Monday, November 16, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Global agricultural cooperation promoted
Hur Tae-woong, administrator of Rural Development Administration, says that RDA will remain committed to development of “digital agriculture” for sustainable growth of Korea’s farming industry. In an interview with Kim Hyung-dae, feature editor of the Korea Post, he said RDA plans to foster up to 5,500 elite young farmers by 2022. Plans call for offering support education for conflict management and creation of business models for start-ups. Administrator Hur also emphasized the need to strengthen cooperative ties with foreign countries in the field of agriculture. Following is a summary of the interview:

Biden’s victory offers challenges to non-conservative Korean government now in power
It appears that it is going to be an all-new ball game—in the United States and the Republic of Korea (south). President-elect Joe Biden won a meaningful victory in the latest Presidential elections in the United States—putting an end to the administration in the U.S. led by his predecessor, Mr. Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump has long been considered a very unwelcome person among many people in Korea for a number of things, among which stands out his bombshell demand: South Korea must pay five-six times more than the present level of share of the defense cost to support the U.S. Forces stationed in Korea.

Genesis BBQ, U.N. Habitat Korea sign MOU for global social contribution
A chicken franchise Genesis BBQ concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Committee of the United Nations HABITAT to promote global social contribution and youth start-ups and talents.
"Genesis BBQ and U.N. Habitat have decided to establish a close cooperation system for global social contribution, youth start-ups and human resources development, and create synergy in areas such as public service campaigns and cultural cooperation projects," the company said on Nov. 13.
"Under this pact, the two sides will cooperate in global social contribution activities and foster global youth start-ups and talents to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," it said.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Moon Signs World's Biggest RCEP Trade Deal
President Moon Jae-in and leaders of 14 Asia-Pacific countries on Sunday signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the world's largest trade deal.
The RCEP deal brings together the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The leaders of the 15 members of the economic bloc signed the trade deal in the video-linked RCEP Summit after eight years of negotiations for the agreement were recently completed.

S. Korea's COVID-19 Cases Top 200 for Second Day
Daily COVID-19 infections in South Korea surpassed 200 for the second consecutive day on Sunday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday that 208 new cases were detected throughout Saturday, raising the nation's total caseload to 28-thousand-546.
The daily figure posted triple-digit growth for eight consecutive days and exceeded 200 for the second straight day.

N. Korea Keeps Mum on Biden's Victory
North Korea has stayed mum for over a week about Joe Biden's victory in the United States presidential election.
As of Sunday morning, North Korean media outlets have not mentioned the U.S. presidential election and have not carried any message toward Washington either.
Observers say North Korea, whose leader has built personal relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, appears to be careful in making any response to the election results as Trump is refusing to concede his defeat.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New infections exceed 200 for 2nd day on cluster infections
South Korea's new coronavirus cases exceeded 200 for a second straight day on Sunday due to cluster infections, with health authorities considering raising the social distancing scheme by a notch in the five-tier system.
The country added 208 more COVID-19 cases, including 176 local infections, raising the total caseload to 28,546, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The daily new cases stayed in the triple digits for the eighth consecutive day. The cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 73 days with a mark of 205 on Saturday.

N.K. leader presides over politburo meeting in first public appearance in 25 days
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party in his first public appearance in 25 days and discussed nationwide anti-coronavirus measures, state media said Monday.
During the enlarged politburo meeting held Sunday, Kim discussed "COVID-19 and the state anti-epidemic situation and clarified the tasks for the Party, military and economic fields to further tighten the emergency anti-epidemic front," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
He also stressed "the need to keep a high alert, build a tight blocking wall and further intensify the anti-epidemic work, being aware of the important responsibility for the security of the state and the well-being of the people," the KCNA added.

Seoul mulls stricter social distancing as new infections exceed 200 for 2nd day
South Korea is mulling strengthening its social distancing rules as the country's daily new coronavirus cases exceeded 200 for a second straight day on Sunday due to cluster infections.
The country added 208 more COVID-19 cases, including 176 local infections, raising the total caseload to 28,546, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement.
Daily infections stayed in the triple digits for the eighth consecutive day. The cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 73 days with a mark of 205 on Saturday.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
S. Korea signs world’s largest free trading deal
South Korea on Sunday signed a mega free trade pact that would create the world’s largest open trading bloc of 15 economies, including China and Japan.
President Moon Jae-in formally inked the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement at a virtual summit with the leaders of 14 partner countries, including 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said.
“We note that the RCEP Agreement is an unprecedented mega regional trading arrangement that comprises of a diverse mix of developed, developing and least developed economies of the region,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

