SOUTH KOREA EVENTS 2007

1970s View of Osan AB (USAF Photo)

SOUTH KOREA DOMESTIC EVENTS

January 2007

Prosecutors said five Yeongdeungpo police officers went to a game room in Anyang, Gyeonggi province. They were responding to reports that four customers who went there to exchange gift certificates for money were being held by the owner and employees of the game room because they believed the certificates were fake, police said. The owner and six employees, using wooden sticks, struggled with the officers, who wielded the bats and cue sticks, for about 10 minutes, police said. During the clash, three employees fled. Four officers and the other four employees were injured. A 31-year-old police officer suffered a broken rib. After being arrested, the owner released a video clip captured by a security camera. He asserted that the police officers used excessive force and filed criminal complaints against the five police officers. “The employees used to be gang members and professional wrestlers. Do the prosecutors want us to sit by helplessly as they hit them?” said a police officer who did not want to be named. (Source: Joongang Ilbo.)

To curb the growth of the illegal gambling business, law enforcement officials have been tightening the clampdown on adults-only video game arcades and game machine companies. With most arcades unlawfully providing cash payouts to customers, the country's slot machine empire has grown beyond recognition in recent years and gambling has increasingly become a social problem.

Now gambling operators are fighting back. According to the Constitutional Court, 480 arcade owners filed a petition to the court claiming that the law on games, music and video content announced last October infringes on their property rights and their freedom to conduct business. The law gives authorities more control over the manufacturing and distribution of game machines. Under the new rules, the Game Rating Board of Korea, a state regulator for video and computer games that was established last December, is allowed to refuse to rate a game that contains a high degree of gambling content. If a rating is not issued, a game cannot be released. The rating board was also given the power to review gambling games that were previously authorized for adults-only use, virtually blocking the game machines from being legally distributed to arcades. ``The Game Rating Board has the authority to refuse to rate a game and to decide whether a game is speculative. We believe that this infringes on freedom of expression since the administrative body is given additional power to pre-classify game content,'' the arcade owners said in a statement. ``The new law does not provide a firm definition of game content that could be ruled speculative and gives the Minister of Culture and Tourism full authority to make this decision. We believe this violates the principal of legality,'' he said. The businessmen complained about the provisions that restrict arcades from using more than 40 percent of their space.

Since last August, prosecutors have been strengthening their clampdown on arcades using game machines that allow larger-than-permitted voucher payouts or permit people to trade vouchers for cash. They are investigating whether businessmen seeking licenses to issue gift vouchers or to distribute slot machines bribed officials in the Culture Ministry and its sub-organizations. (SITE NOTE: See Songtan Events for details of gambling clampdown from Jul-Dec 2006. Many of the newly opened arcades swiftly went bankrupt after the police clampdown and are now locked and empty. However, a negative side effect is that on-line gambling with "go-stop" and slots have increased with the same results of the addicted losing all their incomes.)

The recent gambling scandal first erupted last year when prosecutors indicted the chief executives of the two companies that manufactured and distributed ``Pada Iyagi'' (Sea Story) video slot machines. Most of the machines were illegally reprogrammed to allow voucher payouts that were higher than the legal limit of 20,000 won. ``Pada Iyagi'' was the country's most popular slot machine game by far; more than 45,000 units have been sold. Adults-only game arcades now outnumber 24-hour convenience stores 20,000 to 9,500. Prosecutors have arrested several public officials and businessmen, including Baek Eeek, the director of the ministry's cultural media bureau, and they have imposed overseas travel bans on more than 100 people. (Source: Korea Times.)

"The resistance is the big issue," said He, a research associate in the Food Science and Technology Department. "Some pathogens can resist any antibiotics. It’s hard to develop a resistance to this." New antibiotic discoveries are important in a time when overuse is creating stronger bacteria. Their work on paenibacillin was published this week in the American Society of Microbiology journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

John Reeve, chairman of the OSU Microbiology Department, said the find could be important because paenibacillin apparently is effective against harmful organisms in the food chain. Recent E. coli outbreaks, for example, bring this point home. "It’s really one of those tremendous things: Someone who sees a problem works toward a solution and the world sees it," Reeve said.

Early on, when they thought they had a food preservative, Yousef and He approached food industry officials in an effort to get more research funding. Then they knew they had something bigger. "Usually if an antibiotic is that strong, the food industry is reluctant to use it because the medical industry might use it," Yousef said. So they kept working with the money they had, rebuilding old machines rather than buy new ones and stretching every dollar.

When it was time to go public, He and Yousef went to the university’s Office for Technology Licensing. "We protected it for three years, which is hard for a public university," Yousef said. In early December, Yousef and He met with officials from food and pharmaceutical companies. Erin Bender, an associate with the Office for Technology Licensing, said several companies are interested in paenibacillin for both human and food use. If the antibiotic is used in food, she said, it could be available within a year or so. Human clinical trials, however, could mean five to seven years before it’s available on the market. Because Yousef and He have never done human trials, the Office for Technology Licensing will help them connect with medical researchers. "We can’t do it on our own," Yousef said.

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February 2007

SEE Executed for Treason in 1975, Activists Posthumously Acquitted (Jan 2007) for on-going battle to reverse Park Chung-hee era court decisions on sentencing dissidents.

