The Korean daily media headlines and humor

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Monday, May 21, 2018

Your Excellency:

What’s ticking in Korea and around the world today?

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

The Korea Post media

P.S.: If the Headlines are no longer desired, please advise us at: edt@koreapost.com or pub@koreapost.com.

Comic strip Chang Dori by Artist Park Sun-chan published by Kyunghyang Shinmun on May 21, 2018.

Section 1: President Park Chung-hee (shortly after he took over power by a military coup) bottle-feeds jaebeol bosses (resembling Chairman Chung Ju-yung of Hyundai Group, Chairman Lee Byung-chul of Samsung Group and Chairman Koo Cha-kyung of LG Group) shortly after he took over the control of government with a coup (dipicted by a rifle on his right shoulder.)

Section 2: Now Chung, Lee and Koo are gone and so have some of their second-genration ones as their offspring young jaebeol chairmen prostrate before their tombs. They are saying: “The founding chairmen who commanded respect from the people and who were the targert of respect and awe.”

Section 3: The second and third generation jaebeol chairmen riding expensive cars look down upon the common people.

Section 4: The common people are hit with a cup of water and a bag of peanuts. Incidentally, the first daughter of Chairman Cho Yang-ho of Korean Air threw a bag of peanuts on the employees and his second daughter threw a cup of water on the Korean Air workers.

It’s morning! The long, dark night has ended!

Misbehaving Korean jaebeol chairmen had better wake up!

While Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong of Korea’s biggest jaebeol business group, Samsung, was detained for five months since Feb. 17, 2017 for suspected involvement in shady deals with the now-discredited former President Park Geun-hye, many people said (unjustifiably), “Wouldn’t that do a big damage to the economy of Korea?”

It turned out that the ‘worries’ were totally ungrounded and some even suspected, “They might have come from some paid ‘rumor mills’ concocting and spreading false rumors for the benefit of jaebeol (big businesses).”

To the pleasant astonishment of the Korean people who had been worried over the possible ill effect of detention of Lee JY, business performances at most of the Samsaung companies surged upward, best and largest in the history of the Samsung Business Group.

According to Huffington Post on July 7, 2017, Samsung Electrics, the flagship company of the Samsung Group, posted a turnover of 60 trillion won and business profits of 14 trillion won. The turnover was 18.69% higher than that of the preceding year and the profit 17.79% larger than that of the preceding year.

The business profits increased by 41.41% compared with the preceding period and by 71.99% over the corresponding period of the preceding year.

The figures appear to be sheer proof that in Korea jaebeol chairmen do more harm than good to the business organizations.

A similar situation was also disclosed at the Korean Air where the entire family of Chairman Cho Yang-ho (his wife and two daughters) took the law into their own hands and perpetrated all sorts of acts of scorn in the minds of the general public.

No one knows how long the ‘do justice to the common people’ atmosphere will continue in Korea. However, many people believe that the jaebeol and others who had wielded undue power over the common people in the past had better wake up, and treat the common people in a fair and proper manner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Moon to head to U.S. for talks on upcoming U.S.-N. Korea summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to leave for Washington on Monday on an apparent mission to help broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea ahead of their first-ever summit next month. Moon's trip follows his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27. He will hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Washington time). The trip, however, also comes after a series of old rhetoric from Pyongyang that accuses Seoul and Washington of trying to topple its communist regime. North Korea abruptly suspended high-level talks with the South scheduled for last week, citing an ongoing joint military exercise of the two allies. It has also threatened to reconsider the Trump-Kim summit, set to be held in Singapore on June 12.

Debt ratio of listed firms inches up in Q1

South Korean companies listed on the country's main stock market saw their debt ratio edge up in the first quarter of this year from three months earlier, data showed Monday. The debt-to-equity ratio of 598 listed companies, which close their books in December, came to 111.38 percent at the end of March, up 0.93 percentage point from the end of December, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association. A key measure of financial health and stability, the ratio is calculated by dividing a company's total liabilities by its stockholders' equity. The companies' debt totaled 1,182.8 trillion won (US$1.09 trillion) as of end-March, up 2.54 percent from three months earlier, with their combined equity rising 1.69 percent to 1,061.9 trillion won. The data also showed 325 companies, or 54.3 percent of the total, had a debt ratio of 100 percent or lower, while the ratio for 89 firms exceeded 200 percent.

