Wednesday August 26, 2020

 

 Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
"Prayers at 'Gut' rites are offered for the benefit of troubled minds"
Korea has a time-honored folk religious rite named Gut which has been the target of criticism from some quarters of the Korean society but which continues to stay in the hearts of many strata of people in Korea. Gut, with the passage of time, has not become an important part of traditional Korean folk religion. And the religious rites, including the unique shaman dances, have become a part of traditional Korean art and culture.
Among the well-known women practitioners of Gut is one named Choyeon Yaksabosal. She observed organized and observed a ritual for rain at the Gwanghwamun Share in Seoul in 2016 where she presented the traditional Korean folk religious rite, Gut, praying to the Rain Deity in the Heaven to bestow rain to the people. Many people. This practice, which is aimed for the public benefit won the hearts of many people in Korea.

President Moon warns against rise in COVID case, urges social distancing
President Moon Jae-in urged today (Aug. 24) that the Korea people are required to observe the current social distancing rules to avoid falling into a possible lockdown as Korea faced a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
The main cause of the sudden increase in the number of COVID-19 cases is largely attributed to the conservative-oriented rally in Seoul on the Liberation Day of Korea on Aug. 15, 2022.
Reports indicate that the reportedly rightist-led rally in Seoul at the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on that day consequently led to causing a considerable number of new cases of affection. 
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Gov't Issues 'Return-to-Work' Order to Doctors on Strike
The government has ordered doctors on a walkout in the greater Seoul area to return to work.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a briefing on Wednesday that he issued a return-to-work order at 8 a.m. to striking interns, residents and doctors in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon.
The government plans to conduct an on-site investigation to check if the affected doctors returned to work, beginning with emergency rooms and intensive care units in the capital region.

Jeju Comes under Influence of 'Very Strong' Typhoon Bavi
Typhoon Bavi is approaching the Korean Peninsula, with Jeju Island already coming under its direct influence Wednesday morning.
The Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) said the typhoon, currently heading north in waters 260 kilometers southwest of Jeju Island as of Wednesday morning, will pass through waters west of the island in the afternoon.
The typhoon is forecast to move north along the country's western coast between Wednesday night and early Thursday before making landfall in North Korea's Hwanghae Province. 
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
All schools in greater Seoul area go online amid virus surge
Schools in Seoul and its surrounding areas returned to remote classes Wednesday to protect students and slow down the spread of the virus, as infections surge throughout the nation.
The Ministry of Education ordered all 7,826 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the metropolitan area -- Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province -- on Tuesday to hold online classes only, until Sept. 11, to tame the highly infectious coronavirus.
High school seniors are not subject to the policy in order to prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the yearly national university entrance exam slated for Dec. 3, in which some 480,000 students are expected to participate.

Doctors launch full-scale strike, disruptions expected
Tens of thousands of doctors went on a full-scale strike nationwide for a three-day run Wednesday in protest of the government's medical workforce reform amid spiking coronavirus cases.
The collective actions by doctors, including interns and resident doctors at general hospitals, and practitioners at neighborhood clinics, came as they balked at the government's move to increase the number of medical students.
The walkout is second of its kind and organized by the Korean Medical Association (KMA), which has some 130,000 members.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Moon warns he will “respond sternly” to strike by physicians
South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a warning message on Aug. 24 to physician groups that launched a collective strike to protest plans to create new public health colleges and raise the admissions cap for medical schools.
“We will have no choice but to respond sternly to the collective use of force in violation of the law, such as strikes and walkouts,” Moon said, describing the current situation as a “desperate moment where the number of people infected [with COVID-19] could skyrocket anywhere at any time if we let down our guard even a little.”

COVID-19 creeps further into S. Koreans’ daily routines as cases pop up in schools, cafes, offices
The coronavirus clusters that have cropped up at churches, rallies, and door-to-door sales companies are rapidly spreading through every corner of South Koreans’ daily routines, including hypermarkets, schools, restaurants, and cafés.
On Apr. 24, South Korea reported 266 new cases of COVID-19, the first time in four days that the tally had fallen below 300. But health authorities are cautioning the public not to get its hopes up about the moderate drop in cases. Not only has the average daily tally multiplied 13-fold over the past two weeks, but infection routes are steadily expanding, suggesting that the disease will continue to spread for some time.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Part-Timers Struggle to Find Work
A slowdown in private spending due to the protracted coronavirus epidemic has made it hard for part-timers to find jobs.
The drastic minimum-wage hike already prompted many store owners to cut down part-timers' hours, and now lockdown has led to more shopkeepers doing without staff altogether.
The latest data from Statistics Korea show a sharp decline in small businesses that employ at least one person by 54 percent or an average of 176,000 per month from January to July compared to the same month in 2019.
At the same time the number of small businesses without staff other than the owner and family increased by 102,000 a month so far this year.

