Friday, December 16, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
Korean, Int'l guests have their fill of satisfaction at Qatari National Day reception
A very impressive reception was hosted last night at Hotel Shilla in Seoul by Ambassador Khalid E. Al-Hamar of the State of Qatar in Seoul in celebration of the National Day of the counrtry. The spacious Dynasty Ballroom of the hotel was literally filled with many important guests from the international community as well as the Korean government and other segments of Korean soceity as well as from the ambassadors and madams from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps. Following the wonderful speech of Ambassador Khalid E. Al-Hamar and that of Miniser of Culture, Sports & Toursim Park Bo-gyoon, there were colorful art performances by the dancers and singers, which greatly attracted the attention of the Korean and international guests.
ibis Styles unveils new playful address close to Incheon Int’l Airport Terminal 2
In Incheon, the gateway to South Korea, ibis Styles’ new address opened its door in front of Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on Dec. 1, 2022. Whether it is a late-night arrival, an early-morning departure, or a long layover, the trendy ibis Styles Ambassador Incheon Airport takes savvy travellers on a one-of-a-kind creative hotel journey through its functional spaces and playful design inspired by migratory birds and airplanes. Sharing its borders with Seoul, Incheon is not just the primary international transportation hub but a dynamic destination.
Ecological research leads to better environmental protection in China
Ecological research is a task that investigates, monitors and evaluates various types of ecosystems and biological species. It is a key measure to get a clear picture of the ecology, understand its variation, and evaluate the weaknesses and achievements in ecological conservation. Over the recent years, local authorities across China have made constant efforts to carry out ecological research and innovate investigation methods. The outcomes are widely applied in resource census, policy-making and science popularization, which forcefully drives the progress of ecological conservation.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
U.S. Launches New Space Unit in Korea
The U.S. Forces Korea set up a new space unit at headquarters on Wednesday, tasked with detecting and tracking missiles outside the atmosphere. The unit was set up hastily here after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile last month amid an intensifying cold war between the U.S. and China. In a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, USFK chief Paul LaCamera said the new unit will help monitor changing threats. "The activation here today of U.S. Space Forces Korea... enhances our ability to defend the homelands and ensures peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia," he said.
Koreans Worry They'll Have to Live with COVID Forever
Half of Koreans worry that the COVID pandemic will never end, a survey suggests, and some 20,000 university students are delaying graduation in the face of hiring freezes due to the pandemic and economic recession. In a survey of 1,000 people by Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health in March, 54.3 percent of respondents said they worry that the COVID pandemic will go on forever, while 61.9 percent said that they are afraid that another new infectious disease will surface over the next five years.
N.Korean Workers Party Vows to Stay in Power for 8,000 Years
The North Korean Workers Party has declared it will stay in power for another "8,000 years" after a year of "groundbreaking changes." When he took the helm, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the relatively modest claim that the party could stay in power for 700 to 7,000 years, but a decade later he seems to feel emboldened to add another millennium. The official Rodong Sinmun daily said in a front-page article on Thursday that this year marks a "groundbreaking milestone" where Kim "clarified the direction of building a party for a new age" paving the way for the party's "80-year leadership to continue for 8,000 years."
Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
Yoon calls for major reforms in town hall meeting
President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed that reforms in three major areas — pensions, labor and education — were a "necessity, not an option" Thursday. A televised town hall-style meeting to review how his government is doing, the first of its kind, was broadcast live and attended by a panel of 100 people who had a chance to ask questions directly to the president. The meeting started at 2 p.m. and lasted two hours and 30 minutes, far exceeding the 100 minutes initially allotted. The theme of the meeting attended by key Cabinet members was "promises to the people and their implementation" and was divided into three sections: the economy; a vision for an era of regional growth; and major reforms in pensions, labor and education.
Budget stalemate continues over tax cut plan differences
The budget vote, two weeks beyond the deadline already, is still in doubt as the two sides remain far apart and continue to bicker. On Thursday, Speaker Kim Jin-pyo suggested a 1 percentage point cut in the maximum corporate tax rate, to 24 percent, as a compromise, and the Democratic Party (DP) agreed. The People Power Party (PPP) wants 3 percentage points and rejected the offer. “The DP, after much thought, has decided to accept the mediation by the National Assembly speaker,” DP chief Lee Jae-myung said Thursday. “While the proposal does not coincide with DP’s will, we have made our decision considering the difficult economic situation.