Moon, Trump discuss upcoming U.S.-N. Korea summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Sunday and exchanged views on making the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit a success, the presidential office said. The two leaders talked from 11:30 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. and agreed to closely work together on the historic meeting, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon is scheduled to hold talks with the U.S. chief executive on Tuesday in Washington.He will return home early Thursday after his two-day trip.The Seoul-Washington meeting is scheduled three weeks before Trump is due to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Singapore.The latter will be a first for the leaders of the two countries, which have maintained a confrontational stance toward each other since the1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Parliament to Vote on Bills on Extra Budget, Special Counsel Monday

The National Assembly will hold a plenary session on Monday to vote on controversial bills on an extra budget and an independent counsel probe into an online opinion rigging scandal. Rival parties on Sunday agreed to slash 20 billion won from the government's three-point-85 trillion won extra budget proposal in a meeting of the subcommittee of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. The agreement came 45 days after the government submitted the supplementary budget bill aimed at creating jobs for young people. The rival parties will pass the bill in a plenary session of the budget committee and put it to the vote along with the special prosecutor bill during a plenary meeting of the National Assembly set for 10 a.m. Monday. The parties will also vote on motions seeking parliamentary consent to arrest Liberty Korea Party Representatives Yeom Dong-yeol and Hong Moon-jong. Hong has been under investigation for bribery, while Yeom has been investigated for his alleged role in the unfair hiring of workers at state-run casino Kangwon Land.

Presidential Secretary Met 'Druking' before Presidential Election

A presidential secretary reportedly met with the influential blogger and key suspect in the online public opinion scandal before the presidential election last year. According to the office of the presidential secretary for civil affairs, presidential secretary Song In-bae met the blogger known by the username "druking" four times between June 2016 and February last year.In addition, former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Kyoung-soo, who is currently running for governor of South Gyeongsang Province in the June 13th local elections, reportedly came to know "druking" after joining a meeting between Song and the blogger. Song lost in the general elections in April 2016 and worked as a secretary of then presidential candidate Moon Jae-in in February last year. Song reportedly received a small sum of money from the blogger in their first two meetings, but expressed his intent to no longer accept money.The office of the presidential secretary for civil affairs is known to have decided that the money would not be a problem as the amount was not much.

S. Korea's Producer Prices Up in April

South Korea's producer prices rose slightly in April on increasing crude oil prices.According to data by the Bank of Korea(BOK) Monday, the producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- came to 104-point-13 last month, up one tenth of a percent from a month earlier.The index rose one-point-six percent year-on-year last month, marking the 18th consecutive month of gains. A BOK official attributed the rise to an eight-point-eight percent jump in crude oil prices last month.Prices of agricultural products, which pushed up producer prices early this year, fell one-point-one percent in April, posing a decrease for the second consecutive month.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

U.S. senator: Trump wants to end N.K. crisis in first term

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end the North Korean nuclear crisis during his current term, and will likely use military means if diplomacy fails, an American senator said Sunday.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made the remark on Fox News, citing his conversation with the president three days earlier."He says he's going to end this conflict within his first term, that every other president has been played," Graham said. Trump's term ends in early 2021."President Trump told me three days ago that he wants to end this in a win-win way," the senator continued. "He thinks that's possible, but if they pull out, they play him, that we're going to end North Korea's threat to the American homeland in his first term and I'll let you surmise as to what that might look like."

Foreign funds in S. Korea more than double over decade

The number of foreign funds investing in the South Korean stock market has more than doubled over the decade, exceeding the 20,000 mark this year, the financial watchdog said Monday.A total of 21,328 foreign stock investment funds were registered with the Financial Supervisory Service as of the end of March, up 112.7 percent from 10 years earlier and accounting for slightly over 62 percent of foreign institutions operating in South Korea.Equity investment funds were followed by pensions and other funds with 2,250, securities companies with 976, banks with 721 and insurance companies with 503.Over the cited period, the number of foreign brokerages investing in South Korean stocks surged 70.9 percent, with comparable figures coming to 48.8 percent for insurers, 43.9 percent for pensions and other funds, and 31.3 percent for banks.

