The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Friday, March 2, 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.

Soaring housing prices a conundrum for homebuyers, policymakers

Purchasing a home may be the largest-ever financial transaction for many ordinary citizens, such as Han Jung-min, a 40-something office worker who dreams of settling down in the posh district of Gangnam in southern Seoul.The problem facing such first-time homebuyers always boils down to timing -- is it good idea to buy a home now or not?Like other potential homebuyers, Ha has been tinkering with the idea, expecting home prices to face market correction.Ha's agony over when to make the plunge deepened as apartment prices in the affluent neighborhood of the capital city are showing no signs of a letup in their climb."It is hard to buy an apartment in Gangnam and even in other regions as prices are crazy," Ha grumbles, adding that he had not expected apartment prices in Seoul to post such a steep rise in the past year. "I am not sure it is right time (to buy a home), and it is difficult to predict," Ha says.

‘Prime Minister Lee visits my country in mid-March to promote economic cooperation’

Ambassador Grecia Fiordalicia Pichardo of the Dominican Republic in Seoul disclosed that Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yeon is scheduled to visit the Dominican Republic in mid-March leading a large delegation of Korean business leaders of Korea.Speaking at a reception she hosted at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2018 in celebration of the 174th anniversary of the National Independence of her country, Ambassador Picardo said, “The Korean prime minister will lead a large business delegation with a goal to give continuity to cooperation and investments projects in the areas of sustainable energy, construction and manufacturing.” (See excerpts from the speech of Ambassador Pichardo at the end of this report.)

S. Korea seeks to forge stronger economic ties with India

South Korea will forge closer economic ties with India by lowering trade barriers and pushing for joint projects in manufacturing and advanced technology sectors, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.South Korean commerce minister Paik Un-gyu visited India on Tuesday and held a series of meetings with senior Indian officials and businesspeople to seek ways to expand cooperation in various areas, including manufacturing, energy and IT.The two nations agreed to speed up talks to enhance the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a type of free trade deal that emphasizes two-way economic cooperation on top of market opening. Seoul and New Delhi will form a consultative body on trade remedies.In 2010, the two nations implemented CEPA to eliminate or cut tariffs on goods over the next decade and began talks in June 2016 to include the service and investment sectors in the pact. So far, the two sides have met four times for talks.

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

Moon to Send Special Envoy to N. Korea

President Moon Jae-in said during a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump that he will soon send a special envoy to North Korea to reciprocate the recent visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong.The presidential office said that the two leaders spoke over the phone for 30 minutes from 10 p.m. Thursday. Presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan said Moon told Trump that the special envoy will confirm details of issues discussed during the recent high-level North Korean delegation's visit to South Korea. It is expected that the special envoy will explore whether the North will accept dialogue with the U.S. on condition that it gives up its nuclear weapons.The White House said in a statement that the two leaders "noted their firm position that any dialogue with North Korea must be conducted with the explicit and unwavering goal of complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization."

Trump to Impose 25% Tariffs on Steel Imports

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he will sign a measure next week imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel and ten percent tariffs on aluminum imports.Trump made the announcement on Thursday in a meeting with U.S. steel and aluminum executives at the White House.The president blamed foreign companies for dumping massive amounts of products in the U.S., which he said destroys American companies and jobs. He said that these tariffs will last for a "long period of time," asking the executives to work to revive the domestic steel and aluminum industries.The announcement, if finalized, will come as a relief to South Korea as the U.S. Department of Commerce had recommended tariffs of 53 percent on 12 countries, including South Korea, as one of three potential options.

Moon Urges Japan to Face Wartime Wrongdoings

Anchor: On this anniversary of Korea's independence movement, President Moon Jae-in said he will ensure Japan faces up to its wartime past, even as he seeks a forward-looking relationship between the two countries.Kim Bum-soo has the story. Report: President Moon Jae-in touched on thorny issues with Japan Thursday as he marked the 99th anniversary of the March First independence movement against Japanese colonial rule.One of the most sensitive issues of that era is Japan's wartime sex slavery of Korean women, euphemistically called, "comfort women." Tokyo insists the comfort women issue was resolved "finally and irrevocably" when Moon's predecessor, impeached former President Park Geun-hye, signed a controversial deal with Japan in 2015. However, in his March First speech, Moon said Japan needs to do more.

