Wednesday September 23, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“We try to make Nowon-gu where people will say they won’t leave”
Chairperson Choi Yoonnam of the Nowon District Council in Seoul said, “Many people make great efforts to increase their happiness index and it is the fixed aim of our district to it one where the people would say: ‘I do not want to leave the Nowon-gu District where I wish to stay for good’.”
This statement by Chairperson Choi was made at a recent interview with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media publications since 1985. Details of the interview follow:

Embassy of India hosts a 10-day online workshop with globally renowned experts
Indian Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, Seoul organized a ten-day online workshop on ‘Facets of Modern India’ by globally renowned experts from India - a truly master class of ideas of India, by top class, best and brightest minds from India.
Indian Cultural Centre in Seoul has been a pioneer, in fact a first, in starting this truly intellectual enterprise among all the Indian Cultural Centres worldwide. The sole mission was to develop a rich and nuanced understanding of Modern India, the civilization, the state, in all its diverse manifestations amongst audiences abroad that always wanted to know more and more about India.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Moon Revives Call for Declaration of End to Korean War
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the declaration of the end to the Korean War, saying it would pave the way for complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
In a video message to the United Nations General Assembly, Moon said peace on the peninsula will guarantee peace in Northeast Asia as a whole and bring positive changes to the world order.

S. Korea's COVID-19 Cases Hit over 100 Again
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea hit more than 100 after three days in double digits.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said on Wednesday that 110 new cases were reported throughout the previous day, raising the total to 23-thousand-216.
Of the latest new cases, 99 were local infections while eleven were imported.
The daily figure topped 100 for the first time since Saturday when it marked 110.

Abe Praises Himself for 2015 Accord with S. Korea on Wartime Sex Slavery
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he had successfully taken measures during his tenure that disallowed South Korea to slander Japan for issues related to Japan’s wartime sex slavery.
Abe gave the positive self-assessment in an interview with Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday regarding the 2015 agreement that Seoul and Tokyo reached on the wartime sex slavery issue.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New virus cases bounce back to over 100 on clusters, untraceable cases
South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rebounded to over 100 on Wednesday, snapping three consecutive days of a two-digit rise, as sporadic cluster infections, coupled with untraceable cases, continued to pop up across the country.
The country added 110 more COVID-19 cases, including 99 local infections, raising the total caseload to 23,216, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Wednesday's daily tally marks a sharp increase from 61 cases reported Tuesday, the lowest number since Aug. 13, when the comparable figure was 56. The country had reported less than 100 new virus cases for the third consecutive day since Sunday.

Fears over 'twindemic' mount on flu vaccine fiasco
Health experts on Wednesday warned of a potential so-called twindemic during winter, and the mishandling of flu vaccines here may exacerbate the coronavirus situation.
The country's virus fight has been widely expected to face hurdles as the winter season approaches, as respiratory viruses, including influenza and COVID-19, have nearly identical symptoms, including a fever and sore throat, which makes it difficult for people to tell which virus they might have without getting tested.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Moon reinitiates drive to reform public institutions of power
On Sept. 21, South Korean President Moon Jae-in presided in person over his first strategy meeting on National Intelligence Service (NIS), prosecutorial, and police reforms in 19 months, in what is being read as a signal of his intent to revive the flagging pursuit of reforms to institutions of power.
During the meeting that day, Moon asked the ruling Democratic Party to take active steps to conclude the power institution reform measures that his administration has named as a key governance task.


Top 1% accounts for more than double the carbon emissions of bottom 50%, study finds
The lockdowns imposed by various countries seeking to combat the COVID-19 pandemic caused carbon dioxide emissions to plunge by 17% in early April relative to the previous year. That was the result of traffic being cut by more than 80% in most countries. The world’s richest 10% reportedly use 75% of energy in aviation, leading to the hope that, if the wealthy refrain from traveling, the world could move a step closer to the goal of “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. In fact, the world’s richest 1% are responsible for double the carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, studies say.

