Thursday May 21, 2020

 Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Oriental medicine is useful in controlling the spread of COVID-19 disease”
Highly contagious disease, COVID-19, is wracking havoc on many countries around the world—claiming 308,569 deaths as of May 17, 2020. The total affected cases worldwide are 4,588,914 and 308,569 persons died--and the mortality rate is 6.72%.
In Korea, the people and government have been handling the cases vert well, and the records show 11,037 affected, 9,851 cured, and 262 dead (mortality rate: 2.37%.

Special notice: The Korea Post is organizing a tour for the Ambassadors and Madams to the Pyeongkang Oriental Medicine Hospital on Tuesday June 9, 2010. Ambassadors and Madams are cordially invited to the Tour where an Oriental medicine pack against COVID-19 is presented to each Excellency. In the event of absence of Invitation, please advise the Editor at The Korea Post at 010-5201-1740.

“United We Fight”
Corona virus has had a huge impact on humanity cutting across all boundaries, physical and social, of nations, caste, class, colour, religion and belief systems bringing the world to its knees. But united we stand, steadfastly helping, assisting, sharing knowledge, cooperating and coordinating with each other, cutting across boundaries fighting as ONE force against the Corona virus.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Prosecution Raids Office of Civic Group for 'Comfort Women'
The prosecution raided the office of a civic group on Wednesday in a probe into the alleged misuse of funds intended for elderly victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.
The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office raided and searched the office of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
During the 12-hour raid that ended at 5 a.m. Thursday, the prosecution reportedly secured accounting data and other materials from the civic group and its predecessor.

S. Korea-led Multilateral Group Launches on Global Infectious Disease Responses
A South Korea-led multilateral cooperation group was launched on Wednesday to promote effective responses by the international community on global infectious diseases.
Seoul's Foreign Ministry said that the Support Group for Global Infectious Disease Response(G4IDR) was launched by videoconference from Geneva, where the headquarters of the World Health Organization(WHO) is located.

S. Korea's Producer Prices Fall 0.7% in April
South Korea's producer prices continued to drop last month due to tumbling international oil prices.
According to data from the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the producer price index for all commodities and services came to 102-point-08 in April, down point-seven percent from a month earlier. From a year earlier, it slipped one-point-five percent.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Physical reopening of high schools faces confusion in Incheon
Most high school seniors here returned to school on Wednesday, but some schools were forced to postpone physical reopening due to virus-related risk factors, related officials said.
Two high school seniors in Incheon tested positive for COVID-19, leading the school they attended as well as two nearby high schools to delay resumption of in-person classes by a day, according to the city’s education office.

‘Startups, SMEs hold key to Korea’s future’
Since Minister Park Young-sun took the helm of South Korea’s SMEs and Startups Ministry in April 2019, a lot has happened. For one, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pummel all industries worldwide, and most devastatingly, smaller businesses.

‘Comfort women’ movement in crisis
Nongovernmental organizations at the forefront of advocating for Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement by the Japanese military are facing snowballing allegations, threatening the legacy of the 30-year campaign for former sex slaves.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Virus-weary high school seniors return to school
Schools finally reopened for about 450,000 high school seniors nationwide Wednesday, 79 days after they were shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
While the move is putting the government's quarantine measures to the test, concern and confusion remain ― two education offices sent some students home, citing concerns over potential outbreaks following the confirmation of new cases in their regions.

Samsung Life CEO put to test
Samsung Life Insurance's dive in net profit in the first quarter of the year has put the new chief of the nation's largest life insurer to the test.
The insurer posted 229.9 billion won for the first quarter, down 48.6 percent from 447.3 billion won in the same period last year.

FTC poised to investigate Chanel over illegal price fixing allegations
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it will look into French fashion house Chanel following allegations the luxury brand has been forcing restrictions onto local duty-free firms regarding the pricing of its items, a violation of the Fair Trade Act.
Last month, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) decided to loosen regulations that previously restricted duty-free companies from selling and distributing their stock and inventory to local retailers, after the tax-free businesses were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has place huge restrictions on international travel, deeply affecting duty-free shops.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Japan Upgrades S.Korea to 'Important Ally'
Japan refers to South Korea as an "important ally" for the first time in three years in its latest diplomatic policy paper. The new Diplomatic Blue Book for 2020 also omits mention a spat back in 2018 triggered by Japanese spy planes buzzing South Korean warships. But it continues to claim sovereignty over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

N.Korea Has Difficulty Importing Grains
North Korea will have a shortage of some 860,000 tons of food this year, according to an estimate by the Unification Ministry here on Tuesday.
State media have lately been urging people to "increase agricultural output."
That has sparked fears of another famine in the North this year because it has trouble importing food amid a border lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic on top of economic difficulties already caused by drawn-out international sanctions.

