Headlines, October 13, 2020

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

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

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

A Samsung Electronics exec., who visited lawmaker’s office with a press pass, steps down
An executive of Samsung Electronics, who entered the National Assembly hall with a press card, stepped down to take responsibility for causing a stir.
In a statement titled "We apologize again," Samsung Electronics said on Oct. 8, "We sincerely apologize once again for a Samsung Electronics executive entering the National Assembly in an inappropriate manner. We are also thoroughly probing whether there are more cases of violating parliamentary procedures."
Rep. Ryu Ho-jung of the Justice Party earlier said, "After we applied for a Samsung Electronics vice president for the parliamentary inspection as a witness, many officials from Samsung Electronics visited the lawmaker's office. We found out a Samsung executive came in with a press pass from a media company."

POSCO International wins an order to supply auto parts to Vietnam's Vinfast
POSCO International said on Oct. 13 that it has won an order for auto parts for electric vehicles from Vietnam's Vinfast along with Erae AMS, Korea's leading auto parts maker.
The Halfshaft supplied to the Vinfast is a part that acts as a driving shaft in a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). The driveshaft transmits the drive power of the engine to both tires via the transmission.
The company plans to start supplying its products next year after detailed adjustments and tests, and the supply volume will be for about 100,000 electric vehicles produced by Vinfast.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korea Implements Mandatory Mask Use
People will be required to wear face masks on mass transportation and in public places starting Tuesday to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said that mask use will be mandatory as a related law on the prevention of infectious diseases goes into effect from Tuesday.
Under the law, people will be required to wear masks on public transportation and at demonstrations, as well as at medical facilities and nurseries regardless of the social distancing level.

Kyodo: Suga Won’t Attend Summit in Seoul without Guarantee on Labor Issue
Japan reportedly notified South Korea that a visit to Seoul for a trilateral summit by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would be "impossible" without "proper measures" taken on the issue of Japan's wartime forced labor.
South Korea has been seeking to hold the three-way summit in Seoul this year.
According to Japan's Kyodo News on Monday, diplomatic sources said that the Japanese government delivered its position to Seoul late last month. Tokyo reportedly said that without proper steps taken by South Korea on the forced labor issue, Suga's visit for the summit would be "impossible".

S. Korea to Resume Free Flu Vaccine Program Tuesday
South Korea will resume its free flu vaccination program on Tuesday, a month after suspending the program amid safety concerns over mishandled vaccines during transport.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA), the nationwide free flu shot scheme will restart on Tuesday beginning with children aged between 13 and 18.
The seasonal flu shots will then be administered to the elderly citizens aged 70 or older from next Monday and seniors aged between 62 and 69 from October 26.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Cram schools, buffets, nightclubs reopen under eased social distancing rules
Cram schools, buffet restaurants and gyms bustled with activity Monday as the government adjusted its coronavirus restrictions to the lowest tier -- Level 1.
The government announced Sunday that with falling new infections, 10 types of "high-risk" facilities would be allowed to reopen, including various bars, karaoke rooms, large cram schools with 300 or more registered students, and buffet restaurants.
The news came as a relief to such businesses, which were forced to close in August amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, but many business owners maintained a cautious outlook due to the strict social distancing guidelines they will be required to follow within their establishments.

New virus cases spike again on 1st day of eased social distancing scheme
South Korea's new virus cases spiked again Monday, though the daily tally stayed below 100 for the fifth consecutive day, as the country eased its tougher social distancing measures.
The country added 98 COVID-19 cases, including 69 local infections, raising the total caseload to 24,702, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA).
It marked a sharp rise from 58 cases reported Sunday and 72 cases identified Saturday. The daily figure had rebounded to 114 on Wednesday last week before falling back to 69 the following day.

Moon holds high-level meeting on backing Yoo Myung-hee's WTO chief bid
President Moon Jae-in convened a high-level meeting Monday to discuss strategies on supporting Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee's bid to become the head of the World Trade Organization(WTO), Cheong Wa Dae said.
Moon raised the need to publicize that the minister with 25 years of experience in trade affairs is the right figure to reform the WTO, speaking in the session joined by Yoo, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok.
The president pledged to make every effort himself to help Yoo win the competition especially through personal letters to his foreign counterparts and phone talks.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Coronavirus complacency feared as S. Korea rolls back mitigation measures
South Korea rolled back most of its physical distancing restrictions Monday, after two national holiday weekends passed without a surge in known infections -- so far.
Korea conducted 5,127 tests Sunday and detected 97 more cases of the novel coronavirus, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s report Monday. The cumulative number of official cases is now 21,301.
Ten coronavirus patients have died over the last seven days, nine of whom were aged 60 or older. The disease is more lethal as patients get older, with the fatality rate at 21.4 percent for those aged 80 or above.