S. Korea′s ‘seriously’ considers stricter social distancing
South Korea’s new daily COVID-19 case count topped 200 for the second consecutive day on Sunday due to sporadic clusters of infections, prompting health authorities to “seriously” consider tightening antivirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday that the government issued a “preliminary warning” for the Greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province grappling with surges in coronavirus cases.
Korea reported 208 new coronavirus cases -- 176 locally transmitted and 32 imported from overseas -- in the 24 hours ending Saturday at midnight, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Ruling party envisions moving National Assembly from Seoul to Sejong
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is considering whether to move 11 of the country’s 18 parliamentary committees out of Seoul as part of a plan to relocate the National Assembly to Sejong, some 120 kilometers south of the capital.
The relocation is included in the party’s master plan to make Sejong the true administrative capital of the country, party officials said. It is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.
“We will develop Seoul into an economic and financial center of East Asia with a long-term perspective,” Democratic Party Chairman Lee Nak-yon said in a meeting Friday.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Demographic crisis looming large over Korea
Korea often refers to the course Japan's economy has taken, as the slowdown in growth and diminishing population that preceded in the neighboring country is currently taking place here as well.
Japan's population has been shrinking for over a decade, and the world's third-largest economy is the most-aged society, with the highest percentage of elderly people among countries around the world.
Its population of people aged 65 and above comprised a record 28.41 percent of Japan's population last year, and the birthrate stood at 1.42 in 2019, in a fourth consecutive year of decline.

'Minari' star Youn Yuh-jung nominated for best actress at Gotham Awards
Youn Yuh-jung, who stars as loving grandmother in director Lee Isaac Chung's "Minari," has been nominated for Best Actress at the 30th Gotham Awards, which honors independent films.
The other nominees in the category are Jessica Buckley ("I'm Thinking of Ending Things"), Nicole Beharie ("Miss Juneteenth"), Carrie Coon ("The Nest") and Frances McDormand ("Nomadland"). The ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2021.
"Minari" tells the story of a Korean-American family that moves to rural Arkansas in the 1980s, as Jacob (Steven Yeun) and his wife Monica (Han Ye-ri) attempt to grow crops on the land that they've purchased. In the film, Youn plays the grandmother Soon-ja, who moves to America to live with Jacob's family.

Moon seeks to rekindle nuclear talks at Tokyo Olympics
President Moon Jae-in hinted Saturday that South Korea will seek to revive stalled denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea at next year's Tokyo Olympics.
The negotiations on North Korea's nuclear disarmament have been deadlocked since the February 2019 Hanoi summit between Washington and Pyongyang failed to reach a deal. Seoul has recently been floating the Olympics-linked idea based on its successful track record of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, in which the reclusive state participated, thereby leading to both improved inter-Korean and U.S.-North relations.
"As the PyeongChang Winter Games were the peace Olympics, if the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics pass without safety and coronavirus concerns, it will give the world greater hope for overcoming the coronavirus and bringing peace to the region," Moon said during a virtual East Asia Summit (EAS).
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Chinese netizens mock US elections
The attitude of China’s state-run media on the US presidential election is somewhere between “strategic patience” and “deliberate disregard.” This approach seems to reflect awareness both of public opinion in China and the delicate nature of US-China relations.
This lackadaisical attitude is best exemplified by China Central Television (CCTV). On Nov. 3, the day of the election, CCTV’s flagship news program Xinwen Lianbo didn’t provide any coverage — not even a news brief — on the subject.
On Nov. 4, CCTV ran a single story, about one minute and 30 seconds long, toward the end of the program. Even that story only provided a brief recap of the count and quoted American media describing the US as facing “the worst division since World War II” and reporting “a record increase in gun sales” amid fears of post-election violence.

Climate change seen through rapid rise of temperatures throughout S. Korea
On Aug. 1, 2018, a 76-year record high temperature was recorded in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, when the mercury reached 41 degrees Celsius. When will the new record be set?
Speaking at a conference of the Korean Society of Climate Change Research (KSCC) in Jeju on Nov. 6, Choi Young-eun, professor of geography at Konkuk University, said, “In projecting maximum high temperatures while taking climate change into account, it has been predicted that they will reach 43 degrees in 20 to 40 years even with proactive reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, and up to 49 degrees if we continue emitting greenhouse gases at present levels without reduction policies.”
Choi and her research team calculated changes in South Korea’s climate extremes and future projections based on data for daily high and low temperatures and daily precipitation for the past 47 years (1973-2019) and a 60-year period in the future (2041-2100) under representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios of RCP2.6 (where humans immediately reduce their greenhouse gas emissions) and RCP8.5 (where no such efforts are made).

