Tuesday, April 27, 2021

 

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

 

The Korea Post ( http://www.koreapost.com/ )

Korea remembers gallantry, dedication of Commonwealth regiments to defend Korea

On April 23 this year, ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in Seoul, together with the minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of Korea hosted the celebration of 70th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong in the Gapyeong-gum county of the Gangwon Province, some 70 kilometers northeast of Seoul.

“I will endeavor to create legal, institutional measures to improve the income, livelihood of our artists”

Chairman Lee Beom-heon of the Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organizations (FACO) of Korea in Seoul said, "We will do our best to provide legal and institutional support to our artists so that they can maintain basic livelihood through their creative activities."

Enhacing the role of Ombudsman for human rights, freedom, legitimate interests of people

The following article was contributed to The Korea Post media by Vice President Rhee IKHyeon of  Mokwon University.—Ed.

 Uzbekistan is carrying out a systematic work to fulfill international commitments, to strengthen the legal and institutional framework of the protection of human rights, to implement international human rights standards in national legislation and to intensify cooperation with international organizations on the protection of human rights.

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KBS ( http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/ )


Japan Repeats Dokdo Claims in New Diplomatic Paper

Japan has renewed its territorial claim to the South Korea's Dokdo islets in the East Sea in its latest diplomatic paper.

It's the first diplomatic paper released since the launch of the Suga administration in September last year.

 S. Korea's Economy Grows 1.6% in Q1, Recovers to Pre-COVID Levels

South Korea's economy rebounded in the first quarter to recover to levels seen before the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to the tentative data by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the country's real gross domestic product(GDP) grew one-point-six percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter.

Vaccination of Soldiers over 30 to Begin Wednesday

South Korea will begin inoculating 126-thousand soldiers aged over 30 from Wednesday.

Health authorities said on Tuesday that the eligible soldiers will receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, beginning with front-line and outback units and other essential troops.


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Yonhap ( http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr )

Moon urges halt to 'politicization' of COVID-19 vaccine issue

President Moon Jae-in asked South Koreans on Monday not to "politicize" the COVID-19 vaccine issue, as his government is striving to assure them that the country has already secured deals for enough supply of doses and that the overall inoculation program is on track.

New cases at 500 on less testing; Seoul to ramp up vaccine rollout

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell below 600 on Monday for the first time in six days due to fewer tests over the weekend as health authorities accelerated the country's inoculation drive

S. Korean Youn Yuh-jung of 'Minari' wins best supporting actress Oscar

Youn Yuh-jung has won best supporting actress at this year's Academy Awards for her performance in the immigrant film "Minari," becoming the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar.

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The Korea Herald ( http://www.koreaherald.com )


Vaccinations will proceed on schedule: acting prime minister

South Korea will accelerate its COVID-19 vaccination campaign with the additional vaccine doses it recently secured, the acting prime minister said Monday, dispelling concerns that a shortage could threaten the goal of achieving herd immunity by November.

Moon to meet Novavax CEO on vaccine production

President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold a face-to-face meeting with Novavax CEO Stanley Erck on Tuesday amid the pending production of the US drugmaker's new COVID-19 vaccine here, according to Cheong Wa Dae on Monday.

Korea, China not in talks over Quad alliance: Defense Ministry

South Korea and China have not discussed the Quad alliance, a US-led democratic coalition comprising the US, Australia, India and Japan to contain an increasingly assertive China, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.
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The Korea Times ( http://www.koreatimes.co.kr )


Biz community joins calls for pardon of Samsung heir

South Korea's major business lobby groups on Tuesday said they have submitted a petition for the pardon of Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, to the presidential office for the sake of the national economy amid a global semiconductor shortage.

LG remains unchanged in launching new spin-off entity with disputed name

LG Group said this week that it has not changed its decision to name a holding company that it will "spin-off " May 1, LX, amid an ongoing dispute over "infringement of copyright" with the Korea Land And Geospatial Informatix Corporation that has used the "brand" for some time.

Gov't dismisses fears of COVID-19 vaccine fiasco

The government sought to dismiss concerns over a possible shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and their safety, Monday, which could hamper its efforts to meet the goal of achieving herd immunity by November, amid growing fears over another wave of infections.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun ( http://english.hani.co.kr )


S. Korea still fares better in COVID-19 pandemic than countries with high vaccination rates, statistics show

While more than a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered worldwide, countries that have prioritized vaccines, such as the UK and US, are still reporting more new cases of the infectious disease than countries that have emphasized disease control such as South Korea and Australia. That shows once more that the virus can’t be stopped by relaxing disease control measures and trusting entirely in inoculation.”

 

S. Korean companies name US-China tussle as biggest business challenge

South Korean businesses named the conflict between the US and China as the trade issue creating the biggest headaches in their international activities.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry released Sunday findings from a telephone and email survey of 301 South Korean businesses (58 large corporations, 141 middle-market companies and 102 SMEs) earlier this month.