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

S. Korea's industrial output rises 1 pct in January

South Korea's industrial output increased in January from a month earlier on a rise in production in the automaking and chipmaking sectors, government data showed Friday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1 percent on-month in January, following an adjusted 0.5 percent on-month decline in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output also spiked 4.6 percent in January, following a 4.6 percent on-year decline in December.Production in the service sector increased 0.8 percent on-month in January, with a 3.6 percent on-year gain.Retail sales advanced 1.7 percent on-month in January, turning around from a 2.6 percent on-month decline in the previous month, with a 1.4 percent on-year rise.

N.K. denies supplying Syria with chemical weapons equipment

North Korea slammed a U.N. probe Friday that says Pyongyang has been providing Syria with materials that can be used to manufacture chemical weapons, claiming it has not developed and produced them.The North has supplied to Syria materials that can be used to produce chemical weapons like acid-resistant tiles and valves, and the country sent its missile technicians to Syria's chemical and missile facilities, The New York Times reported last week, citing a U.N. panel report.A director of the press at the North Korean foreign ministry's institute for American studies denied the report. He insisted that the United States has fabricated cooperation between the North and Syria to toughen sanctions against Pyongyang and justify its military invasion into Syria."As had been elucidated several times, the DPRK does not have a single record of developing, producing and stockpiling a chemical weapon, and it is opposed to chemical weapons themselves," the official was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency.

Green Climate Fund approves largest-ever funding for 23 new projects

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the South Korea-based United Nations climate fund aimed at helping poor nations fight global warming, has approved funding for 23 new projects, valued at US$1.09 billion, the largest-ever, according to its website on Friday. The approval, which was made at the fund's 11th board meeting in South Korea earlier this week, brought its total portfolio to 76 projects and its accumulated funding to $3.73 billion."We have had a highly positive week, approving over US$1 billion in projects, which is a record amount in a single GCF Board meeting," GCF co-chair Paul Oquist said in a statement."This large volume of projects for both mitigation and adaptation -- and the additional US$60 million for readiness support -- shows that GCF is ready to shift gears in supporting developing countries achieve their climate goals. The projects adopted here will make a real impact in the face of climate challenges," he added.Launched in late 2010, the GCF aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems.

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

Moon to send special envoy to N. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in said that he will send a special envoy to North Korea during his first phone conversation with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, since rare high-level contact between the two Koreas.Moon discussed with Trump late Thursday the outcome of the trips to South Korea by North Korea's special envoy and high-level delegations during the PyeongChang Olympic Games, Seoul's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, said."The two leaders agreed to continue their efforts to maintain the momentum for South-North dialogue so it may lead to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the presidential office said of the phone conversation.

Moon berates Japan over history at March 1 ceremony

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday berated Japan for its handling of the sex slavery issue and its claims to Korea’s Dokdo islets, calling on Tokyo to “face the truth of history and justice.”In his speech at a ceremony marking the 99th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Moon focused on history and outstanding issues between Seoul and Tokyo. “Dokdo was the first Korean territory to be seized in the process of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula. It is our territory. Japan denying this is no different to (Japan) refusing to admit to the wrongs of imperialistic invasion,” Moon said. The Dokdo islets are South Korea’s eastern-most territory, which Japan claims as its own and accuses Seoul of illegal occupation. The islets have long been a thorny issue in Korea-Japan relations, and tensions over the issue came to a head following former President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the islets on August 2012.

GM Korea suffers record operating loss last year

GM Korea suffered a record operating loss of 800 billion won ($736 million) last year, further aggravating its high number of debts largely due to a strategy shift by its head office, according to provisional data submitted by the carmaker.The local unit of the US carmaker suggested the estimated figures to the government while asking for cash last month. Data showed that the company posted annual losses for four straight years. In 2014, GM Korea saw 148.6 billion won in operating loss, followed by 594.4 billion won in 2015 and 531.2 billion in 2016. GM Korea posted 10.7 trillion won in sales last year, the lowest after the 2008 global financial crisis.

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

South Korea to send special envoy to North Korea: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will soon send a special envoy to North Korea in response to an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his office said Thursday night.The announcement came after Moon had a 30-minute phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump starting 10 p.m."In response to the visit by North Korea's special envoy Kim Yo-jong, President Moon conveyed to Trump his plans to dispatch a special envoy to the North soon," Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement."The two leaders agreed to continue close consultations on the progress of South-North Korea dialogue that will go on."Moon's spokesman did not reveal any further details of the special envoy. He also did not disclose Trump's reaction to the plan.During the talks, Moon and Trump agreed to "foster inter-Korean dialogue and continue efforts for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the presidential office said.

