Pro-DPRK Rebellion Plotted by SK Lawmaker

[Zealot]

Surprised no one posted this yet, apparently a leftist South Korean lawmaker plotted a pro-North Korean revolution in the event of war to unify the nation. Personally, I think McCarthyism might be at work.


SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean National Assembly on Wednesday voted to allow the arrest of an opposition lawmaker on charges of plotting treason in a case that rekindled fears of a pro-North Korean rebellion and concern about the actions of a powerful intelligence agency that has been long accused of meddling in domestic politics under the pretext of hunting Communists.

The lawmaker, Lee Seok-ki, a member of the minor United Progressive Party, is accused of gathering 130 followers, some of them drunk and with small children, in two secret late-night meetings in May to plot an armed rebellion in support of the North in case of war. North Korea heightened military tensions earlier this year by declaring that it would no longer honor the 60-year-old cease-fire that halted the Korean War in 1953.

In one of the meetings, which lasted till 2 a.m. on May 13 at a religious retreat in the South Korean capital, Seoul, Mr. Lee, 51, said war could be imminent on the divided Korean Peninsula and his followers should prepare themselves for a “revolution” against “the world’s most powerful American imperialists” and achieve “a new reunified fatherland,” according to the National Intelligence Service’s charges against him.

At one point, he said the manual for making the pressure cooker bomb (http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/what-are-pressure-cooker-bombs-and-why-do-terrorists-use-them/) used in the Boston Marathon attack was available on the Internet. According to the charges, one of Mr. Lee’s followers reminded the others that during the Korean War, the South Korean authorities arrested and executed tens of thousands of leftists out of fears that they would collaborate with the North Korean Army. The man, Hong Soon-seok, was quoted as saying that if there were another war, a similar fate could befall South Korean leftists, “as Jews were once rounded up.”

Another follower, Lee Sang-ho, suggested attacking South Korea’s communications, oil, train and other crucial facilities in case of war, the charges said. But Mr. Hong also called the idea of buying sniper rifles and using hacking skills to attack military radar facilities “outlandish.”

Mr. Lee and his followers also face separate charges of violating South Korea’s anti-Communist national security law when they sang North Korea’s “revolutionary” propaganda songs during four political gatherings last year. Mr. Hong and Lee Sang-ho were arrested last week (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/world/asia/leftist-leaders-accused-of-trying-to-overthrow-south-korean-government.html?src=recg).

“Lee Seok-ki is an enemy of South Korea,” said Kim Jin-tae, a lawmaker from the governing Saenuri Party, calling on fellow legislators to support a bill authorizing the arrest of Mr. Lee on Wednesday.

By law, a legislator can be arrested with parliamentary approval when the National Assembly is in session.

“This is a medieval witch hunt,” Mr. Lee told the Assembly, denying hatching a plot to overthrow the South Korean government through an armed rebellion and accusing the intelligence agency of “mobilizing conservative news media” to discredit him and his party.

In an earlier news conference, he called himself a pacifist and urged his fellow lawmakers to reject the bill, quoting a phrase often attributed to the 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire: “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Lee Jung-hee, the head of Mr. Lee’s progressive party, said the intelligence agency cited excerpts and distorted the context of the comments made during the May meeting to support its treason charges. The talks of sabotaging state facilities were “like jokes and were laughed away,” she said.

“If this is treason, we are living in a society no one can dare crack a joke,” she said. “You cannot punish someone for what he thinks.”

But Mr. Lee found few friends in the Assembly, and the bill was passed by a vote of 258 to 14, as the main opposition Democratic Party also decided to approve it, although it warned the national intelligence agency against McCarthyism, in a reference to the American senator who pursued suspected Communists in the 1950s. Later Wednesday, intelligence agents took him to a court hearing, where a judge was to decide whether to formally arrest him.

Mr. Lee is the first lawmaker to face treason charges since democratically elected leaders replaced the country’s past military dictators, who often used treason charges to silence and even execute dissidents, later exonerated in retrials.

Mr. Lee’s case — and the timing of the National Intelligence Service’s raid against the homes and offices of Mr. Lee and his followers last week — have rocked the country for days, setting off charges from the opposition that the spy agency is resorting to its old trick of concocting espionage cases and threats from North Korea to divert attention from domestic political crises and calls to curtail its power.

