Tag: south korea

South Korea Election Officials Suspected of FORGING Vote Tally Sheets and COVERING UP Discrepancies — Special Prosecutor RAIDS Election Commission Offices

What was dismissed as a simple clerical mistake in June has now escalated into a criminal investigation involving allegations of falsified election records and an attempted cover-up inside South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC).

South Korea’s election system is facing another explosive controversy after a special prosecutor announced Tuesday, November 10, that investigators had uncovered evidence suggesting an election commission employee concealed and forged official vote tally sheets during the June 3 local elections.

The allegations involve the election for superintendent of education in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea’s most populous province.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the special counsel team led by independent prosecutor Lee Tae-han suspects an employee of the Gwangju City Election Commission in Gyeonggi Province manipulated election records, resulting in discrepancies between the reported vote totals and the actual count.

Even more troubling, investigators are examining whether officials within the local election commission attempted to conceal the suspected wrongdoing.

On Tuesday, investigators executed court-authorized search-and-seizure operations at the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission and the Gwangju City Election Commission.

The searches were conducted as part of an investigation into suspected violations of South Korea’s Public Official Election Act.

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South Korean Prosecutor Seeks Death Penalty for Conservative Ex-President

South Korean Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk on Thursday demanded the death penalty for former president Yeon Suk-yeol, who touched off a national crisis by declaring martial law in December 2024.

Yoon, 65, declared a state of martial law in South Korea on December 3, 2024. He said this was necessary to “protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces” that had allegedly subverted and paralyzed South Korea’s government.

Yoon denounced the opposition in the South Korean National Assembly as a “hotbed of criminals,” and said martial law would remain in effect until he could “eradicate such anti-state forces and the culprits of the country’s ruin who have committed evil acts up until now.”

As it turned out, the state of martial law only lasted about six hours, until lawmakers were able to slip past a cordon of soldiers, establish a quorum in the National Assembly, and voted to nullify Yoon’s decree. Yoon was impeached ten days later, removed from office in April 2025 after a lengthy legal and political battle, and sentenced to life in prison for “leading an insurrection” in February 2026.

Yoon filed an appeal against his life sentence, which is now pending before the Seoul High Court. Cho responded on Thursday by arguing that Yoon can only be held fully “accountable” for “orchestrating a rebellion” by giving him the death penalty.

The special prosecution team pushed for capital punishment at Yoon’s first trial and still believe there is “no reason to hesitate to impose the death penalty,” in part because they believe there is enough evidence to prove that Yoon carefully planned his martial law insurrection.

Prosecutors also argued that Yoon deserved no leniency from the appeals court for “restrained” behavior during his “self-coup” because he was prepared to use extreme force against those who tried to stop him, but some police and military officials disobeyed his orders.

Yoon’s attorneys argued that the former president was merely trying to “raise awareness” of corruption and sedition among his political opponents by declaring martial law and had no intention of setting himself up as an authoritarian ruler. South Koreans lived under military dictatorships from the 1960s through the 1980s and they do not have fond memories of the experience, so the charges against Yoon touched a nerve with the public.

The odds of Yoon actually being executed seem fairly low. The death penalty is still on the books in South Korea, but its last executions were carried out in 1997.

Yoon has also appealed a 30-year sentence handed down in June for ordering a drone incursion of North Korea in October 2024, allegedly to heighten tensions on the peninsula and set the stage for his martial law declaration. Yoon’s lawyers said he did not personally order the drone operation and it was a reasonable response to North Korea sending balloons loaded with garbage across the border.

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South Korea’s Hedging Strategy

Republic of Korea (ROK) leaders are having to navigate an increasingly challenging policy course to avoid having their country become entangled in an array of dangerous security problems, both in East Asia and elsewhere in the international system.

The most recent example involved Seoul’s actions in Ukraine.  In late September 2026, the Kiev regime transferred two North Korean prisoners of war, who had been fighting with Russian forces, to South Korea.  That move was highly confidential, lest it put the ROK government in a highly compromising position.  Disclosure of the information could not only cause a rift in Seoul’s delicate relations with Moscow, but could also create a dangerous confrontation between the two rival Korean states.