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Mass protests cost ROK 7 Trillion won in 2006 (Feb 2007) Demonstrations involving more than 1,000 people caused about 7 trillion won (US$7 billion) in social and economic costs for the country in 2006.

A study has found that 362 large-scale protests or demonstrations involving more than 1,000 people were held in 2005, adding up to W12.3 trillion (US$1=W941) in social economic costs. The research was conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) at the request of the Policy Coordination Office in the Prime Minister's Office. The KDI said that the cost of illegal protests was equivalent to 1.53% of GDP that year, which was W806.62 trillion. (SITE NOTE: The Yonhap News issued conflicting stats when it said "the cost was equivalent to 0.86 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP)." (Source: Yonhap News.)






FTA Protests (5 Dec 2006)

According to the report, simple protests cost on average W240 million per case while marches, sit-ins and road or walkway occupations led to W36 billion in costs each. A demonstration that occupied eight lanes around Gwanghwamun and Seoul City Hall cost a whopping W77.6 billion. The KDI calculated the costs by adding together lost wages from workers participating in protests, law enforcement costs from police control, traffic congestion costs, operating losses in neighborhood business, and public stress. Interest groups accounted for the greatest number of protests at 42.6 percent, followed by labor unions at 30.2 percent and civic groups at 17.2 percent. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)

Major Protests Cost Dearly (Feb 2007) Protests related to five major state development projects have cost the nation some 134 billion won ($138 million) in taxpayers' money, according to a report released on 8 Feb. The Dankook Center for Dispute Resolution estimated the social costs incurred by civic unrest against the expansion of the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, construction of a nuclear storage site in Buan, a land reclamation project in Saemangeum, and two tunnel projects through Mounts Bukhan and Cheonseong. The research, led by Dankook University professors Lee Sung-woo and Seo Moon-suk, calculated labor losses from protests, police expenditure for the maintenance of social order, and wasted time due to traffic disruption.

Protests against the government plan to expand a U.S. Army base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, was estimated to have cost a total of 53.7 billion won including 10 billion won in lost labor. Disruptions to traffic and police expenses cost over 43 billion won, it said. The protests began in 2004 and continued until September last year with some 74,210 protesters and 187,800 riot police involved.

The study also found demonstrations to protest the government's push to build a nuclear waste facility in Buan, North Jeolla Province, cost the nation 53.2 billion won with over 31.9 billion won in labor loss costs. Traffic disruption and police expenses reached over 21 billion. A total of 229,158 people rallied against the construction plan over a period of seven months from July 2003 and 49,900 policemen were dispatched to prevent disturbances.

"A lot of money was lost due to traffic problems and social turmoil in the anti-Pyeongtaek base protests because they were mostly held in central city areas," the DCDR said. "On the other hand, labor losses accounted for the largest portion of the Buan protest expenses because a large number of Buan residents stayed away from work to participate in the demonstrations."

Rallies against the controversial Saemanguem dike project cost 15.9 billion won with 7 billion won in labor losses and 8.9 billion related to traffic and police costs. The anti-Saemangeum protests continued for six years from 2000 until the court decided in favor of continuing the controversial project. Since 1991, over 1.9 trillion won has been spent on this project to reclaim land in North Jeolla Province.

The protests against building tunnels through Mount Bukhan in Seoul and Mount Cheonseong in South Gyeongsang Province cost 5.7 billion and 5.5 billion won, respectively. Because the anti-tunnel construction campaigns were usually held in provincial areas with participants mostly being environmental activists, the costs were relatively small, the report said.

The researchers came up with the cost by adding production losses caused by absent workers, traffic disturbance expenses and costs to the authorities for maintaining social order. However, the DCDR did not include expenses arising from the delay of government projects. The production losses were calculated by multiplying the number of protesters to the urban worker households' average income of 139,505 won. Social order maintenance expenses were reckoned by adding the cost per police officer involved. In 2005, the National Police Agency had estimated that it cost about 71,700 won per officer to prevent violence and maintain order at a demonstration. The traffic disruption expenses were based on the Korea Transportation Studies Institute's estimate in 2000 that about 230 million won was lost due to traffic problems per rally. "Because a lot of the research on the social expense of protests were either exaggerated or understated, we felt that a more objective estimate was needed," the research center said. "But because we excluded the expense coming from the delay of projects, actual costs could be more." (Source: Korea Herald.)


Anti-American Protests over Nuclear Agreement (1 Mar 2007)


Anti-Japanese Protests over Colonialization and Comfort Women (1 Mar 2007)


Pro-US Anti-wartime control return (1 Mar 2007)


Pro-US Anti-wartime control return (1 Mar 2007)

Police demanding compensation from anti-FTA protesters,,,FINALLY (May 2007) Police have taken legal action against protesters of the landmark Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, seeking up to 600 million won ($650,000) in damage compensation. Regional police agencies and provincial offices of Gangwon, North and South Chungcheong and South Jeolla Provinces have sued the Korean Alliance against the Korea-U.S. FTA, a coalition of activists, for damage during massive anti-FTA protests in November last year.

