The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Monday, July 29, 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.

Two S. Korean fishermen freed from detention in N. Korea

Two South Korean fishermen returned home unharmed Sunday, 11 days after they were detained by North Korea on a Russian fishing ship, the Ministry of Unification said. They were on board the 300-ton crab-catching vessel, the Xiang Hai Lin 8, along with 15 Russian crew members, when it was detained by North Korea's coast guard in the country's northeastern waters for "violating the rules of entry and stay" on July 17. The ship's engine was reportedly out of order at the time.

Moon seeks full troop remains excavation in DMZ

President Moon Jae-in said his government will push for talks with North Korea on excavating troop remains in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which bisects the peninsula. In a message to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement that put a de facto end to the Korean War, Moon stressed the importance of sending the remains of Korean, American and other countries' service members killed in the three-year conflict to their families.

Trade minister returns home after consulting with U.S. over Japan's trade curbs

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee returned home from the United States on Saturday after asking for Washington's support and mediation in Seoul's fight against export controls by Japan. During her five-day visit, Yoo met various political and business officials in Washington, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, to highlight that Tokyo's restrictions are not acceptable.

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

Moon Cancels Summer Vacation Ahead of Japan's New Trade Restrictions

President Moon Jae-in has decided not to take a summer vacation as Japan is expected to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" of trusted trading partners this week. The presidential office told reporters on Sunday that Moon canceled his five-day summer vacation set to begin on Monday.

Two S. Korean Fishermen Held in N. Korea Return Home

A Russian fishing vessel and its crew, including two South Koreans, returned to the South unharmed on Sunday, eleven days after being detained by North Korea. The Unification Ministry said Sunday that the Xiang Hai Lin 8, the Russian crab fishing boat, carrying 17 crew members, arrived in Sokcho in South Korea's Gangwon Province at around 1 p.m. Sunday after having left Wonsan in the North Korean part of Gangwon Province at about 7 p.m. Saturday.

Ko Jin-young Wins Evian Championship, Reclaims World No.1 Ranking

South Korean golfer Ko Jin-young has won the Evian Championship for her second career LPGA major title, reclaiming the number one spot in the women's world rankings. Ko won the fourth major tournament of the 2019 season at 15-under 269 at the par-71 Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Sunday, beating three players, including fellow Korean Kim Hyo-joo, by two strokes.

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

July exports estimated to have fallen nearly 10 pct: poll

South Korea's exports are likely to have extended their slump to an eighth month in July by falling nearly 10 percent from a year earlier, a poll showed Monday, due mainly to the prolonged trade row between the United States and China.

Host barely avoids shutout as 1st FINA World Championships in S. Korea end

The first world swimming championships to take place in South Korea drew to a conclusion in the southern city of Gwangju on Sunday, with 76 gold medals having been handed out across six disciplines. With more than 2,600 athletes from 194 countries in action, the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju was the largest in the event's history, which began in 1973.

S. Korean major champion in LPGA draws inspiration from Hall of Famer

South Korean golfer Ko Jin-young isn't usually one to lean on others for motivation. But before winning her second LPGA major of the season in France on Sunday, Ko made an exception and turned to a World Golf Hall of Famer for inspiration.

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

N. Korean fishing boat being probed for ‘mistakenly’ crossing into South

A North Korean fishing boat carrying three passengers crossed the marine border into South Korea in the East Sea late Saturday, Seoul’s military said Sunday. The boat has been towed to a South Korean military port for investigation. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the wooden boat was first spotted about 5.5 kilometers above the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, at around 10:15 p.m. on Saturday. It started moving down in a straight line to cross the NLL at 11:21 p.m.

Financial groups see earnings boost in H1 despite sluggish market

South Korea’s major financial groups posted record-breaking earnings during the first half of the year, notwithstanding external challenges that have weighed down the overall market, industry data showed Sunday.

S. Korean fishermen held in North Korea return home

A Russian fishing vessel and its crew, including two South Koreans, held by North Korea have returned home, the Ministry of Unification said Sunday. The South Korean fishermen were held in North Korea along with 15 Russian crew members, after their ship Xiang Hai Lin 8 was seized by North Korea’s coast guard in the country’s northeastern waters on July 17.

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

Gwangju nightclub collapse a 'man-made' disaster

A police investigation into the collapse of a balcony-style dance-floor at a nightclub in the southwestern city of Gwangju, early Saturday, has found that it was a preventable man-made disaster. The deadly accident occurred in the Coyote Ugly club at around 2:40 a.m., Saturday, when the dance floor constructed over the bar area collapsed. At the time about 370 people were in the club.

Actress Yoon Ji-oh sued again, this time for obscenity

South Korea has been wrestling with the dark side of whistleblowing recently after actress and model Yoon Ji-oh became embroiled in a controversy for her dubious past and inconsistent testimony about actress Jang Ja-yeon, who committed suicide in March 2009. Yoon was once portrayed as a courageous woman who stood against corrupt and sexually abusive practices in show business that allegedly led to Jang's death.

Megachurches in Korea: Why they face calls to be born again

Myungsung Church, a megachurch in Seoul that is seeing a continued controversy over the father-son leadership succession that happened in November 2017, was once a small church. Rev. Kim Sam-hwan started the church in Myeongil-dong, eastern Seoul in 1980 with a couple dozen likeminded founding members. Church membership grew rapidly during his tenure to reach its current 100,000 registered members, nearly four decades later.

