Monday June 29, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Thanks to the Colombian soldiers, Colombia and Korea have become allies, partners"
Ambassador Juan Carlos Caizar Rozero of the Republic of Colombia in Seoul said that the participation of the Colombian soldiers in the Korean War in 1950-3 resulted in the modernization of the Colombian Armed Forces and also in the promotion of diplomatic relations and friendship with Korea.
Speaking at the memorial meeting of the Colombian soldiers, who gallantly fought for the freedom and democracy of Korea on June 26, 2020, Ambassador Caizar Rozero then added, “Thanks to the participation of the Colombian soldiers in the Korean War, Colombia and Korea have become allies and now partners in new technologies and in various other areas of bilateral cooperation.”
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=20989

“We will build a Memorial Wall of Remembrance in Washington D.C.”
President Moon Jae-in said, “By 2022, we will complete construction of a Memorial Wall of Remembrance in Washington D.C. in the United States to forever honor the fact that the ‘Great alliance’ is rooted in the noble sacrifices of Korean War veterans.”
Speaking on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, President Moon than stated, “The U.N. Korean War veterans I met during my overseas trips have invariably regarded Korea as their second home and taken great pleasure and pride in Korea’s development as if it is their own.”
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=20985

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korea Adds 42 COVID-19 Cases amid Sporadic Clusters
South Korea has reported 42 new COVID-19 cases amid continuing cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area and elsewhere.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) on Monday reported the daily figure compiled throughout Sunday, bringing the national tally to 12-thousand-757.
It marks a slight drop from 62 cases on Sunday and 51 cases on Saturday.

S. Korean Economy Expected to Contract 1.8% in Q2
The South Korean economy is projected to contract one-point-eight percent in the second quarter from a year earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bloomberg issued the projection on Sunday after compiling growth outlooks for the Korean economy by 24 domestic and foreign investment banks.
The figure is one-point-six percentage points lower from its previous projection issued in April.

WTO to Discuss S. Korea's Request for Dispute Settlement Panel on Trade Row with Japan
The World Trade Organization(WTO) on Monday will discuss South Korea's request for setting up a dispute-settlement panel to deal with Japan's trade restrictions against Seoul.
The Dispute Settlement Body(DSB) of the WTO is set to hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the creation of the panel, but it's unlikely to be set up immediately as Japan is expected to reject it.
The panel is expected to be created in a month in the next DSB meeting as the WTO regulations stipulate the panel should be automatically set up unless all the WTO members unanimously reject it in the second meeting.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New virus cases dip to below 50; cluster infections traced to churches in focus
South Korea's new virus cases fell back to below 50 on Monday, but a continued rise in cluster infections, mostly tied to churches, put to the test the country's capability to fight the virus.
The country added 42 cases, including 30 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,757, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The tally marked a sharp fall from 62 new cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday and 51 additional cases identified Saturday, which might be due to less testing over the weekend.

Japan voices opposition to Trump's idea of adding South Korea to G7: Kyodo|
Japan has delivered to the United States its opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's idea of expanding the Group of Seven (G7) advanced nations to include South Korea, Kyodo News reported Sunday.
In late May, Trump floated the idea of adding South Korea, along with Australia, India and Russia, to the lineup of the G7, as the current membership is "outdated" and fails to properly represent global circumstances.
The existing members are the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Ital

S. Korea lags behind in gov't support for virus-hit airlines
South Korea lags far behind advanced countries in terms of the amount of government support for the airline industry during the coronavirus pandemic, a business lobby group said Monday.
The government plans to extend a total of 3.2 trillion won (US$2.7 billion) to South Korean airlines -- 2.9 trillion won to full-service carriers and 300 billion won to low-cost carriers -- to help them ride out the COVID-19 impact.

