A Democratic Party lawmaker is claiming that seven minutes of communication records — from the time right before the Cheonan sank — is missing.
As this coincides with the time a now-dead crew member ended a phone call with his family, explaining that an emergency had begun, this has people asking questions.
Like I said, it’s hard to know who or what to believe with this thing…
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
OMG, was Rosemary Woods on board?
See what happens when you pull Mulder and Scully from the field?
Alien abduction would go far to explain what happened!
Well, you know that one place *NOT* to believe anything they say is North Korea. And now suddenly North Korea is saying they did it, which makes me extremely suspicious.
BTW, the above needs a
DP Assemblymen and women are also alleging the MoD is still hiding TOD footage from the time of the sinking. Assemblywoman Park Yeong-sun is alleging that the Americans are responsible for this issue. DLP Chair Kang Ki-gap, full of bravado as usual, two days ago claimed “the Americans know what happened,” and then went on to blame his own government for not turning the Yellow (East) Sea into a “peace zone.”
Regardless of the how thorough, well-supported, and conclusive the final report will be, the Cheonan sinking will go down as South Korea’s JFK assassination or 9/11: loud-mouthed fat people who spend too much time in their parent’s basements will forever be on the lookout for absurd anomalies that challenge the “official story.” The more high-profile politicians that come forward with baseless claims, the more confusion and doubt they sew.
No doubt, Kim Myoung-guk deserved to get that fourth star back. This operation has been a success all around. Not only did his troops sink the ship, but they did it in a way that has divided South Korean society and raised all manner of doubts and suspicions.
Assemblywoman Park Yeong-sun is alleging that the Americans are responsible for this issue.
That should read “responsible for this incident.” The sinking, that is.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919771
A North Korean ruling party official has said its military has recently taken “great revenge” on South Korea,
Are they talking about the Cheonan or their seizure (theft) of Mount Kumgang resort?
@1 – Brilliant! I had forgotten her name.
DP Assemblymen and women are most likely traitors that would never be caught on any ship, defending their nation. As for Kang Gi-gap, he may wear a hanbok but he barks like a dog.
Per #6, Korean society is not divided on this story. Every last Korean that I know understands that this affair is the doing of North Korea.
Well, you know that one place *NOT* to believe anything they say is North Korea….
I would put most of the toolish lawmakers of the DP and DJP in this category.
Yup it’s about that time. The truthers and conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork. Is it too early to blame the japs? my sources say this was in retaliation for the shutdown of 2ch.
While I’m not certain how the sinking of the Cheonan fits into the “evil whitey hegemony” conspiracy (which I hear periodically from Korean students in the West), it is would be interesting to give those blaming the US a financial audit to see if any of their campaign cash came from the Norks…
I would think that the US benefits more from deceased DPRK aggressors than from missing ROK patrol boats… But maybe I’m missing something?
@ 12
One well-educated, intelligent co-worker of mine is very doubtful about the official version of events, while another (a SNU graduate) thinks the entire thing is a cover-up for a mistake by the Korean navy. The Americans, of course, are fully aware of what happened, and put pressure on the Korean government to make it look as if North Korea did it. She also believes the arrest of the two would-be assassins of Hwang Jang-yop is a sham, and all part of the same efforts to enthuse the GNP base in advance of the local elections in June.
Never underestimate Koreans’ distrust of their own government.
Per #14, though your “well-educated” friends seem to have a serious gap in their education, Han-nara has not helped Korea in the past by engaging in corrupt practices and they need better leadership and people so as to distance themselves from their sordid past. Without undertaking a true sea-change, they will always draw suspicion, doubt and distrust, though the DLP are dead wrong more than half the time and, even then, that is being generous.
R. Elgin:
My own experience talking with Koreans mirrors your’s: most of the people I’ve talked to are convinced this was North Korea’s doing. However, there is still a sizeable minority who thinks otherwise. A poll taken by the Chosun Ilbo in the capital area on April 26th, showed that only 63% of respondents thought that North Korea was behind the sinking (hmm…I wonder what those number are like the Honam). Eighteen point eight percent thought that “fatigue fracture” was the most likely cause, while 18.6 percent either didn’t know or didn’t respond. Another poll by Vision Korea taken between April 21st and April 22nd found that 45% of respondents “don’t trust the government’s statements.” Meanwhile, 24.4% trusted the government and 30.2% “didn’t know.” I think the level of doubt is a lot higher than it was in say, the Beef Protests, where only 4% of South Koreans viewed US beef as safe to eat.
