Wedensday July 29, 2020
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Daewoo leader’s motto: “The World is wide open, there are lots of work to do!”
“The world is wide open and there are lots of work to do!”
This is the famous declaration made by the late Founder-Chairman Kim Woo-choong of the Daewoo Business Group in Korea which was the second-largest conglomerate in Korea.
There is a famous episode about Chairman Kim. He started a business with only 5 million Won at the age of 31, and, in the next 30 years, he developed Daewoo into Korea’s second-largest business conglomerate with an annual turnover of 71 trillion won with 41 affiliate companies and 396 overseas corporates in all parts of the world.
“Trade between our two countries is expected to double in the near future”
Ambassador Silvestre Kouassi Bile of the Republic of Cote d”Ivoire in Seoul said, “The volume of trade between Cote d’Ivoire and Korea nearly doubled from US$120 million in 2012 to US$230 million in 2015.”
In a recent interview with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications, Ambassador Bile then predicted, “The outlook is good, and we believe bilateral trade will continue to grow over the years to come and we hope to double this volume in the near future.”
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korea's Consumer Sentiment Rises for Third Month
South Korea's consumer sentiment rose for the third consecutive months in July on the back of the government's active stimulus measures.
According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the country's composite consumer sentiment index came to 84-point-two in the month, up two-point-four points from the previous month.
The reading fell to 70-point-eight in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic before rebounding and rising for the next three months.
The July figure, however, is lower than 96-point-nine posted in February, before the outbreak of the coronavirus in South Korea.
Moon Requests New Zealand's Support for S. Korea's WTO Candidate
President Moon Jae-in asked New Zealand to support South Korea's candidate in the running to be the next head of the World Trade Organization(WTO).
Presidential Spokesperson Kang Min-seok said President Moon held phone talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for 30 minutes from 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
During the call, Moon said Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, the only candidate from the Asia-Pacific region, is the right person to lead reforms of the world body and enhance the multilateral trade system.
Parts of S. Korea to be Deluged
South Korea is expected to be hit with more monsoon rains on Wednesday, with heavy rain advisories issued for parts of the central region.
The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the advisories for Daejeon and Sejong cities and Chungcheong Province on early Wednesday.
The weather agency forecast more than 150 millimeters of downpour for Chungcheong Province and 50 to 100 millimeters for southern Gyeonggi Province until Thursday.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New virus cases under 30 for 2nd day on slowing imported cases; local infections at 1-week low
The number of daily new coronavirus cases in South Korea stayed below 30 for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as both imported and local cases showed a clear sign of a slowdown.
The country added 28 new cases, including 23 cases coming in from abroad, bringing the total to 14,203, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The number of new cases reached a four-month high of 113 on Saturday as imported cases set a new record of 86 due mainly to infections among South Korean workers returning home from Iraq and Russian sailors.
S. Korea allowed to develop solid-fuel space rocket under revised missile guidelines with U.S.
South Korea announced Tuesday it has become able to develop solid-propellant space rockets under the new missile guidelines with the United States, saying the deal is expected to help sharply improve the military's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and boost the space program of the private sector.
The allies agreed to lift the decades-old restrictions on Seoul's use of solid fuels for its space rocket launch, effective as of the day, according to Kim Hyun-chong, deputy national security adviser.
Defector's border crossing captured by military's surveillance equipment
A North Korean defector was caught on military surveillance equipment as he fled across the border to his communist homeland, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday.
The border crossing by the 24-year-old man, surnamed Kim, became known after North Korea revealed Sunday that a "runaway" returned home in the border city of Kaesong with coronavirus symptoms and the entire city was blocked off to prevent the spread of the virus.
South Korean officials said Kim had been under investigation over allegations he raped a female defector.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
How realistic is relocating Korea’s capital from Seoul to Sejong?
On July 20, when public anger over the failure of the South Korean government’s real estate policy was boiling over, Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, abruptly suggested that the National Assembly and the Blue House both be moved from Seoul to Sejong City.
Since then, Kim’s proposal has continued to gain momentum: even some members of the opposition party agree it’s time to talk about moving Korea’s administrative capital. A poll of 1,200 South Koreans aged 18 and above that was carried out by Ipsos at SBS’ request on July 27 found the general public to support the idea at a ratio of 48.6% to 40.2%.
Democratic Party convenes first meeting of team for relocating capital
The Democratic Party held the first meeting of its “administrative capital completion pursuit team” on July 27 to make preparations for the relocation of South Korea’s administrative capital. In declaring its plans to see through the national agenda of “balanced development of the national territory,” it has said it intends to hold a full range of discussions, up to and including the construction of a second set of “innovation cities” and strategies for development in regions outside the greater Seoul area, or the Seoul Capital Area (SCA).
National Palace Museum’s porcelain exhibit highlights one of Joseon’s first exchanges with the West
In 1888, then French President Marie Francois Sadi Carnot gave Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire a polychrome-decorated white Salamis vase as a present to commemorate the Korea-France Treaty of 1886. Gojong returned the favor by offering two celadon pieces from the 12th and 13th centuries as well as a gold-plated flower pot ornament, cementing one of Korea’s diplomatic gift exchanges with the West.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Young Koreans Borrow Heavily to Buy Homes While They Still Can
A growing number of young Koreans borrow heavily to buy even overpriced apartments while they still can amid a slew of confusing government regulations to stem real estate speculation.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Koreans in their 30s accounted for 36 percent of the W288.1 trillion in new housing loans taken out by commercial banks from June of 2018 to May this year (US$1=W1,197).
