Friday, October 28, 2022


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

 

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

45-year-old Lee Sun-jung named CEO of CJ Olive Young
CJ Group has appointed the youngest female CEO at the age of 45. The CJ Group announced that it had appointed Lee Sun-jung, who had served as the head of CJ Olive Young's sales division, as the new CEO of CJ Olive Young after carrying out an executive reshuffle in 2022. Lee Sun-jung, a business leader, was born in 1977. She is the youngest CEO in the CJ Group and the first female CEO of CJ Olive Young.


LG H&H posts 1.9trillion won in sales, 190 billion won in operating profit
In the third quarter of 2022, LG H&H reported 1.9 trillion won in sales (-7.0% yoy), and 190 billion won in operating profit (-44.5% yoy), the company said on Oct. 27. Business environment for 3Q was challenging. In China, consumer sentiment and economic activity declined due to prolonged lockdowns since the beginning of this year. In addition, higher raw material costs, as a consequence of Ukraine crisis, was exacerbated by negative currency impact, resulting in even more pressure on overall operating costs.

 

Hwacheon opens cable car service at Baegam-san Mountain
The 46-seat cable car runs to the top of Mt. Baegam-san at 1,178 meters above sea level in the Hwacheon County area. The Hwacheon Baegam-san Cable Car, at the the northernmost and highest city in Korea, offers a panoramic view of South Korea and also North Korea. This impressive cable car service began operation in earnest with the opening ceremony held on Oct. 21, 2022. The Baegam-san Cable Car, which was unveiled for the first time in eight years since the construction began in March 2014, is the only cable car in Korea that goes north and south of the civilian control line south of the Demilitarized Zone in the Hwacheon County, the forefront of the Central-Eastern region of the Republic of Korea.

 

                                                            


Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

New Booster Jabs Become Available to All Adults

Coronavirus booster shots using the latest vaccines have now been extended to all adults over 18 in Korea as a resurgence of the disease seems to be in the offing with the winter approaching. The new booster shots, which use bivalent vaccines that target both the original strain and Omicron variants, began on Oct. 11 for the highest risk group -- over-60s, immunocompromised patients, and patients and staff at nursing homes and centers for disabled people and homeless shelters. Now, they are available to any adult over 18. Those seeking a jab can sign up for one from Thursday.

 

Korea's Largest Mobility Expo Kicks off in Daegu

The city of Daegu in southeastern Korea is hosting an expo offering a glimpse into the future of mobility. The Daegu International Future Auto & Mobility Expo (DIFA) opens Thursday and runs until Saturday, featuring the latest developments and future technologies encompassing electric vehicles, batteries and urban air mobility. The biggest expo of its kind features about 1,000 booths from some 171 companies.

 

European Central Bank Makes Another Large Interest Rate Hike
The European Central Bank piled on another outsized interest rate hike aimed at squelching out-of-control inflation, increasing rates Thursday at the fastest pace in the euro currency's history and raising questions about how far the bank intends to go with the threat of recession looming over the economy. The 25-member governing council raised its interest rate benchmarks by three-quarters of a percentage point at a meeting in Frankfurt, matching its record increase from last month and joining the U.S. Federal Reserve in making a series of rapid hikes to tackle soaring consumer prices.

 

                                                                                     

Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )

Lee Jae-yong appointed chairman of Samsung Electronics
Lee Jae-yong was appointed executive chairman of Samsung Electronics on Thursday as the company, Korea's largest, faces a myriad of challenges. 
The board of directors, which voted to grant Lee the title, said that the appointment would ensure stability and improve decision-making processes. The board cited the current uncertain global business environment and the pressing need for stronger accountability and business stability in approving the recommendation,” according to a statement released by the electronics maker.

 

Yoon calls for all-out effort in televised emergency meeting
A number of property market restrictions are being rolled back as the government seeks to rescue a market teetering on the edge. Loan-to-value (LTV) ratios will be increased to 50 percent for first time buyers for properties in restricted areas, which includes all of Seoul. The ratio is currently 20 to 50 percent. The LTV ratio in non-designated areas is 70 percent. The prohibition on mortgages for properties costing 1.5 billion won ($1 million) or more will be lifted for first-time homebuyers and owners of a single property.

