The Korean daily media headlines and humor

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Wednesday, November 1, 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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Only TWO DAYS left to the 13rd Cheongsong Apple Festival on Friday Nov. 3, 2017.

The Cheongsong apples won the Top Award in the Apple Contest for five years in a row!

Wouldn’t Your Excellency wish to ask the Host to impart the knowhow to Your Excellency’s own country?

Now there are only TWO DAYS left to the 13rd Cheongsong Apple Festival on Friday Nov. 3.

There are many interesting events and sights offered by the Host that day.

See The Korea Post article and photos at http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4097

The tour is organized for the Ambassadors, Senior Diplomats and Madams by The Korea Post media at the invitation of Mayor Han Dong-su and the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Festival.

Cheongsong has won the Slow City Award for the three consecutive years, is a UNESCO Geological Park, is widely known for a Slow City in Korea and its Apple has won the TOP AWARD in quality and taste for the five consecutive years.

Mayor Han is providing each visiting Diplomat that day with a box of Top Quality Cheongsong Apples for the purpose of personal sampling and introduction to all the countries of the world through actual sampling by the Excellency and Madam as well as their own country.

The itinerary of the Tour follows:

0900 hours Friday November 3, 2017: Meet at Grand Hyatt Seoul

0905-1150 hours: Depart for Cheongsong by a Limousine bus.

1150-1200 hours: Meet and exchange of pleasantries and greetings with Mayor Han Dong-su of Cheongsong.

1200-1300 hours: Luncheon with Mayor and Mrs. Han and other leaders of the County.

1330-1420 hours: Tour the Songso Ancient House of the Joseon Dynasty.

1420-1430 hours: Move to the Festival venue.

1430-1630 hours: Tour 2017 Cheongsong Apple Festival Venue.

1630-1800 hours: Tour the famed Juwangsan National Park.

1800-2050 hours: Move back to the Grand Hyatt Seoul from Cheongsong.

For inquiries, please call Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik (010-5201-1740) or Ms. Kim Su-a (010-7584-5873) for inquiries in English or Ms. Kim Jung-mi (010-3388-1692), Hwi Won (010-5376-1225), or John Kim for Korean information.

Very Respectfully Yours

/s/

Lee Kyung-sik

Publisher-Chairman

The Korea Post media

010-5201-1740

‘Apple Carriage’ in the fairy tale is re-enacted at the Cheongsong Apple Festival on Friday

Nov. 3, 2017 where the ambassadors and senior diplomats are invited with madams.

The special tour for the members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps is organized by

The Korea Post media on the upcoming Friday.

Expatriate ladies demonstrate how to use the Cheongsong apples.

Cheongsong apples are noted for taste, flavor and nutrients and has won the

Top Award for five years in a row from the Korean government.

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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.

S. Korea's exports rise 7.1 pct in Oct. on strong demand for semiconductors

South Korea's exports jumped 7.1 percent in October from a year earlier on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, ships and petrochemical products, government data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to US$45 billion for October, up from $41.9 billion tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Customs Service. It marked the 12th consecutive month that exports have grown, despite shorter working days in October. South Korea's exports have been on a steady rise since November 2016, led by an upturn in oil prices and recovering global trade.

Opposition party calls THAAD deal with China 'humiliating diplomacy'

The minor opposition Bareun Party criticized the government Wednesday for reaching what it calls a "humiliating" deal with China to end the row over South Korea's hosting of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system. South Korea and China announced the deal Tuesday, ending more than a year of tensions sparked by Seoul's decision to host a THAAD battery to better defend against North Korea. China strongly protested the decision and took a series of economic retaliatory measures. In Tuesday's agreement, the two countries put the dispute behind them and moved forward. But critics denounced the agreement, accusing the government of making unnecessary promises not to deploy any more THAAD unit or to join the broader U.S. missile defense scheme, nor to form a three-way alliance with the U.S. and Japan.

KEPCO holds global electric exhibition in Gwangju

Global electric power experts and engineers gathered in South Korea on Wednesday to exchange views on the future of the power industry at an exhibition hosted by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

The Bitgaram International Exposition of Electric Power Technology (BIXPO) kicked off its three-day run in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.

