Monday, February 22, 2021
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Special Strategic Partnership between our two countries continues to strengthen our ties, cooperation”
Ambassador Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi of the United Arab Emiates (UAE) said, “Eestablishment of Strategic Partnership relations between our two countries in 2009 and upgrading of the ties into Special Strategic Partnership in 2018 contrbute greatly to the promotion of relations and cooperation between our two countries.”
Korea's automobile industry posts double-digit growth in exports in January
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 15 that Korea’s automobile output, domestic sales, and exports in January all experienced double-digit increases and went up 24.9 percent, 18.4 percent, and 29.5 percent, respectively.
Ministry of Environment launches pilot project for water management in Indonesia
The Ministry of Environment announced on Feb. 16 that it has held a briefing session with the Indonesian Ministry of Public Housing to launch a pilot project to upgrade the Flores Island water management system.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Forest Fires Break out Across Nation
Forest fires broke out across the nation on Sunday amid warm and dry weather, with residents in some areas forced to evacuate. The Korea Forest Service issued a Level Four warning, the highest in the nation's four-tier forest fire alert system, for Andong and Yecheon in North Gyeongsang Province, Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province and Yeongdong in North Chungcheong Province where the fires broke out.
Prime Minister: S. Korea to Start Administering 117,000 Doses of Pfizer Vaccine Saturday
South Korea's COVID-19 vaccination is set to begin this week.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday that 117-thousand doses of Pfizer vaccines will arrive in South Korea on Friday and they will be administered to medical service personnel treating coronavirus patients from Saturday.
S. Korea to Consider Adjustment of Social Distancing after Monitoring
The government said it will consider adjusting social distancing levels after monitoring the COVID-19 situation this week, as the reproduction rate has risen above one across the nation. Senior health official Son Young-rae said on Sunday that the reproduction rate has reached about one-point-one across the country over the past seven days, with the rate for the greater Seoul area also nearing that figure.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea to start administering 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on Feb. 27: PM
South Korea will begin administering 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines to medical staff on Saturday as the vaccines are expected to arrive in the country later this week, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday.
Imprisoned Samsung heir likely to be dismissed as welfare foundation chief
Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, is expected to be dismissed as head of a social welfare foundation established by his late father, as he is imprisoned over a high-profile bribery case, sources said Sunday.
N.K. man caught on coastal CCTV cameras at least four times: sources
A North Korean man was caught on military surveillance cameras set up along the east coast at least four times after he swam ashore in the South, but border guards did nothing to stop him, an investigation has found.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Harvard professor urged to offer apology for 'comfort women' claims
A controversy surrounding a Harvard professor who wrote a journal article depicting victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery as voluntary prostitutes continues to escalate, with scholars, politicians and students demanding apologies and a retraction.
Will ‘social bubble’ strategy work for Korea?
South Korean health authorities are expected to announce a revised roadmap for social distancing that will give more freedom to businesses, while restricting people’s behaviors more strictly, to combat COVID-19.
S. Korea's exports grow 16.7% in first 20 days of Feb.
South Korea's exports rose 16.7 percent on-year in the first 20 days of February on strong shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Monday.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Speculation mounts over Indonesia pulling out of KF-X fighter project
Speculation is again mounting over Indonesia pulling out of participation in Korea's KF-X fighter project, with the Southeast Asian country reportedly seeking to buy aircraft from the United States and France despite its snowballing arrears from the joint development program.
Chicken restaurant chains struggle to supply meat due to bird flu
Local fried chicken restaurant chains are having a hard time supplying meat to their branches after bird flu ravaged 100 farms nationwide resulting in the culling of over 28.61 million birds. Korea's largest fried chicken franchise, Kyochon F&B, recently posted a notice online that two of its menu items, "chicken wings" and "chicken wings and legs," were temporarily out of stock.
Gov't to expand learning support for children of multicultural families
The government has decided to strengthen Korean language learning support for children from multicultural families this year, according to the education ministry, Sunday. The measure comes out of concerns that such children have difficulty adapting to school life and developing Korean language skills as they were provided mostly with online classes along with the shutdown of schools amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
“Hoesik” as ritual of hierarchical obedience
There are a lot of differences between South Korean and Norwegian universities, but one of the most noticeable is how the neighborhoods near them look. For the most part, South Korean university campuses are surrounded by nightlife. You see a number of restaurants where students can eat and coffee houses where they can study, but you also see quite a few pubs and karaoke rooms.
Harvard history professors condemn Ramseyer’s paper for lacking “scholarly integrity”
As Harvard Law School professor J. Mark Ramseyer continues to draw fire for an academic paper describing the comfort women as prostitutes, two history professors at Harvard University have attacked the paper for being deficient in “scholarly integrity.”
