Saturday September 12, 2020
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Moon says: “We are in the middle of war; I won’t call the commander from the battle front!”
President Moon Jae-in said, “We are in the middle of a war and I don’t think it is right to call the commander back home from the battlefront in the middle of a war!”
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=21430
“We will upgrade the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an agency level”
President Moon Jae-in disclosed on Sept. 8, 2020 that the government will upgrade the present Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) one grade higher to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Speaking with the members of his Cabinet, President Moon said, “Today, we will make a decision on the government restructuring plan to implement the upgrading. Details of the announcement of President Moon follow:
http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=21426
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korea Reports 136 Additional COVID-19 Infections
A total of 136 COVID-19 infections are confirmed in South Korea throughout Friday.
South Korean quarantine authorities on Saturday announced the tally from the previous day, raising the nation's accumulated total to 22-thousand 55.
The latest tally marks the tenth consecutive day that South Korea has seen less than 200 confirmed infections.
Among the 136 newly-detected infections, 118 were locally transmitted while 18 were imported from overseas.
'Rage' Reveals Trump Wanted US Troops out of Korea
Anchor: A Washington Post reporter's soon-to-be-released book has sparked fresh controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of domestic and international issues, including relations with allies like South Korea. Trump is also said to have boasted about what could be a nuclear weapons system the world does not know about.
Kim Bum-soo has more on Bob Woodward's interviews with the American president.
Report:
[Sound bite: Bob Woodward interview with US President Donald Trump by The Washington Post (Feb. 7, 2020)]
TRUMP: "Well, I think, Bob, really, to be honest with you…"
WOODWARD: "Sure, I want you to be."
TRUMP: "I wanted to, I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don't want to create a panic.“
Former Colonel Alleges Numerous Requests Made for Minister's Son
A former military official who alleged that Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae sought various favors for her son during his mandatory military service in 2017 claimed that his former staff reported to him about receiving such requests.
In a statement on Friday, former Army Col. Lee Cheol-won said requests came in asking for Choo's son, identified only by his surname Seo, to be reassigned to the U.S. garrison in Seoul's Yongsan district from the base in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New virus cases under 200 for 10th day, extension of tougher virus curbs again under review
South Korea's new virus cases stayed below 200 for the 10th day in a row Saturday, but health authorities remain skittish about no letups in sporadic cluster infections and untraceable cases.Over the weekend, health authorities plan to determine whether to further extend stricter social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area by another week.
The country added 136 more COVID-19 cases, including 118 local infections, bringing the total caseload up to 22,055, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
N.K. leader visits flood-hit area for second time to check recovery efforts
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a flood-hit village in North Hwanghae Province in the country's southwest for the second time in a month to check recovery efforts, state media said Saturday.
Kim inspected the reconstruction site of the flood-ravaged Taechong-ri area in Unpha County and "acquainted himself with the progress and plan of the reconstruction," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
It was the second time in about a month that Kim has visited the village. The previous visit came in early August after torrential rains led to the breaking of a levee and left more than 900 homes flooded or destroyed and 600 hectares of rice fields inundated.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Samsung spent over US$ 3 million on ad campaign to support merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T
The Samsung Group aggressively lobbied South Korea’s press to manipulate public opinion leading up to the extraordinary general meeting of stockholders held in July 2015 to vote on the proposed merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, an investigation by South Korea’s prosecutors has found. Over the course of four days, Samsung took out 3.6 billion won (US$3.03 million) in advertisements at newspapers in the country. According to the prosecutors, Samsung branded the managers of a foreign-owned hedge fund opposing the merger as “dine-and dash capitalists” and asked media outlets to run stories in support of that narrative.
Public opinion on Democratic Party sours over scandal involving military service of justice minister’s son
The ruling Democratic Party is facing an emergency as souring public opinion over allegations of preferential treatment in the mandatory military service of Justice Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s son -- identified by the surname Seo -- is being reflected in opinion poll numbers. Observers are concerned that without any clear explanations regarding the allegations, the alienation of the public could intensify over the course of future government questioning sessions, the Chuseok holiday, and a parliamentary audit.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Koreans Embrace Decluttering in Lockdown
Many Koreans are radically trimming down their lives and possessions amid the coronavirus crisis. They are decluttering their homes, where they suddenly have to spend much more time, getting rid of unnecessary objects and keeping only what they consider essential.
Newlyweds Yoo Min-jae (33) and Choi Seung-woo (35) live in northeastern Seoul. "It's time to lighten our load," Yoo said. "We started throwing away useless things since we're moving to a new home in a month, but spending more time at home due to the epidemic also made us rethink what is really important."
Holders of Unreported Offshore Bank Accounts Fined
The National Tax Service has fined 18 individuals and corporations W12.4 billion for failing to report offshore bank accounts in the first half of this year.
It also filed criminal complaints against nine of them whose unreported offshore accounts hold more than W5 billion each, according to a press release Thursday (US$1=W1,188).
Residents must report to the tax office by June the following year if the total balance of their offshore accounts exceeds W500 million on any single day in a month. The obligation has been in effect since 2011.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
S. Korea and U.S. agree to set up working-level consultative body
South Korea and the U.S. have decided to launch a working-level consultative body tentatively named “Alliance Dialogue.” South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun met in Washington on Thursday (local time) and agreed on setting up a dialogue channel.
Over 600 people tested positive again for COVID-19 in Korea
It was found that over 600 here have tested positive again for COVID-19 in Korea after making a full recovery. Some of them were tested positive again for the virus five months after recovery. Although it has not been confirmed by health authorities, some point out that case of reinfection might have already occurred in South Korea.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Celltrion completes Phase 1 clinical trial of COVID-19 antibody drug candidate
South Korea’s Celltrion Inc. has completed in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of CT-P59, a COVID-19 antiviral antibody treatment candidate. It plans to begin commercial production soon to supply the antibody drug immediately when it secures additional evidence of efficacy and safety.
Qurient shares jump on hope for coronavirus med trial and promising pipelines
Qurient shares climbed to a 52-week high Friday on expectations that its investigational multi-drug resistant tuberculosis therapy Telacebec could be used to treat COVID-19 symptoms, while its other late-stage candidates became eligible for out-licensing discussion.
The Kosdaq-listed stock gained 4.37 percent to end the day at 40,600 won ($34.20).
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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
AustraliaBrisbaneTime www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://www.colombiareports.com
BogotaFree Planet http://www.bogotafreeplanet.com bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes https://www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/
Ecuador Times https://www.ecuadortimes.net/
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com/
LSM.lv https://www.lsm.lv//
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com, lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais https://english.elpais.com/
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net/
Daily News Hungary https://dailynewshungary.com/
Budapest Times https://www.budapesttimes.hu/
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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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