Held under the slogan "Connect Ideas, Meet the Fourth Revolution," the third annual exhibition is the largest to date, bringing together about 3,000 senior officials and engineers from 268 companies representing 40 countries. They include Siemens, GE, Nokia, HP and Microsoft, KEPCO said.

Samsung Electronics' net more than doubles on-year in Q3

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday said its third-quarter net profit more than doubled on-year, mainly led by strong returns from its chip business amid an industrywide boom. Net profit came to 11.1 trillion won (US$9.87 billion), jumping from 4.53 trillion won posted a year earlier, the company said through a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 14.53 trillion won in the July-September period, also rising sharply from 5.2 trillion won posted last year. The figure met the estimate of 14.5 trillion won announced by Samsung in a guidance report earlier this month.

S Korean envoy heads to China for talks on N.K. nukes

South Korea's top nuclear envoy expressed hope Tuesday of having extensive discussions with his Chinese counterpart on ways to peacefully resolve the North Korea nuclear stalemate. Lee Do-hoon, the special representative for peace and security affairs on the Korean Peninsula, left for Beijing to meet China's Kong Xuanyou later in the day. "Through the meeting, I have high expectations of having extensive conversations and creating a consensus on ways to peacefully resolve the North's nuclear issue and stably manage the situation," Lee told reporters.

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

Olympic Flame Arrives in South Korea, Begins Relay

Anchor: With 100 days to go until the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the Olympic flame has arrived in South Korea. Now the torch relay in Korea has begun and will wrap up on February ninth, the opening day of the winter games.
Our Park Jong-hong has this report. Report: The flame for the PyeongChang Games was first lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on October 24th. After an eight-day relay through Greece, it made its way to South Korean hands traveling over 8,500 kilometers. At the Olympic flame handover ceremony at Incheon International Airport were Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and Kim Yu-na, 2010 Olympic figure skating champion and an honorary ambassador for PyeongChang.

President Moon Stresses Constitutional Amendment in National Address

President Moon Jae-in addressed the nation at the parliament Wednesday where he outlined many initiatives and policy guidelines of his administration.In particular, he urged the parliament to begin discussions on a Constitutional amendment, noting the move needs to be put to a national vote in the local elections in June to make it possible.He stressed that should South Korea miss that opportunity, it will not be easy to win public support for a Constitutional revision.The planned revision, he said, must seek to expand the people's basic rights while reinforcing the autonomy of local governments.

'Trump to Stress Pressure Against North during Seoul Visit'

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to stress the importance of the Seoul-Washington alliance, international cooperation for pressure against Pyongyang and a swift amendment of the bilateral free trade agreement when he visits South Korea next week. A senior U.S. government official said Tuesday in a telephone briefing on Trump's Asia trip that the president will ask the international community to participate in maximum pressure against the North's threats during his speech at Seoul's National Assembly.The official added that Trump won't visit the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) when he travels to South Korea as there won't be enough time to accommodate the trip. He will instead visit the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys on Tuesday, the first day of his two-day trip to the nation.

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

S. Korea's exports rise 7.1 pct in Oct. on strong demand for semiconductors

South Korea's exports jumped 7.1 percent in October from a year earlier on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, ships and petrochemical products, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments came to US$45 billion for October, up from $41.9 billion tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Customs Service.It marked the 12th consecutive month that exports have grown, despite shorter working days in October. South Korea's exports have been on a steady rise since November 2016, led by an upturn in oil prices and recovering global trade.

Olympic flame for PyeongChang 2018 arrives in S. Korea

The Olympic flame for the first Winter Games to take place in South Korea arrived in the host country Wednesday, as the countdown to the quadrennial competition reached 100 days. A 16-member South Korean delegation arrived at Incheon International Airport with the flame after a handover ceremony in Athens, bringing an Olympic torch home for the first time since the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988.The flame for PyeongChang was lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on Oct. 24 and went on an eight-day relay through Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics before making its way to South Korean hands. The delegation included Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Games (POCOG), and Kim Yu-na, 2010 Olympic figure skating champion and an honorary ambassador for PyeongChang 2018.