IAEA chief visits Seoul, warns about North's nuke test site
Worrying activities have been detected at North Korea's nuclear testing site, according to Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Speaking with a group of reporters on arrival at Incheon Airport Wednesday evening, Grossi said that movements around the test site have been very active lately and North Korea could conduct a nuclear test soon.
The test site, located in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, is where North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear tests from 2006 to 2017.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Fed is expected to raise the rate to 5 percent next year
Although the Fed has slowed down the pace of raising interest rates unprecedentedly fast, it has only temporarily taken its foot off the clutch of austerity measures and did not step on the brake. The speed may have slowed down, but the Fed made clear its intention to hike interest rates next year. With the Fed’s upward adjustment of the target benchmark interest rate to 5 percent or even higher, Korea’s interest rate is likely to rise above the previously expected 3.5 percent. At the FOMC meeting on Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 4.25 to 4.5 percent, the highest rate in 15 years since October 2007, when the interest rate was 4.75 percent.
People Power Party to elect its leader through 100% member votes
The ruling People Power Party may elect its party leadership only through party member votes, planning to deliver the decision by Christmas. Although the faction that is not friendly towards President Yoon Suk-yeol strongly opposes the complete exclusion of non-party member votes, both newly-elected and re-elected representatives of the party held press conferences on Thursday in a show of support for the party leadership’s decision to revise the election rules. Rep. Chung Jin-suk, chair of the ruling party’s emergency committee, emphasized that no country in the world adopts opinion polls to make decisions regarding the party’s general meeting.
U.S. pushes for a bill to ban ‘money laundering’
The U.S. Congress is pushing for a bill to ban the ‘money laundering’ of virtual currencies. Some project that this bill's passage will blow a heavy blow to North Korea, which has been raising funds for its nuclear and missile programs by hacking virtual currencies. On Wednesday, U.S. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Roger Marshall announced they are introducing a “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.” “The rogue states, Oligarchy (newly emerging conglomerates in Russia), and drug dealers are using virtual currencies to launder money and avoid regulations.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
KEPCO in talks of estimated $31 bn nuclear export deal with Turkiey
South Korea’s state-run utility company Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) is in talks with the Turkish government for a possible nuclear power deal worth about $30.8 billion, raising expectations for another mega export of homegrown reactors after the successful deal with Poland in October. According to the KEPCO mid- to long-term business purpose report 2023-2027 obtained by Maeil Business Newspaper on Wednesday, KEPCO is seeking to initiate a joint business feasibility study for a nuclear power plant project with the Turkish government from next year.
South Korea proceeds with plan for financial stability after Fed’s rate hike
South Korea’s Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said on Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by half a percentage point was an expected move. Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho presided over a meeting on Thursday to discuss macroeconomic and financial issues with high-ranking financial officers, including central bank chief Rhee Chang-yong and Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun.
S.Korea’s November export price drops most in almost 14 years on won, oil
South Korea’s export price fell the most in nearly 14 years in November, marking the first dip in three months because of a stronger won, fall in crude oil prices and sluggish global demand. The export price index reached 125.82 in November, down 5.2 percent from 132.74 a month ago, according to the Bank of Korea data released Thursday. It is the first drop in three months and the most on-month fall since April 2009. The index, however, is still 8.6 percent higher compared with November last year.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Why there haven’t been updates on probe into N. Korean fisher repatriation
Prosecutors are entering the final stage of their investigation into the previous administration’s response to North Korea’s killing of a South Korean civil servant in the waters off Korea’s western coast in 2020, indicting and detaining Suh Hoon, the former Blue House national security advisor. On the other hand, in the last two months there have been no updates about another national security case directed at the previous administration — namely, the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen to the North. This is in stark contrast to the beginning of the case, when the presidential office, National Intelligence Service, Unification Ministry and prosecutors slammed the repatriation in concert as a “crime against humanity.”
