The Korean daily media headlines and humor

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Your Excellency:

Here are The Korea Post notices and a roundup of important headlines from all major Korean-language dailies, TV and other news media of Korea today:

Very Respectfully Yours

/s/

Lee Kyung-sik

Publisher-Chairman

Korea Post Media

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What’s ticking in Korea today? Here is a quick roundup of important news stories from the major Korean news media today:

The Korea Post media (www.koreapost.com) in English, (www.koreapost.co.kr) in Korean.

S. Korea to join cruise association to attract tourists from Southeast Asia

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will join a cruise association this week to attract more tourists from Southeast Asian countries. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it will sign an agreement to join the Asia Cruise Cooperation (ACC) at Busan Port International Passenger Terminal in Busan, the country's second largest city, on Friday. It said the move could help lure more Southeast Asian visitors, whose numbers have already been on the rise. The ACC was launched in 2014 to promote ports of call and develop new paths to boost cruise tourism in Southeast Asia.

LG head donates 100 mln won to family of slain soldier

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo on Tuesday donated 100 million won (US$88,355) to the family of a soldier who was recently killed in an accident while performing his military duty, the conglomerate said. Last month, a 22-year-old soldier surnamed Lee was hit in the head by a stray bullet as he walked back to his base in Gangwon Province. Shortly after the accident, the victim's father said he did not want the shooter to be punished, adding that he wishes to avoid having the man live under guilt or other pressure for the rest of his life.

S. Korea's outbound shipments expand at fastest pace among top 10 exporters

South Korea's outbound shipments grew at the fastest pace among the world's top 10 exporters in the first eight months of the year thanks to an upturn in global demand, data by the World Trade Organization (WTO) showed Tuesday. Exports jumped 16.4 percent on-year to US$375.1 billion over the January-August period to retain the position of the world's sixth largest exporter, according to the WTO's monthly merchandise trade data. The on-year growth by Asia's fourth-largest economy marked the highest gain among the 10 biggest exporting countries in the eight-month period, outpacing the Netherlands' 12 percent and Japan's 8.3 percent growth.

Trump to visit S. Korea on Nov. 7-8: Cheong Wa Dae

U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in South Korea on Nov. 7 for a two-day visit to hold a summit with President Moon Jae-in, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. "We earlier sought to invite President Trump on a three-day visit but agreed President Trump and his wife should arrive in the early morning on Nov. 7, considering the difficulties involved in providing adequate diplomatic protocol should he and his wife arrive in South Korea late at night," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun told a press briefing. Cheong Wa Dae earlier said the Moon-Trump summit will be held on Nov. 7.

Cabinet approves proposal to extend security for ex-presidents, spouses

The Cabinet approved a proposal Tuesday to extend the period of state security services for former presidents and their spouses to up to 20 years after they leave office from the current 15 years. The current law provides that the Presidential Security Service provide security for former presidents and their spouses for 10 years after they leave office and up to an additional five years if they request it. The new proposal calls for increasing the additional security service period to up to 10 years. When those periods are over, police take over the security of the former leaders.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

Trump to Visit S. Korea for Summit on November 7

South Korea's presidential office and the U.S. White House announced that President Donald Trump will visit Seoul for summit talks with President Moon Jae-in on November seventh. The presidential office said that Trump will make a state visit with his wife at the invitation of Moon, adding the U.S. president will be the first foreign leader to visit South Korea since Moon took office in May. Trump will also be the first U.S. president to make a state visit to South Korea in 25 years. The top office said that following an official welcoming ceremony, Moon will hold bilateral talks and a joint news conference with Trump and host a state dinner for him and his wife.

Trump Alleges Nuclear Collaboration between N. Korea, Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump has raised suspicions that North Korea and Iran have been collaborating on nuclear development. Trump made the remark at the White House on Friday while announcing that he will decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. "There are also many people who believe that Iran is dealing with North Korea. I am going to instruct our intelligence agencies to do a thorough analysis and report back their findings beyond what they have already reviewed."

