Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

Meny Odnakovo
By Taras Shevchenko
1847

It matters not to me
If I live in Ukraine of not.
If I’m remembered or forgotten
Amid the snows of foreign lands
It matters not to me.
I grew up asa serf midst strangers
A child with no kin bemoaning me
In bondage I will weep and die,
And in death take it all with me,
Not leave a trace
In all our glorious Ukraine –
A land that’s ours, but not our own.
There’s not a father-son commiseration.
He will not tell his son to pray: “Pray,
Pray my son: for he had suffered for Ukraine.”
I do not care if that son prays or not.
What matters is if evil people 
Lull Ukraine into a sleep,
Then cruelly awaken her, ablaze and plundered.
That matters more than anything else to me.
  • Translated into English by LBB, 2018

“Avoid fraternizing with non-philosophers [i.e., people who don’t try to improve themselves]. If you must, though, be careful not to sink to their level; because, you know, if a companion is dirty, his friends cannot help but get a little dirty too, no matter how clean they started out.” 
- Epictetus (Enchiridion 33.6)

"I am not afraid... I was born to do this."
- Joan of Arc

1. N. Korea says it conducted another 'important test' for 'reconnaissance satellite' development
2. On foreign affairs, presidential candidates are far apart
3. South Korea presidential election: could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sway the vote for ‘the lesser of two evils’?
4. Record high early voting turnout marred by lackluster management
5. South Korean Presidential Election 2022: Ballot Problems Already
6. Top S. Korean, US nuclear envoys discuss N. Korea's missile launch
7. Anti-feminist Or Foul-mouthed Liberal? South Korea To Pick New President
8. Korea must get over the fear of failure
9. Major Bang Ju-won picked as S. Korean Air Force’s ‘Top Gun’




1. N. Korea says it conducted another 'important test' for 'reconnaissance satellite' development

I fear the regime is signaling hard that it intends to conduct an ICBM test in the near future if the US does not provide concessions. I am sure they are hoping the Biden administration will view that as a foreign policy failure (which the political opposition will) so that it will want to avoid that. The only way to avoid that is through concessions to restart negotiations. As I have argued time and again, once we give concessions for nothing more than an agreement to negotiate and for the fantasy of preventing the regime from testing another ICBM, Kim will judge his political warfare strategy and blackmail diplomacy as successful and will double down on it while he continues to develop nuclear weapons, missile systems, and advanced military capabilities to support its developing of warfighting capabilities in support of his strategy to dominate the peninsula. We must not give in. We must maintain a high level of military readiness (through aggressive exercises). And we must execute a superior form of political warfare.

(LEAD) N. Korea says it conducted another 'important test' for 'reconnaissance satellite' development | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · March 6, 2022
(ATTN: ADDS more details from 7th para, photo)
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Sunday it has conducted another "important test" for developing a "reconnaissance satellite."
"The DPRK National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) and the Academy of Defence Science conducted another important test on Saturday under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite," the Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language report. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Through the test, it added, the NADA "confirmed the reliability of data transmission and reception system of the satellite, its control command system and various ground-based control systems."
It did not provide additional details in the two-paragraph report.
The previous day, the secretive North fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, its ninth show of force this year, according to South Korea's military.
Launched from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang, the missile flew about 270 kilometers at a top altitude of 560 km, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The test came amid concerns the North could fire a long-range rocket under the disguise of a space rocket launch, as it made a veiled threat in January to suspend its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.
In the past, the North claimed to have sought to put satellites into orbit as part of a "peaceful" space develoment program, while the U.S. and its allies viewed it as part of efforts to master the ICBM technology.
Observers say the North's latest missile test, which followed a similar test last week, could be a prelude to preparations for a long-range rocket launch amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.
On Feb. 27, the North launched a ballistic missile and announced the next day that it carried out an "important test" to confirm the accuracy of the "photographing system, data transmission system and attitude control devices" to develop a reconnaissance satellite.
The stated development of a reconnaissance satellite is among the key defense projects that the North unveiled during its major congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January last year.
On Saturday, South Korea's presidential National Security Council convened an emergency meeting and condemned the North's missile launch, calling for Pyongyang to halt acts that raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The North has launched a barrage of missiles, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile, since the start of this year. The latest show of force came four days ahead of South Korea's presidential election.

(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · March 6, 2022




2. On foreign affairs, presidential candidates are far apart

A useful comparison of some of the major issues: China, the alliance, and Japan.

Sunday
March 6, 2022

On foreign affairs, presidential candidates are far apart

The outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict has been a stark reminder to Korea of its own insecurities being hemmed in by nuclear powers -- just before voters go to polls on Wednesday to choose a new president. 
 
“The situation in Ukraine shows us that national security and peace cannot be maintained with agreements on paper,” said Yoon Suk-yeol, candidate for the opposition People Power Party, during a recent televised debate on Feb. 25. “War can be prevented only by securing a pre-emptive strike capacity. The Democratic Party emphasizes signing an agreement to formally end the Korean War, but that is no way to guarantee peace and security of our country.”
 
Rival Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party called Yoon a warmonger and said Korea has enough military and economic power to take on the North Korea issue with diplomacy and dialogue instead of a show of force.
 
“The conflict in Ukraine is a result of failed diplomacy,” Lee said. “Korea has always been at the center of geopolitical rivalry. What this country needs is a seasoned and experienced leader.”
 
Foreign affairs have hardly driven the campaign, which has been dominated by personal mudslinging and idiosyncratic scandals over the candidates' wives and family histories. But at campaign's end, it has become more important, and differences between the two main candidates — who were neck-in-neck in the last polls allowed before the election — have emerged.
 
Lee has been a politician for more than a decade, having served as two-term Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor. Yoon is a former prosecutor general who gained conservative support after high-profile public battles with the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. 
 
The two have very different, sometimes opposite, ideas about how to steer Korea in the next five years through its tumultuous regional geopolitics, including the deadlocked dialogue with North Korea on denuclearization, growing U.S.-China rivalry and tattered ties with Japan over historical, territorial and trade disputes.
 