Trump set to impose 25 pct tariff on steel imports next week

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports next week, a move that could affect South Korean manufacturers.Speaking at a meeting with business executives at the White House, Trump also said he plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports of aluminum and keep the two measures in place indefinitely."We'll be signing it in. And you will have protection for the first time in a long while, and you're going to regrow your industries," he said. "That's all I'm asking. You have to regrow your industries."The move is mainly aimed at Chinese imports, but South Korea is also an exporter of steel to the U.S.According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association, the country shipped out US$3.2 billion worth of steel products to the U.S. in 2017.The Trump administration has aggressively pursued trade remedies in an effort to revive domestic industries.

Migrant workers in rural areas find 'Korean dream' out of reach

Botum is a migrant worker from Cambodia. Arriving in Korea in 2016, she worked at a strawberry farm in South Chungcheong Province.Her day usually started at 6 a.m. and finished around 10 p.m. with two hours for a meal break _ during the harvest season, she didn't even get that. When things are down, she is transported to other farms and does other random work.Her monthly wage was 1.4 million won ($1,300). It was small by Korean standards but was five times what people back home normally receive. She spared 100,000 won for herself and sent the rest to her family _ mother, husband and a six-year-old son.In January, however, Botum left the farm. "I had to stay for my family, but I had to leave because I was going to die because it was too cold," Botum, who didn't disclose her full name, told the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, during a recent interview.

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

Air Pollution Changes Home Appliance Market

Toxic smog in Korea is changing the home appliance market. Air purifiers, once seen as a luxury or niche item, have hit the mainstream, selling nearly 2 million units a year.Humidifier, dehumidifiers and steam clothing care systems now have air purifying function as a matter of course, and tumble dryers are selling like hot cakes now that people are reluctant to expose their washing to the open air.The biggest shift is in air purifiers becoming essentials in many homes along with TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators. Their sales first exceeded 1 million units in 2016 and are expected to reach 2 million this year.Air conditioners, which used to only get a workout in the summer, now do all-year duty as air purifiers. Chang Hye-won at LG said, "People are now buying air conditioners in the winter rather than the summer because they use them year-round."

Elderly, Singles Suffer Worst Air Pollution in Their Homes

Air pollution is at its worst in the homes of elderly people and those who live alone, a study suggests.According to eco-friendly home appliance manufacturer Coway on Tuesday, indoor air quality tests of 16,220 households across the country have found that ultrafine particle concentration is the highest in one-person households at 47.7 ㎍/㎥. Next came elderly households (37.7 ㎍/㎥), homes with grown-up children (35.3), homes with secondary schoolchildren (33), homes with elementary schoolchildren (31.6), and homes with toddlers and infants and newlywed homes (29.5). The pattern suggests that air quality improves markedly the more anxious householders are about the health of their dependents.The WHO air quality guideline for particulate matter is 20 ㎍/㎥.

N.Korea Won't Send Cheerleaders to Paralympics

North Korea will send a delegation and athletes next week to the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang that last from March 9 to 18, the first time the North has ever taken part in Winter Paralympics.The two Koreas reached the agreement in talks at the truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday, the Unification Ministry said.North Korean officials said they will send a four-member delegation and 20 athletes but no cheerleaders. Apparently the cheerleaders the North sent to the Olympics fell short of the propaganda coup Pyongyang had been hoping for.In earlier talks on Jan. 17, North Korea had mooted sending some 150 delegates, athletes, cheerleaders, and reporters to the Paralympics.It is not clear whether Ri Pun-hui, a former table tennis player and head of North Korea's Paralympics association, will be included in the delegation. Ri and Hyun Jung-hwa of South Korea formed a unified Korean team to win the women's team event in the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan.

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

Blue House waits to hear Pyongyang’s response to “denuclearization methodology”

Amid growing curiosity about the “denuclearization methodology” proposed by President Moon Jae-in through a visiting North Korean delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics closing ceremony, the Blue House is reportedly watching to see the North’s response following its analysis of the proposal.The Blue House also dismissed suggestions from some quarters that it first send a special envoy to the US before sending one to North Korea, with some officials cautiously suggesting Seoul first needs to hear Pyongyang’s response and send a special envoy to the North or hold high-level inter-Korean talks as needed in the process. “We’re examining several options, including a special envoy to the North,” a senior Blue House official said in a Feb. 28 telephone conversation with the Hankyoreh.“If you look at things in terms of the sequence of their resolution, we need a response from the North to President Moon’s proposal before we’ll have a ‘card’ to discuss matters with the US,” the official explained.

