Wedsday, December 21, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
“We will make Uijeongbu a business hub of our region offering many good jobs!”
Mayor Kim Dong-geun of the Uijeongbu City said, “We will try to make Uijeongbu a business hub city Korea that offers many good jobs! “ Speaking at recent interview with The Korea Post media, Mayor Kim stressed' “Uijeongbu is a city that is good for business and a region offering many, good jobs.” “Even though the Uijeongbu City is the central city of the northern Gyeonggi region, there is not a single large business company that can represent our region,” Kim said remorsefully. “It is a city where only typical residential facilities are concentrated,” he said.
UN General Assembly supports the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
The adoption of the resolution was proposed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in 2020. The resolution highlights the important role of parliaments in re-committing to unity, solidarity and multilateral cooperation to support an inclusive, resilient and lasting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate action for sustainable development while leaving no one behind.
Dongwon Vice Chairman Lee named chairman of Pennsylvania Univ. alumni association in Korea
Lee Myung-woo, vice chairman of Dongwon Industries’ business and holding division, was appointed as the chairman of the Alumni Association in Korea of the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Vice-Chairman Lee will serve as the chairman of the UPenn association for two years until December 2024. Lee earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. Since then, he has served as CEO of Samsung Electronics' U.S. home appliance division, CEO of Sony Korea, and chairman of POSCO's board of directors.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
N.Korea 'Test-Launches 1st Spy Satellite'
North Korea conducted an "important final-stage test" of a spy satellite on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency claimed on Monday. It claimed the satellite was launched from the Sohae rocket launch site in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province. This suggests that the two rockets the North fired at a steep angle into the East Sea that day were designed to carry a satellite, but the South Korean military said they were medium-range ballistic missiles.
Provincial Airports Empty Again as Int'l Flights Resume
The resumption of international flights has meant that Korea's provincial airports are going quiet again as tourists make an enthusiastic beeline for overseas destinations. Budget airlines are reducing domestic flights that brought in some much-needed business during the coronavirus pandemic. Jeju Air has already rerouted some of its weekly flights to the southern resort island and Yeosu. Jin Air no longer flies between Ulsan and Gimpo since last month, while Air Busan is considering stopping flights from Gimpo to Ulsan and Jeju in March.
Gov't Targets $40,000 Per-Capita GDP
The government and ruling People Power Party on Monday set a target of a per-capita GDP of US$40,000 by the end of President Yoon Suk-yeol's five-year term. Sung Il-jong, the head of the PPP's policy committee, said, "We decided to reflect the vision of achieving a per-capita GDP of $40,000 by 2027 in the government's operating plan from next year." Korea's per-capita GDP only surpassed $10,000 in 1994 but swiftly reached $20,000 in 2006 and $30,000 in 2017.
Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
U.S. F-22s in Korea for training near Jeju with Korean, U.S aircraft
American F-22 stealth fighters joined a Korea-U.S. air drill near Jeju on Tuesday, as U.S. strategic assets continue to rotate through the Korean Peninsula. The F-22 Raptors, which are returning to Korea for the first time in four years, flew in from an American air base in Okinawa, and joined U.S. B-52H Stratofortress, a long-range subsonic strategic bomber, four Korean F-35 Lighting II stealth fighters and four F-15K Slam Eagles, multi-role fighters, for training. The drill took place in Korea's air defense identification zone southwest of Jeju on Tuesday, according to the Defense Ministry.
Prosecution seeks 5 year prison term for composer Don Spike
The prosecution sought a five-year prison sentence for composer Don Spike, currently under arrest on charges of using methamphetamine on multiple occasions, during Tuesday’s trial at the Seoul Northern District Court in Dobong District, northern Seoul. The 45-year-old composer whose real name is Kim Min-su was arrested in September at a hotel in southern Seoul. He was charged with purchasing 45 million won ($34,900) worth of methamphetamine on nine occasions since December 2021 and using it on 14 occasions, often with accomplices.
