Monday, November 9, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Early work of novelist Han depicts dire days shortly after the Korean War
In this issue, we introduce a very special person, a noted Korean lady novelist named Han Malsook. Her early work, a short novel entitled A Cliff in Myth, is published in a Special Report section in this issue. 
The story depicts the dire days of the Republic of Korea (south) in the early 1960s when the per-GNI of the ROK was around US$80 while that of North Korea was over US$150, double that of the ROK in the south. Other reports indicate that the GNI of North Korea as nearly three times that of the South in those days. 
The Korean peninsula was liberated from the colonial rule of Japan on Aug. 15, 1945 following the end of the World War II when Japan surrendered to the United States and other members of the Allied Forces against Japan.

S-Oil to begin operation of second crude oil loading facility after investing $152 million
S-OIL, led by CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani, has built a second oil loading facility (#2 SPM) at its Ulsan plant and start operation, the compamy said on Nov. 3. 
Since 2018, S-Oil has been building a second crude oil loading facility in waters off Ulsan New Port for about two years and seven months.
The second oil loading facility, which was set up on the sea in front of Ulsan's new port, is equipped with an oil tanker mooring facility, a 44-inch diameter submarine (3.7 kilometers) and a land-based (3 kilometers) pipeline.

President Moon says, "The Korean economy to get back on track by 1st half in 2021"
President Moon Jae-in said the Korean economy is in the recovery phase. In a meeting with his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae on Nov. 2, he said, "A recent batch of economic indicators points to our economy making a quick recovery after overcoming the hardships that have arisen thus far."
"If these efforts are combined to extend our success fighting the virus and also a positive fourth-quarter economic trend, we will be able to see our economy recover from COVID-19’s impact and get back on the right track by the first half of next year."
President Moon mentioned several economic indicators such as the GDP growth rate in the third quarter to back his predictions.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Biden Delivers Victory Speech, Vows to Seek Unity
United States President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday delivered a televised speech after he was declared winner in the presidential race against President Donald Trump. 
In the victory speech in Delaware, Biden said that he has won a "clear, convincing" victory, pledging to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify. 
The president-elect vowed to make the United States respected around the world again and expressed hope to unify the nation after the fierce election.

Daily COVID-19 Increase in S. Korea Returns to Triple Digits
The daily COVID-19 increase in South Korea returned to triple digits on Sunday, a day after the nation introduced a revised social distancing system.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Sunday that 143 new cases were detected throughout Saturday, raising the accumulated caseload to 27-thousand-427.
Of the new cases, 118 are local transmissions including 54 in Seoul and 23 in Gyeonggi Province. The daily new local cases rose by 46 from the previous day.

KDI: S. Korean Economy Faces Growing Downside Risks
A state-run think tank has assessed that the South Korean economy faces growing downside risks amid a global resurgence of COVID-19.
According to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on Sunday, the Korean economy shows a continued contraction, mainly in the service industry.
It added that external economic conditions are worsening amid lockdowns in major European countries over a flare-up in coronavirus cases.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
Biden promises to unite Americans, make U.S. respected around world again
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said Saturday he will "make America respected around the world again" as he delivered a victory speech centered largely on unifying a nation badly fractured after months of acrimonious campaigning.
"It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again and make progress," he said in the speech delivered before thousands of supporters gathered in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
"We have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They are Americans," he said.

Moon sends congratulatory message to Biden, says he has 'great expectations' for alliance's future
President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, expressing expectations for joint efforts to develop Seoul-Washington ties.
"Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Our alliance is strong and the bond between our two countries is rock-solid," Moon wrote on Twitter.
"I very much look forward to working with you for our shared values," Moon added. "I have great expectations of advancing and opening up the future development of our bilateral relations."

Biden to give S. Korea more 'room' in inter-Korean policy: experts
Joe Biden's election as U.S. president could give South Korea more "room" in handling inter-Korean affairs, as he is expected to respect the alliance and listen more to what Seoul has to say on inter-Korean matters, experts said Sunday.
His "principled" diplomacy on North Korea, however, could raise tensions and fail to produce any immediate breakthrough in denuclearization talks, which experts said could make it hard for Seoul to pursue many of its envisioned cooperative and reconciliatory cross-border projects.
Biden has vowed to strengthen the alliance with its allies, including South Korea, in what appears aimed at differentiating himself from President Donald Trump, who has often derided friends and allies and denounced them as free riders.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Biden calls for unity in victory speech
Democrat Joe Biden urged unity Saturday and promised "a new day for America" in his first national address since he won the tense US election and ended the historically turbulent and divisive era of Donald Trump.
After jogging onto the outdoor stage to the sounds of Bruce Springsteen in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden delivered a message of hope and healing to a crowd of cheering supporters and tens of millions more on television.
The victory speech followed a desperately bitter election conducted in the midst of a raging coronavirus pandemic. But instead of sounding triumphant, Biden's accent was more on changing hearts in a country split down the middle between Democrats and Republicans.

