Daily Kor for December 23, 2009

Some, like The Marmot, are suggesting that indicting the former PM for "just" $50K worth of graft is a bit overboard, considering the amount of graft in the past, but I suppose if you really do plan to get rid of corruption, even $50K is a bit too much. When will the politicians get the message that when their party is no longer in power they will be investigated. So keep your nose clean. Geez, how hard is that to figure out?

Anyway, Joshua (and I) are wondering what is up with the North Korean fishermen who seemed to be defecting but then turned around and asked to be repatriated. Were they afraid of retaliation against their families back in the DPRK and so they had buyer's remorse? Who knows. And who knows what will happen to them, now that they're possibly contaminated.

1. Former Prime Minister Han Myungsook is charged with graft over alleged bribe worth $50,000 (AFP, Joongang Daily)
2. Seven North Korean fishermen whose boated "drifted" into ROK-controlled waters repatriated back to DPRK (Xinhua, Yonhap, Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Daily, People's Daily)
3. South Korea wants six-party denuclearization talks no later than February (AFP)
4. US business leaders who visited Pyongyang say they gave North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a letter saying that the DPRK must give up its nuclear ambitions if it wants foreign investment (AP via WaPo)
• US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice says North Korea is feeling the pressure of sanctions (AP via WaPo)
• North Korea reportedly bans use of foreign currency by foreigners and DPRK citizens (Chosun Ilbo)
5. Ruling and main opposition parties agree to postpone deliberations on ROK military's Afghanistan deployment until February (Donga Ilbo)
6. Hyundai Motors sees its first strike-free year since 1994 (Donga Ilbo, Joongang Daily)
7. Teacher evaluation system to be implemented at schools nationwide starting in March (Donga Ilbo)
8. So-called "anchor babies" to be denied dual citizenship (Korea Times)
9. Citing Big Brother-like surveillance, rewarding of those on lists of "approved" citizenry, leadership by a graying and corpulent man in a funny suit who forces undersized workers to toil in freezing, round-the-clock factories, and ominous threats that the authorities will "come to town" in the middle of the night, North Korea watchers conclude that Santa Claus mythology is based on DPRK's Kim Dynasty (Chicago Tribune)