US rules out possibility of further postponement of joint military exercises

Acting US Ambassador to South Korea Marc Knapper said on Feb. 28 there was no possibility of additional postponement of scheduled joint South Korea-US military exercises. The Moon Jae-in administration has put off announcing a position on the exercises, which are reportedly set to resume in April once the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics are finished.Knapper’s remarks came in response to a question about the possibility of additional postponement of the joint military exercises during a talk with reporters that morning at his official residence in Seoul’s Jeong-dong neighborhood.“We made the decision to de-conflict the exercise, a gesture out of respect to the spirit of the Olympics and out of respect to ensure the success of the Games here,” Knapper explained about the postponement.“At the same time, there is a very real need for our alliance to take necessary measures to maintain our strong deterrence policy, and the only way to do that is through the joint military exercises,” he continued.

Moon Chung-in “cautiously optimistic” on the prospects of US-North Korea dialogue

Moon Chung-in, special presidential advisor for unification, foreign affairs, and national security, said on Feb. 27 that he “personally hope[s]” that talks between North Korea and the US “resume before [joint] military exercises do.”In his remarks, Moon referenced media reports that joint South Korea-US military exercises postponed due to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would resume during the first week of April. Moon’s comments came while the special advisor was attending a seminar on North Korea issues organized in Washington, D.C. by the National Committee on North Korea (NCNK).Conceding that the joint exercises are “highly unlikely to be [further] delayed or canceled,” Moon predicted that there “could be some sort of compromise reached if dialogue takes place between the US and North Korea before the South Korea-US joint military exercises.”“As recently as December of last year, the US Pacific Command wanted to go ahead with the joint exercises as scheduled, but they were ultimately postponed after consultation between South Korea and the US,” he noted.

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

Moon vows new era of peace from 2019

President Moon Jae-in declared that next year - the 100th anniversary of the birth of Korea’s independence movement - can be a starting point for the establishment of a permanent peace on the peninsula. In his first address on March First Independence Movement Day, which marks the nation’s 1919 uprising against Japan’s colonial rule (1910-45), Moon said the issue of Japanese wartime sexual slavery, which he called a “crime against humanity,” has not been properly resolved. Recollecting Korea’s achieving of independence through its martyrs and activists, Moon said Thursday at Seodaemun Prison History Hall in western Seoul, “In 1940, the Korean Provisional Government founded the Korean Liberation Army, the first regular military forces of the Republic of Korea.” Moon was affirming the notion that an independent Korea was founded when a provisional government was established in 1919 in Shanghai, which has been contested by conservatives, who trace modern Korea’s birth to 1948, when Syngman Rhee was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea three years after liberation.

Thaad retaliation slashes Olympics visitors from China

The number of Chinese nationals visiting Korea during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was only 10 percent of what was predicted, a sign that Beijing is continuing to punish Seoul for deploying an American missile defense system.“Around 20,000 Chinese found their way to Korea for the Olympics,” said Jang Ji-won, a spokesman for the New Hwacheong International Tourism Company. The Korean government had expected 200,000 people and even offered visa waivers for Chinese nationals who purchased at least 200,000 won ($184) worth of tickets for the Games, which lasted from Feb. 9 to 25. Those visitors were allowed to stay for 15 days without a visa. While Korea welcomed 1.4 million foreign visitors during the Olympics, only 1.4 percent were Chinese.Some analysts see this as a sign that the Chinese economic retaliation over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system is far from over. Korea-China relations deteriorated over the past year as Beijing lashed out at Seoul for the Thaad deployment, which was announced by Seoul and Washington in July 2016. The deployment was completed last September.

