Former spy chief banned from overseas travel: sources

SEOUL -- South Korea's former government intelligence chief Won Sei-hoon has been barred from leaving the country pending investigation into allegations that he had interfered in domestic politics while in office, government sources said Saturday.

Won, who served as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief under the previous government of President Lee Myung-bak, has been sued by several labor and civic groups for interfering in domestic politics by trying to manipulate public opinions ahead of last year's presidential race.
   
After his plan to leave Seoul Sunday for an extended trip to the United States was known, opposition parties denounced it as a deliberate attempt by the ex-intelligence chief to avoid the prosecution's probe.
   
According to multiple government sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which handles the case, has recently requested a government ban on Won's overseas travel, which the Justice Ministry has accepted.
   
The dispute arose after a low-level NIS agent was caught using various Internet identities to attack the then main opposition presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in in the lead up to the Dec. 19 poll.  
   
Conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye eventually won the race and took office late last month as the country's female first head of state.
   
"If he leaves the country for an overseas travel, it can only be to avoid being asked about questions raised in relation to several charges that have been leveled against him," the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) said in a statement.
   
DUP spokeswoman Kim Hyun said that Won's plan to leave the country less than three days after he left office can only be construed as an attempt to run away. 
   
"It's unprecedented that a top government official who had access to the highest national intelligence leaves the country and stays overseas for an extended period of time," she said.
   
The opposition lawmaker said the ex-spy chief should be barred from leaving the country, so he can answer questions raised against him. 
   
Won and the NIS have said there was nothing illegal about the agency's operations.
   
The minor opposition Progressive Justice Party also said that Won's plan to stay outside of the country can be construed as trying to help the incumbent Park administration. (Yonhap News)

'Looking down on creation' Figure skater Kim Yu-na performs during the closing gala at the World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, Canada, Sunday.                                                                                                                                   / Yonhap Yu-na talks about her 'natual gifts,' her plans for Winter Olympics By Kim Tong-hyung Kim Yu-na has talent. And just in case anyone isn’t opened-jawed in wonderment at just how good she is, the figure-skating megastar will say it herself. "I think it’s true that I am naturally gifted in what I do. I admit have seen athletes who work harder than me. So yes, I think I am a natural,’’ said a grinning Kim, meeting Korean reporters the day after her emphatic showing at the World Championships in London, Ontario, Canada. "On the other hand, there are athletes who are immensely talented, but never realize this and don’t work hard to polish it. Natural talent doesn’t mean much when you don’t learn how to embrace it.’’ Coming off a two-year hiatus, the reigning Olympic champion made a deafening statement that she is still the one to beat at next year’s Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Her overall 218.31-point total in London was a whopping 20 points higher than second-place finisher Carolina Kostner, representing the largest margin of victory since the current scoring system took effect in 2005. Kim, who says she will retire after competing in Sochi, is vowing to become the first women’s two-time champion since German legend Katrina Witt, who won consecutive gold medals in the 1984 Games in Sarajevo and 1988 Games in Calgary. While Kim represents a rare blend of artistic expression, skills and athleticism on ice, it often seems that confidence is her biggest asset. The 22-year-old has always displayed a flair for the moment. It was at the Vancouver Olympics that she snatched the gold with a mind-boggling 228.56 points, which shattered the old world record by a margin of 18 points. Kim had never faced more doubts about her abilities than during the buildup to the recent World Championships. When everything was said and done, Kim’s final score was surpassed only by the mark she set in Vancouver. "Everyone talks as if I have a heart of steel and am confident about everything. But the truth is my level of confidence depends on the level of practice I was able to put in. When I am not prepared as I wanted to be, or not in good physical form, I am worried like everybody else,’’ Kim said, reminding listeners that she finished ''only’’ third at the World Championships in 2007 and 2008. She said she had sustained injuries in preparation for both events. Kim talked as if she will lay back and relax for a while, now that the figure-skating season is over. She was reluctant to talk too much about her Olympic aspirations, but according to the unprecedented bar she set for herself, anything less than a gold medal would be considered a letdown. When pressed to talk about her goal for Sochi ― as if it wasn’t obvious ― Kim said she thinks of the Olympics no differently than any other competition. "Obviously, I’d like to do well in every competition I participate in,’’ she said. "The Olympics is just like any other competition. It’s not like I put in more work for the Olympics than a Grand Prix event. I will do my best to give myself the best chance to win.’’ Kim, who worked with Canadian Brian Orser at the Vancouver Olympics, hinted she will retain her current coaches, Shin Hye-sook and Ryu Jong-hyun, through the Sochi Olympics. Their contracts expire at the end of this month. Since Kim reunited with her two childhood coaches last year, she won the NRW Trophy in Germany in December, the Korean national title in January and the world championship last weekend. Choreographer David Wilson has been working with Kim since her preparation for the Vancouver Games. thkim@ktimes.co.kr,

