Headlines, July 30, 2019

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Tuesday, July 30, 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.

Pompeo says countries to join Strait of Hormuz plan amid report on S. Korean participation

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that countries around the world will join a U.S.-led maritime force off the coast of Iran, after a South Korean newspaper reported that the Asian country plans to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz. Pompeo did not mention any countries by name in his remarks to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. But last week he told Fox News that the U.S. had asked South Korea, Britain, France and other nations to join the U.S. initiative to protect the strategically important shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.

S. Korea's recovery team for Hungary boat disaster to wrap up 2-month mission

South Korea's team of rescue and recovery workers dispatched to Hungary in May to cope with a tourist boat disaster will wrap up its monthslong operations this week, the foreign ministry said Monday. Seoul also decided to disband its disaster management headquarters for the boat sinking on Tuesday, when the last of the workers are set to depart for home from the mission to search for the victims of the tragedy that left 25 South Koreans dead and one missing.

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. Outbound shipments are estimated to reach US$46.6 billion last month, down from $51.8 posted a year earlier, according to the poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, a financial information service arm of Yonhap News Agency, on 10 local financial companies.

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

Pompeo Hopes Working-level Talks with N. Korea will Resume 'Very Soon'

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that he hoped working-level talks with North Korea will resume "very soon." In remarks to The Economic Club of Washington D.C., Pompeo also said he hopes there are "creative solutions to unlocking" the current impasse over the North's denuclearization. However, he added there is nothing in the works for a third summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Rival Parties Agree to Pass Extra Budget Bill on Thurs

Rival political parties have agreed to pass the supplementary budget bill this week. The floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party met on Monday afternoon and agreed to hold a plenary parliamentary session on Thursday to pass the extra budget bill.

Captain in Budapest Boat Crash Back in Police Custody

The captain of a cruise ship involved in a deadly crash on the Danube River in May was reportedly back in police custody on Monday. According to the Associated Press, Budapest police said in a statement that Yuriy C, the Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn cruise ship, who was out on bail after being detained for his suspected responsibility in the May 29 collision, was being interrogated. A suspect reportedly can be held for up to 72 hours before a court hearing on his release or arrest.

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

U.S. sanctions N. Korean over ties to WMD program

The United States on Monday sanctioned a Vietnam-based North Korean on suspicion of supporting North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program in violation of U.N. sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department announced the measure on its website, saying the individual, Kim Su-il, is tied to the North's ruling Workers' Party and an employee of its affiliate, the Munitions Industry Department.

S. Korea repatriates all 3 crew members of N.K. boat

South Korea handed over a North Korean boat and all of its three crew members to the communist nation on Monday after the crew told investigators that they accidentally crossed the eastern sea border and wanted to go back home, officials said. The 10-meter-long wooden boat crossed the sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), on Saturday night and was taken to a South Korean port. During questioning, the crew members expressed their desire to return home, according to the authorities.

Japan again rejects call to hold talks over export curbs: trade minister

South Korea is still ready to hold talks with Japan over export curbs that are likely to be expanded further this week, although Tokyo has again rejected a call for a meeting to resolve the matter, Seoul's top trade official said Monday. Japan is set to expand its controls on exports of key materials to South Korea this week by removing Seoul from a list of 27 nations granted preferential export procedures, following the July 4 implementation of curbs on the shipment of three key materials crucial for the production of semiconductors and displays.

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

South Korea beset by escalating trade tensions

South Korea faces economic disruption as Japan moves to tighten export curbs on materials necessary for local tech frms, along with fresh objections raised by the US that could hurt the domestic agricultural sector. Japan is likely to remove Korea from a whitelist of 27 countries that receive preferential treatment in trade after a Cabinet meeting Friday, major Japanese media outlets reported Monday.

Korea’s recovery team for Hungary boat disaster to wrap up 2-month mission

South Korea’s team of rescue and recovery workers dispatched to Hungary in May to cope with a tourist boat disaster will wrap up its months-long operations this week, the foreign ministry said Monday.

South Korea reviews sending troops to Strait of Hormuz

South Korea is reviewing sending a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz to take part in the US-led maritime force to protect oil tankers in the strait. On Monday, a local daily reported that Korea has decided to send the Cheonghae Unit that operates in waters off Somalia, citing an unnamed senior government official. However, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it has not made a decision.

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

Agency faces lawsuits after Ronaldo no-show

The non-appearance of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in Friday's much-heralded exhibition match between Juventus and the K League All-Stars is resulting in multiple lawsuits. The Italian club had a pre-season match against the K League team Friday in the packed 63,000-seat Seoul World Cup Stadium, but despite the advance publicity, Ronaldo, the biggest draw for the match, sat it out, citing muscle fatigue and exhaustion.