Japan must heed neighbors’ fears over ramped up attack capabilities
This Friday, the Japanese government plans to amend its National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG), and Medium Term Defense Program (MTDP). The major changes include the reorganization of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), a large increase in defense spending, and the acquisition of “enemy base strike capabilities,” which would allow Japan to launch direct strikes against missile bases in North Korea or China in an emergency situation. While they don’t amend the Constitution itself, the changes pose a serious risk of substantially altering the pacifist document that has been maintained for over 75 years since World War II, and Japan’s principle of exclusively defense-oriented policies.
Korea to pay parents of newborns 700K won per month starting Jan. 1
The government will be providing 700,000 won (US$540) a month to parents of children under 12 months old, and 350,000 won a month to parents of children between 13 and 24 months old, starting in January. Moreover, the government will require prospective nursery school teachers to have graduated from a relevant four-year university department starting in 2025, when the government’s plan to place nurseries and preschools under the control of provincial and metropolitan offices of education in a bid to unify early childhood education and daycare goes into effect.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
The Key Figure in the Daejang-dong Case, Kim Man-bae, Attempted Suicide: Investigation Expected to Be Interrupted with Kim in the ICU
Kim Man-bae, a key figure in the alleged corruption surrounding the Daejang-dong development project, attempted to take his own life. The latest development is expected to interrupt the prosecutors’ investigation. According to the Suwon Jungbu Police Station in Gyeonggi on December 15, Kim’s lawyer called 119 and reported that Kim, the biggest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, tried to commit suicide inside a car parked on a street in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi at around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Itaewon Victims’ Families, “Are the Rash Words Disparaging the Parliamentary Inquiry the Official Position of the Ruling Party?”
The bereaved families of the victims who died in the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon visited the National Assembly on December 13 and called for lawmakers to quickly conduct a parliamentary inquiry, which has been at a standstill for twenty days. They fiercely denounced the ruling People Power Party P(PPP) figures who have been opposing the parliamentary inquiry. A group of citizens including the group representing the families of the October 29 Itaewon disaster victims and 188 civic groups held a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday and called for a parliamentary inquiry with no sanctuary and for a formal apology from the president.
“Health Insurance Faces a Financial Crisis Because of Moon Care” President Yoon Begins Launching Anti-Moon Jae-in Policies
President Yoon Suk-yeol raised the issue of reforms in the labor market and the national health insurance policy on December 13. He presented changes focusing on abolishing “Moon Jae-in Care (stronger coverage with the national health insurance policy)” and the 52-hour workweek. The president seems to be changing national policies to implement his own policies, but conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties are expected in the process. President Yoon presided over a cabinet meeting at the Office of the President on Tuesday and said, “Normalizing the national health insurance policy, which is the last line of defense in protecting the people’s health, is urgent,” and argued that changes in the national health insurance policy was not optional but vital.
KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
UN Adopts N. Korea Human Rights Resolution for 18th Straight Year
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday condemning human rights violations by North Korea and called for efforts to address the issue. In a General Assembly meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, the resolution was passed by consensus without a vote, making it the 18th of its kind since 2005 and the first to be co-sponsored by South Korea in four years. This year's resolution added calls for North Korea to release all information pertaining to foreign nationals who have been subjected to human rights violations by the regime to their families and national governments.
Yoon Calls for IAEA Support for N. Korea Denuclearization
President Yoon Suk Yeol met with the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) on Thursday and discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons and other issues. During the meeting at the presidential office, Yoon expressed concerns over the North's nuclear program and asked for the IAEA's participation in efforts to denuclearize North Korea through strengthened monitoring and inspection readiness posture regarding Pyongyang's nuclear activities.
