The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

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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Round-up of important news stories from major Korean dailies today:

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

Hana Micron to implant DNA of Korean semiconductor industry in Brazil

Last month Ambassador of Brazil H.E. Mr. Luis Fernando Serra, among Korean companies successfully working in the Brazilian market, expressed his deep gratitude to Hana Micron. This is due to the fact that Hana Micron managed to lay the basis for the Brazilian semiconductor industry by implementing Korean technology – one of the best in the world.

Millennium Seoul Hilton Lunar New Year Gift Hamper sets on sale

Lunar New Year is one of the largest gifts giving holidays in Korea, designed to help wish those important in your life all the best in the new year. To help you acquire the perfect gifts for treasured family, colleagues and business associates, Millennium Seoul Hilton is offering several luxury gift hamper sets for sale. Gift hampers go on sale from January 15th through to February 14th (February 12th for nationwide delivery excluding Jeju Island; February 13th-14th for Seoul deliveries only).

Uiwang-si cited as Safest City in the capital region of Seoul

To begin with, I want to extend my warm New Year greetings to all readers of The Korea Post media. Neighboring with 7 cities including Gwacheon, Anyang, Gunpo and Suwon, Uiwang City has a population of approximately 160,000 and an area of 54 square kilometers. It is connected with several convenient expressways, including Seoul Ring Expressway, Yeongdong Expressway and Gwacheon-Bongdam High-speed Road.

N. Korean delegation in S. Korea to inspect concert venues

A North Korean delegation arrived in Gangnueng, an eastern South Korean city, Sunday to check the venues for its proposed art performances at next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The trip came amid brisk inter-Korean contact on the North's participation in the Olympic Games to open in three weeks.

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

Ex-Pres. Lee's Nephew Appears for Questioning over Slush Fund Allegations

Former president Lee Myung-bak's nephew has appeared before prosecutors for questioning over allegations surrounding his involvement in the creation of a slush fund by a family-run company. Prosecutors investigating alleged slush funds created by auto parts maker DAS had summoned the company’s vice-president Lee Dong-hyun to appear for questioning by 10 a.m. Wednesday morning on suspicions of amassing illegal funds.

Supreme Court Justices Deny Allegations over Spy Chief Trial

Supreme Court justices have denied media reports that the presidential office under the Park Geun-hye government exerted influence on the trial of a former spy chief. Thirteen Supreme Court justices held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and protested against media reports regarding the findings by a probe committee formed at the Supreme Court. The probe committee said on Monday that the National Court Administration communicated with the presidential office regarding the appeal trial of former spy chief Won Sei-hoon in February 2015.

S. Korea to Implement Real-name Transaction System for Cryptocurrency Investment

South Korea will require virtual coin investors to confirm their real name accounts as part of efforts to prevent speculative investments in virtual coins. According to financial authorities on Tuesday, six commercial banks which offer virtual accounts for cryptocurrency exchanges will provide deposit and withdrawal services for transactions with the exchanges only for individuals who confirm their real-name accounts. Investors and cryptocurrency exchanges must use the same bank for transactions.

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

Chung Hyeon reaches Australian Open semifinals

Chung Hyeon became the first South Korean tennis player to reach a semifinals at a Grand Slam event Wednesday, as he continued his historic run at the Australian Open. Chung beat Tennys Sandgren of the United States 3-0 (6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3) in the quarterfinals match at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. He will next face the winner between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych in the semis.

This was Chung's second encounter with Sandgren. A couple of weeks ago, he defeated the 26-year-old American in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, 2-1 (6-3, 5-7, 6-3).

Two Koreas agree on dates, venues for N. Korea's art performances

South Korea has agreed to North Korea's recent offer on the dates and venues for the North's planned art performances to celebrate next month's Winter Olympic Games, the unification ministry said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the North informed the Seoul government that its art troupe will hold performances at Gangneung Arts Center in Gangneung on Feb. 8 and the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Feb. 11.

The move came after its delegation, led by Hyon Song-wol, head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, returned home on Monday after a two-day trip here to inspect candidate venues for performances.

Pro-N.K. residents in Japan getting ready to cheer N. Korean Olympic athletes

Chongryon, a pro-Pyongyang association of Korean residents in Japan, is stepping up work to create a cheering squad for North Korean athletes who will take part in South Korea's Winter Olympics, sources well-versed in the organization said Wednesday.

