The Korean daily media headlines and humor
Friday, September 17, 2021
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Malaysia, Korea share National Day in August, are headed for increased cooperation”
Charge d’Affaires Ahmad Fahmi Ahmad Sarkawi of the Republic of Malaysia in Seoul said, “The 31st day of August is the official National Day of Malaysia and it marks the day when Malaysia became free from British colonial rule.” It is the happy day for the people of Malaysia like the Korean people who enjoys the 15th of August when they won their independence in 1945. To mark the auspicious occasion, The Korea Post media (publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean news publications since 1985) recently had a special interview with CDA Sarkawi of Malaysia at his office in Seoul. Details of the interview follow: Question: Please introduce your National Day in full detail. Answer: The 31st day of August is the official national day of Malaysia. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence on 31 August 1957, marking the day Malaya is free from British colonial administration. This year's Independence Day is the 6th anniversary. 'Malaysia Prihatin' which literally means Malaysia Cares, is retained as the theme for this year's Independence Day.
CDA Ahmad Sarkwai of Malaysia cited for support for bilingual Special Report
The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985, presented a prestigious Plaque of Citation today to Charge d’Affaires Ahmad Fahmi Ahmad Sarkawi of Malaysia in Seoul in appreciation and citation of exceptionally laborious efforts and work given in the preparation of bilingual Special Report on Malaysia and Korea-Malaysia relations, cooperation and friendship.
Spin-off of SK Innovation’s battery and E&P divisions approved
SK Innovation announced on Sept. 16 that several agenda items including partial amendments of statutes of the company and the approval for the split-off of its battery and oil exploration and development (E&P) have passed in an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting held at SUPEX Hall, SK Seorin Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul. SK Innovation’s Board of Directors (BoD) has approved the spin-off of both battery and oil exploration and development businesses for the reasons that the competitiveness and growth potential of the two need to be objectively acknowledged in the market and the separation of the two from the parent company would be of great help in uplifting the business value of SK Innovation.
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
S. Korea to Launch Solid-Fuel Space Rocket by 2024
South Korea plans to launch a domestically developed solid-fuel space rocket by 2024, officials said Thursday, and becoming one of just seven nations in the world with full launch capabilities. According to the Defense Ministry, the state-run Agency for Defense Development(ADD) conducted a successful combustion test of a solid-propellant engine for a space rocket in July. The rocket will carry a small, 500 kilogram reconnaissance satellite designed to watch over the Korean Peninsula. The defense and science ministries said the rocket will launch from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province in 2024 after inspections of the main parts of the solid-engine space launch vehicle. The defense ministry added that solid-fuel is more economical for placing small satellites into lower Earth orbit, and projected the demand for them to grow in the future.
BOK: GDP Could Slip up to 0.32%p Annually through 2050 Due to Carbon Taxes
The Bank of Korea(BOK) said South Korea may see a drop in annual economic growth as well as rising inflation through 2050 if countries around the world were to introduce a carbon tax. The central bank released a report on Thursday which looked at how international response to climate change may affect the nation's macroeconomics. The state bank projected that South Korea’s gross domestic product(GDP) would slip between zero-point-08 and zero-point-32 percentage points on average each year through 2050 due to global measures including carbon taxes. The report also forecast that the addition of these charges, would prompt South Korea’s inflation rate to jump by up to zero-point-09 percentage points.
S. Korea's NSC Discusses String of N. Korean Missile Launches
The South Korean presidential office’s National Security Council(NSC) held a standing committee meeting on Thursday and discussed the situations regarding a series of missile launches by North Korea. The committee members, including National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, vowed to further strengthen consultations with relevant countries based on the recent meetings among the nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan and the meeting between South Korean and Chinese foreign ministers. Meanwhile, they also lauded the results of the so-called two plus two meeting involving foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and Australia, during which the two nations pledged efforts to expand bilateral cooperation on various areas, including COVID-19, economy and climate change.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
N. Korea confirms missile launches from train
North Korea said Thursday that a railway-borne missile regiment held a firing drill a day earlier, confirming the launches, apparently from a train, of two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. "The railway-borne missile regiment took part in the drill with a mission to strike the target area 800 kilometers away from its location after moving to the central mountainous area at dawn on September 15," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA said the North accurately struck the target in the East Sea. The missiles appeared to have been launched from a train rather than a transporter erector launcher (TEL), according to photos released by state media. The launches came just days after the North tested a newly developed long-range cruise missile.
