Thursday, January 26, 2023


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

 

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

LG, Hanwha form an omnidirectional battery alliance
LG Group and Hanwha Group have embarked on omnidirectional cooperation in the field of batteries. It is because the interests of the two groups aligned as the energy storage system (ESS) market grew worldwide. The two groups are evaluated as having emerged as a new battery alliance as they decided to strengthen cooperation in the fields of ESS, battery manufacturing equipment, and future urban air mobility (UAM).

 

Hyundai Motor promotes Busan’s bid to host World Expo 2030
Hyundai Motor Group promoted the South Korean city of Busan’s bid to host World EXPO 2030 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, an event that engages the world’s top political, business and cultural leaders, on Jan. 16. During the forum held from Jan. 16 to 20, the Group operated a fleet of 58 vehicles wrapped with Busan’s World Expo 2030 logo to promote the city to the forum-attending world political and business leaders, Swiss citizens and other visitors.

 

Leaders of the two countries have a strong desire to enhance relations, cooperation and friendship to a higher level.”
Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Seoul said, “The two friendly countries discussed and agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership,’ which is a new framework that will serve the goal to bring the cooperative relations between the two countries to a higher level.” It appears that the two countries are now in good hands, especially at this time when Korea is led by President Yoon Suk-yeol who is very international cooperation-friendly.

 

                                                             


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

12 Korean Academic Institutions Hacked by Chinese Hacking Group over Lunar New Year Holiday
The websites of a dozen or so academic institutions in Korea were targeted by a Chinese hacking group during the Lunar New Year holiday. The Korea Internet and Security Agency said Wednesday that the websites included the Korean Research Institute for Construction Policy and the Korean Archaeological Society. The twelve websites remained unaccessible, as of Wednesday afternoon. The hacking group identified themselves as "Xiaoqiying," and declared that they have invaded the "Korean Internet." It had also warned of cyberattacks on Korean agencies.

More Koreans Pawn Belongings
Low-income households and people with bad credit are turning to pawnshops to raise cash as they are being turned away even by subprime lenders. Many pawnshops closed down in recent years due to the prolonged ultra-low interest period. They are also classified as lenders and provide loans equivalent to 80 to 90 percent the value of the collateralized items, charging 20 percent interest, which is the legal limit. If clients fail to pick up their belongings because they cannot pay within the agreed time, the pawnshop gets to sell them to collect the money. 
 

U.S. Think Tank Calls for Talks on Redeploying Nukes to S.Korea
A leading U.S. think tank has called for South Korea and the U.S. to start discussing the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in a report urges South Korea and the U.S. to "lay pre-decisional groundwork for possible redeployment of U.S. low-yield nuclear weapons at some point in the future." It stresses the need to "consider allied tabletop planning exercises that would be explicitly pre-decisional and leave the timeline and scope of weapons deliberately ambiguous."

                                                                                  

Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )

Na Kyung-won drops out of PPP race as party continues search for a leader

After Na Kyung-won, a potential contender to become People Power Party's (PPP) next leader, stepped out of the race Wednesday, the party is now focused on figuring out which of the remaining candidates will emerge as its new chief.

Na, a former four-term lawmaker, announced she will not run for party leadership in the upcoming PPP national convention in March to overcome divisions within the party in a press conference Wednesday, following a public row with the presidential office which resulted in her being sacked from two presidential posts earlier this month.

 

Iran pressures Seoul over frozen assets in Korean banks
The Iranian foreign ministry released another statement pressuring Korea on the years-long dispute surrounding frozen Iranian assets in Korea.Iran’s financial demands from South Korea are the legal right of the Iranian nation, and the Korean government is responsible to pay the legal rights of the Iranian nation without any conditions and within the framework of bilateral relations,” said the Iranian foreign ministry in a statement released Monday.

 

Korean ministry calls in Japanese diplomat to protest Unesco heritage bid for Sado mine
Korea's foreign ministry called in a Japanese Embassy official in Seoul on Friday to lodge a formal protest against Tokyo's move to have a mine linked to the wartime forced labor of Koreans listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The previous day, the Japanese government submitted a recommendation letter again to Unesco for the listing of the former gold mine on Sado Island, after the initial version, delivered last February, was called incomplete.
                                                               

 

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

Chinese hacking group attack S. Korean academic institutions
A hacking group suspected to be Chinese that forewarned large-scale cyber attacks against over 2,000 South Korean government agencies, media groups, etc., attacked 12 academic institutions in South Korea. The Korea Internet & Security Agency announced on Wednesday that the websites of the Korean Research Institute for Construction Policy and 11 other academic institutions were hacked on Sunday.