GM Korea had a net loss of $831 million in 2017: KDB

GM Korea suffered a net loss of 900 billion won ($831 million) last year, bringing its total red ink since 2014 to almost 3 trillion won. According to the Korea Development Bank, the second-largest shareholder in the company, GM provided that figure as part of its negotiations for more support from the Korean government. Results from the previous year are usually released in April. When compared to the previous year, GM Korea’s net loss was up more than 40 percent. GM Korea’s revenues for 2017 were estimated to be 10.7 trillion won, a 12 percent year-on-year decline and the lowest level since 2009, when the market was hurt by the global financial meltdown. GM Korea is in the process of restructuring its operations in Korea while simultaneously negotiating with the Korean government for greater support. It has suggested it could completely leave Korea, and on Thursday it announced the ending of contracts for 200 non-staff workers at its plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla, by the end of this month.

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

Good Job on Agreeing to the Shorter Working Hours, But We Still Need to Minimize the Side Effects

On February 27, the parliamentary Environment and Labor Committee passed an amendment of the Labor Standards Act, which decreased the maximum weekly working hours to 52 hours from the previous 68. This is significant for the ruling and opposition lawmakers finally reached an agreement after five years since they first embarked on discussions to shorten working hours. The latest amendment does not recognize double bonuses on holiday labor and companies will continue to pay 150% of the normal wages. The bill also designates legal holidays, such as National Liberation Day (Aug. 15) and Independence Movement Day (Mar. 1), as paid holidays, so workers in the private sector will also be paid for their break. The lawmakers also decided to reduce the number of special jobs that are allowed unrestricted labor from the current twenty-six to five.The current Labor Standards Act stipulates the weekly legal working hour to forty hours and restricts overtime to twelve hours, but it has no articles on holiday labor. However, the Ministry of Employment and Labor excluded holidays from "working days" in an administrative interpretation, making it possible for workers to work an additional sixteen hours, eight hours each on Saturday and Sunday. Thus, the weekly legal working hour was practically 68 hours. The latest changes are meaningful for the Environment and Labor Committee stipulated the weekly working hour to 52 hours in the latest amendment allowing workers used to long working hours to enjoy a better quality of life. Shorter working hours were desperately required to increase the number of jobs in an era of low growth. Some studies show that if the statutory working hour is reduced to 52 hours a week, the number of jobs can increase by 600,000-700,000.

The Main Culprit, Park Geun-hye: A Stronger Sentence than "Accomplice" Choi Soon-sil Inevitable

On February 27, prosecutors sought thirty years of imprisonment for former President Park Geun-hye (66), and the majority of the people expect the court to make a similar decision. Former President Park had already been found guilty for fifteen of the eighteen charges against her in the trials of her accomplices, and since in the case of bribery, a major charge against her, a public official is the principle offender, her responsibility is heavier than her accomplice, Choi Soon-sil (62). The prosecutors' decision was somewhat predictable after the first court ruling of Choi on February 13. Choi schemed with Park on thirteen of the charges, and was found guilty for eleven of the charges in her first trial.In particular, the court recognized Choi's conspiracy with former President Park on charges of demanding and receiving bribes from large companies such as Samsung. The court is expected to recognize a total of 23.2 billion won, recognized as bribes in Choi's case, as the bribes involving the former president. This includes 7.3 billion won the two received from Samsung, including the possession of the horse; 7 billion won from Lotte Group; and 8.9 billion won, which the two demanded from SK Group.

North Korea and the U.S. Both Want Dialogue, But First They Need to Narrow Their Differences on Denuclearization

Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman overseeing South Korean intelligence in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) cum director of the United Front Department, who visited South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics met with President Moon Jae-in on February 25 and said that Pyongyang had "ample intentions of holding talks with the United States." After his remark was released to the public, the possibility of direct talks between North Korea and the U.S. has increased. There are still many challenges, but just the fact that the two countries agree to the need for talks is great progress. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to Vice Chairman Kim's remarks by saying, "We will see if Pyongyang's message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization." The White House seemed to welcome Kim's comment, but at the same time stated that denuclearization must be included in the agenda.

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

Samsung unveils upgraded digital ideograms with 'AR Emoji'

Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, challenged its arch rival, Apple, in digital ideograms used in PC and smartphone messenger software by introducing its own emoji software which digitalizes the face of users into 3D characters.The history of emojis goes way back to the 1990s. The term originated from Japanese mobile phone users who used cute ideograms such as a smiling face and a heart to express emotions in text messages. Now, emojis are used widely in smartphone messenger apps and evolved into character animations.This week Samsung introduced AR Emoji, an ideographic feature using the augmented reality (AR) feature of its new flagship smartphone Galaxy S9 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The AR Emoji feature in S9 scans the face of users and creates a 3D animated clone.The South Korean tech giant highlighted S9's visual communicating ability as one of its key features. Samsung said that with AR Emoji, people can communicate with each other on video calls using their own 3D characters or they can use personalized emojis on smartphone instant messaging apps.