Here’s a look at Lee and Yoon’s foreign policy views.
  

On North Korea, dialogue and sanctions



Lee plans to accept the baton from the liberal Moon Jae-in administration and attempt to bring North Korean and American leaders to the negotiating table.
 
Lee has emphasized since his campaign launched in July that he will follow Moon, but as “more independent and active mediator” to address the North Korean denuclearization issue. 
 
“I will meet President Biden and Chairman Kim Jong-un in person to solve the problem,” he said at the Korea Press Center on Nov. 25.
 
Exactly how he will do that is unclear, but Lee, much like his liberal predecessors, has emphasized a dovish approach to dealing with the North.
 
He is on board with Moon’s idea of promoting inter-Korean economic projects, including restarting tourism to the North’s Mount Kumkang resort, which has been shut since 2008 when a South Korean tourist was shot and killed. Individual tourism into North Korea is not forbidden by the United Nations.
 
On sanctions on North Korea, Lee suggested relieving them in a step-by-step manner on the condition that North follow up with “corresponding measures on denuclearization,” according to his foreign policy report released last August. 
 
If the North does not follow through, sanctions relief can "snap back" in response, Lee said. 
 
Yoon has expressed his willingness to pursue dialogue on denuclearization with the North, and suggested creating a trilateral communications office between Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington. A liaison office for the two Koreas near Kaesong was blown up by the North in 2020.
 
But Yoon says he will consider sanctions relief for the North only after it opens its doors to international inspectors, something that has not happened since International Atomic Energy Agency officials were kicked out in 2009. 
 
Yoon, like his conservative predecessors, has a hawkish outlook on security. Throughout his campaign he has stressed the need for a pre-emptive defense strategy including a stronger missile defense system.
 
“Above all, we must restore and strengthen the 'three-axis system,' which has become obsolete,” Yoon wrote on Facebook on Jan. 17, referring to the Kill Chain, Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) and Korea Air Missile Defense (KAMD) systems.
 
Kill Chain is a pre-emptive strike system against the North’s nuclear and missile facilities. KMPR is designed to launch attacks on the North’s leadership if signs of nuclear-weapons attack are detected and KAMD focuses on terminal-phase, or low-altitude missile defense.
 
The Korean government dropped these terms in the latter half of the Moon administration to promote “better camaraderie” with the North, according to the Ministry of Defense. 
 
Yoon’s fiery calls for pre-emptive strike capacity, characterized by Lee as “warmongering calls,” are not new among conservative presidential candidates. Former President Park Geun-hye spoke in the same vein on the campaign trail in 2012, though once in office, the rhetoric is often softened.
 
“The talk of pre-emptive strikes is not new to Korean politics, but it has been toned down during the Moon administration,” said Go Myung-hyun, a senior researcher on foreign policy at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a Seoul-based think tank. “Washington has been talking about disabling missiles at their boost phase, and Tokyo has also been reviewing its missile defense options against the North. Korea has never stopped developing its three-axis system, it just hasn’t been talked about as much.”
 
 
On U.S.-China rivalry and the KORUS alliance

Lee has kept his comments on Sino-U.S. rivalry vague, following Moon’s approach.
 
“We will also advance the Korea-U.S. alliance and strengthen future-oriented Korea-China relations,” Lee said in a meeting with members of the international press on Nov. 25. “The solid development of the Korea-U.S. alliance and the promotion of strategic cooperative relations between Korea and China will be the foundations of our diplomacy centered on our national interest.”
 
When Yoon speaks, it’s pretty clear whose side he’s on.
 
“A deeper alliance with Washington should be the central axis of Seoul’s foreign policy,” he wrote in Foreign Affairs on Feb. 8.
 
The Korea-U.S. military alliance dates to the years of the Korean War (1950-53), after which the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty, providing the legal grounds for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and the United Nations Command to be stationed in the country. Korea has the largest U.S. Forces in the region after Japan. 
 
“The U.S.-Korea alliance has weakened over the years of the Moon administration,” Yoon said during a televised debate on Feb. 3. “It is my intention to defend the country using extended deterrence based on a strengthened alliance with the United States.”
 
Yoon intends to expand the controversial Washington-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system in Korea, if the country’s security needs require it.
 
“The so-called ‘three-nos’ policy in regards to China is something the Moon administration came up with on its own,” said Yoon during his meeting with the international press on Nov. 12, referring to the administration’s pledges not to make additional deployments of Thaad, participate in an American missile defense network and transform the U.S.-Korea-Japan alliance into a military alliance. 
 
“We need to consider the best options for our national security, and that should include the Thaad system and deeper military cooperation with Japan and the United States,” Yoon said. 
 
Thaad deeply dented Korea-China relations after its installation in Korea in 2017. Beijing protested the system as an American scheme to spy on China, a claim both Washington and Seoul denied, and for years banned Korean cultural content and prohibited tourists from visiting Korea. 
 
Lee steered clear of the Thaad issue during the televised debate on Feb. 25, emphasizing that Korea’s long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) “should be enough to protect the country.”
 
 
Disputes with Japan

On Japan, both candidates have supported a "future-oriented" policy, an expression not new among politicians in both Korea and Japan. It is meant to be positive and to wish away historical issues that bedevil the two countries.
 
Yoon and Lee both hearken back to the Kim-Obuchi statement signed by then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 1998.
 
Kim and Obuchi held a summit and signed a declaration called “A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the 21st Century,” on Oct. 8, 1998, seen as a breakthrough in bilateral ties. 
 
Obuchi recognized Japan in the past caused “tremendous damage and suffering to the people of the Republic of Korea through its colonial rule” and expressed his “deep remorse and heartfelt apology.” In turn, Kim called for the two countries to “overcome their unfortunate history and build a future-oriented relationship based on reconciliation as well as good-neighborly and friendly cooperation.”
 
“We need to approach relations with Japan with a two-track method,” Lee said during his international press briefing last November. “Whether Japan should apologize for its invasion of Korea and compensate [people] is a matter of the past that should be dealt with separately from the economic and political relations of Korea and Japan today.”
 
Yoon in his own meeting with the international press in November also emphasized the Kim-Obuchi breakthrough and said that historical issues and disputes can be resolved through means “acceptable to the publics of both countries.” 
 
Ongoing diplomatic irritants between Korea and Japan include the issue of compensation for Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor and sexual slavery. After local courts in Korea ruled in favor of victims in 2018, Japan placed export restrictions on Korea targeting its semiconductor industry. Seoul at the time mulled over whether to end its military intelligence sharing pact with Tokyo, also known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement.
 
Where Yoon stands out from Lee’s Japan policy is his openness to consider the possibility of transforming the Korea-U.S.-Japan partnership to a defense alliance, not unlike the military alliance between Korea and the United States.
 
When asked during the televised debate on Feb. 25 whether he would consider such a trilateral military alliance -- which the Moon administration promised China it would not consider -- Yoon dismissed the question as speculative, but did not deny the possibility.
 
“There’s no need to promise China that such an alliance would never happen,” Yoon said. “In the case that there is a security emergency in the country, one could consider the possibility [of having Japan step in to defend Korea.]”
 
Lee put his foot down on the possibility of a trilateral defense alliance. 
 
“Such an alliance would be dangerous,” he said in a meeting with the press at the Korea Press Center on Nov. 10. “As long as Japan is taking an ambiguous position on its past of imperialism and aggression, a trilateral military alliance would be too risky.”
 
Lee has been portrayed by Japanese media outlets as hawkish toward Japan, which is not without cause, according to some experts.
 
 
"Earlier on in his campaign, Lee demanded Japan apologize sincerely regarding its past conduct and that future cooperation will hinge on Japan's sincerity," said Jin Chang-soo, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, a Gyeonggi-based think tank. "Both candidates have put forward a future-oriented policy with Japan, but it remains to be seen if they will follow through with action once in office."
 

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]




3. South Korea presidential election: could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sway the vote for ‘the lesser of two evils’?

I do not think it will have any significant impact. But I could be very wrong.

South Korea presidential election: could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sway the vote for ‘the lesser of two evils’?
  • Voters are heading to the polls as Lee Jae-Myung of the ruling Democratic Party faces off against Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party
  • Soaring house prices, inflation and Covid have been high on the campaign agenda, but Russia’s invasion has concentrated minds on the threat from Pyongyang
By Park Chan-Kyong South China Morning Post6 min

South Korean presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party bump fists before a TV debate. Photo: EPA
When South Korean software mogul and physician Ahn Cheol-soo emerged as a contender in the presidential election five years ago, he was tipped as a game changer and a dark horse.
But he ended placing third, with 21.4 per cent of the vote, as former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in won with 41 per cent, followed by Hong Joon-pyo of then conservative Liberty Korea Party with 24 per cent.
This time around, Moon is barred by the constitution from seeking re-election for the next five-year term and Ahn has been consistently polling in third place ahead of the March 9 election.
On Thursday, Ahn decided to call it quits, withdrawing from the race and declaring his support for one of the two front runners - former prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol, whose People Power Party – the main opposition force – is seeking to unseat Moon’s ruling Democratic Party.
Recent opinion surveys show that if Yoon, 61, runs as a single conservative candidate with Ahn’s support, he could increase his lead over Lee Jae-myung, the 57-year-old former governor of Gyeonggi province, South Korea’s most populous.
That is if the centrists and more moderate conservatives who support Ahn decide to shift their support to Yoon.
On hearing the news of Ahn’s decision, Lee put on a brave face telling attendees at a rally that he would “continue down the path toward the improvement of living standards, economy, peace and unity”.
Yoon’s tough stance on corruption and creating a more level playing field has resonated with voters, who are unhappy with runaway housing prices and increasing inequality in South Korea.
Choi Jin, head of the Institute of Presidential Leadership think tank, said Ahn’s support could indeed boost Yoon’s chances.
“But no matter who wins this election, he will face a raft of daunting tasks – economic woes, security concerns over the nuclear-armed North Korea amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and mounting US-China rivalry, gaps between the haves and have-nots.”
“The most serious challenge will be the deep divide left by the campaign,” he said, adding that party platforms had been drowned out by smear campaigns, leading many voters to characterise the upcoming exercise as the “election of the lesser of two evils”.
Early voting began on Friday at thousands of polling stations throughout the country, which is dealing with a record surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.
South Korea hit a record 240,000 daily infections on Thursday but still the turnout is expected to be higher than in the 2017 presidential election. In Seoul’s wealthy Ichon-dong district, the local administration building being used as a polling station was filled with voters in middle age and older on Friday morning. Donning masks, they received their ballots from electoral staff who were also masked and wearing plastic face shields.
The make-up of this year’s voters reflects the country’s fast-ageing population. Those in their 60s and older account for 29.5 per cent of its 44 million eligible voters, up from a 27.3 per cent share in the 2017 election.
Before casting his ballot at a polling station near the presidential Blue House, President Moon, in a post on Facebook, urged voters to vote to build up democracy. His use of the word three times prompted the opposition to accuse him of intervening in the election and breaching the law, by indirectly urging people to vote for his Democratic Party’s candidate Lee.
Lee voted in Seoul and Yoon cast his ballot in the country’s second largest city, Busan.
Yoon’s support base includes younger people who are unhappy with the current government, such as two nuclear engineering students who were at a campaign rally on Tuesday. Speaking there, Yoon accused Moon of “incompetence”, referring to high unemployment and economic difficulties.
One of the two students, who identified himself as Byun, said they were supporting Yoon as he had promised to halt the Moon government’s move to retire aged nuclear power plants without building new ones to replace them.
But Lee Bae-hoe, a 68-year-old merchant, said he believed former mayor Lee from Moon’s party was the right candidate.
As a “self-made man”, Lee Jae-myung was the leader South Korea needed as he would care for the underprivileged, he said. As the mayor of Seongnam City and the governor of the country’s largest province he successfully expanded social welfare programmes and managed to cut local government debts at the same time, said the voter.
While the campaign had been marred by mudslinging, domestic concerns about the economy and inequality had largely dominated the vote – until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has now brought Seoul’s diplomacy into sharp focus, and also sparked worries that its bellicose neighbour to the North could follow in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s footsteps and make provocative moves. North Korea has continued to launch missile tests as part of its plan to modernise its weapons.
Yoon, who wants to align South Korea more closely with the United States – he has accused Moon’s government of “subservient, pro-China, pro-North Korea diplomacy” – believes that economic exchanges with the North should come only after it agrees to denuclearisation.
He previously said he would scrap the 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at defusing cross-border military tensions unless the North changes its aggressive attitude. He has dismissed liberals’ efforts to bring about an end-of-war declaration involving the two Koreas, China and the US as “appeasement that would only weaken Seoul’s defence posture”.
He has also argued for more deployment of the highly sophisticated US missile defence system known as THAAD, which China sees as a threat to its own security, and for South Korea to participate in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing grouping as well as working groups for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad.
Yoon lashed out at Lee for suggesting last week that comedian-turned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky angered Russia by vowing to join Nato, although Lee later clarified that what he meant to suggest was that the Ukraine conflict showed how failed diplomacy could bring about a war.
“How could a politician who has such a low security consciousness protect the people?”, Yoon asked a crowd of his supporters near Chung-ang University.
While Yoon said he wanted to reset ties with China, the country’s largest trade partner, he also indicated a willingness to work together.
In contrast, Lee, who positions himself as a “flexible pragmatist”, said he would “inherit Moon’s policies where they were successful, complement where they fell short and fix where they were problematic”.
At a rally for Lee on Tuesday in the busy commercial district of Myeongdong in Seoul city centre, Joy Kim and his wife said they were rooting for Lee. The couple were each carrying a pet dog – one brown poodle and the other black – both wrapped in blue hooded dog-coats emblazoned with Lee’s name and his candidate number, 1.
As campaign songs blared from huge loudspeakers, a group of young campaign workers, all wearing blue jackets, were dancing on the stage, as many among the crowd of thousands chanted Lee’s name, waving banners and holding blue balloons in an atmosphere reminiscent of a K-pop concert.
Said Kim: “I support Lee because he will do a good job as he’s got experience in administration.
“Even to do something simple like cooking ramyeon [Korean instant noodles], you need some experience, right?,” he said, as his wife smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
The 45-year-old garment trader got burned by China’s economic retaliation against Seoul’s deployment of THAAD in 2017.
“Like it or not, China is the world’s factory. We don’t need to antagonise that country unnecessarily,” he said.
As he took to the stage, Lee himself seized on rival Yoon’s lack of experience, pointing to the latter’s 26-year-career as a state prosecutor as evidence of how he would not be able to run the country and manage its foreign policy at such a crucial time.
Climate change, digitalisation, the mounting US-China rivalry, serious bi-polarisation [between the haves and have-nots], low economic growth and security concerns make us all concerned,” Lee said.
“A president who knows little about the economy and who is ill-prepared to do the job cannot lead the country right,” he said, adding he would pave the way for South Korea to become the fifth largest economy in the future.
Park Chan-kyong is a South Korean journalist who has worked for the Agence France-Presse Seoul bureau for 35 years. He is now working for the South China Morning Post. He studied political science at Korea University and economics at the Yonsei University Graduate School.





4. Record high early voting turnout marred by lackluster management

There will be accusations of voter fraud. And there are already reports of it taking place.
Record high early voting turnout marred by lackluster management
koreaherald.com · by Ko Jun-tae · March 6, 2022
D-2
Mar. 9,2022
Lack of measures for COVID-19 patients leads voters to criticize NEC, even accuse it of electoral fraud
Published : Mar 6, 2022 - 15:04 Updated : Mar 6, 2022 - 20:14
A cardboard box used to collect ballots from COVID-19 patients and people in quarantine is seen at a polling station in Haeundae-gu of Busan on Saturday. (Yonhap)
South Korea saw an unprecedented turnout in early voting for the 20th presidential election, but immense discomfort and suspicions of electoral fraud arose with election watchdog's lack of preparation in running voting booths for COVID-19 patients.

During the two-day early voting period for the March 9 election, more than 16.3 million, or 36.93 percent, of 44.2 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the National Election Commission on Saturday. The highest turnout was in South Jeolla Province with 51.4 percent, with the lowest in Gyeonggi Province with 33.7 percent.

The record turnout topped the previous record of 26.69 percent seen for the early voting in the 2020 parliamentary elections, indicating a high level of interest in the election highlighted as a close competition between Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party.

Yet the seemingly successful turnout was marred by election watchdog’s lackluster preparations on accommodating COVID-19 patients to cast their votes early, causing voting booths to run much longer than scheduled and causing immense trouble for huge number of voters across the country.

Voting had to close about four hours after the scheduled closing time of 6 p.m. Saturday as polling stations failed to assure swift and clear voting procedures for COVID-19 patients and those under self-quarantine who were designated an hourlong slot from 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday to cast their votes.

The election watchdog had announced on Feb. 25 that it would prepare separate waiting lines at polling stations for COVID-19 patients to minimize worries of infection and said it prepared methods for infected voters’ ballots to be collected transparently without worries.

But reality was far different from what the NEC promised, as many patients had to wait outside in cold for nearly two hours until they could cast their votes, and some reportedly fainted in the process. Some polling stations failed to separate COVID-19 patients from other voters, causing worries that people might become infected just by exercising their voting rights.

A significant number of voters also raised possible electoral fraud from finding their ballots collected in boxes or shopping bags instead of regular ballot boxes. No separate ballot boxes were prepared to collect the votes of COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine.

There was no uniform standard in what boxes could be used to collect the ballots of COVID-19 patients, and the election watchdog said it could not prepare additional official ballot boxes as it had to follow the law of having just one ballot box prepared at each polling station.

Officials at polling stations instead asked voters with COVID-19 and under quarantine orders to give the ballots to the officials at the scene, who were instructed to collect the ballots separately and later combine with the batch of ballots from non-patients.

"How can we call this a direct voting system if I can't even see my own ballot going into the ballot box?" questioned a COVID-19 patient in his 30s who cast his vote Saturday at a polling station in Seoul.

"How can I trust these officials to carry out transparent voting procedures if they don’t even have solid guidelines prepared for voters and collect ballots in leftover cardboard boxes?"

These voters argue that the procedure made for COVID-19 patients is in direct violation of the Public Official Election Act, which states an eligible voter "folds the ballot paper on the spot" and "then put it in the ballot box in the presence of the voting observers."

Accusations of electoral fraud also arose from three voters in Eunpyeong-gu, northwestern Seoul, reportedly finding ballots already marked as voting for Lee when receiving theirs at the voting scene. Local election officials said ballots of COVID-19 patients who already voted were mixed and given out as a "simple mistake."

A polling station in Incheon had to terminate early voting after facing immense backlash from voters at the scene, and many voters waiting to cast their ballots had to return home after engaging in fierce argument with NEC officials at the voting booth.

The NEC faced immense criticism from its lack of early voting preparations, sparking outcry from all parties, who called on it to take responsibility for inconveniencing voters and sparking worries of electoral fraud.

But NEC Secretary General Kim Se-hwan asserted in his meeting with People Power Party officials at 10 p.m. Saturday that early voting was held in accordance to regulations, arguing the election watchdog should be trusted to assure fair voting even though problems were apparent at the scene.

According to edited excerpts of the conversation Rep. Kim Woong of the main opposition party released on Facebook, the secretary general said some of the troubles were caused by voters “making a fuss,” emphasizing that everything happened at polling stations was done in accordance with the law.

"The People Power Party can explain whatever it finds from the situation," Kim Se-hwan said, according to the Facebook post. “We will give an explanation ourselves.”

The ruling Democratic Party also had some of its officials visit the NEC headquarters Sunday morning to demand improved measures to be brought on the official voting day. Voters should be provided with transparent, properly managed voting process however the situation may be, the party argues.

"This is the fault of the National Election Commission, without a doubt," Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, a senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party's presidential election campaign committee, told reporters Sunday.

"There shouldn't have been any anxiety coming from the election procedure. I am not convinced that there is election fraud, especially in this age, but the election commission should have been more careful in making directions so that no accusations like this are made from voters."

As criticism continued to rise, the election watchdog officially apologized for its mismanagement of the early voting process but emphasized that electoral fraud has not occurred and is not possible as the system is made in a way that assures clear monitoring from all party representatives.

"This election recorded the highest-ever early voting turnout, and we fell short of properly managing the early voting process due to lack of voting management personnel and lack of availability of polling stations," the NEC said in a statement released Sunday.

"The commission takes the matter seriously, and we will carefully examine the problems surfaced (during the early voting process) and come up with response measures so that the people can cast their votes without worries."

The election watchdog was scheduled to discuss additional response measures to be implemented on the voting day during a meeting with legislators held Sunday afternoon.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)




5. South Korean Presidential Election 2022: Ballot Problems Already

As I mentioned there are already reports of voting issues.


