HONOLULU -- Is the U.S.-South Korea relationship in for some tough times? The answer is "yes," but not because of the recent forced resignation of "pro-American" Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan (whose wise council and steady, mature leadership will be sorely missed).
Yoon did not lose his job for being too supportive of Washington; he was compelled to submit his resignation because of inflammatory comments by outspoken subordinates in a society where a boss is held accountable for the actions of his employees. This is sometimes a hard concept for Americans to grasp, since all too frequently our leaders seem unaccountable even for their own actions.
Foreign Ministry officials, particularly those associated with maintaining the U.S.-South Korea alliance, had become more open in complaining about the actions of "progressives" within the South Korean National Security Council (led by Deputy National Security Adviser Lee Jong Seok), who they reportedly identified as "junior Kim Jong Ils" or "the Taliban."