Germany, U.K. Oppose Inviting Korea to G7 Summit
Germany and the U.K. have turned down U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to expand the G7 summit to include four or five other countries, such as Korea, Australia, India, and Russia.
Trump expressed his desire to invite those countries in May, which Seoul welcomed immediately.
But in an interview with the Rheinische Post daily on Sunday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, "The G7 and G20 are two sensibly coordinated formats" and "We don't need a G11 or G12."
Korea Bans Visitors from Coronavirus Epicenter
The government in an emergency meeting Sunday decided to ban all visitors who have been to Wuhan and surrounding Hubei Province in China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, in the last two weeks.
The ban becomes effective on Tuesday and was announced 13 days after the first case of coronavirus was reported here on Jan. 20 and three days after the World Health Organization announced a global emergency.
Some 62 countries have now banned or restricted visitors from Hubei and other parts of China.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Kim Jong Un says N. Korea is a nuclear state
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the North a “nuclear state” and mentioned “self-defensive nuclear deterrence” for the first time since the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations and talks between the two Koreas began in 2018. It is interpreted as a move to negotiate nuclear arms reduction, not denuclearization, as a nuclear state with U.S. President Donald Trump who is losing support ratings in the run up to the presidential election in November.
S. Korean auto industry’s productivity is about half of advanced countries’
While the global automobile industry is beginning to increase production from the second half of this year after a serious recession in the first of the year due to COVID-19. However, the South Korean auto industry seems to be stuck with various regulations and rigid labor-management relations.
At the Fourth Industrial Development Forum and the Ninth Auto Industry Development From hosted by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) on Tuesday at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Jung-gu, Seoul, it was discussed how to promote the industrial productivity to overcome the slowdown brought on by COVID-19.
Moderna, Pfizer enter final-stage vaccine testing
U.S. pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer have started late-stage vaccine trials at the same time. Some anticipate that the two companies could start producing vaccines by the end of this year based on the test result.
According to media outlets including The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Moderna and Pfizer announced that they launched final-stage testing for their vaccines. The final testing is a stage where safety and effectiveness of drugs are tested before production. That means the companies could start producing vaccines if they succeed in the testing.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
North Korean Defector Returned North Through a Drain in Ganghwado. Police Slow to Investigate Despite Tip
On July 27, military authorities announced that Kim, the North Korean defector who recently returned North, is likely to have swam North through a drain in Ganghwado. Authorities also confirmed that Kim lied outside the state management system for North Korean defectors. This triggered criticism of the military’s vigilance posture and the police’s management of North Korean defectors.
Colonel Kim Jun-rak, director of public relations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “We specified an area in Ganghwado where we believe the person in question crossed into North Korea,” and added, “We confirmed an abandoned bag and we are currently conducting a close investigation.”
Kim Tae-nyeon, “Closely Look into Speculative Transactions by Foreigners”
On July 27, the Democratic Party of Korea decided to review regulations on speculative real estate transactions by foreigners. This followed the argument that despite the government’s fierce real estate measures, the nation was still suffering from problems in housing supply because of the reckless speculative real estate transactions by foreign capital. Since it is difficult to restrict transactions by foreigners, politicians are mentioning legislation to raise the real estate acquisition tax.
Government to Charge Treatment Fee for COVID-19-Positive Foreigners Entering South Korea
The government will promote legislative amendments to charge foreigners entering the country who are confirmed to be COVID-19-positive for their treatment. Nearly 70% of the newly confirmed patients in the past week were from overseas, and their treatment is putting a heavy burden on the nation’s quarantine and health care system.
In a regular briefing on July 26, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced measures on the in-patient treatment costs for foreigners entering the country including these details. In the past, the government had conducted diagnostic tests and provided treatment for foreigners with the novel coronavirus, who don’t have a Korean health insurance subscription, for free as a humanitarian gesture based on the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
WKF invites US, China diplomacy experts to discuss new global order
U.S. and Chinese diplomacy experts are to hold heated discussions on the intensifying power struggle between the two hegemons in the first global-scale forum to be held in Seoul since the coronavirus outbreak.
U.S.-China rivalry would be one of the key themes at the 21st World Knowledge Forum, an annual event hosted by Maekyung Media Group to be held on Sept. 16-18 at Jangchung Arena and Shilla Hotel in central Seoul.
Korean LCCs opt to go on unpaid leave to keep payroll
South Korean budget carriers are pleading the government to extend subsidy to sustain payroll, with some already alerting employees of unpaid furlough as the industry struggles to stay afloat from slow recovery in air travel.
According to industry sources on Tuesday, the country’s third biggest LCC T’way Air Co. until Monday received applicants for unpaid leave from the entire staff. About 60 percent currently on leave with their basic salary covered with government subsidy agreed to extend their furlough without any pay.
Samsung SDI’s Q2 OP up 92% on qrt on strong sales of small batteries
South Korea’s Samsung SDI Co. on Tuesday was able to nearly double operating profit in the second quarter from the previous three-month period as it weathered global virus crisis with strong demand for small-size batteries and energy storage system (ESS) to power remote working and schooling.
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
AustraliaBrisbaneTime www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://www.colombiareports.com
BogotaFree Planet http://www.bogotafreeplanet.com bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes https://www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/
Ecuador Times https://www.ecuadortimes.net/
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com/
LSM.lv https://www.lsm.lv//
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com, lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais https://english.elpais.com/
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net/
Daily News Hungary https://dailynewshungary.com/
Budapest Times https://www.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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