Wednesday, January 5, 2022

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

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

We are starting a Journey of Innovation towards a New Future”

Doosan Group's new CI (corporate identity) image symbolizes the new developments at Doosan, which move dynamically and agilely toward the future and respond flexibly to changes. Doosan Group led by Chairman Park Jung-won has unveiled a new CI and announced that the Group would begin an ‘Innovation Journey towards New Future.’. It symbolizes the new developments at Doosan, which move dynamically and agilely toward the future and respond flexibly to changes. The most noticeable change in the new CI that Doosan Group unveiled on Jan. 3, 2022 is the disappearance of the ‘three-color block (three squares)’ from the existing CI. A Doosan Group official explained, “It symbolizes a new form of Doosan that breaks away from the past, moves dynamically and agilely toward the future, and responds flexibly to changes.” The color of the new CI was given the name ‘Endeavor Blue’. A Doosan official said, “It is a color that is humane and trustworthy.”

 

2022 in Uzbekistan will be Year of Ensuring Human Interests, Mahalla Development

Dear compatriots! I sincerely congratulate all of you, our entire multinational people, on the New Year. In these joyful moments, I wish you all health, peace and prosperity! Today, on the threshold of the New Year, we with gratitude see off the passing year. The Year of Supporting Youth and Improving Population Health has left a bright mark on our lives. We carried out large-scale activities together. Despite the consequences of the pandemic and the global crisis, the country has achieved high economic growth. Many enterprises, clusters, technology parks and modern infrastructure have been created. New housing, kindergartens, schools and universities, healthcare, culture and sports facilities are being commissioned. Entrepreneurship is developing rapidly, including among women and youth. Our hardworking farmers have grown a rich harvest in the past year.

 

President Moon pledges to usher in Korea's era of being a pacesetter

President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 3 said " We will make this new year, 2022, the first year when we completely overcome the crisis and return to normal," adding, "We will vigorously open up the era where we emerge as a pacesetter at the forefront of the world."According to Cheong Wa Dae, the chief executive delivered his 2022 New Year's address for 20 minutes in front of the stairs of Cheong Wa Dae's main hall, saying, "We will achieve the complete recovery of people's lives." "Thanks to the people's cooperation, enhanced anti-epidemic measures have begun to take effect. The number of confirmed cases continues to decrease, and the number of severely or critically ill patients is expected to begin to decline soon." He added, "The Government will do everything possible to make it through this critical juncture. With a long-term perspective, the Government will nourish hope for a return to normal life by riding out the difficulties along with the people in a steady manner."

                                                                                                             

KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)

JCS: N. Korea Fires Unidentified Projectile into East Sea

The Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) says North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea on Wednesday morning. The JCS announced it in a text message to reporters but details have yet to be disclosed. This is the North's first launch of the year and came 78 days after the regime fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile in October last year. Speculations have risen that the latest projectile could be a ballistic missile, the launch of which is banned by the UN Security Council. Announcing the result of a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party late last month, the North stressed the need to continue producing modern weapons and enhancing its defense force.

 

PPP Election Committee Chief Expresses Willingness to Leave amid Internal Dispute

The general chairman of the main opposition People Power Party's(PPP) election committee, Kim Chong-in, has expressed his willingness to step down amid conflict with the party’s presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. Kim spoke with Yonhap News by phone on Wednesday and said his plans to overhaul the committee are aimed at making the candidate the president, but if Yoon does not see eye to eye, it is better to part ways. Kim also criticized party officials who accused him of staging a coup or pulling the strings behind the candidate’s back, saying he did not volunteer to lead in the first place and will not have lingering attachments to his post.