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Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Japan opposes Korea's G7 participation
Japan has stepped up its efforts to prevent Korea from joining the G7 with Tokyo lobbying the United States to drop Seoul from its expansion scenario for the group of advanced economies.
Diplomatic experts say its opposition was an expected response, while advising the Korean government to stay unresponsive to the neighboring country's "politically calculated" move.
According to Japan's Kyodo News, Sunday, a high-ranking Japanese government official told the U.S. that it would oppose the participation of Korea in the plan to expand the summit of the seven advanced economies, proposed by U.S. President Trump in May to form an anti-China coalition.

Fears of 2nd virus wave looming larger
New COVID-19 cases reported nationwide spiked again to over 60, Sunday, raising fears of a second wave of infections, according to the health authorities.
Such fears come as many countries abroad, including the U.S., Brazil and India, are showing signs of entering a second wave of the pandemic, with explosive growth in confirmed cases and emerging new infection clusters.
Some health experts are warning of a possible explosion of infections next month that would significantly strain the nation's health care system here if the coronavirus trend continues as it is.

From disaster to opportunity: Pandemic response elevates Korea's public diplomacy
Since taking office in September 2019, Korea Foundation (KF) President Lee Geun has underlined that Korea is more advanced in the world than Korean people think and its public diplomacy should emphasize this.
Lee says Korea's response to the COVID-19 crisis has dramatically opened up an opportunity to drive this point home, as Korea has been more successful than most countries in keeping the virus under control.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Moon has done more for inter-Korean peace than any other president, US professor says
A distinguished service professor at the University of Chicago, Bruce Cumings, 77, sent shockwaves through the academic community with a new perspective on the Korean War in his monumental work, “The Origins of the Korean War” (published in two volumes in 1981 and 1990).
Rejecting the traditional perspective emphasizing the Soviet Union’s responsibility for the war’s outbreak, he instead presented the analysis that it was the result of a civil war between left and right on the Korean Peninsula that had persisted after Korea’s liberation from Japanese imperialism in 1945. He also maintained that the US played a large part in this, with its employment of former collaborators under the Japanese occupation.

Japan’s skewed definition of “promise”
“Our country [Japan] has taken the [UNESCO] World Heritage Committee’s recommendations seriously to date, and we have faithfully carried out the pledged measures. As promised, the industrial heritage information center has been opened to the public today within the 2019 accounting year [with an opening date in March 2020]. The statement that we promise to the international community in 2015 has been displayed on a signboard within the center.”

People throughout S. Korea call for peace on 70th anniversary of Korean War’s outbreak
June 25, the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53), saw an array of voices calling for peace on the Korean Peninsula in churches around the country and in locations that still carry the scars of the war. People expressed concerns about the recent escalation in inter-Korean tensions and were united in the view that war must never again occur in Korea.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Small Manufacturers Face Foreign Labor Shortage
Smaller manufacturers are suffering a growing labor shortage because foreign workers are being kept away by the coronavirus lockdown.
In a poll by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business of 1,062 companies that have asked the government for permission to hire foreign workers this year, 52 percent said their production is being disrupted because migrant workers are late arriving.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, some 26,000 foreign workers a year entered the country on a work visa between 2015 and 2019, but only about 2,000 came in the first half of this year, a mere seven percent of the originally projected 30,000.

Japan Opposes Inviting S.Korea to G7 Summit
Japan has expressed opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation of South Korea to an expanded G7 summit, Kyodo News reported on Sunday.
The message was "conveyed by a high-level Japanese government official immediately after Trump on May 30 broached the idea of inviting Australia, India, Russia and South Korea to this year’s summit," Kyodo wrote quoting U.S. and Japanese diplomatic sources.
Kyodo said Tokyo is worried that "Seoul is out of lockstep with G7 members on Chinese and North Korean issues." It also wants to keep the G7 framework intact.

Coronavirus Ruins Seoul's Trendy Shopping Districts
Small shops in once-bustling trendy areas of Seoul like Itaewon or Sinchon and are closing down left and right due to the coronavirus epidemic.
According to the Korea Appraisal Board, the vacancy rate of stores in Itaewon surged from 19.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 28.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. That means one in three store spaces sit empty.
Around Ewha Womans University in Sinchon in northwestern Seoul the vacancy rate stands at 14.7 percent, and in the upscale Gangnam districts like Apgujeong-dong and Sinsa-dong, which are popular with foreigners for their beauty clinics, at 10.1 percent.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Confirmed COVID-19 cases hit 10 million; second wave looming
The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide topped the 10 million mark on Sunday. The milestone has been reached about six months after China reported its first Covid-19 cases to the World Health Organization on December 31 last year.