Poorer Households Face Higher Housing Costs Than the Rich
Poorer households had to spend a bigger proportion of their income on housing than middle or high-income households in the second quarter of this year.
According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the average monthly housing expenditure of households in the lowest income bracket increased 13.8 percent on-year in the second quarter to W91,717, which was more than in other income brackets (US$1=W1,188).
It is not unusual for housing expenditures to account for a large proportion of monthly spending among poorer people because middle and high-income households either live in their own homes or can earn enough money to pay the rent without batting an eyelid.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
U.S. President Trump unveils his second-term agenda
On the first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that he will withdraw U.S. troops overseas and put allies under pressure to increase their defense cost contributions if he is re-elected. He repeatedly praised himself, saying he had revised South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) that created 250,000 jobs only in Korea.

1.45 million individuals buy Samsung Electronics stocks
Minority shareholders of Samsung Electronics increased by threefold this year as more individuals opted for stocks.
According to the company’s half-year report on Tuesday, the number of minority shareholders holding less than one percent of the stocks was 1,454,373 as of late June. It is 2.6 times the number at the end of last year (568,313), which means 886,060 individuals bought Samsung stocks in half a year.
Individuals bought out a large volume sold by foreigners and institutions during this period. Foreigners sold Samsung stocks worth 6.7012 trillion won and institutions 1.9943 trillion won this year until late June. But individuals purchased stocks worth 8.3626 trillion won. The most popular stock among individuals in the market during this period was Samsung Electronics.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Level-3 Distancing in Sight: Is the Government Prepared to Care for the Vulnerable?
The latest spread of the novel coronavirus is not letting up, and level-3 physical (social) distancing seems a likely possibility. This day, groups of experts on infectious diseases, such as the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases released a statement and said, “Level-2 distancing is not enough to respond to the current spread of COVID-19,” and argued, “The nation should immediately enforce level-3 distancing.”
The government is also considering enforcing level-3 distancing. However, it is cautious for “Level-3 distancing, which means the suspension of all everyday activities, can have a critical impact on all public and economic activities.” But some experts argue that the government should rush with preparations for exactly that reason. During the first major outbreak in February and March, the government enforced strong distancing measures, but this left the socially vulnerable, such as the disabled, senior citizens living alone and children in the blind spot of social care, and experts argue such mistakes should not be repeated.

Patients Postpone Hospitalizations and Surgeries, But the Government and the Medical Association Fail to Narrow Differences
Some fellows and employed doctors have joined the indefinite strike launched by interns and residents, raising concerns of a lack of health care. The government and the medical circle have left the door open for dialogue in order to seek an agreement, but have failed to find any common ground. This is expected to extend the strike.
At a briefing on August 24, Yoon Tae-ho, director of quarantine at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters welcomed the agreement reached by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and the Korean Intern Resident Association the previous day, to actively join efforts to treat COVID-19, and said, “We expect some medical staff to return to emergency rooms (ERs) and intensive care units (ICUs).” 
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Kakao Games’ book-building kicks off with high hope for blockbuster debut
Kakao Games Corp., the gaming unit of South Korea’s leading messenger app operator Kakao Corp., on Wednesday kicked off its two-day book-building session with high hope to become this year’s another blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) after SK Biopharmaceuticals Co.
According to multiple sources from the brokerage industry on Tuesday, Kakao Games has invited institutional investors to its book-building session on Wednesday and Thursday. The company will determine its IPO price during the two-day book-building session and open public subscription on Sept. 1 and 2. Shares will begin to trade on Sept. 11.

Line-Yahoo JV named A Holdings, Naver founder picked as inaugural chair
The new internet giant in Japan, born in a joint venture between Japan-focused messenger operator Line Corp. and Yahoo Japan Corp., has been christened A Holdings and will be headed by Naver founder and global investor officer Lee Hae-jin.
According to multiple sources from the information technology (IT) industry on Tuesday, Line and Yahoo Japan Corp. have recently confirmed the name of the joint venture and board members. A Holdings will be the joint entity equally owned by Naver Corp., Korea’s owner of Line, and SoftBank Group, the holding firm of Z Holdings Corp. A Holdings will become the largest shareholder of Z Holdings and Line and Yahoo Japan go under Z Holdings. 
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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
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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