India's wild tiger population jumps to almost 3,000

India's wild tiger population has increased by more than 30 percent in the last four years, according to a new census released Monday, raising hopes for the survival of the endangered species. In what Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as a "historic achievement," the census found 2,967 tigers in the wild across the country, up from 2,226 four years ago. "We reaffirm our commitment towards protecting the tiger," Modi said in Delhi at the release of the latest census.

US sanctions North Korean over ties to WMD program

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

Abe Refuses to Meet Moon Unless Korea Relents

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he refuses to meet with President Moon Jae-in unless the Korean government stops victims of wartime forced labor from seeking compensation, the Sankei Shimbun reported Monday. The conservative daily said Abe was telling Seoul that he will wait until Korea "shifts its stance" after it effectively canceled a shady deal struck by the previous Korean government to compensate victims of wartime sex slavery without Japan admitting responsibility.

S.Korea Wary of Irking N.Korea with Stealth Fighter Event

South Korea is wary of agitating an already jumpy North Korea with a deployment ceremony for its new F-35A stealth fighter jets. The North cited the planned deployment of the stealth fighters as an excuse for its latest missile launches. The event has already been delayed until October although the jets have been sitting in hangars here for months.

Korea Dependent on Scores of Japanese Products

Korea is more than 90 percent dependent on 48 Japanese products, some of which could be subject to fresh curbs expected later this week, a study finds. Korean firms import some US$2.8 billion of Japanese products. The Hyundai Research Institute in a report published Sunday said Korea is 50 percent dependent on 253 out of 4,227 products Korean firms import from Japan, and more than 90 percent dependent on 48 of them.

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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/)

‘S. Korea is an inseparable neighbor,’ says Japanese historian

“It is a measure that regards South Korea as an enemy. It should immediately be withdrawn,” said Haruki Wada, emeritus professor at Tokyo University during an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo. When asked about Japan’s toughening export regulations against South Korea, the 81-year-old historian said it could take a toll on the Korean semiconductor industry.

Sailors on a N. Korean wooden boat repatriated to the North

Three North Korean sailors on a wooden boat, found by the South Korean forces at Sunday night to cross the Northern Limit Line in the East Sea, were sent to North Korea at 3:31 p.m. on Monday. They were repatriated in 40 hours after they crossed the border line, and just in one day after the investigation by the South Korean authorities.

SK Innovation reaches collective labor agreement in 3 weeks

The management and labor union of SK Innovation held a signing ceremony Monday to renew the collective labor agreement for 2019 at the SK building in downtown Jongno, Seoul.

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

Government "Determined" as It Prepares for WTO Dispute Settlement

After elaborating on the unfairness of Japan's export control measures to the United States and to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government is now preparing for a dispute settlement at the WTO. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on July 28, the government expects Japan to violate more WTO conventions if it excludes South Korea from its list of "white countries" and is preparing to settle the dispute at the WTO.

[Editorial] Circumstantial Evidence Shows Corruption in the Hiring of Kim Sung-tae's Daughter: Still Calling This Political Retaliation?

Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae's daughter is currently being questioned for corruption in her joining KT, and a KT employee who worked in the human resources department at the time gave a statement that Kim's daughter submitted her application a month after the deadline and that her application form was filled with blank spaces. The employee appeared as a witness in the hearing of Lee Suk-chae, former chairman of KT, held at the Seoul Southern District Court on July 26 and testified that he had asked Kim's daughter to fill out the application form again because the first time she submitted the form, she had left the spaces on recruitment field, position, awards and certifications, and foreign language test scores all blank. Also her online aptitude test scores resulted in a D, which disqualified her application, but she was eventually hired. He said, "I wondered if she actually wanted to apply to KT." At the time, the competition was 81 to one. It is frustrating to think of the applicants who worked hard to apply for employment, ignorant of such arrangements.

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.

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

DGB Financial emerging to rescue cash-strapped K-Bank

K-Bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank that has been struggling to raise capital from external investors, is likely to secure fresh funds from DGB Financial Group, one of its shareholders, according to sources on Sunday. DGB Financial Group is reviewing a proposal sent from K-Bank and details on how much will be injected and with what options have yet to be determined, said a senior official from DGB Financial Group.

Korean Air joins LLCs in cutting flight services between Korea and Japan

South Korea’s top full-service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. will halt its Busan-Sapporo operations, joining local budget airlines in reducing flight services between Korea and Japan amid a worsening trade row between the two countries after Tokyo’s export curbs on high-tech materials.

Korea’s SK Group to address senior executives by role, not by rank

South Korea’s SK Group will abolish seniority-based title system for its senior executives, and instead address them by their roles and responsibilities to improve equality across the organization, which would be the first attempt by Korean major conglomerates.

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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com