 

DP Candidate Criticizes Finance Ministry's Reluctance amid Calls for Extra Budget

Ruling Democratic Party(DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has pressured the finance ministry to cooperate as the ruling party is set to begin deliberations on a supplementary budget focused on COVID-19 relief. In an interview with Yonhap News TV on Tuesday afternoon, Lee said he suspects the finance ministry is making political judgments on its own, apparently referring to its previous refusals of calls to draft or increase the supplementary budget. The candidate argued that appointed powers under the administration should follow the elected president’s orders but currently the command system is upside down and needs to return to normal.


                                                                                                                

 

Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)

PPP campaign chief indicates willingness to resign voluntarily

The campaign chief of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol indicated his willingness to resign voluntarily Wednesday amid widespread speculation Yoon decided to part ways with the veteran politician as the party plunges deeper into an internal feud. Kim Chong-in, who has earned the nickname Kingmaker, for helping major parties win key elections, made the remark to Yonhap News Agency, just hours before Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) announces a new lineup of his campaign with a focus on removing Kim as its chief. "If our thoughts do not align, we part ways," Kim said in a phone call with Yonhap. When asked about reports that he was informed of Yoon's plan to dismiss him, Kim said he was not aware.

 

N. Korea fires an apparent ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea on Wednesday fired what appears to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, South Korea's military said, in the recalcitrant regime's first show of force this year. The North launched the missile eastward at around 8:10 a.m. from a land-based platform, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said without further elaboration. "For additional information, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters. South Korea's military in cooperation with the U.S. is closely watching related North Korean movements and maintaining a readiness posture against the possibility of the North's additional launches, the JCS said.

 

U.S. must not reward N. Korea with end of war declaration before talks: Harry Harris

The United States must not give anything to North Korea, including an end of war declaration, before Pyongyang returns to the dialogue table, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday. Harris noted prospects for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are getting darker by the day, but insisted giving benefits in advance to the North would only lead to failure. "I'll simply say that the quest for dialogue with the North must never be made at the expense of the ability to respond to threats from the North. Dialogue and military readiness must go hand in hand. Idealism must be rooted in realism," Harris said when asked how the U.S. should move ahead on North Korea in a webinar hosted by the Washington Times Foundation.

 

                                                                                   

 

The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)

N.Korea fires an unidentified projectile toward east coast: JCS

North Korea on Wednesday test-fired an unidentified projectile toward its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without any further details. This marks Pyongyang’s first weapons test this year. The Japan Coast Guard said that North Korea fired what could be a ballistic missile off its east coast, Reuters reported. Since last year, North Korea has repeatedly launched missiles, which is very regrettable,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. Wednesday’s launch came 78 days after North Korea test-fired a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a 2,000-ton Gorae-class submarine on Oct. 19.

 

PPP campaign chief indicates willingness to resign voluntarily

The campaign chief of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol indicated his willingness to resign voluntarily Wednesday amid widespread speculation Yoon decided to part ways with the veteran politician as the party plunges deeper into an internal feud. Kim Chong-in, who has earned the nickname Kingmaker, for helping major parties win key elections, made the remark to Yonhap News Agency, just hours before Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) announces a new lineup of his campaign with a focus on removing Kim as its chief. "If our thoughts do not align, we part ways," Kim said in a phone call with Yonhap.

 

Samsung’s virtual housekeeper at your service

Samsung Electronics’ artificial humans unveiled virtually last year might return as a personal assistant and housekeeper at CES 2022. According to the South Korean tech giant Monday, it will unveil an artificial intelligence-based “avatar” at CES 2022. The AI avatar will visualize a home into a digital world like a metaverse, locate users’ location in the real world and connect them with surrounding devices. The AI avatar is a ‘life assistant’ that can do the work on behalf of users anywhere and anytime. It can understand on-device conversations and control home appliances,” a Samsung Electronics official said.

 

                                                                                    

 

The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)

North Korea fires an apparent ballistic missile toward East Sea: JCS

North Korea on Wednesday fired what appears to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, South Korea's military said, in the recalcitrant regime's first show of force this year. The North launched the missile eastward at around 8:10 a.m. from a land-based platform, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said without further elaboration. "For additional information, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters. South Korea's military in cooperation with the U.S. is closely watching related North Korean movements and maintaining a readiness posture against the possibility of the North's additional launches, the JCS said.

