The Korean daily media headlines and humor
Friday, January 26, 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
S. Korea, U.S. defense chiefs to meet in Hawaii Friday
The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will meet in Hawaii Friday to discuss issues related to the bilateral alliance, including North Korea. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on his way home from his current trip to Asia.
"Just because we have an opportunity out here to link up in the field, makes it easier for both of us -- on the travel side," he said en route from Indonesia to Vietnam, according to a Pentagon transcript.
Korea, Brazil has ‘3 Lucky Fives’ this year, good sign for increased cooperation’
Five is a lucky number not only in Korea but in various other countries of Asia such as Japan, China and other Chinese character-using countries. This year in 2018, Brazil meets with the lucky number three times, and this was immediately apparent at an interview with Ambassador Luis Fernando Serra of Brazil in Seoul.
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.
'I come from an ordinary family, this is how I lived my whole life'
President Vladimi Putin of the Russian Federation says, “I come from an ordinary family, and this is how I lived for a long time, nearly my whole life. I lived as an average, normal person and I have always maintained that connection. We lived simply, having cabbage soup, cutlets, pancakes, but on Sundays and holidays my Mom would bake very delicious stuffed buns with cabbage, meat and rice, and curd tarts.”
A total of over 65 ambassadors, spouses, senior diplomats visit Lotte World Tower
A total of over 65 members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps (most of them ambassadors and their spouses), as well as Ambassador Sylvestre Kouassi Bile of Cote d'Ivoire (dean of the visiting members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps that day) and Ambassador Aleksandr Timonin of the Russian Federation, from a total of over 30 different countries of the world, attended a tour of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul on Jan. 19, 2018, which was organized by The Korea Post media.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
N. Korean Officials Begin Inspecting Olympic Facilities in S. Korea
A group of North Koreans has begun field inspections in South Korea to prearrange a visit by a large delegation that will attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. After arriving in the South through the western inter-Korean border Thursday morning, the eight-member advance team, led by North Korea's sports ministry official Yoon Yong-bok, visited the Inje Speedium in Inje County, Gangwon Province, where North Korean cheerleaders are expected to stay.
Moon Calls for More Drastic Measures to Create Jobs for Youth
President Moon Jae-in is pressing his officials to try harder to create jobs for the country’s young population. During a government meeting on youth job creation at the top office on Thursday, the president warned that unless they draft more efficient and drastic measures to ease youth unemployment within the next three to four years, young South Koreans will face even bleaker job prospects.
Seoul Protests Japan's New Promotional Hall on Dokdo in Tokyo
South Korea has criticized Japan’s move to open an exhibition hall in the heart of Tokyo which promotes its claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo. In a statement issued Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said it is strongly protesting the Japanese government’s move intended to lay unfair sovereignty claim to Dokdo and demanding Japan immediately close the exhibition hall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Kissinger rejects 'freeze-for-freeze' with N. Korea
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Thursday he does not believe North Korea will abandon its nuclear weapons in exchange for a suspension of U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea. Kissinger, who served under the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s, spoke before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the security challenges facing the United States.
S. Korean team returns after checking venues for joint events in N.K.
An advance team of South Korean officials returned home from North Korea on Thursday after inspecting venues for joint events on the occasion of next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics in the South.A 12-member team led by Lee Joo-tae, director-general at Seoul's unification ministry, came back to the South via an eastern land route after a three-day inspection of facilities at Mount Kumgang, a ski resort and an airfield along the east coast. Signs of a thaw in inter-Korean ties are growing after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed a willingness to send a delegation to the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games in his New Year's speech.
U.S. could 'fight tonight' if S. Korea attacked
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday has reaffirmed his country's commitment to the defense of South Korea, saying his troops could "fight tonight" if the Asian ally were to come under attack. Mattis was speaking to reporters en route from Vietnam to Hawaii near the end of a regional trip that also took him to Indonesia.
"The defense of South Korea is a treaty alliance with us," he said, according to an official transcript. He explained that the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving military options in place to respond to North Korean aggression.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
NK hockey players join S. Korean team for training
North Korean hockey players and an advance team of sports officials crossed the border to South Korea early Thursday to prepare for their country’s participation in next month’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Twenty-three North Koreans arrived in the South via the Kaesong route. Among them were a 15-member delegation of 12 women’s ice hockey players with their coach Pak Chol-ho and two support staff, which swiftly left for the national training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province.
At least 5 dead in hospital fire in Miryang
At least five people have died in a fire that broke out at a hospital in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province on Friday. According to the authorities, the fire began at about 7:30 a.m. at Sejong Hospital in the southern city. As of 9:10 a.m., more than 20 people have been taken to nearby hospitals, three of whom have died. At the time of the fire, 100 patients were in the wards.