Foreign investment banks slash growth forecasts for S. Korea
Major foreign investment banks have revised down their economic growth forecasts for South Korea with the resurgence of the coronavirus slowing the country’s economic recovery, data showed Monday.
Nine forecast published by foreign investment banks as of end-September offered that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will contract at an average rate of 1.4 percent this year, down from an earlier average of 0.9 percent a month earlier, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. The list of banks includes Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC, Nomura and UBS.
HSBC maintained a positive growth outlook of 0.3 percent until the end of August, but it slashed its forecast to minus 1.2 percent a month later. Citibank and JP Morgan also lowered their estimates to contraction of 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, down from their earlier forecasts of minus 0.7 percent and minus 0.6 percent a month ago, respectively.

LG Chem announces Q3 earnings surprise with best-ever revenue, operating profit
LG Chem on Monday announced an earnings surprise for the third quarter of this year, posting the greatest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history, as it prepares to break off its globally-leading battery unit later in the year.
The South Korean battery giant said in its preliminary earnings report that it would register 7.5 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in revenue and 902.1 billion won in operating profit in the July-September period.
If confirmed, the LG Chem will see an 8.8 percent growth in revenue and 158.7 percent spike in operating profit on-year. The revenue and operating profit figures would be the largest since the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2011, respectively.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
BTS takes top two spots on Billboard singles chart
South Korean boy group BTS has achieved its second No. 1 on Billboard's main singles chart with a song featuring the South Korean septet climbing to the summit this week, Billboard reported Monday.
"Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)," the latest version of hit song "Savage Love" by U.S. singer Jason Derulo and New Zealand producer Jawsh 685 featuring BTS, has taken the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Billboard.
"The song becomes the second Hot 100 No. 1 each for Derulo and BTS and the first for Jawsh 685," it reported.

Does Kim's speech signal improvement in inter-Korean ties?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's reference to South Korea during a commemorative speech for the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), Saturday, is raising questions about the future of inter-Korean relations.
Right after offering consolation to the pandemic-hit world, he said: "I also send this warm wish of mine to our beloved countrymen in the South, and hope that this health crisis will come to an end as early as possible and the day will come when the North and South take each other's hands again."
The local media has taken note of the unusually friendly tone of the message, coming on the heels of a latest inter-Korean conflict over the North's Sept. 22 shooting death of a South Korean official who crossed into North Korea's territorial waters.

2 Americans win Nobel prize in economics for auction theory
Americans Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson won the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday for "improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.''
"Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world,'' the Nobel Committee said, noting that the auction formats developed by the winners have been used to sell radio frequencies, fishing quotas and airport landing slots.
The winners were announced in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Kim Jong-un signals intentions of improving inter-Korean relations during military parade
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signaled his intention of improving inter-Korean relations, declaring that he was “hoping for the day when North and South join hands again.”
While Kim announced plans to “continue strengthening war deterrence,” he also moderated the message by avoiding excessively aggressive rhetoric and stressing that he would not abuse that deterrence or use it preemptively.
Speaking at a military parade held at 12 am on Oct. 10 for the 75th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim said, “I send warm feelings to our beloved fellow Koreans in the South, and I hope that this public health crisis is quickly overcome and that the day comes when North and South join hands again.”

S. Korea lowers social distancing regimen to Level 1; more students can return to school starting Oct. 19
South Korea lowered its social distancing regimen to Level 1 on Oct. 12. This allows private academies with 300 or more students, buffet restaurants, nightlife establishments, and concert venues to open again. Nightlife establishments, however, will have to abide by stricter disease control measures, and Level 2 measures will remain in place for certain establishments in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA), where the daily caseload of COVID-19 is still high enough for authorities to stay on alert.
Starting Oct. 19, all public schools will be allowed to hold in-person classes for two-thirds of their student bodies at a time. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), high-risk facilities such as clubs, karaoke rooms, concert venues, and indoor sports facilities will be required to keep a digital log of all visitors and deny entry to anyone showing symptoms.
Sports stadiums will be allowed to hold matches at 30% capacity, while indoor sports facilities can operate at 50% capacity. Churches and religious facilities can hold on-site services at 30% capacity, but are not allowed to host group meals or any separate events.