Recession possibility mentioned, briefly, by Bank of Korea governor
Korea might be nearing a recession, Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said during a press conference held in central Seoul on Tuesday. Whether or not we are “headed toward a recession, it’s borderline,” the central banker commented. Based on the wording of his statement, the timing of a possible recession is not clear.“The economic situation in the first half of next year is projected to be difficult,” Rhee noted. The implementation of central bank policy to tame inflation could “aggravate the recession” if the bank responds too late, but market trust could be lost if the bank responds too early, he added.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Yoon to communicate directly with the public next year
It was reported on Tuesday that President Yoon Suk Yeol decided not to hold a New Year's press conference. Instead, the dominant belief of the Presidential Office is that President Yoon will try to communicate directly with the public, such as conducting work reports by ministries for a month from Wednesday in the form of a ‘report to the public.’ “It has not been decided yet, and we are considering various channels to communicate with the public,” an official from the presidential office said in a phone call with The Dong-A Ilbo on Tuesday.
SK E&S earns approval for world’s biggest blue hydrogen project
SK E&S, a South Korean energy company, has earned regulatory approval from the government to venture into one of the biggest blue hydrogen projects in the world. In the Deliberative Committee on Regulatory Exceptions on Tuesday, SK E&S said it earned a special demonstration case approval for the “production of LNG cold-energy based blue hydrogen and the establishment and operation of liquefied hydrogen plants.”
Japan practically raises interest rates first in 15 years
The Bank of Japan modified its yield curve control tolerance range, shocking markets all over the world. Japanese media outlets reported that the Bank of Japan moved to “practically allow interest rates to rise.” Bond yields spiked in the U.S. and major economies, and the markets in Asia fell sharply. Bloomberg said, “Japan’s Kuroda shocked the markets around the world.” Despite interest rate hikes by the U.S. Fed and central banks around the world, Japan has employed expansionary policies, unlike other major advanced economies, holding its ultra-low benchmark interest rates steady for 10 years, dubbed as “Abenomics,”
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
KEPCO in talks of estimated $31 bn nuclear export deal with Turkiey
South Korea’s state-run utility company Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) is in talks with the Turkish government for a possible nuclear power deal worth about $30.8 billion, raising expectations for another mega export of homegrown reactors after the successful deal with Poland in October. According to the KEPCO mid- to long-term business purpose report 2023-2027 obtained by Maeil Business Newspaper on Wednesday, KEPCO is seeking to initiate a joint business feasibility study for a nuclear power plant project with the Turkish government from next year.
South Korea proceeds with plan for financial stability after Fed’s rate hike
South Korea’s Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said on Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by half a percentage point was an expected move. Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho presided over a meeting on Thursday to discuss macroeconomic and financial issues with high-ranking financial officers, including central bank chief Rhee Chang-yong and Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun.
S.Korea’s November export price drops most in almost 14 years on won, oil
South Korea’s export price fell the most in nearly 14 years in November, marking the first dip in three months because of a stronger won, fall in crude oil prices and sluggish global demand. The export price index reached 125.82 in November, down 5.2 percent from 132.74 a month ago, according to the Bank of Korea data released Thursday. It is the first drop in three months and the most on-month fall since April 2009. The index, however, is still 8.6 percent higher compared with November last year.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Why there haven’t been updates on probe into N. Korean fisher repatriation
Prosecutors are entering the final stage of their investigation into the previous administration’s response to North Korea’s killing of a South Korean civil servant in the waters off Korea’s western coast in 2020, indicting and detaining Suh Hoon, the former Blue House national security advisor. On the other hand, in the last two months there have been no updates about another national security case directed at the previous administration — namely, the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen to the North. This is in stark contrast to the beginning of the case, when the presidential office, National Intelligence Service, Unification Ministry and prosecutors slammed the repatriation in concert as a “crime against humanity.”
