The Korean daily media headlines and humor

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Friday, October 27, 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

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Finally, it is TOMORROW!

Book for a seat for the coveted GLAMI Tour tomorrow morning!

All Diplomats and All Their Family Members are cordially invited (as well as the Ambassadors)!

Finally it is TOMORROW, the Tour of the ‘Glami Health Kingdom’ on Saturday 28 October 2017!

The diplomat-friendly Host, Chairman & CEO Nam Jong-hyun of Glami, presents the Madam of each Ambassador and Senior Diplomat with a prestigious Gilded Turtle Ship (see picture below) with an expression of his wishes for the Longevity and Good Health of the distinguished visitors. One representative from each country is presented with the rare gift (picture at the end of this letter).

The travelling time is a little over one hour, and it is a one-day tour, which also includes a rare opportunity to tour the Demilitarized Militarized Zone. For details on the 'Glami Health Kingdom,' please visit

http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4556

The itinerary of the Tour follows:

0900 hours, Saturday, 28 Oct. 2017: Meet at the Grand Hyatt Seoul (near the water fountain).

0910-1030 hours: Move to the Cheorwon City by deluxe Limousine buses.

1030-1200 hours: Visit Glami Industrial Plant and watch the production lines of the health beverage, Dawn 808.

1200-1330 hours: Attend Gala Luncheon at the Glami Daepyoung Hall (comparable to a five-star hotel banquet hall).

1330-1500 hours: Tour DMZ (to see if there have been any changes across the DMZ under Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea).

1500-1700 hours: Move back to the Glami Co.

1700-1830 hours: Move back to the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

A prestigious gilded Turtle Ship Model, a symbol of longevity and good health, is presented to the

Madam of each country with the wishes of Chairman Nam, the host, for the prosperity of the

Excellencies and all their children as well as good health and longevity.

For inquiries, please call Ms. Kim Sua (English and Korean) at 010-7584-5873, John Kim at 010-9205-0200 or Hwi Won at 010-5376-1225.

Other phone numbers are: Ms. Kim Jung-mi (010-3388-1682) and/or Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik (010-5201-1740).

Very Respectfully Yours

/s/

Lee Kyung-sik

Publisher-Chairman

The Korea Post media

Note: A can of Coke sells for less than 900 won (80 Cents). A can of Dawn 1004 of the Glami Co. is 10,000 won (US$9.00)!

And, at that, Dawn 1004 is about half the size of the Coke can, which means Dawn 1004 is over 20 times the price of Coke!

Learn how Dawn 1004 is made, and why not try to start producing the incomparably lucrative business in your own country, export them to other countries and make your country a wealthy and strong country in the world!

Do your country justice, and help her learn how to make money so easy!

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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.

U.S. sanctions 7 N.K. individuals, 3 entities over human rights abuses

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on seven North Korean individuals and three entities over the regime's human rights abuses. The Department of the Treasury said it is targeting officials and entities of the North Korean government in line with a State Department report released the same day. "Today's sanctions target the North Korean military and regime officials engaged in flagrant abuses of human rights," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "We also are targeting North Korean financial facilitators who attempt to keep the regime afloat with foreign currency earned through forced labor operations."

POSCO Q3 net almost doubles on strong demand

South Korean steelmaker POSCO said Thursday its third-quarter profit almost doubled from a year earlier on higher demand for steel products. Net profit for the July-September quarter soared to 907 billion won (US$806 million), up 91 percent from 476 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Operating profit climbed 8.8 percent on-year to 1.13 trillion won in the third quarter, and sales shot up 18 percent to 15.04 trillion won over the cited period, it said. Helped by the ongoing restructuring in the Chinese steel industry, steady steel demand from developing countries, companywide cost reductions and increased sales of high-end steel products, POSCO expects to report solid earnings results for the whole of 2017.

Semiconductors take up 16 pct of S. Korea's exports

Semiconductors are expected to account for a record high of more than 16 percent of South Korea's annual exports this year, data showed Friday. Industry data showed South Korea's export of chips, led by Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., reaching US$70.4 billion in the January-September period, up 55.6 percent from a year earlier.The figure translates into 16.4 percent of the country's combined exports of $430 billion. Industry watchers said computer chips will likely post another high for 2017 on the rosy outlook for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash products in the fourth quarter. Semiconductors first emerged as South Korea's top export product in 1990, with its presence in the nation's trade rising gradually to reach the previous record of 15.1 percent in 2000. The number stood at 12.6 percent in 2016.