Cyber attack traced to domestic computer By Kang Seung-woo The cyber attack against network systems at TV broadcasters and banks originated from a local computer not from an IP address in China, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said, Friday. The broadcasting watchdog had earlier announced the malicious codes came from a Chinese IP address, hinting of North Korea's involvement in the attack. The attack damaged computer networks at KBS, MBC and YTN along with Shinhan, NongHyup and Jeju banks, Wednesday. “We had mistaken a private IP address used by NongHyup as an official IP address allocated to China,” the KCC said in a statement, without elaborating on the possible attacker. Cheong Wa Dae ordered Friday all related government agencies to make preparations for possible hacking attacks, calling for the expansion of the nation’s cyber warfare forces. “A joint reaction team is striving to find out who the hackers are by analyzing malicious computer codes and restoring damaged computer systems,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Chang-jung said. Despite tracing the malware to a domestic computer, North Korea still remains as a key suspect masterminding the massive hacking. “We are concentrating our investigation on pinpointing the perpetrator of the attack and tracing the source of the malware with all possibilities open. It’s certain that one organization orchestrated the attack, but we haven’t figured out who did it,” said an official from the joint reaction team comprised of government and private experts. Korea has about 400 personnel under the Cyber Command, a special unit launched in early 2010, but the military will increase the number of personnel to more than 1,000 in the wake of the growing cyber threat, a senior military official said. “Threats of cyber warfare have become as serious as those of missile and nuclear weapons,” the official told Yonhap News. “Our military plans to expand its cyber warfare forces in the future.” The official added that expansion has been carried out by advanced countries in efforts to enhance their cyber warfare capacity to deter missile and nuclear threats with no loss of life. "We will continue to secure cyber security forces like advanced countries that put no ceiling on the number of cyber warriors," he said. Meanwhile, the KCC said Shinhan and Jeju Banks have completely recovered their networks, while NongHyup is still in the process of normalizing its system. TV broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN have recovered roughly 10 percent of their attacked systems, and no further damage has been detected, it added. ksw@koreatimes.co.kr,

Police checking illegal drug use in sex bribery scandal

Police investigating the possible sex bribery scandal invloving high ranking officials now suspect illegal substances may have been used by those who frequented the villa where the events took place, sources said Saturday.

   The scandal has forced Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-eui to step down Thursday, with speculations abounding that other public figures may be implicated, including high ranking police officers. Kim, who claimed his innocence, may have visited the villa located in Wonju 132 kilometers east of Seoul. 

The villa is owned by a 52-year-old construction contractor identified only by his surname Yoon.

  There have been numerous media reports that sex parties took place at the villa, and that the events were filmed in secret by Yoon and kept on CD so he could exert influence later on or use them as a blackmail tool.

   Investigators assigned to the case said they started looking into the use of drugs because the businesswoman who originally blew the whistle on the illegal events claimed in November that she was drugged and raped.

   The woman told officers that Yoon, after the initial rape, forced her to offer sexual favors to guests.

   Police so far said they have no hard proof to back up her story, yet they acknowledged there seems to be a steady stream of testimonies and clues that point in that direction.

   They confirmed that they found Lorazepam, a controlled substance, in Yoon's car and had directed both the woman and Yoon to receive toxicology tests by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation. 

The woman tested positive for drugs, but the police have not yet charged anyone with rape.

   Reflecting the possibility that drugs may have been used, police said they have ordered that all people implicated in the case -- including Yoon, his nephew and an unidentified person who may have provided the controlled substances to the contractors -- are not to leave the country. 

The suspects are being checked for violating the country's Narcotics Control Act and could be charged with illegal gambling, as people may have bet up to one hundred million won at informal card games that took place at the villa.

   Meanwhile, insiders said that police may start questioning all people who were on Yoon's guest list. A total of 10 people may be summoned for questioning.

   However, they said that the video images they have confiscated were of bad quality, which makes it difficult to identify the people shown.

   "It may take some time to look at all the evidence as well as collect the data out of a notebook computer owned by Yoon's nephew, which may contain relevant information," an official said.

(Yonhap News)

Police consider widening probe of sex scandal By Kang Hyun-kyung   Kim Hak-eui Police were considering widening their investigation into a sex-for-influence scandal Friday as new names are making the list of influential figures allegedly involved. “We can question other figures if they are suspected of having some connection with the scandal. We’ve secured testimonies from some women who claim they were made to provide sexual services,” a police officer said. A senior level official at the National Intelligence Service was newly added to the list of “guests” having allegedly been invited to a luxury villa in Wonju, Gangon Province where sex was provided. Yun Jung-cheon, the villa owner who videoed the activities in 2010, reportedly has known the NIS official for years. The spy agency declined to comment on the allegations. Police sent the recording to the National Forensic Service to identify the man captured on it. The three minute clip was of a man having sex with a woman. Witnesses said Kim Hak-eui, the vice justice minister who offered to resign from his post on Thursday as a result of the scandal, was the man on the video. Kim denied all allegations. Investigators are focusing on finding out whether the sexual services were provided in return for favors. The list of people allegedly invited to the villa is getting longer, including high-ranking government officials, prosecutors, judges, general hospital heads, journalists and celebrities. Starting from 2008, Yun’s invited people to the villa for the weekend and some of them reportedly had sex with women procured by Yun, according to the police. Police believed that Yun made sex tapes of five to six people among some 30 visitors to blackmail them. hkang@koreatimes.co.kr,

Director of NIS Caught Interfering in S. Korean Election

Director of NIS Caught Interfering in S. Korean Election

By oglim  |  Posted 18 hours ago  

 

This March 18th' article from the Hankyoreh, the major liberal newspapers from South Korea, discloses the direct involvement of the director of the National Intelligence Services (NIS) in the organization's interference in South Korean political affairs. The article says that some documents acquired on March 17, 2013 by Jin Sun-Mee, a congress-woman of the Democratic United Party, showed Won Sei-Hoon, director of the NIS, ordering his staff to interfere directly in domestic politics. 