Seoul eyes bolstering ties with new Biden administration
With Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential race, South Korea will seek to forge ties with the new administration to further bolster the alliance and make progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to US President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, hours after major media outlets in the US announced Biden’s win over incumbent President Donald Trump.
“Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Our alliance is strong and the bond between our two countries is rock-solid,” Moon wrote via Twitter. “I very much look forward to working with you for our shared values. I have great expectations of advancing and opening up the future development of our bilateral relations,” he said, ending the message with “Katchi Kapshida!” -- the catchphrase of the Korea-US alliance, meaning “We go together.”

North Korea yet to react to Biden victory
Now that Democrat Joe Biden has won the US presidential election, how the new president-elect and his administration will cope with North Korea is attracting keen attention here.
During his election campaign rallies, Biden called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a “dictator” and a “thug,” and criticized his rival President Donald Trump for befriending Kim.
But Biden left the door open for a possible summit, with the condition being that Pyongyang work to make the Korean Peninsula a “nuclear-free zone.”

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
'US to return to traditional North Korea policy under Biden'
The United States is expected to return to a more traditional approach toward denuclearization of North Korea under President-elect Joe Biden, according to analysts, Sunday.
They said Biden will only be open to top-down diplomacy embraced by President Donald Trump and possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if Kim is willing to give up nuclear weapons.
This may put Biden at odds with Moon Jae-in's peace gestures with the North. This includes his push for cross-border economic cooperation and declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Green light for eco-friendly businesses under Biden
With Joe Biden winning the U.S. presidential election, the green light is set to be given to Korean companies engaging in eco-friendly industries such as solar energy and electric batteries, industry officials said Sunday.
The president-elect of the U.S. is expected to try to decrease trade uncertainties and work on restoring multilateral trade relations with allies after he is sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021. Therefore, the country's semiconductor business, which accounts for almost 20 percent of the total export value, is forecasted to remain strong under the Biden administration.
Biden pledged to spend around $2 trillion in expanding infrastructure, electric vehicles and renewable energy. He said his administration will come up with policies that would lower emissions from transportation as he aims to use 100 percent clean energy and have zero emissions by 2050.

Korea sees rising hatred against women
On Oct. 21, a young woman sent a tweet warning women they could be randomly spread with something near Gangnam Station in Seoul.
"A group of men are gathering in the street behind CGV near Gangnam Station and they're spraying an unidentified substance on young women who are walking alone. Please be careful and retweet this."
The tweet was retweeted more than 1,000 times, with replies like "It's certainly tough to be a woman."

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Prosecutors use investigation of nuclear reactor closure to strike closer to heart of Blue House
Prosecutors conducted search and seizure operations on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) in connection with the controversy surrounding the ahead-of-schedule closing of the No. 1 reactor at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant. This prompted an unprecedented response from Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, who blasted the “excessive investigation tactics by a ‘politician’ prosecutor general seeking to attack and undermine the administration.”
On the morning of Nov. 5, the fifth criminal division (public investigation division) of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office, led by Lee Sang-hyeon, deployed prosecutors and investigators to conduct search and seizure operations on MOTIE offices at the Sejong Government Complex, the KHNP headquarters in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and the KOGAS headquarters in Daegu.

Why have Hyundai and Samsung decided to team up on EV batteries?
In 2010, there were just 61 electric vehicles (EVs) registered in South Korea. Within four years, that number had increased 20-fold, to 1,308.
Each year since then, the EV total has shot up, to 2,917 in 2015, 5,099 in 2016, and 13,724 in 2017. In 2018, the tally leaped past 50,000, reaching 55,756.
These numbers only count pure EVs that run on batteries; when hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles are added in, the number of vehicles sold with an electric powertrain (the component that supplies power to the vehicle) has far exceeded expectations. As EV sales have rapidly risen, so too has interest in batteries. To really understand EVs, one first needs to understand the batteries that serve as a key component in them.

