It is sad to see President Lee Myung-bak equating the murdering of a South Korean civilian by North Korea with the current Dokdo nonsense:
President Lee Myung-bak called for national unity Wednesday to counter Japan’s claim to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and the killing of a South Korean tourist by the North Korean military.
Expressing concerns over a split in the society, Lee reaffirmed that the government will take stern actions against Japan and North Korea.
“Non-partisan and strategic actions are necessary to counter the attempts to cause a rift within our society,” Lee said at a weekly Cabinet meeting. [Korea Times]
President Lee needs national unity in regards to Dokdo? Who the heck in Korea isn’t already united to defend Dokdo? So much for Lee being a leader above playing petty nationalist politics for short term political gain. So far I am failing to see how Lee is an improvement over Roh Moo-hyun.
Popularity: 2%
4:42 am on July 18th, 2008 1
Actually I think that LMB is making a smart choice. What he’s trying to do is get a “non-partisan” group together over Dokdo and then convince everyone to start taking the “long view” of the conflict. This means joining the progressives with the conservatives. He’s trying to offset the rumor mongers of the progressives that started up again on the internet over his selling out Korea at the G-8 conference.
Remember that if the progressives are with him on this, they won’t be fighting him. He’s attacking the progressives on all fronts — and trying to get his people into the media and power control centers, but he can’t do that with the progressives fighting him at every turn. He’s trying to divert their attention. He needs to get the progressives to accept the idea that this is a NATIONAL crisis requiring all their support.
In reading the Japanese newspapers, the Japanese seem to be going along with this idea of LMB trying to get the Koreans to accept the “long view” of the Dokdo turmoil. This stance is a hell of a lot better than the hysterical Yasukuni Shrine and Dokdo hysteria from the Roh Moo-hyun years. Even the article in Japan Today on LMB rejecting the talks on the side at the regional security forum seemed to understand his motives. LMB is trying to look tough in front of the Kroean people.
As to equating Dokdo to the North killing situation, you need to think about it. What can he do with the North which won’t answer his calls and slammed the door in his face? Go to war? Cut off all aid in the midst of a pending famine? Shut down Kaesong? Call the North Koreans a bunch of murdering pigs and start a face-off — right when the six-party talks are supposedly making headway on verification? His options are nil to more than nil. He needs to deflect attention away from the situation. If he mixes up the Dokdo/North killing issues then he can buy time.
Just my thoughts…
9:43 am on July 18th, 2008 2
Kalani I don’t think 2MB can get progressives to side with him on anything and it is probably a waste of time. No matter what he does the progressives will demand it is not enough, claim he needs to do more, and criticize his every step.
I wish a Korean leader would show leadership on this issue and go after what is really at the heart of this issue which is fishing of all things. The people in the Shimane prefecture driving this issue in Japan get pissed because of Korean fishermen intrude into their waters and they cannot fish in Korean waters.
If the Korean government would be willing to negotiate a joint fishing zone that includes Japanese and Korean waters in return for Japan officially dropping all claims to Dokdo and recognizing Korean sovereignty over the islets I think this whole issue would come to an end.
However I think in Korea the politicians don’t want it to come to an end because it is such an easy political weapon to wield to divert attention. Thus nothing ever gets done and every year the same nonsense of deploying naval vessels, aircraft, and commandoes to defend Dokdo from Japanese textbooks and research vessels continues.
All the while the typical Korean politicians make their visits to Dokdo and smile for the cameras. They don’t want to lose that, thus nothing ever changes.
5:56 pm on July 18th, 2008 3
GI,
This is Korea so you need to stop trying to logically analyze the situation. Koreans are emotional to the point of being irrational. LMB is smart because he is diverting any remaining steam from the MAD COW train and funneling that strike on a dime mentality at JAPAN. Koreans can’t focus on more than ONE issue at a time so he is playing a shell game. Mad Cow issue no you see it, no you dont.
Koreans love to hate Japan so why not focus all that negative energy away from Mad Cow and maybe in a bit he can revive the Korean economy which is flailing at best. He was the Mayor of Seoul and made some tough calls like the city buses and Chungaechun (sp) Stream but both turned out pretty dam good even though the CONCERNED CITIZENS opposed them from the start.
ROH was and is a bonehead. He “spirited” =stole 1TB of personal confidental data and then tried to scould LMB for talking too sternly to him about it. If the Korean public would support LMB and trust in him, they would be in a much better situation right now. LMB is pro-american and is a president with a spine. He isnt ass-kissing KIJ like the past two presidents.
6:55 pm on July 18th, 2008 4
Korean so called Americans are protesting in America. It would be really funny if they tried that lawless rioting in the USA. American police would lock them up. Hopefully as terrorits and throw away the key.
ttp://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/07/113_27726.html
Why doesnt the USA throw out these un-American Koreans so called Americans?