 

National museums hold tiger-themed exhibitions

Two national museums are holding hybrid exhibitions with a tiger theme to celebrate the Year of the Tiger and show how the animal has been viewed by Koreans in the past and present. The National Museum of Korea (NMK) has been hosting the exhibition "Tiger Arts I" starting Dec. 29, in which 18 paintings, including "Yonghodo," meaning a panting featuring a dragon and tiger, mainly painted in the Joseon era (1392-1910) are being showcased. The exhibition will run through May 1. "Yonghodo," which is considered to have been made in the 19th century, portrays the tension between tigers, which try to protect Yeouiju, or magic stone, and a blue dragon that tries to steal it from a mountain. The two animals are common subjects of folk paintings and talismans. "Hojakdo," a painting of tiger and magpie, "Wolhasongnimhojokdo," a painting depicting tigers passing through pine trees and "Sansindo," a painting of a mountain god and tiger, are also on display.

 

'Kingmaker' indicates willingness to resign from opposition party's election campaign

The campaign chief of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol indicated his willingness to resign voluntarily Wednesday amid widespread speculation Yoon decided to part ways with the veteran politician as the party plunges deeper into an internal feud. Kim Chong-in, who has earned the nickname Kingmaker, for helping major parties win key elections, made the remark to Yonhap News Agency, just hours before Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) announces a new lineup of his campaign with a focus on removing Kim as its chief. "If our thoughts do not align, we part ways," Kim said in a phone call with Yonhap. When asked about reports that he was informed of Yoon's plan to dismiss him, Kim said he was not aware. "If I quit, I quit. There's no such thing as being dismissed," he said.

 

                                                                                                               

 

Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
1st Omicron-Linked Deaths Reported in Korea

Korea has reported its first deaths linked to the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Health officials said Monday that two patients at a nursing home in the southwestern city of Gwangju, both aged 90, died of COVID-19 after contracting the variant. One tested positive for the virus on Dec. 26 and died the following day, with test results obtained three days later showing she had been infected with the variant. She received her second shot of AstraZeneca's vaccine in October of last year. The other person was found to have been infected by COVID-19 on Dec. 25 and died four days later. She was fully vaccinated with Pfizer's vaccine in May last year.

 

Seoul Apartment Sales Fall to 9-Year Low
Skyrocketing prices and draconian borrowing restrictions have sent the number of apartments that were sold in Seoul last year to a nine-year low. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 41,713 apartments were sold in 2021, just half the previous year's 81,193 and the fewest since 2012. Transactions declined particularly in parts of Seoul with large numbers of mid- to low-priced apartments. Just 1,819 apartments were sold in Dobong in northeastern Seoul, down a whopping 58.4 percent on-year. In Gangbuk numbers dropped 57.5 percent and in Nowon 56 percent. Realtors believe the trend augurs an across-the-board drop in apartment prices in the capital. In 2012, when sales volume plummeted, apartment prices in Seoul fell 6.65 percent. Last year, they soared 7.76 percent but plummeted toward the end.

 

N.Korea Sends No New Year's Greeting to S.Korea, U.S.
North Korea sent no New Year's greetings to either South Korea or the U.S. on Jan. 1. It is unusual for leader Kim Jong-un to skip such a message, however perfunctory. This suggests that the regime has put external affairs on the back burner due to the growing need to concentrate its capabilities and resources on overcoming economic difficulties caused by prolonged international sanctions and a total border lockdown. Kim started sulking when U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of a summit in Hanoi in February 2019, and his New Year's message the following year was replaced by a report on a Central Committee plenary meeting in 2020 and last year. This year too the official Rodong Sinmun just carried a report on the year-end gathering.

