Minister Under Fire

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Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui has resigned after being implicated in a sex bribery scandal surrounding a construction company owner. He has denied the allegations, but his resignation has dealt a further blow to Park Geun-hye’s fledgling administration as it struggles to get off the ground.

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Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui has submitted a letter of resignation to the justice minister. However, he denied all the allegations that were recently raised against him. Kim says that the accusations are false and that he wants to take responsibility for the scandal as his name and job title have been involved. He added that would like to go back as an ordinary citizen to clarify the truth and hold those responsible to account to restore his reputation. Kim insists that he never received special treatment from a construction company owner identified only by his surname Yun at Yun’s ranch in Gangwon Province. Kim was once mentioned as a promising candidate for the post of prosecutor general. But he ended up stepping down as rumors about him accepting bribes spread shortly after he took office. He apparently is feeling enormous pressure, since he’s now also facing a police investigation. With Kim’s resignation, coming just a week after assuming his duty as vice justice minister, criticism over the way the incumbent administration chooses its high-ranking officials is expected to intensify.

2. Attack Aftermath

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The malicious code that damaged over 30-thousand personal computers and servers at six broadcasters and banks in South Korea including KBS is confirmed to have originated from an Internet protocol address in China. With suspicions turning to North Korea, the massive cyber attack is also believed to have been all perpetrated by a single organization.

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Some of the malicious codes that paralyzed computer networks at a number of domestic broadcasters are traced to IP addresses in China.

[Soundbite] Park Jae-mun(Korea Communications Commission) : "An analysis of the Nonghyup system confirmed a Chinese IP address accessed the server that manages vaccine software distribution and created the malicious codes."

The Seoul government is working to identify the source of the codes and is open to all scenarios, including North Korea being responsible for the cyber attack. Some 32-thousand computers and servers in the country completely froze due to the cyber attack. Most computers exposed to the malicious codes had their booting programs and computer data damaged. It's expected to take at least four to five days to restore the damage alone. The government says the malicious codes in the latest case are a strain of the Trojan Horse virus, which is activated to attack the different networks all at the same time. The government believes that the hackers infiltrated the servers after finding out the server administrator's ID and password, which is when they planted the malicious codes. Since the malicious codes found at the broadcasters and financial institutions were identical in their letter arrangements, it's believed the attacks were perpetrated by a single organization. The government will run emergency checks on the security systems at major agencies to prepare for any additional cyber attack.

3. Cyber Warfare

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North Korea is the number one suspect in a series of cyber attacks against the South. The skills of hackers in the North seem to becoming more and more sophisticated.

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In 2009 a cyber attack paralyzed the Web sites of Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Defense. Two years later, a massive attack occurred again. It was a D-DOS attack, whereby so-called “zombie PCs,” which are contaminated with malicious codes, attack servers concurrently. It was an unprecedented move at the time because it completely erased traces of the intruders. In April 2011, the computer network of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives was destroyed. It took more than two weeks to restore the system. It was the first time that the firewalls of several financial institutions fell victim to cyber attacks simultaneously. The authorities concluded that they were staged by North Korea. The latest hacking incident paralyzed the computer systems of Korea’s major broadcasters despite their stronger firewalls. The attacks even capitalized on vaccine programs.

[Soundbite] Jang Se-yul(Head, National Alliance for Unification) : "After paralyzing the computer and telecommunications networks of a nation, special military forces are sent in. A cyber war is like a step preceding a war."

It’s still too early to blame North Korea for Wednesday’s attack. But experts say that North Korean hackers could target other major facilities as well, including the military or nuclear power plants, as North Korea’s hacking skills continue to evolve.

4. Escalating Tensions

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North Korea abruptly issued air raid alerts and conducted civil defense drills yesterday, the final day of the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise. The North also remarked about the American B-52 bombers participating in the exercise, again threatening nuclear attacks.

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North Korea issued air raid alerts through a public radio broadcast at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. In the broadcast, it urged countermeasures by all units and forces to prevent any loss from enemy air strikes. The alerts were called off after one hour. The South Korean military believes that the North carried out a form of a civil defense drill in response to the participation of the US’s B-52 bombers in “Key Resolve,” which is the name of the joint military exercise between South Korea and the US. Pyongyang also made a threat in the name of its military Supreme Command that it will counter US bombers and nuclear submarines. It said that if the US threatens the North with its nuclear power, Pyongyang will respond with an even stronger nuclear attack.

