Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Interview with Ambassador Antoine Azzam of Lebanon in Seoul

Lebanon is a ‘Little Giant’ in the world with 14 million outside the country

Ambassador Antoine Azzam of Lebanon gesticulates introducing many wondrous features of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.

By Vice Chairperson Cho Kyung-hee of The Korea Post media

The Republic of Lebanon is a very, very special country in the world. Lebanon is a ‘Little Giant of the World.’ This became immediately apparent at a recent interview with Ambassador Antoine Azzam of Lebanon in Seoul conducted by The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media.
“Many people consider Lebanon small as her size is only 10,452km², which is smaller than a city in Korea, but we have Lebanese people in all parts of the world,” reminded Ambassador Azzam. Here are excerpts from the statements of Ambassador Azzam:

(For further details, visit: http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=7929)

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Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today:

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

Trump dismisses NYT report on N. Korea's hidden missile bases as 'inaccurate'

U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed a news report on North Korea's hidden missile bases as "inaccurate," amid growing skepticism over Pyongyang's willingness to follow through on its denuclearization commitment. Citing a report issued by Beyond Parallel, a group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, The New York Times said earlier this week that the North is continuing its ballistic missile program at more than a dozen "undisclosed" sites identified in commercial satellite images. It said that the sites suggest a "great deception" by the North.

Prime Minister voices concern over Canada's steel safeguard measures

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon voiced his concern over Canada's provisional safeguard measures against the country's steel products in a meeting with the Canadian Senate Speaker on Nov. 13, 2018. Lee met George Furey at his office in Seoul and told the senator that concerns are growing in South Korea regarding Canada's steel safeguards.

KT records shortest CEO tenure among big firms

KT Corp., South Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier, has recorded the shortest CEO tenure among units of the nation's top 30 conglomerates over the past decade due to political influence, a corporate tracker said on Nov. 14, 2018. A total of 39 professional CEOs have served at the telecom giant since 2008 with their average term reaching 2.1 years, according to CEO Score, which tracks corporate management.

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

S. Korea's Jobless Rate Hits 13-Year High in Oct.

South Korea's jobless rate hit a 13-year high in October, although monthly job growth slightly increased from a year ago. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people last month stood at 27-point-09 million, up 64-thousand from a year earlier.

Hyundai, Kia Cars in Europe to Offer "Connected Car" Services

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors plan to launch what they call "Connected Car" services in Europe early next year. Certain new vehicles will be equipped with real-time traffic navigation, parking lot location, voice recognition, and theft alarm capabilities.

JP Morgan Predicts Key Rate Hikes for S. Korea from Nov.

JP Morgan is predicting the Bank of Korea will raise the benchmark interest rate by zero-point-25 percentage points this month. According to the Korea Center for International Finance, JP Morgan anticipates a rate increase of 25 basis points, citing the need for financial stabilization given a rapid growth of household debts.

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

Koreas, UNC discuss ways of allowing tourists to access JSA

Military officials from South and North Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) held another round of working-level consultations at the border truce village of Panmunjom Tuesday on disarming the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and allowing civilians to travel freely inside the restricted area.

Foreign defense attaches visit border island

A group of more than 30 foreign defense attaches based in Seoul and their assistants visited a Yellow Sea border island in a program organized by the Ministry of National Defense. They used an Air Force chopper to travel to Baengnyeong Island, just south of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto sea border between the two Koreas.

Samsung to hold Bixby developer conference in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will hold a developer conference in South Korea next week as part of its ongoing efforts to expand the ecosystem of its artificial intelligence (AI) platform. The company said it will host the Bixby Developer Day in Seoul on Tuesday. Samsung is expected to share the latest developments related to Bixby announced during the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) held in the United States last week.

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

Brokerage issues positive outlook for JYP Entertainment

South Korean music label JYP Entertainment has seen a strong quarter on the strength of its veteran players and newcomer acts, along with steady overseas market expansion, a brokerage said Tuesday.