Individuals' card spending up 11.9 pct in Q3

Card spending by individuals rose 11.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier as the summer vacation and long national holiday boosted demand for consumer goods, industry data showed Wednesday.Individuals' spending with credit cards and debit cards came to 156.1 trillion won (US$139 billion) for the July-September period, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association.The hike is attributable to an increase in demand by travelers during summer vacation period and Chuseok, the Korean autumn harvest celebration. This year's Chuseok holiday was 10 days long and included two national holidays and two weekends.Meanwhile, card spending by corporate users fell 18.9 percent on-year to 36.4 trillion won for the three months ending Sept. 30.

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

Seoul, Beijing to work on improving ties, hold summit in Vietnam

The South Korean and Chinese presidents will hold a bilateral summit on the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Da Nang, Vietnam next week, Seoul announced Tuesday. Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy chief of the National Security Council, said that the two sides agreed to the summit meeting, which could be the first step in normalizing the two countries’ fraught relations. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to attend the forum on Nov. 10 and 11. “This agreement is the first step of the agreement to quickly bring exchange and cooperation in all areas back on track,” Nam said, referring to the Seoul-Beijing agreement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

8 killed by New York motorist in 'cowardly act of terror'

A man in a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center memorial Tuesday, killing at least eight and injuring 11 others in what the mayor called "a particularly cowardly act of terror."The driver was shot in the abdomen by police and taken into custody after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a fake gun in each hand and shouting "Allahu Akbar!," or "God is great" in Arabic, officials said. His condition was not immediately released.Two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity identified the attacker as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov. He has a Florida driver's license but may have been staying in New Jersey. The officials gave no other details on his background.

Samsung announces new board chairman, three CEOs

After announcing record-breaking earnings in the third quarter, Samsung Electronics on Tuesday revealed its new leadership by promoting current heads of three business divisions to CEOs, and appointing jailed de-facto leader’s close associate as the new chairman for the board of directors, choosing stability over radical makeover.Samsung announced that President Kim Ki-nam has been promoted to CEO of the Device Solutions Division, while Kim Hyun-suk will be CEO of the Consumer Electronics Division and Koh Dong-jin, CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division.

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

Moon: 'South Korea will neither develop nor possess nuclear arms'

South Korea will neither develop nor possess nuclear arms, President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday, amid conservative opposition parties' call to redeploy U.S. tactical nuclear weapons. Moon also renewed his call on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. "In accordance with the declaration of denuclearization jointly announced by the South and the North, a nuclear-armed North Korea can neither be tolerated nor accepted. We too will not develop or possess nukes," the president said in his second state of the nation address at the National Assembly. The national address came as the government was set to submit its budget bill to the parliament, requesting a 7.1 percent spike in its spending to 429 trillion won ($383.9 billion) in 2018.

[D-100] Olympic flame arrives South Korea

The Olympic flame for the first Winter Games to take place in South Korea arrived in the host country Wednesday, as the countdown to the quadrennial competition reached 100 days. A 16-member South Korean delegation arrived at Incheon International Airport with the flame after a handover ceremony in Athens, bringing an Olympic torch home for the first time since the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988. The flame for PyeongChang was lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on Oct. 24 and went on an eight-day relay through Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics before making its way to South Korean hands.

Carbon trading with China 'cautious deal'

While international treaties like the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 have bound developed and developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the coming Chinese carbon market should not be ignored. Carbon markets have been created to trade permits to encourage countries and firms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If the market was hardware, its software would be the emissions trading system (ETS), introduced in 2005 by the European Union to fight global warming. China, boasting the world's biggest population ― over 1.4 billion ― and producing the largest portion of the world's carbon emissions with almost 25 percent, is guaranteed to host the biggest carbon market.

