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South Korea

Calls For Resignation Of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Grow

Trade unions, political parties, and civil society organizations in South Korea have called for the resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol following his attempt to impose martial law. Opposition parties, including the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, have sponsored a motion in the parliament to impeach Yoon. Thousands participated in a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to demand the same. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the largest trade union confederation in the country, announced that they will stage a general strike until President Yoon steps down.

Support Koreans against Yoon!

The labor unions and mass organizations of the people of South Korea deserve the support of everyone who wants to struggle against war and dictatorship. They are fighting at this time — Dec. 4, 2024 — to rid the Seoul regime of its autocratic, anti-worker, pro-war President Yoon Suk-Yeol. On Dec. 3 Yoon declared martial law and sent elite troops to seize the National Assembly. His coup attempt failed, and the Congress voted to lift the coup. Yoon’s own cabinet members had dissented in fear of defeat, and Yoon was forced to retreat within hours of his martial law declaration.

South Korea’s Six-Hour Martial Law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law, suspended the South Korean legislature and banned elected representatives from accessing the National Assembly building using massive police presence. And then six hours later he rescinded the order. President Yoon had declared in a public address to the Korean people that the move was to protect a “liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.”

Ahead of Plastics Treaty Talks, Millions Demand Production Cuts

With the fifth and final round of global plastics treaty negotiations set to begin Monday in Busan, South Korea, an estimated 1,500 people took to the city's streets and nearly 3 million more signed a petition calling for a legally binding pact "to drastically reduce production and use, and protect human health and the environment." The Saturday march at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center was led by the global Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement and local allies from the Uproot Plastics Coalition. They want the treaty to include targets to slash production.

US Military Policy Stoking Risk Of Nuclear War On Korean Peninsula

U.S. politicians can’t stop talking about Kim Jong Un. The two major party conventions have come and gone, with both presidential candidates mentioning the North Korean leader by name. At the Republican National Convention (RNC), Donald Trump claimed Kim had endorsed him, adding, “He misses me.” Just weeks later at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Kamala Harris alluded to her opponent’s claims, declaring before an enraptured audience that the “tyrant” Kim is “rooting for Trump.” Neither candidate told the truth. The North Korea’s state news agency was swift to respond to Trump back in June, clarifying the position of the government with characteristically pointed remarks: “No matter what administration takes office in the U.S., the political climate, which is confused by the infighting of the two parties, does not change and, accordingly, we do not care about this.”

US Starts Another Round Of War Games In Korean Peninsula

The US and South Korea began yet another military drill in the Korean Peninsula this week, further heightening the possibility of nuclear confrontation and threatening peace and stability in the region. The Ulchi Freedom Shield, as the exercise is called, allegedly aims to strengthen both countries’ joint “defense capabilities” against nuclear power North Korea, as stated by the spokespersons of both nations earlier this month.

Nodutdol Launches US Out Of Korea Campaign

New York, NY – Several hundred people gathered in midtown Manhattan at The People’s Forum to launch Nodutdol’s U.S. Out of Korea campaign. Hundreds more gathered at events in Oakland and Los Angeles for similar launch events. The event began with Nodutdol organizers presenting the background of the organization. Nodutdol (노듯돌, meaning stepping-stone) has roots in the 1990s when members of the Korean movement would travel to Korea to learn from the people in the South and North of the peninsula about their organizing against U.S. domination. They became fully established in 1999 in Queens, New York and in the early 2000s pivoted their focus to anti-war efforts in the Middle East. They continued their delegation trips to Korea and deepened their anti-imperialist resolve.

The South Korean ‘Spy’ Affair

The major media outlets earlier this month ran breathless headlines about a former C.I.A. officer “caught spying for South Korea.” The BBC, for example, wrote “Ex-CIA Analyst Charged with Spying for South Korea.” The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Sloppy Spycraft? Indictment of a Former CIA Analyst Embarrasses South Korea.” Even the venerable Time Magazine disingenuously wrote, “Former CIA Office Charged with Being Secret Agent.” The problem is that literally none of those headlines were true. Sue Mi Terry, a former Korea analyst for the C.I.A., a former deputy national intelligence officer for the Koreas, and a former national security council director for Korean Affairs, was most certainly not charged with spying for South Korea.

