National Defense Security Command, Resumes Illegal Civilian Surveillance

Congresswoman Lee Jung Hee released a notebook which belongs to an officer of the National Defense Security Command who had been tailing after some people including a NGO worker.

» Congresswoman Lee Jung Hee (Democratic Labor Party) is showing a National Defense Security Command officer's ID card, military vehicle registration card, and a notebook claiming that he was illegally tailing a dozen people including some NGO members and a Democratic Labor Party employee. -Kim, Bongkyu bong9@hani.co.kr

There is a new claim that the National Defense Security Command has been illegally spying on and filming civilians. As the responsibilities of the National Defense Security Command are limited to military information gathering, criticism of it for spying on civilians and invading their privacy is inevitable.

On August 12, 2009, congresswoman Lee Jung Hee (Democratic Labor Party) held a press conference at the National Assembly saying, "It turned out that Lee Myung-Bak administration spied on several civilians through the National Defense Security Command." She also presented a notebook, an ID, and video clips which belong to officer Shin who was at the Pyeong-Taek demonstration. Those who attended the demonstration had gathered to condemn the heavy-handed tactics used by the police to suppress the Ssang-yong Automobile Union's protest.

The notebook shows evidence of police surveillance of civilians, including NGO workers and a Democratic Labor party employee (none of whom have a connection with the military), organized by date and time and taking place in January and July this year. The records note such activities as trips to a market to buy underwear, eating Bul-go-gi and cold noodles at a restaurant, and going out for Karaoke. It basically shows that there was a 24-hour surveillance on these civilians.

A page written on July 24 shows 'CCTV installation' and 'working with police', and so it raises the question of whether the police are collaborating with the National Defense Security Command in their civilian surveillance program. Also a memo on May 11 has a list of demands such as access to a full-size car and leasing a property long-term, suggesting that the surveillance was intended to be both systematic and ongoing. The notebook listed the names of 16 people including 7 civilians and 1 Democratic Labor Party employee.

The released video clips show that the National Defense Security Command officer secretly filmed the civilians as they carried out ordinary activities such as waiting for a bus and entering and leaving their apartments and offices.

Ms. Lee said, "The National Defense Security Command cannot investigate or gather information on civilians except as necessary for national security or military defense. According to the Military Law Article 44, spying on civilians is an illegal activity, therefore the authorities must find the people responsible and investigate it."

A statement released by the National Defense Security Command stated, "The Captain [i.e., the official who carried out the surveillance] went to Pyeong-Taek because an officer suspected of carrying out unlawful acts with regard to national security was likely to participate in the protest during his furlough. He [Captain Shin] was not spying on civilians, but was investigating them for any evidence of criminal activity related to the military."

By Hojin Song dmzsong@hani.co.kr

translated from http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/370912.html

Huh Kyung young, releasing an album

Huh, Kyung-young. He is the most ridiculous guy in South Korea now. Most Koreans thought he was a joke when he ran in the presidential election in 2007.

Below is from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huh_Kyung-young).

Huh Kyung-young (Korean: 허경영, Hanja: 許京寧, born July 13, 1947) is a South Korean politician, chief of the Economic Republican Party (경제공화당, 經濟共和黨), and singer.

He became famous for making bizarre claims such having an IQ of 430 and possessing supernatural powers of teleportation and faith healing. In addition, he claimed that he was a secret adviser of South Korea's former military ruler, president Park Chung Hee (one of Huh's famous slogan is 'The Second Park Chung Hee') and said that he would like to marry Park Geun Hye, a famous Korean politician.

He was recently accused of defrauding his party members and defaming Park Geun Hye. During the elections, Huh had spread a photo of himself, allegedly taken with U.S. President George W. Bush. The photo was later proven to be doctored. Later, he was taken to prison.

In July 23, he was released due to the expiration of his punishments. But, he continues his odd claims such that he had seen the ghosts of Roh Moo-hyun and Michael Jackson 3 days before they have died.

In Aug 15, The Liberation Day of Korea, he has released his first digital single 콜미(Call Me).