Trump set to impose 25% tariff on steel imports

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports next week, a move that could affect South Korean manufacturers. Speaking at a meeting with business executives at the White House, Trump also said he plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports of aluminum and keep the two measures in place indefinitely."We'll be signing it in. And you will have protection for the first time in a long while, and you're going to regrow your industries," he said. "That's all I'm asking. You have to regrow your industries."The move is mainly aimed at Chinese imports, but South Korea is also an exporter of steel to the U.S. According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association, the country shipped out 3.2 billion US dollars worth of steel products to the U.S. in 2017.The Trump administration has aggressively pursued trade remedies in an effort to revive domestic industries. It recently slapped tariffs on imports of large residential washers and solar cell panels, targeting companies including South Korean electronics giants Samsung and LG.

S. Korean Catholic chief apologizes for #MeToo revelations

The head of South Korea's Roman Catholic church apologized Wednesday for a #MeToo revelation that a priest had attempted to rape a female follower during their stay in South Sudan for missionary work seven years ago.The apology came after the Catholic Diocese of Suwon suspended a priest from his duties over accusations that he had tried to rape a female volunteer worker several times while working together in South Sudan in 2011. Another priest involved in the Catholic Human Rights Committee has been accused of sexual harassment in 2014."I sincerely apologize to the victims of sexual violence and their families, as well as to those who are disappointed and angry with the priests," Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong told reporters."It is disappointing and embarrassing to see a sex scandal involving the priests who should keep the noble values of the single and become the religious mark of ethical conscience and devotion, to keep the noble values of the single," Kim said, promising to punish any priests involved in sexual abuse.

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

Korea’s Posco to buy stake in Aussie lithium miner Pilbara

South Korea’s leading steelmaker Posco announced Tuesday it has agreed to acquire a 4.75 percent stake in Australian miner Pilbara Minerals for $62.5 million and buy up to 240,000 tons of lithium concentrate per year, creating a more stable supply chain for manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries. Posco said in a statement it will use the commodity to make 30,000 tons of lithium products per year starting from 2020. The lithium products will be supplied to battery material manufacturing affiliate Posco ESM and its joint venture with China’s Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery makers. Pilbara Minerals, which owns 100 percent of the Pilgangoora lithium mine in western Australia, aims to begin production of 300,000 tons of lithium concentrate in the second half of this year and scale up the output to as much as 800,000 tons annually, Posco said. Pilbara will also take a 30-percent stake in Posco’s planned lithium factory.

Korea`s LSIS presents renewable energy solutions at World Smart Energy Week 2018 in Tokyo

LS Industrial Systems Co. (LSIS), a South Korean manufacturer of electric power and automation equipment, is attending the World Smart Energy Week 2018, Asia’s largest power generation exhibition held from Wednesday to Friday in Tokyo. The World Smart Energy Week 2018 where total 1,590 energy companies and 70,000 visitors from around the world are gathering hosts eight different exhibitions simultaneously including the 11th International Photovoltaic Power Generation Expo (PV Expo). LSIS is exhibiting its latest power generation solutions and projects under the theme of total solution provider of renewable energy systems at 16 booths spanning a total of 145.8 square meters, its largest-ever scale. LSIS had taken part in Smart Grid Expo since 2014 but moved its booths to PV Expo this year to focus its efforts on venturing into the local renewable energy systems market, according to the company.

SK Innovation to reward CEO with stock option for first time

South Korea’s leading oil refiner SK Innovation Co. is seeking to award its chief executive with stock options for the first time in its seven-year history after hitting record profits last year. The company said Tuesday the proposed compensation package for CEO Kim Jun will be submitted for approval at the next shareholder meeting on March 20. If approved, Kim would be granted a total of 70,551 common shares with the right to buy 23,517 shares at a fixed price in three equal installments from 2020 to 2025. He would be able to gain financially if the stock price remains above the option’s strike price. The surprise package came after SK Innovation posted a record operating profit of 3.23 trillion won ($2.99 billion) on sales of 46.8 trillion won in 2017. Earnings in its non-refinery business, including chemical and lubricants, also topped 2 trillion won for the first time.

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

And many other countries.

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