S. Korea's producer prices up in April

South Korea's producer prices rose slightly in April on increasing crude prices, central bank data showed Monday.The producer price index -- a barometer of future consumer inflation -- reached 104.13 last month, up 0.1 percent from a month earlier, or 1.6 percent on-year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the 18th consecutive month of gain.Prices of petrochemical goods rose 3.1 percent in April from a month earlier in line with the global upward trend of crude oil, the BOK said. South Korea imports all of its oil.Prices of livestock products increased 3.6 percent on-month last month on rising demand for pork in the spring season, while service prices in restaurants and hotels rose 0.4 percent.But the index covering farm products fell 1.1 percent, as the warm spring weather increased the supply of vegetables and other fresh foods, the bank added.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

NK’s demand for repatriation of 12 restaurant workers poses obstacle to ties

Amid a mood for a thaw on the Korean Peninsula, complications surrounding the arrival of 12 North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 are emerging as an obstacle to inter-Korean ties. Two years ago, when inter-Korean relations were icy, 12 female North Korean defectors made headlines as they arrived in Seoul wearing masks that covered their nose and mouth, and colorful jackets. At the time, the South Korean government adamantly said they had defected of their own free will, while Pyongyang immediately said they had been kidnapped by Seoul’s spy agency.The recent easing of border tensions has triggered a slight shift in the Seoul government’s stance on the issue and seemingly allowed the North to gain an upper hand in the matter.

Moon to head to US for talks on upcoming US-N. Korea summit

Largest ever women’s rally protests spy-cam pornography

Some 12,000 women gathered in Seoul on Saturday to protest against the “discriminatory treatment” of cases involving male and female victims of digital and online sexual violence, including spy-cam pornography. The event was the biggest women’s rights rally in Korea’s recent history.Dressed in red to “express their rage,” the protesters chanted, “Women, not just men, are also citizens (of the Republic of Korea)” near Hyehwa Station.The event was organized in response to a recent incident that critics have characterized as emblematic of authorities’ responses to sexual violence, which allegedly vary depending on the gender of victims or perpetrators.In a recent case that stirred controversy, a female model was taken into custody after secretly taking a photo of her colleague while he was posing nude for university students, and then distributing it on a “radical feminist” website without his consent.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo dies at 73

LG Group Chariman Koo Bon-moo passed away Sunday after a year-long battle with a brain tumor. He was 73.Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate said Koo died peacefully at 9:52 a.m. in Seoul while his family was watching. Koo underwent several operations since April last year to remove a brain tumor. Following the surgeries, the late business tycoon had been receiving intense medical care but was unable to recover. He had been hospitalized at Seoul National University Hospital for months.When Koo fell ill, he handed over the everyday management of the group to Koo Bon-joon, his younger brother and the group's vice chairman.Born in 1945 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Koo is the grandson of LG founder Koo In-hoi and the eldest son of the group's honorary Chairman Koo Ja-kyung, who he replaced as group chief in 1995.While he was serving as chairman, the group's revenue rose from 30 trillion won ($28.3 billion) a year to 160 trillion won.

Moon to head to US for talks on upcoming Trump-Kim summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to leave for Washington on Monday on an apparent mission to help broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea ahead of their first-ever summit next month.Moon's trip follows his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27. He will hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Washington time).The trip, however, also comes after a series of old rhetoric from Pyongyang that accuses Seoul and Washington of trying to topple its communist regime.North Korea abruptly suspended high-level talks with the South scheduled for last week, citing an ongoing joint military exercise of the two allies. It has also threatened to reconsider the Trump-Kim summit, set to be held in Singapore on June 12.

Dog meat consumption down in Seoul

Fewer people in Seoul are eating dog as nearly 40 percent of the restaurants selling dog meat have closed over the last 10 years. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of restaurants serving dog meat soup, or "bosintang," decreased from 528 in 2005 to 329 in 2014 ― many of which either closed or changed their menu. Even, some hide the name of bosintang with "meat soup" or "meat stew" to reduce people's feelings of disgust. Gyeongdong Market in Jegi-dong, once famous for its district of restaurants selling dog meat, had only five as of last year. The poll found such a change in the local food culture is due to the shift of generational tastes. Most in the younger generations refuse to eat dog meat. The international animal activist group "Last Chance for Animals" said it discovered that 81.2 percent of Koreans did not eat dog meat for the past year after interviewing 1,000 people. It also revealed 40.5 percent have never tried dog meat and 24.8 percent said they ate bosintang in the past but not anymore. Only 18.8 percent said they will keep eating dog meat and only 1.2 percent said they eat dog meat regularly, every month.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