Japan must heed neighbors’ fears over ramped up attack capabilities
This Friday, the Japanese government plans to amend its National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG), and Medium Term Defense Program (MTDP). The major changes include the reorganization of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), a large increase in defense spending, and the acquisition of “enemy base strike capabilities,” which would allow Japan to launch direct strikes against missile bases in North Korea or China in an emergency situation. While they don’t amend the Constitution itself, the changes pose a serious risk of substantially altering the pacifist document that has been maintained for over 75 years since World War II, and Japan’s principle of exclusively defense-oriented policies.
Korea to pay parents of newborns 700K won per month starting Jan. 1
The government will be providing 700,000 won (US$540) a month to parents of children under 12 months old, and 350,000 won a month to parents of children between 13 and 24 months old, starting in January. Moreover, the government will require prospective nursery school teachers to have graduated from a relevant four-year university department starting in 2025, when the government’s plan to place nurseries and preschools under the control of provincial and metropolitan offices of education in a bid to unify early childhood education and daycare goes into effect.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
The Key Figure in the Daejang-dong Case, Kim Man-bae, Attempted Suicide: Investigation Expected to Be Interrupted with Kim in the ICU
Kim Man-bae, a key figure in the alleged corruption surrounding the Daejang-dong development project, attempted to take his own life. The latest development is expected to interrupt the prosecutors’ investigation. According to the Suwon Jungbu Police Station in Gyeonggi on December 15, Kim’s lawyer called 119 and reported that Kim, the biggest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, tried to commit suicide inside a car parked on a street in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi at around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Itaewon Victims’ Families, “Are the Rash Words Disparaging the Parliamentary Inquiry the Official Position of the Ruling Party?”
The bereaved families of the victims who died in the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon visited the National Assembly on December 13 and called for lawmakers to quickly conduct a parliamentary inquiry, which has been at a standstill for twenty days. They fiercely denounced the ruling People Power Party P(PPP) figures who have been opposing the parliamentary inquiry. A group of citizens including the group representing the families of the October 29 Itaewon disaster victims and 188 civic groups held a press conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday and called for a parliamentary inquiry with no sanctuary and for a formal apology from the president.
“Health Insurance Faces a Financial Crisis Because of Moon Care” President Yoon Begins Launching Anti-Moon Jae-in Policies
President Yoon Suk-yeol raised the issue of reforms in the labor market and the national health insurance policy on December 13. He presented changes focusing on abolishing “Moon Jae-in Care (stronger coverage with the national health insurance policy)” and the 52-hour workweek. The president seems to be changing national policies to implement his own policies, but conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties are expected in the process. President Yoon presided over a cabinet meeting at the Office of the President on Tuesday and said, “Normalizing the national health insurance policy, which is the last line of defense in protecting the people’s health, is urgent,” and argued that changes in the national health insurance policy was not optional but vital.
KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
UN Adopts N. Korea Human Rights Resolution for 18th Straight Year
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday condemning human rights violations by North Korea and called for efforts to address the issue. In a General Assembly meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, the resolution was passed by consensus without a vote, making it the 18th of its kind since 2005 and the first to be co-sponsored by South Korea in four years. This year's resolution added calls for North Korea to release all information pertaining to foreign nationals who have been subjected to human rights violations by the regime to their families and national governments.
Yoon Calls for IAEA Support for N. Korea Denuclearization
President Yoon Suk Yeol met with the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) on Thursday and discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons and other issues. During the meeting at the presidential office, Yoon expressed concerns over the North's nuclear program and asked for the IAEA's participation in efforts to denuclearize North Korea through strengthened monitoring and inspection readiness posture regarding Pyongyang's nuclear activities.
N. Korea Claims Successful Test of High-thrust Solid-fuel Motor
North Korea said it has successfully tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" as part of the development of a new strategic weapon at its Sohae Satellite Launching Ground. The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Friday that an institute under the Academy of Defense Science successfully conducted the static firing test of a solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140 ton-force on Thursday morning. The KCNA said the test was conducted to verify all technical-specific features of the high-thrust solid-fuel motor and the results proved the motor's reliability and stability.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Yoon wraps up 1st year in office amid signs of rebounding from record-low approval ratings
President Yoon Suk-yeol is wrapping up his first year in office marked by record-low approval ratings blamable in part on unpopular policy and personnel decisions and a series of gaffes at home and abroad, though the numbers have recently shown signs of picking up. Yoon's approval rating plunged from 52 percent in his first week in office to 24 percent in the first week of August, according to Gallup Korea, a number rarely seen during previous presidencies.