The rallies left Gangwon Province with 250 million won in losses due to arson and property damage, followed by 230 million won in South Jeolla and 170 million won in South Chungcheong, the NPA added. In November, over 73,000 farmers, workers and activists collided with riot police in 13 cities in one of the most violent protests in recent years. The protests left a total of 63 people injured, including 35 police officers and 21 protesters, and caused over 670 million won in property damage nationwide, according to police statistics. (Source: Korea Herald.) (SITE NOTE: Our opinion is it is about time. The Roh administration bent over backwards to allow the protestors free rein. Now that the Uri Party is on the brink of being dissolved and Roh is a lame duck President, the Police are finally acting. It is much too late though -- and the courts are filled with liberal judges so most likely, the awards will be much less.)

Government Money Goes to Violent Protesters (Jun 2007) It was revealed that Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) granted money to a civic group, Solidarity for Implementation of South-North Joint Declaration (SISND), to support its projects, and categorized these projects as non-profit activities for the public good. However, it is drawing criticism now because the MOGAHA didn’t consider the fact that the head of the SISND’s local branch was taken into custody last year and charged with the beating of a policeman during a protest rally.

Last month, the MOGAHA decided to grant 30 million won to the SISND to support its project called “The Movement for the Construction of a Peaceful System in the Korean Peninsula.” In fact, this is a portion of the 100 million won that SISND is receiving from MOGAHA over three years to support this movement.

Meanwhile, the MOGAHA stated that it will not support illegal, violent groups in an official document that revealed a list of civic group projects that will be supported by the ministry as non-profit public activities. However, this incident proved that the ministry’s statement is not based on sufficient examination of applicants and that the ministry did not check with the heads of its branch offices first.

According to the document, Lee Sang-bae, lawmaker of the opposition Grand National Party and a member of Government Administration and Home Affairs Committee; Ahn, 48, SISND co-head of the Daejeon-Chungnam branch; and other four members were taken into custody on charges of initiating violence during a protest against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement which was held on November 22, 2006 in front of a Chungcheong provincial office in which about 7,200 people participated. At that time, they beat policemen with cudgels, broke the provincial office wall and burnt 190 trees.

Ahn is currently serving as co-head of the Daejeon-Chungnam branch of the National Movement against the Korea-U.S. FTA. A source from the MOGAHA said that, “Since the document we got from the police explained that Ahn was just the co-head of the Daejeon-Chungnam branch of the National Movement against the Korea-U.S. FTA, we didn’t know that he was a branch head of SISND,” adding, “If it is confirmed that Ahn is serving in the SISND, we will consider sanctions against the SISND.”

The SISND received seven million won last year from the MOGAHA and published two books: ‘Measures for Peaceful Unification on the Korean Peninsula’ and ‘Six-party talks and Peaceful Settlement of the Korean Peninsula Issue.” These books have pro-North Korean tendencies and contain content against the U.S., and have produced 1,000 copies each. Specifically, these books argue that, “The U.S. should disband the United Nations Command, withdraw the United States Forces Korea, stop military training against North Korea and end hostile policies against North Korea, such as economic sanctions and penalties related to North Korea’s human rights issue,” and additionally argues that, “The South Korean government should abolish the National Security Law.”

Regarding the unification issue, the books assert that, “The combination system that is advocated by South Korea as a proper way for unification lacks consistency and logicality,” adding, “The federal system that is suggested by North Korea is a reliable method in that it takes into account the differences between the two Koreas, and has many feasible elements.”

On the other hand, Lee Sang-bae, lawmaker of the opposition Grand National Party, argued that, “It doesn’t fit into the initial intention of supporting non-profit civic groups to give money to organizations that have strong political dispositions,” adding, “We should enact a law that prohibits organizations that have relationships with groups which led illegal violent protests such as the National Movement against the Korea-U.S. FTA from receiving money from the government and taking money back from the SISND, which is known to have supported illegal protests.” (Source: Chosun Ilbo.) (SITE NOTE: The conservative newspapers have been decrying this from the days of Kim Dae-jung. This is an old story. The truth is that the governments -- whether conservative or liberal -- have supported NGO groups that support their views. Blatantly a misuse of public monies in the western societies, it is an accepted custom in Korean politics. When the GNP comes to power in 2008, there will be a shift to conservative NGO groups and changes in politics. This is Korean politics -- but will the abuse of the NGO support go away. No...it will be here in a different form.)

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See Japan Collaborators Face Land Seizure (Feb-May 2007) for Roh Administration move to confiscate lands of "collaborators" that were inherited by descendents.

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See Suicides Growing Problem in Korea for article on more Koreans dying from suicides than car accidents.

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153 indicted in Gaming Scandal (Feb 2007) (See PC Bang Gambling Newest Craze (Jun-Sep 2006) for background between Jun-Sep 2006 of the gambling scandal.) Prosecutors said on 22 Feb they had arrested 45 people and indicted 108 without detention in connection with an illegal arcade gaming scandal that erupted last year. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office yesterday announced the results of its six-month probe into the "Sea Story" scandal, involving lawmakers, high-ranking government officials, gang members, arcade businesspeople and gift certificate issuers.

