After attempts to remove the pro-North Korean elements from South Korea’s Democratic Labor Party, it looks like it is business as usual once again in the DLP:
At an emergency party convention on Monday, members of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) voted against all the key points in a reform plan its emergency committee had prepared aiming to distance the party from its North Korean political affiliations. The emergency committee had diagnosed the causes of its defeat in the 2007 presidential election as stemming from its label as being pro-North Korean, pro-union, overly dependent on the umbrella labor group Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and unable to represent the rights of temporary workers. But leading members voted to delete those words from the party’s reform plan. Also thrown out of the window was a proposal to oust members of the DLP who had been convicted by the Supreme Court of spying for North Korea. [Chosun Ilbo]
Yes folks, you read that one right, the members of the DLP leaders convicted of being part of a North Korean spy ring get to remain part of the party. I’m really not surprised at all by this development because the DLP has always been nothing more than a North Korean front group and always will be one.Â
What I really want to see though is the incoming Lee Myung-bak government to investigate how deep into the President Roh Moo-hyun administration did these spies reach? Remember one of Roh’s ministers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security was linked to the spy scandal. Due to the investigation reaching deep into his administration Roh had his intelligence chief resign and replaced with a lackey who proceeded to squash the investigation. Recently the new spy chief was discovered to have links to North Korean spies himself and has since resigned.  Â
The DLP is just the tip of the iceberg of the potential amount of North Korean spies still residing in the Korean government. Let’s hope Lee Myung-bak does some serious house cleaning of these people. Getting rid of the Unification Ministry was a great start.Â
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8:53 pm on February 6th, 2008 1
Ilshimhoes. They’re everywhere…on base playing slots and golf, cruising in their luxury automobiles, keeping the daily machinations of this so-called alliance in order. Just as with prostitution, human trafficking, nukes, missiles, black marketing, defections, aid to North Korea, six-party talks, and all the other large and small pieces of this grand sham, a certain number of enemies this side of the MDL is necessary to keep the Big Lie in perpetuation. You must have an element of credibility in the threat of clear and present danger, or else USFK would be able to leave, which is what no Corean wants, despite rhetoric on the contrary. If you dig deep enough through investigation and waterboarding, too many secrets would be exposed…to wit, that the entire Korean War and system of things over the past 60 years or so has been one fabrication so colossal that only they who conceived it could possibly know of its treachery….
Think about it…the fact that this comes out in the news this week is but another way in which the Coreans may now leverage against US transfer of operational control, movement to Pyongtaek, and reduction in USFK personnel numbers.
If one has ever sought the archetypical Great Master of the Lie, he needs look no further than the Corean.
12:12 am on February 7th, 2008 2
I agree 100 percent with the comment: “The DLP is just the tip of the iceberg of the potential amount of North Korean spies still residing in the Korean government.”
Back in 2004, I wrote a little foot-noted piece on Spies, Espionage and Infiltrators — mainly focused on Kunsan and only paying cursory attention to the DMZ. (http://kalaniosullivan.com/KunsanAB/8thFW/Howitwasb11e1_a.html) But the point I was making was that since the 1960s, the North has systematically infiltrated the unions/government infrastructure, academia and student unions. They have been at it for over 40 years. Kim Dae-jung released all the spies and the last spies were sent home to the North by Roh Moo-hyun…and no one has searched for them for 10 years.
The current problem for the new conservative government is that the original infiltrators — and yes, they are a fact — are now retiring and they are getting their replacements (family members) into their old jobs. When Roh started expanding the employment in all areas of government — despite his initial promises not to do this — it started me thinking that this was I was talking about in my 2004 piece.
I hope under Lee Myeong-bak, the neutered NIS is reinvigorated and the search for spies taken away from the Korean National Police — and given back to the NIS who now are limited only to investigating business espionage. The KNP has caught no spies (except those the Japanese told them about or were handed to them by other agencies) since given the tasking by Roh…but in truth, no spies have been found since Kim Dae-jung took over (again with the exception of those handed to the ROK by Japan tip-offs).
Makes you wonder how many of the on-base workers are really part of “sleeper” units for the North. These “sleeper” personnel were found as Seoul National University professors, railway workers, electrical workers, and union officials. Some of these “sleepers” were fully integrated into South Korean society after slipping into South Korea from the North. They attended high schools in the South while they lived with their “family” of spies. Yep, Lee Myeong-bak may have his hands full — but does he really want to do it??? It’ll be a bucket of worms. We’ll see.
11:30 am on April 1st, 2008 3
7:15 pm on April 23rd, 2008 4
[...] I wonder if the get-tough policy will include cracking down on the Democratic Labor party. [...]
10:21 am on August 29th, 2008 5