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

Continued talks of S. Korea-China top diplomats bear fruit

On July 6, after Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping sat down for their first bilateral summit in Berlin, Germany, Chung Eui-yong, the head of the National Security Office at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, and Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, met in utmost secrecy.In the following 90-minute-long meeting, the two foreign policy chiefs had an intense argument over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea, which had triggered a diplomatic row between the two neighbors. Their July meeting did not yield any immediate breakthrough, but was the start of bilateral efforts to come up with an agreement to improve South Korea-China relations Tuesday.

Suwon Hwaseong marks 20th years of UNESCO registration

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the registration of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Suwon Hwaseong Museum in Gyeonggi Province is holding an exhibition from Thursday to December 10 under the theme of “Suwon Hwaseong, the Flower of the Fortress.”At its Exhibition Hall, pictures of the cultural assets taken by professional photographers as well as the relics, which illustrate the value of the fortress as a cultural asset and the characteristics of the structure, will be displayed along with the Hwaseong seongyeok uigwe (A completion report for the building of Hwaseong Fortress), Seongjodo and Hwaseongdo.

PyeongChang’s flame starts its journey in Korea

The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Game torch will arrive in Korea on Wednesday, 100 days before the Olympic Games.The flame was lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, on last Tuesday and handed over at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens on Tuesday to become the “flame of PyeongChang.” PyeongChang Organizing Committee Chairman Lee Hee-beom received the torch from Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos. The torch that left Athens on a chartered plane will arrive at Incheon International Airport on 10 a.m. Wednesday to be welcomed by more than 500 Korean citizens. It has been around 30 years since the torch left Korea after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

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

Korea, China Put THAAD Spat Behind Them
Korea and China agreed Tuesday to normalize diplomatic ties frayed by a spat over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. here. The two foreign ministries posted a joint statement on their websites and said the two presidents will meet on the sidelines of APEC forum in Da Nang, Vietnam next week. "Both sides shared the view that the strengthening of exchanges and cooperation between Korea and China serves their common interests and agreed to expeditiously bring exchanges and cooperation in all areas back on a normal development track," the statement said.

UNESCO Listing of Documents on Former Sex Slaves Postponed
UNESCO has delayed its review of a request from eight countries including Korea and China to register documents related to Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of women on the Memory of the World Register, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. UNESCO appears to have bowed to pressure from Japan, one of the largest contributors to its funds, and to this day denies the wartime government had anything to do with the atrocity. The International Advisory Committee of UNESCO made the decision in Paris early this week. It urged Korea and Japan to hold additional talks in order to ease the conflict.

Korea-China THAAD Spat Buoys Tourism to Japan
Japan is seeing a surge in foreign visitors amid a spat between neighboring Korea and China over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here from the U.S. Japan's tourist numbers were nearly twice Korea's this year. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, a record 21.2 million foreigners visited Japan from January to September, up 18 percent from the same period last year. Of those, 5.22 million were Koreans, up 40 percent, and 5.56 million were Chinese, up 11 percent. But the number of tourists who visited Korea over the same period stood at just 9.94 million, a 24 percent plunge. Only 3.19 million of them were Chinese, less than half the number seen last year.

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

SK Foreign Minister rules out additional THAAD deployments, joining US MD system

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha announced on Oct. 30 that South Korea would not pursue additional THAAD missile system deployments or participation in the US missile defense system. She also stated in no uncertain terms that trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan would not develop into a military alliance. Her remarks appeared intended to help the Moon Jae-in administration change the current frame by sending a clear message in response to China’s concerns that the THAAD deployment is part of a strategy to hem it in with a South Korea/US/Japan military alliance. Indeed, a Chinese government official emerged as if on cue to state that Beijing “welcomes” Kang’s remarks – giving the appearance that the two sides engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions on a solution to the strain the THAAD issue has posed on their relations. Observers are also predicting Moon could have a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the upcoming APEC summit in Vietnam on Nov. 10–11. Kang lent weight to the predictions by saying preparations were “under way for a bilateral summit at APEC.”