EU Slaps More Sanctions on N. Korea

The European Union has slapped new sanctions on North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The sanctions agreed by EU foreign ministers on Monday include a total ban on EU investment in North Korea, and a ban on the sale of refined petroleum products and crude oil to the North. Previously, the EU's prohibition of investment in the North had been limited to certain industries such as the space industry related to nuclear and ballistic missiles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Moon, Trump to hold bilateral summit in Seoul on Nov. 7

Former NIS official arrested in probe of political interference

A former senior official of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was detained Tuesday over allegations that the spy agency illegally engaged in politics. Choo Myeong-ho has been investigated at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office since Monday. State prosecutors have been digging into allegations that the NIS officials were illegally involved in political activities, including an online slander campaign, under the past two conservative administrations of ousted leader Park Geun-hye and her predecessor Lee Myung-bak.

U.S. 'most interested' in talking with N. Korea at right time

The United States is "most interested" in having talks with North Korea, but only when the regime is serious about giving up its nuclear weapons program, a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency Monday. Heather Nauert said in an interview that Pyongyang is not showing an interest in dialogue when it continues to launch ballistic missiles and test nuclear weapons. The U.S., through its "peaceful pressure campaign," will continue to put pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang in the hopes that the regime will come to the table, she added.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Moon, Trump to hold bilateral summit in Seoul on Nov. 7

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a bilateral summit in Seoul next month, the White House said Monday, for discussions on ways to enhance the countries' alliance and joint efforts to end the North Korean nuclear issue. The bilateral talks will be held on Nov. 7, the White House said in a press release. Trump's trip to South Korea will follow his visit to Japan that will begin Nov. 5. It did not specify when the U.S. president was scheduled to arrive in Seoul, but said he will be in Beijing on Nov. 8 for a series of bilateral, commercial and cultural events, including meetings with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

US ratchets up pressure against NK as allies kick off joint drill

With South Korea and the US kicking off their joint military exercise in a show of force against North Korea, Washington’s senior security and diplomacy officials have reiterated assertive stance against Pyongyang while remaining open to diplomatic solutions to calm the tension. National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster said President Donald Trump would never allow Pyongyang to threaten the US with a nuclear weapon and that the US has been constantly refining military options against Pyongyang in the event of war. “The president‘s been really clear about this. He is not going to permit this rogue regime, (North Korea leader) Kim Jong-un, to threaten the United States with a nuclear weapon,” he said during his interview with Fox News on Sunday. “So he is going to do anything necessary to prevent that from happening.”

Park calls trial ‘political vendetta,’ attorneys resign en masse

Former President Park Geun-hye, who is standing trial over the corruption scandal that led to her ouster in March, unleashed pent-up frustration during a court hearing Monday, calling her case a “political vendetta.” Speaking at length for the first time since her trial began in May, Park said she could not “accept the court’s decision to extend” her detention, which was originally scheduled to end Monday but was extended by another six months by judges Friday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Travelers to US will face 'toughest ever' security interview from Oct. 26

All passengers bound for the United States will be required to undergo a security interview at airports in their countries amid growing concerns about terrorist attacks, the transport ministry said Tuesday. On June 28, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asked airlines across the world to carry out a thorough security check of passengers bound for the U.S. through interviews and screening, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. "Local passengers who travel to the U.S. using low-cost carriers are subject to a security interview at the airlines' ticket desks from Oct. 26," a ministry official said over the phone. Domestic low-cost carriers currently operate flights to the U.S. territories of Guam and Saipan.

Top court confirms life sentence of Vietnamese murderer

The Supreme Court upheld Tuesday the life imprisonment handed down on a Vietnamese fisherman convicted of killing two South Koreans aboard a vessel in the Indian Ocean in June 2016, after he appealed a lower court decision. Prosecutors have indicted the man and his Vietnamese accomplice, both aged 32, on suspicion of assaulting and stabbing to death the 43-year-old captain and the 42-year-old engineer of the deep-sea fishing vessel Kwang Hyun 803 in waters near the Seychelles. The top court also turned down an appeal filed by the accomplice, who was convicted of assaulting the two South Koreans, and upheld a high court ruling that sentenced him to one year in prison.