 

Trump claims victory at golf tournament although he did not play
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a “golf fanatic,” declared that he won the gold medal at his own Florida club’s senior golf championship. However, Palm Beach Post reported that the former president did not play in the tournament's first round. Trump boasted that he claimed victory in the senior club championship at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

 

SK’s Social Progress Credit scheme recognized at WEF
SK Corporation’s “Social Progress Credit” scheme was well-received at the Davos Forum this year. According to SK Group on Tuesday, the World Economic Forum published an article titled “How social enterprises offer big business pathways to sustainable innovations” on its website, which featured SK’s program. Chairman Chey had initially proposed the scheme at the 2013 Davos Forum by measuring social progress created by social enterprises and giving cash incentives in proportion to such social progress.

 

 

                                                                    
 

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

Korean companies call for more active government role in promoting hydrogen
South Korean companies that have pledged to invest more than 50 trillion won ($40.6 billion) in hydrogen by 2030 are calling for more government policy support to help them adhere to the massive spending plan amid a global energy transition. According to multiple industry sources on Tuesday, Korean companies’ investments in hydrogen sector are at risk of being delayed or scrapped as the government remains idle in carrying out policies such as introducing a hydrogen power generation market.


MBK, Unison Capital offer to buy 25 percent of Osstem Implant
Osstem Implant Co. shares jumped nearly 15 percent on Monday after Unison Capital Korea and MBK Partners announced a tender offer to buy Korea’s No. 1 dental implant maker, which is under pressure from shareholder activists led by Korea Corporate Governance Improvement. Dentistry Investment, a special purpose company established by Unison Capital and MBK Partners, will conduct a tender offer for Osstem Implant at 190,000 won ($154) per share until Feb. 24, Osstem Implant said in a regulatory filing.

 

South Korea’s national pension fund to run out faster than expected
The South Korean government this Friday will release its latest projection for when the national pension fund would run out as it struggles to prevent depletion from a rapid aging population and thinning workforce. The projection, prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, will include when the national pension fund would turn to a deficit as well as when it would be depleted. The ministry has been releasing new forecast every five years since 2003 under the National Pensions Act.

 

                                                     
 

HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

When it comes to nukes, US won’t share with Korea anytime soon
America doesn’t even share nukes with its brothers.” This comment was made by a US official in response to talk of potential nuclear sharing between Korea and the US in a private meeting between foreign affairs and security personnel of the two countries. The US and Europe have close historic and cultural ties, and we have a special relationship with the UK in particular as our former colonizer.

 

Japan trots out claim on Dokdo amid Korea’s hastening push for forced labor resolution
After Japan asked UNESCO to register the Sado gold mine complex — where Koreans worked as conscript laborers — as a World Heritage site, its foreign minister used an annual speech to claim once again that the island of Dokdo belongs to Japan. As baggage between the two countries piles up, their governments are speeding up negotiations on the issue of Koreans forced to perform hard labor during the Japanese colonial period.

 

Why Yoon should pump the brakes on visits to Japan, US
In 2010, Japan was brought to its knees by China. That February, China overtook Japan and became the world’s second-largest economy. In September of that year, the Japan Coast Guard arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain who collided with one of their patrol boats near the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands. In retaliation, China arrested four Japanese nationals on espionage charges, canceled the summit that was to be held between the leaders of the two countries, and blocked rare earth exports to Japan.

 

                                                  

The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Disapproval of the Yoon Suk-yeol Government Is at Its Peak”
On January 24, the Democratic Party of Korea summarized the public sentiment over the Seol (Lunar New Year) holiday and said, “The Yoon Suk-yeol government has gone too far.” On Tuesday, Cho Jeong-sik, secretary general of the Democratic Party, met with the press at the National Assembly to convey public opinion over the holiday. He relayed the views of many people who said President Yoon Suk-yeol had “gone too far,” after watching how he treated former lawmaker Na Kyung-won and the Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung.


South Korea’s Effort to Correct Mistake Was Insufficient,” Iran Speaks for the First Time after the “Counter-summons”
The Iranian government recognized some of the efforts by the government of the Republic of Korea in response to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s remark, in which he defined Iran as the enemy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but announced that the efforts were not enough. According to the Iranian state-affiliated media, IRNA News Agency, Nasser Kanaani (pictured), the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Tehran and Seoul exchanged their sincere positions on the issue in a press conference on January 23 (local time).

Prime Minister Han, “Mandatory Indoor Mask Regulation to Be Eased to Recommendation Beginning January 30”
On Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced, “In the Central Headquarters meeting today, we plan to discuss and finalize a decision to ease the mandatory indoor mask regulation to a recommendation, with the exception of some facilities, starting January 30.” The prime minister made the announcement in a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in response to COVID-19, which he presided over in the government office in Seoul Friday.

