Monday August 31, 2020

 

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Many churches cooperated with Government in the control of COVID-19, but some fail to do so”
Today, I hope we can sit down and talk together. I am very glad to have leaders from Korea’s Protestant churches here at Cheong Wa Dae. Some of the participants have traveled far despite today’s very bad weather from the typhoon. I believe all of you are joining us out of like-minded concern for our country and the people who face truly difficult situations. I am grateful to you all.

‘We are going to be a company beyond Tesla Motors in ten years”
“We are going to be a company beyond Tesla Motors in 10 years,” said Chairman Youngkwon Kang of Edison Motors in Seoul at a recent interview with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media since 1985. Then he said, “One of our strategies is focusing on the performance and design of the car that the consumers want.”
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korea Reports 248 COVID-19 Infections
South Korea has reported 248 additional COVID-19 cases from Sunday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) on Monday announced the latest tally, raising the nation's cumulative total to 19-thousand-947.
All but ten of the latest cases were local transmissions. The virus also claimed the life of another person on Sunday, raising the death toll to 324.
The latest drop marks the second day in a row with less than 300 new cases, following 299 cases confirmed from Saturday. However, fewer diagnostic tests are administered over the weekends than regular business days.

Typhoon Maysak Expected to Reach S. Korea's Southern Region Thursday
Typhoon Maysak, currently heading north from waters south of Japan's Okinawa, is expected to hit South Korea's southern region early on Thursday.
The Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) forecast on Monday that the season's ninth typhoon will pass west of Japan's Okinawa on Tuesday morning and arrive 440 kilometers south of Jeju Island early on Wednesday.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall in the southern coastal areas in South Gyeongsang Province early on Thursday. 
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New virus cases stay under 300 for 2nd day, cluster infections still loom
The number of daily new coronavirus cases in South Korea stayed below 300 for the second consecutive day Monday, but health authorities are keeping their guards up as sporadic cluster infections and a growing number of patients with unknown infection routes continue to put a strain on the country's virus fight.
The country reported 248 new COVID-19 cases, including 238 local infections, raising the total caseload to 19,947, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). One more patient died from the novel coronavirus, raising the death toll to 324.

S. Korea begins 8-day biz restriction of eateries, coffee chains in greater Seoul over pandemic
South Korea began Sunday to restrict operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the greater Seoul area in an effort to contain the fast spread of the new coronavirus.
Under the plan that lasts until next Sunday, restaurants and bakeries can operate until 9 p.m., and only takeaway and delivery will be permitted from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
For franchise coffee chains, only takeout or delivery will be permitted regardless of operating hours, as cluster infections traced to coffee shops have been reported.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Korea peace process cannot be achieved via biggest military buildup in history
“The two sides agreed to carry out disarmament in a phased manner, as military tension is alleviated and substantial progress is made in military confidence-building.”
This phrase comes from Article 3-2 of the Panmunjom Declaration by South and North Korea on Apr. 27, 2018. On that day, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to establish a “permanent and solid peace regime.” How have things turned out in reality? An intermediate-term national defense plan for 2021-2025 presented by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Aug. 10 announced plans for 301 trillion won (US$253.4 billion) in spending over the five-year period.

S. Korea needs to remain neutral in emerging US-China Cold War to prosper
The year 2020 that we are living through right now may be remembered for two things in the future. It is likely to be recalled as the year of a new depression, but I think it will be remembered more than anything else as the year that the conflict between China and the US emerged to the fore, deepening into something on par with a new Cold War. The Korean Peninsula is a place that was divided during the past Cold War, bearing the brunt of a brutal regime rivalry between two garrison states. For a peninsula that has yet to even put an end to its Cold War framework, the new Cold War has the potential to have truly devastating consequences. In order to respond well, we first need to bear in mind a few important facts about the new Cold War.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
60% of Jobseekers Feel Uncomfortable with Video Interviews
Six out of 10 jobseekers would feel uncomfortable being interviewed by video call or artificial intelligence-assisted programs, a poll suggests.
In the poll of 1,683 jobseekers by job search portal Saramin early this month, 57.4 percent said they feel uncomfortable with virtual interviews of this kind.

Women Most Gullible in Phone Scams
The biggest victims of a growing number of messenger scams are women.
Scammers may use messaging apps like Kakao Talk by disguising them as their victims' friends after gleaning information from their user profile and then tap them for loans. They often ask for small amounts of money that make it easier for the victims to go along. If any potential victims ask scammers why their messenger ID has changed, they claim they lost their phone.
A staffer at the Financial Supervisory Service said, "An effective way to avoid falling victim for this scam is to call the real-life friend to verify the money request."

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Citizens volunteer to stay home for quarantine
“I have posted photos thinking that it may encourage people to join their forces in such a hard time.”
Yoon Han-na, 36, shares photos of spending her day with her children home in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on her social media with a hashtag “#self-lockdown” attached to the posts. You may not see any difference in her photos because they only show her four kids sitting shoulder to shoulder on the sofa to gaze at the TV screen or being tangled up altogether for fun.

Japan’s media expects improving bi-lateral relation following Lee’s election
Japanese news outlets have expressed expectations that Lee Nak-yon’s election as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Korea will contribute to improving Seoul-Tokyo ties. They imply that the election of Japan-savvy Lee as the new ruling party chief, timed with the resignation of the hard-line Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, could provide momentum for improving relations between South Korea and Japan.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
“Masks Were the Decisive Factor in COVID-19 Test Results”
“I didn't’ wear a mask in the U.S. and contracted COVID-19, but my parents, who lived in the same house as I did when I was under home quarantine, were not infected with the virus. I think masks made the difference.”
Quarantine authorities have been stressing the importance of physical distancing and wearing masks, but due to the hot and humid summer weather, we can easily spot people with “chin masks,” masks only covering their chins. Kim Hyeong-jin (26, pictured), who was the 28th patient confirmed COVID-19-positive in Daejeon, posted a video under the title, “A Person who Once Contracted COVID-19 Talks About Why Masks Are Really Important” on the YouTube channel, ZynKimLand, hoping to help others with his experience.

From -0.2% to -1.3%, a Gloomy Revision of This Year’s Economic Outlook
On August 27, the Bank of Korea updated its economic forecast and projected the nation’s economy to grow by only -1.3% this year due to the recent wave of COVID-19. In the worst-case scenario, if the current wave of the novel coronavirus continues until winter, the central bank expects the economy to grow by -2.2%. If things go according to the central bank’s outlook, the nation’s economy will shrink for the first time in 22 years, since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. The Bank of Korea maintained the base interest rate at the current 0.50%. 
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Retail stock accounts brim over $50 bn to get hands on Kakao Games IPO
The balance in cash management accounts, or securities account, has brimmed above 60 trillion won ($51 billion) as retailers are gearing up to get their hands on Kakao Games whose public subscription opens Tuesday.
Kakao Games Corp. , sharing the halo of its parent Kakao that surged as the hottest Korean stock this year amid big-tech frenzy, is estimated to have been priced IPO at 24,000 won ($20), the top end of the desired band given the competition ratio of over 1,000 to 1 among institutions in the two-day book-building session.

S. Korea stops itself from moving to lockdown, while curbing shop business hours
South Korea will hold off moving to a full-scale lockdown, while curbing business hours of diners and cafes in toughened social restriction measures.
“Daily counts of new infections have stayed above 200 for two weeks, but moving to level 3 (tantamount to a full-fledged lockdown) should be our last resort, given the economic and social ramifications,” said Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a meeting in Seoul on Friday. 
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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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