Headlines, November 29, 2018

Thursday, November 29, 2018

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.

Seeking peace needs an enterprising foreign policy

This week Istanbul will host two separate but related international conferences on mediation. One will be devoted to the state of play in the conflict map and capacity for mediation within the membership of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The second one will adopt a broad scope and discuss the connections between sustainable development, peace and mediation; the ways to increase gender and youth inclusion in mediation processes; and a thought provoking session on the role of big data and artificial intelligence in conflict and mediation analysis.

‘Turkey and South Korea is a friend and ally with share countless common norms and values’

Ambassador Ersin Ercin of Turkey hosted a reception at Crystal Ballroom of the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on October 29, 2018 in celebration of the 95th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Turkey. The party was attended by many Korean and international guests, as well as the ambassadors and other senior members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps with their spouses.

100th anniversary of independence of Czechoslovakia reception in Seoul

Ambassador Tomas Husak of Czech Republic and Ambassador Milan Lajciak of Slovak Republic hosted a reception at the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on October 30, 2018 in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of independent Czechoslovakia as a common state of Czechs and Slovaks. The party was attended by Korean and international guests, as well as the ambassadors and other senior members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps with their spouses.

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

Mitsubishi Calls Korean Court Ruling 'Extremely Regretful'

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has criticized a South Korean Supreme Court ruling on Japan's wartime forced labor as "extremely regretful." In a statement posted on its Web site Thursday, Mitsubishi said the ruling goes against the 1965 bilateral treaty as well as the Japanese government's stance and a previous top court ruling issued in Japan.

Apartment Prices in Seoul Continue to Fall

Apartment prices in Seoul are increasingly falling as effects of government measures to stabilize home prices announced in September are gaining ground. Increased possibility of an interest rate hike is also contributing to the drop. According to the Korea Appraisal Board, apartment prices in the capital city dropped zero-point-05 percent in the fourth week of November, continuing a downward trend for the third week. The decrease is also larger than last week's zero-point-02 percent drop.

Seoul Respects Supreme Court Ruling for Korea's Forced Labor Victims

South Korea's Foreign Ministry says it respects the Supreme Court's decision ordering a Japanese company to compensate Koreans who were lured into forced labor during World War Two. A ministry official said Thursday the government will work to help heal the wounds of forced labor victims. The official also hoped Seoul and Tokyo will move their relations forward in a future-oriented manner.

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

Ex-Seoul mayor joins main opposition party, vows efforts for conservatives' unity

Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon joined the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Thursday, amid expectations that he will run in the troubled conservative party's leadership election next year. Oh came back into the fold after he defected from the party's predecessor in January 2017 and entered a new central-right party following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye due to a corruption scandal.

Samsung to recruit 2,500 research staffs through 2020

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will recruit around 2,500 staffs for its research and development projects through 2020 in India, in line with its efforts to compete with Chinese brands. Samsung's Indian branch said it recently hired 1,000 Indian engineers, adding that it will hire 1,000 and 500 more in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

T'way adds routes to link Daegu with Hanoi, Kumamoto

T'way Air Co., a South Korean budget carrier, said Thursday it has added new routes linking Daegu to Hanoi, Vietnam, and Kumamoto, Japan, as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen its flight services. The flights linking Daegu International Airport, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will be available starting Thursday, the company said in a statement.

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

Supreme Court orders Mitsubishi to compensate Korean forced labor victims

South Korea’s top court on Thursday ruled in favor of Korean victims who were forced into labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, ordering a Japanese company to compensate them for their unpaid work and reaffirming that an international treaty does not negate an individual’s rights to seek damages. The Supreme Court upheld two lower court rulings against the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., and ordered payments in the amount of 80 million won ($71,500) to the families of each of the six men who were forced to labor and 100 million to 120 million won to four female victims of forced labor, in separate cases.