Top court confirms one-year prison term for ex-presidential aide in illegal surveillance case
The top court on Thursday confirmed a one-year prison sentence by a lower court for Woo Byung-woo, a former senior presidential aide during the Park Geun-hye government, for instructing illegal surveillance. Woo, who served as the presidential secretary for civil affairs for Park from 2015-16, was indicted in April 2017 on charges of dereliction of duty for overlooking a high-profile influence-peddling scandal that led to Park's impeachment that year and being involved in attempts to cover up the truth. He was also charged with abuse of power for instructing state intelligence officials to illegally spy on a special presidential inspector and obstructing his business. The inspector resigned while looking into alleged irregularities by Park's close aides, including her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.
S. Korea, Vietnam vow to boost defense ties during vice-ministerial talks
South Korea and Vietnam agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation in defense affairs and the arms industry during annual vice-ministerial talks, Seoul officials said. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and his Vietnamese counterpart, Hoang Xuan Chien, held the Defense Strategy Dialogue in the Southeast Asian nation and discussed regional security issues and ways to strengthen their defense ties, according to Seoul's defense ministry. "The two sides agreed to boost cooperation in the fields of maritime security and defense education and trainings, as well as exchanges of senior-level officials. They also vowed to continue efforts for stronger cooperation in the arms industry," the ministry said in a release. During the meeting, Park asked for Vietnam's active support for peace efforts involving North Korea, and the Vietnamese vice minister vowed his country's continued backing, it added.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
NK says ballistic missiles tested from new rail-borne system
North Korea said Thursday that its ballistic missile test the previous day was carried out by its new railway-borne missile system, stoking concerns over stalled talks on inter-Korean peace. “For the first time, we tested the viability of our railway-borne missile system to check on the combat readiness and strike capability,” the official Korean Central News Agency said. According to the KCNA, the missiles hit targets 800 kilometers away in the East Sea after being fired from a train. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two KN-23s, the codename given for North Korea’s version of Russia’s short-range missile Iskander, flew 200 kilometers longer than in the previous test in March this year. But the JCS declined to confirm whether that was a sign that Pyongyang was testing an upgraded missile.
SK Innovation wins shareholder approval for battery unit split-off
Shareholders of SK Innovation on Thursday approved a plan to split off the battery business, the company said With the endorsement, which was made at a general shareholders’ meeting held earlier in the day, SK Innovation, a refinery-to-battery subsidiary of South Korea‘s No. 3 conglomerate, will split into two entities, which will be respectively in charge of battery and petrochemical businesses. The new entities will be officially launched Oct. 1, according to the company. SK Innovation will serve as a holding firm, which owns a 100 percent stake in both of the entities, it said.
Hyundai Motor’s succession plan a headache to Hyundai Card
With the independence of Hyundai Motor Group’s financial arms looking increasingly likely, concerns are growing that they will face higher debt financing costs as a result. The prospects have been raised amid signs of governance restructuring for Hyundai Motor Group to allow a full-fledged family succession that would consolidate Chairman Chung Euisun’s control. A carve-out of financial arms is essential to Hyundai Motor Group’s transformation into a holding firm under Korea’s antitrust rules. The Korean law describes the doctrine of separation of industrial and financial capital, banning a nonfinancial conglomerate with a holding company structure from owning a stake in a financial services company.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Moon's UN trip feared to end empty-handed
President Moon Jae-in will depart for New York, Sunday, to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week, however, his trip is feared to end up as a fruitless one, with his peace message at the event likely clouded by North Korea's missile tests. In addition, given that Moon will not have summits with the leaders of countries immediately impacted by issues on the Korean Peninsula, it is highly likely he will return home empty-handed. According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon will visit the U.N. headquarters to give a speech during the first-day's session of the high-level General Debate, Tuesday. He will then fly to Honolulu to attend a ceremony marking the return of the remains of U.S. soldiers who fought and died in the Korean War.
Gov't loan forbearance to burden incoming administration next year
Concerns are mounting that the recent government decision to extend forbearance, whereby small businesses, self-employed and low-income earners are able to pause principal and interest payments on their loans for a designated period of time, will pose a major threat to the country's fiscal soundness for the incoming administration. The yearlong emergency financial assistance measures to help small businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a faster buildup of non-performing loans, the management of which will become much harder for creditors, or lenders, with their financial soundness facing the possibility of a rapid decline. The lengthening of relief measures is understandable due in large part to stricter government-imposed social distancing rules including gathering bans and shortening of business hours.
