Tag Archives: The Korea Herald

6 Dead in Fire After Police-Tenant Standoff

Posted by on January 20, 2009 No comments

6dead

Source: The Korea Herald

There was a tragedy in Korea recently where some sit-down protesters got violent and used Molotov cocktails against police.  Some tenants claim the fire came from where there were no Molotov cocktails.  At least five protesters and one police officer were killed and 23 others injured.

The argument was over a redevelopment project that would force the tenants to leave.  The reason they were protesting was that they claimed the money offered by the owners and the city was not enough.

One thing I have noticed over the past year is that Koreans get very involved when they protest (not saying they all resort to Molotov cocktails).  Here is a quote from a head police-man:

“The ralliers fired 700 marbles and golf balls with slingshots and threw 150 Molotov cocktails, 40 bottles of hydrochloric acid and 1,000 bricks at police and nearby buildings, causing fires and destroying passing cars. We could no longer overlook their illegal behavior, so we launched the operation,” Baek said.

The action performed by the SWAT team is currently under investigation, as ordered by President Lee Myung-bak, so we’ll see how it turns out.

Overseas Koreans to get right to vote

Posted by on January 18, 2009 No comments

voting

Source: The Korea Herald

In 1972,President Park Chung-hee of South Korea stripped overseas Koreans the right to vote in domestic elections because they generally opposed him (quite a disturbing political move).  Overseas Koreans are finally going to get the opportunity to vote and have a say in Koreans politics again.  The political parties are currently fighting over the regulations on who actually will be able to vote.  Since overseas Koreans are generally more older and conservative, the Grand National Party is trying to let all overseas Koreans vote while the Democratic party wants more of a wave, gradually letting bigger numbers vote starting with the most temporary-overseas Koreans vote.

Part of the controversy is that the number of votes that have decided elections in the past have been around a million votes.  If all Koreans overseas can vote, that will add a potential 3 million votes.  The Democratic party wants to cut that number down to 1.1 million.

After being passed, those who fall under the new law will be able to vote in the Korean 2012 general elections.