A popular video slot game, "The Sea Story" was outlawed last year because arcades were found to be rigging the machines to raise betting stakes above the legal limit. Prosecutors then launched extraordinary investigations after realizing many other gaming machines were also operated illegally across the nation.

Rep. Kim Jae-hong of the governing Uri Party was recently indicted without detention on charges of receiving 30 million won ($31,000) between last May and June from an arcade businessman in favor of influencing legislation to benefit the game industry. Prosecutors have questioned 2,200 people, brought charges against a total of 153 people for the scandal, and sought to retrieve 137.7 billion won in revenues that were earned through illegal activities.

However, prosecutors have cleared Rep. Cho Sung-rai of the Uri Party, former Culture Minister Chung Dong-chea, and Rep. Park Hyeong-joon of the main opposition Grand National Party, of any wrong doing. Park was accused of receiving kickbacks from the same businessman who lobbied Kim, but prosecutors said it was hard to prove that the kickbacks were in return for favors.

Prosecutors said in a statement that despite Chung's mismanagement of his subordinates and his role in letting illegal gaming machines spread nationwide, he should not be charged with dereliction of his duty. Chung formerly led the Culture Ministry between July 2004 and March 2006. Prosecutors also judged that Cho had personally invested in gift certificate issuing companies, which distributed vouchers that were illegally used as winning chips to nationwide arcades. In 2005, the government selected 19 companies and allowed them exclusive rights to distribute the gift certificates in gaming rooms across the nation, and officials of 17 companies have received criminal charges.

According to the National Intelligence Service, the illegal gambling market amounts to about 8.8 trillion won a year, with 5 trillion won from about 20,000 adult-only arcades, 3.6 trillion won from about 10,000 PC game parlors and 2 trillion won from about 500 illegal casino bars. Also through gift certificates illegally exchanged for cash, the adult-only arcades make 4.5 trillion won a year, along with 4.3 trillion in PC game parlors. It is illegal to exchange gift certificates for cash at the arcades, but the practice is widely carried out as arcade owners receive up to 10 percent of the exchanged amount for a commission.

The prosecution declared it would continue to crack down the illegal gaming industry and investigate some politicians and government officials who are suspected of receiving illegal kickbacks. (Source: Korea Herald.)

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Environmental Concerns (Feb-Mar 2007) A recent spate of news concerning environmental issues on the peninsula has emerged. A March 1 release from the environmental institute showed high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air when precipitation combines with air currents coming from China. The study was conducted between June and August last year and attributed the sulfur to Chinese heavy industry. Sulfur is widely attributed as one of the main causes of acid rain. Meanwhile, a survey of elementary school students released last month showed 2.42 parts per billion of mercury in their blood, compared to 0.34 ppb in the United States, according to the survey. The survey did not indicate reasons for the higher levels. Mercury can affect neurological development in fetuses and young children, according to the EPA. High levels of mercury can be found in tuna and other types of larger, migratory fish. Almost all people have trace amounts of mercury in their bodies, according to the EPA. In March, high uranium levels found in village water supply near Icheon, 25 miles northeast of Osan AB. Laboratory tests on man's hair find levels 302 times the safe quantity for contaminant. (Source: Stars and Stripes.)

High Copper Content in Four Major Rivers (Mar 2007) South Korea’s four major rivers were found to have been seriously contaminated with copper, a survey showed. According to the report by the Ministry of Environment, the nation’s four major rivers contained an average of 12 parts per billion (ppb) of copper, more than two times higher than the level of 5 ppb deemed to pose a threat to living creatures in fresh water. In Nakdong River, the copper levels reached 28.7 ppb, the highest among those surveyed, followed by Yeongsan River with 10.3 ppb and Han River with 5.0 ppb.

The ministry said that salmonoid fish are susceptible to the 5 ppb level of copper and a level between 5-15 ppb of copper represents a fatal dose to half of young fish, algae, and daphnia species. Considering the hazardous impact of copper in fresh water, the Environmental Protection Agency of the U.S. lowered permissible levels there to 1.3 ppb. "Copper contamination in the nation’s major water sources has reached dangerous levels in terms of health for aquatic life," said Hong Jun-seok, a ministry official. The ministry plans to set forth guidelines for limiting copper contents in rivers and other areas.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization announced it is preparing a new set of guidelines for water quality standards, which will include information on the hazardous impact of copper on human bodies. The WHO said that copper exceeding a certain level can cause not only chronic liver and kidney problems in humans, but is also linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. (Source: Hankyoreh News.)

S. Korean Children have Higher Mercury Levels in Blood and Urine (Feb-Apr 2007) Elementary school students in South Korea have much higher levels of mercury in their blood and urine than those in other countries, a government survey showed on 25 Feb. According to the survey by the Ministry of Environment last year, South Korean children aged 8-13 have a mercury level of around 2.42 parts per billion (ppb) in their blood. Comparable figures in other countries are 1.0 ppb in Germany, 0.34 ppb in the United States, 17.6 ppb in China and 6.6 ppb in Japan, the survey showed. The survey was based on blood and urine samples taken from a total of 2,000 children from 26 elementary schools last year.

