Korea Pod

Still a lot of bickering over details in the National Assembly despite agreeing to a Druking special counsel probe and supplementary budget. Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong punched by protester during a debate. It's a neck and neck race for the governorship. Differing media perspectives and Korea and the US over North Korea throwing cold water over the general good vibes recently. May 18th Gwangju uprising. Still some unanswered questions and issues unresolved. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

Polls look good for ruling party. Ahead everywhere except TK region Opposition can't find traction with their negative tactics Potential regional realignment in Yongnam region North Korea summit effect looms large, could change the dynamics What can the conservatives do to pull of a miracle comeback? Stop the commie baiting! Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

Unified Korean Table Tennis wins bronze. Can they be competitive? Tourney in Pyongyang upcoming. Asian Games unified Korean teams discussions heat up. Pros and cons Men's hockey struggles at the world championships. World Cup football injury woes. Park Sung-hyun moves up the rankings in the LPGA MLB: Ryu Hyun-jin out until the All-star break. Dodgers reeling. Oh Seung-hwan may close for the Blue Jays. Random Rants: Toronto Raptors owned by Lebronto! Time to tear it down? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

It's been one year since President Moon was elected into office. Swept into power as the leading figure in the "candlelight revolution" Won a landslide victory, nearly doubling the support for Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Cheol-soo Came in with high expectations, met some, fell short or incomplete in others. Strengths: foreign policy/diplomacy/inter-Korean ties, getting rid of the old-guard corruption. Potential for lasting peace on the peninsula could be his biggest historical accomplishment. But that story is yet to be written. Incompletes/disappointments: certain appointments, economic policies, comity with the opposition. Ends the 1st year with record approval ratings and popularity. Unsustainable? Still much work to be done. Biggest accomplishment: a shift from the past lack of empathy(불통) to a more communicative style of governing involving the people(소통). Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn

Opposition LKP Floor Leader 김성태 on a hunger strike demanding a "Druking" special probe. Met with lots of derision and trolling from the public. Hunger strikes have a long and somewhat noble history in Korean politics. This falls short of that ideal. Kim attacked by a rogue individual on the steps of the National Assembly. LKP is trying to milk this for all it is worth. Claims there was a wider organizational "terrorist" attack planned on the LKP. Refusing to open parliamentary session to pass crucial bills including the supplementary budget, revised broadcasting act and ratifying the inter-Korean Panmunjom declaration. Ultimatum to ruling party to accept a special counsel bill with no pre-conditions, or parliament will remain shut down. The ruling party made a big concession on the Druking issue, but the opposition isn't willing to compromise. It's a game of chicken where the LKP has all the risk for very dubious rewards. There's a political strategy here somewhere, but it's hard to see it. Local elections

KBO - NC Dinos' league-worst bullpen got even worse with closer 임창민's injury - Lotte moving up the standings - Crazy dispute between song rights-holders and teams over player's cheer anthems. Could have severe impact on fan culture and overall league interest. MLB - Ryu Hyun-jin groin injury - Oh Seung-hwan pitching well. Closer Roberto Osuna is not! FIFA World Cup update - No 이동국 on the roster? PGA - YE Yang looks to continue his winning ways playing here in Korea Inter-Korean sports - Table Tennis poised to field a unified team at Asian Games? - Football not so enthusiastic. Lots of potential upcoming headaches for Big Yoo! Random rants- NBA Playoffs Raptors vs Cavs! Deja vu all over again? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

Bombshell Dispatch investigative report linking JYP to the Salvation Sect cult. Salvation Cult linked to the company that owned the ill-fated Sewol Ferry. JYP has continuously denied claims he was involved with 구원파. His wife is the niece of the Salvation sect leader. Stock prices of JYP has plummeted. Allegations also swarm around 배용준/Bae Yong-joon. Cults and their wider influence are a problem in Korea. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

The entire Cho family that owns Korean Air is in some legal hot water including 조현민, 조현아, mom 이명희 and even dad chairman 조양호 The LKP will not let the 드루킹/김경수 issue die. Doubling down on special counsel demand. LKP's election campaign slogan is "나라를 통째로 넘기시겠습니까?" "Are you going to give the entire country to the leftists?" Bizarre LKP controversy with campaign logo song. Using the popular children's "상어가족/Shark Family" melody. Threat of lawsuit by the publishing company. LKP is doubling down using it claiming they have permission. Not a winning strategy. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