Trump-Xi will make us forget this weekend’s G-20 confab

This weekend’s G-20 summit in Argentina will likely demonstrate what does and doesn’t work for this multilateral format, but also for international policy gatherings more generally. Despite weakening and diverging global economic growth, the aspiration for the larger discussions among leaders representing about three-quarters of global gross domestic product has been reduced to issuing bland joint communiques -- and that’s assuming an agreement on this can be achieved. The real action will be taking place in the bilateral meetings that occur on the sidelines, with particular interest in the conversation between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

‘Less Than Evil’: A Korean adaptation of ‘Luther’ with a twist

Viewers will soon find out if Shin Ha-kyun has what it takes to pull off a success like the popular British series “Luther” as he plays Idris Elba’s role in the upcoming Korean adaptation, “Less Than Evil.” In the upcoming nighttime MBC series, Shin plays the hardworking and stylish detective Woo Tae-seok, who is not afraid to overstep the bounds of the law if it means catching criminals.

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

Seoul seeks more exemptions for railway project with Pyongyang

South Korea will ask the United States to review its plan to hold a joint groundbreaking ceremony with North Korea for their inter-Korean railway project to see if this violates sanctions on the North, the unification ministry said Thursday. A ministry official told reporters that South Korean officials "will discuss with the U.S. in a working group meeting whether holding the ceremony also calls for exemptions of sanctions on North Korea."

Moon approval rate dips below 50% for first time

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating hit 48.8 percent, an all-time low since he took office in May 2017, according to an opinion poll by Realmeter released Thursday. Moon's popularity has continued to fall for nine consecutive weeks since after his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in September. The President has lost 16.5 percentage points of support in the past nine weeks.

Cho, Sohn - true global communicators

Finance is a field without borders, where capital can invest in and exit assets almost freely and instantly. For banks, it is important to attract long-term institutional investors for stability amid increasing volatility. To grab their attention, not only do chief executives have to show their financial companies are fundamentally strong in numbers, but also they need to be able to speak to investors in their language both casually and professionally.

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

2 Koreas Set to Start Railway Survey

The two Koreas will start a joint survey of North Korean railway lines on Friday that are to be reconnected with the South, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday. The survey will last 18 days. The UN Security Council early this week granted South Korea an exemption from international sanctions against North Korea for the purpose of the survey. Seoul plans a ground-breaking ceremony to connect the railroads on the east and west coasts by year's end, but no further work can be done until international sanctions against the North are lifted.

Korea Successfully Tests Homegrown Space Rocket Engine

Korea on Wednesday afternoon launched a single-stage rocket with a homegrown engine from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. The flight aimed to test a 75-ton liquid-propellant thrust engine. The rocket flew for 151 seconds and reached an altitude of 209 km before falling into waters near Jeju Island 429 km southeast of the launch site. The rocket will be mounted on the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2), also known as Nuri, which has been under development for eight years with a view to sending a satellite into orbit in 2021.

Stars' Embarrassing Families in the Spotlight

Korean cyberspace is atwitter with revelations about the fly-by-night families of stars big and small. Rapper Microdot seemed to have reached the pinnacle of success until his parents were accused of eloping to New Zealand in the middle of the night 20 years ago after borrowing a lot of money from relatives and friends.

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

NK-US high-level talks likely to be pushed back to December

It looks unlikely that the high-level talks between North Korea and the US will be held in November. It’s widely believed that this gridlock is due to the two sides’ conflicting demands. The US wants North Korea to take steps toward denuclearization, while North Korea wants the US to take corresponding measures such as easing sanctions. High-level talks had been scheduled to take place on Nov. 8 between North Korean Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and director of its United Front Department, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but North Korea canceled those talks with just one day’s warning. Now a diplomatic source in Washington, DC, says that North Korea has apparently not responded to the US proposal to hold talks at the end of November.

