Thursday, February 10, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
Resources-rich Kazakhstan is an ideal strategic partner for high tech-intensive Korea

The economies of Kazakhstan and Korea are complementary. Kazakhstan has a rich resource base and a large territory and Korea has high technologies,” said Ambassador Bakyt Dyussenbayev of Kazakhstan in Seoul at an exclusive interview with The Korea Post media on Feb. 7, 2022. At the interview at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985, Ambassador Dyussenbayev said, “I think that the relations of the two counties have very good prospects. Politically, we have no unresolved issues or questions.

 

Pernod Ricard Korea offers 100 million won in scholarships to 54 talented students of Gugak, traditional Korean music

Pernod Ricard Korea, the Korean unit of France-based wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard, announced on February 9 that it provided scholarships to a total of 54 talented students of Gugak, traditional Korean music, at the National Gugak Middle and High School to help foster the next talented generation who will lead the traditional Korean arts and culture.

The scholarship awards ceremony was held in a non-face-to-face manner this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the National Gugak Middle and High School’s online graduation ceremony which took place on February 9 and 11 respectively, Frantz Hotton, CEO of Pernod Ricard Korea, extended his congratulations and best wishes for a bright future to scholarship recipients and graduates via video.

 

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years of her accession

On Feb. 5, one day before the 70th anniversary of her accession, the Queen met with representatives of local volunteer groups, pensioners and women's group members at Sandringham Villa, the BBC and Sky News reported. The Queen in a light blue dress with a cane cut a cake made by local residents with a bright expression. The letters on the cake were directed at the photographers and not the queen, but the queen smiled and said it didn't matter. One reception attendee said the Queen was “sparkling.” According to the AP, the Queen was free to move despite recent health concerns, and the cane seemed to be used for support while standing rather than walking.

 

 

                                                                                                             

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

S. Korea Adopts New Management System for Low-risk COVID-19 Patients

Starting Thursday, the government will enforce a new management system for low-risk COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at home. Under the revised system, low-risk COVID-19 patients who are responsible for their own at-home treatment will no longer receive daily health checkup calls from medical workers. Patients under the age of 60 without underlying conditions are classified as low-risk. This demographic accounts for approximately 80 percent of confirmed cases. Low-risk patients are now expected to self-monitor their condition at home and contact local clinics by phone for consultations or to obtain medicine prescriptions.

 

N. Korea Touts Recent Missile Launches

North Korea has touted the success of a series of its missile launches this year, saying that it is the only country in the world that can "shake the world" by conducting missile launches with the U.S. mainland in its range. The North’s Foreign Ministry revealed the stance on its website on Tuesday, calling the launches "victories" brought about by the courage and fortitude of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The ministry specifically made reference to the test-firing of hypersonic missiles and the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Hwasong-12. The launches, it said, displayed Kim’s unwavering will to show no forgiveness or mercy to those offending the dignity of the North Korean people.3

 

Authorities Say Fatality from Omicron Double that of Seasonal Flu

Health authorities say that, while the ratio of severe and fatal omicron cases is less than a third that of delta, omicron's fatality is roughly double that of the seasonal flu. Senior health ministry official Son Young-rae said on Wednesday that, despite omicron's rapid transmission, the fatality rate among more than 22-thousand-700 cases stood at zero-point-21 percent. Fatality among 28-thousand delta cases was zero-point-seven percent. Fatalities from omicron, however, varied significantly by age and vaccination status, with over 90 percent of deaths occurring among seniors aged 60 or older. Omicron patients in their 50s and younger experienced minor to no symptoms.


                                                                                                                

 

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

S. Korea's current account surplus halved on-year in December amid soaring imports

South Korea's current account surplus was halved in December from a year earlier as imports grew at a much faster pace than exports amid higher energy and raw material prices, central bank data showed Thursday. The current account surplus amounted to US$6.06 billion in December, compared with a surplus of $12.06 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The December figure was also smaller than the previous month's surplus of $6.82 billion though it remained in the black for the 20th straight month.

 

Yoon leads Lee 36.1 pct to 31.6 pct: poll

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 36.1 percent support against Lee's 31.6 percent, a poll showed Wednesday. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party was ahead of Lee of the liberal Democratic Party by 4.5 percentage points, which was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, according to the Next Research survey of 1,001 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday. In third place was Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, at 10 percent, followed by Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party at 3 percent.

 

Hwang Dae-heon wins men's 1,500m short track title for S. Korea's 1st gold in Beijing

South Korean short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon captured gold in the men's 1,500m at Beijing 2022 on Wednesday, bouncing back from a recent officiating controversy for the country's first gold in the Chinese capital. Hwang edged out Steven Dubois of Canada for his first Olympic gold at Capital Indoor Stadium. Semen Elistratov of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took bronze.

 

                                                                                  

 

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

Olympic-sparked anti-Chinese sentiment rises as political issue

Anti-China sentiment sparked by controversial decisions at the 2022 Beijing Olympics is growing into a political issue, prompting presidential candidates to jump on the latest bandwagon to woo voters. On Monday, Korean speedskaters Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified in different groups for the men’s 1,000-meter semifinals held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in China. While they came in first and second in their respective group races, the two athletes were penalized and gave way to two Chinese skaters, as China ultimately collected gold and silver in the 1,000-meter finals.

 

Ruling party lawmaker blames Samsung for 'unfair' short track refereeing

Rep. An Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is once again raising controversy, this time linking unfair decisions at the Beijing Olympics to Samsung. An said in a radio interview Wednesday that the core reason behind the refereeing decisions that disqualified two short track speedskaters in the men’s 1,000-meter semifinals on Monday is that Samsung Group stopped financial support for the Korea Skating Union.

 

Korean retailers expand delivery service with robots, drones

Retail companies in South Korea are taking the plunge into last-mile mobility technology by launching service robots and drones to provide contactless services sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. To meet the high demand for delivery and dining services, Mesh Korea, the operator of tech-based logistics startup Vroong, said Wednesday it has partnered up with Bear Robotics Korea, the Korean branch of a US-based robot manufacturing company, to introduce unmanned automated transport service to the Korean market.

 

                                                                                    

 

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

Mixed responses to subway protest by disability advocacy group

An ongoing morning subway protest by Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), a domestic disability advocacy group, is drawing mixed reactions from the public, as some complain of the inconvenience while others stand in solidarity with the group. According to the SADD, Wednesday, the group has been holding a daily protest at Hyehwa station on metro line 4 during the morning rush hour since Dec. 6 of last year, to call upon lawmakers and government bodies to increase and administer budgets related to disabled people's basic rights.

 

Finance minister opposes demands to increase supplementary budget

A tug-of-war continues between the National Assembly and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki over the allocation of the supplementary budget. While ruling and opposition party lawmakers are asking for further increases of the supplementary budget, the finance minister opposes the idea on concerns of a possible downgrading of Korea's sovereign credit rating as well as the stabilization of the government bond market. During the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Account meetings held on Monday and Tuesday, Hong made clear his point that the country's repeated supplementary budget allocations due to the global pandemic situation have been risking Korea's global credit rating.

 

Ruling party's defense of Lee and wife backfires

The ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is trying to defend its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hye-kyung who are embroiled in allegations of power abuse, but the party's efforts have turned out to be counterproductive, instead, stirring up further controversy. The abuse of power allegations surrounding Lee and Kim came to light in late December when the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP) filed a complaint against Lee, Kim and a former official of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government surnamed Bae, claiming that Lee, a former Gyeonggi Province governor, hired Bae to have her carry out secretarial duties for his wife in violation of government regulations.

 

                                                                                                                

 

Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
China Denies Trying to Appropriate Korean Traditional Dress

The Chinese Embassy in Korea on Monday denied that Beijing was trying to appropriate Korean culture by featuring a person in hanbok or traditional Korean dress among a display of its minority groups at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing last week. The embassy in a statement said accusations that the "ethnic Korean attire" sported by the woman was blatant cultural appropriation "does not hold water."


COVID-Positive to Cast Their Ballot After All
Voters who test positive for coronavirus or have been told to self-isolate will be able to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election after all. The ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to revise the election law so polling stations will be open for three more hours for those affected, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. But the extension will delay counting results and may cause some disruption. The National Election Commission last week insisted it has to strip tens of thousands of voters of the franchise if they test positive for coronavirus between March 6 and 9.

N.Korea's Secret Ballistic Missile Base Spotted Near Chinese Border
North Korea is operating an intercontinental ballistic missile base near the Chinese border, experts believe, and may be targeting the U.S. military base on Guam from there. A report on the website Beyond Parallel on Monday by Victor Cha, Joseph Bermudez and Jennifer Jun at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the ICBM base has been spotted in Chagang Province near the border with China. It seems to measure about 6 sq. km and sit 338 km north of the demilitarized zone but only 25 km from the Chinese border. It was captured in Maxar satellite images on Jan. 22.

 

                                                                                                

HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

S. Korean Olympic delegation: Repeated bad referee calls should be “considered intentional”

After a controversial referee call disqualified two South Korean skaters during a short track speedskating event, the South Korean Olympic team held a press conference and strongly disputed the decision, saying it will do everything in its power to make sure such an incident never happens again. The conference, held Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics Main Media Center, was joined by Yoon Hong-geun, head of the South Korean athletic delegation to the Beijing Olympics; You In-tak, deputy head of the delegation; Choi Yong-koo, head of support for the South Korean short track team; and South Korean short track coach Lee So-hee.

 

COVID-19 cases jump by over 13,000 to reach record of 49,567

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 soared by more than 13,000 within the span of a day to reach a new daily high of 49,567 in South Korea. The number of patients undergoing at-home treatment for COVID-19 increased by 8,851 to reach 168,020 as of the end of the day Tuesday. South Korea’s disease control authorities have decided to transition its monitoring of COVID-19 patients to a system focused on those considered to be high-risk, such as individuals aged 60 and up and people in their 50s with underlying conditions. The transition is set to go into effect Thursday. At-home treatment kits will be provided only to those under intensive monitoring.

 

Hyundai Motor dips toe back into Japanese market after 12 years  

Hyundai Motor is returning to the Japanese market after a 12-year absence. The automaker originally entered the market in 2001, only to eventually pull out in late 2009 after dismal sales. Now it has set the goal of resuming sales online before eventually establishing an offline base. Its strategy is to secure an early advantage in the eco-friendly vehicle market with its Nexo hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and Ioniq 5 electric vehicle, amid predictions that eco-friendly vehicle demand and infrastructure in Japan are set to rapidly grow.

                                                                                     

 

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

S. Korean government’s homecare guidelines keep changing

New homecare guidelines for COVID-19 patients will be applied from Thursday. Only a group of patients who require more medical attention, such as those over 60, will receive health monitoring twice a day and others will be under homecare. The disease control authorities, which announced a change in homecare guidelines on Monday, changed the scope of patients to be under intensive care the day before the new guidelines’ implementation.

 

KIA becomes best-selling brand in UK

KIA has become the best-selling brand in the UK for the first time in 31 years since the South Korean motor company entered the UK car market. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Wednesday (local time), KIA sold 10,504 units in the UK last month, up 67.5 percent in comparison to the same month of last year, beating other carmakers, such as Audi (8,567), Volkswagen (8,514), BMW (8,380) and Toyota (8,030). It achieved the market share of 9.1 percent. Meanwhile, Hyundai ranked No. 9 selling 5,624 units.

 

Large scale joint exercises should be resumed, says U.S. commander

A commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps said large-scale ROK-U.S. joint military drills, which have been practically suspended since 2019, should be resumed. The joint military drills have been replaced with computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) following the 2018 U.S.-North Korea Singapore Summit, conducting small-scale exercises without field training exercises (FTX). According to the Radio Free Asia (RFA), U.S. Marine Corps commandant David H. Berger said at an online meeting hosted by the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) on Tuesday (local time), that he supports the resumption of ROK-U.S.


                                                                                                 

 

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

New Daily Cases of COVID-19 Record 49,567: 13,000 More than the Previous Day

The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight February 9, they have confirmed 49,567 new cases of COVID-19 from the previous day. The number of cases soared by almost 13,000 from Tuesday, reaching nearly 50,000. Among the new cases, 49,402 cases were transmitted in the local community, while 165 cases entered the country from overseas. A regional analysis showed that 59.1% (29,183) of the cases occurred in the greater Seoul area with 11,630 cases in Seoul, 13,641 in Gyeonggi and 3,912 in Incheon.

 

Hard to Understand Based on the Common Sense of the International Community” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on the Controversial Refereeing in Short Track Speed Skating

On February 8, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum mentioned the controversial biased referee decision on the South Korean short track speed skaters at the Beijing Winter Olympics and said, “From the perspective of our citizens, particularly based on the common sense of the international community, it was hard to understand.” This day, before the parliamentary Special Committee on Budget and Accounts when People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-su said, “The people are furious about yesterday’s biased referee decision, but our government’s response isterribly lukewarm,” Prime Minister Kim answered, “The government is cautious about raising an issue with something that happened during a sports match.”

 

New Home Treatment Policy: Authorities to Monitor People in High-Risk Groups Only

In the future, disease control authorities will concentrate their care on only people in high-risk groups among COVID-19 patients receiving home treatment, such as those ages 60 and older and people in their fifties with underlying diseases. So even if a person is confirmed positive for COVID-19, if she is under the age of sixty and has light to no symptoms, she will have to engage in self-care, checking her own status. Although this is a desperate measure due to the wave of the omicron variant, it raises concerns of a surge in COVID-19, since the government is practically taking its hands off disease control.

 

                                                                                                

 

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

LG now second most valuable biz group in Korea under Koo’s leadership

LG Group under 40 something young leader Koo Kwang-mo has achieved a new growth milestone by becoming Korea’s second largest conglomerate in terms of market capitalization thanks to the stellar performance of its new growth engines especially EV battery business. As of Wednesday, the combined market cap of LG Group’s listed companies came to 241 trillion won ($201.5 billion), more than two times higher than 93.6 trillion won tallied on June 29, 2018, when the fourth-generation leader took office as chairman following death of his father and former LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo.

 

SK Group replaces Hyundai Motor as Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate

SK Group has moved up a notch to become South Korea’s second largest business conglomerate in terms of assets last year. SK Group’s assets stood at 270.75 trillion won ($226.4 billion) as of the end of the third quarter of 2021, gaining 31.22 trillion won or 13 percent from a year ago with the number of affiliated units adding 28 to 176, according to the local business tracking site CEO Score on Wednesday.

 

The presidential office kicks off study on candidates for next Bank of Korea governorship

The presidential office has begun reviewing candidates for the successor to Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol who would be retiring after a rare eight-year reign as monetary chief in March. Lee made the second governor in BOK history after his term was extended in 2018 by President Moon Jae-in who sworn in 2017. The BOK governor’s four-year term can be renewed once. Lee’s second term ends on March 31. On the speculated list are Bank of Korea Senior Deputy Governor Lee Seung-heon, the central bank’s former senior deputy governor Yoon Myun-shik, Changyong Rhee, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund, and Shin Hyun-song, Economic Adviser and Head of Research of the Bank for International Settlements.


                                                                                                                  

 

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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