The case comes amid heightened concern over the actions of South Korea’s intelligence apparatus. Won Sei-hoon, a former head of the spy agency, now stands trial on charges of ordering a team of agents (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/world/asia/former-south-korean-spy-chief-charged-with-bribery.html) to begin an online smear campaign last year against government critics, including presidential candidates who ran against Park Geun-hye, who was then the governing-party candidate and is now the president, in December.

Opposition lawmakers said the powerful spy agency’s alleged interference in the election was a bigger threat to democracy than the plot Mr. Lee’s small group is accused of.

Although many South Koreans criticized and ridiculed Mr. Lee, calling for his punishment, others raised questions about what constitutes a treason plot and how freely people can talk about North Korea in the South, where the government blocks access to North Korean Web sites and people are still arrested for resending Twitter posts of North Korean propaganda materials.

Chin Jung-kwon, a political commentator whose Twitter account has more than 360,000 followers, compared Mr. Lee and his followers to “inmates in a madhouse” and “Don Quixotes arming themselves.”

Kim Young-hwan, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, called the treason charge against Mr. Lee “a third-rate comedy.”

“Who in South Korea will be influenced by the anachronistic rhetoric of the United Progressive Party?” Mr. Kim said.

Mr. Lee and many members of his party are former student activists accused of subscribing to North Korea’s ideology of juche, or self-reliance. They criticize South Korea’s military alliance with the United States as well as the American military presence in their country. Their conservative enemies accuse them of stressing cooperation with North Korea while ignoring the North’s human rights violations and nuclear and military threats.

Critics say Mr. Lee and the National Intelligence Service actually need each other, with the agency’s scandal bolstering the ability of progressive politicians like Mr. Lee to stoke antigovernment sentiments while the agency uses cases like Mr. Lee’s to defend itself from charges of meddling in domestic politics.

“Lee Seok-ki and his like are nothing but a delusional religious cult,” Kim Ky-baek, publisher of the nationalist Web site Minjokcorea (http://www.minjokcorea.co.kr/), said in an interview. Mr. Kim sued Mr. Lee and his progressive colleagues last year on charges of treason. “But the corruption of the conservative establishment that has been in power in South Korea for the past five decades, and the people’s disillusionment with it, gave room for the North Korea followers like Lee.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/asia/south-korean-lawmakers-back-arrest-of-colleague-for-treason.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Zealot]

Three more people have been arrested over the plot


SUWON, South Korea, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's spy agency said Monday it has detained three more people affiliated with a leftist party for allegedly plotting to topple the government by destroying national infrastructure in support of North Korea in case of an inter-Korean war.

The detention of Kim Hong-ryeol, the head of the Gyeonggi Province branch of the United Progresive Party; Kim Geun-rae, the branch's deputy head; and Cho Yang-won, a think tank head, comes after the prosecution indicted with physical detention UPP Rep. Lee Seok-ki and three other senior party members last week on similar charges.

North Korea threatened nuclear war with South Korea and the United States early this year when the United Nations imposed stricter sanctions on the North after Pyongyang's third nuclear test in February.

North Korea recently cancelled a planned reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, citing what it called the "suppresion of pro-reunification patriots," apparently referring to Rep. Lee and other UPP members.

The National Intelligence Service accused the three of alleged treason under the Criminal Code and of praising and sympathizing with the enemy under the anti-communist National Security Law.

The accused are suspected of discussing with other members of the underground entity called the Revolution Organization at a meeting in Seoul in May ways to destroy communication lines, railways and major oil tanks in support of North Korea if war broke out.

The three are also charged with making remarks siding with North Korea and singing North Korean revolutionary songs at several meetings held between March and August.

The Suwon District Court will interrogate the three people Tuesday to review the legality of their detention, according to court officials.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/search1/2603000000.html?cid=AEN20130930008800315

[Sendo]

Oh it is most definitely bullshit.

The Intel services interfered in the presidential elections whichbrought dictator Park Chung-hee's daughter to power.

A great thing about SK elections is that the campaigns are tightly regulated, not dominated by such disgusting amounts of money as the USA.

The problems are in blatant disproportionate enforcement of law, short voting hours (a problem in most countries) and in the state, toadies for every fascist have been in the wings of the ruling class (just like FDR and Croatia).

the Intel Services were subject to a reverse kangaroo court. The ruling party (who did not win the popular vote, but due to mixed proportional representation and single member constituencies system did get a majority) just brushed over everything. a police officer from the oppressed southwest region and a women was as polite as possible but testified truthfully that the chief of police called off raids on 국정원 illegal domestic propaganda offices in rented rooms. a NK defector in the right wing of the right wing accused her of being a traitor for even suggesting this. the police chief under scrutiny even joined in! a double whammy of ageism, fascism, sexism, and regionalism! the funny bit was how a pyong-yang native could dare to bring up someone's origin as a negative.

then in late august this spy ring was suddenly discovered.

please.