Slowdown in Coronavirus Cases Traced to Itaewon Clubs
New coronavirus infections traced to the clubs and bars of Seoul’s Itaewon district seem to be easing.
Korea reported 15 new cases on Monday, bringing the total to 11,065, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and only five of them were local ones.
About a week ago Korea saw more than a dozen cases a day, but now they have decreased to single digits for three straight days nine on Saturday, six on Sunday and five on Monday.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Two leaders who resemble each other
U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro share many commonalities. Local media claim that the two leaders are both associated with their far-right political leanings, controversial remarks, impeachment risks and the firing of officials in retaliation. The two presidents also say that the risks of COVID-19 are exaggerated after failing to respond to the pandemic.

Kim Il Sung did not possess teleportation ability, Rodong Sinmun says
North Korea’s state newspaper ran an article that debunks the myth of Kim Il Sung’s teleportation ability.
In the “The Secret to Teleportation” published on Wednesday, the Rodong Sinmun quoted the conversation Kim Il Sung had with residents of Yongchon, North Pyongan Province in November 1945.

POSCO urgently needs integrated logistics management
POSCO is accelerating the establishment of an integrated logistics corporation based on the internal management diagnosis that the company’s inefficient logistics management has wasted tens of billions of won per year. The plan is to set up a corporation named “POSCO GSP” for real-time tracking and management of subsidiaries’ logistics. The company aims to continue win-win by sharing environment-friendly and smart logistics with existing logistics and shipping players.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Number of People Employed Plummeted in the First Two Months Since the Outbreak: The Drop Was 1 Million after COVID-19 > 920,000 after the Asian Financial Crisis
In the first two months since the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of people employed dropped by over a million, more serious than at the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. In particular, the vulnerable, such as women and senior citizens, lost more jobs.
On May 18, the Korea Labor & Society Institute released an issue paper, “The COVID-19 Crisis and the Employment Trend of April” and announced that the number of people employed following seasonal adjustments last month dropped to 26.5 million--over a 1 million drop from February, shortly before the COVID-19 crisis.

President Moon, “Drugs and Vaccines for COVID-19 Should Be Distributed to the World as Public Goods”
On May 18, President Moon Jae-in formally proposed three ideas to the World Health Organization (WHO) including international cooperation for the development of vaccines and drugs for COVID-19 and the fair distribution of such drugs.

Not All the Military Decorations for the May 18 Gwangju Uprising Have Been Stripped Away
Records have been uncovered showing that former President Chun Doo-hwan (89) had personally awarded medals to military commanders sent to Gwangju under martial law at the time of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. All medals and honors in connection to the May 18 Uprising had been revoked by the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement and revised regulations on government honors. But the orders of merit given by Chun had never been reviewed because their connection with the May 18 Uprising was never identified.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
LG Elec to relocate two TV production lines in Korea to Indonesia
South Korea electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. will relocate two of its six television (TV) production lines at home to Indonesia as early as by the end of this year to enhance operational efficiency amid intensifying competition in the global TV market, the company said on Wednesday.

KDI advises near-zero rate upon projecting 0.2% or minus growth for this year
The South Korea economy poised to perform its worst since 1997-1998 financial crisis at best may manage a growth of 0.2 percent or contact as much as 1.6 percent this year if pandemic woes stretch into the second half, a state think tank warned.
In revised outlook for this and next year economy, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on Wednesday slashed its economic growth outlook to 0.2 percent for this year from 2.3 percent estimated in November last year.

SK Biopharmaceuticals files for IPO, pricing on July 18 at band of $30-40
SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., the drug making unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, filed for an initial public offering that is poised to become a blockbuster, given the dearth of new offerings and frenzied interest in Korean bio firms amid the pandemic.
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What’s ticking around the world at this second?
See what the world media around the world have to report:
USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com
Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com, service@wsj-asia.com
Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com
The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk
The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk
Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cn kf@people.cn
China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn
GwangmyeongDaily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn
Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com
Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com
Mainichi www.mainichi.jp
Le Monde www.ilemonde.com
Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com
Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de
SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de
AustraliaBrisbaneTime
www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Heraldwww.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://www.colombiareports.com
BogotaFree Planet http://www.bogotafreeplanet.com,bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes https://www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/
Ecuador Times https://www.ecuadortimes.net/
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com/
LSM.lv https://www.lsm.lv//
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais https://english.elpais.com/
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net/
Daily News Hungary https://dailynewshungary.com/
Budapest Times https://www.budapesttimes.hu/

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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.

Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM

Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s

Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE

And many other countries.

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