The South Korean government promised to guarantee the safety of the Chongryon cheering squad, during its recent talks with the North on its participation in the Olympics. The size of the cheering group has been set at around 170 people, and it can be expanded if there are many applicants, the sources said.

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

Samsung launches official Olympic smartphone app

As of Wednesday, the app is available via Galaxy Apps, Google Play Store and iOS App Store for free. Information on game schedules, major venues, cultural events, transportation and more are currently included on the app.

When the Winter Games kick off, the app will additionally provide medal rankings, scores and information on competitors. Users can also set the app to send push notifications for the latest news about the nations, players or sports they are interested in.

Medical costs show largest surge in 10 years

Medical treatments have become more expensive in Korea, with costs showing the largest surge in 10 years, according to data from Statistics Korea based on the consumer price index. The index showed that outpatient medical costs reached 104.94 last year, up 2.6 percent from 2016. This is the highest since Statistics Korea began categorizing outpatient medical costs in 2005, and the largest on-year increase rate since 2007. Medical examination costs reached 105.87, up 3 percent from the previous year, the highest in 12 years.

Abe to attend Olympics opening, hopes for summit with Moon

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he intends to hold a summit with President Moon Jae-in next month and convey his government’s position on the 2015 “comfort women” agreement. Speaking to reporters, Abe said he intends to visit South Korea next month to attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics, as well as to hold the meeting with Moon. It had previously been reported that Abe was unlikely to attend the event due to dispute over the agreement.

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

Touchdown: LG OLED TV rates best for watching Super Bowl An LG Electronics OLED TV is the best television on which to watch February 4's Super Bowl, according to an American product watchdog magazine. Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization dedicated to unbiased product testing, consumer-oriented research, public education and advocacy, rated 288 different models of LCD, LED and OLED TVs and chose the LG Signature OLED TV W (model 65W7P).

Trump signs safeguard measures

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a set of safeguard measures Tuesday against imported large residential washing machines and solar cells, including those from South Korea.

In announcing the measures Monday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the International Trade Commission had found that U.S. producers were "seriously injured" by the imports.

Korea to take US safeguard tariffs to WTO

Korea will file a petition with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the U.S. government's decision to slap tariffs on Korean residential washing machines, and solar cells and modules, the trade minister said, Tuesday.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, falling victim to the protectionist moves steered by U.S. President Donald Trump, are also protesting the decision, claiming it will lead to a "great loss" for American consumers.

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

N.Korea Plans Military Parade a Day Before Olympics

North Korea plans a massive military parade on Feb. 8, a day before the opening of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, after arbitrarily changing the army anniversary date.

The same day, the North's Samjiyon Orchestra will give a performance in Gangneung in South Korea, fueling speculation that the North is determined to hijack the Olympics for propaganda purposes.

The politburo's decision to change the date of the army anniversary from April 25 to Feb. 8 was officially announced on the front page of the official Rodong Sinmun.

Korean Studies Programs Abroad Mushroom

The number of foreign institutions that run Korean studies programs more than doubled from 632 in 55 countries in 2007 to 1,348 in 105 countries last year. Back in 1990, there were only 151 in 32 nations.

The figures come from a report by the Korea Foundation published Monday.

The biggest growth happened in the Middle East, which saw a 3.8-fold increase from eight in seven countries in 2007 to 30 in 12 countries in 2017. In the U.S. and Canada, the lead is taken by the universities of California at Los Angeles, Hawaii, Michigan, British Columbia and Toronto, each employing more than seven full-time professors.

Moon Fans Put up Birthday Message in New York

An appeals court on Tuesday sentenced former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun to two years in jail for her part in drawing up and applying a secret blacklist of artists and cultural figures considered hostile to ex-President Park Geun-hye.

Cho, who had been let off with a suspended sentence at first instance, shook her head in disbelief when the sentence was delivered.

She was indicted in January last year for complicity in drawing up the list when she was Park's secretary for political affairs and using it to deprive artists on the blacklist of public grants and otherwise disadvantaging them. But in July the court of first instance found her innocent of involvement and only guilty of perjury before the National Assembly, where she at first denied knowing anything about the list.

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

Japanese PM further downgrades country’s relationship with South Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared to further downgrade his country’s relationship with South Korea in policy speech before the Diet of Japan on Jan 22. His remarks seemed to be a response to follow-up measures recently announced by Seoul in connection with the two sides’ 2015 agreement on the Japanese military comfort women issue.