Mercury is a major toxic heavy metal that could cause damage to nervous systems if it is excessively accumulated in human bodies. As for the mercury level in urine, South Korean children have 2.53 microgram per gram, higher than their counterparts in Japan with 1.06 and in Germany with 0.7, according to the survey. The survey did not analyze the reasons behind the higher mercury levels among South Korean children. (Source: Korea Times.) (SITE NOTE: Our question is this amount serious to the point of being dangerous to the health of the children? This report doesn't say its dangerous -- but neither does it say that it isn't. We attempted to research on University of Minnesota: Mercury and under the EPA site, but they use stats in micrograms or parts per million (not billion) or percentages so we cannot seem to compare.

"The legal limit of safe mercury exposure for industrial workers is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for 8 hours per day and 50 weeks per year. Exposure at this level will produce urine mercury levels of about 135 micrograms per liter. These levels are much higher than those in the general public but produce no symptoms and are considered safe." URINE TESTING: "Because mercury is ubiquitous, the body reaches a steady state in which tiny amounts are absorbed and excreted. Thus, it is common to find mercury in people's urine. Mercury can also be found in the blood, because this is the major medium for transporting materials around the body. Large-scale population studies have shown that the general population has urine-mercury levels below 10 micrograms/liter. Industrial workers, and dentists, who have regular exposure to mercury vapor also have low values. Because urine-mercury levels represent the chronic, steady state, exposure to the body of mercury, they are fairly reliable indicators of past exposure, since they tend to even out the peaks and valleys of transient rises and falls in the blood level. Urine measurements should be performed on the first urine specimen of the day, which would be the most concentrated, or (preferably) on a 24-hour urine specimen." BLOOD TESTING: "Mercury is excreted by the kidneys, which filter the blood. The mercury levels of blood are lower than those of urine and therefore more difficult to detect. For this reason, blood testing for mercury is not commonly done. Even at high levels of mercury exposure, industrial workers show blood concentrations in the parts-per-billion range, typically less than 5 parts per billion. These are close to the limits of detection. In this range, the amounts are too small to identify the type of mercury or its source. Urine mercury testing gives a more meaningful picture of exposure and is also more accurate because the mercury is more concentrated." (Source: Quackwatch)

Korea is inevitably affected by pollution in China, the world's biggest mercury polluter. But until recently, Korea had no idea how serious the problem was. Lee Seung-mook, a professor at Seoul National University’s School of Public Health said about half the mercury pollution in the air in Seoul comes from China. The worst offenders are industrial centers like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. Lee and his team said the mercury pollution is blown in at all times, not just during the annual sandstorms.

The scientists analyzed about 30,000 air samples collected from Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul over 13 months starting February 2005. The average concentration of mercury was 3.21 nanogram (1 ng= 1 billionth of a gram) per cubic meter of air, about three times the concentration in natural conditions. The concentration soared to 38 ng, an increase of over 10 times, from late January to early February 2006. The team retraced the travel routes of the winds blowing from China for 72 hours, and tried to locate the sources of mercury pollution based on the discharges of mercury in China and their relations with other pollutants. They concluded, that 48 percent of the mercury pollution in Seoul’s air originates from China.

South Koreans are exposed to a much more dangerous level of mercury pollution than advanced countries. The result of a government survey of health and nutritive conditions of the people released early last year showed that mercury concentration in the blood of adults was five to eight times as high as those in the U.S. and Germany. But the government offered no adequate response to this, lacking until recently the equipment to measure mercury concentration in the air. It only recently purchased some equipment from abroad. That explains why the government until recently failed to offer a convincing explanation of the high mercury concentrations in people’s blood.

The Korean government has belatedly lumbered into action. "We have commissioned a research project to survey the amount of Chinese mercury pollution,” an Environment Ministry official said. “Research will be conducted over three years beginning this month. Please understand that the government has started reacting to Chinese mercury pollution." The ministry is also looking at joint research with the UN Environment Program (UNEP), the U.S., Japan, and China. Chung Suh-yong, a professor of Myongji University, said, "Chinese pollutants crossing borders will become an issue. We need to strengthen international cooperation, including intensifying research, from an environmental security viewpoint to guarantee public health and safety." (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)

High uranium levels found in South Korean village water supply (Mar 2007) Stars and Stripes on 5 Mar reported that uranium levels 54.6 times the U.S. standard were found in water supplies in a village near Icheon, about 25 miles northeast of Osan Air Base, according to a South Korean government environmental report. South Korea's Ministry of Environment said it was not ready last week to release its full uranium survey of 93 sites in South Korea, but it issued a news release on its findings. "None of the nationwide locations included where U.S. military installations are positioned," Yoon Jung-gi of the National Institute of Environment Research told Stripes.

Uranium levels measured 1,640 micrograms per liter in Janpyeong-ri village near Icheon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site mandates that safe drinking water remain under 30 micrograms of uranium per liter. South Korea does not have its own standard. "Most drinking water sources have very low levels of radioactive contaminants ("radionuclides"), most of which are naturally occurring, although contamination of drinking water sources from human-made nuclear materials can also occur," the EPA says on its Web site.

