Headlines, March 13, 2019

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

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.

S. Korea's jobless rate rises to 4.7 pct in February

South Korea's jobless rate rose to 4.7 percent in February despite the increased pace of hiring, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign of an economic slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy. The unemployment rate marked the highest level for any February since 2017, when the corresponding figure stood at 4.9 percent, according to Statistics Korea.

National Assembly set to vote on fine dust bills

The National Assembly is set to vote on several bills aimed at fighting fine dust Wednesday, as South Korea has struggled with its worst-ever particle pollution in recent days. A plenary session is scheduled to convene later in the day to deal with pending proposals, including one regarding the designation of fine dust as a "social disaster," which would allow the government to inject state money when an urgent need for expenditures arise.

Pompeo calls on N. Korea to act on denuclearization pledge

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on North Korea Tuesday to act on its pledge to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. In an interview in Houston, Texas, where he will attend an energy conference, Pompeo said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had told him face to face "no less than half a dozen times" that he would denuclearize. "Now we need to figure out how to do it, how to achieve it," he told KRIV Fox 26 Houston Morning News. "Our goal is to keep America safe, to keep South Korea and Japan from being under this threat. And when we do, we hope we can make a brighter future for the North Korean people as well."

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

K-pop Singers Jung Joon-young, Seungri Summoned for Questioning

South Korean singer Jung Joon-young has been summoned for questioning regarding allegations that he secretly filmed sex videos and shared them with fellow entertainers. On Tuesday, police booked the singer-songwriter on charges of illegally filming and distributing videos and photographs of a sexual nature and asked him to appear for questioning on Thursday. Jung hurriedly returned home on Tuesday from Los Angeles where he was filming a show for a Korean cable channel.

Gov't to Help Private Investment Projects Start This Year

Finance Ministry Hong Nam-ki said the government will ensure that 13 major infrastructure projects funded by the private sector will begin this year. The minister made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with the heads of economic-related ministries in Seoul. The 12-point-six trillion won projects, including the construction of a highway connecting Pyeongtaek and Iksan and a sewage disposal facility in Gumi, were planned to begin after 2020.

S. Korea Removed from EU List of Countries Subject to Tax Monitoring

The European Union(EU) has removed South Korea from its "gray list" of countries subject to tax-related monitoring. Seoul's Finance Ministry said the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU or ECOFIN decided on Tuesday to remove Seoul from the list. The ministry said the EU considered Seoul's decision to abolish corporate tax cuts for foreign companies.

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

Digital entrepreneur dead in apparent suicide amid assault probe

A digital expert known for introducing the concept of "the right to be forgotten" to South Korea fell to his death Wednesday in an apparent suicide amid a police investigation into allegations he assaulted a colleague. Song Myung-bean, head of Marker Group, was found dead on the ground outside his apartment in Goyang, just north of Seoul, at about 4:40 a.m., according to police. Police said they found a six-page suicide note in Song's home. Song lived on the 12th floor of the building.

Singer Jung Joon-young admits to sex video charges

Singer Jung Joon-young on Wednesday admitted to having secretly filmed sex videos of women he slept with and sharing them with fellow entertainers, vowing to halt all activities in show business. "I admit to all of my sins," the 30-year-old K-pop star said in a statement. "I filmed women without their consent, shared the videos in a SNS group chat and did such behavior without feeling any sense of guilt." He then apologized to the victims of his wrongdoings.

Police probe allegation singer shared sex videos in Seungri's chat room

Police have launched a probe into allegations that Jung Joon-young, a K-pop star, secretly filmed sex videos and shared them with fellow entertainers, including BIGBANG member Seungri, in a mobile chat room. The singer-songwriter and TV celebrity, best known for his part in KBS' variety show "2 Days & 1 Night," is under investigation over suspicions that he uploaded his own sex videos in a KakaoTalk group chat, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

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

Parliament passes bill on designating fine dust as social disaster

LG to support schools with 10,000 air purifiers amid fine dust pollution

South Korea’s LG Group will provide 10,000 air purifiers at elementary, middle and high school across the country free of charge amid the continued high levels of fine dust blanketing the country, the company said Tuesday. The conglomerate’s decision was shared via Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’s social media post, “Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo shared the news with me that was finalized at an executive-level meeting led by Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.”

Bike-sharing biz heats up in Korea with Kakao, Socar joining

South Korea’s ride-sharing companies are expanding their business portfolios into electric bike-sharing, creating high expectations as municipalities scramble to introduce the service as an alternative to conventional transportation. The country’s major messenger app company, Kakao, has entered the e-bike sharing business with a new service called Kakao T Bike. The company began its service on Mar. 6 in Incheon and Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

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

Singer Jung Joon-young admits filming sex with girlfriends without consent

Fine dust now 'social disaster': new parliamentary bill

The National Assembly passed a bill on the designation of fine dust as a social disaster Wednesday as South Korea struggles with its worst-ever particle pollution. Parliament opened a plenary session to deal with several bills on fine dust as rival parties have pledged bipartisan efforts to tackle the issue. The proposal on fine dust as a social disaster will pave the way for the government to inject state money when an urgent need for expenditure arises.

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

Kim Jong-un Not on Ballot in Sham Parliamentary Elections

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was not on the ballot for the election to the Supreme People's Assembly on Sunday. He is the first supreme leader of the North who has not been elected a member of the rubber-stamp parliament. State media called the names of all 687 newly elected deputies, but Kim was not among them. In the last election in March 2014, he was duly elected as there is only one state-approved candidate in each district.