Unified Korean women’s hockey team to play warm-up game against Sweden on Feb. 4

Sarah Murray, 30, coach of the South Korean women’s hockey team, said that the unified inter-Korean team would hit the ice starting with the warm-up match against Sweden on Feb. 4.

“We only have 16 days left until the Olympics. That’s not enough time for the unified inter-Korean team to learn how to play together. The North Korean athletes need to get here in a hurry,” Murray said during a press conference at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province on Jan. 22.

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

Seoul vows to challenge U.S. tariffs on washers

The Korean government said Tuesday it plans to challenge the U.S. government’s decision to impose heavy tariffs on imported washing machines, solar cells and modules announced the previous day.

The tariffs are expected to hurt Korean electronics giants like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics as well as solar cell exporters Hanwha Q Cells and Hyundai Heavy Industries Green Energy.

Top Park Geun-hye aides go to jail

Two top members of the Park Geun-hye administration were sent to jail Tuesday for abuse of power.

The Seoul High Court on Tuesday ruled that Kim Ki-choon, Park’s former presidential chief of staff, and Cho Yoon-sun, former culture minister, were guilty of running a blacklist of artists and cultural figures critical of the administration that denied them funding and other opportunities. The court made clear that Park, impeached and ousted in March 2017, was a co-conspirator in the crimes.

North’s army founding day shifted to eve of Olympics

North Korea announced Tuesday it would return to celebrating Feb. 8 as its army founding day and hold “diverse events” - on the eve of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The North did not specify what events it had in mind, but the news came as local military and intelligence officials said they’ve detected signs Pyongyang is preparing a military parade.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party made the decision on Monday to change the foundation day for the army from April 25 to Feb. 8.

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

There Was No Massive Layoffs Due to the Higher Minimum Wage

Despite fears of massive layoffs due to the higher minimum wage, in reality, the situation was quite different.

Workplace Abuse 119 (Jikjang Gapjil 119), a non-government organization, analyzed 77 cases reported through e-mails in connection to the minimum wage from January 2 to 20 and concluded that there was only one layoff. The report claimed that a medical institution released a restructuring plan including reduced working hours and staff cuts. The result was contrary to the argument by some people who claimed that a sharp increase in the minimum wage would trigger a stream of layoffs.

What the Declaration of a Unified Party by Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoo Seong-min Is Missing

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People's Party and Yoo Seong-min, leader of the Bareun Party held a joint press conference on January 18 and declared the unification of the two parties. The two men said, "Conservatives with vested interests and irresponsible progressives have dominated the two ends, establishing a negative structure of coexistence." They further said, "We will work to meet the people's wishes for political reforms by combining a sound new conservative group with a rational moderate group." They believed further delay of unification would hinder their momentum and officially announced the unification of the two parties ahead of the People's Party's convention scheduled for February 4.

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

National ice hockey coach's messenger app image brings misinterpretation in S. Korean media

Amid ongoing controversy over an unprecedented joint Olympic team involving South and North Korean female ice hockey players, the outspoken foreign coach of South Korea's national team has created a fuss by uploading the picture of hungry gray wolves onto her smartphone messenger app.
After the two Koreas agreed to field a joint team in women's ice hockey in next month's Winter Olympics, South Korea's public opinion has been split, with some people insisting it would be unfair for South Korean athletes to lose a precious playing opportunity or they have become a political scapegoat.

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

Samsung SDI returns to black in Q4 and full-2017 OP

South Korea’s battery maker Samsung SDI Co. swung to profit in the fourth quarter last year and for full-2017 thanks to growing demand for clean batteries to power motor vehicles and commercial and industrial sites.

LG Chem receives approval of first biosimilar in Japan

LG Chem Ltd., chemical and battery making unit under South Korea’s leading conglomerate LG Group, said on Friday that it has received marketing approval of its biosimilar drug LBEC0101 from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

More companies seek IPO on Korean stock market this year

More companies are preparing for initial public offering on South Korean stock market this year including C&G Hi Tech Co., who plans to debut on the country’s secondary Kosdaq bourse on Jan 25.

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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

Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com

Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com

Mainichi www.mainichi.jp

Le Monde www.ilemonde.com

Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com

Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de

SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de

Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Sydney Morning Heraldwww.smh.com.au

Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com

Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.combfp@bogotafreeplanet.com

El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english

Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en

Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net

The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com

LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en

The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.comlithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com

El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net

Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com

Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu

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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.

Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM

Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s

Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE

And many other countries.

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