Exposure to high levels of uranium can be toxic to the liver, according to the EPA. When a man from Janpyeong-ri had his hair tested by U.S.-based Trace Elements last year, the laboratory found uranium levels 302 times the safe level, according to South Korean media reports. However, blood and urine tests are necessary to accurately test those levels, the ministry release said. The National Institute for Environment Research will perform closer examinations on residents who have been drinking the local water for more than a decade, officials said. (Source: Stars and Stripes.)

Yellow Dust Hazard (Mar 2007) A study has found that yellow dust, the airborne movement of sand from deserts in China, reduces children’s respiratory functions and raises the likelihood of respiratory-related ailments. These findings were part of a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Hwang Seung-sik of the National Cancer Center on the effects of yellow dust on public health. He performed a study on 96 healthy children (48 females, 48 males) in 2004 and found a relationship between the yellow dust and trouble regarding the childrens’ respiratory functions.

According to the results of the study, yellow dust has decreased 29 percent of the surveyed children’s respiratory functions by more than 10 percent during 2004. During the yellow dust "storms" themselves, 36.6 percent of the children suffered from coughing attacks stronger than on ordinary days. Sniffling and sore throats were other symptoms increased by the occurrence of yellow dust in the atmosphere.

In addition, when yellow dust occurs, more children suffering from asthma or respiratory illnesses paid visits to the hospital. When the concentration of yellow dust in the air is heavier, respiratory cases increase by 22 percent and asthma cases by 32 percent, the study showed. (Source: Hankyoreh News.)

Norovirus in Water Supply NOT detected by present government tests (Mar 2007) After several major norovirus infections took place across the nation, the government is under fire for delayed efforts to ensure the safety of the public drinking water supply, as its current methods do not screen for such viruses. Noroviruses, neither bacteriological nor parasitic in nature, are a group of related, single-strand RNA viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis in humans.

The viruses can be spread through fecal contamination or other impurities in drinking water as well as improperly prepared seafood or shellfish, among other means. They are known to be highly contagious from person-to-person, and are not killed by residual chlorine nor heat of 60 degrees Celcius.

The viruses were first reported in South Korea in 1999, when the drinking water supply caused outbreaks of diarrhea. Last year, a norovirus hit around 2,000 students in and around the Seoul area, which, while caused by contaminated food, set off the alarm bell for the need to increase screening for the viruses in drinking water. Large-scale food poisoning incidents in Wanju and Jeju Island in the past several years were found to have resulted from norovirus infections.

Prime Minister Han Myung-sook ordered related government agencies to step up their efforts to improve the hygiene of drinking water across the nation. However, the government’s ongoing probe of drinking water sanitation does not include noroviruses on the list of contaminants it is investigating; rather, the government will test for noroviruses only after having detected the colon bacillus bacteria in the water. "In one case in Finland, even in water where colon bacillus was not found, a norovirus was detected," said Kim Sang-jong, a professor of Seoul National University, raising doubts about the government-led efforts.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Environmental Research reported that 82 percent of the nation’s 96 drinking water sources have been found to be contaminated with viruses at least once since the institute has measured for such occurrences. However, the method of cell culture applied by the government does not detect noroviruses, an official with the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (Source: Hankyoreh News.)

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NHRC at it Again: 20 public and 48 private schools Cited for Banning Political Activity The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) on March 6 advised 20 national and public universities to amend school rules that restrict students from taking part in certain activities - especially political ones. The commission said that the schools were committing human rights violations. (SITE NOTE: Though we rarely agree with the NHRC -- an agency that is a tool of the progressive Roh administration -- on this point we have to say that they are correct. The universities need to define specifically what is banned for students -- and why they are banned as to impacts to the universities operations.We stand with the NHRC on this. But we also see the schools side as well. Students in recent years have taken over buildings and demanded changes in school policy -- sometimes with violent actions. The problem stems from the outlawed Hanchongryeon, Federation of Student Councils, that provide the shock troops for the violent demonstrations in Korea, but hide within the walls of the campuses. Since the 1990s there has been an unwritten rule that the riot police do NOT enter campuses. Perhaps the schools fear that the new conservative drift for the country may mean that this unwritten rule will be rescinded. But the TIMING of this NHRC announcement is very suspicious, on the heels of GNP boycott over the Private School Law reform -- and this appears like a blatant POLITICAL move by the Roh administration.)

According to the NHRC, 48 private universities also have similar rules, but that the nation’s public schools were the target of their investigation. The NHRC urged the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to recommend the private universities to amend their regulations. The results of the NHRC survey showed that a total of 68 universities, including Seoul National University, had regulations limiting student activities which are "against the basic functions and educational purposes of the school." This translates in many cases to political activities. (SITE NOTE: This we question as to why a human rights violation at public universities are NOT condemned if they exist at a private university. This makes this who ruling appear to be political as the government has control over the national and public universities, but would be challenged in the courts if it applied the same ruling to a private institution. For this we condemn the NHRC on their ruling.)

Kangnung National University and 16 private universities ban students from joining a political party, while Kangwon National University and 15 private schools have rules under which the schools can take heavy disciplinary measures against students who take part in political activities, including expelling them from school. Regarding such provisions limiting student activities, the NHRC said, "Most universities have amiguous, overarching regulations with regard to curbing student activities. They have to state in detail what is banned in terms of student activities, and regulations banning political activities should be amended or removed, as universities have no grounds to restrict basic rights."

