Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
Yoon, Trong vow efforts to further promote mutual cooperation, relations, friendship
President Yoon Suk-yeol and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the Communist Party of Vietnam had a video conference on June 8, 2022 and discussed major issues and development of relations and cooperation between the two countries as well as ways to strengthen Korea-ASEAN cooperation. According to reports by KTV, Inside VINA and other Korean and Vietnamese news sources, Yoon and Trong had a video conference with each other on that day and discussed major issues and ways to further develop relations, cooperation and friendship between the two very friend countries of Asia and to further strengthen the Korea-ASEAN cooperation.
Director Baek Jae-ho sponsors “Indiespace Sharing Seats” campaign
Indiespace, the first private independent movie theater in Korea opened in 2007, is showing a variety of Korean independent films through special exhibitions and screenings, including premiere. Sponsorship for Sharing Seats adopts a way to engrave sponsor’s name on the seat of the Indiespace theater when sponsoring more than 2 million won. It is a sponsorship method that has continued steadily from the reopening of Indiespace in 2012 to the present with the interest and affection of audiences, directors, actors, and various film organizations.
Pernod Ricard Group’s Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët publishes its CSR report
Pernod Ricard Group, the global wine and spirits company, published its 2021/22 CSR report which unveils the sustainability and responsibility progress achieved by Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët(“MMPJ”). Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët, an affiliate of Pernod Ricard Group, produces the prestige cognac ‘Martell’, along with the prestige champagne ‘Perrier-Jouët’, ‘Mumm’, which serves as a symbol of celebration, and private collection ‘RSRV’. Martell Mumm Perrier-Jouët announced its progress in 12 scopes including Nurturing Terroir, Valuing People, Circular Making, and Responsible Hosting, which all form a sizable part of its key initiatives.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Schools Run out of Male Teachers
Schools in Korea are facing a serious shortage of male teachers as the job loses prestige and allure. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, a mere 11 out of 114 people who passed the exam for elementary teachers this year were men. It was the first time that the proportion fell below one out of 10. Part of the reason may be that the teaching profession is popular among women because it provides more stability and flexibility in balancing work and life than other jobs. But men are also increasingly repelled by the job.
Rising Utility Costs Hit Poor Hardest
Surging heating bills this winter are making things even harder for low-income families. Households in the bottom 20 percent of the income bracket are already having a hard time making ends meet due to a shortage of jobs and rising prices, and now public transportation, water and sewage and other public utility costs are also set to rise. According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, average essential living costs accounted for 92.8 percent of disposable income in the first quarter over the past three years. That compares to 76.4 percent in the second quarter, 80.7 percent in the third quarter and 81.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
Korea's Int'l Patent Applications Increse
Korean companies and individuals have been filing for more patents internationally despite the global economic slowdown. Last year, according to a report from the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the number of applications from South Korea under the Patent Cooperation Treaty rose from the year before by 6.8 percent. The total came to almost 22,000. Such applications can eventually lead to patents being approved in other countries. The report said small and medium-sized companies especially invested in technology to expand overseas, and in general, Korean companies looked to secure their tech supply chains.
Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
NATO to address North Korea-Russia arms trade
North Korea’s arms trade with Russia, and its nuclear brinkmanship, will be addressed by NATO and its Asian partners, said the military alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg in Seoul on Sunday. “We are of course concerned about the reckless missile tests and nuclear programs of North Korea, and the war in Ukraine also has ramifications for your region,” Stoltenberg said in his meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin on the same day.
Yoon's approval rating slips for third week
President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell for the third straight week in the wake of a spike in heating bills, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Wednesday of last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance dipped 1.7 percentage points from the previous week to 37 percent. Yoon's disapproval rating was 59.8 percent, adding 1 percentage point in the same period.
Resolution on forced labor before summit with Japan: Official
A resolution on the forced labor issue, an objective that the Foreign Ministry in Seoul has prioritized in recent months, is likely a prerequisite for a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said a high-ranking official of the Foreign Ministry on Monday. “We will have to approach the issue on all levels, as there are discussions that should be held on the director-level, and others that can only be held on a higher level,” said a senior-ranking official of the ministry in speaking with a group of reporters in Seoul on Monday.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Memory chip businesses suffer the worst downturns
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that a historic crash for memory chips, the business where South Korean companies have championed, hit the industry hard, rendering the businesses to suffer an unprecedented downturn. Experts say the combined operating losses of the players, including Samsung Electronics, Co., and SK hynix, will amount to as high as five billion dollars. Memory semiconductor companies increased supply as the use of information technology (IT) devices surged during the Covid-19 pandemic entering a boom cycle.
Lee Jae-myung agrees to show up for additional questioning
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the People Power Party, said on Monday morning in an unscheduled press conference, “Although it is humiliating and unfair since they summoned me again, I will appear before prosecutors for another round of questioning regarding allegations on development projects in Seongnam’s Daejang neighborhood and Wirye New Town as a ‘loser’ in last year's presidential election.” He decided to do so despite the decision made through a meeting held behind closed doors on Sunday evening—the Democratic Party’s highest leadership agreed that Lee should not comply with additional questioning by prosecutors.
