Get your nose out of my...

Well, color me shocked. I was reading an article in the Chosun Ilbo about how the North was cutting back visits to Mount Kumgang. Normally, I would care less about this as I have always seen it as less of a cultural/brotherly exchange, and more of a "give the North some money" exchange.

What tweaked my interest was the reason behind the North's particular storm. Apparenty Hyundai wanted to let go of its vice chairman Kim Un-kyu becuase an internal inspection had found Kim guilty of corruption, and he resigned at a board meeting on Aug. 18. Now if your OWN company finds you guilty (in Korea), chances are you did a bad thing.

The North, apparently though, really liked this Kim guy so they objected, and then were shocked by the decision to let him go anyways. So, now the North not only wants southern dollars (ok Won) but now they want to run their companies as well?? Since when did the DPRK become management icons?

The Editor jumped on this (as would I) and said:
The resignation of Kim Yoon-kyu is the internal affair of Hyundai Asan. However much the two Koreas may differ in their political and economic systems, Pyongyang cannot presume to meddle with the personnel decisions of a South Korean corporation. That it has thrown its weight behind a man who had to resign over allegations of corruption, incidentally, is generating speculation about the exact nature of the relationship between Kim the executive down South and Kim the dear leader up North. But whatever it may have been, if North Korea keeps trying to influence a South Korean company this way, it will be hard for inter-Korean relations to improve.

The occasion shows that something must be done about the Mt.Kumgang tourism deal to make sure that the North cannot arbitrarily determine the tourist quota and expect the South to comply unconditionally. The project is not a benevolent act on the part of Pyongyang; it is a business. It needs to reflect the interests of the South.

What I wonder is; how much worse will it be when the South starts to supply electricity to the North?