The documents titled ‘Orders and Highlights from the Director” contain numerous orders and requests made by the director between May 2009 and November 2012. According to some former and current employees of the NIS these orders are taken directly from Won’s statements during the NIS’ monthly meetings of division directors and sent to all staff members ordering them to follow. Included in the orders are manipulating public opinion before elections, making efforts by the psychological warfare team to win over younger voters, and efforts to combat criticisms of the government by religious group, to name just a few. 

The documents reportedly have similar wording to posts written by the NIS agent, identified by the surname Kim, who has been investigated by police for online manipulations of public opinion during last December’s presidential election. The similarities shown in these documents could be viewed as evidence of the connection between the NIS and the ruling party of South Korea and, furthermore, as proof of the NIS’ interference in the presidential election on December 19, 2012. 

This is against the law and indeed a serious crime committed by government officials. The victory of the ruling party in the presidential election that was aided by this crime should be seriously questioned and nullified. 

Please visit the link to the actual article of the Hankyoreh. ( http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/578510.html )

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-944052

Hyoo-geun Chung fasts for an indefinite period to urge the investigation of the Korea election fraud.

Hyoo-geun Chung fasts for an indefinite period to urge an investigation of the Korean election fraud.

The recent Korean President election is a fraud. Hyoo-geun Chung fasts even without drinking water. Hyoo-geun Chung is a man in his forties. He is having this fasting for an indefinite period in order to awaken the press, the statesmen, and his fellow countrymen that are silent on the election fraud. He started the fasting on the fourth of March this year. He has been fasting fourteen days in order to disclose the election fraud; he is engaging in a life-or-death struggle on a cold concrete floor before the main office of the Saenury party. He wants hand-vote counting and the government to investigate the election fraud. Because he has been fasting fourteen days, his life is in danger. The government is preventing the people from knowing Mr. Chung's fasting. The media don't report about him. No congressman of Saenury has visited him. President Geun-hae Park hasn't visited him, either.

*A picture of Mr. Chung in the thirteenth day of his fasting.

http://bbs1.agora.media.daum.net/gaia/do/debate/read?bbsId=D115&articleId=2321934&pageIndex=1

*A Youtube video of Mr. Chung in the tenth day of his fasting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5gurD HwluA

*A Youtube video of Mr. Chung in the eleventh day of his fasting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaBREqO9BS4

During the five years of Myung-park Lees' government, the people were distressed very much. The people had only one reason for their endurng those distressful years. The reason was that they hoped that they could judge Myung-park Lee and elect a president who could lead a government for the people. That president of the hope was Jae-in Moon, ex-human rights lawyer. Korea chose Jae-in Moon President. But the election fraud committed by Myung-park Lee and Ms. Park robbed the people of President Jae-in Moon.

Is Hyoo-geun Chung reckless who has been fasting even without drinking water? No way. The reason is that in his view the situation is urgent enough for him to choose death. Many Koreans too feel like having fasting as Mr.Chung did. Under the government having rigged the election, the Korean law cannot expose the election rigging. So a petition to UN for investigating the election fraud has been being filed.

*A Petition to the United Nations to Investigate the Election Fraud in the S. Korean Presidential Election  http://f4vr.com/join-us.html

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-recent-Korean-Presiden-by-heong-ju-yoo-130313-237.html

The recent Korean President election is a fraud and Choon-mong fasts even without drinking water.

By heong-ju yoo (about the author)     Permalink       (Page 1 of 2 pages)
OpEdNews Op Eds 3/13/2013 at 12:01:46



The recent Korean President election is a fraud and Choonmong fasts even without drinking water.

Choonmong is a man in his forties. He is having this fasting for an indefinite period in order to awaken the press, the statesmen, and his fellow countrymen that are silent on the election fraud. He started the fasting on the fourth of March this year. He has been fasting ten days In order to disclose the election fraud, he is engaging in a life or death struggle on a cold concrete floor before the main office of the Saenuri party. Because he has been fasting ten days, his life is in danger. But the media don't report about Choonmong. No congressman of Saenuri has visited him. President Geun-hae Park hasn't visit him, either.

*A picture of Choon-mong in the ninth day of his fasting.http://bbs1.agora.media.daum.net/gaia/do/debate/read?articleId=2317342&bbsId=D115&pageIndex=3
*A Youtube video of Choon-mong in the sixth day of his fasting.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ek_xqhsKsg


Before the world, I am accusing ex-President Myung-park Lee and President Geun-hae Park. Ex-President Myung-park Lee is the worst of all Korean presidents in Korean history and will be remembered forever. He exercised ward-wheeling politics in many ways and most of his policies failed. Some of the major examples are the control and shackle of media, the Chun-Am battleship sinked having caused much doubt of it, the spy agency's involvement in the presidential election, and the Four Rivers Project.

Myung-park Lee invested 22 trillion wons in the Four Rivers Project opposed by most of the people. As a result, the rivers flowing freely
have been enclosed in concrete walls to go bad and all the fish died. The people have to drink the water rotten enough to kill fish.