U.S. House of Representatives puts brakes on reducing USFK
The U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Senate intends to add to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) restrictive clauses and tougher conditional requirements to limit the reduction in the number of U.S. active duty service members stationed in South Korea. As concerns are growing that the Trump administration may cut back on the number of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops with Seoul and Washington stuck in negotiations on defense cost sharing, the U.S. Congress attempts to put the brakes on the administration.

Japanese carmakers see operating profits freefall to a tenth
As South Korean consumers’ boycott of Japanese products induced by the trade conflict between Seoul and Tokyo led to sharp drops in sales of Japanese cars, Honda Korea suffered a poor operating profit, only a tenth of the previous year's figure. With Nissan withdrawing from the South Korean market, the remaining Japanese car companies including Toyota and Honda are making every effort to win back the hearts of South Korean consumers via marketing and promotion activities.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
President Moon Asks North Korea for “Bold Endeavors to End the War”
On June 25, President Moon Jae-in addressed North Korea and said, “I hope that North Korea will also boldly embark on an endeavor to end the most sorrowful war in world history.” This day, the president attended a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at a hangar at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do and also said, “We will continuously search for routes that are mutually beneficial for both Koreas through peace.” President Moon appealed to North Korea for bold efforts as military tension between the two Koreas eased for the present moment following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to defer the execution of a military action plan against the South.

Non Face-to-Face Medical Services Banned by the Medical Service Act to Be Permitted for 2 Years, Only for Overseas Koreans
Non face-to-face medical services between doctors and patients, fundamentally prohibited by the current Medical Service Act, will be permitted for overseas Koreans for 2 years. Four major hospitals in South Korea will be granted the permit. The government decided to institutionalize these services in the future for the purpose of ensuring the right to health of our citizens and students overseas, but the medical industry is opposing arguing that the government has practically begun action to introduce telemedicine.

Kim Jong-un Appears and Settles the Situation… According to a Prewritten Script?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared as the “good guy” easing the tension on the Korean Peninsula. Chairman Kim had remained silent while Kim Yo-jong, first deputy director of the Workers’ Party of Korea, played the “villain” putting pressure on South Korea since June 4. Some experts believe the North intentionally divided the roles with Kim Yo-jong shaking things up by attacking the South and her older brother playing the role of the problem-solver and settling the situation.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
JP Morgan tops Korea’s M&A league table in virus-dominated H1
JP Morgan Chase topped South Korea’s merger and acquisition (M&A) league table from January to June this year after leading several mega deals in the subdued M&A market under COVID-19 influence.
The Korean unit of the New York-based investment bank topped the list of the M&A league table by closing 3.37 trillion won ($2.8 billion) worth deals in Korea in the first half, according to data released by Maeil Business Newspaper on Thursday.

Koreans outside the country allowed to get remote doctoring from Korea
South Koreans residing abroad would be able to seek remote doctoring by medical staff back at home from as early as next month through regulatory exemption as remote patient-doctor treatment remains illegal in the country.
The Korean law prohibits patient-physician telemedicine for consultation and prescription, while early pilot programs face protests from some civic groups and individual practitioners in fear of losing patients to big-name hospitals.

Korean listed firms projected to have finished Q2 better, bottoming out in Q1
South Korean listed companies are projected to have weathered the COVID-19 storm by finishing the second quarter better than initially expected.
According to data compiled by Seoul-based financial data provider FnGuide on Thursday, combined operating profit of 185 companies publicly trading on Korea’s Kospi is estimated to have lost 22.9 percent on year in the quarter ended June, which would ease from a 31.2-percent fall in the first quarter.

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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 Herald www.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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