Recently, Korea University’s College of Business Administration did not permit a lecture organized by student members of a national progressive campus group, sparking controversy that the school was suppressing students’ activities and rights. The national university students’ progressive group, "Dahamkke" (Together), and the student body of Korea University’s College of Business Administration received permission last month to hold a lecture on March 10 and 11, but the college’s authorities suddenly canceled their approval, citing that the lecture was organized by an outside group. (SITE NOTE: This is a typical ploy of activist NGO groups. One legitimate group will block the time in for a protest, but prearrange for another activist group that is prohibited to use the area to continue on in the area. Most recently were the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) staging a political demonstration, then turning the area over to the banned farmer groups protesting the FTA. The same could apply to schools.)

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See Poll: Corruption in S.Korea Worse Than in China (Mar 2007) for details on polls.

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S. Korean Doctors Rally to Protest Medical Law Revision (Mar 2007) More than 70,000 doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff gathered in front of the government complex in Kwachon, Kyonggi Province, on 21 Mar to protest against proposed changes to the country's Medical Service Law. The mass demonstration resulted in staff shortages in hospitals around the country, causing severe disruption for patients. The demonstration caused disruption among patients especially in regional areas outside metropolitan areas, with doctors closing their clinics early to join the protest in Kwachon. Most doctors in Seoul and nearby Kyonggi Province area provided medical services during the morning hours.

According to the draft version of the revised law being pushed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the prescription and medicating of drugs are omitted from the legal job definition of a doctor and is stated as an authority belonging only to pharmacists. The proposed law also grants nurses more freedom to diagnose simple medical symptoms, allows doctors to freelance between medical establishments and introduces a license for a new medical field that combines Western and Oriental medicine techniques.

Doctors have been balking at the suggested changes, saying that it infringes the traditional authority of doctors by reducing their role in prescribing drugs and patient treatment. The ministry has been downplaying the worries, saying that the new law will not bring fundamental changes to the current relationship between doctors and pharmacists. Since 2002, the government has been separating the roles of doctors and pharmacists in prescribing and dispensing medicine. (Source: Korea Times.)

Doctors are mostly unhappy about the fact that administering injections is not explicitly specified under their exclusive activities in the revision. The 2000 revision gave pharmacists the right to dispense medicine, while doctors retained the right to prescribe them and administer injections. They insist the new revision must explicitly recognize these exclusive rights. They oppose discounts on medical fees when intermediaries recommend patients to hospitals on grounds that it would boost the influence of brokers. The revision permits limited advertising by allowing clinics to publicize fees for services not covered by health insurance.

"The medical law revision bill is a disgrace, because it erases the specialization and autonomy of medical practice and commercializes public life and health," a statement issued by four medical organizations read. Chang Dong-ik, the head of the Korean Medical Association, said, "If the government does not withdraw the revision bill, we’ll wage an all-out struggle against the government mobilizing every means including the return of our licenses and closing hospitals.”

One foreign worker died because of the hospital closures, while many patients turned up at medical facilities in vain. A Thai worker in a textile factory in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, who choked during lunch, was rushed to a nearby clinic that was closed for the day. He was taken to another clinic 4-5 km away but was dead on arrival, colleagues said.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates that 28,000-plus clinics or about 57 percent of the country's total of over 49,000 suspended practice on 21 Mar. The ministry decided to take tough action against protestors including ordering personnel to return to duty. A prolonged standoff looms. Medical organizations, the KMA among them, on 21 Mar filed a complaint with the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office against Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si-min that charges health authorities with failing to properly crack down on illegal medical practices. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)

Police Raid Medical Association Offices (May 2007) In late Apr the Proscecutors' Office raided the Korean Medical Association office to seek evidence that they bribed lawmakers to influence the outcome of the medical legislation. Its president, Jhang Dong-ik, was accused of giving bribes regularly to lawmakers to enact legislation favorable to doctors. A transcript of a closed-door meeting of the doctors’ association, leaked to media recently, quoted Jhang as saying, “I paid 10 million won [$10,753] in cash to a lawmaker because he said he would draft legislation to create an annual tax refund that would benefit the association.” The tax refund system was revised last year requiring medical clinics to report their billing details to the National Tax Service on behalf of taxpayers. Doctors around the nation protested the additional reporting burden. The heads of all three lobbying groups met with Grand National lawmaker Chung Hyung-keun at a hotel in December of last year, and asked Chung to oppose the new tax refund system, according to people who attended the meeting. Chung’s aides said the lawmaker had received 10 million won in donations, but the money came from individual members of the three groups. Under the current law governing political donations, an association or a lobby group is forbidden from contributing in its own name.

Prosecutors raided the offices of the Association of Korean Oriental Medicine and the Korean Dental Association on 2 May in a widening investigation into allegations that lawmakers received bribes from the nation’s lobby groups for medical practitioners. (Source: Joongang Ilbo.)