New Military Alliances Forming In The Pacific

On the heels of a new alliance announced this summer by Russia and North Korea for a pact pledging mutual defense, with the support of China, it is now shockingly being suggested in South Korea that it review its security policy with the US and end its reliance on the US guarantee, to employ on South Koreas’ behalf, US nuclear weapons as part of its “nuclear umbrella”. The “umbrella” is offered to all NATO states as well as the Pacific states of Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Such questioning is evidence of the growing havoc faced in the world by the failure of the United States to make good on its legal obligation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for good faith efforts for nuclear disarmament.

Thousands Of Samsung Workers Go On Indefinite Strike

Thousands of workers in South Korea at Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, declared an “indefinite strike” against the company’s refusal to dialogue and listen to their demands on the last day of their three-day strike on Wednesday, July 10. In a statement, published on the website of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) which is spearheading the strike, the union told its members “don’t get tired” and continue the strike until further instructions are given. The NSEU has around 30,000 members and represents 24% of all workers with Samsung Electronics. According to NSEU, over 6,540 workers have been participating in the different strike actions.

Threat Of War Looms Over NATO Summit In Washington

On June 30, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) blasted the joint military exercises conducted by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea in the region, labeling them as “reckless and provocative.” The DPRK pointed out that the military “war games” disrupt peace on the Korean peninsula and the broader region. The hostile military drills expose the formation of an “Asian version of NATO” led by the U.S., declared a statement by the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 30. The three-day military operation known as “Freedom Edge” took place from June 26 to 29, involving South Korea, Japan, and the U.S.

US Veterans Denounce Prolonged Militarization, Ongoing War In Korea

Two members of Veterans for Peace participated in a recent delegation to South Korea to mark the anniversary of two young girls who were killed by a US tank during a military exercise. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ellen Barfield, a long time activist who was on delegation and who was serving in South Korea in 1980 when the massacre of students and leftists occurred in Gwangju, about the trip and the ongoing war in Korea. Barfield also discusses the RIMPAC military exercises that begin this week in the Pacific and the veteran-led Peace Walk that is headed to Washington, DC for the anti-NATO activities starting the weekend of July 6 and 7.

Korean Girls Killed By US Troops: The Price Of Military Tensions

As military tensions continue to rise on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea recently marked the 22nd anniversary of the deaths of Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon, two middle school girls who were killed in 2002 when a US Forces Korea convoy driving an armored vehicle struck and crushed them. On Thursday, 23 activist groups, including the Hyo-sun Mi-seon Peace Peace Park Project Committee, gathered at the park named after two girls in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, to hold a candlelight memorial vigil. Over 150 people, representing groups ranging from religious communities to youth groups, attended the memorial to pay their respects.

A South Korean Village’s Fight Against The US Military

Soseong-ri, South Korea, was a sleepy farming village before the arrival of the US military’s Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD) missile system. While the South Korean government and the US military claim that THAAD will protect South Korea from North Korean attacks, activists and experts have long countered that THAAD is incapable of blocking the kinds of short-range missiles North Korea would use against South Korean targets in a hypothetical war. Instead, they charge THAAD’s real purpose is to protect US military assets in nearby Okinawa and Guam.

Touring South Korea To Support Opposition To US Space Warfare Plans

The US has pushed the right-wing Seoul government to massively expand their spending on military space tech. With the current US national debt now at $35 trillion, Washington can't afford to pay for its expensive and ambitious plans to 'control and dominate' space. Thus the #1 job of the Pentagon and State Department is to get the allies to help pay for the space warfare infrastructure. Currently the ROK government is building space R & D centers, satellite production facilities, new airfields likely to test hypersonic missiles and expanding 'missile defense' deployment sites. One key goal the US has is to use ROK satellite production and launch facilities to hoist mini-satellites into Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) to help fill up the already crowded orbits before China and Russia can get there.

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