Instead of maintaining the required discretion and confidentiality, however, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky announced the transfer to the world during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly. Zelensky also sharply criticized North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, for deploying troops on Russia’s behalf. South Korean media then reported that the two captured soldiers had expressed their desire to defect to the ROK. Tensions between North and South Korea promptly spiked.

So did the anger of the ROK administration toward Zelensky.  South Korean President Lee Jae Myung immediately accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement between Seoul and Kiev about the transfer. Ukraine flatly denied making such a deal.  The ROK’s risks of being drawn into the maelstrom of the Russia-Ukraine war seemed to rise.

Seoul already was resisting pressure from Kiev to sell sophisticated weapons to Ukraine. Zelensky’s government has asked the ROK on several occasions, most recently in early August 2026, to send air defense missiles and other crucial systems. Seoul has repeatedly declined those requests.  Zelensky’s clumsy conduct regarding the North Korean prisoners of war episode is not likely to enhance Kiev’s prospects going forward.

Yet NATO members, including the United States, have long been pressing the ROK to approve such arms sales.  Indeed, Seoul has faced such calls since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  It has not been easy for ROK leaders to resist that pressure, but they have done so to this point.

Lee’s stance on the Ukraine arms sale issue is consistent with his government’s overall policy to try to reduce tensions with North Korea.  He has even gone beyond endorsing President Trump’s willingness to hold a summit meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un before the end of 2026.  In a major speech in late September, Lee called on the United States to ease its onerous, longstanding economic sanctions against Pyongyang, and to accept a freeze on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program rather than continue Washington’s hoary insistence on the abolition of that program.

South Korea is making a concerted effort to avoid becoming entangled in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to promote a possible rapprochement between Washington and Pyongyang, and to ease the ROK’s own tensions with North Korea.  Lee and his advisers are also attempting to steer a middle course with respect to the mounting animosity between Japan and the People’s Republic of China.  Both Beijing and Tokyo seek Seoul’s backing regarding a number of disputes.  One emotional spat is the territorial dispute between Japan and the PRC over control of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands, which has led to several provocative deployments of maritime vessels in the past year.

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Trump Maps Out $200 Billion in Korean Investment, but the Biggest Deals Aren’t Done Yet

President Donald Trump put some yuge numbers on the table Wednesday: up to $200 billion in South Korean investment for American energy projects, including Alaska LNG, eight nuclear power plants, and a massive natural gas power project in Texas.

The announcement finally gives shape to part of the $350 billion investment package South Korea agreed to as part of last year’s trade deal with Washington. Of that total, $150 billion was set aside for shipbuilding and another $200 billion for strategic investments selected in cooperation with the United States.

From Reuters:

“Thanks to the agreements my administration has secured with the Republic of Korea, they will invest up to $200 billion,” Trump said.

He said that the investment would include the construction of eight large-scale nuclear power plants, a liquefied natural gas pipeline in Alaska and a 6-gigawatt power generation facility in Texas.

The announcement is part of a series of economic and investment deals Trump is highlighting ⁠ahead of November’s midterm elections, as he seeks to reinforce his economic record amid voter concerns over the Iran war and high gasoline prices. The Alaska LNG project also comes as Republicans seek to retain incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan who faces Democrat Mary Peltola. Sullivan was in the Oval Office for the Wednesday announcement.

The Alaska LNG project includes an 807-mile (1,299-km) pipeline carrying natural gas from the North Slope to a liquefaction facility on Alaska’s southern coast, allowing the fuel to be shipped to Asian markets. The project is designed to transport about 3.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and produce up to 20 million metric tons of LNG annually, according to the White House.

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Chinese chipmaker CXMT allegedly used a written roadmap to steal Samsung DRAM tech — South Korean court says ‘Project Hefei’ lifted 620-step recipe to build 10% global market share

The saga involving Chinese DRAM maker CXMT’s alleged theft of Samsung’s trade secrets is going strong. The South Korean court case already includes multiple convictions, two of which carry prison sentences for ex-Samsung engineers. The latest chapter is a doozy, though. Korean publication NoCut News spilled the chips on Project Hefei, a purported CXMT roadmap outlining long-term planning about said technology “acquisitions,” personnel poaching, and production tape-out — all key pieces that may have directly led to CXMT’s ascension to 10% of the global DRAM market.

