31 Comments

My first reaction when I read the headline earlier this morning, is that Democratic someone Governments are normalizing martial law. What a great way to stay in power, to save Democracy. Just kidding of course.

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South Korea is a US colony, the best one it has ever had. I sincerely hope it escapes its evil imperial overlord. The well-being of civilization is in the balance.

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1dEdited

Interesting, I had no idea this was happening and I feel like I keep up on international news more than most.

Reading NY Times coverage of the political situation now, it seems they rely a lot on a reporter named Choe Sang-Hun. He refers to Yoon over and over again as "deeply unpopular and divisive."

That seemed like a strange formulation to me - almost an oxymoron. I wouldn't say someone is "deeply unpopular" unless that was a broadly shared sentiment. Otherwise you could call Kamala Harris "deeply unpopular and divisive" -- and notably the NY Times never did.

When I read a bit more, it was apparent to me that feminists hate Yoon. That's when it all made sense. Even when we talk about Korea, it seems that he woke perspective is treated as the only relevant one. Yoon is "divisive" because he is popular with conservatives and unpopular with liberals. Fair enough. But "unpopular" only if the feminist opinion is the only relevant one.

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Another argument for cutting and running...from everywhere.

America needs a neutralist foreign policy and neutralist ethos.

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It doesn't need to be neutral. All it had to do was not to extend NATO eastward, and instead seek a peaceful partition to Former Yugoslavia.

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It is a good reason for the United States to "strengthen its commitment to democracy" and "lend a shoulder" to the Koreans by sending additional forces to the peninsula and developing vigorous activity there.Closer to China ...To North Korea ... I don't believe in accidents lately. : wherever there is a problem , the ears of the White House are sure to stick out .

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There have been two corruption investigations on the President's wife, one for luxury gifts and another for stock price manipulation.

Perhaps President Yoon will be the first world leader to learn something from Joe Biden and issue a blanket Presidential Pardon?

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Last I checked, State is "closely monitoring the situation" which sounds pretty noncommital at best.

Pretend that a pro-NATO element were to seek to overturn the government of a country that the US doesn't like. Or pretend that a pro-Russian element were to do something similar in a US vassal.

The State Department and America's puppets, poodles, marionettes and catamites would waste no time letting everyone know where they stood.

Keep in mind that if Blinken or Sullivan were so much as to say "naughty, naughty!" martial law would fold like an accordion.

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Yep, doesn't look like they are too bothered either way ... ROK industrial elite would be pretty crazy to choose sides. Considering where things are going with US v China, their neutrality would be massively profitable.

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US wants ROK to cut off relations with China, which is of course suicidal for them. Perhaps the current government isn't enthusiastic enough in this.

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I never heard any such thing.

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South Korea is playing a role West-Germany played prior to 1989. Militarily it is in the Western alliance, economically it engages in strong trade with China and Russia (chips and hydrocarbons). So yes, the US feels S Koreans are playing them off - ingratitude and all that.

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"South Korea lies on the fault line of the U.S.-China divide. This report focuses on three key aspects of this geopolitical situation. First, it explores how the Republic of Korea (ROK), also known as South Korea, can make key contributions as a “critical technology wingman” of the United States and the potential benefits of such an arrangement for both sides. Second, it delves into how America’s Asian allies are coping with the growing dilemma of wishing to reduce their dependence on the Chinese market but being unable or unwilling to decouple from China due to its immense economic potential even as these U.S. partners seek to strengthen their security and defense ties with the United States. Third, the report examines how the United States and the ROK can forge and sustain a robust technology alliance in a way that acknowledges the leading role that the private sector will play in making more resilient and secure supply chains."

https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/building-a-new-us-korea-technology-alliance-strategies-and-policies-in-an-entangled-world?lang=en

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Certainly US and China are breaking the world into two completely separate trade blocks. This seems inevitable but also the China/BRICS/SCO block looks like being a lot bigger than the US Rump.

Therefore internal divisions in countries which might go either way should not be a surprise. Pakistan, SK, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia are all obvious examples.

Likewise US direct interference is an obvious prediction.

For me the interesting case is the whole EU. Clearly it is in their self interest to break away from US and go to China. Clearly their politicians are pushing hard to stay with US. Implication, there is massive US interference going on.

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I understand that the current government is the loyal servant of the US, which is part of the problem.

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Apparently they recently had parliamentary elections, and the prez (from the more hawkish party) who declared martial law was a lame duck as a result...

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from telegram Colonelcassad

>>>>

For a better understanding of the realities of South Korea.

1. Syngman Rhee (1948-1960) - overthrown

2. Yun Bo-sun (1960-1962) - overthrown

3. Park Chung-hee (1962-1979) - assassinated

4. Choi Kyu-ha (1979 - 1980) - ousted by a military coup

5. Chun Doo-hwan (1981-1988) - sentenced to death after completing his presidential term.

6. Roh Tae-woo (1988-1993) - sentenced to 22 years in prison after completing his presidential term.

7. Kim Yong-sam (1993-1998) - served in prison until his presidential term. As president, he ensured the conviction of his two predecessors.

8. Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003) – Was imprisoned and sentenced to death before becoming president (later pardoned). Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

9. Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008) – Impeached (overturned by the Constitutional Court). Was under investigation for corruption after his presidential term ended. Committed suicide

10. Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013) – Arrested after his presidential term ended and is under arrest for corruption.

11. Park Geun-hye (2013 -2016) – Impeached. Arrested for corruption. 24 years in prison.

It is immediately obvious that this is an exemplary democratic state with rich traditions.

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Wonderful! A political elite with a well-defined path!

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wow

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Puzzled. Why would the US back away from Korea just because it used violence against its populations. This sounds exactly like Pakistan over last year.

Am I being naive - this sounds exactly like the kind of political spat where the US is supporting the President.

Or is the concern that the President gets overturned in a kind of reverse Regime change?

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Remember when the US decided to suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia until they transitioned from autocracy to democracy? Me neither.

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lol indeed

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Man, a foreign policy disasters complete out of the blue. Joe Biden's tardiness in condemning the coup attempt has done serious damage to Korea-US relations. How can the Korean opposition party fully trust America again? The suspicion a qui-pro-quod was agreed upon is going to linger, namely that America would overlook the dismantling of forces opposing Yoon in exchange for South Korean arms supplied to Ukraine.

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My first thought was: another Orange Revolution, now in South Korea

Democracy seems to retreat a lot these days, hmm.

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I do not understand why the situation is catastrophic for the United States.

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The problem is: leading by example. They also tried to assassinate the current US president-elect twice. You lose street cred when you do that.

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Reports this was triggered by attempts to impeach Yoon on corruption charges (similar to Netanyahu). Can anyone comment on that?

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Netanyahu has solid majority in parliament, so no similarity. His problem are self-elected judges and Attorney General. As in Brazil, for example.

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Somebody bigger is playing 3 D chess. China/Russia?

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