N. Korea Claims Successful Test of High-thrust Solid-fuel Motor
North Korea said it has successfully tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" as part of the development of a new strategic weapon at its Sohae Satellite Launching Ground. The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Friday that an institute under the Academy of Defense Science successfully conducted the static firing test of a solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140 ton-force on Thursday morning. The KCNA said the test was conducted to verify all technical-specific features of the high-thrust solid-fuel motor and the results proved the motor's reliability and stability.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Yoon wraps up 1st year in office amid signs of rebounding from record-low approval ratings
President Yoon Suk-yeol is wrapping up his first year in office marked by record-low approval ratings blamable in part on unpopular policy and personnel decisions and a series of gaffes at home and abroad, though the numbers have recently shown signs of picking up. Yoon's approval rating plunged from 52 percent in his first week in office to 24 percent in the first week of August, according to Gallup Korea, a number rarely seen during previous presidencies.
Subway train malfunctions over Han River, leaves 500 stranded for 2 hours
A Seoul subway train malfunctioned and stopped over a bridge on the Han River on Thursday, leaving some 500 passengers trapped and stranded for over two hours, according to officials. The Line 1 subway train heading toward Noryangjin Station from Yongsan Station in central Seoul malfunctioned and halted on the Hangang Railroad Bridge at 7:58 p.m. The state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) towed the train with another railcar to Noryangjin Station at 10:05 p.m.
N. Korea conducts 'important' test of new strategic weapon: state media
North Korea has successfully conducted a test to verify the "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" features in developing another "new-type strategic weapon system," according to its state media Friday. "An important institute under the Academy of Defence Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140tf (ton-force), the first of its kind in the country, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the morning of Dec. 15," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language report.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Yoon vows to make nation safe for women and from drugs
President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to make Korea a safe nation from sexual and drug crimes, touching on multiple economic, welfare and labor issues in a rare pangovernmental meeting broadcast live on Thursday afternoon. In the meeting presided over by Yoon and attended by all ministers and 100 ordinary people, Yoon and his officials answered questions from a public panel in three sessions about the economy, balanced regional development and reforms to labor, pension and education policies.
Key suspect of land corruption scandal hospitalized
A key suspect of a high-profile land corruption scandal in South Korea was sent to hospital Thursday after he stabbed himself with a knife in an apparent suicide attempt. The suspect Kim Man-bae was in stable condition, but was hospitalized in an intensive care unit of Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, due to injuries in his neck and chest.
US Fed’s half-point rate hike widens gap with Korea
The US Federal Reserve decided to slow down its interest rate hike pace, raising the benchmark interest rates by a half-point. The Korea-US gap widened, which could lead to the outflow of foreign funds and volatility in currency exchange. Upon concluding a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the US central bank raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent target range. Expectations are growing over whether the central bank will take a step back on its monetary policy in line with the US or continue the steep hike to lessen the gap of differentials between the two countries. The next decision on Korea’s policy rate will be made on Jan. 13.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
N. Korea claims successful test of 'high-thrust solid-fuel motor' at satellite launching site
North Korea has successfully conducted a test to verify the "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" features in developing another "new-type of strategic weapon system," its state media said Friday. "An important institute under the Academy of Defense Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140tf, the first of its kind in the country, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the morning of Dec. 15.," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language report.
President vows to reform labor market at meeting with public
President Yoon Suk-yeol reaffirmed his decision to reform the labor market during a meeting with the public, Thursday, saying such changes are a must and not an option. "Reforms are not popular, but we have to pursue them and must not avoid them," Yoon said at the meeting, whose purpose was to check the progress of his administration's key policy tasks and communicate with the public about their implementation. Describing the three major reforms in pension and education as well as labor as "indispensable" for the nation's sustainable growth and the future generation, the president said, "Unless the government is successful in reforming the labor market, the labor issue could turn into a political matter, which would spoil the economy and politics."
Widening interest rate gap with US raises questions about BOK's rate goal
The interest rate gap between Korea and the United States has widened to a more-than-22-year high, raising questions about whether the Bank of Korea's (BOK) policy rate will be able to settle at its target of 3.5 percent in 2023.The borrowing rate of the U.S. was raised to the range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent following the Federal Reserve's 50-basis-point hike, Wednesday, which is significantly more than that of Korea at 3.25 percent. This maximum 1.25-percentage-point gap between the U.S. and Korea is the highest since Oct. 5, 2000, when the U.S led Korea 6.5 percent to 5.25 percent in their respective benchmark interest rates.
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