The US has mostly lost in Trump’s trade war with the rest of the world
The four years of the Donald Trump administration have been four years of trade balance warfare for the US’ major trading partners, including South Korea, China, and Germany. But in terms of comprehensive trade balance indicators, the four years have ended in failure for Trump. Among the US’ top eight trade partners, the only ones that the US has succeeded in improving its trade balance with over the past four years are South Korea and the UK; in the cases of China, France, Mexico, and Taiwan, the trade deficits have only grown. This signals the declining significance of South Korea and the UK as part of the US’ trade deficit distribution during the Trump era, and the growing importance of other major economies.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Obesity Linked to Irregular Sleeping Patterns
Sleep is related to people's physical as well as mental health, and lack of it can cause cardiovascular illnesses that could be fatal.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that sleep disorders are directly linked to obesity.
Scripps Research in California asked 120,000 participants to wear electronic sensors to gauge their sleeping patterns every day for two years. Using that wealth of data, Scripps Research compared the relationship between sleep and body fat levels.

Shorter Working Week to Go into Force for Smaller Companies
Small and mid-sized companies employing 50 to 299 workers will also have to implement the shorter working week 50 days from now.
The working week was already slashed for bigger companies since July 2018, but the government gave smaller firms a grace period to adjust to the changes.
Small and mid-sized companies complain that they cannot afford to make the necessary adjustments at this time.

Fines for Mask Refuseniks Start
From Friday anyone refusing to wear a mask properly in public facilities face a fine of up to W100,000 (US$1=W1,115).
Operators of facilities who fail to remind customers to abide by mask regulations could be fined up to W3 million. The mask must fully cover nose and mouth.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that the one-month grace period has now ended and fines will be enforced.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Pres. Moon signs China-led economic partnership
President Moon Jae-in officially signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest multilateral trade agreement on Sunday.
President Moon signed the partnership at the fourth RCEP summit, which took place virtually, at the presidential office on the day. “The world’s largest free trade agreement has been signed with young dynamic ASEAN as its center in the face of the challenges of Covid-19, spread of protectionism, and a crisis in multilateralism,” Moon said when signing the agreement. “We have translated into action the protection of the value of free trade.”
The world’s largest free trade agreement comprises 15 countries, including South Korea, China and Japan, plus 10 ASEAN countries, Australia and New Zealand. Their combined trade volume, GCP, and population account for a third of the world's total. The purpose of the pact is to bolster trade by lowering tariffs among its members and establishing a systematic trade and investment system.

KAIST wins gold and bronze in Ironman Olympics
Kim Byeong-wook and Lee Joo-hyun of KAIST’s Angel Robotics won a gold and a bronze medal respectively in the wearable robot field of the Cybathlon 2020 competition where disabled players match against each other as a cyborg.
KAIST announced Sunday that the two players of Team Angel Robotics, led by Professor Gong Gyeong-cheol of mechanical engineering, won medals in the match held at KAIST in Daejeon on Friday and Saturday.  
Cybathlon is an international match called the “Ironman Olympics” where disabled players carry out various missions using robotics. The word is a compound of cyborg and Athlon which means a match. It first started in Zurich, Switzerland in 2016 and this is the second Cybathlon.  

Ulleung Airport to be built by 2025
Ulleung Island will be connected to Seoul by flight by 2025, reducing the travel time from seven hours to about an hour. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Sunday that the construction of a new airport on Ulleung would begin as an agreement has been reached regarding the environmental impact assessment.
A total of 665.1 billion won will be invested, and the airport, which is expected to be completed by 2025, will accommodate small airplanes carrying 50 or fewer passengers and be equipped with a 1,200-meter runway and a passenger terminal.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Working Twelve Hours a Day, Six Days a Week for the Minimum Wage: No Time for Despair
Gim Hyeon-wu (36, alias) has been delivering food since this summer. A month ago, when he entered a snack bar to pick up the tteokbokki he was to deliver, his six-year-old daughter, who was eating inside with his wife, called, “Dad!” He never imagined he would come across his family. He was embarrassed.
He felt the same way when he had to cough up 65,000 won because the sushi he delivered shifted to one side when he passed a speed bump. At times like these, he finds himself recalling the past. Why was he fired when he had never shied away from the hard work for eight years?
Gim was one of the 585 non-regular workers at the GM Korea Changwon factory, who were laid off on December 31, 2019. For a company to lay off workers on a massive scale, it needs to fulfill the conditions for “layoffs due to management problems.” But non-regular workers who are employed by an in-house contractor can easily be fired, if party A (GM Korea) terminates the contract with these contractors. In January 2018, this factory released 64 non-regular workers in this way.