 

Blue House bigwigs deny evidence fiddling in 2020 murder at sea
Top security officials from the Moon Jae-in administration denied deleting documents and mishandling the murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea soldiers in September 2020. Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won, former Blue House National Security Office (NSO) Director Suh Hoon and former Blue House Chief of Staff Noh Young-min held a press conference hosted by the Democratic Party (DP) at the National Assembly to reject the Yoon Suk-yeol government's allegations that they tampered with evidence to tarnish the murdered official as a defector. They insisted that circumstantial evidence at the time, based on their analysis of intelligence, supported the idea that fisheries official Lee Dae-jun had intended to defect to North Korea.

 

 

                                                               
 

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

Yoon keeps silent about NIS deputy director’s resignation
About the abrupt resignation of Cho Sang-joon, one of the closest confidants to President Yoon Seok-yeol and the head of the Planning and Coordination Office of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), President Yoon refused to offer the reason behind the resignation, citing “personal reasons.” Controversies remain, however, as Cho, a close advisor to President Yoon, stepped down only after four months from a post handling the personnel and budget of the intelligence agency.

 

Poland's deputy PM: Korea has high chance for nuclear plant partner
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said on Wednesday that Poland is going to launch its nuclear power plant project with South Korean partners soon, implying that there is a high chance that Poland will opt for Korea Hydro Nuclear Power (KHNP) of South Korea as a partner for a project led by private companies, even though U.S. firm Westinghouse Electric Corporation has initiated a lawsuit against KHNP. Reuters reported that Mr. Sasin mentioned a possibility of a partnership with South Korea while discussing a nuclear power plant construction project led by a private energy company Zepak that would be pursued in concurrence with the government-led project.

 

Greenhouse gas levels hit all-time high
Greenhouse gas concentrations have hit a record high in 2021. In particular, global methane emissions, which have more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, have risen at the fastest rate recorded. The Korea Meteorological Administration revealed the World Meteorological Organization’s “Global Greenhouse Gas Bulletin,” which showed that the average carbon dioxide levels in 2021 rose by 2.5ppm to 415.7ppm, a record high since records began in 1983. The nitrogen dioxide levels also increased by 1.3ppb from the previous year to 334.5ppb, hitting a record high.

 

                                                                   
 

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

Samsung Elec’s Lee ascends to chair as chip sales fall behind TSMC in Q3
Jay Y. Lee has ascended to the chairmanship of Samsung Electronics after managing affairs of Samsung Group since his father fell ill in 2014 and died two years ago at a challenging time for the chip-to-appliance giant that yielded top chipmaking position to Taiwan’s pure-play foundry TSMC in the third quarter when its chip income was halved from the previous quarter. Samsung Electronics board on Thursday voted to promote Lee from vice chair position, the title he had kept for 10 years for “desperate need of fast and radical decision-making.”

 

Nigerian President invites Korean capital to resources from minerals to nuclear
Since Nigeria is rich in minerals like lithium, a key material in electric vehicle (EV) and battery production South Korea is strong in, the African country welcomes resource and energy ventures and investments from Korean capital, according to its president Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria is a developing country that is very rich in many of the minerals that are required by Korean industry,” Buhari said, in a written interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, timed with his Seoul visit to attend the World Bio Summit jointly hosted by the Korean government and World Health Organization on Oct. 25-26.

 

Korea’s major lenders making easy money off rising rates and loan demand from big firms
South Korea’s four major financial groups are making easy money riding on fast rises in interest rates and lending mostly to large companies, playing by the famous saying that banks are places where they lend an umbrella in fair weather and ask for them back when it starts raining. According to their financial statements for the third quarter released earlier this week, their net interest margin (NIM), the ratio of interest revenue in income, gained 5 to 10 percentage points against a year ago period. The base rate lifted from August last year from a record low of 0.5 percent has reached 3 percent in October.

 


                                                     
 

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

S. Korea, US, Japan vow “unprecedentedly strong” response if N. Korea tests nuke
Senior diplomats from South Korea, the US and Japan agreed during a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday to make an unprecedently strong response if North Korea goes ahead with a seventh nuclear test. The three countries also mentioned the possibility of security cooperation aimed at maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait. If the US and Japan ask South Korea for military cooperation in connection with an incident in Taiwan, Korea would confront a harsh choice that might lead to a rupture in relations with China.