Japanese government refuses comfort women damages lawsuit for third time

For the third time now, the Japanese government has refused to accept a complaint and other documents related to a damages lawsuit filed by former comfort women. The lawsuit by the elderly victims has been on hold for nearly two years now. On Nov. 27, Hankyoreh reporters learned that South Korea’s National Court Administration had given Hon. Yu Seok-dong, head of the 15th civil law division at the Seoul Central District Court, notification on Nov. 22 that documents he had sent to an overseas court had been returned. The National Court Administration explained that on Nov. 9 the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had refused to accept documents about the former comfort women’s damages lawsuit because they “infringed upon Japanese sovereignty,” adding that the complaint that the South Korean courts had transmitted via diplomatic channels had been returned to the South Korean embassy in Japan.

South Korea to acquire Israeli early warning radar systems and Boeing maritime patrol aircraft

South Korea is acquiring two Israeli Green Pine Block C early warning radar systems capable of detecting ballistic missiles in the ascent stage. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the decision to purchase the two additional Green Pine Block C early warning ballistic missile radar systems at the 116th meeting of the Defense Project Promotion Committee presided over by Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo on Nov. 27 at the Ministry of National Defense complex.

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

Inter-Korean railway inspection to be launched Friday

The two Koreas will launch an 18-day joint local investigation on North Korea’s side of the inter-Korean railway of some 2,600-kilometer long that follows North Korea’s railway. It has been three months since the inspection was pushed forward at the end of August, which was foundered by opposition of the United Nations Command. Previously, the South Korean government obtained approval of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea and the United States on exempting sanctions for this inspection.

Hyundai hosts celebratory event to promote new flagship SUV

Hyundai Motor Co. has launched a global cultural marketing campaign ahead of an imminent unveiling of its new flagship sports utility vehicle, Palisade. The South Korean automaker said Wednesday that it held the “Style Nite” event at West Hollywood, offering the fashion and lifestyle that the Palisade pursues. Ty Hunter, American celebrity stylist best known for his work with Beyoncé, and Korean star designer Park Youn-hee presented a collection of 20 looks inspired by the Palisade.

Trumps says he may remove subsidies if GM closes plants

U.S. President Donald Trump warned that he may remove all subsidies for GM, which has announced plans to close down and downsize several U.S. factories. “Very disappointed with General Motors and their CEO, Mary Barra, for closing plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland. Nothing being closed in Mexico & China. We are now looking at cutting all GM subsidies, including for electric cars. General Motors made a big China bet years ago when they built plants there (and in Mexico) - don’t think that bet is going to pay off,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday.

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

Supreme Court rules Mitsubishi must compensate forced labor victims

Korea’s top court upheld lower court rulings on Thursday and ordered Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during World War II. The Supreme Court ruled on two cases against Mitsubishi that day and upheld appellate court decisions in favor of the victims of forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule over Korea, which lasted from 1910 to 1945.

Judges’ impeachment statement not binding

The latest announcement by a judges’ council in support of parliament’s push for the impeachment of judges implicated in a power abuse scandal is not legally binding and is to be viewed as more of a declaration, the chief of the top court’s governing body said on Wednesday. Supreme Court Justice Ahn Chul-sang, also the head of the National Court Administration (NCA), issued the statement in response to a written question filed by an opposition lawmaker regarding the council’s decision.

Andrew Kim to resign as CIA’s Korea chief

A senior U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official in charge of Korean affairs will resign at the end of the year, multiple sources said on Tuesday. Andrew Kim, head of the CIA’s Korea Mission Center (KMC), tendered his resignation effective Dec. 20 and will move to a research post at Stanford University, a senior official at South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said.

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

Stronger Measures Against Domestic Violence, Let's Put Them into Practice!

On November 27, the government released measures to prevent domestic violence, which strengthened punishment and victim protection of domestic violence. The latest measures give the police more room to arrest the perpetrator of domestic violence on the scene. Also, if an offender violates a restraining order, he can be sentenced to imprisonment. Last month, a divorced man who had physically abused his ex-wife during their entire marriage killed her. We welcome the swift government measures at a time when the seriousness of domestic violence has emerged as a social issue.

