George Soros' controversial Open Society Foundations (OSF) is to provide US$200,000 to South Korean advocacy group Center for Military Human Rights, in an alleged attempt to help improve enlisted soldiers' human rights, Korea Times reports.
OSF provided the center with a starting instalment of US$50,000 in May, the Foundations' first financial donation to South Korea since it opened its East Asia office in Seoul in 2017. The funds will be given step-by-step to the NGO over two years.
Dog and Bone
Soros' organization is said to be especially concerned about the ban on mobile phones used by enlisted soldiers, which does not apply to officers, and has been discussing financial support with the center since 2016.
“Even considering Korea has conscription, it is hard to imagine forbidding soldiers from using mobile phones in the US. It seems the funding organization sees it seriously that a country can infringe upon individuals' freedom this much,” the advocacy group said in a statement.
Besides the phone ban, OSF is also focusing on other human rights abuse cases in the military, such as bullying and sexual minority issues in barracks. The center said it would organize campaigns to change military systems and practices violating human rights and would disclose details of how it allocates funds in due course.
Ulterior Motive?
The well-funded initiative may strike some as odd, given the South Korean Ministry of National Defense is considering…
