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Tensions are rising after the police sent five squadrons of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province area police forces to Jeju on Sunday. Jeju is the site of a brewing controversy over the construction of a naval base, which has drawn strong resistance from local residents and civic organizations.
According to the Seogwipo-si Gangjeong Village association and police, around 500 officers from five Seoul and Gyeonggi Province area squadrons arrived at Jeju Harbor on Sunday, with three water cannon trucks, ten suppression equipment vehicles, and sixteen large buses in tow, and headed for the Seogwipo area. Police are known to have made reservations at lodgings in Andeok Township through Aug. 18.

Anti-communist law violators jump 25 pct under Lee gov’t
The number of National Security Law violators has increased 25 percent during the conservative Lee Myung-bak presidency, data compiled by the National Police Agency (NPA) showed Sunday.
The NPA data released by a ruling party lawmaker said 87 people were punished for violating the anti-communist law on an annual average in the three years since Lee’s inauguration in 2008, up 25 percent from 69.6 recorded during the five-year rule of Lee’s liberal predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun.
(Yonhap News)　

Korea’s Overseas Economic Dependency Highest Since 2008 Global Financial Crisis
Korea’s overseas economic dependency has reached levels seen during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Bank of Korea says the exports to imports ratio within the gross domestic product was 110.1 percent in the first quarter this year, the highest since the 114.6 percent recorded during the fourth quarter of 2008. And the figure, noticeably higher compared to countries like Japan, the US and China, has been steadily rising since the second quarter of last year.
While Korea has diversified its export partners to expand trade with China and Southeast Asia, some experts have cautioned if the financial shakeup in the US persists long-term, it could cause a slowdown in Korea‘s economic growth.
(Arirang News)　
　　
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