*A picture of a rotten river and Youtube videohttp://bbs1.agora.media.daum.net/gaia/do/debate/read?bbsId=D115&articleId=2314236
*A picture all the fish died http://bbs1.agora.media.daum.net/gaia/do/debate/read?bbsId=D115&articleId=2314295&pageIndex=1
Because of the Four River Project, Korea suffered severe drought and flood. In spite of this, Myung-park Lee boasted much to UN and foreign countries that the Four Rivers Project prevented drought and flood. He even exported to foreign countries the Four Rivers Project. The Four Rivers Project is an international crime, and Myung-park Lee is an international swindler.

But neither Myung-park Lee nor anybody else was punished. The number of Myung-park Lee's policies suspected to be ward-wheeling politics reaches upto 466. During the five years of Myung-park Lee's government, many people became unemployed. Many families got broken. And many people committed suicide. Myung-park Lee presented the people with another commedy before he left presidency. That commedy is that President and Mrs. Myung-park Lee were awarded an order on.

Myung-park Lee, a criminal, took a measure for his safety. The measure is for Myung-park Lee to set on the presidency a person who can ensure Myung-park Lee's safety. The result of that is President Kyen-he Park, the dictator's daughter. To set Geun-hae Park on the presidency, Myung-park Lee had the Korea spy agency meddle in the presidential election, which is a crime. And he rigged the election.

Ms. Park who became President by the election fraud is exercising dictatorship fitting her infamacy of being the dictator's daughter. As a major example of this, she had the Pastor Wong Cho arrested illegally. It is shocking that Ms. Park had the Pastor Wong Cho arrested illegally because he exposed her secret wrongs. According to the suggested intention of this, Ms. Park threatened that anyone who would bid defiance to her would be arrested as the Pastor Wong Cho was.

During the five years of Myung-park Lees' government, the people were distressed very much. The people had only one reason for their endurng those distressful years. The reason was that they hoped that they could judge Myung-park Lee and elect a president who could lead a government for the people. That president of the hope was Jae-in Moon, ex-human rights lawyer. Korea chose Jae-in Moon President. But the election fraud committed by Myung-park Lee and Ms. Park robbed the people of President Jae-in Moon.

Is Choon mong reckless who has been fasting even without drinking water? No way. The reason is that in his view the situation is urgent enough for him to choose death. Many Koreans too feel like having fasting as Choon mong did. Under the government having rigged the election, the Korean law cannot expose the election rigging. So a petition to UN for investigating the election fraud has been being filed. The petition to UN for exposing the eletion fraud is not just for exposing the election fraud. It is for charging before the world Myung-park Lee and Ms. Park who rigged the election. It is for charging before the world Myung-park Lee and Ms. Park who are dictators and criminals.

Octa-core Galaxy S4 set for Korea in April

Samsung Electronics is expected to roll out its new Galaxy S4 phones equipped with octa-core mobile processors in Korea as early as next month.

The latest flagship 5-inch display smartphone the IT behemoth unveiled in New York on Thursday, local time, will feature the upgraded processor running on the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution network due to the specific local demand, according to industry sources here.

The company also announced Friday that it will start mass producing its octa-core Exynos mobile application processor from the second quarter. The new processor, designed for smartphones and tablet PCs, supposedly enables its users to go ahead with heavy-duty multi-tasking activities while being more energy-efficient.

“In the past several weeks, we’ve heard amazing rumors and speculation about what I’m going to unveil tonight,” said the firm’s mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun at the Samsung Unpacked 2013 event at Radio City Music Hall.

“I want to emphasize one thing. We’re committed to innovation and ready to listen to people from around the world to see what they really want and this has taken us to what we have today.”

The new “slimmer, lighter and more solid” Galaxy S4 boasts a dual camera that enables users to record sounds while taking photos and allows simultaneous use of both cameras on the front and back to record or capture shots, according to Shin.

It has a 13 megapixel camera on the back and 2 megapixel camera on the front.

The new smartphone also has the smart scroll and pause function that detects eye movement and puts the screen on hold when the user is looking elsewhere. It is also equipped with a Full High Definition Super AMOLED display and the stronger Gorilla Glass 3.

The handset, operating on the third-generation and 4G networks, will be shipped to 155 countries to be serviced by 327 mobile operators starting from the end of April, he said.

The Galaxy S4, which is 7.9 millimeters in thickness and 130 grams in weight, also comes with a high-capacity 2,600 mAh battery, an upgrade from the previous Galaxy S3’s 2100 mAh, according to Samsung officials. It will be available in two colors — black mist and white frost.

Samsung expects to sell up to 100 million units of the new smartphone around the world, which nearly equals the figure of total units sold for the whole Galaxy S series — Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3.

“We’re committed to progress and excellence in innovation,” said Shin. “Experience how (the Galaxy S4) makes your life richer, simpler and fuller.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)