KAI names ex-audit official new CEO

Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, has named a former audit and inspection official its new chief executive after its former head stepped down in July over a corruption scandal. KAI held a board meeting on Wednesday to appoint Kim Jo-won, who worked at the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea for 20 years, the new chief of the aircraft company, a company spokesman said. Kim, 61, began his three-year term as CEO on Thursday and vowed to make utmost efforts to keep the company's business unscathed from the scandal, particularly in exporting Korean-made aircraft, he said. The company will launch a "management innovation" task force team for transparency and trustworthiness next month and explore new growth drivers to achieve an ambitious sales target of 20 trillion won (US$17.7 billion) by 2030, he said.

Hyundai Motor Q3 net dips 16 pct on China setback

Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday its third-quarter net profit fell 16 percent, due mainly to sharp declines in China sales amid a diplomatic row over the deployment of a U.S. advanced missile shield system here. In the July-September quarter, Hyundai Motor's net profit fell to 939.2 billion won (US$835 million) from 1.12 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The number of vehicles sold in China plummeted 27 percent to 188,000 in the third quarter from 256,000 units a year earlier. The figures were hurt by local boycotts of South Korean products amid political tensions between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of the missile defense system, called THAAD, in South Korea.

Seoul has said the THAAD system is purely aimed at deterring missile threats from North Korea, but Beijing has argued it could spy on its military.

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

N. Korea to Repatriate S. Korean Boat, Crew Friday

North Korea said it will repatriate a South Korean boat and its crew who entered its waters last week. The North's state media Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported on Friday that North Korean authorities had captured a South Korean fishing boat named "391 Hungjin" Saturday, which illegally entered the North's waters in the East Sea. The report said that the South Korean crew was found to have deliberately entered North Korean waters to fish, but the North Korean authorities decided to send them back home at 5:30 p.m. Friday.The North said it decided to repatriate the boat and its crew from a humanitarian point of view, considering that all the crewmen admitted their offence and asked for leniency.

US Imposes 'Human Rights' Sanctions on N. Korea

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on seven North Korean individuals and three entities over the North's human rights abuses. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Thursday that the sanctions target the North Korean military and regime officials engaged in flagrant abuses of human rights. He said the sanctions also target North Korean financial facilitators who attempt to keep the regime afloat with foreign currency earned through forced labor operations. According to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control(OFAC), the targeted entities are North Korea's Military Security Command(MSC), the External Construction Bureau, and Cholhyon Overseas Construction Company.

JCS Chiefs of S. Korea, US to Hold Talks Friday

Top military officials of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss key security and alliance issues. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said that JCS chairman Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo and his American counterpart Gen. Joseph Dunford will hold the 42nd Military Committee Meeting(MCM) on Friday. During the MCM talks, the two sides will discuss a range of alliance issues, including the allies' combined military responses to the North Korean nuclear and missile threats and the U.S. transfer of wartime operational control to S. Korea. The MCM is held every year prior to the Security Consultative Meeting(SCM) between the allies' defense ministers.

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

N. Korea to repatriate captured S. Korean boat in 'humanitarian' step

North Korea said Friday it will repatriate a South Korean boat and its crew in a "humanitarian" step after the vessel had entered the North's waters. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean authorities had captured the South Korean fishing boat 391 Hungjin on Saturday, when it "illegally intruded into waters of the East Sea" under North Korean control. According to the report, the subsequent investigation showed the South Korean crew had "deliberately" entered North Korean waters to fish.

NATO chief to visit S. Korea to discuss N.K., security issues

The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will visit South Korea next week to discuss a wide range of issues, including North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, the foreign ministry said Friday. During his three-day trip starting Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will make a courtesy call to President Moon Jae-in and meet with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. He is to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates South and North Korea, the ministry said. He will also meet other high-ranking officials and experts. His visit is intended to have "in-depth" discussions on the two sides' coordinated approach toward the North, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cybersecurity and anti-terrorism, the ministry said.

Pentagon says aircraft carriers' deployment 'assures allies'

The United States' deployment of three aircraft carriers to the western Pacific provides South Korea with assurance against the threat of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, the Pentagon said Thursday. This week the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt joined the USS Ronald Reagan, which is homeported in Japan, in the western Pacific Ocean as part of what the U.S. Navy said were routine operations. The deployment came amid heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests."This was a unique opportunity to show that the U.S. (is) the only power in the world that can demonstrate that kind of presence, and a unique opportunity for them to be together," chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said during a regular press briefing. "It's not directed towards any particular threat, but it's a demonstration that we can do something that no one else in the world can."

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

Tesla may tap Samsung, LG for EV batteries

The US electric car maker Tesla recently met with Korean battery makers Samsung SDI and LG Chem to discuss electric car batteries, amid speculation that Tesla’s Model 3 manufacturing bottleneck may be caused by battery supply delays. “Tesla officials from the US headquarters visited Korea early this month to separately meet Samsung SDI and LG Chem’s executives,” a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald. “They asked for Samsung and LG’s lithium-ion cylindrical cells’ specifications and quality control for electric cars,” the source said, adding Tesla, however, did not make any proposals on this occasion. Since 2008, Panasonic has been Tesla's sole battery supplier.

SsangYong’s next target could be US, not China: Mahindra CEO

The diplomatic row between South Korea and China over Seoul’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system has put SsangYong Motor’s much-awaited dream to build a manufacturing base overseas on hold. But China is not the carmaker’s priority and it has more options in terms of overseas expansion, including the United States, by around 2020, said the chief executive officer of Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian auto giant that owns the Korean SUV maker.“We certainly need to develop two or three good markets for SsangYong outside Korea. China is one such possible market, but not the only possible market,” said Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra Group and the chairman of SsangYong’s board, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday.

Trump hints at ‘surprise’ visit to DMZ

Speculation is rising that US President Donald Trump may visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas during his visit to the South next month. On Wednesday, Trump hinted that he would visit the DMZ, saying “Well, I’d rather not say but you’ll be surprised” when asked whether the tense inter-Korean border would be in his itinerary. Since US President Ronald Ragan, all but one US president visiting South Korea went to the DMZ. The only exception to date was President George H.W. Bush. Local media had speculated that Trump would visit a US military base here and exclude a trip to the DMZ from his itinerary during his two-day state visit to South Korea that begins on Nov. 7.Earlier, Trump himself had hinted that the DMZ could be passed over.

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

'Candlelight revolution' marks 1st anniv.

One year after the candlelit rally that ousted former President Park Geun-hye, the public has come to opposing views on how to commemorate the anniversary of its start, slated for Saturday. For months, they raised their candles in unison at Gwanghwamun Square, the symbolic stage for peaceful demonstrations. This year, however, two separate events will take place — one in Gwanghwamun, and the other on Yeouido. At the former, hosted by a group of civic organizations which led last year's demonstrations, around 400 people are expected to participate in a march beginning in Gwanghwamun and ending in front of Cheong Wa Dae. Another, which is growing traction, will be held on Yeouido as a way of denouncing the National Assembly. This one has been organized and led by members of the public and around 1,000 people

Opposition party to boycott Assembly audit

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) decided Thursday to boycott the ongoing National Assembly audit of government offices from Friday, triggering a political standoff with the government and the ruling party. The decision came after the broadcasting watchdog, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), filled two vacant seats of the nine-member board of the Foundation for Broadcast Culture (FBC) with pro-government figures. The LKP protested the decision, claiming the Moon Jae-in government is seeking to control the media by putting TV broadcasting under its influence. The board of the FBC, the largest shareholder of the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) ― one of Korea's largest public TV companies ― can appoint its new president.

Korea intent to bid for Saudi nuclear project

Korea will bid for a nuclear reactor project in Saudi Arabia and has discussed how to bolster cooperation in economic reform in the Middle Eastern country. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce held the Korea-Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 Business Forum in Seoul Thursday. About 400 policymakers and businessmen from both countries participated. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is an economic reform agenda seeking industrial diversification that goes beyond oil. It focuses on new growth engines, the private sector and small- and medium-sized enterprises as areas to nurture, on top of enhancing quality of life.

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

'We have to solve the North Korea problem,' Trump says

With his visit to Asian countries coming ahead, U.S. President Donald Trump has demonstrated his confidence in solving the issues with North Korea’s nuclear weapons. In an interview with Fox Business Network that aired Wednesday night, Trump said, “This should have been solved long before I came to office, when it would have been easier to solve. But it was given to me and I get it solved. I solve problems.” President Trump also said that his upcoming 12-day Asia trip will be a "historic and positive" experience, adding, "We have to solve the North Korea problem. It’s a very big problem.”

Signs indicate Seoul, Beijing seek to mend fences after THAAD row

There are signs indicating that South Korea and China, under President Xi Jinping’s newly started second term in power following the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China, are seeking to improve the bilateral ties soured by Seoul’s deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Some observers expect a Seoul-Beijing summit, while others caution that it is too early to be optimistic as Beijing is still adamantly opposed to the THAAD deployment.

LS, KEPCO build largest solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan

South Korea’s LS Group has completed its joint construction of the largest solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). LS Group said it held a ceremony on Thursday in Chitose, Hokkaido to mark the start of the commercial operation of the a 28-megawatt solar farm with top managers from the companies attending. The Chitose facility is Japan’s first energy storage system (ESS)-linked solar power generation in Japan. About 130,000 solar panels and 13.7-megawatt hour ESS have been set up on about 1,080,000 square meters of land.

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

N.Korea Says H-Bomb Threat Should Be Taken 'Literally'
North Korea on Thursday said the world should not dismiss Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho's threat to detonate a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific, CNN reported on Thursday. Ri made the threat at the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22. Ri Yong-pil, a senior diplomat in North Korea's Foreign Ministry told CNN in Pyongyang, "The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally."He claimed the North has always put its words into action."The U.S. is talking about a military option and even practicing military moves. They're pressuring us on all fronts with sanctions," Ri Yong-pil added. "If you think this will lead to diplomacy, you're deeply mistaken."

Kim Jong-un Congratulates Xi on Re-election
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday on his re-election, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.Xinhua said congratulatory messages came from the leaders of Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, and North Korea. Kim congratulated the Chinese Communist Party on its 19th National Congress and Xi on re-election as the party's general secretary and chairman of the Central Military Commission. "Today, the Chinese people have taken the road to socialist construction for China of a new era under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee" led by Xi, he said.

Park Gets Court-Appointed Lawyers
In a fresh twist to the epic trial of Park Geun-hye, the ex-president is now being defended by five court-appointed lawyers after her legal team resigned en masse last week. The resignation came after the court decided to extend Park's detention beyond the original six-month limit for fear that she could try to tamper with evidence. The new team, whose names were not given, will have to wade through 120,000 pages of documents, and their appointment has played havoc with the trial schedule.

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

Michael Green voices skepticism on a diplomatic solution to NK crisis

The big question leading up to US President Donald Trump’s first trip to Asia at the beginning of November is what messages he will send to North Korea and to China. “The Trump administration wants people to believe that it’s prepared to use military options to stop a North Korean ballistic missile from entering the atmosphere above the US,” said Michael Green, professor at Georgetown University and Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).Green, who served as senior director for Asia with the National Security Council during the presidency of George W. Bush, also said that “there is apparently no evidence that the Trump administration is preparing for the possibility of a preventive strike,” referring to a preemptive US strike on North Korean nuclear facilities when it is believed that a North Korean threat is imminent.

US House approves new sanctions on North Korea

The US House of Representatives passed a stiff new sanctions bill allowing the US government to punish overseas financial institutions conducting transactions not only with North Korea but also any individuals or groups in third countries that do business with North Korea.The bill, which is the farthest-reaching yet of any sanctions bills or executive orders on North Korea, is seen as unlikely to pass the Senate as well. In a plenary session on Oct. 24, the US House passed the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act by a vote of 415 to 2. First introduced on Oct. 2 by Rep. Andy Barr as the Impeding North Korea's Access to Finance Act, it was unanimously adopted on Oct. 12 by the House Financial Services Committee. Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy subsequently proposed to rename the bill in honor of Otto Warmbier, an American who died this past June after his return from detention in North Korea.

Moon sends congratulatory message to Xi following close of Community Party Congress

On Oct. 25, South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a cable to Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulating him on his re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and suggesting that a South Korea-China summit be held soon. Seoul is reportedly hammering out a plan to use a summit this year celebrating the beginning of Xi’s second term in office to bring about a thaw in the two countries relations.“I offer my sincere congratulations on the successful hosting of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and on your appointment as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. I hope that the People’s Republic of China under your leadership will achieve the ‘Chinese dream’ and that it will continue making an even greater contribution to the peace and joint prosperity of Northeast Asia and the international community,” Moon said in the congratulatory cable.

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

Q3 GDP growth is highest in 7 years

Korea’s economy grew at the fastest rate in more than seven years in the third quarter, bolstered by robust exports and the government’s supplementary budget. The Bank of Korea said Thursday that the economy expanded 1.4 percent between July and September in an advance estimate compared to the previous quarter, and year-on-year growth was 3.6 percent. That buoyed hopes that the country will achieve 3 percent yearly growth in 2017, and could also be a factor in the central bank deciding to raise interest rates soon.

Pyongyang repeats threat of bomb over the Pacific

Pyongyang’s warning of an atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean should be taken “literally,” according to a senior North Korean diplomat in an interview Wednesday. North Korea “has always brought its words into action,” Ri Yong-pil, who serves as vice president of the Foreign Ministry’s Institute for American Studies, told CNN. “The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally.” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters last month during a visit to New York for the UN General Assembly that Pyongyang may consider conducting “the most powerful detonation” of a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

Liberal groups take to streets to protest Trump in Korea

Liberal civic groups are organizing protests of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Korea scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8, less than two weeks away. In a press conference organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions on Thursday at the Franciscan Education Center in Jung District, central Seoul, the groups declared their opposition to escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula by Trump and announced rallies opposing his visit. Through a “No Trump” joint proclamation, the group expressed opposition to the forcing of arms sales on South Korea and pressure on trade, including Trump’s criticism of a free trade agreement between Seoul and Washington. They also supported the withdrawal of the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system and opposed Trump’s policies against immigration and promoting racism.

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

President Moon, "Urgent Need to Restore Partnership with Labor on State Matters"
At a dinner with labor leaders on October 24, President Moon Jae-in said, "It is a very important and urgent task to restore the partnership between labor and the government on state affairs." He also expressed his desire for progress in social dialogue through the Tripartite Commission. The president stressed the restoration of relations between labor and the government ahead of executing his labor pledges, such as the raising of the minimum wage and solving problems concerning workers working on a temporary contract, but the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a key party, was absent leaving a huge void in this day's meeting. A rocky road is expected ahead.

Heated Debate Expected at the Liberty Korea Party's Supreme Council: Battle to Oust Park Geun-hye from the Party Intensifies While Hong Jun-pyo Is in the U.S.
A fierce battle is ongoing in the Liberty Korea Party concerning the party membership of former President Park Geun-hye and key pro-Park figures, lawmakers Suh Chung-won and Choi Gyung-hwan. Pro-Park figures have publicly expressed their opposition to the decision by the party's ethics committee to recommend that they leave the party, and a fierce debate on this issue is expected in a meeting of the party's Supreme Council, after the party's leader Hong Jun-pyo returns from his trip to the U.S.The party's ethics committee announced on October 20 that they decided to advise former President Park to leave the party as a disciplinary measure and notified their decision on October 23.

What We Have Accomplished and What Still Needs to Be Done
If there are long periods when a firm order continues in the history of a society, there are also turbulent moments when the desire for change conceived by that order erupts. Last fall and winter, when millions of citizens joined the candlelight rallies, was that moment. The battle between the regressive power, which resists such change, and the advancing power, which seeks to complete the change, continues. The group with the historical self-consciousness on what that change has achieved will have the power to define the future.The most significant accomplishment in modern Korean history by the candlelight citizens would be the fact that they raised the quality of democracy in South Korea, which was established in 1987 one step higher.

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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.

Korea's MBI to Establish EV Plant in Vietnam

MBI, a Korean manufacturer specializing in making transmissions, will build an electric car plant in Hanoi, Vietnam, jointly with local firm N&G Group. The two companies will invest a total of US$1 billion for the next seven years. The companies said on September 21 that the heads of the two companies signed an agreement to establish a joint venture called Viko Motors in South Hanoi next month. Earlier in June this year, MBI was promised by the Vietnamese government and the Hanoi city government for a 20-year free land lease, high-tech investment incentive, preferential tariffs, and designation of MBI-held patented technologies as Vietnamese standards.

Petrochem Industry to Invest 10 Tril. Won in Daesan Industrial Complex

The Daesan petrochemical industrial zone in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, will transform into an advanced chemical industrial complex. The nation's major petrochemical companies may invest up to 10 trillion won in this area.

On September 14, S-Oil, Lotte Chemical, Hanwha Total, South Chungcheong provincial government, and Seosan city gathered in Lotte World Tower and signed a memorandum to create a Daesan specialized industrial complex. Currently the area is home to large petrochemical producers such as Lotte Chemical and Hanwha Total. Even though Daesan has an advantage over any other chemical complexes due to its proximity to Seoul, it was unable to develop itself due to a host of site problems. For example, S-Oil owns a large site within the complex but has to work closely with Hanwha and Lotte nearby to work out deals as the land is not square shaped.

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

China's 'Daigou' middlemen credited with saving S. Korea's duty-free shops

South Korean duty-free shop operators feel something's missing with no buzzing sound of big-spending Chinese clients who once jampacked their outlets in airports and downtown Seoul to clean out the shelves for cosmetics and other popular products.Their business setback began after China's informal trade and economic retaliation intensified in April when US troops in South Korea brought in a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system despite Beijing's strong protests. Chinese tourists shunned South Korea.

Mirae Asset creates fund to buy into China's Meituan-Dianping

As part of its aggressive investment in foreign assets, Mirae Asset Financial Group, a leading asset manager in South Korea, has created a private equity fund to buy into China's rising start-up company, Meituan-Dianping.The 13 billion won (11 million US dollars) fund, created by Multi Asset Global Investments, a Mirae group subsidiary, has attracted a number of domestic institutional investors, according to banking sources. Details were not given. Meituan-Dianping is the world's largest online and on-demand delivery platform known for 10 million daily orders and deliveries. Chinese and global investors have joined its pre-IPO (initial public offering).

No agreement yet on President Moon's trip to China: foreign ministry

South Korea and China have held diplomatic consultations on President Moon Jae-in's suggested visit to Beijing for a summit his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, but there has been no agreement yet, the South's foreign ministry said.
At talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Germany, the two leaders agreed in principle on Moon's trip to Beijing. "Therefore, related discussions have been underway through a diplomatic channel," Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told reporters. Seoul and Beijing have maintained close consultations at various levels to settle pending issues, he said. "As of now, there has been no agreement."

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

Hyundai Motor Q3 OP down 10.4% on quarter, but net up on reduced losses in China

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said on Thursday that its third-quarter operating profit fell 10.4 percent on quarter as it continues to struggle in the world’s largest automobile market. The company in a regulatory filing reported an operating profit of 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the quarter ending in September, which improved by 12.7 percent against a year-ago period when output had been interrupted by strikes and Chuseok holiday. Shares were helped as its year-on-year performance significantly recovered against 16.4-percent fall in the first half against the same period in 2016.

KB Financial Group’s net profit soars 55.4% in Q3 on year

South Korea’s KB Financial Group Inc. reported a 55.4 percent increase in net profit for the third quarter, thanks to an even growth in both interest and non-interest income including fund commissions. According to its regulatory filing on Thursday, KB Financial Group raked in 897.4 billion won ($797 million) in net income on a consolidated basis for the third quarter ended September, coming above the market expectations of 870.3 billion won. Operating profit rose 61.5 percent to 1.17 trillion won over the same period on a 38 percent jump in revenue to 9.48 trillion won.

Posco’s Q3 OP up 9% on year on recovery in steel business

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco reported its third-quarter operating profit increased 9 percent on year thanks to a recovery in its mainstay steelmaking business, in particular, in overseas markets. The company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it has earned 1.1 trillion won ($977.3 million) in operating profit on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, up 8.8 percent from a year ago. Its sales rose 18.0 percent to 15.04 trillion won over the same period, while net profit nearly doubled to 906.6 billion won. From a previous quarter, Posco’s operating profit gained 15 percent, while net profit soared about 70 percent.

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