According to leaked court documents, the prosecution says that Project Hefei was CXMT’s entire DRAM development plan and was spearheaded by the firm’s head of development (formerly Samsung’s DRAM development lead), around August 2016 — not much longer after CXMT itself was created in June 2016.

In brief, the purported plan was to nab Samsung’s Process Recipe Plan (PRP) by September 2016, poach key Samsung engineers by October 2016, have R&D complete in July 2017, and start making DRAM wafers by August 2018 at a rate of 10,000 a month. NoCut says the PRP dataset comprises 620 steps in DRAM manufacturing and includes data on equipment, consumables, and production methods.

The report states that in August 2016, CXMT first attempted to make wafers of 18nm chips by relying on the collective memories of the Samsung engineers it had hired away. Those recollections apparently proved insufficient, so after allegedly gaining illicit access to Samsung’s PRP, CXMT prepared its own document in September 2016. The leaked data even included specific equipment suppliers and model numbers.

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What’s Going on in Gwangju, South Korea? Leftist Stronghold Honors Communist Composer Who Defected During War to North Korean Hellhole

Gwangju, South Korea has a long history of voting for left-leaning politicians and is the main hub for the far-left Democratic party of Korea.

For years, Gwangju has built an extensive public culture of commemoration around composer Jeong Yul-seong.

Jeong joined the Chinese Communist Party. He composed the March of the Eighth Route Army, which later became the official military anthem of China’s People’s Liberation Army.

Jeong Yul-seong also composed military music for North Korea and returned to North Korea during the Korean War with the Chinese People’s Volunteers — the Chinese forces fighting South Korea and the United Nations Command.

Despite that history, his legacy in Gwangju has been honored for decades.

His name was placed on a road.

A bust was erected in his honor.

A street exhibition and memorial facilities were created.

His birthplace was restored.

Gwangju pursued a Jeong Yul-seong historical park project costing approximately KRW 4.5 billion, roughly $3.3 million.

Music festivals and other cultural projects were organized around his legacy.

And Korean children were brought into this commemorative system through the Jeong Yul-seong Children’s Song Competition.

The attached footage shows just how far this went.

Korean children perform Jeong’s songs. Chinese-language performances appear on stage. An award is presented in the name of the Confucius Institute at Honam University. Chinese participants praise Jeong’s status in Chinese music history, while an event official speaks about protecting his reputation.

The Confucius Institute’s role went beyond appearing on an award.

The children’s competition was jointly organized with the Confucius Institute at Honam University. Winning Korean elementary-school students were given opportunities to travel to China, where they performed Jeong Yul-seong’s songs, including in Chinese.

Chinese state media also took notice of these activities.

China’s interest is entirely understandable. Jeong Yul-seong occupies an important place in China’s communist revolutionary and military history.

What is extraordinary is the degree to which public institutions in a U.S.-allied South Korea helped transform that same figure into a local cultural icon.

The Chinese government’s interest extended beyond cultural events.

After Jeong’s bust in Gwangju was damaged, the Chinese Consulate General in Gwangju requested its restoration. In 2025, the local district government decided to restore it, reportedly citing diplomatic relations with China among its considerations.

The symbolism is remarkable.

A South Korean local government had erected and maintained a memorial to a figure celebrated for his contribution to Communist China’s military tradition. When the memorial was damaged, representatives of the Chinese government asked that it be restored, and the Korean local government agreed.

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Why Did U.S. Election Officials Seek South Korea’s Election Expertise Before the 2020 Presidential Election?

According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on May 29, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Election Commission (NEC), and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a video conference with officials from the U.S. Department of State, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED).

The participants included:

– Marc Knapper, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs;
– Lori Augino, President of NASED;
– Forty-nine state and county election officials affiliated with NASS and NASED;
– Ko Yoon-joo, Director-General for North American Affairs at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
– Kwon Sei-joong, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in the United States; and
– Officials from South Korea’s National Election Commission and Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

** Here is a copy of the press release.

According to the official briefing, the American side specifically requested the meeting because it wished to learn from South Korea’s experience conducting a nationwide election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NIRVANA DROID: Humanoid Robot Gabi ‘Converts’ to Buddhism and Becomes a Monk

In Korea, an android is on a spiritual quest.