Biden faces the massive task of repairing internal strife and mending relations with allies
Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden is closing in on a victory in what has become a historical US presidential election. With come-from-behind wins in major swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden is a short distance away from the necessary 270 votes in the electoral college. Incumbent President Donald Trump has been responding with a barrage of lawsuits, but the prevailing view is that Biden’s official election is a matter of time. On Nov. 4, Biden’s camp set up a website for his transitional committee.
Even if we pass from the time of Trump into the time of Biden, the US still has its work cut out for it. The stark divisions in the US were on full view during the election.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Weekend Listlessness 'Linked to Caffeine Withdrawal'
Many people complain of feeling listless and lethargic on weekends, and the reason could simply be that they do not drink as much coffee as they do at work during the week.
Doctors say people who drink a lot of coffee during the week could be undergoing nothing more dramatic than caffeine withdrawal.
Caffeine can be addictive because it stimulates the secretion of dopamine. If your consumption suddenly drops, as it well may on Saturdays and Sundays, the body can display withdrawal symptoms, typically in the form of fatigue or headaches.

Gov't Discusses Impact of Undecided U.S. Election
President Moon Jae-in called a meeting of foreign affairs and security ministers on Thursday afternoon to discuss the impact of the hotly contested U.S. presidential election on South Korea.
"We will cooperate with the incoming administration on strengthening Korea-U.S. relations and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said. "We are looking at the impact of the U.S. presidential elections from various perspectives."
But at this stage, with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in a fragile lead, the government here was unable to say much more than that it will work with whichever candidate wins and stress the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Current Account Surplus Hits 2-Year High
Korea's current account surplus exceeded US$1 billion for the first time in two years as global trade, which had been crimped by the coronavirus pandemic, started to recover.
The Bank of Korea said Thursday that the country achieved a current account surplus of $1.02 billion in September, up a whopping 31.6 percent on-year and continuing five months of surplus.
The last time the surplus exceeded $1 billion was September 2018. The cumulative surplus during the first nine months of this year also increased 3.7 percent on-year to $43.4 billion.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Renewable and green industries expected to blossom in Biden′s era
Major businesses in Korea are paying close attention to the economic policy that U.S. president-elect Joe Biden would adopt after taking office. Green industries such as solar and wind power and batteries for electric vehicles would have a growth momentum. The U.S. is Korea’s main market which accounts for 90 percent of its solar power cell exports and the world’s second largest EV market. But traditional energy industries such as the petrochemical industry are projected to have difficulties in growing further. Medium- and long-term projections on the semiconductor industry are divided based on different scenarios of the U.S.-China trade conflicts.  
Renewable energy and green industries are likely to benefit the most. Biden promised to set up 500 million solar panels and improve energy efficiency of four million buildings and two million houses over the course of four years. Korea’s green power businesses are showing an interest to his pledge to eliminate carbon emission from electricity generation by 2035 by investing two trillion dollars over his four-year term.

A German ward council adopts resolution to keep Young Girl′s Statue for Peace
The council of Mitte Ward in Berlin, Germany adopted a resolution demanding the withdrawal of order to remove the Young Girl’s Statue for Peace in the ward. As a result, chances are high that the statue will be kept at the location through August 18, 2021 just as originally planned.
According to the Korea Council, a local civic group that had installed the statue, the Council of Mitte Ward held a vote on a resolution suggesting the girl statue should be kept, on Thursday, and passed the resolution with 28 of the 37 council members approving. Members of the Green Party, to which the ward head Stephen von Dassel belongs, the Social Democratic Party, and the Leftist Party all cast yea vote en masse. However, members of the ruling Christian Democratic Union of Germany, to which Chancellor Angela Merkel belongs, the rightist Liberal Democratic Party, and the ultra rightist Alternative for Germany Party reportedly cast nay vote.