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

Self-Harm on the Rise Among Korean Teens

Self-harm is on the rise among Korean teenagers, suggesting that stress levels are rising in the country's brutally competitive education environment. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family analyzed records from 230 youth counselling and welfare centers across the country and found that counseling for self-harm rose from 4,000 in 2015 to 28,000 last year.

Korea's Economy Grows Only 1.1% in Q2

The Korean economy grew just 1.1 percent in the second quarter, although the performance improved from a 0.4 percent decline in the first quarter. But a closer look shows that even this low growth was led by pump-priming measures.

Dwindling Earnings by Top Conglomerates Trigger Warning Bells

Korea's major business conglomerates are suffering from plummeting revenues. Analysis by the Korea Economic Research Institute for the Chosun Ilbo of the fourth-quarter earnings of the top 30 companies showed that their combined revenues fell 0.2 percent on-year to W262.1 trillion (US$1=W1,131).

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

Kim Jong-un’s escalating pressure campaign against S. Korea and US

A series of recent moves by North Korea — including the announcement that Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho won’t be attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), leader Kim Jong-un’s tour of a submarine production facility, a short-range missile launch following a 77-day hiatus on such activity, and the rejection of 50,000 tons of South Korean-grown rice sent via the World Food Programme — are being taken as signs of irritation and attempts to pressure South Korea and the US, which are planning to hold a joint military exercise in August.

Two projectiles launched by N. Korea assumed to be new kind of short-range ballistic missile

The two projectiles assumed to be short-range missiles separately test-launched by North Korea toward the East Sea from near Wonsan early in the morning on July 25 represented a “new kind of short-range ballistic missile,” the South Korean government officially confirmed. Later that day, the Blue House announced that a meeting of the National Security Council standing committee had been convened under Director Chung Eui-yong.

Japanese tourism industry feeling effects of S. Korea’s travel boycott

The effects of a boycott on tourism emerging in South Korea in the wake of Japan’s export control measures are beginning to be felt in Japan. According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on July 25, the major Japanese travel agency JTB reported a drop of around 10% in individual South Korean tourists using the company’s service in July compared to the same period last year. The company’s PR division was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “This appears to be a manifestation of political effects.”

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

This week marks watershed moment of Korea-Japan relations

This week marking a month of Japan’s export control is likely to be a watershed moment that decides whether the conflict between Korea and Japan grows or not. Diplomats from Korea, Japan and the U.S. will gather at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday. Some project that solutions can be found through diplomatic efforts.

Korean automakers export only 32 units to Japan in 1st half

Imports of Japanese automobiles reached 30,000 in the first half of this year, but Korea exported only 32 units to Japan. Automobile imports from Japan was 623.24 million U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, which is a 26 percent increase year-on-year, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

N. Korean wooden boat crosses into S.Korean waters

A wooden boat for food procurement of the North Korean army crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) of the East Sea in the middle of the night, while three North Koreans were onboard. The South Korean military authorities are holding them in custody and investigating their intention of crossing the NLL.

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

On Stage at the WTO, a Japan Not Willing to Solve the Problem

At the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council, where Japan's tighter export control against South Korea was a formal agenda, South Korea succeeded in exposing Japan’s unwillingness to resolve the issue. Although South Korea failed to draw supporting comments from other member states, criticism of the latest measures continued from the U.S. business community.

North Korea Launches More Missiles: This Cannot Stop the Drive for Talks

On the morning of July 25, North Korea fired two new short-range missiles near the Hodo Peninsula in Wonsan, Kangwon Province. The launch of short-range missiles by North Korea occurred 77 days after their last launch on May 9. The ROK-US military authorities are concentrating on identifying the missiles, after their analysis showed that the second missile traveled 690km, 270km farther than the missile in May. A closer analysis will be needed to identify North Korea's intentions, but it is obvious that any military action that can heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula is not desirable.

Russia Insists There Was "No Violation of Airspace," While Government Argues "Distorted Facts"

On July 24, the Russian government delivered its official position on the invasion of its military aircraft into airspace over Dokdo to the South Korean government and said, "The Russian military aircraft did not invade South Korean airspace." The South Korean government refuted saying, "The Russian claims are a distortion of fact." The previous day, a military officer at the Russian Embassy in South Korea said, "It appears the aircraft entered an unplanned area due to malfunction of equipment," and expressed "deep regrets," but Russia switched its position in just a day. However, the Russian charge d’affaires said, "We will investigate the details after requesting cooperation from the South Korean government." Thus it is likely for the two countries to conduct an investigation of the incident.

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

Samsung Elec narrows gap with Xiaomi in India’s smartphone market in Q2

Samsung Electronics Co., the second largest smartphone vendor in India, is narrowly chasing Xiaomi to win back top market position in India, the world’s second largest smartphone market.

Nonghyup Financial Q2 net profit up 30.4%, H1 best on strong lending income

Nonghyup Financial Group Inc. reported a net profit of 564.4 billion won ($476.6 million) in the second quarter, surging 30.4 percent from the previous three months thanks to solid earnings from its major lending unit. Net profit in the first half totaled 997.1 billion won, up 20.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, its best six-month earnings since its transition to a holding company in 2012, according to its regulatory filing released Friday.

N. Korea ’18 GDP 55 times smaller than S. Korea, worst since Great Famine

The North Korean economy under multiple international and individual state sanctions last year shrank by the biggest pace since 1997, the peak of Great Famine period of mass starvation from economic and food crisis, South Korean central bank data showed.

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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 http://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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