I'd been following the UPP and also the venerable Hankyoreh newspaper and various reports. There is nothing of substance here. Some audio slapped together of singing old NK songs....wow, what terrorists and traitors.

It's like the KCIA trying to knock of Kim Dae jung or Chun Doo hwan doing the same (Chun Doo hwan is the vicious dictator responsible for May 18th massacre with US aid and approval and to whom Western media ascribes SK economic gains that were in fact the result of Park's protectionism and not Chun's neoliberalism). Deja vu.

It's similar to the Lee Myung bak administration distracting people from abysmal economic failures and broken promises by bringing up the Dokdo dispute with Japan at the height of anti-globalization protests. Park Geun hye's government has unbelievably been even more scandal-ridden and corrupt than Lee's, probably the worst since the 1980s. Of course, the moral authority argument is as common with the NFP/GNP as it is with the Republicans in the USA

In summation, it all stinks to high heaven and they're attacking the only pro-peaceful unification party.

The right NFP has moved a bit to the left and the Korean Democratic Party was never that radical on NK policy. They basically want assimilation or peaceful annexation of the North (as if the USA would allow a united Korean peninsula not dependent on the USA! Right or left, it is intolerable. look at central america, yugoslavia, libya, egyt, iran, etc)

The PJP is a split of the coalition that led to the UPP. they're opportunists who quit the presidential race way too soon. Here's the cool part about SK pres elections. Though they don't have run-off voting they do have multiple legally mandated debates. No youtube bullshit. No NBC cutting off problematic war-criticizers (papa GE doesn't like that!). Anyway, the UPP tactically withdrew after the debates. Their candidate and party leader bravely criticized Park Geun hye and demolished her in debates and pointed out her father's hypocrisy and collaboration with the Japanese. Park is still chums with the murderers and thugs of her father's administration, it was a dangerous but brave move.

The other left parties are social dem, have pitiful support numbers, or are Cliffite Trotskyist in all but name. They condone imperialism, ignoring the fact that before the Kim dynasty was frmal, the North was making socialist gains and oblivious to the reality that imperialist intervention is bad for all of Korea.

Many factions are repeating tactics of the past to discredit the only party that advocates socialism with a working-class basis, has actual strength, advocates as close to revolution as legally possible, and supports national liberation and a union of equal Koreas without imperialist interference.

They must be destroyed at all costs in the eyes of the ruling class. I only hope that the ppl can see through this bullshit and it will backfire.

[Sendo]

Voice of People 민중소리 is like what youd get from a PSL newspaper.

Hankyoreh 한겨레 is what the right wing on Britain thinks the Guardian is (ie actually left and anticapitalist while maintaining a large reader base and competing on a national level)

Yonhap is like the AP for SKorea.

United Progressive Party 통합진보당 "통진당" the only leftist party advocating anti-imperialism and national liberation and anti-capitalism.

New Frontier Party (actually "new world" in the most abstract sense) 새누리당 known as Grand National Party (actually "one country") 한나라당 before Park's splinter faction remerged and took over, turning into a party of loyalty to Park Chung hee's legacy and his successors (regardless of fact that in Park's presidency and dictatorship nationalist capitalists were promoted and public industries were created, they now advocate neoliberalism and capitalist cannibalism). Kind of like a Gaullist party. Defined by its loyalty to a person and not an ideology, though this party is right wing, cold warrior party albeit one that has abandoned military conquest of the north.

Democratic Party 민주당 for a while known as Democratic Unity Party 민주통합당 when it absorbed the Uri Party 우리당 which was the faction that backed Roh Mu hyeon 노무현.

Historically there was the Millenium Party for Kim Dae-jung, the first opposition party executive in either Korea's history. won peace prize for "sunshine policy" in 2000.

[Zealot]

Thanks Sendo it's always good to hear from someone who knows their shit. So are you saying that this story has been pushed by the ruling party to distract from their illegal propaganda offices?