4 workers die from toxic gas leak at Posco plant
Four workers died of asphyxiation after a gas leak at steelmaker Posco’s plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. According to the authorities, the workers inhaled nitrogen while working on a facility that supplies oxygen to a furnace at the Pohang steelworks at about 4 p.m. The workers are said to be employees of a Posco subcontractor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Chung Hyeon lifts tennis to Korea's next 'it sport'
Tennis is poised to be Korea's next "it sport" once Chung Hyeon returns home after completing his ongoing triumphant journey at the 2018 Australian Open tournament in Melbourne. Chung, 21, is the first Korean to reach the semifinals of the Grand Slam after he beat Tennys Sandgren of the United States 3-0 on Wednesday. His saga is ongoing ? he will face second-seeded Roger Federer in the semifinal slated for Friday.
North Korea media offers no coverage of S. Korean delegation
While North Korean delegation's visits here are making headlines, the South Korean delegation that visited the North from Tuesday through Thursday got no coverage from Pyongyang's media. The delegation returned home after inspecting sites for events at Mount Geumgang and the Masikyrong Ski Resort ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The little coverage of the South Korean visitors in the North was in stark contrast with the South Korean media's extensive coverage of North Korean delegates visiting to prepare for Pyongyang's participation in the Games next month.
Ex-German Chancellor Schroder to marry Korean woman
It was love at first sight that bound them together.German news outlet Bunte broke the story earlier this month that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder will marry his South Korean interpreter Kim So-yeon. The report triggered a media frenzy in Seoul. Reporters captured the moments the pair dated at Changdeokgung royal palace in Seoul and dined together at Korean restaurants in the city and Kreuzberg, Berlin.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Olympics Organizers Preparing for Extreme Cold
The mercury plunged to -21.9 degrees Celsius in Pyeongchang on Wednesday, brought down to as low as -36.4 degrees by winds blowing at a speed of 11.4 m/s. If the area is hit by such an extreme cold during the Winter Olympics, it could seriously affect the event. Weather is one of the biggest factors that will determine the success of the games. The organizing committee is preparing for the worst with five scenarios using data compiled over the last 30 years.
N.Korea's Food, Oil Supplies Dwindle Amid Sanctions
Pyongyang is suffering from acute shortages of food, electricity and oil in the wake of international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs. Sources said the shortages are already being referred to as the third "arduous march," a term recalling the deadly famine of the 1990s. Serious electricity shortages resulted from shutdowns of two main power plants in Pyongyang that lasted more than 10 days so far this year. Coal mines have not been able to produce enough supplies, and whatever coal has been mined cannot be transported due to the power shortage, according to a source.
NIS Dismisses Murder Rumors About N.Korean Soldier
Oh Chong-song, the 26-year-old North Korean soldier who fled across the inter-Korean border in a hail of bullets in November last year, is the son of an army colonel, the National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.Committee members said the NIS also denied news reports that Oh was involved in a murder in the North. It said a government investigation has concluded that Oh was never embroiled in any crimes in the North.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Abe’s attendance at Olympics likely based on domestic political factors
The biggest factor behind Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s announcement that he will attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last month appears to have been the domestic political situation in Japan.
CIA Director reiterates that Trump wants a diplomatic solution to North Korea nuclear issue
“The president is intent on delivering this solution [to the North Korean nuclear issue] through diplomatic means. It is the focus. It has been uniformly that for 365 days. It remains so today,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo said during a lecture hosted by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative US think tank, on Jan. 23.
“Now is the best time” for US-North Korea negotiations, says SK Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“The US is prepared to engage in dialogue with the North. I think this is the best time for North Korea [to engage in dialogue with the US],” a senior official at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Jan. 24. “US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that dialogue is possible if [North Korea] refrains from additional provocations to some extent, and President Donald Trump has recently signed on as well. [The US] has never said that kind of thing before,” the official said during a meeting with reporters that afternoon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)
North’s ice hockey players arrive
Twelve women’s ice hockey athletes from North Korea crossed the border Thursday to start training with South Korean teammates on a joint Olympic team. Their teamwork will get a pre-Olympics test in a friendly match against Sweden in Incheon on Feb. 4. The athletes, a coach and two supporting staff took a road linking the two Koreas near the west coast along with a second North Korean inspection team that will examine local accommodations, stadiums and Olympic press centers for the North Korean athletes, taekwondo performers, cheerleaders and reporters who will come to the South next month.
U.S. slaps sanctions on more entities, people
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday levied new sanctions on nine additional entities and 16 individuals linked to North Korea’s nuclear and missiles program. The sanctions were slapped on two Chinese trading companies, six vessels and North Korean representatives of companies and banks, mostly based in China and Russia.
GDP growth busted the 3% barrier in 2017
Annual economic growth in 2017 reached 3.1 percent, breaking the 3 percent threshold for the first time in three years thanks to robust exports.
But the fourth quarter saw a contraction, according to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, as a combination of declining automobile exports and construction investment - and fewer workdays - outpaced steady consumer spending and a stellar performance by semiconductor exporters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Special Activity Expenses, DAS, and Online Comments: Investigation Narrows in on MB from Three Sides
As the prosecutors' investigation aiming at former President Lee Myung-bak (77) accelerates, the prosecutors' questioning of the former president is set to become reality.Currently, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is conducting the investigation in three major areas: the illegal bribery linked to the special activity expenses of the National Intelligence Service (NIS); the ownership of DAS, a company allegedly owned by former President Lee; and the online comments posted by the military's Cyber Command. In the case of the intelligence agency's special expenses account and DAS, key aides have begun opening their mouths on one or two of the allegations, and facts concealed or reduced in the previous investigation are newly emerging in connection to the online comments posted by the military's Cyber Command.