[Soundbite] Korean Central Television(Mar. 21) : "The U.S. should not forget the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Navy bases on Japan's mainland and on Okinawa, where nuclear-powered subs are kept, are within our striking range."

The North's foreign ministry and the anti-South agency, the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, also made threats that it will hold a nuclear retaliation, citing the B-52 bombers' showcase in Key Resolve.

[Soundbite] Korean Central Television(Mar. 20) : "If the United States bombers appear again over the Korean Peninsula, enemy forces will inevitably face strong military action from the North."

The large scale public rallies, military training and civil defense drills spotted in North Korea in recent days are viewed as the communist state’s utilization of the jittery state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula to strengthen its public unity and to expand the regime's power grip.

5. Unmanned Aircraft

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The North has released footage of a drone drill, with leader Kim Jong-un observing the exercise.

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This is footage of North Korea's unmanned aircraft released by the communist regime's Korean Central News Agency. It is shown for the first time during an operation after being revealed to the public in a military review in April. The unmanned aerial vehicle weighs 600 kilograms and the maximum speed is assumed to be 920 kilometers per hour. They're used mainly to crash into the low altitude jets and cruise missiles of adversaries and destroy them by self-destructing, similar to missiles.

[Soundbite] Yang Uk(Researcher, Korea Defense & Security Forum) : "North Korea adopted drones used for attracting target jets from the Middle East and turned them into unmanned striking aircraft."

The Late Kim Jong-il never made public appearances during South Korea's joint military drills with the US. But the new leader was shown Tuesday observing the unmanned aircraft operation.

[Soundbite] Korean Central News Agency(Mar. 20) : "Our respectful leader ordered us to enhance performance and be fully prepared to precisely hit all targets any time."

The South Korean military also has unmanned aerial vehicles. They include HARPY from Israel, which is an aircraft capable of dropping 32 kilogram bombs without a pilot. Domestic unmanned striking aircrafts are under development as well, which are used and function similarly to that of the North's.

6. Live Trial

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A Supreme Court trial has been broadcast live for the first time ever. The case involved a foreign mother married to a Korean man who took her son back to her home country without the husband's consent.

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The trial began as 13 justices entered the court room. Given it's the first time a trial is being broadcasted live, the lawyers, prosecutors, and experts attending all appear nervous. The case concerns a Vietnamese woman who took her son to Vietnam without her husband’s consent.

[Soundbite] Yang Seung-tae(Chief Justice, Supreme Court) : "The case includes an important legal issue that our society should think about and solve together."

Lawyers and prosecutors battled it out over whether the mother abducted the son or she legally exercised her right.

[Soundbite] Lee Geon-ri(Supreme Prosecutors' Office) : "There must be a parental agreement or a court decision on childcare providers for a minor, childcare costs and parental access to the child."

[Soundbite] Kim Yong-jik(Lawyer) : "Considering the will of the child, who’s only 13 months old, the action can by no means be considered an abduction."

Citizens watching the broadcast find the court scene intriguing.

[Soundbite] "I see how a trial proceeds. The prosecutor speaks, the lawyer defends and then questions are asked."

The court plans to continue such live broadcasts in a bid to boost the public’s understanding and trust in the trial process.

7. Corrupt Coaches

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Several baseball coaches in universities in Seoul have been arrested over charges that they received bribes for admitting students. High school coaches and referees, who acted as brokers, were also detained, revealing serious issues in the practice of admitting students with outstanding athletic skills.

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For four years since 2007, Yang Seung-ho, the former Lotte Giant’s baseball team coach, was in charge of Korea University’s Baseball Team. He received over 90 thousand U.S. dollars during his years as coach in the university from a student’s parents and was arrested for admitting him illegally as having talented athletic abilities. Former Yonsei University coach Jung Jin-ho, along with five others, were also detained under suspicions of having received bribes from parents. Furthermore, five high school coaches and referees, who acted as the links between the students’ parents and coaches, were arrested. Nine parents ended up being indicted. Prosecutors explain that the parents collected funds to operate the sports department making it difficult for the coaches to deny their request.