[RedHal]

www.wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org) has covered this since the first raid, the latest is the dictator's daughter is threatening to ban the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), accusing its members of being involved in the alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government. Imagine your teacher with AKs lol

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/10/01/kore-o01.html

If you remember the first raid against the United Progressive Party (UPP) happened exactly when the BS story about Kim ordered the mass execution of some orchestral band. The story originated from some right wing South Korean rag and was reprinted around the world, coincidence?

[Zealot]

If you remember the first raid against the United Progressive Party (UPP) happened exactly when the BS story about Kim ordered the mass execution of some orchestral band. The story originated from some right wing South Korean rag and was reprinted around the world, coincidence?

It could have happened at any time and it would have been a coincidence. BS stories are not in short supply regarding North Korea.

[Chinese]

The Return of Repression——Political Firestorm in South Korea

by GREGORY ELICH
September 12, 2013

Actions by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) have generated a political furor that is growing by the day, pitting the ruling New Frontier Party against the main opposition Democratic Party and threatening the existence of the Unified Progressive Party.

The NIS intervened in the election of December 2012 in an endeavor to bring victory to conservative candidates. NIS director Won Sei-hoon ordered the agency’s psychological warfare division to launch a campaign to discredit liberal and left political candidates. Agents were instructed to each create three or four posts on the internet per day, praising the ruling party and attacking the opposition. Three teams were tasked to carry out this mission, and one team alone generated an average of 1,200 to 1,600 posts per month. Won was motivated by a paranoid McCarthyist frame of mind, and he was heard to say, “If there is a person or a force which condemns the government and the ruling party, they are no different from North Korea even if they are our citizens.”

The psychological warfare teams used IP switching software to prevent tracking. Many of the posts smeared liberal and left candidates as “followers of North Korea.” According to South Korean investigators working with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, the NIS utilized software to generate millions of automated tweets and re-tweets of their postings, flooding the internet.

In a further boost to the campaign of presidential candidate Park Geun-hye and other conservative candidates, the NIS leaked excerpts from a classified document to the press and to the ruling New Frontier Party, containing a transcript taken from the October 2007 meetings between liberal South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The excerpts leaked by the NIS dealt with discussions of the Northern Limit Line, the western maritime border between the two Koreas. The NIS intentionally distorted the excerpts it provided and fabricated content in order to make it appear that Roh was offering to turn over South Korean territorial waters to North Korea, expecting the resulting outcry to damage the chances of liberal presidential candidate Moon Jae-in.

The NIS removed a statement from the version leaked to the New Frontier Party, in which Roh stated that the Northern Limit Line should not be changed. In another example, the NIS spliced together a phrase from a morning session with a phrase from an afternoon session so as to misrepresent Roh’s position. The NIS also altered words and phrases, and inserted content of its own invention into the transcript in order to discredit the liberal candidates.

Two days before the December 19 election, Kim Moo-seong, head of Park’s election campaign, publicly revealed quotes from the fabricated transcript, and angrily announced that he was “filled with indignation” over its content. His comments received broad media coverage, which helped to swing votes in favor of Park.

It was not until after the election that the extent of NIS meddling was revealed, and Won Sei-hoon was indicted in June. In response to demands by opposition parties that the NIS be reformed, President Park Geun-hye merely asked the agency to come up with a proposal to reform itself. Public anger swelled, and demonstrators packed Seoul Plaza for weekly candlelight demonstrations, calling for the NIS to be brought under control. Before long, candlelight demonstrations spread to cities and towns throughout South Korea, and it was clear the issue would not go away.

The Unified Progressive Party was at the forefront of efforts to reform the National Intelligence Service. In July, I was among a group of international guests who met with members of the Unified Progressive Party, including Representative Lee Seok-ki. A man with an infectious smile, he joked with us that he was the most hated person in the National Assembly. The conservatives loathed Lee for his outspokenness about the need to reform the National Intelligence Service. Nor had they forgiven him for the leading role he played in stopping the nomination of Korean-American Kim Jeong-hoon for a ministerial post in the South Korean government, due to Kim’s service as an advisor to the CIA and as director of In-Q-tel, a technology company that works closely with the CIA. Retribution against Lee Seok-ki would not be long in coming.

As the debate over the NIS in the National Assembly intensified and militant mass demonstrations continued to call for reform, the National Intelligence Service struck back on August 28, raiding the homes and offices of 18 members of the Unified Progressive Party. Three party officials were arrested and charged with treason. As the principal target for vengeance, Lee Seok-ki would later be arrested after a vote in the National Assembly stripped him of immunity.