Idols Clad in IT Are Born Again as Avatars
As the untact trend spreads, information and communications companies are actively combining their “reality” technology, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), with the entertainment industry. Popular idol bands are reborn as avatars, and the synergy between the industries is moving beyond time and space to create new opportunities for profits.
Naver Z, which operates Jepeto, an AR avatar service, announced on November 10 that it obtained investments of 5 billion won from JYP Entertainment, a major entertainment agency in South Korea. Naver Z plans to create content using the global intellectual property (IP) owned by JYP with the latest investment. Last month, a teaser was released showing a dance performance by a 3D avatar of the JYP idol band, Twice developed by Jepeto. The teaser drew 1.7 million views in just a week after its release.

Kang Kyung-wha Met with Biden’s Allies and Stressed “Summit-Level” Attention on N.K.-U.S. Talks
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, currently in the U.S., met with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s allies in Washington on November 10 (local time) and emphasized “summit-level” interest and priority to resume dialogue between North Korea and the United States.
This day, Minister Kang met with correspondents at the South Korean embassy in Washington D.C. and shared the details of the meetings. She appealed for President-elect Biden’s interest in bilateral talks with North Korea after taking into consideration the dialogue between the two countries under the Donald Trump administration. She also discussed the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula when she met with officials overseeing foreign affairs in the Trump administration, including White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.

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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Govt mulls option of merging Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines
Korea’s two full-service air carriers fueled with state bailout fund since pandemic crisis may go under one roof, according to an ambitious state-led restructuring scheme that would nationalize flag carriers and face strong resistance from stakeholders of the two airliners as well as antitrust issues.
According to sources close to the matter on Thursday, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) working on a restructuring outline for Asiana Airlines under state creditors and fund life-line following the flop in sale to a consortium led by HDC Hyundai Development is mulling a broader outline to build economies of scale in full-service air business after it gains a sizeable stake in Korean Air Lines through equity investment.
Under the outline, KDB will take up 1 trillion won ($896.1 million) in new stock issues by Hanjin KAL, the parent of Korean Air Lines. Through the proceeds, Hanjin KAL would buy the 30.77 percent stake in Asiana that its parent Kumho Industrial failed to sell in an open tender.

Hyundai Motor to expand US EV lineups to 7 SUVs and 3 sedans by 2022
Hyundai Motor Group is readying to bolster EV lineup to 10 models from current seven by the end of 2022 in the United States on expectations for a demand surge under Joe Biden presidency.
The seven eco-friendly cars currently available in the U.S. are hybrids and plug-in hybrids of Sonata and Ioniq, battery EVs of Kona and Ioniq and a fuel-cell EV Nexo.
Hyundai Motor America plans to expand the lineup to four hybrids (Elantra, Sonata, Tucson and Santa Fe), two plug-in hybrids (Tucson and Santa Fe), three battery EVs (Kona, Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6) and one fuel-cell EV (Nexo).

China turns away chartered planes for Samsung employees to Xi’an, Tianjin
China’s unpredictable and inconsistent entry barriers amid global resurgence of Covid-19 are baffling South Korean companies who have been pinning hopes in economic recovery in China for exports battered by subdued global demand elsewhere.
Two chartered planes carrying Samsung Electronics Co. employees under a fast track procedure for business purpose were turned away by their destinations Xi’’an and Tianjin, while a plane by LG Display was cleared to enter Guangzhou.
The foreign ministry is checking whether the entry ban of the chartered flights is related to quarantine issues as it has not been aware of any changes in the fast-track policy for business visits. No other flights have been rejected.

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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.comservice@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
Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports www.colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet www.bogotafreeplanet.com,bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal www.eluniversal.com.mx/english 
Andes www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/
Ecuador Times www.ecuadortimes.net/ 
The Jordan Times www.jordantimes.com/
LSM.lv www.lsm.lv/
TheBalticTimes www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com,
estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais https://english.elpais.com/
Philippine Daily Inquirer www.inquirer.net/
Daily News Hungary https://dailynewshungary.com/
Budapest Times www.budapesttimes.hu/
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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM
Sri Lanka: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
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