Lee Kun-hee failed to pay taxes on nearly $4 billion stashed in borrowed name accounts

According to new allegations, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee failed to properly pay gift tax on the 4.4 trillion won (US$3.92 billion) in assets hidden in “borrowed-name accounts” – accounts registered under other people’s names. Some experts believe that Lee may owe more than 1 trillion won (more than US$900 mllion) in gift tax alone. On Oct. 30, Park Chan-dae (a lawmaker with the Democratic Party and a member of the National Assembly’s National Policy Committee) asserted that “gift tax must be assessed on the borrowed-name security accounts that were established after 2004, which are among the borrowed-name accounts controlled by Lee Kun-hee that were discovered by Special Prosecutor Cho Jun-woong in 2008.”

Japanese expert: Military alliance with US remains the only option for Japan

The US-Japan alliance is Japan’s best option – and indeed, its only option, according to a Japanese expert on American politics. Toshihiro Nakayama, a professor of American politics and foreign policy at Keio University, made the remarks during a meeting with foreign correspondents held at the Foreign Press Center in Tokyo on Oct. 30, on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s to visit Japan. Nakayama frequently appears as an expert on US-Japan relations on NHK and other major Japanese media outlets, and his remarks reflect the mainstream Japanese sentiment toward US-Japan relations.Nakayama’s remark that the US-Japan alliance is Japan’s “best option” is informed by Japan’s attitude toward northeast Asian politics. While the crisis facing Japan right now is the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles, in the medium- to long-term, the rise of China is a bigger problem, Nakayama said.

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

Seoul and Beijing agree to repair frayed relations

Korea and China will hold a presidential summit next month as a first step to steady a relationship put into a tailspin by Seoul’s decision to host a U.S. advanced antimissile system, the Blue House said Tuesday. “South Korea and China agreed that President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a summit next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam,” said Nam Gwan-pyo, second deputy director of the National Security Office of the Blue House. The APEC meeting is scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11.

Samsung elevates a new generation of CEOs

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday replaced top executives of three divisions - device solutions, consumer electronics and IT and mobile communications - in a major introduction of new leaders under de facto boss Lee Jae-yong, now behind bars. Samsung’s board of directors agreed to promote Kim Ki-nam, 59, president of the device solutions division, as chief of the division to replace Kwon Oh-hyun, 65, the outgoing vice chairman and CEO who led the unit that makes semiconductors.

KT teams up with Intel for 5G Olympic services

KT, which is providing telecommunication services for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, announced a partnership with U.S. chip giant Intel on Tuesday that will introduce a 5G network at the international event. Korea’s first Winter Olympics are now only 100 days away. “KT is an official provider for a 5G network and Intel holds marketing rights in virtual reality and drone services used at the Olympics,” said Oh Sung-mok, president of KT’s network division during a press briefing held Tuesday at KT Square in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. “The two plan to jointly market 5G technologies and 5G-powered immersive experiences.”

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

"Public Debate on Feminist Education, All Thanks to the Support from Citizens and Colleagues"
"Thanks to the support and solidarity of citizens and fellow teachers, we have been able to publicly discuss feminist education in our schools for the first time." Choi Hyeon-hui (35), an elementary school teacher in Songpa-gu, Seoul who was reported to authorities by a conservative parents' group after calling for the need to teach feminism in a media interview, shared her thoughts with the Kyunghyang Shinmun for the first time since the controversy. During an interview at the Kyunghyang Shinmun office on October 26, Choi said, "I hope that the Ministry of Education and the Office of Education will take this opportunity to expand the department overseeing gender equality with a proper awareness of gender."

Lee Hae-jin, "Manipulation of Naver News Display Is a Serious Problem"
At the parliamentary inspection by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on October 30, all the "heavyweights" in South Korea's information and communications industry were present. Lee Hae-jin, (currently the global investment manager at Naver) the founder and former chairman of Naver, known as a "reclusive CEO" who hardly gives press interviews, appeared as a witness for the first time and drew much of the lawmakers' questions. Hwang Chang-gyu, chairman of KT; Kwon Young-soo, vice chairman of LG Uplus; and Koh Dong-jin, president of the wireless business at Samsung Electronics also appeared before the lawmakers as witnesses.