South Korean Presidential Election 2022: Ballot Problems Already

Tara O, 2022-3-5
The presidential election date is March 9, 2022, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voters can vote on that day or during the pre-vote period of March 4-5, 2022, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. For those who tested positive for Coronavirus, their voting time is only 1 hour, from 5-6 p.m., each on voting days. The voting period for Koreans living abroad is February 23-28 at Korean embassies and consular offices. Their ballots are then mailed to Korea.
Here are some procedures that raise questions:
  • Unlike the actual day of election, during pre-voting days, ballots are printed on-site for each voter.
  • Koreans use a stamp with the person’s name (functions as a signature), in this case, it should be the local election commission manager’s stamp, on the ballots.
  • But the stamp is pre-printed, rather than stamped afterwards.
  • In some cases, the pre-printed stamp is a generic stamp, rather than the local election manager’s personal stamp with his/her name. This makes it difficult to trace back and to verify if there is an audit.
  • Voters put their own ballots in a box through a slot. However, Corona V-positive voters are told to hand the ballots to a third person, who works at voting locations, and told that the third person then will put the ballots in a ballot box; their words are supposed to be trusted, and there is no verification mechanism to see where their ballots go. This violates the National Election Law, Paragraph 157, Section 4.
  • In addition to freshly printed ballots, these voters were also given an envelope that has another ballot that was already marked with Lee Jae-myung (#1, so the top line), the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (Deobureo Minju Party)
Already, questionable practices are making the citizens nervous and question the voting process. Voters are supposed to put their ballots directly into a box through a slot, but they are told to hand the ballots to the workers/volunteers at the polling site instead. Ballots are printed with stamps (like signatures) pre-printed. The stamps are supposed to belong to the local elections manager of the precinct, but the stamps are generic, which do not indicate who the local election manager is.
At Shinsa 1-dong precinct, Unpyeong-gu, Seoul during 5-6 p.m. on March 5, 2022, a man stated that Corona-positive voters received ballots, but additionally, they also received a separate envelope, which had another ballot that was already marked with #1 Lee Jae-myung, with a stamp on it. (0:10). It happened to several people, so they contacted People Power Party, who sent a representative. The representative talked to the election commission workers and the police to halt the process to try to resolve the matter, but since there were people waiting to vote, the process continued.
Two ballots received by a voter on March 5, 2022 during early voting. One of the ballots was already marked for Lee Jae-myung (#1, so the first line).
Another issue is that voters were told to hand over the voted ballots to the election workers, who were then supposed to put the ballots in the box, instead of voters putting their ballots in the box directly, and that was occurring in numerous precincts. (1:53)
A woman pointed out that another woman is carrying around her voted ballot, because she doesn’t want to hand over her ballot to someone else, because she knows she is supposed to put her ballot directly in the box herself. (2:10) She and many other voters do not trust the National Election Commission nor their non-transparent practices. She does not know what else to do. The first woman stated that it happened to others, so they went home with the ballots, not knowing what to do, but they did not want to simply hand over their ballots to someone, because their concern that their ballots can simply disappear.
The local election workers say they do not know what is going on, and the police will not get involved, stating it is an election commission issue. Election monitors can stop the process if they discover problems, so she did stop the process, but Lee Jae-myung’s supporters hurled abuses at her, and went inside. The election commission workers overruled the monitor and continued the process for those who entered the building, finishing the voting at 6 p.m. (2:51) Meanwhile, Corona-positive people who stood in line outside could not vote, and the polling booth closed.
Another man, a regular voter, voted and was leaving the building when he saw people saying they were given an envelope each with two ballots, one of which was already marked with Lee Jae-myung. He went to check, and indeed, there were two ballots, one with Lee marked already, and that was the case for two other voters in line. (3:44) So he told the police, but to no avail. 
An election commission manager gave an explanation when asked why there were two ballots, and one of them was already marked for Lee jae-myung. She stated that in the midst of numerous complaints and also hand collecting voted ballots (this is not the norm and probably illegal), she gave the envelop to the voters, thinking it was empty (but it wasn’t).  (8:29)
Lawyer Park Ju-hyun asked the election commission manager why the stamps (which are like signatures) are preprinted on the ballots, instead of her using her own stamp to stamp the ballots after they are printed. He stated that is illegal. She had no answers.
When the election commission manager stated she has to come outside to take the ballots from (the Corona-positive) voters and take them upstairs inside the building, Lawyer Park asked who takes the ballots and who delivers the ballots? She stated the instruction came from the National Election Commission. (9:41)
At another location, the same practice of taking the voted ballots from the Corona-positive voters from outside by election workers/interns was repeated. He stated that the instruction came down from the National Election Commission. (3:18) Voters are reporting that this practice is occurring in various voting locations.
Additionally, the ballots were found unsecure in some locations, or the ballot boxes were not designated secure boxes.
An unauthorized box (Guardwear box) became a make-shift box to hold ballots.
Ballots in envelopes not placed securely, but out in the open
A box was lying around. Inside were 3 ballots that had markings next to Lee Jae-myong’s name
The People Power Party (PPP) leadership has been ignoring, and sometimes were even hostile to, the calls by Hwang Kyo-ahn (former prime Minister and former leaders of PPP’s predecessor United Future Party), former lawmaker Min Kyung-wook, Lawyer Park Ju-hyun, and other citizens to take measures to address election frauds and make the process free, fair, and transparent. In fact, the key leaders of PPP even encouraged early voting, which was problematic in the April 15, 2020 elections.
After the above incidents, however, PPP changed its tunes. Kim Ki-hyun, PPP’s Election Committee Chairman, who has been critical of those who asked people to vote on the day of the election, rather than early voting, is now posting on his Facebook comments criticizing the National Election Commission (NEC) as incompetent for running such a “laxed and feeble” voting process. It is actually more than feeble, since the election law is violated. Additionally, PPP lawmakers, including Kim Un-hye, Kim Woong, Yoo Gyeong-joon, and Lee Young, visited the National Election Commission headquarters to lodge a protest, but the NEC stated that they followed “the law an principles,” despite conducts that were against the law and the lack of transparency. 
In South Korea, the head of the National Election Commission is also a sitting Supreme Court Justice. Currently, the Supreme Court Justice Roh Jung-hee (노정희) is the National Election Commissioner. As noted in the past, this arrangement causes conflict of interest if the NEC becomes a defendant, which it is on 130 election fraud lawsuit cases form the April 15, 2020 elections. The law states that the Supreme Court MUST hear the election fraud lawsuits within six months, yet the Supreme Court did not, which essentially violated the law. After a year, it only reviewed a few cases and had not made any decisions, despite numerous fraudulent ballots presented at the court.
Rho Jung-hee was one of the Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn the lower court’s guilty ruling of Lee Jae-myung for various criminal charges, including his efforts to put his own brother in a psychiatric hospital. If the Supreme Court did not overturn the ruling, then the law would have forbade Lee Jae-myung from running for public office for five years.
Meanwhile, the National Election Commission apparently sued former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn for “violating the election law” for encouraging people to vote on the election day of March 9, rather than the pre-vote period, due to transparency and other problems.
In addition to the presidential election, the regional elections (to elect governors, mayors, education commissioners, etc.) will be held on Jun 1, 2022.



 


Top S. Korean, US nuclear envoys discuss N. Korea's missile launch
koreaherald.com · by Yonhap · March 5, 2022
Published : Mar 5, 2022 - 14:52 Updated : Mar 5, 2022 - 14:53
A news report on North Korea`s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile airs on a television at Seoul Station on Feb. 27, 2022. (Yonhap)
The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States condemned Saturday North Korea's latest missile test and vowed to boost coordination during phone consultations, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Earlier in the day, the North test-fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from around the Sunan area in Pyongyang, less than a week after a ballistic missile launch, according to the South's military.

Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his US counterpart Sung Kim denounced the North for its successive missile launches in violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, the ministry said.

They also agreed to maintain a watertight defense posture and boost close consultations to prevent the North from aggravating the situation, it added.

Saturday's firing is the ninth show of force by the communist country this year, and came just four just four days ahead of South Korea's presidential election. (Yonhap)



7. Anti-feminist Or Foul-mouthed Liberal? South Korea To Pick New President

Ouch!

Anti-feminist Or Foul-mouthed Liberal? South Korea To Pick New President
Barron's · by Kang Jin-kyu
And what propels one of them to victory will not be their populist campaign promises or North Korea policy, analysts say. Instead, it's what the papers have dubbed a "cycle of revenge" in South Korea's famously adversarial politics.
"This election is a battle between two opposite forces -- the progressives and conservatives," said political analyst Park Sang-byoung.
South Korean presidents are allowed by law to serve a single five year term, and every living former president has been investigated and jailed for corruption after leaving office.