Samsung accounts for 43.1% share of global DRAM market last year, 16.2% of mobile devices market
Samsung Electronics estimated its share of last year’s DRAM semiconductor market at 43.1%, with a 16.2% share of the market in cell phones and other mobile devices. On Feb. 18, Samsung Electronics shared an overview of its 2020 performance in recommended reference material for proxy decision-making issued ahead of a regular shareholders’ meeting next month.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Foreigners Snap up Korean Real Estate
Real estate purchases by foreigners reached the highest level in five years last year, and over half involved Chinese citizens. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 26,836 real estate transactions worth around W11.24 trillion last year involved foreigners (US$1=W1,105).
Hyundai to Change All Kona EV Batteries After Fires
Hyundai is considering replacing the rechargeable batteries of all Kona electric cars sold so far after a spate of engine fires as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport competes a probe this month.
IT Tycoons Spread Culture of Giving
A growing number of Internet tycoons in Korea are donating huge sums of their wealth to charity.
Kakao chairman Kim Beom-soo pledged earlier this month to donate more than half of his W10 trillion in assets to charity, followed by Woowa Brothers founder Kim Bong-jin, who joined the Giving Pledge campaign started by Microsoft founder Bill Gates (US$1=W1,108).
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Myanmar police fire indiscriminately at protesters
“I haven’t been involved in this movement yet but now I am going to ... I am not scared now,” said Thidar Hnin, speaking to Reuters over the phone after her husband, Thet Naing Win, was shot and killed by police at a demonstration in Myanmar against a military coup on Saturday.
U.S. reconnaissance aircrafts for missile detection fly over Korean Peninsula
Major U.S. reconnaissance aircrafts carried out surveillance missions on North Korea for three consecutive days around one month after U.S. President Joe Biden took office. They seemingly aim to monitor any suspicious movements regarding North Korea’s new missiles and submarines while keeping a close eye on any signs of North Korea’s provocations before the U.S.-R.O.K. joint military drill starts on March 8.
Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong-Koo steps down officially
Hyundai Motor Group’s Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-Koo will officially leave his seat as a registered director of the board of Hyundai Mobis, staying back behind the frontline of business management.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
A 6-Hour Swim in the Winter? What about the Soldiers on Duty? Who Damaged the Drain?
The North Korean man was caught on military closed circuit cameras at least three times from 1:20 a.m. February 16, after he came up on land, but the military unit overseeing the area missed him. The military has a scientific surveillance system, which is designed to raise an alarm and light up a light bar on the monitors in the platoon headquarters’ situation room, when a moving object is detected in the closed circuit footage.
More than 600 Cases for Two Days: Government Contemplates Restrictions on Group Activities
A series of transmission clusters appeared in large business operations, pushing the number of new daily cases of COVID-19 over 600 for two consecutive days. Due to concerns of a resurge of the novel coronavirus, the government announced that it would observe the situation this week and determine when to implement a revised physical (social) distancing measure.
“Harvard Students, Ignore the Absurd Remarks of Ramseyer”
During a webinar organized by the students of Harvard University on February 16 (local time), the elderly Lee Yong-soo (93, pictured), a victim of the comfort women in the Japanese military, mentioned J. Mark Ramseyer, a professor at Harvard Law School who described the comfort women victims as volunteer prostitutes and said, “You Harvard students, don’t give it a thought. Just ignore him.”
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
S. Korea steps up EV push with govt, auto, battery industry going all out to lower cost
South Korean government and automakers and battery supply chain are joining forces to lower the prices of EVs and accelerate phase-out from traditional fuel through leasing program on batteries that take up the bulk of an EV value and strengthen battery capabilities with R&D push.
Jet fuel strengthening adds more woes for Korean airliners
Jet fuel prices jumped by more than five-fold over 10 months to zoom back to the levels of before the Covid-19 outbreak even as passenger travel remains restricted, adding more woes for Korean airliners barely managing with domestic flights and cargo deliveries.
Korea faces recession-type inflation amid strengthening in prices from supply pressure
Consumer prices are strengthening amid the jump in fresh food, oil, and poultry prices due to extreme climate conditions, hardening livelihood for Koreans grappling with reduced income and job losses from protracted Covid-19 hardship.
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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
Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports www.colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet www.bogotafreeplanet.com bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/
Ecuador Times www.ecuadortimes.net/
The Jordan Times www.jordantimes.com/
LSM.lv www.lsm.lv/
The Baltic Times www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais https://english.elpais.com/
Philippine Daily Inquirer www.inquirer.net/
Daily News Hungary https://dailynewshungary.com/
Budapest Times www.budapesttimes.hu/
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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM
Sri Lanka: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
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