Memoirs of former Japanese PM Abe to be published
The memoirs of former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, who was killed by gunshot in July last year, will be published on February 8. According to Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday, the book titled “Memoirs of Shinzo Abe” was written based on interviews conducted over a year from October 2020, a month after the former prime minister stepped down from office. Prime Minister Abe discussed anecdotal stories about foreign leaders, such as former U.S. President Donald Trump with whom he had a close relationship, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as his thoughts about running the country.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Samsung SDI posts record earnings in 2022 on robust EV demand
Samsung SDI Co., South Korea’s third-biggest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, said Monday it posted record earnings last year despite concerns of slowing demand for EVs and economic uncertainties. Operating income reached a record 1.8 trillion won ($1.46 billion) last year, up 69.4 percent from a year earlier, and revenue also came to a record 20.12 trillion won, up 48.5 percent, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Hyundai Mobis aims to offer comprehensive mobility solutions: CEO
Cho Sung-hwan, chief executive officer at Hyundai Mobis Co., an auto parts maker under South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, has been active at home and abroad in promoting autonomous driving technology and accelerating innovation through standardization. Cho has been elected president of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) at the ISO’s General Assembly meeting in Abu Dhabi in October last year. He will begin his two-year term from 2024.
Yoon encourages government to adopt latest AI technologies
President Yoon Suk-yeol has encouraged the government to adopt new artificial intelligence technologies at a government meeting on Friday with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel Management. Commenting on a recent Maeil Business Newspaper article about the new AI-driven software ChatGPT, and on news about the AI chatbot passing the entrance exam for Wharton School’s MBA program, Yoon requested that the Ministry of Interior play a lead role for government officials in adopting and using such new technologies.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Yoon pushes to undo Moon-era reforms to powerful state institutions
A little short of a year in power, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is reversing a series of measures to reform institutions of state power in Korea such as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the prosecution service. Faced with the planned transfer of the intelligence agency’s power to investigate cases involving espionage and pro-North Korean operatives to the police, the presidential office and the administration are considering establishing an investigation support organization within the NIS to cooperate with the police.
Democratic leader Lee decries prosecutors’ probe as political
After appearing before prosecutors for questioning in connection with alleged preferential treatment in development projects in Seongnam’s Daejang neighborhood and Wirye New Town, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said the prosecutors were “engaging in politics, not an investigation.” While prosecutors are maintaining that further questioning of Lee is necessary, the Democratic Party leadership agreed Sunday that Lee should not appear before prosecutors again as they engage in what is being described as a “harassment-based investigation.”
Yoon’s office mulls suing Democratic lawmaker for defamation over claim about first lady
The presidential office is actively considering suing Kim Eui-kyeom of the Democratic Party for defamation by spreading false information as early as Jan. 30. Kim has raised suspicions of further stock manipulation by President Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife, Kim Keon-hee. If the Democratic Party spokesperson is formally accused, this will mark the second case in which the presidential office called for the criminal punishment of an opposition party lawmaker for raising suspicions related to the first lady. The first case involved Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Masks No Longer Mandatory Indoors Starting Today: “Freedom” in Supermarkets, Schools and Gyms
From January 30, the mandatory mask regulation will be lifted with a few exceptions, such as public transportation and hospitals. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, from Monday, people will be free to decide whether to wear masks indoors. The government lifted the mandatory mask regulation for outdoor spaces last May, and now has changed the indoor mask regulation from mandatory to recommended. Thus, the government’s regulation enforcing mandatory masks will disappear 27 months after it was first introduced to prevent COVID-19.
War of Nerves over Another Summons: Lee Accuses Prosecutors of Intentionally Dragging the Interrogation, While Prosecutors Claim They Need a “Direct” Statement
Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung and the team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office investigating allegations connected to the development of the Wirye New Town and Daejang-dong, Seongnam-si in Gyeonggi are engaging in a battle of nerves over a second interrogation. Whether Lee will appear for a second questioning or whether the prosecutors will conclude the investigation is expected to be determined early next month. When Lee was questioned by the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 (chief prosecutor Gang Baek-sin) in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on January 28, he complained that the prosecutors were intentionally trying to drag the investigation, asking the same questions over and over again.
Kim Sung-whan, “The Common Middle Class All Received Explosive Heating Bills. Are European Countries Populist, Too?”
On January 27, Kim Sung-whan, head of policy in the Democratic Party of Korea, argued that the proposal to provide support for high energy prices was not populism and asked, “Should we call European countries populist, too?” In an interview on Kim Jong-bae’s Focus (MBC radio) Friday, when the host mentioned how the People Power Party criticized the proposal as “give away” populism, Kim said, “Energy rates rose much more in Europe than in our country due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, and most of those European countries cut taxes or provided support for energy costs.”
KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
WHO Says COVID-19 Remains Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization(WHO) said on Monday that COVID-19 remains a global health emergency, but is now at a "transition point". WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the WHO’s international health regulations emergency committee discussed the pandemic on Friday, and advised him to keep the virus' status as a public health emergency of international concern(PHEIC), the UN agency's highest alert level. The WHO chief said he concurred with the committee's stance.
National Assembly Introduces Bill to Stabilize Rice Prices
The National Assembly introduced a bill for discussion that would require the government to purchase excess rice at a certain threshold to manage the supply and demand of the staple grain. At a plenary session on Monday, 157 voted in favor to introduce the bill with 6 against in an anonymous vote, but it was carried out without the members of the ruling People Power Party. They walked out of the vote, protesting that the introduction of the bill was procedurally wrong.
DP Chief Agrees to Further Questioning by Prosecutors
Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung said he will appear for another round of questioning by prosecutors regarding his alleged involvement in the Seongnam land development scandal. At a meeting with local reporters on Monday, Lee accused the prosecution of abusing authority to concoct the case against him. The opposition chief said despite the humiliation and unfairness, he will cooperate and that it is the price he has to pay for losing last year's presidential election.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Adversary that challenges S. Korea challenging Seoul-Washington alliance as whole: U.S. defense chief
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tuesday that if an adversary challenges South Korea or the United States, it would be challenging the two countries' "alliance as a whole," reaffirming America's "ironclad" security commitment to the Asian ally. Austin issued the warning in an exclusive contribution piece to Yonhap News Agency, as he plans to hold talks with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in Seoul later in the day to discuss deterrence against evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
S. Korea, Japan hold working-level consultations on wartime forced labor
South Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic consultations Monday on ways to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor under 2018 rulings by Seoul's Supreme Court. Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at South Korea's foreign ministry, met with her Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, for discussions at the Seoul ministry. It marked their second face-to-face discussion after Seoul formally floated the idea of using a public foundation based in South Korea to pay the compensation for Korean victims who won lawsuits against two Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp.
U.S. House resolution seeks to denounce socialism, N. Korean leaders
A resolution proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to denounce socialism and socialist dictators, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his predecessors, the resolution showed Monday. The resolution, titled "Denouncing the horrors of socialism," also notes over 3.5 million people in North Korea have starved due to what it called crimes committed by socialist ideologues. The resolution notes "many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro."
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
NATO chief warns of risks of overreliance on China
South Korea should be careful not to be overly dependent on China, a key sourcing destination for Seoul, as Beijing could leverage that to get what it wants in a world split between free democracies and authoritarian regimes, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Seoul on Monday. The visit by the chief of the 30-member military alliance based in Brussels, Belgium -- the second time since 2017 -- is the latest move by the Western coalition trying to push back against longtime adversaries like Russia by rallying major Asian democracies. Japan is Stoltenberg’s next stop.
Wheelchair-using subway protesters not underprivileged: Seoul mayor
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday reiterated a zero-tolerance stance against subway protesters in wheelchairs affiliated with Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, who are demanding residences that allow for independent living. The mayor stressed the negative impact of the protests on ordinary commuters, and noted that funding for disability housing was a matter under the central, not municipal government's purview. "I don't think the protesters in wheelchairs are underprivileged. Rather, ordinary people affected by the unexpected delay in subway operations are," Oh said at a New Year press conference, adding that he is to meet the disabled protesters later on Thursday.
‘Responsibility’ beats ‘professionalism’ in conglomerates’ hiring priorities
Demonstrating a sense of responsibility during a job interview will boost one’s chance of getting hired by large companies in Korea, a report from business lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed Monday. Since 2008, the quinquennial report has been mainly looking into job recruiting announcements and websites of the top 100 local companies in terms of sales to find out trends in qualification that they seek in their applicants.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'
North Korea criticized North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Seoul, calling it a prelude to war and an attempt to create an Asian version of NATO. The condemnation was the latest in a series of hostile statements by Pyongyang against the U.S. decision to deliver tanks to Ukraine to assist Kyiv's war with Russia, showing that the North is seeking to benefit from the China-Russia bloc's confrontation against the trilateral security group of South Korea, Japan and the U.S.
COVID still emergency but nearing 'inflection' point: WHO
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an "inflexion point" where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths. Speaking at the opening of WHO's annual executive board meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "there is no doubt that we're in a far better situation now" than a year ago ― when the highly transmissible Omicron variant was at its peak.
Busan seeks to take lead in expo race after BIE's April visit
The mayor of Busan expressed confidence that Korea's second-largest city will secure the lead in the race to host World Expo 2030 by impressing a delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) due to arrive in April. Mayor Park Heong-joon intends to highlight the southern port city's uniqueness during the BIE's planned visit to assess the feasibility of the bid. He plans to make the North Port redevelopment project, a new urban space being created inside the Port of Busan, the centerpiece of the city's expo bid presentation.
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