Lee Myung-bak
Sorry for What? Lee Myung-bak Plays the Victim Card, Again
Mar. 14 brought the promise of mild catharsis for many South Koreans, as former president Lee Myung-bak finally turned up at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office to face questioning about corruption allegations. Lee, who led South Korea from 2008 to 2013, was the subject of widespread corruption rumors even
Lee Myung-bak: One More President to Face the Past
Former president Lee Myung-bak has enjoyed a comfortable retirement until now, thanks to having a fellow conservative succeed him. But now that Park Geun-hye has been replaced by Moon Jae-in, from the center-left Minjoo Party, Lee faces growing scrutiny over his term, from 2008 to 2013. A reform committee within
A Lost Decade for Human Rights in South Korea
In November 2015 I was invited to be a judge at a debate contest for university students. The topic was whether Kaesong Industrial Complex was helping the human rights situation for average North Koreans. At the end of the day, I heard one of the winners remark that he was
Four Rivers Project: Explained
President Moon Jae-in has been in office for less than two weeks, but he already has a considerable list of achievements. He made radical appointments for his secretariat and cabinet, and elevated several women to positions of prominence. He ordered the abolition of the much-hated history textbooks, championed by Park
Seoullo 7017: Urban Asset or Vanity Project?
A scene from otherwise unmemorable 2009 film Private Eye, about colonial-period Korea, has stayed lodged in my memory for the last eight years: Independence Gate stands alone in a field of wild grass, bushes and mist, with no other sign of human settlement or migration is in sight. Actual photos
Can S Korea's Blue House Reporters Ask More Questions Now?
On his first day as president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in held a press conference in Chunchugwan, the Blue House’s press building. After talking for a little less than 10 minutes, Moon left without a Q&A session. His top aides stayed behind for nearly 20
South Korea's Trolling Game
Prologue I’m glad that a**hole died. I heard that actress b**** is sleeping with that CEO. You’re a fake, and everyone sees through you. Imagine watching a trolling competition on television. The players are professors, teenagers, unemployed trolls, your regular Joe in the office trolls