Just for comparison, a 2006 Scripps Survey Research Poll found that 36% of Americans thought that 9/11 was “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to have been an “inside job.”
I think there are several factors that explain why there is so much woo coming out of the woodwork:
1) General distrust in government and the military—And who can blame them? With all the bribery scandals and the sex-scandals and the backstabbing and infighting, South Korean politics is messy business.
2) The botched response and conflicting messages in the early going—While I applaud President Lee for his cautious approach to this whole matter and his desire to produce solid evidence, the actions of some government and military officials in the days after the disaster sowed doubt by sending conflicting messages. I would include Defense Minister Kim Tae-young in this mix as well.
3) Ethno-nationalism—I think some people are having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that people “of the same blood” could carry out such a cold-blooded, horrific act. Korean ethno-nationalistic ideology has, as one of its core tenets, a belief in the “purity” and “virtue” of Korean blood. As is well known, polling in the middle of last decade found that most South Koreans did not see the North as an enemy state. Many South Koreans viewed the failures of the Sunshine Policy as a result of American intransigence and unwillingness to engage the North (the reality, as we now know thanks to the work of scholars like B.R. Myers, is quite the opposite). I think there’s an ongoing (not-so) quiet blame-everyone-but-our-brother-and-sisters-up-North campaign among leftists groups.
4) The need to protect national security—People demand answers, but in some cases, such answers can’t be supplied without threatening national security. This was a naval vessel on patrol against an enemy state, after all. The need to maintain security and hide certain evidence from the public creates the impression that the government is trying to hide something incriminating.
5) Left-wing politicians hyping bogus theories for political gain—DP and DLP lawmakers have been very public in their denunciations of the military and their questioning of the “official story.” I mentioned some such lawmakers in my previous post. I’d also like to add DP Assemblyman Kim Hyo-suk who has recently been touting the “fatigue fracture” theory, most recently on the Yahoo! Internet Show as early as last week. I don’t believe these lawmakers, who have access to military intelligence, actually wholeheartedly believe the crap the spout (well maybe Kang Gi-gap does). I think it’s more likely that they are trying to capitalize on political sentiments in the run-up to the elections.
Here are my sources:
Chosun Ilbo Poll:
http://www.freezonenews.com/news/article.html?no=38640
Vision Korea Poll:
http://www.pdjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=27323#
Americans beliefs about 9/11:
http://www.scrippsnews.com/911poll
Safety of US Beef:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HF03Dg01.html
Kim Hyo-Suk’s “fatigue fracture” theory:
http://www.pressian.com/article/article.asp?article_num=10100420190020§ion=05
Kim Hyo-suk probably thinks “fatigue fracture” is another phrase for having a hole in one’s pants! That guy was not abducted by aliens — he is a space alien from planet stupid!
Where, then, would the main communication record, from which 7 minutes are missing, be held? Does `missing’ mean `blank’, `removed’, `garbled’, `blacked-out’ … ?
“Planet Stupid” is an understatement. More like “Planet Thermonuclear Retardation.” Did you get a load of the picture of that cruise ship that slightly split in half? I have never seen a more decrepit ship in my life. It seems that hunk of steel had been abandoned at sea 30 years ago. Hardly anything like the recently-refitted Cheonan. Ironically, of all the pictures Kim shows, the one that most resembles the Cheonan in terms of damage is—surprise, surprise—the HMAS Terrence which was intentionally sunk by the Australian navy as part of a torpedo test.
#16:
Excellent comment – the makings of an editorial, really. Except for, that is, #4. The national security canard ruins what is a fine bit of well-calibrated spleen. With the China, USFK, and North Korea issues all impinging on this one incident. it takes caution, I agree. But, the government not informing the public for any reason is the reason why the average layperson becomes cynical. No, the Lee administration is back to muscle memory: lie, hide, and eventually crack down on the victims our bad policies created.
The whole of SKorea could believe that the Norks did it…but
in the end, there will be no war or conflict, the people will talk and
complain about the gov’t not doing jack but privately, they’ll be relieved that they won’t be in danger, their son’s won’t have to be in the line of fire, and their economy can continue to prosper and grow.
‘nuf said.
Oh..and they can redirect the blame for inaction to the US since America is a safe target. We’re only there to protect them and be the reason for all the ills of their society….
Maybe i’m exaggerating a tad bit but you get my drift.
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