Hot Summit Diplomacy in Early November: Can It Melt the Frozen Korean Peninsula?
Major summit meetings scheduled for early November are expected to be a decisive moment for peace on the Korean Peninsula. With the possibility of a military clash between North Korea and the United States still present, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be a major agenda in the summit meetings between major countries during U.S President Donald Trump's first visit to Asia. South Korea and China are also discussing details to organize a summit meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on November 11-12.

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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.

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.

Oil Refiners See Good Times ahead due to Rising Oil Prices

International oil prices have hit a record high in seven months as they went up over US$50 a barrel. The domestic oil refining sector raised its hopes of improving their profitability in the third quarter after suffering poor results for two consecutive quarters.The spot price for Dubai crude as compiled by the Korea National Oil Corp. was $53.64 a barrel on September 16, up by 7 cents from the previous day. This is the highest level since February this year when the figure was $54.39.

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

S. Korea and China agree on early turnaround in strained ties

South Korea and China agreed on an early turnaround in relations that have been soured by the deployment of an American missile shield, saying they would try to find a solution through a channel of military dialogue. The agreement was announced simultaneously by Seoul and Beijing in the form of a press statement published on the websites of their foreign ministries. "The two sides agreed to expeditiously put the development of exchanges and cooperation in all fields back on a normal track, sharing the view that strengthening exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and China serve their interests," the South's foreign ministry said in a statement.

President Moon faces new challenge about whether to legalize abortion

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who portrayed himself as a feminist, face a new challenge from equal rights activists who have called for the legalization of abortion for decades in a male-dominated society.The window for public petitions at the presidential website was flooded with more than 200,000 endorsors on Monday since the first petition calling for the legitimation of abortion and drugs used for miscarriage was posted on September 30.Although abortion is illegal, it is actually very common. Religious groups support the criminality of abortion despite steady calls from women's groups about abortion rights.

Prosecutors demand jail term of up to 10 years for Lotte's ruling family

Prosecutors demanded jail terms of up to ten years for the ruling family of South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, Lotte, accusing group chairman Shin Dong-bin and others of privatizing corporate assets to pursue personal interests.
Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, 94, and his common-law wife, Seo Mi-kyung, and two sons -- group chairman Shin Dong-bin and his brother Shin Dong-joo -- have been indicted along with the founder's daughter, Shin Young-ja, who was sentenced to three years in prison in January in a separate case. In a final hearing on Monday, prosecutors urged a criminal court in Seoul to sentence Dong-bin to 10 years in prison along with a fine of 100 billion won (889 million US dollars) and five years for his brother along with a fine of 12.5 billion won.

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

Samsung Elec pledges cash dividends of $26 bn from 2018-2020

Samsung Electronics Co. will pay out around 29 trillion won ($25.8 billion) in cash dividends over the next three years, and begin the fourth phase of its share buyback program on Wednesday to share its colossal profits with its shareholders. The Korean tech giant Tuesday announced its detailed plan to boost shareholder value from 2018 to 2020 by holding a shareholders’ meeting after confirming its record-high earnings for the third quarter.

Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Q3 operating profit down 20.8% on year

South Korea’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. reported a 20.8 percent on-year decline in operating profit in the third quarter due to a retreat in new orders, but successfully managed to remain in black for seven straight quarters thanks to ongoing business reform efforts. According to its regulatory filing on Tuesday, Hyundai Heavy Industries posted 93.5 billion won ($83.4 million) in operating income on a consolidated basis for the third quarter ended September, down 20.8 percent from a year ago. Sales also dropped 27.3 percent to 3.8 trillion won over the same period while net income edged up 2.1 percent to 197 billion won.

S. Korea, China agree to normalize relations after THAAD dispute

The South Korean economy beleaguered by rising external uncertainties has been given relief after Korea and China agreed to normalize bilateral relations that have frayed since last year following Seoul’s decision to host an U.S. antimissile system. Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said in a joint press release with China that the two sides have agreed to swiftly recover exchanges and cooperation in all areas to normal level. Although the statement does not directly mention China’s economic retaliation actions against Seoul over the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, industry observers noted that the statement implies that China would ease or remove retaliation moves.

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