Wisdom we learned from our seven years in US
A 34-year-old author, who identifies herself only with her pen name Hae-gil, published a memoir this week about her and her parents' seven years of living as legal aliens in the United States, defining the nature of their life in the foreign land as a total failure. In the book, "Back Then, We Shouldn't Have Gone to the US," released by Daejeon-based small independent publisher txt.kcal, she narrates about her family's shattered American dream, and the wisdom she gained from the years of struggle and harsh living as a second-class citizen. One of the toughest challenges she and her parents had faced was downward social mobility, she said. In Korea, her family was upper-middle class, thanks to her hard-working parents who made a considerable fortune through their business. Her financially stable parents had a nice apartment as well as property in Seoul, enabling their only child Hae-gil to lead an impeccably satisfying life as a film student.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
S.Korea Tests Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
South Korea on Wednesday test-fired its first ballistic missile from a submarine. Cheong Wa Dae claimed that makes South Korea the seventh country to succeed in developing its own SLBM after the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K., France, and India. In fact it is the eighth since North Korea also has one. The missile was launched from the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, a 3,000-ton sub, in waters off the Agency for Defense Development's test site in Anheung, South Chungcheong Province as President Moon Jae-in and senior military officers looked on. It duly hit a target about 400 km from the launch site. Earlier tests had been carried out on ground and in water tanks, including a successful underwater ejection test early this month.
N.Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles into East Sea
North Korea lobbed two ballistic missiles with a range of 800 km into the East Sea on Wednesday in an apparent bid to draw attention to itself as its bigger neighbors gathered for talks. They come hard on the heels of two long-range cruise missiles it tested over the last weekend. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff here, the North fired the two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from South Pyongan Province at 12:34 p.m. and 12:39 p.m. Wednesday. The JCS believes they have a range of 800 km and flew at a 60 km altitude. They are presumed to be an improved version of the Iskander KN-23 missile that the North fired last March, extending the range by 200 km in just six months. The launch was the fifth armed provocation by the North this year.
Australia Signs New Defense Accord with U.S. and Britain
Australia has signed a new security partnership with the United States and Britain to share defense technologies in what analyst say is an effort to counter the potential threat from China. British officials have stressed that the pact was not a response to one country, but analysts believe it is an unmistakable sign of concern about China's military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. They have said it has highlighted the strategic importance of the region to both the United States and Britain. The new pact was announced Wednesday during a virtual joint statement President Joe Biden made along with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. President Biden praised the partnership. "We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may evolve.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
S. Korea successfully tests domestically developed submarine-launched ballistic missile
South Korea succeeded in launching its own independently developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for the first time Wednesday. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) said Wednesday that it had “succeeded in test-launching a submarine-launched ballistic missile with President Moon Jae-in and others in attendance” at its Anheung Test Center in South Chungcheong Province earlier that day. The agency explained that the missile had been launched underwater from a domestically produced 3,000-ton class Dosan Ahn Changho submarine, flying in a southward direction and hitting its target.
S. Korea asks China for cooperation on inter-Korean relations
While meeting at the Blue House with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he looked forward to next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics becoming “another turning point in improving relations with North Korea” after the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018. Moon also shared his hope that the event will “contribute to peace in Northeast Asia and in the world.” During his meeting with Wang that day, Moon said he hoped for “Beijing 2022 bringing a successful conclusion to the Northeast Asian ‘three-country Olympics relay’ that began in Pyeongchang in 2018,” the Blue House reported.
US prepared to work with N. Korea on humanitarian concerns, special envoy says
South Korea and the US made some progress Tuesday in discussions toward joint humanitarian cooperation efforts in North Korea, while also talking about approaches for building trust with Pyongyang. The response, which came the day after North Korea announced the test-firing of long-range cruise missiles, was seen as reflecting both sides’ commitment to keeping the Korean Peninsula situation on a stable footing. Meeting with reporters that morning after a meeting of the South Korea-US senior representatives on the North Korean nuclear issue in Tokyo, US Special Representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Sung Kim said, “We are prepared to work cooperatively with the DPRK to address areas of humanitarian concerns regardless of progress on denuclearization.”
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
N. Korea shows off nuclear power to reach all parts of S. Korea
North Korea announced on Thursday that the ballistic missiles launched on Wednesday were part of training conducted by the railway mobile missile regiment, which was newly established early this year. The country also released pictures of launching ballistic missiles from a train for the first time. Most ballistic missiles so far had been launched from transporter erector launchers. The Wednesday training seems to be part of the efforts to strengthen North Korea’s nuclear power to target South Korea by unexpectedly firing multiple strategic nuclear missiles to the South, which was ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in January this year.
Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas join forces to aid Afghans
Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama teamed up to support Afghan refugees. Reuters reported that the former presidents and first ladies are serving as honorary co-chairs of Welcom.US, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Afghan refugees settle in the U.S. The organization supports Afghan refugees in a variety of ways, such as supplies and financial support, talent donations, and provision of temporary housing. Major companies, including Microsoft (MS), Starbucks, and Walmart as well as government officials, such as Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and major civic groups have committed their support.
