Korea Protests On X-mas Eve

Crowds demanding that President Park resign immediately continue protesting for the 9th consecutive week. For details of the demonstrations and marches, read The Hankyoreh article: Protests seeking President's resignation continue on Christmas Eve and into the New Year.

The organizing committee's website is in Korean only and is at bisang2016.net. There you can find all sorts of materials, including pictures of past demonstrations, as on http://bisang2016.net/b/board03/841.

The following editorial is from the Chosun Daily News on President Park's initial written defense statements submitted at the impeachment hearings. The editor asks if President Park is crazy for sticking to her story that she did not know about any criminal activities of those around her, the sports and culture foundations were set up and funded voluntarily, and that she was working at the Presidential residence during the Sewol Ferry tragedy and that she promptly reacted to the situation. This goes against all the recorded phone conversations, instant messages, written notes and witness testimony. The editorial details the President's defense and how it contradicts the facts based on evidence. 

Chosun Ilbo (Daily News): Has Park Lost Her Grip on Reality?

The Constitutional Court which is hearing the impeachment case against President Park asked her to submit details of her whereabouts and actions on April 16, 2014, the day of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. Everyone has asked, but she has never answered. Now, she has to answer or forfeit. No escape. 

The Hankyoreh: Constitutional Court demands to know where Pres. Park was on the day the Sewol sank

Saenuri Party member, Yi Wan-yong, was is accused of promoting witness perjury was caught on picture with members of a regional association drinking heavily at dinner several years ago. In the picture is the lawyer of Choi Soon-sil and a close associate of Woo Byung-woo. Many members of this association are linked to the Choi Soon-sil scandal. Saenuri Party member Yi Wan-yong has questioned witnesses with a strong prejudice towards questions to help Choi Soon-sil's defense. He denies all allegations, but he is under investigation and I suspect he will be found guilty. It will be hard to find concrete evidence. but I hope they find some. 

Joongang Daily News: Photo connects Yi to Choi’s lawyer

The Secret Of How Life Began On Earth

As I read the beginning of this article in BBC News, I wondered about Matter = Energy = Life? Since hydrogen matter is converted to energy in the sun, light is converted into energy on Earth, and energy is converted into life.

Towards the end of the article, I wondered about life and knowledge. Is knowledge just a byproduct of life? What about self awareness?

It was a long article and showed how much research into the origins of life has progressed since I was in school. From theories supporting that amino acids, RNA, compartmentalization, metabolism, or replication was first to the present day, everything at once theory. They have proved to me that life could have started from clay in a pond of warm water. That sort of changed my world. Slightly less mystic. But I still wonder about logic, knowledge, and self awareness (consciousness).

BBC News: The Secret Of How Life Began On Earth

So, how does one link matter and thought? Matter vs. Energy vs. Life vs. Thought? Thought vs. Knowledge? Time vs. Change? Consciousness vs. Thought?

Is this what they meant by "clouding minds"? I am almost sure that Jesus was trying to teach people metaphysics and it clouded a lot of minds. 

Choi Soon-sil Alleged To Have Over $660 Million In Europe

German prosecutors have listed Choi Soon-sil and her daughter as major criminals and are investigating their wealth. It is alleged that they have over $660 million stored in 500 companies and bank accounts under false names.

Korea Times: Probe targets Choi Soon-sil's daughter and hidden $660 million

How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail

That's the title of a Scientific American article on cognitive dissonance and how best to handle people who refuse to believe the facts.

Experiments have shown that people will make up or distort things in order to reduce dissonance, which arises when a person holds two conflicting thoughts. Conflicting thoughts arise when someone lies, is dishonest, and such. If unchecked, it will continue in something like a feedback cycle.

Sounds like they are talking about President Park supporters. The article explains how lies or falsehoods cause people to justify themselves and lead to a distortion of reality. So, the worst thing to do is to tell pro-Park supporters that they are wrong. It will only cause them to reinforce their false beliefs and make them more radical.

They have been talking about cognitive dissonance for decades. I thought the best approach was to just observe people with cognitive dissonance from a distance and if you have to deal with them, then try to absorb some of their negativity. The article suggests pretty much the same.

1. Keep emotions out of it.
2. Don't attack. Discuss.
3. Listen carefully and try to fully understand the person's perspective.
4. Show respect.
5. Show that you understand why the person might have that opinion.
6. Try to show the person the facts and that the facts do not really change that person's view of the world.

Scientific American: How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail

Noose Is Tightening On President Park And Samsung

The Special Independent Prosecutor's Office investigating the Choi Soon-sil scandal keeps leaking details of its investigations. They seem to be asking President Park to resign or they will slowly reveal all that they know. They have told us about portions of telephone conversations and the ex-Presidential Secretary Ahn Jong-bom's notebooks. In the notes, there were memos on orders from the President in relation to the Samsung's merger.