Trump hears about his loss at a golf course, says CNN 
U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly has heard about his loss in the presidential election at a golf club.
According to CNN and other media outlets, he arrived at his Trump National Golf Club in Virginia at around 10:40 a.m. on Saturday (local time). About an hour later, the press including the Associated Press and CNN reported Biden’s victory in the election after winning in Pennsylvania. But Trump refuted this right away. He asserted that he “WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” on his twitter account.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Biden Narrowly Ahead in U.S. Election: His Tasks and Policies on the Korean Peninsula
Democratic candidate Joe Biden is currently ahead in the U.S. presidential election. According to the U.S. press on the morning of November 5 (local time), Biden has secured 264 of the electoral votes and is expected to have no problem obtaining the 270 votes necessary to win the election. Thus the unilateral state administration by President Donald Trump, which had given the world a hard time the last four years, is likely to make an exit. During the campaign, Biden put a distance between himself and Trump’s “America first,” anti-globalization, protective trade, and anti-immigration policies and pledged to restore a liberal international order. We expect Biden to return the U.S. to normalcy according to the wishes of the international community.
The first task Biden will have to tackle is switching Trump’s foreign policy. The key issue would be putting an end to the America-first policy. Biden and the Democratic Party had emphasized multilateralism, restoring alliances damaged by Trump and strengthening U.S. influence. He also declared he would return to and resume agreements with international organizations that Trump left, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“For Undermining Fairness, Trust, and the Rule of Law,” Prosecutors Seek a 7-Year Prison Sentence for Chung Kyung-sim
Chung Kyung-sim, a professor at Dongyang University and the wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kook, on trial for alleged corruption in her daughter’s college admission and for questionable investments in a private equity fund, reached the end of her year-long trial as the thirty-fourth session came to an end. In the last session, the prosecutors argued, “She undermined our society’s value of fairness” and sought seven years in prison for Chung. Chung’s lawyers argued that she was innocent claiming, “It was a targeted investigation to pull Minister Cho Kook down from his position.”
In the final session of Chung’s trial held on November 5 by Criminal Division 25-2 (chief judge Im Jeong-yeop) at the Seoul Central District Court, the prosecutors requested a 7-year prison term, a fine of 900 million won, and additional fines of 154 million won for Chung. They argued for a prison sentence claiming, “We need to hold Chung Kyung-sim accountable for undermining our society’s value of fairness.” They mentioned Chung Yoo-ra’s illegal admission to Ewha Woman’s University and the leaking of test questions at Sookmyung Girls’ High School and said, “They were all sentenced to three years in prison,” and argued, “The principle of equality in a criminal trial should be applied equally to people in high social classes.” Chung wiped away her tears with a handkerchief while the prosecutors made their request.

1,769 Civil Servants Quit in Their First Year: Why Did They Throw Out Their “Iron Rice Bowl”?
37.2:1 and 10.4:1. This was the competition when people took the civil service examination for grade-9 central and local government positions in 2020. Every year, only those that rise above this competition of over 200,000 participants become civil servants. But recently in a parliamentary inspection, data from the Government Employees Pension Service was released indicating that the number of civil servants who resigned in their first five years increased significantly in 2019 (6,664) compared with 2018 (5,670) and 2017 (5,181). Among those that left government jobs, 26.5% (1,769) quit in their first year as a civil servant.
Why did these people quit after spending years preparing for an exam to become a government employee? On November 4, the Kyunghyang Shinmun asked three former civil servants in local governments who quit in their second to fourth year.

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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Asiana Airlines creditors mull rigorous restructuring including flight shutdowns
Creditors are devising a rigorous restructuring program for South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc. in return for state rescue of 4.1 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in funding and stock cancellation to keep the liquidity-strapped full service carrier and its family afloat amid pandemic crisis.
According to a source close to the affair, creditors – mainly state lenders Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea – will order management replacement and shutdown of money-losing air routes after study of the outsourced audit report from EY Hanyoung Korea and Bain & Company due early next year.
Asiana Airlines went under creditor management in September after planned sale to a consortium led by HDC Hyundai Development fell through. The airliner’s parent Kumho Group surrendered management rights and stakes for sale in return for relief fund.

Jeju Air expected to receive $176 mn state bailout
South Korea’s biggest low-cost carrier Jeju Air Co. is set to receive 198 billion won ($175.8 million) in relief loans from state lenders and another 40 trillion won from a state fund committed to protect mainstay industries from pandemic fallout.
According to sources on Thursday, state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) estimated Jeju Air needed 198 billion won to stay afloat after due diligence.
The aid would be in the form of 120 billion won loan from state lenders, 30 billion won in bond purchase via the primary collateralized bond obligation (P-CBO) program and the rest from the state relief fund.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE proves to be a winning strategy phone
Samsung Electronics Co.’s new strategic phone Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) packed with key specs of the premium S20 series in affordable price tag has turned out to be a surprising splash.
The Korean tech giant is estimated to have sold 2 million units of the Galaxy S2 FE in the first month of its launch in October. The company reportedly will ship out 5 million units by the end of this year to meet the overwhelming demand, according to industry sources on Thursday. The special edition will be available in 117 countries.
The shipment progress is stunning when considering Samsung Electronics’ premium line Galaxy Note series usually sell about 10 million units from its usual August launch to the end of the year.

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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 
Australia Brisbane Times  www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au 
Sydney Morning Herald  www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports  www.colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet  www.bogotafreeplanet.com,bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal  www.eluniversal.com.mx/english  
Andes  www.redaktionstest.net/andes-info-ec/ 
Ecuador Times  www.ecuadortimes.net/  
The Jordan Times  www.jordantimes.com/ 
LSM.lv  www.lsm.lv/
The Baltic Times  www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais  https://english.elpais.com/ 
Philippine Daily Inquirer  www.inquirer.net/ 
Daily News Hungary  https://dailynewshungary.com/ 
Budapest Times  www.budapesttimes.hu/
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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan: 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM 
Sri Lanka:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
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