N.Korea on Track to Dismantle Nuke Test Site Despite Antics
North Korea continues to dismantle its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri despite warnings to South Korea and the U.S. that it could call off negotiations. The North at the same time demands that the U.S. lower the bar for denuclearization and accuses it of planning for an invasion with joint aerial exercises with South Korea.On Saturday, the North demanded that South Korea return a group of restaurant workers who defected from China in 2016 in a cloak-and-dagger feat Pyongyang has denounced as an "abduction." A day earlier the North also rejected a roster of South Korean reporters who were to cover the dismantlement ceremony in Punggye-ri. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged during his April 27 summit with President Moon Jae-in to shut down the nuclear test site in May and invite U.S. and South Korean nuclear experts as well as reporters.

Foreign Land Ownership Concentrated in Gyeonggi Province, Jeju
Foreign investors acquired more land in Gyeonggi Province and Jeju Island but sold their properties in mountainous Gangwon Province last year. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, foreigners owned 238.9 million sq.m of land in Korea as of the end of last year, up 2.3 percent or 5.34 million sq.m from a year earlier.Their holdings account for 0.2 percent of the total land in the country. Yet their properties' value fell W2.19 trillion compared to a year ago to W30.12 trillion based on the posted price (US$1=W1,080).Gyeonggi Province was the most popular with 42.71 million sq.m, up 12 percent. The ministry said, "It seems that many Korean Canadians and Korean Americans acquired land in Gyeonggi Province either as a gift or by inheritance," which usually come to the same thing.

Senior Defector's Memoir Sells out
A memoir by Thae Yong-ho, the former No. 2 man in the North Korean Embassy in London and now a vocal critic of the regime, is selling like hot cakes after a highly publicized launch in the National Assembly. All 10,000 copies of the first print run sold out in the four days since its release on Monday. Kyobo bookstores alone sold 3,250 copies -- 600 on Monday, 750 on Tuesday, and 1,250 on Wednesday, when North Korea cancelled high-level talks over remarks by Thae at the launch. "We're still getting orders from major bookstores across the country," said Park Eun-hye of publisher Guiparang. "We're going to print another 20,000 copies." Some customer apparently believe they should get a hold of the book before it is banned since North Korea seems determined to pressure Seoul into muzzling Thae.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Victims of 1980 Gwangju Uprising buried secretly during the night, witness says

“They were dragging the loaded cart in front and I was pushing it from behind, and the legs of the bodies we had tied up were bouncing up and down.”This was part of the detailed account that a 60-year-old individual surnamed Yu, who had been a sergeant with the 3rd Airborne Brigade, provided of the horrific burial in the middle of the night of nine protesters who died of suffocation during the Gwangju Uprising (May 18, 1980). On May 11, Yu met The Hankyoreh at a café near the KTX train station in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and explained that he had been given the burial duty at Gwangju Prison on the evening of May 21, 1980.The 3rd Airborne Brigade, of which Yu was a part, had arrived at Gwangju on the morning of May 20. That was after the 11th Airborne Brigade had been deployed to support the 7th Airborne Brigade. “At morning roll call on May 19, an emergency bugle was sounded,” Yu recalled.

Citizens hold “spirit marriages” to honor victims of Gwangju Massacre

For three days, the shaman held an “afterlife marriage” ceremony. Two “souls” in the form of puppets were dressed in beautiful traditional hanbok robes. The shaman performed a ritual song for the young bride and groom, who had passed away before even reaching their prime. The mothers wept as they watched their son and daughter’s wedding. No other celebrants were present at the quiet marriage of two young people who met their early deaths while bearing the stigma of “rioters.” It was the saddest imaginable wedding.“I had a little bit of a marriage ceremony back then, but I didn’t tell anyone back then because it was embarrassing.”