Police officers accused of farmer's death by water cannon

Four police officials, including a former Seoul police chief, were indicted Tuesday on charges of negligent homicide in the death of an activist farmer due to injuries caused by a police water cannon. In November 2015, Baek Nam-ki fell unconscious after he was shot directly by a police water cannon during an anti-government rally. The farmer in his 60s was in a coma before he died of acute renal failure in September 2016. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted Goo Eun-soo, then commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Shin Yun-kyun, then chief of the 4th riot squad, without detention.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DongA Ilbo (http://english.donga.com)

Defense minister considers establishing an elite troop aiming the heart of N. Korea

It has been confirmed that Defense Minister Song Young-moo expressed the necessity of establishing an airborne division in order to win when a war break out between the two Koreas. The focus is on the possibility of visualization of an aggressive elite maneuvering troop, which can put deeply into the enemy camp in the early stages in case of emergency, such as the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions of the United States Army.

Location of gravitational wave signals identified for 1st time

A joint international research team has yielded a scientific breakthrough by detecting gravitational wave signals from collision of two neutron stars. The researchers also identified the location of collision by successfully observing high-energy rays including gamma radiations. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) announced on Monday that the location where gravitational waves are generated has been detected for the first time through a concerted research effort by some 3,000 scientists across 45 countries in the world. As many as 38 South Korean researchers participated in the research project from various groups such as the Korean Gravitational Wave Group, KASI, the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Seoul National University and the Space Science Research Institute of Sungkyunkwan University.

China may reappoint vice-premier for foreign affairs in14 years

Amidst intense conflicts with the United States in several corners of the world, namely the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea, China reportedly plans to reintroduce a vice-premier for foreign affairs at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, which begins on Wednesday. While in the United States, the Secretary of State who oversees foreign affairs serves as a senior cabinet member, China’s top diplomat, State Councilor, does not hold a seat on the 25-member Politburo, which has drawn criticism that foreign diplomacy has been belittled in the country’s policy structure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

N.Korea Hones Cyberheists into 'Almost Perfect Weapon'
While the world's attention is focused on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, it has developed its hacking skills into "an almost perfect weapon" and earns as much as US$1 billion a year from cyberheists, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The North has more than 6,000 hackers trained to steal secrets and money from foreign governments and companies, the daily quoted a U.S. intelligence expert as saying. "Cyberheists may bring the North as much as $1 billion a year, or a third of the value of the nation's exports," the paper said.

N.Korean Propaganda Leaflets Found on Cheong Wa Dae Grounds
Propaganda leaflets thought to have originated in North Korea were found inside the Cheong Wa Dae compound on Monday morning. Around 60 leaflets, similar to those spotted in other parts of Seoul recently, were found in the garden and near the walls of the compound's press center. The 10 cm-by-2 cm leaflets carry phrases such as "How pathetic is the government to beg for security assurances from the U.S., which is having problems breathing properly due to its fear of North Korea?," "North Korea's fearsome nuclear punch will deliver a stern punishment to ensure that [U.S. President Donald] Trump will no longer utter nonsense and resort to unruly behavior," and "Dear Leader Kim Jong-un sternly vows to surely tame the U.S. old lunatic with fire."

SNU Slips Out of Top 10 in Asian University Rankings
Prestigious Seoul National University has slipped out of the top 10 Asian universities in this year's rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds of the U.K., released on Monday. The drop was mainly due to a decline in the university's ratio of foreign professors and students. Singapore's Nanyang Technological University took the top spot for the first time. Seoul National University ranked 11th. This is the first time it has dropped out of the top 10 since rankings were first made available in 2009.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Trump’s decertification of Iran nuclear deal complicates negotiations with North Korea

US President Donald Trump decertified the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program on Oct. 13, leaving the question of its fate up to Congress. The development is one with a large potential impact and implications for the North Korean nuclear issue and future negotiations. To begin with, it is certain to send a negative signal to North Korea and the rest of the international community that the US cannot be trusted as a negotiating partner. Pyongyang is unlikely to take negotiations seriously after seeing how even a multilateral nuclear agreement signed the international community can be undermined depending on who is elected president of the US.