Kim Yu-na leads after short program By Kim Young-jin Kim Yu-na was surprised by a lower score than anticipated, but the world got the graceful performance it has come to expect from the figure skating megastar as she finished first in the short program of the world championships in Canada, Thursday. Competing in her first world championships in two years, Kim overcame a “shaky” first spin and scored 69.97 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, southwest of Toronto, beating Carolina Kostner of Italy (66.86) and Japan’s Kanako Murakami (66.64) for the top spot. The performance put the 2010 Olympic champion into position for a shot at her second world title after winning in 2009. She took a hiatus after second-place finishes in 2010 and 2011. The ladies’ free skate is slated for Sunday morning (Korean time), where Kim will go for her second world championship. Asada Mao of Japan, performs during the ladies short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap Kim’s rival, Mao Asada of Japan, came in sixth after botching a triple loop and a making a two-footed landing on a triple axel, her trademark jump. Asada is a two-time world champion and was runner-up to Kim at the Vancouver Games in 2010.  A strong performance here at the worlds would boost her confidence ahead of the Sochi Games, less than a year away. Skating to “The Kiss of the Vampire,” Kim earned 36.79 points for her technical performance and 33.18 for artistry and choreography. She opened the program by nailing a difficult triple lutz-triple toe loop combination. But on the ensuing triple flip, she was judged to have taken off on the wrong side of her skate, a minor flaw that cost .20 points. She also lost points on a flying camel spin early on. Kim Yu-na of Korea performs during the ladies short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, Thursday.    / AP-Yonhap Kim executed her final jump, a double axel, flawlessly and finished strong. Dubbed the “Figure Skating Queen,” Kim said she was happy with her performance, despite the score, which was 2.3 points lower than her season best set at the NRW Tropy in Germany. “I was a bit shaky in my first spin,” Kim admitted. “My score was lower than expected…But I think I showed everything I could and have no regrets. “I will do my best in the free skate.” Kostner, the defending champion, recovered after falling on the second jump of a triple-triple combination. Her marks for artistry and choreography topped the field at 33.85. Murakami, 18, may have had the most technically sound performance of the evening, tallying a technical element score of the day with 36.87. Kim will be in the final group of the free skate. Having drawn the final spot, she will be the last to skate and is expected to do so at 11:46 a.m. (Korean time). The top 24 skaters will move on to the free skate, and are divided into groups of six. Kim said she would try to take the moment in her stride. "I am not going to worry too much about the final result," she said. "I will try not to make mistakes and show everything I've done in practices," she said. yjk@koreatimes.co.kr,

Kim Yu-na leads after short program at world championships

(Yonhap News)

 South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na finished first in the ladies' short program at the  world championships here in Canada on Thursday.

   Kim scored 69.97 points in the short program to shoot to the top of the standings at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships at Budweiser Gardens in London, southwest of Toronto.

   Kim is seeking her second world title after winning it all in 2009 in Los Angeles. This is her first world championships appearance in two years.

   Carolina Kostner of Italy, the defending world champion, is in second with 66.86 points, followed by Kanako Murakami of Japan with 66.64 points.

   The ladies' free skating is scheduled for Saturday evening local time, and Sunday morning Korean time.

   As the 14th among 35 skaters to take the ice, Kim earned 36.79 points in technical element score, which measures skaters' techniques, and 33.18 points in program component score, which assesses their artistry and choreography, for the 69.97 points total in the short program.

   Skating to "The Kiss of the Vampire," from the soundtrack for the film of the same name, Kim opened her program with a perfect triple lutz-triple toe loop combination. She also had a clean landing on her second jump, a triple flip, but was deemed to have taken off on a wrong edge of her skate.

   Skaters must take off on the inside edge of their skate on flips, but Kim appeared to have launched from the outside edge. Kim nailed her final jump of the program, a double axel, and performed flawless spins and step sequences the rest of the way.

   Kim fell shy of her best short program score of this season, 72.27 points set at the NRW Trophy in Germany last December. She holds the highest-ever short program score with 78.50 points from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

   Kim frowned for a moment when the score was announced. She said afterwards that she was a bit disappointed but had "no regrets" over her short program.

   "I was a bit shaky in my first spin," said Kim, who lost 0.43 points on the flying camel spin early in the program. "My score was lower than what I'd expected, so I figured I must have lost points from the spin. But I think I showed everything I could and I have no regrets."

   She said she enjoyed skating in the middle of the pack, rather than later in the day with other title contenders.  "I think I would have been more nervous if I had been grouped with other top skaters," Kim said. "I tried to take one element at a time like I was practicing."

   Despite the mediocre spin, Kim said she is feeling "100 percent."

   "Other than the spin, I did everything else cleanly," she said. "I will try to do my best in free skating."

   Kostner ranked second in the short program despite falling on the second jump of her triple-triple combination. She had the highest program component score in the field with 33.85.

   Murakami, an 18-year-old from Japan, skated a cleaner program than Kostner and posted the best technical element score of the day with 36.87, but managed just 29.77 in her program component score.

   Mao Asada of Japan, a two-time world champion regarded as a chief rival to Kim, scored 62.10 points to rank sixth after the short program. She two-footed her landing on a triple axel, her signature jump, and botched her takeoff on a triple loop and managed just a single rotation in the air.(Yonhap News)

Sanctions against N. Korea not 'fundamental'

Sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear programme are not "the fundamental way" to resolve the crisis, China's foreign minister said Saturday, days after the UN tightened measures against Pyongyang.

China is the North's sole major ally and by far its biggest trading partner, including being its primary energy supplier. 

It voted Thursday for the UN resolution that stiffened restrictions on North Korea's financial dealings, notably its suspect "bulk cash" transfers, and blocked imports of some luxury goods, following Pyongyang's nuclear test last month.

"The DPRK conducted a third nuclear test and tensions on the Korean peninsula once again heightened," Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told reporters in Beijing, using the North's official name. "This is not something we want to see."

But he added: "We always believe that sanctions are not the end of Security Council actions, nor are sanctions the fundamental way to resolve the relevant issues."

Reiterating China's longstanding position, he called for dialogue and negotiations, including a resumption of the six-party talks process, which has been moribund since 2009.