 

                                                                                                

HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Fundamental rifts within S. Korea's conservative party come to fore on campaign trail

The election committee running the presidential campaign of Yoon Suk-yeol, candidate for South Korea’s People Power Party, launched a large-scale reshuffle on Monday that will entail rebuilding the committee from the ground up. Yoon is facing a grave crisis as he loses ground in the polls and as his campaign is torn by division. The election committee’s reorganization was prompted by a sense that Yoon may not have any future as a candidate unless his standing in the polls recovers by mid-January. But there are considerable doubts about the effectiveness of the reorganization given Yoon’s lack of introspection over scandals concerning his character and leadership.

 

Man who crossed into N. Korea presumed to be N. Korean defector in 30s

South Korean authorities say the person who crossed the border into North Korea on Jan. 1 is presumed to be an individual who previously defected from North Korea, whose name is being withheld, and that they’re currently verifying the facts of the situation. [The individual] is a man in his early 30s who defected in November 2020 by crossing over the Military Demarcation Line in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. The reason we presume that it was [he] who crossed the border is that he was spotted by security cameras at the Civilian Control Line near Goseong County around noon on Jan. 1,” an official with the Ministry of National Defense said on Monday.

 

The benefits are evident”: S. Korean health authorities respond to vaccine pass backlash

Korea's vaccine passes officially have an expiration date as of Monday. While some citizens are criticizing the pass, calling it a “violation of basic rights” and going so far as to file a lawsuit, South Korean health authorities maintain that it is effective, arguing that the benefits to public health are evident. Backlash to vaccine passes. Starting Monday, the government instituted an expiration date to vaccine passes, restricting the use of multi-use facilities by people whose pass has expired. The pass is valid for 180 days, or 6 months, starting 14 days after an individual’s second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For those who received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Janssen vaccine, the same period goes into effect 14 days after being vaccinated.

                                                                                    

 

The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)

COVID-19 countermeasures should be redirected, say experts

Experts suggested that South Korea needs to change its COVID-19 prevention and control measures to a more scientifically oriented one so that it could better accommodate the changed circumstances. To respond to the escalating transmission of the Omicron variant, the existing outdated prevention measures, devised more than two years ago, should be overhauled, experts said. Many of the current prevention measures were formulated more than two years ago and that the government should now begin to ease strict controlling measures,” Oh Myung-don, a professor of the Infectious Diseases Section at Seoul National University Hospital and commissioner of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Control Committee, told The Dong-A Ilbo. “We are now much more knowledgeable about the virus and COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic antibodies have been developed as well.”

 

A man who defected to the North mistaken by S. Korea

When a South Korean citizen, who had previously defected to the South, crossed the heavily fortified border to defect back to the North on Saturday, the 22nd Infantry Division mistook the man for a defecting North Korean man and reported it to the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. A misjudgment made by a front-line military division was reported to the top decision-making authorities, leading to a missed opportunity to respond to an emergency. According to a South Korean government source on Tuesday, the front-line military division detected a man around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday near a guard post (GP) in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) using a thermal observation device (TOD).

 

Moon expresses hope that upcoming election will be one of unity

With 65 days left until the presidential election, President Moon Jae-in expressed hope that the upcoming election will be a race of unity that embodies the hope of the people, instead of hostility, hatred and division. In his New Year’s address at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday, President Moon said the country can advance into a better future when the achievements of the preceding administration continue to grow throughout the next administration, leading to a bigger leap forward. President Moon once again highlighted the need for unity in his last New Year’s address in office, following his previous remarks, where he stressed ‘national unity’ while announcing a special pardon for former president Park Geun-hye.