While technology is usually thought of as the polar opposite of ancient religious practices and beliefs, in Korea, these two worlds seem to be colliding.

In the Jogye Temple in Seoul, a group of monks from Korea’s largest Buddhist sect sat across from a cyborg postulant awaiting the ceremony that would make him a monk.

The Korea Times reported:

“Clad in humble black shoes and the Buddhist order’s ceremonial gray and brown robe, the 1.3-meter-tall robot stood in front of Buddhist monks and nuns as it pledged to commit itself to Buddhism in the ceremony held Wednesday, ahead of Buddha’s Birthday later this month.

The robot folded its hands together and bowed to the monks officiating the ceremony, as one of the monks carefully hung a 108-bead rosary and attached a sticker instead of the original ritual where one has to slightly burn his arms near an incense stick.”

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Korean Air bans roosters from flights to Philippines after Texas tied to cockfighting supply

Korean Air has banned roosters on flights from the U.S. to the Philippines, following a report that found a large swath of Texas is tightly tied to supplying birds for cockfighting in the Asian nation. 

According to the airline, the decision was based on care for the safety of animals. 

While cockfighting is illegal in the U.S., breeding and selling roosters for agricultural or other benign purposes is not.

Korean Air restricts roosters

What they’re saying:

In a statement to FOX Local, Korea Air said the suspension applies to all roosters, regardless of age:

“Korean Air has suspended the transportation of roosters of all ages on routes from the United States to the Philippines. Korean Air is firmly committed to the lawful and safe transport of live animals, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”

The backstory:

Some months ago, an animal rights nonprofit called Animal Wellness Action (AWA) released an in-depth report calling an area including North Texas the “primary hub of illegal cockfighting” in the nation, with multiple reports of rooster breeders taking their animals to the Philippines for that purpose. That report claims Korean Air was the airline of choice for such operations. 

What they’re saying:

“We are grateful to Korean Air for giving us an audience and allowing us to present the mass of information revealing that the company was being rooked by U.S. cockfighters, pretending to be “farmers” and benign “breeders,” but who have been supplying fighting birds to the Philippines every year by the tens of thousands and directly participating in the fights themselves,” the group said in a Monday statement after Korea Air’s announcement. 

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Bank of Korea Vows to Create CBDC

The Bank of Korea has now made its position unmistakably clear, and this is precisely what I have been warning about for years. In his very first address, Governor Shin Hyun-song did not merely suggest innovation in digital finance, he explicitly prioritized a system built around central bank digital currencies and bank-issued deposit tokens, while deliberately omitting stablecoins entirely from the discussion. What you are witnessing is not competition in money, it is the consolidation of control.

They are trying to rebrand this as modernization, but behind the curtain this is about power. Shin outlined that CBDCs and deposit tokens will form the core of South Korea’s future monetary system, reinforcing a structure where the central bank and regulated banking institutions remain the gatekeepers of all financial activity. This is not accidental. Deposit tokens are essentially programmable bank liabilities tied directly into a centrally controlled system, ensuring that even when money becomes “digital,” it never leaves the institutional framework.

What stands out is not what he said, but what he refused to say. Stablecoins, which represent a competing form of digital liquidity outside direct state control, were entirely absent from his inaugural speech despite ongoing legislative efforts in South Korea to establish a domestic stablecoin market. That omission speaks volumes. Central banks do not fear volatility, they fear competition.

Even when pressed previously, Shin made it clear that stablecoins would only play a “supplementary” role, not a foundational one. In other words, private digital money may exist, but only within boundaries defined by the state. This is the same pattern we are seeing globally. Governments will tolerate innovation only to the extent that it does not threaten their monopoly over money and taxation.

The Bank of Korea is already expanding real-world testing through initiatives like Project Hangang, aiming to integrate CBDCs and deposit tokens into everyday transactions and even government spending. This is how it always unfolds. First comes the pilot program, then limited adoption, and finally full integration under the justification of efficiency and stability. By the time the public realizes what has happened, the infrastructure is already in place.

They will argue this is about improving payment systems, reducing friction, and enhancing transparency. But transparency for whom? Governments will gain unprecedented visibility into every transaction, every movement of capital, and ultimately every individual’s economic behavior. The original promise of cryptocurrency was decentralization and financial sovereignty. What is being constructed here is the exact opposite.

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