Wild claims were made, as the NIS charged that Lee headed a group called the “Revolutionary Organization,” which it said was planning an armed uprising in the event of war with North Korea. The quotations attributed to Lee were provocative, and were said to originate from a recording provided by an informer who attended two meetings of a local branch of the Unified Progressive Party on May 10 and 12.

In a familiar pattern, the NIS illegally leaked selected excerpts to the New Frontier Party and media outlets. The result was as intended, and a furious trial by media ensued, even though the courts had not yet ruled on the admissibility of the transcript as evidence. Lee claimed that he was innocent of all charges, and the NIS had fabricated the quotations it had attributed to him. He charged the NIS with engaging in “political persecution” against his party.

Lee Jung-hee, chairperson of the Unified Progressive Party, announced at a press conference, “The Blue House, facing an unprecedented crisis, and the National Intelligence Service, on the eve of its dissolution after being exposed of rigging the last election, are conducting a Yushin era witch hunt in the 21st century. This is an attempt to silence the candlelight protests as the truth of the fraudulent crimes of the National Intelligence Service are exposed, and voices demanding accountability from President Park Geun-hye intensify.” Lee warned, “Just as they accused all citizens who supported the opposition in the last election as ‘pro-North sympathizers’, they will try to crush and eliminate all democratic forces by labeling them criminal insurgents.”

There were those who questioned the timing of the raid. The NIS claimed that it had been investigating Lee Seok-ki for three years, and the meetings that provided its rationale took place three and a half months beforehand. Why was this moment chosen, they wondered? The NIS was on the ropes. The National Assembly had completed its investigation of the NIS, and the opposition parties were demanding that the NIS should be banned from domestic intelligence gathering. According to a source familiar with the functioning of the NIS, “This investigation looks suspiciously like an attempt by the NIS to justify its existence. It may be intended to block efforts to reduce and eliminate the agency’s domestic and investigative branches, which are at its heart.”

The Unified Progressive Party conducted its own fact-finding investigation into the May 10 and 12 meetings which had been organized by the party chair of the Gyeong-gi province chapter. Party members attended a lecture by Lee Seok-ki and participated in discussions about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In a press conference, party chair Lee Jung-hee declared, “There is no evidence whatsoever that the 130 people in attendance are part of a so-called Revolutionary Organization. There is only the NIS’ allegation, as it attempts to bury our party through a baseless trial by media.” Party members denied that the Revolutionary Organization existed, and accused the NIS of concocting the name as a means of adding a sinister tone to the proceedings.

In talking with those who attended the meetings, party officials investigating the matter found that many of the statements quoted in the media differed substantially from the actual words. It was apparent that the NIS was once again manufacturing “evidence.”

At one of the May meetings, there were seven simultaneous small group discussions, and the NIS informer was able to record comments only in the session he attended. Lee Jung-hee pointed out, “An inquiry into the discussions of the six other small groups revealed that they were quite different from the conversation in the group that was recorded. Their conversations were about the immediate difficulties they would face in trying to sustain life in the event of war, ways to survive, and the need to raise public consciousness to oppose war and realize peace; there was no discussion of acquiring weapons or destroying vital facilities.”

Some of those in attendance recalled that at the beginning of the Korean War, the South Korean government rounded up leftists and executed them by the thousands. Some estimates place the number of dead as high as 100,000. They expressed concern over a potential repeat if a new war arose, given how the conservatives consistently branded their party as “servants of North Korea” and “terrorists.”

In the discussion that was recorded, two hotheads suggested arming themselves and destroying facilities in the event of war. Other group members roundly rejected these comments, saying that such actions were not an option. One group member responded, “Getting firearms is nonsensical and destroying a radar base with high technology and hacking is too.” Those who advocated force were ridiculed by the others.

“Please look what the participants did after the meeting,” Lee Jung-hee urged. “They did not do anything related to taking over guns or preparing to destroy communications. Even though the NIS put a lot of manpower and money into the raid, it found nothing like a gun or a disturbance device.”

The only evidence for the charges made against the Unified Progressive Party is the video, and we only have the word of the NIS for its content. There is nothing to corroborate the cherry-picked and fabricated quotations that it has leaked. Lee Jung-hee believes the video recording may never be made publicly available. Because no warrant was issued, there is a good chance that the courts may rule the recording inadmissible as evidence.