Doctors to be investigated after child’s death following IV infusion

Doctors and nurses at a hospital in Incheon were investigated Tuesday after an 11-year-old boy, who received an IV infusion for enteritis at the facility, died about an hour after receiving the shot. Before the Incheon police announced the decision to investigate the medical staff, the National Forensic Service, who performed an autopsy on the boy, said the cause of death was still unknown and an additional procedure was necessary.

Seoul to crack down on taxis that refuse passengers, starting Nov. 15

The Seoul City Government will tighten regulations on taxis that refuse passengers, before raising taxi fare this year. The city said Tuesday it will exercise the right to crack down on taxis that refuse passengers starting Thursday, taking away the right previously exercised by districts.

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

Trump says North Korean missile sites are 'nothing new'

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized what he called inaccurate media reports that said North Korea had not declared more than a dozen missile bases. "We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new - and nothing happening out of the normal," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter, referring to a report on Monday in the New York Times. "I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!"

DPK seeks NK visit with businesspeople next month

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing for a visit to Pyongyang with about 100 businesspeople next month to discuss possible inter-Korean economic cooperation if sanctions are lifted. According to officials of the party's Special Committee on Peaceful Cooperation for Northeast Asia, the committee is organizing schedules with firms for a visit to Pyongyang sometime next month.

Unification chief visits US for meeting with Pompeo

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon kicked off Tuesday his five-day U.S. trip Tuesday to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and discuss denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Cho and Pompeo will share their views on the ongoing denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang and seek a breakthrough in the stalled dialogue.

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

U.S. Warns It Could Resume Drills with S.Korea

The U.S. has warned it may resume large-scale joint exercises with South Korea early next year unless North Korea keeps its promise to denuclearize, Kyodo News reported Tuesday. It quoted diplomatic sources as saying U.S. officials repeatedly notified Japan of the plan since September.

Teacher Leaked Exam Questions to Twin Daughters

Police have wrapped up an investigation of a high school teacher and his twin daughters accused of cheating on exams and referred them to prosecutors. Police concluded that the teacher repeatedly leaked exam questions to his daughters, who attended the school where he taught, between June 2017 and July this year.

Rice Production Hits Lowest Level in 38 Years

This year's rice production in Korea fell to its lowest level in 38 years. According to the Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the projected rice output for 2018 was just less than 3.87 million tons, down 2.6 percent on-year.

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

KDB’s veto powers shown to have little effect on GM Korea’s corporate split plans

The veto power provision details 17 cases when the Korea Development Bank (KDB), GM Korea’s second-largest shareholder, can exercise its veto powers. It was agreed upon as a safeguard with GM on the condition of management normalization, but has failed to prove useful in actual issues, including the recent conflict over the automaker’s plan to split off corporate entities.

Japanese firm snubs Korean attorneys asking for implementation of Supreme Court ruling

The South Korean attorneys for victims of forced labor were shown little sympathy when they visited the office of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal on Nov. 12 to ask the company to implement a recent ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court. On Monday morning, the attorneys and activists from South Korean and Japanese NGOs visited the main office of Nippon Steel in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward in order to discuss the implementation of the Oct. 30 damages ruling by the Supreme Court.

US in discussions to allow S. Korea to develop civilian solid-propellant launch vehicles

South Korea and the US are holding discussions on amending their missile guidelines to allow South Korea’s development of civilian solid-propellant launch vehicles, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on Nov. 12.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)

N. Korea’s missile bases revealed through satellite photos

The U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in its reports released Sunday that it has located 13 missile operating bases of North Korea including the Sakkanmol military base in Hwangju, North Hwanghae Province, and other undeclared bases in Chagang Province, South Pyongan Province, and Ryanggang Province.

SK Telecom to release display-equipped AI speakers next year

Global tech giants such as Amazon and Google are vying to develop AI speakers while Korean voice recognition developers plan to release similar products next year, boosting the growth of the AI speaker market. Experts in the tech industry said on Tuesday that SK Telecoms is bound to disclose AI-speakers with a seven-inch display in the first quarter of next year, in cooperation with a speaker producer.