Lots of punditry already from international/western media. Focus on the domestic reaction. Recap of highlights: - 김정은 inviting 문재인 to briefly step across the border - General cordial atmosphere. 김정은 using honorific to the much older 문재인 - Wives also had good chemistry despite age difference. - most interesting aspect of the summit was the "midday walk" and one-on-one convo Domestic reaction: - as expected, overwhelmingly positive. conservative/progressive press focused on different aspects of the summit - lots of emotional/tearful reactions from the public. surreal to see the two leaders together hugging it out and generally getting along. 김정은 being humanized too much? - optimism abounds for a real settlement to the nuclear issue, peace treaty and eventual confederation/reunification despite different interpretations to the joint statement 판문점 선언 Political reaction: - Ruling 민주 party obviously very effusive. 3 minor opposition parties also to varying degrees positive about the summit results. - Main opposi

KBO- Young closers doing well. Overlooked Sosa of LG Twins, the best foreign pitcher. SK-Doosan battle. 함덕주 being overworked?? Teams bunched up. Even Samsung just a few games out of playoff contention. Lotte finally out of the cellar. LPGA- Inbee Park world #1 again despite losing in the final round. Asian Games- Marine boy Park Tae-hwan tries to capture his past glory FIFA World Cup D-50 countdown Random rants- Leafs game 7! NBA playoffs see some series end (Bron is GOAT), dogfights in others (Bron is GOAT). Dodgers still suck. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1 http://koreapod.libsyn.com

South and North Korea meet for the 3rd time! What to expect: Meticulous to-the-second planning for all the logistics of the summit. - from the cameras, staging, seating, menu a careful eye placed on optics and symbolism. one funny side note: Japan is pissed about a Dokdo-shaped dessert. Some expert trolling by the Blue House. High expectations set for the results of this summit. Too high? - some sort of statement on denuclearization and a declaration of peace expected. - reactions from Washington and Trump will definitely be kept in mind when drafting the statement Domestic reaction will be interesting - opposition/LKP already voicing skepticism, expected to be mealy-mouthed about the positive results. Chairman Hong already says this is a ruse to prop up a collapsing NK regime - overwhelming public support and optimism for the summit. Moon and 청와대 will pull out all the stops to make sure they don't disappoint. - afterwards, the ball will be in Trump's court. More on the summit after it finishes! Subscribe

1) The 야당(opposition) looks hell bent on getting a 특검 (special counsel) probe on the 드루킹 affair. Media feeding frenzy on Druking, his group 경공모, and lawmaker 김경수. After much consternation, Kim is deciding to run for 경남 governor in the June elections. He apparently was set to drop out, not wanting to burden the 문재인 administration and his ruling party, but the powers that be convinced him to fight the good fight. His reputation as a clean, soft-spoken "nice guy" seems to belie the strange firestorm he's been engulfed in. There seems to be a "try hard" atmosphere with the race for scoops in this case. Similar to the 최순실 scandal and various scoops. Everyone looking for a "tablet PC" smoking gun. Hesitate to call this "fake news" and put on a red MAGA hat, but stuff just doesn't add up. The controversy and allegations just don't appear to be organic. Police are pressured to be "tough" now that they've been criticized for being slow to investigate, which is compounding the confusion and the drip-drip of details rel

KBO- who's up/who's down. Fine dust cancellations? LG sign stealing scandal. MLB- Ryu is the best pitcher on the Dodgers! But getting jerked around in the rotation. Choo showing some power. KBL championships: a very dramatic come-from-behind exciting win by SK Knights that neither of us took interest in Hockey- Men's national team headed to World Championship. Can they avoid the cellar? Random rants- NBA/NHL playoffs, MLB updates, etc Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1

김기식 is out as head of the Financial Supervisory Service. Blue House doubled down by having the 선관위 (National Election Commission) decide on the illegalities of m Kim's alleged violations. They ruled he broke the law and he immediately resigned and the resignation was immediately accepted by 청와대. Some lingering side effects and questions. What is wrong with the vetting system at the Blue House? Should 조국 or 임종석 be held responsible? What happens to reform of the financial/Chaebol sector? Is this a black eye/setback for 문재인's 적폐청산 and holding his administration to a higher standard? Difficult balance of wanting "your guys" in key roles to sincerely carry out policies and recognizing the writing of the wall and backing down. Progressives hope the reform drive does not slow down despite setback. Conservatives want a special prosecution./state investigation. People want 전수조사 on ALL lawmakers with expenses and overseas trips. Petition with well over 200,000 signatures to Blue house. Ruling party/progressives support