She called on the NIS to release the original video in its entirety – and without manipulation – so that people could ascertain the truth of the matter and judge for themselves. “While the NIS did not present the original video, a reckless trial in the court of public opinion has happened. The NIS did not precisely follow legal procedures, and they have infringed on judiciary rights by leaking collected evidence illegally, which violates the defendants’ rights that are guaranteed in a normal judiciary process.”

“The most important thing is truth,” Lee continued. “Even if we are in a bad situation, there should be no editing or deleting the facts.”

The ruling New Frontier Party is using the dubious charges against the Unified Progressive Party to achieve its own political aims. It called upon the Democratic Party to end its participation in the mass demonstrations against the National Intelligence Service. For its part, the NIS is expected to argue that the charges against the Unified Progressive Party prove that it ought to retain authority to conduct domestic surveillance and intelligence gathering.

The New Frontier Party has filed a motion in the National Assembly to strip Lee Seok-ki of his seat, despite the fact that his trial has not yet taken place and in South Korea one is legally presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

In a gross violation of democratic principles, moves are afoot to forcibly disband the Unified Progressive Party. The leadership of the New Frontier Party has asked its members to obtain data in support of that action. In May, conservative groups filed petitions to have the Unified Progressive Party banned. The Ministry of Justice is looking into the possibility of responding to those requests and asking the Constitutional Court to rule in favor of dissolving the Unified Progressive Party.

There is no question that the ruling party finds the views of the Unified Progressive Party distasteful, and it would be delighted to remove the party from the political scene. If the Unified Progressive Party is disbanded, its 100,000 members will be cast adrift from direct participation in the political process.

According to party literature, among the Unified Progressive Party’s goals is to “create a new society in which progressive democracy is established.” The party “has campaigned for free education, free healthcare, and tax on the wealthy as progressive alternatives.” It advocates an end to privatization and a strengthening of public services. The Unified Progressive Party “is the only one that identifies itself as a party for independence, peace and reunification in keeping with the vision” of joint South Korea-North Korea declarations. The strongest advocates of such values will be silenced if the ruling party has its way.

Representative Lee Seok-ki is undergoing daily grilling by the NIS. Like other members of the Unified Progressive Party who are being interrogated, he is refusing to respond to all questions as a protest against political persecution. Reports indicate that the NIS is strongly considering adding an additional charge against Lee, aiding the enemy, which would carry with it a potential death penalty. Lee may be fighting not only for justice, but also his very life.

If it is not reined in, and soon, the National Intelligence Service could take the nation down the path to repression once again. When South Korea was under military rule, for an individual to advocate progressive policies was an invitation to arrest, torture, and in some cases execution. The years-long struggle for democracy in South Korea brought a hard-won victory. The ruling New Frontier Party cannot be allowed to throw away that victory.

Gregory Elich is on the board of directors of the Jasenovac Research Institute and the advisory board of the Korea Policy Institute. He is the author of Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit.

The author is grateful to Hyun Lee, co-producer of the Asia-Pacific Forum program on WBAI, and the Korean Alliance of Progressive Movements, for providing translations of source material.

counterpunch.org/2013/09/12/political-firestorm-in-south-korea

[Chinese]

Voice of People 민중소리 is like what youd get from a PSL newspaper.

Hankyoreh 한겨레 is what the right wing on Britain thinks the Guardian is (ie actually left and anticapitalist while maintaining a large reader base and competing on a national level)

Yonhap is like the AP for SKorea.

United Progressive Party 통합진보당 "통진당" the only leftist party advocating anti-imperialism and national liberation and anti-capitalism.

New Frontier Party (actually "new world" in the most abstract sense) 새누리당 known as Grand National Party (actually "one country") 한나라당 before Park's splinter faction remerged and took over, turning into a party of loyalty to Park Chung hee's legacy and his successors (regardless of fact that in Park's presidency and dictatorship nationalist capitalists were promoted and public industries were created, they now advocate neoliberalism and capitalist cannibalism). Kind of like a Gaullist party. Defined by its loyalty to a person and not an ideology, though this party is right wing, cold warrior party albeit one that has abandoned military conquest of the north.

Democratic Party 민주당 for a while known as Democratic Unity Party 민주통합당 when it absorbed the Uri Party 우리당 which was the faction that backed Roh Mu hyeon 노무현.

Historically there was the Millenium Party for Kim Dae-jung, the first opposition party executive in either Korea's history. won peace prize for "sunshine policy" in 2000.

Hankyoreh than Guardian progress. The Guardian is more like the mouthpiece of imperialism. If you want a metaphor, is more like Kung Hyabg Daily News.