Newspapers say South Korea's famously adversarial politics are trapped in a "cycle of revenge"
Jung Yeon-je
Outgoing President Moon Jae-in himself swept to power in 2017 after his disgraced predecessor Park Geun-hye was impeached over an influence-peddling scandal that also put a Samsung heir behind bars.
Now, Park's conservatives are eager for revenge.
Ironically, their candidate Yoon was chief prosecutor under Moon and pursued Park when she was impeached -- an experience that boosted his profile and popularity and pushed him to enter politics.
South Korean politics has seen a "deepening division" in recent years, with elections more focused on party rivalry than policy, analyst Yoo Jung-hoon told AFP.
"Many conservatives still hold a grudge over the impeachment of Park Geun-hye," he said.
Yoon is appealing to these disgruntled voters, offering a chance at "revenge" for Park's ousting -- even going so far as to threaten to investigate Moon for unspecified "irregularities".
"We should do it," Yoon said last month, referring to prosecuting Moon and his administration.
His comments earned a rare rebuke from the presidential Blue House and the ruling Democratic party's candidate Lee said they indicated his rival was not fit to lead the nation.
But analysts say it's just political business as usual in Seoul.

Dour prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol is appealing to disgruntled voters angry about the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye
Jung Yeon-je
"The Moon administration has prosecuted many former officials in the name of rooting out deep-rooted corruption," Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.
"I expect the same standard to be applied under the Yoon government should wrongdoings be found," he said.
Yoon's wife in January gave an unwitting insight into the realpolitik to come, claiming enemies and critics would be prosecuted if her husband won because that's "the nature of power," according to taped comments released after a court battle.
Polls show that voters' top concerns this election cycle are skyrocketing house prices in the capital Seoul, stagnant growth, and stubborn youth unemployment -- but campaigning has been dominated by mud-slinging.
Lee, a former mayor and provincial governor, has a slew of fresh policy offerings -- from universal basic income to free school uniforms -- but they've been overshadowed by media coverage of his scandals.
He is being scrutinised over a suspect land development deal, with two key witnesses to the case having killed themselves.
He was forced to start his campaign by apologising for a profanity-laden family phone call, his wife was accused of misappropriating public funds, and he's been dogged by rumours of mafia-links.

Lee, a former mayor and provincial governor, has a slew of fresh policy offerings -- from universal basic income to free school uniforms -- but they've been overshadowed by media coverage of his scandals
Jung Yeon-je
His rival Yoon has himself made a series of gaffes, most recently having to delete a "tone deaf" tweet on Ukraine which included a tangerine with an angry face drawn on -- a bizarre reference to that country's Orange Revolution.
Moreover, Yoon's most memorable policy is an offer to abolish the gender equality ministry, on the basis that -- despite voluminous data to the contrary -- South Korean women do not suffer "systemic gender discrimination," he says.
Yoon is more hawkish than Lee on North Korea, threatening a pre-emptive strike on the South's nuclear-armed neighbour if needed.
But, despite a record-breaking seven weapons tests in a month in January, North Korea is not a major deciding factor in the vote, analysts say.
"The North's launches have minimal impact in elections because South Korea's competition for supremacy with the North is long over," said analyst Yoo.
"South Korean elections have revolved around political rivalry rather than policy issues for many years."
Barron's · by Kang Jin-kyu


8. Korea must get over the fear of failure


But when you are a shrimp among whales I can see how the fears of failure are strong because failure could be catastrophic. But I think the author makes some important points about korea.

Conclusion:

What looks like failure happens all the time. But instead of stigmatizing it, we need to regard the attempts in the context of progress towards success. When failures become commonplace, Korea would be making a leap towards the first-moving group.
 
Sunday
March 6, 2022

Korea must get over the fear of failure



Noh Junyong
The author is a professor at the KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology and head of the Center for Ambitious Failure. 
 
Korea has achieved spectacular growth. Since experiencing colonization by Japan and a war with North Korea, the country has been galloping ahead without taking a breather. Per capita GDP has passed $30,000, and the economy is in the global top 10. Korea’s president was invited to G7 summits in 2020 and 2021 to underscore the country’s changed status. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) formally elevated South Korea from the emerging group of nations to the advanced category. The achievement is the result of the perseverance and hard work of the people. It is also related to Korea Inc.’s skill as a “fast follower,” choosing what it can excel in, adopting the new business and innovation and being good at it.

Limits of ‘fast follower’ 
Korea’s current technology and development focuses — semiconductors, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, drones, metaverse and space rockets — all stem from the belief that the country must hurry in catching up with what developed economies are focused on. To narrow the gap in innovation, Korean companies work hard to learn and mimic their path. The phenomenon is not restricted to technological development. Government policy decisions and regulatory overhauls are also triggered by comparisons with advanced countries like the United States and those in Europe to argue for change. The strategy has helped Korea advance to the top 10 by taking a shortcut. Studying and emulating the successful cases in developed countries rarely fails.

As we look toward 2030, we are at the crossroads of outperforming others and jumping to the top five or even the top three. We must devise a new strategy to compete with bigger countries like the United States, China, Germany and Britain. We can hardly expect to outpace them if we chase after what they have done. We should not be content with the agility to fast match the frontrunners but act as a first mover to set exemplary models others envy and wish to follow. BTS and “Squid Game” have proven how Korean pop entertainment can become the best in the world.

To become a first mover, there are steps South Korea must take. It must allow for the freedom to fail, whether it be in technological development, decision-making in public policy or any new effort in society. It is unreasonable to expect a successful result when you take an unchartered path where there are no precedents or right answers. Korea must provide an environment where individuals can exercise their potential and creativity to their maximum and succeed in unimaginable ways instead of being taught to do well under a given framework and rules. A huge success can only come from fearless risk-taking. Dare-deviling is only possible when one does not fear failure.