 

                                                             

KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)

Source: UNC Concludes Both Koreas Violated Armistice with Drone Incursions
The U.S.-led U.N. Command(UNC) has reportedly concluded that both South and North Korea violated the armistice last month by sending drones across the border into each other's territory. According to a military source on Wednesday, the UNC recently reached the conclusion after a special investigative team reviewed the North's drone incursion on December 26. The UNC has reportedly not yet notified the South Korean government of its conclusion.


Economy Shrinks in Q4 for First Time Since 2020
The Korean economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year for the first time in two and a half years. The Bank of Korea estimated on Thursday that the country's gross domestic product(GDP) shrank zero-point-four percent in the October to December period from the previous quarter. It marks the first quarterly contraction since the second quarter of 2020 when the economy shrank three percent after the outbreak of COVID-19.


Inflation Expectations Edge Up to 3.9% in January
Inflation expectations inched up to nearly four percent in January, seeing the first increase in three months. According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Thursday, expected inflation, which measures consumers’ estimates on price increases over the next 12 months, stood at three-point-nine percent this month, up one tenth of a percentage point from December. It marks the first increase in three months, after dropping to the three-percent range for the first time in six months in December. It had risen to an all-time high of four-point-seven percent in July last year.

 

                                                                        
 

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

Yoon to meet NATO chief, U.S. defense secretary next week
President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to hold meetings next week with Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a presidential official said Thursday. The NATO chief and the U.S. defense secretary are set to visit Seoul next week, and the presidential office is making arrangements for meetings with Yoon, the official told Yonhap News Agency.


Man fined for scribbling on presidential election banner
A man has been sentenced to a fine of 500,000 won (US$405.7) for scribbling offensive words last year on a presidential election campaign banner of now main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, sources said Thursday. The Seoul Western District Court recently gave the sentence to the 44-year-old man, surnamed Jin, charged with scribbling on a banner set up near a bus station in Seoul's Yongsan district last year to promote Lee's run in the latest presidential election, according to the sources.

 

Chinese hackers attack 12 S. Korean academic institutions: KISA
South Korea's internet safety watchdog said Wednesday a Chinese hacking group has launched a cyberattack against 12 South Korean academic institutions but it did not cause serious damage. The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) said the attackers hacked into the websites of 12 institutions Sunday, which included some departments of Jeju University and the Korea National University of Education.

 

                                                    


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

Yoon to meet NATO chief, US defense secretary next week
President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to hold meetings next week with Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a presidential official said Thursday. The NATO chief and the US defense secretary are set to visit Seoul next week, and the presidential office is making arrangements for meetings with Yoon, the official told Yonhap News Agency.

 

Tensions flare again as S. Korea investigates Chinese cyberattacks
South Korea and China look set for a renewed clash over what South Korean authorities believe are Chinese cyberattacks on multiple local academic organizations, potentially the latest flare-up in tensions recently heightened by a tit-for-tat visa spat over stronger COVID travel curbs. Police opened a formal probe Wednesday to investigate hacking that had disrupted access to websites of at least 12 academic groups, a string of attacks that took place over the four-day Lunar New Year holiday ending Tuesday, a police official said.


Zero-COVID’ is over. Why are Chinese still protesting?
China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy ended last month, but the movement of defiance against Chinese President Xi Jinping continues. On Lunar New Year’s Eve on Saturday, a small group of Chinese people gathered near the Embassy of China in Seoul for the fourth “white-paper” protest to take place here. The movement against COVID-19 restrictions came to be known as white-paper protests after people in China held up blank sheets of papers to express discontent and dodge censorship.

 

                                                    

 

The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)

Like Germany, US will provide heavy tanks to Ukraine
The United States announced Wednesday that it will provide 31 Abrams tanks to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion, mirroring a similar move by Germany and fulfilling a long-running request from Kyiv. Ukraine ― which had pleaded for heavy Western tanks for months ― welcomed the twin announcements, with President Volodymyr Zelensky urging they be delivered quickly. The provision of the M1 Abrams is aimed at "helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land.

 

Yoon to meet NATO chief, US defense secretary next week
President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to hold meetings next week with Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a presidential official said Thursday. The NATO chief and the U.S. defense secretary are set to visit Seoul next week, and the presidential office is making arrangements for meetings with Yoon, the official told Yonhap News Agency.

 

Korea's economic growth slows to 2.6% in 2022 on weak exports
Korea's economy grew at a slower pace in 2022 as export growth slumped amid economic recession woes, central bank data showed Thursday. Korea's gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 2.6 percent in 2022, compared with a 4.1 percent increase tallied in the previous year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). For the fourth quarter of last year, the economy shrank 0.4 percent from three months earlier, compared with the previous quarter's 0.3 percent growth.


                                                                                                                  

 

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

Gwangmyeong Daily 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.com, bfp@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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