Subway train malfunctions over Han River, leaves 500 stranded for 2 hours
A Seoul subway train malfunctioned and stopped over a bridge on the Han River on Thursday, leaving some 500 passengers trapped and stranded for over two hours, according to officials. The Line 1 subway train heading toward Noryangjin Station from Yongsan Station in central Seoul malfunctioned and halted on the Hangang Railroad Bridge at 7:58 p.m. The state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) towed the train with another railcar to Noryangjin Station at 10:05 p.m.
N. Korea conducts 'important' test of new strategic weapon: state media
North Korea has successfully conducted a test to verify the "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" features in developing another "new-type strategic weapon system," according to its state media Friday. "An important institute under the Academy of Defence Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140tf (ton-force), the first of its kind in the country, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the morning of Dec. 15," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language report.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Yoon vows to make nation safe for women and from drugs
President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to make Korea a safe nation from sexual and drug crimes, touching on multiple economic, welfare and labor issues in a rare pangovernmental meeting broadcast live on Thursday afternoon. In the meeting presided over by Yoon and attended by all ministers and 100 ordinary people, Yoon and his officials answered questions from a public panel in three sessions about the economy, balanced regional development and reforms to labor, pension and education policies.
Key suspect of land corruption scandal hospitalized
A key suspect of a high-profile land corruption scandal in South Korea was sent to hospital Thursday after he stabbed himself with a knife in an apparent suicide attempt. The suspect Kim Man-bae was in stable condition, but was hospitalized in an intensive care unit of Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, due to injuries in his neck and chest.
US Fed’s half-point rate hike widens gap with Korea
The US Federal Reserve decided to slow down its interest rate hike pace, raising the benchmark interest rates by a half-point. The Korea-US gap widened, which could lead to the outflow of foreign funds and volatility in currency exchange. Upon concluding a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the US central bank raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent target range. Expectations are growing over whether the central bank will take a step back on its monetary policy in line with the US or continue the steep hike to lessen the gap of differentials between the two countries. The next decision on Korea’s policy rate will be made on Jan. 13.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
N. Korea claims successful test of 'high-thrust solid-fuel motor' at satellite launching site
North Korea has successfully conducted a test to verify the "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" features in developing another "new-type of strategic weapon system," its state media said Friday. "An important institute under the Academy of Defense Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140tf, the first of its kind in the country, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the morning of Dec. 15.," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language report.
President vows to reform labor market at meeting with public
President Yoon Suk-yeol reaffirmed his decision to reform the labor market during a meeting with the public, Thursday, saying such changes are a must and not an option. "Reforms are not popular, but we have to pursue them and must not avoid them," Yoon said at the meeting, whose purpose was to check the progress of his administration's key policy tasks and communicate with the public about their implementation. Describing the three major reforms in pension and education as well as labor as "indispensable" for the nation's sustainable growth and the future generation, the president said, "Unless the government is successful in reforming the labor market, the labor issue could turn into a political matter, which would spoil the economy and politics."
Widening interest rate gap with US raises questions about BOK's rate goal
The interest rate gap between Korea and the United States has widened to a more-than-22-year high, raising questions about whether the Bank of Korea's (BOK) policy rate will be able to settle at its target of 3.5 percent in 2023.The borrowing rate of the U.S. was raised to the range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent following the Federal Reserve's 50-basis-point hike, Wednesday, which is significantly more than that of Korea at 3.25 percent. This maximum 1.25-percentage-point gap between the U.S. and Korea is the highest since Oct. 5, 2000, when the U.S led Korea 6.5 percent to 5.25 percent in their respective benchmark interest rates.
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