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[Hyeon]

 

[Hyeon]

Korean Empire Announces Far-Reaching Sanctions Against Turkey

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Citing the recent aggressive actions by Turkey, especially the suspected role in the murder of large groups of Jewish citizens and the belligerent behaviour towards other countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced a large package of sanctions against the Turkish state. Additionally, the ruling coalition has in the National Assembly introduced legislation that would have the Korean Empire formally recognize the Armenian genocide.

Among the measures taking immediate effect Korean financial institutions will be barred from providing any services to Turkish nationals or companies, the Korea Immigration Service will also not grant any new visa to Turkish nationals of any kind while existing visa will not be extended after expiration. At the same time however, all ethnic minorities within Turkey have been moved to the high risk category of Korea's refugee law which allows them to be granted expedited asylum status should they request it from any Korean diplomatic mission anywhere in the world. Starting next week, Korean companies will be banned from exporting goods or services to or importing goods and services from Turkey and Turkish airlines will be barred from entering Korean airspace. Finally around 1,550 Turkish government officials have been placed on an asset freeze list and as such will have any assets they own within the territory of the Korean Empire frozen until further notice.

"The Korean Empire cannot ignore the plight of oppressed people, the Jewish people in particular. States that are unable to act in a civilized manner must be systematically excluded from the international community" The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Park SoJung, commented in her statement announcing the sanctions.

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[Hyeon]

Korean Empire to Begin Phasing Out Conscription

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In a surprise statement, the Empress has today announced that the Imperial Korean Armed Forces will begin phasing out conscription starting in 2001. The transition will shift the military from a primarily conscript force to a professional force.

Under the new system conscription will be replaced by a mandatory service program. This mandatory service program will obligate all men and women upon reaching the age of 18 to perform public service for a period of 12 months. As part of this public service citizens can choose military service, in which case they will be placed on the Reserve Roster after 12 months, or one of the many other service options ranging from helping in elderly homes to working for public construction projects. This new program is intended to foster the feelings of public service in young people without obligating them to serve in the military.

"Conscription is a relic from a time where our people were on the verge of civil war every second. It is a time luckily long gone. No longer do we have an enemy on our border, no longer is destruction something we need to fear. I want our future generations to grow up in a world at peace, a world where they do not need to share our fears. Maintaining conscription will never allow for that." The Empress said in her statement.

Analysts predict that while this change will result in an inability to maintain the current high active soldier numbers (555,000 from the former Republic of Korea Armed Forces and 1,280,000 from the former Korean People's Army for a total of 1,835,000), it will result in a smaller but much more capable military. Additionally, should the need arise Korea still has a large reserve force of former conscripts and volunteers to mobilize.

 

[Hyeon]

Empress Declares Former DMZ an Imperial Protectorate

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Recognizing the immense importance of the former Demilitarized Zone in the history of the modern Korean state, the Empress has declared the entire former DMZ to be an Imperial Protectorate. This places the entire zone under immediate administration of the Imperial government and extends it significant protection against construction projects and other incursions. In particular areas such as the Joint Security Area are considered historical heritage sites. While in the long-term the plan is to open up parts of the former DMZ to tourism, for now it will remain closed to all unauthorized visitors.

Beyond sites of historic significance, the Empress has also cited a second reason for her decision. In recent decades, with all human activity outlawed, the DMZ has become home to a large range of endangered species and a level of biological diversity nearly unseen anywhere else in Korea. Preservationists have long urged the government to guarantee some measure to be taken to avoid this last chance of critically endangered species such as the Korean Fox, Siberian Tiger and the Red-Crowned Crane among others being wasted.

Now that the protectorate has been declared the Imperial Korean Army has been ordered to begin removing all landmines from the borders, non-lethal defences and barriers will remain in place to preserve the authenticity of the area. In the future places such as guard posts and the Joint Security Area will be opened to the public while the nature preserves will be fenced off and guarded instead to protect the animal populations there from tourists and illegal hunting.

The entirety of the DMZ will be preserved as much as possible, with three exceptions. The villages of Daeseong-dong and Kijŏng-dong are to be demolished. In its place a new metropolis Dan-ilseong (Unification) is to be constructed as a city representing all Koreans and their cultural values. The city is to be designed from the ground up as a city for the new millennium and guide the Empire into its bright new future. Together with Seoul and Pyongyang it will serve as an Imperial capital and show to the world the power of a unified Korea.

The second exception is the town of Cheorwon, by many considered the first capital of a truly unified Korea. Mostly an archeological ruin at this point, teams of scientist are to excavate the old capital now that it is finally possible. Much like Dan-ilseong a new city is also to be built next to the old capital as a major regional center.

Finally where possible without interfering with preservation efforts, roads and railway tracks are to be restored to allow traffic going north and south again.

To allow for all of these plans, the Empress has appointed a new Minister to the previously defunct Ministry of Unification whose task it will be to oversee all projects in the former DMZ.

 

[Hyeon]

Empress Dissolves National Assembly Following Passage of New Constitution

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Mere hours after passage of the new Constitution, the Empress has formally dissolved the National Assembly and commenced the campaign for the new election to be held two months from now. Until that time the now dissolved National Assembly will continue to exercise its legislative duties. The new constitution, in addition to establishing the Empress' far-reaching powers and settling some matters related to the unification, drastically changes the legislature of the Korean Empire. Going from the unicameral National Assembly the new Parliament of Korea will be a bicameral institution consisting of the National Assembly and the Imperial Council.

The Imperial Council is modelled after the United States Senate and consists of 2 Councillors from each province. The provinces have been redrawn in such a manner that both the area previously known as South Korea will have 12 Councillors and that the area previously known as North Korea will also have 12 Councillors. This is meant to give the people of the Korean Empire the confidence that they are all fairly represented. Within each province the Councillors will be elected every four years and use a two-round system where the winning candidate must get more than 50% of valid votes in either the first or second round. Only the top two candidates from the first round will move on to the second round if no candidate achieves an absolute majority in the first round. The Imperial Council acts as the upper chamber and must approve of all laws proposed by the National Assembly. It may also initiate its own legislative proposals which must then be approved by the National Assembly. The only exception is on any bill concerning the budget. While the Imperial Council must approve these bills, they cannot propose their own or amend existing proposals from the National Assembly.

The National Assembly will completely forego the first-past-the-post system and instead takes inspiration from many European countries by implementing a party-list proportional representation system where each political party submits a national list and people are assigned seats based on how many votes the party receives and their individual position on the list. Elections for the National Assembly will also occur every four years. As the lower chamber, the National Assembly may introduce bills on all topics and can also approve or reject any bill introduced by the Imperial Council.

Any bill approved by both chambers must still be signed by the Empress who by refusing to sign may veto any legislation. Noteworthy is that the new election will be the first one where both communist parties and other parties will be part of the same election on the Korean peninsula. It is hoped that this new system will further encourage unity and guarantee the people hold a voice in their government. The Empress will appoint a Prime Minister following the elections, though based on early polling former president Kim Dae-jung is considered a major contender, especially as he and the Empress are known to be friends.