Euljiro 3-ga: where new and old collide
Euljiro 3-ga is a neighborhood I remember via my taste buds. When my friends and I dropped by my father’s hole-in-the-wall tool store in Euljiro in high school, he took us out to a restaurant that served bulgogi and naengmyeon — grilled marinated beef and noodles swimming in a cold broth. We weren’t old enough to appreciate naengmyeon yet, so we wolfed down the bulgogi and bowls of rice.
I don’t remember the exact location of the restaurant where my father made such a good impression on my friends, or, for that matter, the location of his small shop. Even so, Euljiro 3-ga always reminds me of the sweet taste of bulgogi on the tip of my tongue.
Today, I’m older than my father was back then; in fact, he passed away many years ago. The neighborhood has gotten a complete makeover and is now known by the playful portmanteau “Hipjiro,” referring to the neighborhood’s originality.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Lockdown Fuels Private Tutoring Boom
The coronavirus epidemic has fueled a boom in private tutoring, putting more pressure on Korea's notoriously stressed schoolkids instead of making their life easier as they study online.
Parents now push them even harder with one-on-one tuition at home since group lessons in crammers are still thought to be potential coronavirus hotbeds. There is a perfect balance of demand and supply as university students who earn pocket money teaching are also locked out of their universities and those who study abroad are stuck in Korea.
Out of 1,700 Korean students in Hong Kong, only 150 remained and the rest came back. Some 20,000 people, most of them students, returned from Australia. Most people who came back from North America and Europe were also students.

Japan Wins Battle Against Sex Slave Statue in Berlin
Japan is on the verge of winning a battle to remove a new statue in Berlin that commemorates Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery under the Japanese Imperial Army.
The statue was set up in a public square by a local Korean activist group last month along with a plaque detailing the victims' plight.
The German government and the Berlin district where the statue has been set up appear to have yielded to pressure from Japan, which is incensed by the reminder of its World War II atrocities.

Most Start-ups Go out of Business Within 5 Years
Seven out of 10 start-ups go out of business within five years. A mere 29.2 percent still stay afloat after that, according to data from the Ministry of SMEs and Start-ups.
The proportion is way below the OECD's average of 41.7 percent. France has the most long-lasting start-ups with 48.2 percent, followed by the U.K. (43.6 percent), Italy (41.8 percent), Spain (39.7 percent), and Germany (38.6 percent).
At the same time, the number of start-ups here jumped 44 percent from 75,574 in 2013 to 108,874 last year, but many were mom-and-pop businesses like convenience stores, coffee shops and restaurants that people opened without much of a plan or competitive strategy. As a result they soon closed because the market could simply not sustain them.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin meets with Japanese PM
Lotte Corporation CEO Shin Dong-bin met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. According to The Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Monday, Shin had a meeting with the prime minister for about 1.5 hours over lunch at a restaurant in a Tokyo hotel on Sunday. The meeting was also joined by Kazutoshi Kobayashi, the CEO of cosmetics company Kosé Corporation, and Takashi Sawada, the president of Family Mart.
Shin is the first South Korean businessman known to have met with Prime Minister Suga who was appointed last month. “A meeting with CEO Shin was included as part of the prime minister’s schedule, which is disclosed minute by minute”, a member of Lotte Corporation said. “The content of their conversation has been unknown even to us.” The business circles assume that discussions involved measures to improve the currently strained economic relations between South Korea and Japan.
The family owners of Lotte Corporation are known to have long-standing close relations with the Japanese political circles. Shin Kyuk-ho, the late founder of Lotte Corporation, had close relationships with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Shinzo Abe’s father and former foreign minister Shintaro Abe, and Shinzo Abe’s maternal grandfather former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

U.N. launches investigation into death of S. Korean official
The United Nations has launched an investigation into the death of a South Korean official who worked for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
The United Nations Human Rights Office in Seoul said Monday that it had an interview with the bereaved family about the incident after they requested an official investigation by the United Nations last Tuesday. The interview was conducted to gain further knowledge and information about the incident, which will then be analyzed in detail from the perspective of human rights, according to a source from the office. The Seoul office can recommend appropriate measures to the South and North Korean governments after reporting the case to its headquarters.
The interview will be also shared with Tomás Ojea Quintana, United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, who pointed out that North Korea violated international human rights laws speaking to The Dong-A Ilbo. The U.N. official said he received a letter from the bereaved family and would decide if an investigation is needed, pressuring the South Korean government to provide evidence that shows the official was attempting to defect.