I found his song on youtube, and I've been singing it since then. It's very addictive.

(Huh Kyung Young)

Look at my eyes, you will become happy. Look at my eyes, you will become healthy.

Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will smile. Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will pass your exam.

Sing my song, you will lose weight. Sing my song, you will get taller.

Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will become prettier. Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will become more handsome.

If you call my name morning, afternoon, evening 3 times a day, you will be smiling. Don't hesitate, right now!

(female singer)~~ I want you, I want your phonecall, right now. Don't be afraid, call my name.

(Huh Kyung Young)

Something exciting will happen. Something fun will happen.

Something happy will happen. Something surprising will happen.

Look at my eyes, you will become healthy. Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will pass your exam.

Sing my song, you will lose weight. Call 'Huh Kyung Young', you will smile.

If you call my name morning, afternoon, evening 3 times a day, you will be smiling. Don't hesitate, right now!

(female singer)~~ I want you, I want your phonecall, right now. Don't be afraid, call my name.

(Huh Kyung Young)

Are you tired? Call Huh Kyung Young! Are you nervous? Look at my eyes.

Are you sad? Sing my song. Are you depressed? Call Huh Kyung Young!

Are you worried? Look at my eyes. Are you anxious? Sing my song.

When you are bored, call Huh Kyung Young. When you are sick, look at my eyes.

If you call my name morning, afternoon, evening 3 times a day, you will be smiling. Don't hesitate, right now!

Dokdo

It's not been so long since Koreans first heard of 'Takeshima'. The Japanese government has claimed Dokdo as its territory and calls it 'Takeshima'. Dokdo has been Korea's territory for the last 1500 years. Japan wants to get negative attention from Korea hoping this dispute would be brought to the International Court. Korea doesn't need to get any confirmation about its OWN territory.

Dokdo is located 89km southeast from Uleungdo of Korea, and is consisted of 2 main islands called Dongdo and Seodo, and 33 attached small rocks and reefs. The gross area is 186,121 square meters.

Dokdo had long been called by various Korean names such as Usando, Sambongdo, Gajido and Seokdo. The most recent name of the island, Dokdo was first used in 1906.

Dokdo has been the territory of Korea since when Usanguk was annexed to Silla in 512 AD. The fact that Dokdo (Usando) belonged to Joseon (Chosun) along with Uleungdo was well known not only to Japan but also to the West. In 1737, famous French geologist D'Anville's 'Map of Joseon (Royaume de Coree)' marked Dokdo (Usando) as a territory of Joseon. Uleungdo and Dokdo were drawn very close to the East Sea of Korea.

'Eunjusicheonghapgi' published by Japanese government in 1667, which they claimed as the fisrst document that recorded Dokdo, actually recorded that Uleungdo(Takeshima in Japanese then) and Dokdo(Matsushima in Japanese then) belonged to Goryeo (Koryo) and that the northwestern border of Japan is at Okishima.

To read more about Dokdo, visit below.

http://www.forthenextgeneration.com/dokdo/

http://www.forthenextgeneration.com/images/dok/dokdo_english.pdf

President Kim’s state funeral

S. Korea expresses gratitude and longing for departing president, and mourners keep his last wishes close to their heart

» Mourners visit the incense-burning place for late President Kim Dae-jung at Seoul Plaza, Aug 23.

He has gone far away, this man whose aching legs and swollen feet that made it difficult for him to walk even a few steps. He was accompanied on his way by mittens and chestnut-colored socks knitted by his wife for his hands and feet that had grown colder with every step. Where is he going without his cane, the one that helped him walk whenever democracy, human rights and peace between South Korea and North Korea lost their legs? Aug 23, a day of the year normally associated with the end of the summer heat, was particularly cheerless and carried a sorrowful energy.

The state funeral ceremony for former President Kim Dae-jung was held Sunday in front of the National Assembly building. The memorial address expressed a wish to hold onto him, “Are you really saying goodbye to us forever? The mountains and rivers of a divided South Korea and North Korea are choking with tears. Where do we turn now when something terrible happens in the country?”