Now, they have released the details of their investigation into influence peddling in the Samsung companies merger. They say that this is only one step in the process of transferring control of Samsung to vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong and explained how he might have committed perjury during the recent National Assembly Investigative Hearings in the Choi Soon-sil scandals.

Read all about it in the Hankyoreh News article: Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong may have perjured at National Assembly hearing

The Joongang Daily News investigated further into the contract between Samsung and the German sports company owned by Choi Soon-sil. Over $800,000 from Samsung was used to pay for Choi's personal expenses for seven months in Germany. For more details, go to Joongang Daily News: Samsung signed suspicious deal with Choi

The Special Prosecutor is also looking into President Park's financial association with the family of Choi Soon-sil over the forty years that they have know each other. A stepson of Choi Tae-min (Choi Soon-sil's father) stated,  shortly before he died, that a truckload of money and bonds were transported out of the Presidential residence on the night Park Chung-hee was assassinated. Before this, the Choi family were poor. Right after, the daughters started buying buildings in southern Seoul.

Forty years of leaving behind evidence, almost got caught many times, but always managed to get off. The times have definitely changed in Korea. These people are going to be caught and jailed, even if they know or are the President. We still have plenty of bad, or put more kindly, misled people, but the tide is turning. It should have continued from President's Kim Dae-jung and Noh Moo-hyun, but it got backtracked.

Former President Noh did not embargo, or force the press to publish things. He did not influence prosecutors, or police. He did not appoint his own director to the intelligence agency, but promoted from within. He installed a computer system, so that no one could erase Presidential records and other things. He never met anyone one-on-one in meetings and always had witnesses in attendance. He wanted transparency and freedom. I think that is why most of the rich and powerful, especially the ruling Saenuri party and President Park hate him and always try to discredit him. I get a lot of flak for saying that.

More Proof Of Bribery In President Park Scandal

The media reported that they had found documents recording expenses incurred in Germany by Chung Yu-ra and Choi Soon-sil. These documents show that they spent over $800,000 on personal items and expenses, such as pet supplies, diapers, ironing board and so on. Once source close to Choi Soon-sil claims these documents were supposed to be submitted to Samsung as proof of expenses incurred via a sports company owned by Choi Soon-sil in Germany under a consulting contract with Samsung.

Joongang Daily News: Choi’s Germany trip was on Samsung

The Special Independent Prosecutor is carrying out search warrants at the National Pension System, the Ministry in charge of overseeing pensions, and ten other locations. I think they are trying to find evidence of outside pressure in the decision to approve the Samsung merger.

Korea Herald: Special prosecutors raid state-run pension service

Korea Times: Independent prosecutor team raids pension service

To prove the bribery charges, the prosecutors need to find evidence linking the Samsung merger approval by the National Pension System and the money that Choi Soon-sil spent. Then they can charge the President with bribery.

The Hankyoreh: Targeting Park’s bribery and Samsung

The Special Independent Prosecutor managed to find the personal secretary of Choi Soon-sil. This personal secretary visited Ewha University many times and testified that she gave six packages to Ewha representatives.

If the President and her aides were busy doing their thing, what about everyone else?

Well, one Presidential aide went off on his own and managed to get over $5,000,000 from a Pusan property developer. Both are now in jail awaiting trial. I think we will find out about the others in the future, once things settle down.

A producer for MBC TV revealed that he was pressured by his General Manager to hire and pay a higher than average wage to the actor son of Chung Yoon-hae (ex-husband of Choi Soon-sil). There had been rumors and allegations, but this is the first witness.

So far, all the evidence continues to confirm all the allegations and point to even more corruption.

President Park Had Cosmetic Surgery Between April 16 and 20, 2014

The media gathered up all their high resolution pictures of President Park and found that she had undergone regular cosmetic surgery for years.

They found pictures of the President on April 15, 2014 which showed no marks on her cheeks. However, in pictures on April 21, 2014, there was punctures and bruising on the bottom of her left cheek. Doctors say that it looked like the President had filler or some type of treatment a few days before.

President Park's face on April 21, 2014

During testimony in front of the Parliament, all of the President's doctors denied having performed cosmetic surgery or treatments, including the doctor who runs the plastic surgery clinic.

Whether the President had cosmetic treatments on the day of the ferry sinking or after, people feel that this was extremely inappropriate. The whole nation was watching as students suffocated and drowned over several days, stuck inside the ferry. How could President Park even think about her looks? Heartless.