Trump publicly rejects “Libyan model” of denuclearization after Bolton’s comments

US President Donald Trump went to work picking up the pieces after National Security Advisor John Bolton’s remarks about applying the “Libyan model” for North Korea’s denuclearization threatened to derail an upcoming summit with North Korea.In his response, Trump rejected the Libyan model and declared plans to ensure the security of the regime in Pyongyang. With Trump clearly stating for the first time that the US intends to guarantee the regime’s security, many are now watching to see whether the summit preparations get back on track.“The Libyan model isn't a model that we have at all when we're thinking of North Korea,” Trump soberly explained to reporters at the White House on May 17. While the occasion was a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump spoke for over 10 minutes on North Korea.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo dies at 73

Koo Bon-moo, the longtime chairman of LG Group who transformed the country’s fourth-largest conglomerate into a global brand, passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 73.The company said in a statement that he died peacefully in the presence of his family. For the past year, he had been battling brain disease and underwent several rounds of surgery, with the most recent one at Seoul National University Hospital. His funeral will take place in private. The family has refused to accept outside visitors or condolence flowers. “We will appreciate condolences from your heart,” the family said in a statement through LG. “We want to follow his tendency of refraining from excessive formality and hassle.”However, some business leaders and government officials, including Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Jang Ha-sung, chief policy maker at the Blue House, visited the hospital to pay their respects on Sunday.

Admiral Harris nominated as envoy to Seoul

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Adm. Harry Harris, the outgoing chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, to be the ambassador to South Korea, filling a post that has been vacant for more than a year with a military officer who will likely take a hawkish stance on North Korea.If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Harris will be the first admiral and highest-ranking military officer to serve as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. The post has been vacant for over a year since Mark Lippert, who served under President Barack Obama, stepped down in January 2017 with the inauguration of Trump. Harris currently leads the U.S. Pacific Command (Pacom) and has 40 years of experience in the Navy. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978, he became a flight officer and rose through the ranks. Harris comes with “extensive knowledge, leadership, and geopolitical expertise in the Indo-Pacific region,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.

Moon, Trump affirm commitment to summit

President Moon Jae-in spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump over the phone on Sunday, one day before he was set to leave for Washington to meet with Trump in the White House. The two leaders exchanged opinions on “many responses that North Korea has shown in recent days” during their 20-minute conversation on Sunday morning, the Blue House said, referring to recent threats by North Korea to pull out of talks with the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled to meet with Trump in a highly anticipated summit on June 12 in Singapore.Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s senior secretary for public affairs, said the two presidents agreed in their conversation to closely coordinate with each other through events like their upcoming meeting together to ensure the North-U.S. summit is successful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

"Last Chance to Tell the Truth. Please Find the Person Responsible for the Shooting"
Thirty-eight years ago in May, Gwangju was isolated as the citizens cried for democracy. The airborne units set up a barricade and lied in ambush on the road heading to the outskirts of the city. On May 27, the military cut off all communication including phone lines ahead of an operation to take over the provincial office. People who wanted to know whether their families were alive went to Gwangju by bicycle and on foot. On the way, some were shot dead by the military for no reason.The number of civilians who died during the May 18 Democratic Uprising was 166. When we add the number of people who died from injuries and other side effects (110) and of people who went missing (76), the total number of casualties reaches 352. The number of people punished for the May 18 incident is only fifteen, including former President Chun Doo-hwan. Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were sentenced to life and seventeen years in prison respectively, were both pardoned in 1997.

Women in White Raincoats Gather at Gangnam Station in the Rain, "We're Here to Change the World, Which Remains Misogynist"
On May 17, the second anniversary of the Gangnam Station murder case where a woman was killed in the bathroom of a singing room near Gangnam Station in Seoul rally was held in memory of the victim near the site of the murder. Over two thousand women in black clothes and white raincoats poured out onto the street in the rain shouting, "The world continues to discriminate women, and misogyny prevails" and "We are here to change this world."The Citizens' Movement Supporting the #MeToo Campaign group of over 340 women, labor and civic groupsathered in front of Sinnonhyeon Station exit 6 in Seoul at 7:00p.m. and held a rally under the heading, "A Rally in Memory of the Victim of the Gangnam Station Murder Calling for the End of Sexual Discrimination and Violence " and declared, "We will not stop. A world where women were forced to remain silent is over." The participants of the demonstration shouted slogans, such as "Stop violence against women," "Realize legal justice," and "Punish illegal candid pictures."