To read more, go to

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/372757.html

the former President Roh Moohyun's apology

The President Lee Myung-Bak hasn't apologized for 6 deaths from the Yong-San incident which happened back in January 2009, and the following apology by the former President Roh Moo-hyun for the death of 2 farmers from a demonstration in 2005 shows clear contrast between two of them. --nurungji

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On December 27, 2005, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun publicly apologized for the deaths of two protesters who suffered fatal injuries during a clash with riot police a month before in Seoul.

The two men were in a group of rice farmers demonstrating against plans to open South Korea's rice market to international competition. They died several weeks after the mid-November clash in Seoul (one in a series of protests denouncing the policies of the World Trade Organization, which met earlier this month in Hong Kong).

Dear respected citizens,

There was a decision made by the National Human Rights Commission that the death of Yongchul Jun and Dukpyo Hong is caused excessive repression by the police. And the police expressed its acceptance of the decision.

It is a deeply regretful matter. I bow my head and sincerely apologize. I pray for the souls of Mr. Jun and Mr. Hong, and I send my apology and condolences to the families.

Following the advice given by the National Human Rights Commission, we will reprimand the people responsible, and will make appropriate compensation for the victims' families through proper procedures. And I will discipline the police and make sure that such thing never happens again.

I acknowledge that there might be concerns, especially among those of you who sent a son to serve in a special police force, regarding the safety and morale of the police who perform its duties and who faces violence by protesters regularly.

The public power is performed by human beings and it is possible for the executors to lose rationality when they get emotional or confused. So, there may be some extent of criticism for asking only the police to be responsible, even when the violence is caused by the protesters who used heavy tools.

However, the public power is a unique power. As it can be enormously dangerous to people if overused or abused, public power must be controlled and exercised only in a calm and collected manner and therefore holds a heavier responsibility.

I would like to clarify this both to citizens and civil servants.

Also, this tragedy wouldn't have happened if there was no violent demonstration to begin with. For this, the government and the society will have to work on it together. The government will prepare measures to prevent similar cases.

Citizens, I deeply apologize again and assure you that such thing will never happen again. Thank you.

President Roh, Moohyun

Translated from http://www.seoprise.com/board/view.php?table=seoprise_12&uid=78131

What are the prosecutors hiding?

One hundred and Fifty days after the Yong-San incident, a never-ending tragedy

150 [now 210—Ed.] days ago, a shocking incident took place in Yong-San [Seoul] which resulted in 6 deaths was caused by the police less than a day after the protests began. It's been 5 months [now 7 months] since it happened but no one has taken responsibility for the deaths. The families have been wearing the funeral clothes asking for a proper investigation. ▲ The families of the deads haven't had a funeral yet. © Taek-yong Jung It was the dawn of January 20, 2009, not long after the lunar New Year's Day. Less than a day after the tenants of Yong-San started protesting, 6 people were killed when the special police force entered the building which was being occupied by the tenants. Since then, I have been visiting and advocating for the arrested tenants for over 5 months [now 7 months], but the tragedy is still ongoing. The Yong-San incident clearly shows where the have-nots stand in Korea. The police acted very swiftly to the tenants' demonstration while overlooking the violence done by security guards who were hired by construction companies. While giving the police "indulgence," the prosecutors blamed the tenants for the incident and refused to show the investigation records to the attorneys of the tenants—this being against the directions of the court order. In order to distract the public's attention from the facts of this incident, the Blue House gave an order to the division of public relations in the National Police Agency to actively advertise the arrest of the serial killer of Gun-po area, which happened around the same time. Even after the intervention of the Blue House was uncovered, there was no apology made by the authority about this matter. No one took responsibility for the killing of 5 protesters. Their families, waiting for a genuine investigation and apology, haven't been able to hold funerals for the deceased. Prosecutors, rejecting the court order of releasing evidence The arrested tenants haven't been able to have a fair trial by the prosectors who have refused to release investigation records and have not allowed the defendants to be tried by a jury. [Korea is adopting a jury trial.] Most of the records that the prosecutors have hindered the attorneys from viewing are related to the police claim that "in order to find out the roles played by the special police force and the security guards in the incident, we thoroughly investigated the leaders of the police force who were involved in it and the communication records between the police and the security guards staffing companies in order to determine whether there was any illegal action, and also checked the transceiver transcription records among the police." The relevant records account for one-third of the entire investigative records amounting in total to 10,000 pages, and are the core evidence for the legitimacy of the actions done by the police force which is a premise of the prosecution of the tenants. ▲ Yong-San incident shows where the have nots stand. © Taek-Yong Jung What are the prosecutors hiding? According to the records that were released by the prosecutors in appealing for witnesses, we can guess what they are hiding. There were several statements made by the tenants contradicting the prosecution including statements regarding the origin of the fire. For example, an officer of the special police force stated, "I didn't see the tenants throwing grenades towards the streets a day before the incident," whereas the police claimed that 'oppression was necessary because the type of protest was close to urban terrorism." Also, it includes information on the security guards and on improper safety notices issued to the special police force. The police force members stated that they weren't informed of the existence of flammable materials in the building. Why did the police carry out this violent oppression less than a day after the protest began? It is very rare to dispatch a special police force within 24 hours to oppress tenants who took over a building in protest. Usually it takes at least a few months or even upto a year. Was it a way of showing excessive loyalty to the President who used to be a CEO of a construction company? The one who approved of this action was Sukki Kim, the head of the Seoul division of the National Policy Agency, who was asked to be the head of the National Police Agency at that time. The police approved of the action and dispatched a special police force less than 3 hours after the protest began without attempting sufficiently to persuade or negotiate with the tenants. The heads of the police were informed that there were a lot of flammable materials in the building but didn't implement any safety measures. There were people falling from the building because mattresses and safety nets weren't installed, and the police made a bigger fire by fighting an oil-based fire with water—contrary to the most basic fire-fighting knowledge. Due to this action by the police, the water on roof of the building reached ankle-height with oil floating on it. A violent oppression and break-down of the watchtower without any safe way to exit augmented the danger of a fire, but the safety of the tenants was never really in the interest of the police. Before the deadly fire broke out, there were several small fires but the police didn't make any effort to put them out or keep them from spreading. Finally, another fire broke out when the police tried again to enter the watchtower, and that fire had begun to burn out of control by the time the police asked the fire station for help. So, the Yong-San incident which took 6 people's lives including 5 tenants was brought about by the police's unusually early and hasty violent oppression. -Seo-yeon Jang, an attorney for the tenants Translated from http://www.ildaro.com/sub_read.html?uid=4868&section=sc1& For more detailed information on the Yong-San incident and the current status, go tohttp://mbout.jinbo.net/webbs/list.php?board=mbout_19

A Financial Prophet Online Is Vilified in Reality

Is he the real Minerva? Many Koreans doubt he is. When he got arrested, many predicted that he must have been hired by the government and he would surely be financed by the government to study abroad. And, it turned out that he is coming to the U.S. to study English at a community college in Virginia, and then study economics at George Mason University. Minerva, who was able to read and analyze the 'Wall Street Journal' without any problem, needs to study English? His knowledge on economics and ability to analyze and read the trends surprised so many experts, but he just learned them through reading some books and surfing online, he didn't have a book on economics at home. How amazing! He must be a genius! He is a jobless, a 2-year college graduate, so the government used him to support its claim that only fools and losers write on the internet.

Some claim, based on the different writing styles, that the last posting by 'Minerva' was not by the real Minerva. The real Minerva was more straightforward in his writing, didn't use any lavish expressions, and made his sentences short. The last posting, however, was full of unnecessary expressions and inaccurate grammar. -nurungji

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Lee Ji-Un/Yonhap, via Associated Press

Park Dae-sung with his mother after his release from prison last month.

By CHOE SANG-HUN

Published: May 15, 2009

FOUR months ago, Park Dae-sung became South Korea’s most celebrated — and vilified — blogger, when he was arrested on charges of spreading false information on the Internet with malicious intent. Prosecutors accused Mr. Park, whose financial postings under the alias Minerva had attracted a cultlike following, of damaging the nation’s economy with his “extremely pessimistic forecasts.”

To read more, please go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/world/asia/16minerva.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

SNSD GEE dance copied in a Chinese Folk Song MV

I found this on youtube and thought it was pretty funny. I wonder who suggested to have this choreography for the chinese song.

Allegedly, a Chinese folk song was released on August 7th, 2009, with choreography "copied" from the Korean pop group SNSD's (Girls' Generation) choreography for their #1 Hit Single "Gee" that was released in January, 2009. This video compares the choreography and the similarities... skip to 3:02 if you want to see the Chinese choreography with the Korean song over it (it matches perfectly).

To check out the chinese song, here it is.

It has some of the most hilarious lyrics, if you can read the translation on the screen.

Construction companies hiring security guards to intimidate residents in Yongsan

Area residents and businesspeople claim guards use violence, including verbal threats and blackmail

-by Hankyoreh on January 28, 2009

» A view of the Yongsan 4th Zone, where the demolition protest tragedy took place, on January 27. Many of the buildings in the area have not yet been demolished.

The recent deadly police crackdown on demonstrators in Yongsan, which left five civilians and one police officer dead, is putting the spotlight on security guards hired to use violence to evict residents to make way for redevelopment projects. Like many sites slated for redevelopment, the Yongsan area has been cited as a place where security guards have used diverse types of violence on residents and store owners to facilitate the redevelopment process.

Horam Construction, a small demolition company, is currently spearheading efforts to evict residents and businesses near Yongsan Station, where the deadly demonstration took place. Another company, Hyunam Construction, was hired to evict people living and doing business near the ChungAng University Medical Center building, also in the Yongsan area. Residents in both areas claim that the two companies used diverse types of violence, including verbal threats and blackmail, to force them out.

To continue, please go to http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/335462.html

'Yong-San Incident' resulted in the death of 5 protesters and 1 police officer

1. Summary of the Incident

At 6 a.m. on 20th January [2009], people who were asking for solutions to avoid eviction in February in Youngsan-Gu, Seoul lost their lives as a consequence of violent oppression from the police. A 1500 strong police force was dispatched to disperse about 50 protesters.

The police actions taken toward these protesters were similar to those taken in times war. Less than a day after those facing eviction started protesting and without further conversations or an effort to discuss the issues, the government dispatched a special police force and staged an anti-terror operation.

After the police entered the building where the protesters were, a fire broke out and the circumstances became dangerous. However, without taking any safety measures, the police proceeded with the operation which resulted in the death of 5 protesters and 1 police officer.

Dispatching a special police force for an anti-terror operation in less than 24 hours is a rare case even in South Korea. Since the Conservatives took power however, the police have often cracked down on protesters in a violent way. This incidence also happened under this context.

2. Background and Characteristics

It is well known that there are many problems coupled to rapid re-development projects in South Korea. Existing solutions (such as compensations, providing temporary place to stay etc) are neither realistic nor properly implemented. It is especially worrisome that forced eviction, which is prohibited under international human rights law, is being pursued under the auspices of the government.

South Korea, who is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, was requested twice by the Committee on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to provide protection to victims of forced evictions. However, as shown in this case, the South Korea government violated its obligation to respect the right to an adequate housing and to not being forcibly evicted. It also violated its obligation to protect the safety and the life of victims of forced evictions.

For over a year, lodgers in the re-development project area demanded the Yongsan-Gu Office for appropriate protection. The Yongsan-Gu Office provided no opportunity for talk or negotiation. Local lodgers went to the Youngsan-Gu Office to file an appeal but got rejected. During this appeal process, private security officers hired by the construction company threatened the lodgers and sexually harassed them.

However, the police did not take any action against the private security officer's practices. Despite the fact that eviction in the cold season requires the taking of special measures prior to the eviction, the Youngsan-Gu Office approved the construction company's request to initiate the re-development from February. Lodgers faced with forced eviction entered the empty building to stage protests against this process and lost their life due to violent police operation.

Lodgers living in re-development areas are excluded from both the process and results of re-development projects as they do not own a property in the area. Re-development to improve the housing condition causes inequality in housing as many lodgers have to move into a place worse than their previous housing. A serous problem is that in the previously re-developed area, only 10~15 % of local residents will get to stay in that same area.

Lodgers suffer a serious violation of their housing rights during the re-development process. The aim of re-development projects should be in improvement of housing conditions and relieving poverty for the people living there.

The government is obliged to provide necessary information and guarantee participation for people living there regardless of their ownership of the housing. However, these demands are ignored by the government and the construction companies who get benefits from the re-development in South Korea.

On the other hand, the investigation carried out at the government level is criticized for being biased. The police carried out autopsies of the bodies of the victims without the consent of their families. The police report on the incident was revealed to be false in light of a variety of evidence reported by the major media. The police attitude, which is neither democratic nor transparent, creates deeper mistrust.

From: http://peacemaking.kr/english/news/view.php?papercode=ENGLISH&newsno=1358&pubno=435

"North Korea is Favoring Americans over fellow Koreans"

The GNP party and Myung-Bak Lee administration should not complain about North Korea's behavior. They made no effort to maintain peace with North Korea, and little effort to get those detainees released. They didn't treat North Korea as a sibling nation, so it's disgusting to hear the GNP party and Myung-Bak Lee claim that South and North Koreans are all Koreans. --nurungji

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The GNP party has begun asking for the release of Mr.Yoo, an employee of Hyundai-Asan, who is detained in North Korea for over 130 days.

During a GNP party meeting, Junghoon Kim, the chairman of the GNP information committee, denounced North Korea for its unfair treatment favoring the two recently released American journalists over Mr.Yoo. He said that the American journalists were able to talk with their family on the phone and to meet with the Swedish Ambassador who was acting for the U.S., whereas Mr. Yoo was not seen by anyone and his well-being is not even known.

Kim says, "I don't understand why North Korea doesn't allow us to see a fellow-Korean, Mr.Yoo. I feel humiliated by its discrimination against [South] Koreans."

"According to the article 10 clause 3 of the agreement on entry to Kaesung area, 'North Korea guarantees basic rights while someone's being investigated' but those rights weren't honored," he said, insisting North Korea should allow South Korea to visit Yoo.

Jinha Hwang, a GNP policy coordination committee chief, said, "There is no explanation why Mr.Yoo is detained and we have no information about his conditions, unlike those American journalists." He urged North Korea to release Mr.Yoo and other 4 seamen who are detained as well.

translated from http://www.cbs.co.kr/nocut/show.asp?idx=1225589

What happened on July 22, 2009?

9:10 AM

: The head of the GNP party, Sangsoo Ahn, announces that the parties could not reach an agreement on the Media Law bills. Ahn asks the Speaker Hyeong-oh Kim to bring the bills before the congress. (Usually you have to submit a bill to the appropriate congress committee first, and it takes a while until a bill is brought before the full congress. But in urgent cases, the Speaker can forward a bill without going through the committee.)

9:15 AM

:Around 100 representatives of the GNP party occupy the podium area.

9:20 AM

: The Minju (Democratic) party blocked the doors of the congress in order to stop Speaker Kim from entering. Thirty representatives and 50 workers from Minju (Democratic) party protest in the main hall at the same time.

10:50 AM

: Speaker Kim tables 4 bills including 3 'Media Law'-related bills (Newspaper Law, Broadcast Law, and IPTV Law) with his authority.

Sometime in the morning

: Scuffles take place between workers + secretaries of the Minju party and the congressional police force.

1:50 PM

: Clash occurs between representatives of the GNP party and representatives and secretaries of Minju party.

2:15 PM

: 200 media union members protest in front of the congress clashes with police while trying to enter the congress building.

3:30 PM

: Speaker pro tempore Yoonsung Lee enters the meeting hall with 20 representatives from the GNP party.