Citizens leave Shin-Kori 5, 6 task force with positive impressions

Citizen task force members appeared satisfied as they gathered at Kyobo Life Insurance’s Gyeseongwon training center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, on Oct. 12 following a three-day debate camp on the question of whether to halt construction of the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 nuclear power plants. After completing ten hours of study and debate and a fourth final opinion survey over the past three days, the 471 members finished their missions as “citizen representatives” with the receipt of certifications at a closing ceremony that afternoon. For participants, it was an inspiring experience with public deliberation and the ability to influence major government policies through civic engagement.

Lee Kun-hee found to have avoided millions in tax repayment

“The borrowed name accounts that were investigated for tax evasion by the special prosecutor had been nominally entrusted to other people to protect the management rights of the group, and they will now be registered under Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s real name. Lee has promised to pay all the missing taxes and then to find a way to spend the remaining money on something worthwhile rather than for himself or his family.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)

Moon, Trump to hold bilateral summit in Seoul on Nov. 7

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a bilateral summit in Seoul next month for discussions on ways to strengthen the countries' alliance and joint efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. The U.S. president will arrive here on Nov. 7, becoming the first foreign leader to visit South Korea since Moon took office in May, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
"Following an official welcoming ceremony, President Moon will hold bilateral talks and a joint press event with President Trump and host a state dinner for President Trump and his wife on Nov. 7," it said in a press release.

Park labels her trial, detention political payback

Former President Park Geun-hye challenged Monday the integrity and fairness of the court in her bribery trial, claiming she was the victim of “political retaliation,” while all of her lawyers resigned from the case to protest the judges’ decision to extend her detention. The Seoul Central District Court held a hearing Monday, the first since it issued an additional warrant to the prosecution to grant its request to extend Park’s detention until next April. The ousted leader, who was taken into custody in March, made the unusual move Monday of reading a statement at the beginning of the hearing. It was the first time Park addressed the court since her trial began in May.

Lee wants new command center at Samsung

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is planning to establish a new decision-making body for all of the company’s affiliates. The new unit would replace Samsung’s former Future Strategy Office, which was disbanded in February after being implicated in the scandal that led to the removal of former president Park Geun-hye. “We need a central decision-making unit that can craft management strategies [for Samsung] and adjust tasks between affiliates,” a high-level executive from Samsung told the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday. “But Vice Chairman Lee is determined that the new unit will not be a mere miniature of the former Future Strategy Office.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Park Attempts to Gather Her Supporters by Creating a Political Issue as Her First Court Sentence Approaches
On October 16, former President Park Geun-hye expressed her intention to reject the trial. Her action is seen as an attempt to turn the trial into a political issue rather than accept a judicial judgment after the court issued an additional arrest warrant. Other experts believe she may be trying to gather her supporters as the conservatives, including the Liberty Korea Party, recently tried to accuse the Moon Jae-in government's efforts to eradicate long-established bad practices of political retaliation.

MB's Intelligence Service Tried to Have DJ's Nobel Peace Prize Withdrawn
On October 16, it was confirmed that at the time of the Lee Myung-bak (MB) government, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was involved in actions to have former President Kim Dae-jung's Nobel Peace Prize withdrawn with approval from the former director of the intelligence agency, Won Sei-hoon. The NIS instructed a right-wing group to send a letter to the Nobel Committee asking the committee to withdraw the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to former President Kim and in this process even executed the agency's budget.

"Lee Jae-yong's People" at the Front: A New Generation Set to Take over at Samsung
Kwon Oh-hyun, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics announced his resignation, which is likely to bring in a new generation of executives at Samsung Electronics. Since experts claim that other subsidiaries as well as Samsung Electronics are in need of a new innovative drive, all eyes are on the appointment of the presidents of major subsidiaries, which will be carried out after November. People from within the group expect "Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's people" to fill the top management of Samsung.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Korea Economic Daily (http://english.hankyung.com/)

POSCO Completes Steel Wire Service Center in the U.S.

POSCO, Korea's largest steel maker, has completed on September 22 the construction of a steel wire service center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons. The plant will supply steel wire goods to be used for bolts, nuts, and bearings to auto parts companies. Started in April last year, the service center cost the company US$20.9 million to build. The high-quality steel materials produced in the new plant will be supplied to companies like Simplex Korea, Taeyang Metal Industrial, Nissan, and Fontana.

