BULGOGI-GATE

Several months back, John Kerry claimed that he'd spoken to several foreign leaders who expressed hope that he would win the November election. When pressed, he said he met the leaders while dining in New York.

I wonder if he was having bulgogi?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A South Korean embassy official who met with John Kerry fund-raisers to talk about creating a political group for Korean-Americans was in fact a spy for his country, raising concerns among U.S. officials that he or Seoul may have tried to influence the fall presidential election.
South Korean and U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Chung Byung-Man, a consular officer in Los Angeles, worked for South Korea's National Intelligence Service at the time he was meeting with Kerry fund-raisers.

The IHT notes that Kerry returned the funds raised by the group. It was a paltry $4,000, so there's no reason to doubt that the Kerry camp was an innocent party in all this (risking a scandal for peanuts would not be in the campaign's interests). There's no Lippo-sized scandal here.

That said, there is plenty of reason to suspect higher level involvement on the South Korean side.

The disdain between the administrations of Bush and Roh Moo-hyun is not well hidden. The Bush team has little regard for the appeasement 'sunshine policy' and the Roh administration seems willing to go to almost any length to keep the North Koreans contented.

It's just speculation, but if it is proven that the South Korean intelligence services were actively conspiring to get Kerry in the White House, it would be a safe assumption that Korea-US relations will sour further should Bush get a second term.

There's more at the Marmot's Hole.