 

Yoon’s budget speech first in Korean history to be boycotted by half of lawmakers
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first budget address before the National Assembly since his inauguration was the first in Korean history to be boycotted by a major party. The 169 lawmakers in the opposition Democratic Party boycotted in protest of an investigation by prosecutors aimed at Lee Jae-myung, leader of the party.The ruling and opposition parties need to overlook their differences so that we can overcome the grave issues affecting our economy and national security,” Yoon said during the speech, while urging the National Assembly to pass his budget bill before the legal deadline of Dec. 2.

 

Taiwan Strait is No. 1 flashpoint in US-China rivalry – Korea must step up to stop conflict, argue experts
The 18th Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium, which was hosted by the city of Busan and the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture, kicked off at Nurimaru APEC House in Busan on Wednesday. The two-day symposium is organized around the theme of “Peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula beyond the new Cold War and hegemonic struggle.” Speakers at the symposium shared ideas for defending peace and preventing the outbreak of a new Cold War, while expressing concern about the war in Ukraine, the strategic competition between the US and China, and the rising tensions in inter-Korean relations.

 

 

                                                  

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

Lee Jae-yong, Promoted to Chairman of Samsung Electronics: The Beginning of a New Samsung Era
Lee Jae-yong (54), vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was promoted to chairman a decade after he became vice chairman in 2012. Lee, who officially returned to the company’s helm after a special pardon on National Liberation Day, will now ensure corporate responsibility for a “new Samsung” as the true chairman. Samsung Electronics announced that board members voted for the promotion of Lee in a board meeting on October 27. The board of directors explained, “As global conditions deteriorate, we made the decision after determining that the company seriously needed to strengthen corporate responsibility, enhance the stability of management, and ensure swift and bold decision making.”

 

Supreme Court Finds Kim Tae-hyo, the Incumbent First Deputy Director of National Security, Guilty of Leaking Military Secrets
Kim Tae-hyo, who was in charge of international strategy planning at Cheongwadae in the Lee Myung-bak government, was found guilty of leaking military secrets. Kim is currently serving as the first deputy director of national security in the Office of the President. Kim Kwan-jin (73), former minister of national defense, who was prosecuted for ordering the Cyber Command to manipulate public opinion, will be tried in court once again. The Supreme Court decided there was a need to review some of the allegations that were recognized in the first trial.


Simplified Chinese” Characters on a Life Vest Worn by the Civil Servant Killed in the Yellow Sea
Prosecutors investigating the death of a civil servant in the Yellow Sea, allegedly disguised as an attempt to defect to North Korea, believe that the Chinese characters written on the life vest worn by the late Lee Dae-jun, a public official in the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, when he was discovered by North Korean soldiers, were likely to be simplified Chinese. Earlier, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) argued on these grounds that Lee had no intention to defect to North Korea and put more weight on the possibility of Lee receiving help from a Chinese fishing boat. But in this case, authorities still have to explain how Lee, who was rescued by the Chinese fishing vessel, fell back into the sea wearing the life vest.

 

 

                                                            

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

Putin Warns S. Korea Against Providing Weapons to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned South Korea against providing weapons to Ukraine, saying that such provision will ruin relations between Seoul and Moscow. According to Reuters and other media, Putin issued the warning on Thursday while speaking at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, a conference of international foreign policy experts, in Moscow. Russia’s state-owned Sputnik news agency reported that the president told the conference that he was aware of South Korea’s intention to supply arms and ammunition to Ukraine.


US: Nuclear Attack by N. Korea to Result in End of Kim Regime
The United States has warned that a nuclear attack by North Korea against the U.S. or its allies and partners will result in the end of the country's regime. The U.S. Department of Defense issued the warning in its Nuclear Posture Review, which was released on Thursday along with the National Defense Strategy and Missile Defense Review. In the document, the Pentagon said that although North Korea cannot be compared with China and Russia, it presents a challenge in deterrence for the U.S. and its allies.

 

US NSC: "Unparalleled Response" Could be Stern Response from Int'l Community
A White House official said that a warning by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman of an “unparalleled” scale of response to a nuclear test by North Korea may refer to a “stern response from the international community.” John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council(NSC), made the remark in a press briefing on Thursday in reference to Sherman’s comment in a meeting with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Tokyo on Wednesday.