Sharp scuffle between S. Korea, Japan in US review of N. Korea policy

A sharp scuffle appears to be going down behind the scenes between the governments of South Korea, the US and Japan about the outcome of the US review of North Korean policy, which the Biden administration will soon be announcing. Last-minute efforts to adjust the ultimate policy seem to be dragging on, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in firmly expressing his government’s stance during a recent interview with the press.


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Chosun Ilbo ( http://english.chosun.com )


40% of Young Couples Can't Afford Own Home

Four in 10 young couples cannot afford their own home five years into their marriage, according to a study out by Statistics Korea on Sunday.

 

Statistics Korea studied 212,287 couples who registered their marriage between November 2014 and October of 2015 and found that 40.7 percent still did not own a home in 2019 as prices soared ever further out of their reach.

Korea's Cosmetics Exports Hit Record

Korea's cosmetics exports reached a new record last year. According to the Korea Customs Service, Korea exported US$6.12 billion of cosmetics in 2020, up 14.8 percent from the previous year (US$1=W1,117).
 

Koreans Still Work Long Hours Despite Shorter Working Week

The mandatory 52-hour cap on the working week has not actually reduced office hours very much, a recent study suggests.

Nam Jae-ryang at the state-run Korea Labor Institute analyzed labor conditions by different profession in June 2018, before the cap was imposed for companies with more than 300 staff, and June of 2019, using Labor Ministry data from 33,000 companies. He found that actual weekly working time declined by only 0.5 to 1.3 minutes.

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The Dong-A Ilbo ( http://english.donga.com/ )


Agenda at the coming ROK-US summit

The South Korean public is hoping for progress in the issue of COVID-19 vaccine supply from the upcoming ROK-U.S. summit scheduled in May. Seven out of 10 people believe that the South Korean president should directly discuss vaccine supply with U.S.-based companies.

KT, SKT, Samsung jointly launch world’s first emergency telecom network

South Korean mobile operators KT Corporation and SK Telecom have launched the world’s first national emergency telecommunications network, in collaboration with Samsung Electronics, to help cope with natural disasters and emergencies.

Half of police did not make appointment over distrust of vaccine

COVID-19 vaccinations for essential workers, such as police officers, coast guards, and firefighters, began on Monday but vaccine appointment rate was relatively low among police officers, who make up the majority of essential workers.


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The KyungHyang Shinmun ( http://english.khan.co.kr/ )


Pfizer Gives South Korea Room to Breathe, the Only Issue Now Is On-Time Delivery

The government secured additional COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer for 20 million people (40 million doses), bringing the nation a step closer to the goal of herd immunity by November. The number of vaccines that will be introduced in South Korea has increased from doses for 79 million people to 99 million people. Now the issue is whether or not the vaccines can arrive on schedule.

 


Democratic Party Launches a Special Real Estate Committee and Reviews Easing Property Taxes for People with Single Homes

On April 27, the Democratic Party of Korea officially launched a special committee on real estate and began discussing changes in the direction of the party’s real estate policies. Reducing the scope of homes subject to property taxes, increasing tax exemptions, and reducing tax benefits for people with multiple homes engaging in the leasing business are some of the ideas being mentioned. A key Democratic Party official told the reporter over the phone on April 25, “From inside the party, people have suggested revising the real estate tax system, such as raising the maximum limit for property tax cuts on the property owned by a household with only one home from property assessed at a value of 600 million won to 900 million won,” and added, “When the special real estate committee is launched, they will discuss the details.”

 

The People Power Party Caught in the Sticky Issue of Pardons

The People Power Party is having trouble getting away from the heated debate on the pardons of two former presidents, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. The party’s leaders and senior lawmakers continue to argue for the need to pardon the two presidents. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon (Park Hyung-joon) personally recommended the pardons to President Moon Jae-in. But inside the party, there is opposition claiming that such an attempt could be seen as a return to the past following an overwhelming victory in the by-elections. Party members voiced concerns that if the issue of pardons emerged as an issue in the next party congress, it could leave a blow on the entire party.


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Maeil Business News Korea ( http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/ )

Korea’s GDP adds 1.6% Q1, faster than expected on pickup in domestic demand

South Korean economy recovered faster than expected in the first quarter, gaining 1.6 percent from the previous quarter, on enlivened corporate and consumer spending backed by government stimuli, according to preliminary figures from the Bank of Korea Tuesday.

SK IET prices IPO at top end on record institutional demand

SK IE Technology Co. (SK IET), world’s top Tier 1 wet process electric vehicle battery separator, has easily priced its initial public offering at the top end of 105,000 won ($93) to raise 2.3 trillion won after hoisting up the bar in institutional book-building for a Korean IPO.

 

Market analysts list potential stocks vulnerable to short sale once trade returns

Stocks that could potentially be removed from large-cap tracking benchmarks in Korea and MSIC index could become first targets for shot selling once the cap on the trade is lifted in May after a 14-month ban starting with big-cap issues.


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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
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/
The Baltic Times  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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