February 3rd week tidy up
On the 15th, the government held its first emergency economic livelihood meeting this year and discussed ways to promote competition in the financial and telecommunications sectors, which are criticized for making money easily in an oligopoly system. At the meeting, President Yoon Seok-yeol said, “The damage from oligopoly in the banking industry is great. In order to alleviate consumer financial burdens, it is necessary to reduce loan-to-deposit margins and make efforts to protect vulnerable borrowers.” Regarding the communication cost issue, he instructed, “Expand options for communication rates and strengthen competition in the communication market.”
In order to break down the oligopoly system of the 5 major banks and the 3 major telecommunications companies, which was called the so-called ‘competitive windless zone’, the plan is to create a competitive environment by leaving open the market entry of new market participants. Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, who had only to set up a confrontational angle, said at the meeting of the Supreme Council on the 15th that “I agree with the president’s perceptions and countermeasures.”
On the 14th, President Yoon Seok-yeol finished the ‘2023 Korea Sports Vision Reporting Session’ at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, and pulled the bowstring with the help of Kim Woo-jin at the archery range. Of the two arrows that President Yoon shot at a target at a distance of 7m, the first missed the target, and the second arrow hit 8 points. It’s a reporter’s brain, but when the first bowstring went off the target, I think I might have listened to the expert’s advice and shot the second. I hope to hear a lot of advice from experts and pull the bow in the measures related to finance and telecommunications, which the opposition representative also approved of.
On the 16th, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party of Korea. For the first time in constitutional history, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the 1st opposition party. On the 17th, the Seoul Central District Court sent an arrest warrant requested by the prosecution and a request for consent to the arrest to the prosecution. With this, the process of consenting to the arrest of Representative Lee began, and it was confirmed that the ruling and opposition parties tentatively agreed to vote on the motion for the arrest of Representative Lee on the 27th.
For reference, former Congressman Kwak Sang-do, who recently stood on the photo line and whose son received 5 billion won in the name of severance pay, was acquitted in the first trial on the 8th. (58) On the 10th, an independent lawmaker judged 7 out of 8 charges innocent and sentenced him to a fine of 15 million won.
The death toll from the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria exceeded 45,000 on the 18th (local time). Humans were helpless against the tremendous power of nature. Until now, mankind, who had only shown fighting and competing while living on the round surface of the earth, showed a scene of becoming one after seeing the torn land for a while. Rescue teams dispatched from around the world and relief supplies donated by the people of each country helped the victims to start their lives again, even though they were living in tents.
After the earthquake, foreign media and SNS continued to upload pictures of the earthquake rescue in Turkey. 100 hours, 150, 200, 261 hours… , The last photo you saw was the one rescued after 296 hours. As the 10 days passed, the photos sent through foreign media and the posts retweeted on Twitter decreased. It has become difficult for me to find rescued photos, and I am continuing to monitor it with a sad heart. I have been looking for pictures related to earthquakes for over 10 days, and I am awed by the survival instinct of humans, which is unbreakable even in the dark despair and cold, even though the earth has incomparable power than humans. I hope that the photos of the miraculous rescue will continue to be shown on foreign media and social media.
On the night of the 8th, North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) presumed to be a solid fuel engine at the night parade of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Army (National Day) held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang. A new weapon was unveiled after two years and four months, but the biggest topic of the event that day was Kim Joo-ae, the daughter of Kim Jong-un.
Kim Ju-ae, who has already appeared for the 5th time since November of last year, only in major military-related events, observed the military parade with Chairman Kim in the center of the chairman’s podium. On the 10th, Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing a resident source in North Pyongan Province, reported that North Korea was forcing residents who use the name ‘Juae’ to change their name. Currently, it is known that in North Korea, the use of the name ‘Jeong-eun’ and the names ‘Il-sung, Jeong-il, and (Lee) Seol-ju’ are prohibited. On the 14th, North Korea’s Chosun Postal Service also released a stamp design containing a picture of Chairman Kim and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae. On the 15th, Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se said in a plenary meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly, “North Korea is preparing for the 3rd and 4th hereditary succession in advance, and is trying to unite the regime centered on Kim Jong-un and the so-called ‘Baekdu lineage’.” I think it’s just a measure to be firm,” he said.
According to a government source, the first draft of the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s defense white paper, which will be published next month, contains the expression “the North Korean regime and the North Korean military are our enemies.” If this draft is maintained, expressions targeting the North Korean system as an enemy will be discussed again after six years. As if in response, North Korea fired one shot, believed to be a long-range ballistic missile, into the East Sea on Saturday, the 18th. It has been 48 days since a super-large multiple rocket launcher was fired on the 1st of last month.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.