 

 

                                                                        
 

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

Yoon says S. Korea has never provided lethal weapons to Ukraine
South Korea has never provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of negative consequences for the two countries' relations if Seoul sent arms to Ukraine. "We've provided humanitarian and peaceful assistance to Ukraine but never lethal weapons," Yoon told reporters. "It's a matter of sovereignty, and we are trying to maintain peaceful relations with all countries around the world, including Russia."

 

Former gov't officials counter allegations over slain fisheries official case
Top officials of the previous Moon Jae-in administration accused the current government of using the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea as a tool for political retaliation, claiming the Moon administration did not manipulate the case. The Moon administration has been accused of concluding without sufficient evidence that the fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, was killed while attempting to defect to North Korea in what critics say was part of efforts to curry favor with Pyognyang.

 

Nuclear attack by N. Korea will result in end of Pyongyang regime: U.S.
A nuclear attack by North Korea against the U.S. or its allies will result in the end of the country's regime, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday. In its National Defense Strategy (NDS), the department said the U.S. will also hold North Korea responsible for any transfer of nuclear weapons or related materials and technology to other actors. "Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime," said the NDS.

 

                                                     


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

Ex-spy chiefs cry foul over North Korea investigations
The ex-directors of the National Intelligence Service, Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon, claimed on Thursday that they were being “wrongfully accused” in the investigations of North Korea controversies from the Moon Jae-in era. In July, the spy agency filed charges against its two former chiefs in a rare move, alleging that Park destroyed the intelligence reports on North Korea’s killing of the fisheries official Lee Dae-jun in 2020 and that Suh prematurely closed the investigative efforts into the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen in 2019.

 

Taking Samsung’s top post, Lee Jae-yong vows to seek out transcending technology
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has been promoted to chairman of the world's largest chipmaker and smartphone maker, ending a high-profile succession process that took more than three decades to complete, with a vow to invest in transcending technology that could reboot the tech giant's growth engine. Lee, 54, was crowned Samsung Electronics' new executive chairman with the board of directors' approval Thursday morning, 10 years after he held the vice chairman title and 31 years after he joined the electronics empire, which was then seeing an exponential growth thanks to his late father.


Korea looks to corporate donations to resolve forced labor dispute with Japan: report
Seoul is reportedly seeking donations from Japanese firms as one of the solutions to the wartime forced labor issue. According to Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday, South Korea is solely reviewing the plan in which the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan, a state-operated entity, collects donations from both Korean and Japanese companies to pay damages to Korean victims who were forced into labor during Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

 

                                                   

 

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

Gov't to boost visa issuances to foreign workers to meet labor shortage at small businesses
The government will expand the issuance of work visas to foreigners to a record high next year, in an effort to assist small businesses suffering from a shortage of workers, the labor minister said during a presidential meeting on the economy, Thursday. During the emergency meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik said the government will issue E-9 visas to 110,000 foreigners next year. The E-9 visa is given to foreigners seeking manual jobs at small- and medium-sized businesses here.

 

Europe sees fastest pace of rate hikes since euro launched
The European Central Bank piled on another outsized interest rate hike aimed at squelching out-of-control inflation, increasing rates at the fastest pace in the euro currency's history and underscoring the bank's determination to control prices despite the threat of recession. The 25-member governing council raised its interest rate benchmarks by three-quarters of a percentage point at a meeting Thursday in Frankfurt, matching its record increase from last month and joining the U.S. Federal Reserve in making a series of rapid hikes to tackle soaring consumer prices.

 

Korea accelerates bid to host World Expo 2030 in Busan
Korea is accelerating its bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan as the nation promoted why the country's southern port city is an optimal place for the global event in front of officials of the Expo organization, ambassadors to Korea and entrepreneurs, Thursday. At the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (KCCI) headquarters in central Seoul, the 9th International Conference for Attracting the 2030 World Expo to Busan event was held. Co-hosted by the KCCI, the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan and Busan city, participants there promoted the city's bid to host the global event.

 


                                                                                                                  

 

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

Gwangmyeong Daily 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.com, bfp@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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