Former German Chancellor expresses regret over removal order of ‘statue of peace’
A legal procedure has begun to protect “The Statue of Peace” erected in Berlin, Germany from being removed. Local people, including former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his wife, also expressed their opposition to the removal of the girl statue.
Germany-based civic group Korea Verband, which was involved with the installation of the statue, said on Monday (local time) that they will apply for an injunction with Berlin’s administrative court to invalidate the Mitte district’s order to remove the statue. It will also file an objection against the Mitte district.
The statue was set up on Sept. 25 with the permission of the Mitte district in order to commemorate the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery during the World War ll. But the district office sent an official document to the Korea Verband last Wednesday, ordering them to remove the statue by Wednesday. It added the statue will be removed forcibly if it is not removed by the deadline.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Cheongwadae, “Focus on North Korea’s Suggestion to Restore Inter-Korean Relations”
“We hope our dear compatriots in the South will overcome the health crisis, and let us firmly join hands.” The government focused on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s friendly message at the military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea on October 11, and expressed hopes to resume inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation. However, the government expressed concerns on how North Korea disclosed a large number of new strategic weapons and urged the North to abide by the inter-Korean military agreement.
This day, Suh Hoon, chief of the National Security Office, presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council’s standing committee and analyzed the details of Chairman Kim’s speech. Cheongwadae announced, “We must abide by a number of agreements between North and South Korea to prevent a military clash and war,” and added, “We will continue to analyze the details and strategic significance of the new weapon systems, including the new inter-continental ballistic missile recently disclosed.”
The Ministry of National Defense also released a statement expressing concerns on the North’s display of new weapons and announced that the South Korean-U.S. intelligence authorities were conducting a close analysis. However, the government took note of the fact that the North stated that it would not preemptively use the new weapons and urged the North to abide by the September 19 military agreement.

No Time to Take a Breath in a Society Where Couriers Die of Too Much Work: Another Death of a Middle-Aged Courier
Another courier died. This is already the eighth death of a courier suspected of having been overworked to death.
The government released a series of measures after the number of deliveries surged following the COVID-19 outbreak, but the measures have fallen short. Experts point out the need for practical measures that can reduce the working hours of the couriers, such as assigning more workers to sort the parcels and raising delivery fees.
According to the Taekbae (delivery) Union, which is part of the Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Union, an arm of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, on October 11, Gim (48), a courier who worked for CJ Logistics died in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul on October 8 while making deliveries. Gim arrived at work around 7 a.m. on the morning of his death and finished sorting the deliveries at 3 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. about an hour after he began making the deliveries, he had trouble breathing and suffered chest pains. The 119 paramedics found him unconscious in his delivery truck. Gim went into cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital and died at around 7:30 p.m. that evening.

Women Can Get an Abortion for Social and Economic Reasons During 15-24 Weeks of Pregnancy
The government is planning to permit abortion unconditionally for up to fourteen weeks of pregnancy. Women in their 15-24 weeks of pregnancy can have an abortion for social, economic reasons.
However, the government still stirred controversy for not reflecting the opinion of civil society, which demanded an end to punishment on abortion regardless of how far the pregnancy had progressed.
On October 7, the ministries of justice, health and welfare, and food and drug safety announced legislation plans for an amendment of the Criminal Act and the Mother and Child Health Act including these details. The government presented the draft amendment a year and six months after the Constitutional Court made a ruling that the stipulation of abortion as a crime in the Criminal Act was inconsistent with the Constitution for it infringed a woman’s right of self-determination last April.

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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
LG Chem reports quarterly best operating profit and sales in Q3 guidance
South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. commanding the top in global EV power reported best-ever earnings that more than doubled from a year ago in the July-September period.
In its preliminary earnings disclosed Monday, LG Chem announced its consolidated operating profit in the July-September period reached a quarterly record of 902.1 billion won ($784.8 million), up 57.8 percent from the previous quarter and 158.7 percent from the same period a year ago. Sales also reached a quarterly all-time high of 7.5 trillion won, up 8.2 percent on quarter and 8.8 percent on year.
It far outperformed market consensus of 711.7 billion won compiled by Seoul-based market analysis provider FnGuide. On Monday, shares of LG Chem closed 2.89 percent lower at 672,000 won.

S. Korean financial authority mulls post-IPO stock stabilization measure
South Korea’s financial authority is working to place more liability on underwriters to prevent heavy sways after initial public offerings (IPOs).
According to multiple sources from the financial authority on Sunday, the Financial Services Commission plans to announce measures to improve the country’s overall IPO system as early as this month. The move follows crashes in the blockbuster IPOs like SK Biopharmaceuticals and Kakao Games.
Six out of 10 debutants on the Korean stock markets over the last two months trade under the IPO prices. BBC Co., a manufacturer of daily necessities such as brushes for toothbrush that went public on Sept. 21 saw its share price fall 30.5 percent to 21,350 won ($18.6) on Oct. 8 from IPO of 30,700 won.

S. Korea returns to near normalcy amid easing in social restrictions
South Korea has almost returned to normalcy, with the social restriction code brought down to the lowest Level 1 from Monday.
Nationwide social distancing rules were lowered to Level 1 from 2 after taking into consideration of various negative impacts of the prolonged restrictions on people’s daily life and the economy, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on Sunday.
The average number of daily new infections has fallen to less than 60 over the past two weeks, while the virus reproduction rate dropped to below 1. The country added 58 new Covid-19 infection cases on Sunday, keeping the daily counts under two-digit numbers for the fourth straight day.

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