Industry Panics over Prospect of Rising Subcontract Worker Disputes

As the government pronounced illegal on the practice of companies relying on subcontract workers for a long time such as the cases in Paris Baguette and Mando-Hella, the whole industry in shock. This is not just restricted to manufacturers but is spread to services and the food franchise industry as well. The corporate sector expected on September 24 that companies like Tous Les Jours, Samsung Electronics service centers, and LG U+ will likely face the same problem any time soon after the Ministry of Employment and Labor made a decision on dispatch workers. An official with a large corporation said that he is worried that the government may pressure his company to hire all dispatch workers as full-time regular employees.

Gov't Decides to Give $8 Mil. Aid to North Korea...Timing to Be Announced Later

The government has decided to give support to North Korea worth US$8 million in programs helping its vulnerable people including children and pregnant women indirectly through international organizations. It, however, has not decided when to start sending money and exactly how. This is interpreted as a choice to deflect criticism that it is undertaking an aid project at a time when North Korea is causing an international storm by launching a series of missile tests.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AJU Business Daily (http://eng.ajunews.com/korea)

US air carrier strike group stages joint sea exercise around Korean peninsula

Dozens of US and South Korean warships, led by an American aircraft carrier strike group, launched a five-day joint sea drill in waters around the Korean peninsula in a show of force to North Korea. The exercise followed the arrival of a U.S. strike force involving the Nimitz-class USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered submarine, destroyers and missile cruisers. Along with helicopters and jet fighters, South Korea mobilized Sejong the Great Class, the Aegis guided missile destroyer, submarines and other ships.

Samsung's interim head resigns amid jitters about prolonged power vacuum

Kwon Oh-hyun, who has played a crucial role in South Korea's semiconductor industry, announced his sudden resignation as interim head of Samsung Electronics, fueling concerns about a prolonged power vacuum in the world's largest producer of smartphones and computer chips. Kwon, 64, said he would step down from all his positions without extending his current tenure in office which expires in March 2018. He has led the group on behalf of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, who is on trial for bribery and other charges after being linked to a scandal that led to the ouster of ex-president Park Geun-hye.

Lotte's hypermarket chain in China expected to report 73% fall in sales

The troubled hypermarket chain of South Korea's Lotte Group is forecast to report a 73 percent drop in this year's total sales in China due to a diplomatic row over a U.S. missile shield, data reported to a parliamentary audit showed. Lotte Mart predicted in a report released by a lawmaker that this year's total sales in China would stand at 450 billion won (397 million US dollars), down 73.1 percent from a year ago. Lotte has been the prime target of China's retaliatory onslaught that began after the group pushed for a land swap deal to let US troops set up a missile shield in its golf course. Of 99 Lotte Mart stores in China, only 12 are in normal operation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

U.S. President Trump to make a state visit to South Korea for summit talks on Nov. 7

U.S. President Donald Trump will make a state visit to South Korea early November to become the first foreign head to formally come to Seoul after President Moon Jae-in took office in May, the presidential office said on Monday.
Trump is expected to arrive late Nov. 6 and hold summit talks on the following day. The two will hold a joint press conference and a welcome banquet will be held later in the day as Trump has been invited for a state visit by the first U.S. president in a quarter of a century.

GM Korea to beef up new lineup and electric cars

General Motors Korea Co. said it will beef up traditional and electric vehicle lineup and serve as the research base for new mobility businesses such as car-sharing in Korea to quench rumors about pulling out of Asia’s fourth-largest market.
The company did not hold a public event on Monday marking its 15th year in Korea. GM Korea was born through the acquisition of the country’s third-largest automaker Daewoo Motor.

Samsung BioLogics leads pharma sector rally with high earnings expected from next year

Samsung BioLogics continue to roar upon high expectations on further growth by the biosimiliar leader on ever growing demand for the cheaper bioengineering drugs and full support from cash-rich Samsung Group. The stock has more than doubled from 156,500 won ($138) at the start of this year to climb over 400,000 won last Friday. Over the last three months, it gained 48 percent. As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, shares were down 0.9 percent at 397,500 won.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.cnkf@people.cn

China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn

GwangmyeongDaily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn