Monday, March 7, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
Leading Korean dailies cite efficacy of Oriental medicine against COVID-19
Leading Korean-language daily newspapers in Korea have recently introduced the existence of control efficacy of the Oriental medicine against the woes of continuously aggravating situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea. Among them are Chosun Ilbo, which claims the largest circu8lation in Korea and the runner-up Dong-A Ilbo and Korea’s top-selling Korean-language business daily, Maeil Kyungje. Excerpts from an unofficial English translation of each of the articles recently published by the leading Korean-language dailies follow:
Taihan garners $50 million power grid supply project in the US
Taihan announced on March 3 that its U.S. corporation, T.E.USA, has won an order for an ultra-high-pressure power grid supply project. It is a large project worth about 60 billion won (some $50 million), and it is the result just in 15 days after winning a three-year long-term project in the U.S. in the middle of last month. The project calls for supplying a 230kV underground power grid, and it is an important project that connects large-scale offshore wind farms and power systems to stabilize power supply and demand in large cities. As the U.S. government's policy to expand new and renewable energy, including offshore wind power, is in full swing, this joint project is expected to be a positive factor in expanding Taihan's orders in the future.
Trade Minister Yeo holds Russia-Ukraine emergency meeting with exporters
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a "Russia-Ukraine situation emergency meeting with exporters and importers” on Feb. 28 at the World Trade Center in Seoul to assess repercussions on trade businesses, logistics, and raw materials supply. Minister Yeo delivered an opening message, followed by exchange of views regarding industry outlook in the case of further escalations, as well as current response measures against logistics risks and materials supply chain challenges. Attendees comprised various representatives from relevant companies and organizations, including POSCO International, Samsung C&T, LX International, Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and Korea Importers Association (KOIMA).
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Eastern Coastal Areas for Fourth Day
Firefighters are working to contain the main flames of a massive wildfire in eastern coastal areas on Monday as the blaze ravages the areas for a fourth day. The Korea Forest Service(KFS) plans to mobilize 53 helicopters and about five-thousand people at daybreak on Monday. The KFS aims to put out the main flames within the day as the weather conditions are forecast to worsen from Tuesday afternoon. The blaze began on Friday morning on a road near a mountain in Uljin and spread north to its neighboring city of Samcheok City in the afternoon, driven by strong winds and dry weather.
Moon Designates Wildfire-hit Areas as Special Disaster Zone
President Moon Jae-in has declared the eastern coastal areas of Uljin and Samcheok a special disaster zone after they suffered serious damage from a massive wildfire. According to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee on Sunday, Moon approved the declaration at around 2:50 p.m. after meeting with displaced people at a shelter in Uljin. President Moon told the local residents that the government would do its best to provide support through recovery efforts to help them restore normalcy in their daily lives. The spokesperson said Moon will seek a similar move for the Gangneung and Donghae areas in Gangwon Province after authorities extinguish the wildfire in the region and assess the damage.
NEC Apologizes over Poor management of Early Voting
The National Election Commission (NEC) has apologized for the alleged poor management of early voting operations for the March 9 presidential election. The NEC said in a statement on Sunday that it was very sorry and regretful for having caused inconveniences for COVID-19 patients who visited polling stations to cast ballots on Saturday. The NEC pledged to swiftly produce special measures to ensure the suffrage of COVID-19 patients on election day, Wednesday.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases exceed 240,000 for 3rd day
South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed above 240,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant. The country reported 243,628 new COVID-19 infections, including 243,540 local cases, raising the total caseload to 4,456,264, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally fell from 254,327 cases Saturday and a record-high 266,853 cases Friday. Daily cases surpassed 200,000 for the first time Wednesday since the country reported the first virus case in January 2020.
N. Korea says it conducted another 'important test' for 'reconnaissance satellite' development
North Korea said Sunday it has conducted another "important test" for developing a "reconnaissance satellite." "The DPRK National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) and the Academy of Defence Science conducted another important test on Saturday under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite," the Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language report. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Lee, Yoon converge on Seoul in homestretch of campaign
Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol converged on Seoul in the homestretch of their campaigns Sunday. With the election three days away, Lee of the liberal Democratic Party crisscrossed the capital for campaign rallies in the districts of Dobong, Seongbuk, Eunpyeong, Seodaemun, Gwanak and Yongsan. During a campaign rally, Lee sought to woo voters with promises of real estate policy reform, including lowering barriers for loans and cutting related taxes.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Moon OKs special support for wildfire-hit Uljin, Samcheok
President Moon Jae-in opened the way for emergency financial support for the wildfire-hit areas of Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, and Samcheok, Gangwon Province, by declaring them a special disaster zone Sunday. Accompanied by Minister of the Interior Jeon Hae-cheol and Lee Jin-seok, presidential secretary for state affairs, Moon visited the Uljin National Sports Center shelter where about 500 Uljin residents were staying after being urgently evacuated.
How Lee, Yoon each plan to take care of welfare
In their last-ditch efforts to woo voters, the two prominent presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition party are each shouting out, separately, how they are the best person to make real improvements to the lives of the people. As their canvassing efforts echo each other, their welfare pledges also appear to be similar, though they come from different political backgrounds -- Lee from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon from the conservative People Power Party.
NK says it conducted test for reconnaissance satellite
North Korea has conducted “another important test” for a reconnaissance satellite, its state media said Sunday, a day after South Korea’s military described the test as a probable ballistic missile launch. The North’s National Aerospace Development Administration and the Academy of Defense Science conducted “another important test on Saturday under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite,” the official Korea Central News Agency reported.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Early voting for COVID patients tainted by allegations of mishandled ballots
Early voting for COVID-19 patients in the presidential election has ended with claims of election fraud, as voters alleged the National Election Commission (NEC) mishandled ballots at polling sites across the country. Rival parties slammed the NEC's "unpreparedness," warning that polling station workers' unprofessional handling of the early voting could trigger another vote-rigging controversy, following a previous conspiracy theory surrounding the 2020 National Assembly elections. On Sunday, the NEC released a statement on the previous day's early voting for COVID-19 patients across the country in which it apologized for "any inconvenience caused to voters."
Putin says third-party declaration of no-fly zone over Ukraine would be 'participation in armed conflict'
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West, Saturday, of a wider war if a no-fly zone is set up, as his forces resumed an offensive against a key Ukrainian city where a planned evacuation of residents failed to take place over security fears. With his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky criticizing NATO for ruling out a no-fly zone for fear of sparking nuclear conflict, Putin spoke of "colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world," if such a zone was set up. "Any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict by that country," Putin said.
Korea, Africa seek to strengthen economic ties
Korea and African countries have come together to build stronger economic and diplomatic ties beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the theme of "Strengthening Korea-Africa Partnership in the post-COVID19 Era," the 5th Korea-Africa Forum was held on March 3 in Seoul. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and ministerial-level officials from African Union (AU) member states ― including Senegal, Malawi, Libya and Chad ― discussed partnerships in public health, trade and investment, and peace and security. Their discussion resulted in the Seoul Declaration, calling for cooperation in these sectors and a framework for cooperation to accelerate industrialization in Africa and expand Korea's global supply chain by 2026.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Seoul Scraps Height Limit on Apartment Towers
Seoul is likely to see more skyscrapers after the city government lifted a 35-floor height limit that has been in effect for the last eight years. The decision is expected to lead to bristling towers rising on top of aging apartment clusters along the Han River. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the decision on Thursday as part of plans to transform the urban landscape over the next 20 years. It replaces a blueprint drafted in 2014 by his predecessor Park Won-soon, who had imposed the 35-story limit. The Seoul Metropolitan Government believes that the height limit is responsible for the capital's monotonous skyline.
Thousands Flee Homes as Wildfires Rage in Gangwon
Opinion polls showed Korea's two leading presidential candidates still neck and neck the week before the two major opposition parties plumped for a single candidate at the last minute on Thursday. People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl only has a significant lead over Minjoo Party candidate Lee Jae-myung in one survey. But after the People's Party perennial candidate Ahn Cheol-soo decided to step aside in favor of Yoon early Thursday, his support of around five percent is up for grabs.
High Turnout Expected in Presidential Election
Nearly all eligible voters are determined to cast their ballots in next week's presidential election, a poll suggests. In the Chosun Ilbo poll of 1,009 voters, 86.4 percent of respondents said they will vote "under any circumstances" and 10.3 percent said "very likely." Slightly more supporters of Minjoo Party candidate Lee Jae-myung (95.7 percent) than those of People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl (92.9 percent) intend to cast their ballots. But among progressives, 90.5 percent said they will vote, compared to 89.5 percent of conservatives and 84 percent of centrist voters.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Is there room for Korean peace in the competition between the US, China and Russia?
“Korea is the country with the heaviest security burden in the world. For now, the top security priority is to deter war between the two Koreas, but the geopolitical situation itself on the Korean Peninsula always remains a grave security environment from a broader and longer-term perspective.” These were the words of President Moon Jae-in when he spoke at the commencement and commissioning ceremony for the 57th graduating class of Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon on Monday. It’s not diplomatic rhetoric. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which erupted amid the heated hegemonic competition between the US and China, and the resulting confrontation between the US and Russia signals a change in the strategic landscape of the international order.
Will would-be Ahn voters rally behind Yoon? Polls aren’t so sure
With less than a week to go until the South Korean presidential election, the surprise campaign merger between People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and People’s Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has thrown a big variable into the race for the Blue House. While many project Yoon, now the undisputed frontrunner for the opposition, to hold an advantage in the March 9 election, polls hypothesizing an opposition campaign merger or a two-way race have indicated mixed results.
Ahn Cheol-soo pulls out of presidential race, endorses Yoon Suk-yeol
In a late-night Wednesday meeting with People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, People Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo reached a surprise agreement to drop out of the presidential race and declare his support for Yoon. On Thursday morning, Yoon and Ahn announced a “joint declaration of candidate consolidation for fairness, common sense, unity, and the future” at the National Assembly press center. “I, Ahn Cheol-soo, have decided to support Yoon Suk-yeol as a candidate,” Ahn declared in the statement.“I, Yoon Suk-yeol, will carry on Ahn Cheol-soo’s wishes and achieve victory, creating a successful administration of national unity,” Yoon declared for his part.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Votes already cast made public end up being invalid
There is a growing controversy over the National Election Commission’s poor handling of early voting. Starting from much criticism about leveled at how COVID-19 patients and those in self-quarantine are managed during early voting, the election authorities will come under intense fire additionally for dealing with ballots already cast inappropriately and unprofessionally. In principle, any ballot paper that is disclosed shall be rendered valid unless any voter releases one’s ballot intentionally, said the NEC. However, it has been reported that some election precincts already made all such votes invalid.
Businesses donate to help the victims for wildfires
With a large chunk of land burned down in wildfire across North Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces, many South Korean businesses have shown their generous support of those displaced while contributing to damage recovery missions.
Hyundai Motor Group on Sunday donated five billion won to the Korea Disaster Relief Association to help recover damage from the ongoing wildfire. The company allocated four “urban type laundry washing trucks” with a daily average capacity of 1,000 kilograms of laundry and one “united quarantine and relief vehicle” equipped with sanitizers, etc.
60,000 overseas Ukrainians return home to fight Putin
This is what Oleg, a 40-something Ukrainian, had to say as he was undergoing immigration process to enter Ukraine at a border checkpoint in Mediyka in southeastern Poland on Saturday. A resident in Lvov in western Ukraine, Oleg escaped to Poland when Russia invaded his fatherland on February 24, but he visited the border checkpoint on Saturday to return home and fight Russian invaders. As more Ukrainians sought to return, a 2-kilometer queue was formed at the checkpoint by vehicles waiting for immigration process on the day.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Beginning Mar. 5, Cafes and Restaurants to Open until 11 p.m. and People in Quarantine to Be Permitted to Go out and Vote
Business hours for facilities open to the public, such as restaurants and cafes, will be extended one more hour to 11 p.m. beginning March 5, but private gatherings will continue to be restricted to 6 people. On March 4, the government released slightly revised physical (social) distancing measures including these details. The latest measures will be effective until March 20. Business hours will be extended for twelve types of public facilities including restaurants and cafes, noraebang or singing rooms (including coin-operated karaoke rooms), bathhouses, indoor sports facilities, Internet cafes, multibangs (rooms equipped with a number of entertainment facilities) and video arcades, party rooms, casinos, massage parlors, lifelong vocational training institutes, movie theaters and performance halls, and clubs and bars.
Consumer Prices Rise 3.7% in February: Prices Continue to Rise by over 3% for 5 Consecutive Months
Last month, consumer prices rose by 3.7% from the previous year, continuing to rise by over 3% for the fifth consecutive month. According to the February Consumer Price Trend released by Statistics Korea on March 3, the consumer price index for the previous month was 105.30 (Year 2020=100), up 3.7% year-over-year (YoY). It also increased by 0.6% from the previous month. Consumer prices have increased YoY by a rate in the 3% level for five consecutive months since last October (3.2%).
“Reminds Us of Chung Mong-joon in 2002. It Will Backfire” Democratic Party “Devalues” Yoon-Ahn Coalition for Now
On March 3, the Democratic Party of Korea said the coalition between Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party would “backfire.” The ruling party depreciated the coalition mentioning Chung Mong-joon’s announcement to withdraw his support for Roh Moo-hyun after Roh and Chung tried to form a coalition in 2002. This morning, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Min-seok shared his views on the opposition coalition on social media and wrote, “Perhaps it is because of the experience twenty years ago, it was not all that shocking.” Kim shared his own experience writing, “In 2002, Chung Mong-joon withdrew his support for Roh Moo-hyun on the eve of the presidential election, and since I had been promoting the coalition of Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-joon, I was devastated.”
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Samsung Elec said to be hacked and threatened by ransomware gang Lapsus$
Ransomware group Lapsus$ broke into data troves of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics and leaked about 190 gigabytes worth confidential data, which could cause a serious toll to the world’s top chip and smartphone maker. The same data extortion entity that attacked U.S. chipmaker Nvidia last year disclosed Saturday via Telegram instant messaging platform that it had hacked Samsung Electronics server and obtained confidential source code.
S. Korean exports exempted from Washington’s sanction on Russia
South Korean exports bound for Russia won’t be subject to U.S. Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) requiring review and approval from Washington for any item produced with technologies and materials of U.S. origin. Washington agreed to include Korea in the list of FDPR exempt countries after Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo had talks with U.S. senior officials, including Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves in Washington on Thursday, according to the trade ministry. The action will be publicly posted in a few days.
Korea’s Feb FX reserves add $240 mn, KRW hits 20-month low vs USD
The Korean won weakened to a 20-month low on Friday amid escalating geopolitical tensions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. dollar started Friday 3.40 won higher at 1,208 won and climbed to 1,212.70 won in the morning trade, the highest since 1,216.50 won of June 23 in 2020. The local currency has been battered as investors rush to safe assets amid heightened concerns about the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
What’s ticking around the world at this second?
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USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com
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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
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