3:38 PM

: Speaker pro tempore commences the meeting and brings police force into the meeting hall.

3:57~4:10 PM

: Three 'Media Law' related bills are passed.

[translated from Yonhap news]

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What happened between 3:57 PM and 4:10 PM?

There are 294 congressmen. On July 22, there were 145 of them at the congress.

There is a quorum required to open a session, requiring a minimum of 1/5 of the total congress members (59) to be present. It was reached and the session was convened at 3:57PM.

Soon, the calling and the closing of the vote was officiated by the Speaker pro tempore. The numbers were shown on the board and he found that the number who participated in the vote was only 145. A separate quorum is required for voting: more than 50% of the congress members, or 148. He announced the vote to be void.

(The congress screen showing the number of total representatives, present representatives, voted for, voted against, abstention)

(The Korean congress is equipped with an electronic voting system. You can read a bill on the computer screen, and click or touch the screen for 'present' and 'vote'. You can change your decision as many times as necessary until the voting is closed.)

When can voting be announced void?

1. If a session is dismissed because a quorum for voting is not reached.
2. If voting begins but less than 50% of congress members cast a vote, and the voting is canceled before it is announced to have been closed.

(Once voting is called and closed, you can't claim it 'invalid'. It's either 'passed' or 'not passed'.

I think what happened is that the Speaker pro tempore saw more than 59 people in the meeting hall and opened the session without counting the total number of congressmen who were present. In the Korean congress, as far as I know, it is not necessary to confirm if a quorum for voting is reached. Voting can be called and closed. If it is found that a quorum is reached when the result is shown, then whatever decision made there is valid.)

This is the most controversial part in the procedure. The GNP party claims that the voting was invalid so a re-vote was appropriate. But the opposition parties claim that it was not invalid, but was instead 'not passed' or voted down.

When can a measure be declared to be 'not passed' or 'voted down' after the votes have been counted?

1. If more than 50% of the congressmen participate in voting, but the measure gains less than 50% of the votes.
2. If less than 50% of the congressmen cast a vote.

To remind you, in the Korean congress, as far as I know, it is not necessary to confirm if a quorum for voting is reached before voting is called. Voting can be called and closed. If it is found that a quorum is reached when the result is shown, then whatever decision made there is valid.

Since the voting was closed and the result was shown on the screen with only 145 congress members participating in the voting, the bill should have been declared 'not passed'.

However, the Speaker pro tempore declared it was void and called for a re-vote. Then, more representatives from GNP party came in and the Newspaper Law bill (one of the 3 Media Law bills) are passed with 153 congressmen present.

Why did the Speaker pro tempore declare it was 'void'? The head of the parliamentary committee, Jong-Hu Lee explained a few days later that the Speak pro tempore misheard him asking to 'encourage (jong-yong) voting' as 'close (jong-ryo) voting', therefore there must have been some people who couldn't vote. (The word 'jong-yong' is not very often used.) But, the real reason is that once a bill is 'not passed', it cannot be tabled for voting again during the same session. The GNP party and Myungbak Lee administration could not wait until next session.

Representatives of Minju party protested against the Speak pro tempore's call for a re-vote. They tried to stop representatives of GNP party from voting. The GNP party fought back to vote and voted for other representatives (read below). After the Speaker pro tempore proclaimed all 4 bills were passed and the dismissed the congress, the opposition parties remained and protested.

Another controversy is about substitute votes.

It turned out that the Speaker casted his vote for the bills even though he was not present in the meeting hall. Also Geunhye Park, Kyung-won Nah and more representatives from the GNP party did. Some GNP party members also appeared voted on their computer screen when they stayed in the podium area.

It was found that at least 34 representatives changed their decision at least twice (from yes to yes, from no to yes, or from yes to no. It gets counted only once), mostly from no to yes. One person turned out changed his/her decision 24 times.

Before the voting, there was no discussion, explanation, or Q&A which help representatives make the right decision. Many of the GNP party members didn't and don't know what they voted for.