 
The SpaceX Starship SN9 explodes into a fireball after a high altitude test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, on February 2, 2021. [REUTERS/YONHAP]  
 
A world led by venture firms
 
A society must study various aspects in building a new approach towards failures. One is on starting a venture business. Korea’s economic development so far has been led by a select few big corporate names. But the future will be driven by venture enterprises with ingenious ideas, freedom and an adventurous spirit. KAIST and other universities have been encouraging faculty and students to start businesses based on their ideas and innovations instead of focusing on publication.
 
 
But if responsibility for the risk-taking is not shared in the promotion of start-ups, the move will only push zealous entrepreneurs into a corner. Who can boldly attempt a business with a radical idea if a business failure can destroy a person’s credit score? In Silicon Valley, 80 percent of start-ups end up in failure. But an entrepreneur who incorporates failures for new attempts and continues with the challenge is rewarded with a successful result. A business failure does not make one a failure in life. Business failure should be just a process in the creation of an enterprise. The experience and lessons in the process become valuable assets towards success. Enterprises must be encouraged to go on without the fear of failure, and social security must be enhanced to come to their protection and motivative them to try again.
 
 
The case of Jubilee Bank can be an example. When loans go delinquent at banks, the deferred payment is booked as a loss and resold to lower-tier lenders at cheaper rates. And the lenders buy the subordinated loans at just 1 to 10 percent of the original principal and go after borrowers to collect the principal as well as interest. Jubilee Bank buys the junk debt and writes it off to help debt-ridden borrowers return to normal lives. Loans can be deferred until a businessman can restart and afford to repay the debt.
 
The second aspect is on research. Korea’s success rate in research and development projects exceeds 95 percent. The data clearly imply that R&D projects with a high chance of success are favored and undertaken. The projects are designed for success from the start since a research team could be scorned for poor results, the institution for poor recruitment and oversight and the government for wasting taxpayer funds if the project ends in failure.
 
 
Downfalls are a key to success
 
In other words, research is pursued after setting a safe goal with good odds. A high R&D success rate therefore should be worried about — not encouraged — as a loss of opportunity in innovation. The future depends on innovative research that can awe the world. Only a precious few can succeed. An individual also may come upon an innovation after numerous attempts. To learn to ride a bike well, one must fall many times. Failures in the research process also can become strong assets and lessons. The ratio of research that can fail in commercialization must increase. Attempts that have never been taken by advanced countries also must be encouraged instead of merely following their cases.
 
 
At the same time, the implementation of regulations and rules should be flexible. Since inefficiency and corruption can be bred without regulation, policymakers went on making new regulations when facing new problems. There cannot be a perfect regulation for the past and future and for every environment. There is a limit to effective regulation. Exceptional cases breed faster in a fast-changing world. In the future society, there must be greater leeway to employ regulations creatively and flexibly according to the conditions instead of trying to fit a set of rules onto a world brimming with exceptional cases.
 
 
Society has lost faith in individual judgment. Failures from odd and poorly thought out efforts are not tolerated. If actions are taken according to the rules and order, liability over the results could lessen. When we sit across from a civil servant tending to our case, we often end up hearing that there is nothing the government can do, regardless of the understanding tone. Although regulations must be respected, things could turn out better if attempts are left to individual judgment and creativity. An unprecedented step taken upon one’s own judgment could end up in failure. But these cases could be studied to draw up better regulations.
 
 
SpaceX and repeated failures
Korea stands at the final stage of joining the front-running group of nations. The first step should be a change of perspective by the individual, society and government on failures. The discovery of America was in fact a failure as Columbus was searching for India.

 
 
The 3M Post-it we cannot do without was commercialized from a failed adhesive project. Nvidia developed the Tegra mobile processor to power the iPhone in 2007. The project flopped despite its superiority over Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm chips due to the bulkier size and low energy efficiency. But the Tegra project was revived in 2010 for autonomous vehicles. Elon Musk’s SpaceX went on testing rocket launches using used rockets and finally succeeded.
 
 
What looks like failure happens all the time. But instead of stigmatizing it, we need to regard the attempts in the context of progress towards success. When failures become commonplace, Korea would be making a leap towards the first-moving group.
 
Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.


9. Major Bang Ju-won picked as S. Korean Air Force’s ‘Top Gun’



Major Bang Ju-won picked as S. Korean Air Force’s ‘Top Gun’
Posted March. 05, 2022 07:54,
Updated March. 05, 2022 07:54
Major Bang Ju-won picked as S. Korean Air Force’s ‘Top Gun’. March. 05, 2022 07:54. by Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com.
Major Bang Ju-won (36) of the 11th Fighter Wing’ has been named the ‘2021 Best Air Force fighter pilot,’ and won the presidential award on Friday, the South Korean Air Force announced. The ‘Best Air Force fighter pilot’ title is presented to a pilot who has won the top score in execution of overall mission for a year including not only aviation experience, the number of participations in military operations, and contributions to safe flight but also professional knowledge and physical tests. Bang acquired 849.6 points out of the possible 1,000 points.

Major Bang decided to become a fighter pilot after watching the Hollywood movie ‘Top Gun’ during his school years. After being commissioned in 2008, he piloted the KF-16 fighter jet, before starting to fly the F-15K jet in 2012. He has flown a total of 2,100 hours and participated in a number of joint military drills. He commanded non-stop flight of more than 10 hours crossing the Pacific though inflight refueling to participate in ‘Red Flag’ in Alaska, a joint Air Force drill of multiple countries led by the U.S.

“It is already a great honor for me to participate in major military operations to promote the prowess of the Republic of Korea and ROK Air Force, and I am thrilled to be named the best pilot,” Bang said.








V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
VIDEO "WHEREBY" Link: https://whereby.com/david-maxwell
Subscribe to FDD’s new podcastForeign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

V/R
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Phone: 202-573-8647
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Subscribe to FDD’s new podcastForeign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."
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