a government official described the sandy plains as thick layer of fat that should be removed while promoting the river project.”

Costliest project

Amid fierce resistance from environmentalists and opposition parties, the government launched the river project in November, aimed at improving water quality and preventing natural disasters along the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers.

The government also estimates the project will create 340,000 jobs and 38 trillion won ($34 billion) in long-term economic benefits.

With a combined 22.2 trillion won ($20 billion) injected from public funds, the river project is expected to become the costliest engineering work in the nation’s history.

It is also a core project of the “Green New Deal” policy pushed by the Lee Myung-bak administration. The government plans to complete the construction work by 2012 before Lee’s five-year term ends in 2013.

According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the construction work on a total of 16 dams were on average 12.2 percent complete as of Monday.

The ministry said 60 percent of the main projects including building dams will be completed within the year.

With social and political controversies over the project deepening, the National Election Commission ordered a halt to the ministry’s promotion of the project, warning that the issue could affect the local elections next month.

Environmental study

On a construction site in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, reporters were introduced to a habitat of a rare type of chrysanthemum, which was found late last month during construction work.

Even though the endangered species, called “Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae,” is believed to grow only along the South Han River, the Yeoju area was omitted from the feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of Environment.

Despite a local environmental office’s order to halt the project in the area, the construction work was still underway on Sunday.

While the main community of the species was surrounded by a boundary line, some of them were moved to another place for transplant.

  
Their originally green leaves had turned brown. An official from the Korean Water Resources Corporation said “they were adapting to the new environment.”

“Almost half of rare species extinctions are caused as their habitat is changed. For the accurate study on them, they should be monitored every year over the long term,” said Jeung Min-gull, an ecological geneticist at Kongju National University in Gongju.

“The nation lacks specialists in the field and related infrastructure. That’s why we need enough time to conduct such a large-scale environmental study,” he said.

For the river project, the government omitted the preliminary investigation and completed the feasibility study within about four months.

Academics join fight

Jeung, the professor, participated in the environmental review panel on the river project. However, he quit the job after having found that the study was aimed at offering advice, not pointing out problems to change. Then, he joined a group of professors who fight against the river project.

The Professors’ Organization for Movement Against Grand Korean Canal was formed two years ago in protest against one of President Lee’s campaign pledges to develop a pan Korean waterway by connecting the Han and Nakdong rivers.

 
Even though the president withdrew his canal plan after taking office in February 2008, the group with a membership of some 2,500 professors has led the campaign against the river project, assessing the environmental and economic impacts of the plans and offering information to the public.

“We have recognized our negligence painfully. If we had spoken of the environmental importance of our rivers from 20 years ago, people would never have accepted this flawed project today,” said Lee of Suwon University.

Jeung showed some old photos of the Han River in Seoul in which a sandy river bank was crowded with citizens.

“Other countries such as Switzerland and Germany are breaking concrete dams and other artificial facilities to restore the natural beauty of the riverside. But the nation’s river project is bucking the global trend, isolating people from the rivers,” he said.

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100506000632

* Related reports:
☞ 10,000 protest four rivers project (JoongAng Ilbo, 5.11)
☞ Four Rivers protests... (Hankyoreh, 5.11)

** Ultimately (just in my opinion!) it's just a state-approved/controlled resource of profit maximization for the S. Korean 'Jaebol', resp. their beleaguered construction sector!!!

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Since y'day the S.K. (bourgeois) media is reporting about Seoul's plan to fingerprint foreign "suspects" from August (K. Times, 4.04) as a regulatory action to intensify 

the pre-G20(summit) state terror...

Here's what today's (reactionary) JoongAng Ilbo has to say:

Foreign travelers to be fingerprinted

 
Korea will install a fingerprint authentication system in major airports and seaports with the aim of keeping dangerous foreigners from entering the country, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

The announcement comes as Seoul continues its preparations for the G-20 Summit.

“For a safe G-20 Summit, foreigners who are suspected to have criminal backgrounds will need to go through fingerprint identification,” said an official at the Justice Ministry.

The news also comes as the nation is on full alert over foreigner identification following reports last week that two Pakistani men suspected of being members of the Taliban snuck past the port authority in Gunsan, North Jeolla.

The Justice Ministry has submitted a bill to the National Assembly that will make it mandatory for all foreign adults coming into Korea to register their fingerprints with the government...

However, the ministry does not need the Assembly’s approval to install a fingerprint identification system, which links to a National Police Agency database that keeps records on foreigners who have committed crimes in or been deported from Korea...

If the system identifies a foreigner with a dangerous criminal past, he or she will be handed over to the police for further investigation.

The ministry said that the fingerprint authentication system must be installed at key places, including Incheon International Airport, by August in order to have it fully operational by the G-20 Summit in November.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2918769

Related:
☞ G20 security (Korea Herald, 4.05)

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Y'day the German (conservative) daily newspaper Die Welt wrote the following:

Conflict with the South

Warship sinks - North Korea possibly not involved

On Friday, according to the (South Korean) Ministry of Defense, an unexplained explosion in the ship's stern tore the vessel in two after it fired off a warning shot at an "unidentified object". But the object wasn't a North Korean naval ship, as primarily supposed, instead it was very likely a flock of birds...

And the moral of the story? Never try to attack the infamous species of the "North Asian Torpedo Seagull"!!

The 'Cheonan', before it attacked "a flock of birds"...

...and afterwards - bottom up

If you want to follow an interesting (??) discussion about the possible cause of the incident, please check out the related contribution on OFK!

Related article:
☞ Speculations vary on cause of ship sinking (K. Herald, 3.28)