The Ruling Party Keeps Looking the Other Way After Promising Mixed-Member Proportional Representation

The Democratic Party of Korea continues to retreat on the issue of introducing the mixed-member proportional representation (PR) system. First, on November 23, the party's leader Lee Hae-chan said, "We don't plan to switch to mixed-member proportional representation 100%," adding, "The voices of the Democratic Party call for regional proportional representation." On November 27, floor leader Hong Young-pyo appeared on TV and said, "Even if we switch to mixed-member proportional representation, we have to discuss various options, such as whether we will adopt it 100% or 50%, etc." He further said, "The most important thing is the total number of seats in the National Assembly, but we need to comprehensively review this because an overwhelming majority of the people are against increasing the number of lawmakers."

Second-Year Power Struggle in the Ruling Party Triggered by “Hyegyeonggung Kim”

Signs of a power struggle to seize the ruling party's support have emerged after two years of the Moon Jae-in government. The controversy surrounding Gyeonggi-do Governor Lee Jae-myung's future was the direct cause. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is aggressively widening his stride, facing the attacks by the opposition party head on, which shows his intention to secure his position as a future presidential candidate. Generally, a power struggle to secure one's position as a presidential candidate began in the latter half of a government's term, but the Lee Jae-myung variable has ignited the race early.

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

Doosan demonstrates remote control operation of autonomous construction machine

The remote control operation of an autonomous construction machine, based on a fifth-generation mobile network, was successfully demonstrated during a trade fair in Shanghai, according to Doosan Infracore, a top construction machinery manufacturer in South Korea. The event supervised by Doosan Group chairman Park Jeong-won took place at Doosan's exhibition booth on Thursday on the first day of the three-day Bauma China exhibition, the group said in a statement. "The demonstration of remote control was carried out successfully without error."

S. Korean mobile carriers ready to start limited 5G service this week

South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom (SKT), will offer the world's first commercialized 5G service this week, using a next-generation convergence technology of quantum cryptography, artificial intelligence and network security.

SKC commercializes light and thin non-metal cable for electric cars

SKC, a major producer of chemicals and high function films, has commercialized a thin and light non-metal cable by using a "super engineering plastic material" called PCT developed by its sister firm, SK Chemicals, that could be used to reduce car weight. PCT can replace metals because it has excellent heat resistance and electrical characteristics. PCT circuit boards and connectors can maintain high insulation even when their pins and electrodes are contaminated, reducing possible malfunctions even at a high voltage.

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

Korea’s bond rallies ahead of Fri rate meeting after dovish Fed comment

South Korea’s government debt prices jumped Thursday as the domestic market also interpreted the overnight comment from U.S. Federal Reserve chief as an indication of a moderation in rate increases that also could affect the Korean monetary policy - as early as Friday’s last rate decision for this year.

Samsung phone sales shoot up 11% on mo Oct amid tepid iPhone XR sales

Smartphone sales of Samsung Electronics Co. in the global market in October rose 11 percent from the previous month, pushing up its share by 1 percentage point to 20 percent. According to Hana Financial Investment Co. on Thursday, the world’s biggest smartphone maker sold 26.73 million units of smartphone around the world in October, down 8 percent from the same period last year but up 11 percent from last month. It commanded 24 percent share in the U.S. market, up 2 percentage points from September.

Korea’s business loans Q3 up by biggest in 10 yrs amid poor economy

Commercial and industrial loans (C&I loans) in South Korea grew at the fastest pace in a decade during the third quarter this year as employers had to seek out loans to stay afloat amid deteriorating business conditions at home. According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, C&I loans extended to businesses including self-employed amounted 1,107 trillion won ($988.2 billion) as of Sep. 30, 2018, up 24.3 trillion won from three months earlier.

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