"We call on all relevant parties to bear in mind the larger interest, stay calm, exercise restraint and refrain from taking any move that may further worsen the situation," he added. 

Since the UN resolution was passed the North has responded with fresh threats of nuclear war, vowing to scrap peace pacts with South Korea as its rhetoric reached a frenzied pitch. 

In Chinese strategic thinking, North Korea is a "buffer zone" that prevents the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea encroaching on its own border.

But analysts say that Pyongyang's actions mean the relationship risks becoming an irritant for Beijing. (AFP)

S. Korea picks up four medals on first day of short track championships

South Korea earned four medals, including two titles, on the opening day of the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, on Friday.

Park Seung-hi and Shim Suk-hee swept up gold and silver medals in the women's 1,500 meters, the first race of the day. Then in the men's 1,500ｍ, Sin Da-woon and Kim Yun-jae also went first and second. 

In the women's race, Park came in at 2:23.634, with Shim just behind at 2:23.755. Shim took the lead midway through the race, but Park charged out in front with two laps left and stayed ahead the rest of the way.

In the men's competition, Sin led six skaters with 2:27.062, followed by Kim at 2:27.101. A third South Korean, Noh Jin-kyu, ended in sixth place at 2:28.149.

In the day's final race, South Korea qualified for the final in the women's 3,000ｍ relay with the fastest time in the semifinals. 

The foursome of Park Seung-hi, Shim Suk-hee, Kim Min-jung and Choi Ji-hyun posted the time of 4:15.233. 

The final for the relay will be held on Sunday, the last day of the championships.

On Saturday, the finals for the men's and the women's 500ｍ and the semifinals for the men's 5,000ｍ relay will be held.

South Korea, one of the great short track powers, has produced nine of the past 10 men's overall champions and seven of the past 10 women's overall champions. 

Skaters earn points by making the finals in individual events, with 34 points for the winner, 21 points for the runner-up and 13 points for the third-place skater, and so forth.

The competition also holds 3,000ｍ super finals for both men and women, open to the top eight skaters in points after the end of all individual races. (Yonhap News)

Rev. Cho exposes S. Korean President's scandals, being arrested illegally

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Rev-Cho-exposes-S-Korean-by-heong-ju-yoo-130302-579.html

Rev. Cho exposes S. Korean President's scandals, being arrested illegally

A very serious event happened in S. Korea. Rev. Woong Cho had an interview with a reporter, disclosing dirty and serious scandalous affairs that Geun-hae Park committed. The interview was broadcast live. Many Koreans were watching the live broadcasting. Then some policemen burst into entering the room to arrest Rev. Cho illegally.

Pastor Woong Cho is 79 years old. When he was a college student, he participated in the 5.16 coup of Jung-hee Park. Later, when he realized that he was deceived by Jung-hee Park and the coup was wrong, he regretted of this participation of his. And he exposed dirty and serious scandals of Jung-hee Park.

Ms. Park was inaugurated as president. But many Koreans don't recognize her presidency. The reason is that the recent Korean presidential election was rigged. As her father, Jung-hee Park, did, she pulled a coup by rigging the election. With a sole intention of his to prevent  Ms. Park from being inaugurated as President, Pastor Woong Cho had disclosed indecent scandals of Geun-hae Park.

The brief summary of Pastor Cho's disclosure is as follows.

*Ms.Park had immoral intimacy with Tae-min Choi 15 years.

*After Tae-min Choi's death, she had immoral intimacy with Yoon-hoe Chung, a son-in-law of Tae-min Choi 16 years. Ms. Park had two abortions.

*Yoon-hoe Chung exercises authority by pulling the wires from behind Ms. Park.

*Ms. Park has used narcotics for many years.

*Ms. Park went to North Korea to give Jung-il Kim fifty million dollars.  Ms. Park and Jung-il Kim slept together (according to an intelligence of CIA).

*Ms. Park's father deposited in a Swiss bank six billion dollars, the price of the blood that Korean soldiers shed in the Vietnam war. The six billion dollars are still in the Swiss bank.

There are many more wrongs Ms. Park did.  Many her wrongs other than sleeping with Jung-il Kim are open secret.  Pastor Cho disclosed many her wrongs through live Internet broadcasting over two periods. The Youtube video of the disclosure spread out fast. The number of inquiring into the video during three days reached 400,000.

The third interview was done on February 21. Many Koreans were watching the live broadcasting with much concern. Then policemen burst into entering the interview room. They showed him the bill of indictment and arrested him with his hands handcuffed. The bill of indictment is a defamation based on falsehood. If the prosecution intends to charge Pastor Cho with libel based on alleged evidence, it has to prove its alleged evidence is true. It has to investigate to prove the alleged evidence. It has to investigate the relevant intelligence of CIA, the six thousand million dollars in the Swiss bank, the abortions, and the drug use. But the prosecution has not made such investigation. It hasn't proved Pastor Cho's testimony is false.So the arrest of Pastor Cho is illegal. No matter how absurd this supposition would be, let's just suppose that Pastor Cho defamed Ms. Park. Is the defamation capable of having the pastor arrested urgently, his hands handcuffed, while the pastor is having the TV interview in live broadcasting? The prosecution requested the arrest warrant just a day after the arrest. Many Koreans reported Myung-park Lee and Ms. Park to the authorities. But the prosecution did not investigate. But just one day after the report against Pastor Cho was made, the pastor was arrested and the prosecution requested the arrest warrant one day after the arrest. This is the current situation of Korea.