Chung Hyeon's Inspirational Victory as He Heads to the Australian Open Semifinals
Chung Hyeon is rewriting South Korean tennis history. South Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon beat American Tennys Sandgren in a 3-0 victory in the Australian Open men's singles quarterfinals on January 24 and will advance to the semifinals. This is the first time for both men and women that a Korean tennis player has entered the semifinals in one of the four major tennis competitions. Before Chung, the best performance by a Korean tennis player in one of the major competitions was entering the round of sixteen.
The Fall of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye: Intervention in the 2012 Presidential Election Back in the Spotlight
The 2012 presidential election, which bound the two former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye into one fate, is back in the spotlight. This follows the announcement by an investigation committee of the Supreme Court on January 22, which confirmed circumstances that Cheong Wa Dae under former President Park Geun-hye had exerted pressure on the Supreme Court to curtail the significance of the National Intelligence Service's intervention in the presidential election under Won Sei-hoon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AJU Business Daily (http://eng.ajunews.com/korea)
Society without people who can stop fight
Since Kim Jung-un announced his intention to participate in the Olympic Games, we have been fighting for a month. The controversy over a unified team inwomen's ice hockey shows signs of aggravating into intergenerational conflict. Still, no one is trying to stop the fight. It will not happen if it is a normal country or society. Someone, either government or civil society, would stand up to stop conflicts by coordinating the positions of both sides. What's really worried about is the absence of this social mechanism. We are living in a society where there is only a person who encourages fighting.
LG predicts fall in LCD TV prices due to competition with Chinese
LG Electronics predicted a fall in LCD TV prices this year, especially in 60-inch models, due to competition with Chinese rivals which embarked on the mass-production of flat panel TVs in the second half of last year. LG vowed to step up the production of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs, saying its OLED TV shipment would reach about five million units by 2020. LG focused OLED technology while domestic rival Samsung developed quantum-dot technology for high-end liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.
Hyundai auto group reports worst earnings in eight years
South Korea's Hyundai auto group reported its worst corporate earnings in eight years due to a strong won, slowing demand in major markets and a diplomatic row with China over the deployment of a U.S. missile shield. Hyundai Motor said its full-year net profit in 2017 fell 21 percent on-year to 4.54 trillion won (4.29 billion US dollars). Operating profit was down 12 percent to 4.57 trillion won last year while sales rose 2.9 percent to 96.37 trillion won.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maeil Business News Korea ( http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
SK Hynix capex ’17 $9.8 bn, will spend more in ’18
SK Hynix spent a record 10.3 trillion won ($9.8 billion) to scale up capacity in next-generation chips and flash memory last year and plans bigger capital investment this year with ammunitions from its best-ever performance. “Our capex plan for this year is still under review but it will be larger than last year,” the chipmaker’s chief financial officer Lee Myoung-young said in a conference call after the company reported record quarterly and annual statements on Thursday.
Korea’s Q4 GDP growth down 0.2% on qtr, up 3.1% for full 2017
South Korea’s economy retreated 0.2 percent in the final quarter against the third quarter when memory chip demand peaked, but managed to run at a pace above 3 percent for the first time in three years for full 2017 as domestic demand slowly tracked rebounding global economy. According to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in the final three months of 2017 fell 0.2 percent from the previous quarter that performed its best in seven years with a growth of 1.5 percent.
Hyundai Heavy Industries wins $220 mn order to build LPG carriers in Kuwait
South Korea’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is off to a strong start in 2018, winning an order worth $220 million to build three very large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers from Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC), the company said Thursday. The three vessels with a length of 229 meters and width of 37 meters each will be constructed at its Ulsan shipyard and delivered to the Kuwait’s state-run company starting 2019.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO ERR ON THE SAFER SIDE!
I trust that Your Excellency may be aware that we are ready to fully meet ALL the information dissemination-acquisition requirements of the Embassies—free of charge.
Please visit the following URLs and order us:
Real time-updated Korean Internet news http://www.koreapost.co.kr/
Real time-updated English Internet news http://www.koreapost.com/
20-page Korean-language newspaper http://www.koreapost.co.kr/pdf/list.php
English E-daily http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=5504
English monthly magazine The Korea Post http://www.koreapost.com/cover/coverList.html
To satisfy your information dissemination-acquisition requirements, please drop a line at edt@koreapost.com, pub@koreapost.com or yeskoreapost@gmail.com
The publisher-chairman of The Korea Post media is serving the Diplomatic Community for more than 40 years, 32 years with The Korea Post and 10 years with The Korea Herald as the Cultural Editor who covered the Diplomatic Community.
For quick response, call Chairman Lee directly at 010-5201-1740 or reporters at 010-3388-1682 or 010-7584-5873.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------