세월호 참사- 4th year anniversary of the tragedy. Commemorations all around the nation. Still a lot of unanswered questions. The "Katrina moment" and "Emperor has no clothes" revelation for the former 박근혜 regime. 김경수/민주당 댓글조작 의혹- Ruling party and lawmaker/경남지사 예비후보 김경수 embroiled in allegations there was a concerted effort to sway online opinion through the news portal sites. Minjoo and Kim deny the charges. 드루킹 is the central figure in these allegations. A disgruntled and spurned greedy activist? Opposition is making hay out of all this, calling for a special prosecutor and even questioning the legitimacy of the previous presidential election. Deja vu all over again? 2012 vs today: what’s different? "내로남불" a widely used term by netizens. But something doesn't add up. Why would the ruling party call for an investigation into online manipulation with the 단일팀 if they were in charge of a wide-scale scheme of their own? The anecdotal observations show that suspicious activity definitely coincides with the anti-governm

MLB Koreans - 류현진 bounceback game, 추신수 cooling off, 오승환 shaky KBO recap/preview - 양의지 bush league behavior, wider discussion on player-ump dynamics and Korean Confucianism. KBL height discrimination- players too tall, including top stars will be banned from the league to "foster domestic talent"; much derision online. Random rants- fantasy, MLB, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, etc. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1

- Apartment complex in 다산신도시 (Dasan New Town) in a dispute with 택배업체(delivery companies) over where to park and deliver packages. Accusations of "갑질" abound on both sides. Issue of safety vs. convenience. Hard to pick a side, but the media narrative and public sentiment has been decidedly against the apartment residents as they demand their packages to be hand-delivered regardless of the inconvenience to the drivers. Lots of previous cases of workers/laborers being abused by apartment residents. - FSS chief 김기식 continuously under fire for alleged improprieties when he was a lawmaker. The 출장 issue as well as the unfortunate mud-slinging with his young intern (여비서 being a dog-whistle?), resulting in backlash from female staff at the National Assembly. Despite the growing pressure for him to resign, 청와대 (Blue House) sticking to their guns. Counter-accusations against LKP's 김성태 of doing the same. Suspicions that Samsung and the other Chaebols are masterminding a smear campaign to oust the reformist financial wat

- Some analysis/takes on the issues - Aftermath of 박근혜's sentencing. Polls wanted longer jail term. Samsung/이재용 getting off scot-free? 이명박 gets an indictment of his own. - 이재명 vs 전해철 war of words/social media battle. wife involved? Bernie/Hilary fallout risk for 민주 party. - 삼성증권 (Samsung Securities) in the news with a shares issuance kerfuffle - 금융감독원 chief 김기식 in a Scott Pruitt-type scandal - Mercedes Benz driver attack on Taxi grandpa - Cumulative effect of a polarized society. More anger against the elites. Social cohesion needed. - Some good news? Possible 4-day weekend with 어버이날 given a holiday. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/korea-pod/id1361450798?mt=2&ls=1

MLB opening week/ korean players update w/ Choo, Oh, Ryu, Choi. assess their performance so far and project what they'll do this season - 최지만 being optioned to Triple-A the day after his debut, how Brewers essentially screwed him over so he couldn't exercise his opt-out clause right away, etc (they had 11 pitches on OD roster, not 12, and then acquired an FA pitcher... then Choi became expendable) - 추신수 batting leadoff now after DeShield's injury, Banister was trying him in 6th hole, etc, but Choo still the best OBP man on that team - 류현진 shaky in first start vs. D-Backs.. 5 walks - 오승환 with a win and a save after 2 outings KBO recap/storylines and a preview to the weekend action - 김현수's return to Jamsil to face Doosan for 1st time in regular season, hit a home run on Tuesday - Home runs galore for SK Wyverns... became 1st team ever to hit 6 homers in back to back games (Sunday and Tuesday); a record 234 homers last year, can they break it? - Facing Samsung on the weekend, a chance to add to the HR t

- 안철수 announced his candidacy for Seoul Mayor in the upcoming local elections. Uphill climb for him based on polling - his supporters are pushing the "아름다운 양보" or "beautiful concession narrative" but this is a very different political environment from 7 years ago. - image has taken a severe beating from his pristine reputation as a visionary software mogul ushering in an age of "new politics" or "새정치" - but the reality belies this 신비주위 or mythical aura he tried to portray after the realities of political life and mud-slinging took its tool. - questions regarding the true success of his company Ahnlab and its negative effect on the nation's IT security, as well as his general wish-washiness on specific policy issues and desire to "have it both ways" on hard political questions. - basic political progression. popularity through talk concerts and media interviews. signaled his interest in running for Seoul mayoral bi-elections in 2011. 아름다운 양보 to eventual mayor 박원순. tried running for president in 2012. agreed on