Listen to me, Geun-hae Park: what of Pastor Cho caused you to be afraid of Pastor Cho and to have the pastor arrested illegally? This arrest is not just illegal violation against Pastor Cho alone. It is a terror against the Korean people watching TV. It is a war declared against the Korean. Jung-hee Park is a dictator who terrorized the Korean. Ms. Park being the First Lady, together with Jung-hee Park, terrorized the Korean. As soon as Ms. Park was elected President, she started to violate law and strike terror. Far from being put into prison, Ms. Park, being the daughter of the dictator, lived in splendor with the stolen goods her father robbed of. And then she robbed of presidency by the election rigging. Even presidency is a stolen goods to her. 

Ms. Park's being inaugurated is the worst of all shames and tragedies in Korean history.Moreover, she started to terrorize the people. She declared a war against the people. The people are sure to bring down from presidency Ms. Park who pulled a coup by election fraud. The election fraud, the spy agency meddling in the presidential election, and the illegal arrest of Pastor Cho are enough for not anymore considering Korea democracy. The Korean government is despotic. Many Koreans are fighting against the despotism in order to regain democracy. A movement of a second 4.19 revolution (a civil revolution that rose against the despotism in order to regain democracy in Korea) is getting large, intending to fight against the despotism and regain democracy. Korea is sure to overthrow the despotism and regain democracy by a second 4.19 revolution.

My beloved Koreans! Let's carry out a second 4.19-Revolution by the name of and the power of the people.

Fraude électorale en Corée du Sud

Soupçons de fraude électorale portant notamment sur le déroulement et le résultat du dépouillement de l’élection présidentielle du 19 décembre 2012 et plainte déposée le 4 janvier 2013 par les citoyens coréens mobilisés contre la CCCE (Commission Centrale de Contrôle des Elections)

Le 19 décembre 2012 a eu lieu en Corée du Sud la dix-huitième élection présidentielle. Park Geun-Hye, candidate du GPN (Grand Parti National, conservateur) et fille du dictateur Park Chung-Hee (1917-1979), remporte contre son adversaire, Moon Jae-In du PDU (Parti Démocratique Uni, centre gauche). Ce résultat signifie que le pays va être dirigé pour la première fois par une femme mais, ironie de la situation, les deux pays de la péninsule coréenne, le Sud comme le Nord, seront dirigés par des descendants de dictateurs.

Cependant, malgré le silence de grands médias coréens (voir la fin de ce texte sur le silence des médias) et étrangers, les résultats ont suscités beaucoup de scepticisme et des contestations au sein de la population qui allait s’exprimer sur les réseaux sociaux et en particulier sur Twitter. Des nombreuses irrégularités, des autorités qui ne respectent pas la loi électorale sud-coréenne, et un débat très intense mobilise les citoyens : – sur le nécessaire recomptage manuel des votes ; – sur la réalité de la victoire de Park Geun-Hye ; – sur le caractère organisé et prémédité de la fraude.

Le parti perdant, le PDU, reste pour le moment très prudent, au grand désarroi des citoyens mobilisés, et n’a pas encore officiellement dénoncé la fraude et contesté les résultats.

Actuellement, des internautes continuent d’une part de mettre en ligne des photos et des vidéos des témoins oculaires des problèmes relevés sur les lieux du dépouillement. Ils se mobilisent pour réclamer un dépouillement manuel. Des citoyens ont manifesté le 4 janvier malgré le froid (-15 degrés).http://cafe.daum.net/SwDharmaAntar/EgCj/3673?docid=1Qq8hEgCj367320130105210008&sns=twitter.

Le prochain rassemblement est prévu pour le samedi 12 janvier.

Un dépôt de plainte a été effectué le 4 janvier 2013 pour un procès contre la CCCE (Commission Centrale de Contrôle des Elections) concernant les nombreux cas de fraude relevés lors des scrutins, l’utilisation d’appareil de dépouillement informatique (article 5 de l’Annexe de la Loi électorale) et l’omission du dépouillement manuel (article 178 de la Loi électorale) (voir les photos du dossier de la plainte :http://cafe.daum.net/electioncase/EzjK/594). Ce procès pourrait faire annuler cette élection présidentielle.

Différents problèmes lors de ces élections relevés par des citoyens mobilisés

- Le dépouillement par la seule voie électronique : une infraction à la loi électorale

Selon la loi électorale sud-coréenne, on ne peut pas utiliser le dépouillement informatique pour une telle élection. Les erreurs dues au mauvais fonctionnement de ces appareils ont été déjà rapportées avant cette élection présidentielle (élections législatives d’avril 2012). Des votes pour le parti opposant ont été découverts, soit classés comme votes pour le parti majoritaire, soit invalidés. C’est pourquoi des citoyens se sont indignés contre l’utilisation de la machine pour le dépouillement. Sur ce point, la CCCE répond que les machines en question étaient de simples machines de tri des votes, alors qu’elles sont reliées à un système informatique interne. Il aurait fallu, de toutes les façons, un dispositif supplémentaire pour trier des votes selon un tri manuel.

Lors du dépouillement de cette élection, le nombre des votes sortant de la « machine du tri » était immédiatement comptabilisé sur ordinateur et annoncé publiquement comme résultat du dépouillement. Ce que demandent ces citoyens mobilisés, c’est justement le dépouillement manuel. Une pétition est actuellement ouverte sur une page du site de la Maison Blanche, « Your Voice In Our Government » (voir la fin du texte pour signer la pétition : 25,000 signatures nécessaires jusqu’au 28 janvier 2012).

- Des soupçons d’irrégularités !

Tout d’abord, lorsque 35 % des votes furent dépouillés, les trois principales chaînes de télévision (toutes trois proches du parti au pouvoir) annoncèrent en direct la candidate Park Geun-Hyé comme « vainqueur certaine ». Mais ce qui le plus troublant, c’est qu’à partir de 68% des bulletins dépouillés et ce jusqu’à 100 %, l’écart entre les deux candidats n’a plus varié (51,6% pour la candidate Park du parti sortant et le 48% pour le candidat d’opposition Moon). Autrement dit, l’écart est resté le même, à la décimale près, avec 10 millions de bulletins supplémentaires.

• http://www.amn.kr/sub_read.html?uid=7718 (voir la photo et lire le texte, en bas de page, intitulé “A statement for the transparency of the 18^th Presidential election by south Korean electors in the united states”).
• Selon l’animation suivante, l’écart entre les deux candidats aurait resté figé le même à 0,93% pendant presque 7 heures ! https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu_gVYGLL2gidyYyHs2FphNzlKKyxNaJPQbVkaR97NLJuyyUNP7cFptJsXdONyUDhEGrpLFJE6Pw2oPmgTqjpQbzKqOGpQN-x1StcOJexithNpQv2eVkI0aBiWZbt0QByqx5bx_IP7Cwg/s1600/%EC%84%A0%EA%B1%B0%EB%B6%80%EC%A0%95_%EC%8B%9C%EA%B0%84%EB%B3%84.gif

- La CCCE dénoncée pour son laxisme, un laxisme qui fait penser à la couverture de fraudes

La CCCE avait déjà été l’objet de sévères critiques de l’opposition lors de la dernière Législative du 11 avril 2012 en raison de son mauvais contrôle de l’élection.

Lors du dépouillement de cette présidentielle, la CCCE a, par exemple, passé sous silence les problèmes de « votes en liasse », mungchipyo, plusieurs bulletins de votes pliés ensemble. De nombreux témoignages ont également signalés des problèmes liés à la position du sceau sur les bulletins : des bulletins qui devaient être annulés parce que le sceau avait été posé entre deux candidats ont été comptabilisés pour Park ; des bulletins marquant clairement des votes pour Moon ont été comptabilisés comme nuls (voir la photo à la fin de l’article : http://news.zum.com/articles/5055776)

De plus, alors que l’on utilisait des urnes en métal à l’époque du président Roh Moo-Hyun, la CCCE a utilisé des urnes en carton lors de la dernière législative (avril 2012) et a cette fois autorisé des urnes en plastique dont la solidité du système de fermeture semblait douteuse (voir des photos des urnes de vote vers la fin de cet ARTICLE (EN ANGLAIS) TRES COMPLET :http://2012skpreselection.blogspot.fr/2012/12/the-actual-vote-counting-hasnt-started.html et un court article sur CNN iReport http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-904967)

La période de cette campagne présidentielle était également une véritable guerre sur Les réseaux en ligne : la Police Nationale a fini par arrêter une employée de 28 ans de l’Agence Nationale de l’Information pour avoir diffamé durant la période de campagne le principal candidat de l’opposition, Moon Jae-In, en utilisant 16 Identifiants différents (lire cet article en anglais sur ce sujet : http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/01/04/S-Korea-spy-agency-agent-questioned/UPI-87361357313873/)

LE SILENCE DES MEDIAS NATIONAUX ET INTERNATIONAUX…

Le paysage des médias sud-coréen est majoritairement maîtrisé par des personnalités proches de l’actuel gouvernement du conservateur Lee Myung-Pak, président dont le mandat touche bientôt la fin. L’interventionnisme du gouvernement de Lee Myung-Pak dans les médias a été particulièrement important pendant son mandat : les deux directeurs de MBC et de KBS, les deux chaînes majeures de la télévision, ont été remplacés par les personnages de droite et de pro-gouvernementaux. Globalement, la période Lee Myung-Pak (du même parti que Park Geun-Hye, un président coréen ne pouvant faire qu’un seul mandat) a été marquée par l’affirmation croissante de la tendance progouvernementale dans l’ensemble des grands médias.

Cette situation a déclenché en 2012 des grèves sans précédent de 170 jours à MBC et 95 jours de grève à KBS. Les grévistes réclamaient un média équitable et impartial et surtout la démission de leurs patrons « parachutés » par le gouvernement Lee Myung-Pak. La fin de ces grèves a été suivie de licenciements et mutations-punitions tous azimuts. Selon le SNJ (Syndicat National des Journalistes), durant les cinq dernières années du mandat de Lee Myung-Pak, 20 journalistes ont été licenciés, 135 journalistes ont été suspendus de leurs fonctions, les salaires des 66 journalistes ont été réduits en guise de punition, 120 journalistes ont fait l’objet des « avertissements » et 62 journalistes ont été suspendus de leur fonction. Certains évoquent même le plus grand massacre de la presse depuis la période de Chun Doo-Hwan, l’auteur du Coup d’état militaire après l’assassinat de Park Chung-Hee, feu le père de Park Geun-Hye.

http://www.agoravox.fr/actualites/international/article/fraude-electorale-en-coree-du-sud-128678