[Soundbite] Jang Yun-ho(PR Director, Korea Baseball Association) : "The parents used operating funds to get their children into the school and used it to pay the salaries of the coaches."

In the end this was all revealed because one coach in each school was in charge of the process of selecting and admitting such sports students, resulting in corruption. The Korea Baseball Association will toughen up measures to prevent coaches from receiving bribes and improve the admittance process for those talented in sports.

8. Pig Cloning

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Korean researchers have succeeded in cloning a pig by separating stem cells from once frozen skin tissue.

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These two piglets at a small farm in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province are just 10 days old. They were cloned and have identical genes.

[Soundbite] Lee Won-jae(Researcher, Gyeongsang National University) : "Both pigs are pretty much identical since they were both cloned using the same cells. They’re drinking their surrogate mother’s breast milk well."

Korean researchers have succeeded in cultivating stem cells from a pig’s ear tissue that had been frozen for seven years. Then they implanted a cloned fertilized egg in a surrogate mother-pig. Before, only the stem cells of living animals were used in cloning. It’s the first time in the world that an animal was cloned by separating stem cells from tissue that had been frozen for years.

[Soundbite] Prof. No Gyu-jin(Gyeongsang National University) : "This finding is significant because live stem cells were extracted by thawing frozen tissue."

The researchers expect the discovery to pave the way for the development of remedies for hard-to-cure diseases in the field of regenerative medicine and find ways to restore endangered animals species, such as the Asian black bears.

9. Forgotten Monument

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A cultural asset stone sculpture that had been left neglected in the heart of Seoul has been rediscovered after over a century. It was found lost in plain sight thanks to a curious citizen.

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At the garden in front of the Railroad Center in Yongsan, Seoul, there's a monument with a turtle-shaped foundation. The pentagon-sided monument is decorated with dragons at its rims. It apparently seems to have great historical value but it's protected with just a wired fence. Parts of the body are even missing. But it's value was discovered a bit too late. The monument is named "Yeonboksa Tapjungchangbi," which indicates the rebuilding of the five story Buddhist pagoda of Yeonbok Temple in Gaeseong in 1394 by Joseon Dynasty's founding king Yi Seong-gye. It's a stone work of the early Joseon Dynasty that adopts the style of the Chinese Ming Dynasty in a new way.

[Soundbite] O Mun-seon(Seoul City Historical & Cultural Assets Dept.) : "The engraved name of the pentagon section and the pattern on the foundation seem to be influenced by the stone monuments of China."

In the early 1900s, the monument was moved to the Yongsan region due to a railroad construction. Since then, it was forgotten for more than a century. A citizen found it and posted it on an Internet site run by a cultural heritage researcher and finally discovered its significance. The monument's engraving was the key to identifying it.

[Soundbite] Kim Seok-jung(Citizen) : "While passing by, I saw the stone work and came to see what it was. It read “Pagoda of Yeonbok Temple” so I knew it was something important."

The Seoul city government is planning to designate the monument as a city cultural asset.

10. Psy's Impact

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Psy’s global “Gangnam Style” sensation is pushing music experts to look for more ways of promoting Korean culture on the global stage.

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The music video for the song “Gangnam Style” from Psy was viewed 1.4 billion times on YouTube. It retained the second spot on the U.S. Billboard chart for seven weeks in a row, and it made Psy the first Asian artist to sell over a million copies on the British Singles Chart. Experts attribute Psy’s phenomenal success to his “typical Korean style.” Unlike other K-pop stars, who are mostly influenced by music from the West, Psy’s hit song maintains a genuine Korean style and illustrates the way Koreans have fun.

[Soundbite] David Byrne(U.S. Music Reporter)

Psy’s success has prompted Korean music experts to analyze the situation in the existing K-pop culture and nurture artists like Psy to ensure that their success is not short-lived.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lee Taek-kwang(Kyunghee University) : "Culture should be given freedom. It’s important that we provide soil so that diverse young trees can grow naturally without government interference."

Experts are also calling for systematic help in securing a global distribution network for the K-pop industry.