 

                                                                                                 

 

The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Support Drops and the People Power Party Opts to “Reset” Leaving Just Kim Chong-in

On January 3, the People Power Party (PPP) made a bold decision and disbanded its election campaign. The party’s presidential candidate, Yoon Seok-youl canceled all his schedules and announced that he would start over. Kim Han-gil and Shin Ji-ye, respectively the chair and senior vice chair of the Saesidae Committee (new era preparatory committee) resigned and so did the party’s floor leaders. PPP lawmakers decided to step down from their party positions. Support for Yoon recently plunged, fueling a sense of crisis in the main opposition party. The party decided to completely reform its election campaign, the possibility of which it had formerly dismissed. However, the outcome of such forced reforms amidst internal strife is unclear.

 

A “Sales Cliff”: Sales of Apartments and Row Houses All Drop

Sales of homes throughout the nation continued to decline, falling by over 10% in a month. The number of sales dropped over 40% compared to the same month last year. A “sales cliff” or a significant plunge in the sales of homes continued due to loan restrictions and the interest rate hike by financial authorities. According to the November 2021 Housing Statistics released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on January 4, last November, the sales of a total of 67,159 homes were reported nationwide. This was a 10.8% drop from the previous month (75,290) and a drop of 42.5% from November 2020 (116,758). The accumulated volume of homes sold in January-November 2021 was 961,397, 15.6% fewer than the same period in 2020 (1,139,024).

 

Isolated Due to Unemployment: Another Presidential Election for Young People in Words Only

At around midnight December 30, the thermometer pointed to -5°C. The supporters of former president Park Geun-hye, who had gathered on the street in front of Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, began shouting and waving their white light sticks the moment the date changed to December 31 at midnight. It was the moment when Park, who was hospitalized across the street, was pardoned. Park was sentenced to 22 years in prison and had served four years and nine months of her time in prison, but due to her deteriorating health, she was hospitalized last month. And while she was in the hospital, she was included in the special pardon in time for the New Year granted by President Moon Jae-in.

                                                                                                

 

Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)

Korean battery majors defend 30% global share in EV last year vs China’s rise

South Korean battery majors LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI managed to defend combined market share of above 30 percent in the global EV power in the face of escalating competition with Chinese producers. Bellwether LG Energy Solution was behind 51.3 gigawatts per hour (GWh) in powering electric vehicles hitting the roads worldwide in the first 11 months of 2021, up 90.6 percent on year. It nevertheless yielded the No. 1 rank to CATL of China whose market share increased by 10 percent, according to global market tracker SNE Research.

 

Kospi outlook for 2022 mixed on political calendar and tightening environment

South Korea’s key stock index Kospi is projected to move in a modest range of between 2,800 and 3,400 this year with outlook mixed due to uncertainties depending on the outcome of the March presidential election and shift to tightening around the globe in the aftermath of ultra-loose policy in pandemic period. Research center directors at six major securities firms in a poll by the Maeil Business Newspaper project a peak from 3,200 to 3,600 this year, with the most optimistic projection issued by KB Securities.

 

KHNP joins Egyptian nuclear project, but other projects in question due to phase-out

The Kyunghyang Shinmun divided eighteen citizens who took part in the candlelight demonstrations from November 2016 to March 2017 into four groups and conducted focus group interviews. We selected the groups according to the key social agenda in Korea: unemployment among young people, real estate, self-employed business owners, and non-regular labor.  Each group consisted of 4-5 people and through the interviews, we listened to the struggles young people have in finding employment, the real estate issues of people who don’t own a home, the suffering of storeowners challenged by COVID-19, and the grief of non-regular workers who lie in the blind spot of labor rights. Hong Hye-ri (27, alias) just started working and has yet to receive her first month’s wages. At the end of November last year, she was hired by a movie marketing agency in Seoul. The agency is small with less than five employees, but Hong said, “I’m grateful because I’m able to work at a firm I wanted to work with.”

                                                                                                                   

 

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 Heraldwww.smh.com.au

Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com

Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.combfp@bogotafreeplanet.com

El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english

Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en

Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net

The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com

LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en

The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com

El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net

Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com

Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
                                                                                                               

 

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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