Japan Mulls Retaliation Over Forced Labor Ruling

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday warned of retaliation against Koreans over the Supreme Court's recent decision here to seize the assets of Japanese businesses who refused to compensate victims of forced labor. Aso threatened to ban money transfers to and from Korea and stop visas for Koreans.

Ex-President Stands Trial at Site of Gwangju Massacre

Disgraced ex-president Chun Doo-hwan appeared in court in Gwangju on Monday on charges of defamation relating to his brutal suppression of the 1980 democratic uprising in the southwestern city. Chun (88) is charged with defaming a dissident priest in a memoir by claiming he lied when he said he witnessed soldiers firing at citizens from helicopters during the suppression. Relatives of the priest, who has died since his testimony, sued.

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

Question of helicopter gunfire on civilians of key importance in Chun Doo-hwan’s trial

It’s of considerable importance that ex-president Chun Doo-hwan is on trial for defaming a deceased Catholic priest named Cho Cheol-hyeon (1938–2016, also known as Cho Pius) because this could become an opportunity to identify the person who gave the order to open fire upon innocent civilians during the Gwangju Uprising (Gwangju Democratization Movement), a question that remains unanswered to this day. If the court accepts the claim that martial law troops in helicopters fired on protesters during the Gwangju Uprising as part of determining whether or not Chun is guilty of defamation, the argument that the government troops were acting in self-defense, which was accepted by the court in an earlier trial of Chun, will lose its validity.

Bolton continues pressure campaign against North Korea

White House National Security Advisor John Bolton continued sending a message of pressure against Pyongyang on Mar. 10, insisting that “the leverage is on [the US’] side right now, not on North Korea’s.” Viewed as an ultra-hawk on North Korea, Bolton had seemed to take a step back through the second North Korea-US summit in Hanoi on Feb. 27–28, but has been front and center in a pressure campaign against the North for days on end since plans for a joint declaration in Hanoi fell through.

Gore to supply 20 artificial blood vessels to South Korean market

Multinational medical equipment supplier Gore announced on Mar. 11 that it would immediately supply 20 artificial blood vessels, known as vascular grafts, which are needed for pediatric heart operations. This suggests that children with congenital heart conditions whose critical operations had been delayed indefinitely will soon be able to have their surgeries.

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

Even Biegun says ‘no’ to incremental denuclearization

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who is in charge of working-level negotiation for denuclearization of North Korea, announced on Monday (local time), saying, “We are not going to do denuclearization incrementally, and that is the position [on] which the U.S. government has a complete unity.” Following National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has a stern stance against North Korea, Biegun also confirmed that the U.S. gave up on gradual denuclearization and moved towards the single undertaking “Big Deal.”

Kia Motors launches All-New 2020 K5

Kia Motors will be launching the 2020 K5 with advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) as a default option. The Prestige trim level of a 2.0-liter gasoline version is equipped with ADAS, including forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA), lane keep assist (LKA), and driver attention warning (DAW) systems, according to the automaker. Another default option is “Auto Hold” feature, which allows drivers to take their feet away from the brake during a stop. The new K5 Noblesse has rear seat heating feature as another default option.

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

Seungri Says, "I Will Retire from Show Business for the Honor of Big Bang"

Authorities have confirmed the existence of other celebrities in the KakaoTalk group chatroom, in which they found circumstantial evidence suggesting that the singer Seungri (29, Lee Seung-hyun, left photo) gave instructions to provide sexual entertainment to a group of foreign investors. Seungri announced that he would retire from the entertainment industry. On March 11, the regional investigation department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they summoned and questioned as witnesses other celebrities who were in the KakaoTalk group chatroom, where they recently discovered traces of Seungri giving instructions to provide sexual entertainment.

"Stop It!" Chun Doo-hwan "Shoots" at Gwangju Again

Former President Chun Doo-hwan (88), who stood in a Gwangju court for defaming a man of merit for democracy in connection to the May 18 Democratization Movement 39 years after the uprising, denied all charges against him and refused to apologize till the end. The number of victims who died from the bloodshed by the military at the time of the pro-democracy uprising was 348 (161 dead, 111 dead due to injuries, and 76 missing persons).

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

Korea’s Eastar Jet grounds Boeing 737 Max 8 planes over safety concerns

Eastar Jet, one of South Korea`s budget carriers, has decided to voluntarily take two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes out of service over growing safety concerns. The decision comes as a 737 Max 8 jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday, killing all aboard, a second crash of the Boeing aircraft after Indonesia’s Lion Air tragic accident a few months ago in October 2018.

Experts propose higher fuel tax (Vietnam)

Researchers of the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) have proposed the Government levy special consumption tax rate for bio-fuel equal to half of the rate for gasoline. The recommendation was part of a CIEM survey, which was announced at the seminar on using tax policies to regulate the economy towards green growth and sustainable development held in Ha Noi yesterday.

Nexon enhances its grip in mobile game market with 10 more new titles

South Korea’s largest gaming publisher Nexon Co. is set to roll out 10 more new mobile games, including all new titles and mobile adaptations of its existing or foreign online games, until June, a move that is expected to help Korea’s No. 1 game publisher widen the gap with its rivals. In a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday, Nexon unveiled its plan to release Crazy Arcade BnB on March 21 globally, with hopes that the mobile version of its classic online game Crazy Arcade would repeat the original’s success.

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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com