Half of 'fine dust' cosmetics fail to protect skin

As the country is experiencing high levels of fine dust in recent years, the sales of cosmetic products claiming to protect skin from the fine dust are on the rise. But it was revealed that over half of them failed to prevent fine dust from damaging skin. The Korean Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that 27 out of 53 cosmetics (51%) claiming to be effective in preventing fine dust from sticking to skin or cleansing pollutants did not have their claimed effects.

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

Decentralization of police agency takes shape

Starting next year, the National Police Agency will gradually stop handling cases such as traffic accidents and sex crimes in Seoul, Sejong and Jeju Island, and they will be given to newly established “autonomous police systems” controlled by local governments.A key campaign pledge of President Moon Jae-in was to decant power away from the National Police Agency, accused of abuse countless times in the past, and give it to local authorities.

Porno don accused of bribery

A whistle-blower who revealed rampant abuses by the owner of two of Korea’s largest online file sharing systems said, on Tuesday, that the businessman tried to shut witnesses up with cash from his massive illegal pornography ring.

Defying the law, 22 more kindergartens close their doors

Twenty-two more private kindergartens closed their doors this week, increasing the number of shuttered preschools across Korea to 60 amid an ongoing conflict between private school administrators and the government.

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

Five Elements of Leadership Missing in President Moon Jae-in

A few days ago a senior member of the ruling party shared the following thoughts. "I don't think we'll be able to get anything done until the parliamentary elections in April 2020. With nothing left to lose, the Liberty Korea Party is blocking reform legislations. They seem to think that if the National Assembly reaches any kind of agreement, the incumbent government will take all the credit. Reform bills are not likely to be enacted."

Trip to Pyongyang Next Month: This Time, 150 People Including 100 Businessmen

The government is planning a visit to Pyongyang on December 7-9 on a massive scale: a group of 150 people including a hundred businessmen. The special committee for peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is promoting the visit and reportedly, people from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public enterprises in various fields, including agriculture, livestock, marine industry, construction, and health care will be included.

BTS T-Shirt Reveals the Bare Face of Anti-Korean and Anti-Japanese Sentiment

The band, BTS was swept in an anti-Japanese controversy, which led to the cancellation of their appearance on Japanese television, but their concert at the Tokyo Dome on November 13 and 14 will be performed as scheduled. The management company of BTS, Big Hit Entertainment announced on November 11, "The BTS Japan tour will proceed as scheduled."

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

Shinsegae ventures into VR game market to promote eco-friendly campaign

Chung Yong-jin, the de facto head of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, who is well known for ingenious ideas, will venture into the virtual reality game market, using a superhero mascot of the group's discount store wing that first appeared in 2015 to attract young customers.

Hyundai to build new test track for high-performance and eco-friendly cars

South Korea's Hyundai auto group will build a new track to test high-performance and eco-friendly vehicles. Construction will begin in early 2019. The group said it was in the process of applying for state permission to build the new track on reclaimed land in Seosan, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Seoul. It would have South Korea's longest straight test track stretching about 3.5km.

S. Korea urges cautious attitude in handling missile information

South Korea's presidential office cautioned against any rash disclosures that could cause misunderstanding or hamper dialouge between Washington and Pyongyang after an American think-tank group claimed to have located 13 undeclared missile facilities.

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

Korean Air’s Q3 OP up 13% on-yr on increased long-haul passengers

South Korea’s largest full-service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. reported a 13 percent on-year gain in operating profit in the third quarter as a rise in demand for long-haul travels has more than offset increased expenses from higher fuel cost and the stronger U.S. dollar.

Korea’s household debt adds $9 bn Oct on record gain in credit loan

South Korea’s household lending by local financial institutions rose by more than 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) in October as personal credit loan gained by the biggest pace amid deteriorating business conditions and tougher regulation on bank lending.

Seoul mulls toughtening punishment on illegal porn circulation

The Korea Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to provide a measure to impose a punitive penalty within this year on file storage companies for their possible illegal circulation of pornographic materials, a government official said on Tuesday.

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What’s ticking around the world at this second?
See what the world media around the world have to report:

USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com
Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com, service@wsj-asia.com
Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com
The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk
The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk
Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cn kf@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 Herald www.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.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net
Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com
Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM
Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
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