LG Electronics ramps up its smart factory operations
LG Electronics has overhauled its home appliance manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province to become an “AI-based automation factory,” where robots carry and assemble pieces to make home appliance products such as refrigerators. LG Electronics completed the first phase of reconstructing its home appliance manufacturing production building on Thursday at LG Smart Park in Changwon, where home appliance production lines that used to run separately in different buildings are combined under one roof. The integrated production building will now be the assembly line for fridges and water purifiers. LG SIGNATURE refrigerators, the company’s premium flagship line, will be produced here.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Oh Se-hoon Tried to Sell Yangjae-dong Land to Phi-City When He Was the Mayor of Seoul in 2010
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon sent a letter to Phi-City attached with a contract to sell land located in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu in December 2010, when he serve as the city’s mayor. In a parliamentary inspection in 2008, Oh said that he was paying great attention to the Phi-City project. However, in a TV debate of mayoral candidates for the by-election in April, Oh referred to the Phi-City project and said, the project “had nothing to do with the city of Seoul when I was in office.” The police are currently investigating him for distributing false information based on the Public Official Election Act. On September 8, the Kyunghyang Shinmun obtained the contract between the Seoul metropolitan government and Phi-City drawn up on December 16, 2010 through the Democratic Party of Korea advisor Kim Wu-cheol.
Poll Results of Presidential Candidates: Lee Jae-myung 27.0%, Yoon Seok-youl 24.2% and Hong Joon-pyo 15.6%
On September 9, the results of a poll showed a close race between Democratic Party of Korea’s candidate, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party candidate, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, with a slight difference in support that lies within the margin of error, and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo tracing them in third place. According to the polls on future presidential candidates released by OhmyNews and the polling firm, Realmeter this day, Governor Lee was the most popular candidate with 27.0% of support. He managed to gain 2.1% more support from a survey conducted two weeks ago when he came in second. The latest result was a record high for Lee. Yoon was backed by 24.2% of the respondents, a 2.3% drop from the previous survey.
Kim Woong Speaks on the Alleged Accusation Report, “I Might Have Delivered the Document after Receiving It from Son”
People Power Party lawmaker Kim Woong held a press conference at the National Assembly on September 8 and spoke on the alleged accusation report. He said, “I clearly state that I did not write the report (on questionable relations between prosecutors and the press).” He further explained, “In the conversation (with the Newsverse reporter), I revealed that I was the first in the party to raise the issue of lawmaker Choe Kang-wook. I had nothing to do with the actual accusation report.” Kim also spoke about the allegation that he received the report from an official in the Prosecution Service and delivered it to the party. He said, “I don’t remember if I received the report, and there is no way to check.”
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
WKF: Korea should not doubt US alliance after Afghan withdrawal: Heritage Foundation
South Koreans need not worry about any changes in security alliance with the United States including troop drawdown following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan as the two nations consider one another “brothers and sisters”, according to Edwin Feulner, founder of Washington-based think tank Heritage Foundation. “I would like to reaffirm something right here in Seoul,” Feulner said, during a session on “The Heritage Foundation Dialogue in Seoul: Views from Washington” at World Knowledge Forum on Thursday. “Afghanistan [withdrawal] … is a tragedy on personal level and humiliation on national security but it’s very different from what we have here.”
Try Everything: Corporate identity and people define startup success: FiscalNote CEO
Corporate identity and the people behind it define the power and sustainability of startups, according to Tim Hwang, a young CEO of FiscalNote, a fast-growing legal analytics firm and rising star in the venture community. Corporate culture comes ahead of developing technology when it comes to successfully building a startup, Hwang said as he shared his experience at "Try Everything” startup extravaganza held in Seoul on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Knowledge Forum hosted by Maeil Media Group. Technology evolves over time, but establishment of the right corporate culture, organization, and collaboration must become the pillar to a company.
SK Innovation will not rush with EV battery unit’s IPO: CEO
SK Innovation Co. in a shareholders meeting Thursday gave a go-ahead to its scheme of breaking up the operation into separate energy flagship and battery pure player, and said it won’t rush to go public with the new battery unit. The purpose of spinning off the EV battery business is to achieve independency in management to make timely investment, said SK Innovation CEO Kim Joon at an extraordinary shareholders meeting that blessed the creation of a pure-play battery company, tentatively named SK Battery. He answered IPO for SK Battery won’t likely happen next year as the parent wants to wait until its value is adequately recognized by the market.
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 Heraldwww.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.combfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en
Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com
LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net
Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com
Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
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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Korean-language Internet edition: http://www.koreapost.co.kr
English-language Internet edition: http://www.koreapost.com
Korean-language print newspaper:
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3801.pdf
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3802.pdf
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3803.pdf
http://www.koreapost.co.kr/pdf/list.php?category=&syear=2018&smonth=03&sday=26&hosu=40
English E-daily: http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=10690