Making Employees Work “Korean” Style and Laying Them Off “American” Style: Oracle Korea Union Goes on Strike
Usually, when people think of a foreign company, they think of a workplace with an advanced working environment and a high salary. They think of an atmosphere that gives the individual workers more freedom and allows them to enjoy a balance between work and life. However, this is far from reality. The labor union of Oracle Korea, an American IT company launched a three-day strike on May 16 saying, "Despite having worked at the company for many years, wages remained stagnant and the long working hours are a serious problem." This is the first all-out strike by the workers of a foreign IT firm in eighteen years since the workers of Fujitsu Korea went on strike demanding a raise in 2000.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Biotech startup PaxGenBio envisions global player with innovative technology

Established in 2015 as one of South Korea's emerging biotech startups, PaxGenBio has produced test kits for early detection of pathogens and gene mutation as a life science company with distinctive technology and management philosophy.Three years later, its name and products targeting hospitals and public health centers are still unfamiliar at home, but it has gradually gained recognition from specialists, probably better known among overseas clients looking for reliable and good things.Confident of a high level of technology and price competitiveness, PaxGenBio head Park Young-Suk portrayed a big picture to nurture his company into a global player capable of producing accurate and affordable molecular diagnostic kits.

Moon looks to narrow gap between U.S., N.K. at summit with Trump: Yonhap

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will try to use his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea, a presidential aide said Friday.The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, three weeks before the U.S. president and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il hold their first summit in Singapore."We expect the upcoming summit to play a role as a bridge (between the U.S. and North Korea) that will lead to the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit as it comes three weeks before the North Korea-U.S. summit," Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, told reporters.

N.K. holds party's military commission meeting to decide on 'organizational' matters: Yonhap

North Korea said Friday the ruling party's powerful military commission has held a meeting to determine personnel reshuffle and organizational matters to beef up national defense both militarily and politically.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over the first enlarged meeting of the seventh central military commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), according to the Korean Central News Agency."The meeting decided on a series of organizational measures to further strengthen the revolutionary army of the party militarily and politically and improve the overall work for defending the country," the KCNA said."The Supreme Leader (Kim) analyzed and reviewed the implementation of the military and political tasks of the People's Army after the Seventh WPK Congress and indicated the main orientation and ways of the army building and the military activity," it added.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Korea’s LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo dies at 73

Koo Bon-moo, chairman of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group passed away on Sunday due to illness. LG Group said its 73-year-old chairman has died after a year-long fight with illness. The late chairman reportedly had brain surgeries last year and had been suffering from side effects. His family refused life-sustaining treatment and decided to hold a private funeral as the deceased had wished, according to a group official. Koo was born in 1945 as the eldest son of LG Group Honorary Chairman Koo Cha-kyung, the eldest son of group founder Koo In-hwoi.

Kumho Petrochemical on track to up synthetic resin production

South Korea’s Kumho Petrochemical Co. is on track to ramp up its mainstay synthetic resins production, which is expected to boost its earnings in coming quarters in line with an upward trend in global synthetic resins price. Kumho Petrochemical said Friday that all production expansion works of itself and its affiliates are going well as planned. It is expected to complete ramping up its synthetic resin production by 16,000 tons by June this year as scheduled and its unlisted affiliate Kumho P&B Chemicals Inc. also is in full gear to finish expanding its epoxy production by 17,000 tons by June. Prices of both synthetic resins and epoxy have been rising due to falling in global production level with China’s tighter environmental regulations.

KB Kookmin Bank transforms London entity into branch to target CIB mkt

South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank seeking to expand its presence in the overseas corporate and investment banking (CIB) market has transformed its local entity in the United Kingdom into a branch to lift the cap on its credit ceiling to handle large loans. According to KB Kookmin Bank on Friday, Kookmin Bank International London, KB Kookmin Bank’s U.K. entity set up in 1991, switched operations to become a branch office as of Thursday (local time). KB Kookmin Bank expects that the latest change will allow the lender to secure larger funds than before in the U.K. based on the credit rating of its headquarters in Korea and ramp up consortium loans with higher credit ceiling, one of the requirements to reinforce corporate and investment banking business.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.com bfp@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=6746

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.

Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com