GNP Lawmakers charged in medical bribe case (May 2007) On 23 May it was reported that two Grand National Party lawmakers were indicted yesterday on charges of accepting bribes from the Korean Medical Association in return for influencing legislation. Ko Kyung-hwa and Kim Byoung-ho, both members of the Heath and Welfare Committee, were accused of violating the political fund law.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Ko received 10 million won ($10,737) from Dr. Jhang Dong-ik, then-head of the Korean Medical Association, at the end of December in return for influencing the medical law revision bill. At the time, the legislature was considering changes to the medical law which the association, the largest doctors' group in the country, opposed. The prosecution said Kim also received 10 million won from Jhang regarding the same legislation. Both lawmakers have denied the bribery charges, claiming that the money was received as donations.

The two each accepted the money under the names of 10 different doctors, although the money actually came from the association, prosecutors said. They each filed receipts as if the money was given as a series of individual donations, the prosecution said, adding that such an act violates the law governing political funding. "Even if they were given as donations, Supreme Court precedents make it clear that they can be punished for receiving bribes when the money is related to their jobs," said Park Chol-joon, a senior prosecutor. "Some lawmakers on the health and welfare committee, who also received donations from Jhang, actually returned the money because they thought it was inappropriate."

The prosecution said it will also file an indictment against Jhang after investigating the lawmakers, but Jhang will not be jailed. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the prosecutors' request for a detention warrant , saying Jhang was not a flight risk. Jhang has also been accused of embezzling about 300 million won from the association's coffers. Prosecutors have been investigating the Korean Medical Association for the last month, along with the Association of Korean Oriental Medicine and the Korean Dental Association, over allegations that lawmakers received bribes from the groups in return for influencing laws.

A leaked transcript of Jhang's remarks at a closed-door meeting with association officials prompted the probe. Jhang was quoted as saying that he had given money to lawmakers to influence legislation. Later, Jhang said his remarks were an exaggeration, but he still resigned from his post with the association. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has finalized the bill and it is pending in the assembly. (Source: Joongang Daily.) (EPILOGUE: On 8 Jun, both GNP lawmakers Reps. Kim Byoung-ho and Ko Kyung-hwa, were suspended from the GNP pending the outcome of their trials.)

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Almost Half of Rural Grooms Marry Foreign Brides (Mar 2007) The National Statistical Office (NSO) announced on 27 Mar that more than four out of 10 Korean grooms from rural areas married foreign brides last year. According to a survey of nationwide marriage data, of the 8,596 men from rural areas or fishing villages who married last year, some 3,525 or 41 percent chose women from overseas -- a rise of 5.1 percentage points from the year before. (SITE NOTE: In Apr 2007, the statistics changed to one in eight marriages in Korea were interracial. According to Supreme Court statistics based on the national family register, international marriages took 12 percent of the total number of marriages last year. Among the 337,000 couples that registered marriage, 39,000 were mixed-race. About 14,400 brides had come from China, followed by 9,800 from Vietnam, 1,400 from Japan, 1,100 from the Philippines, 550 from Mongolia and 380 from Cambodia. The number of divorces between international couples had also increased sharply, taking up 5 percent of the total number of divorces in Korea last year. (Source: Korea Herald.)

Of those marriages, some 2,394 or two thirds were to Vietnamese women, up from 1,535 in 2005. The number of Korean men nationwide who married Vietnamese women reached 10,131, which is a 74 percent increase from 2005. Park Kyung-ae of the NSO said that the number of Vietnamese brides in Korea under age 20 rose in 2006, with some 7,800 in their late teens, the most since 1990. Marriages in total were up last year due to the double spring year according to the Lunar calendar. There were 332,800 marriages last year, which is 5.2 percent more than the year before. The rate of increase is the highest in 10 years since 1996 when there was a 9.1 percent increase.

Some 77.2 percent of marriages last year were first marriages, which is 3.3 percent higher than the year before. But second marriages decreased 2.3 percent to 12.4 percent of all marriages, the lowest since 1970 when statistics were first kept. The average age of those marrying for the first time was 30.9 for men and 27.8 for women. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)

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S.Korea Resumes Aid Shipments to N.Korea (Mar 2007) South Korean aid shipments to North Korea resumed in full swing after video reunions of separated families began on 27 Mar. The government sent 60,000 blankets to North Korea on 28 Mar. The shipment of blankets, part of a flood relief campaign, was halted after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test last October.

The shipment also included 11 other relief items including disinfectants for the prevention of foot-and-mouth disease. Some 15,000 tons of rice and 70,000 tons of cement will go north next month.

A ship carrying 6,500 tons of fertilizer left Yeosu port for North Korea, part of 300,000 tons of fertilizer due to be sent to the North by late June. The provision of fertilizer will cost W108 billion (US$1=W939) including freight fees. North Korea asked the South Korean Red Cross to offer fertilizer aid on March 7.

The government will provide North Korea with some W3.5 billion of materials and W400 million in cash for the construction of a family reunion center equipped with video facilities. Originally the South was supposed to provide LCD monitors for the center, but the U.S. has banned shipments of LCD monitors to North Korea, so the cash will go to buying LCD monitors from China.

The two sides will discuss when and how 400,000 tons of rice worth W200 billion will be sent across the border at a meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Committee which will open in Pyongyang on April 18. (Source: Chosun