S. Korea records 61 new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 21, 3rd straight day of caseload falling below 100
South Korea recorded 61 new COVID-19 cases for Sept. 21, the third consecutive day of the caseload falling under 100. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 51 of the new cases were community infections, while 10 came from overseas, representing the lowest number of community infections since 47 were recorded on Aug. 13, just before a major spike in cases triggered by an infection cluster at Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul’s Seongbuk District and a political rally near Gwanghwamun Square. The country’s cumulative total now stands at 23,106.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Suicide on the Rise Again
Korea still has the most suicides in the OECD and their numbers are rising despite government efforts to reduce them.
According to Statistics Korea's 2019 data on causes of death released Tuesday, the country's suicide rate stood at 26.9 per 100,000 population last year. The rate fell from 28.5 in 2013 to 24.3 in 2017 but then rose again.
Suicide deaths increased from 12,463 in 2017 to 13,799 people last year or a daily average of 38. That made suicide was the country's fifth leading cause of death in all age groups but the leading cause among young people.

Online Classes Widen Gap Between High and Low Achievers
Eight out of 10 teachers believe that the gap between high and low achievers in their classes is widening as a result of online learning.
The figure comes from a report published Monday by the Korea Education and Research Information Service, which surveyed 51,201 teachers, 425,446 primary and secondary schoolchildren and 380,922 parents nationwide from July 29 to Aug. 1.
A whopping 79 percent of teachers said the achievement gap between students has widened since classes went online. Most or 64.9 percent attributed it to differences in self-motivation and independent learning skills.

Most Adults Complain of 'Coronavirus Blues'
The government is considering allocating a specific disease code for depression induced by the protracted coronavirus epidemic as more and more people complain of "coronavirus blues."
Job search portal Incruit conducted a series straw polls on the blues. In April, 54.7 percent complained of depression, but the rate increased to 69.2 percent in June, when quarantine measures were eased, and rose even further to 71.6 percent this month amid a second lockdown in the capital region.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Maryland media raises questions about reliability of Korean COVID-19 test kits
There is controversy surrounding the accuracy of COVID-19 test kits Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan purchased from South Korea several months ago. Gov. Hogan said there is no problem with the test kits after a local media raised questions about their reliability.
The controversy began on Friday when the Baltimore Sun raised questions about the reliability of the South Korean COVID-19 test kits. The newspaper reported that the University of Maryland lab is no longer using the COVID-19 test kits from South Korea as they returned a spate of false positive results.

US reimposes sanctions on Iran
The U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran on Monday on the grounds of Iran’s failure to fulfill the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As those subject to sanctions include figures involved in the country’s cooperation with North Korea on missiles, the sanctions are deemed to include an indirect warning against North Korea.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restore U.N. sanctions on 27 Iranian entities and people by triggering the “snapback” mechanism on Monday.
 

Musk says he would increase battery cell purchases from LG
“We intend to increase, not reduce battery cell purchases from Panasonic, LG and CALT,” said Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla, on his Twitter account on Monday, a day before “Tesla Battery Day.”
There have been rumors that the electric car company might unveil the prototype of the so-called “dream battery,” which is an all-solid battery developed by Tesla, on Tesla Battery Day. “Important note about Tesla Battery Day unveil tomorrow,” Must also tweeted on the day.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Posco back to full capacity, hints at better H2 earnings
South Korean steel giant Posco declared that its mills are now back at full operation levels to meet the anticipated rise in global steel demand that should help it fare better in second-half income statement and boost its undervalued stock.
In a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Posco said its third steel mill in Gwangyang resumed operations in July, putting all factories at near full capacity since last month.

S. Korea passses 4th extra budget of near $7 bn to fund coronavirus relief
South Korea approved the fourth extra budget for the year worth 7.81 trillion won ($6.72 billion), allowing low-income individuals and small businesses to start filing for aid applications on Thursday.
The National Assembly on Tuesday passed the supplementary budget bill by a vote of 272 to 10.

S. Korea’s tax income from stock trade to be doubled from last year and hit record-high
While tax income has fallen far short of expectations due to virus-induced recession, levies from stock trade would likely reach record-high in South Korea due to retail stock frenzy.
According to the Korea Exchange and National Tax Service on Tuesday, turnover at the main Kospi and secondary Kosdaq market from December 2019 to September 18 amounted to 4,030 trillion won ($3.4 trillion), with the daily tally averaging at 20.15 trillion won.

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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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