Headline, May 20, 2021

“The artist is a ‘magician’ of the light and fundamental exorcism”

CEO Song Jeong-chil of Galerie Oh Song Paris presents the works of eight artists. They are Guy Demun, Claude Gareau, Herve Loilier, Jacques Leonard, Michele Taupin, Bernard Fideier, Arcde Latour and Kwag Dong-jun. The 2021 PLAS 2021 Sculpture Art Exhibition will be held from May 16 to 19, 2021 at the exhibition hall of COEX Trade Exhibition Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.  CEO Song Jeong-chil runs a gallery in Paris, France, and holds touring exhibitions in Korea for about 3 to 4 months of the year.

UAE Embassy in Seoul takes part in ‘Live Together’ campaign of MOFA, UNESCO

Ambassador Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi of the United Arab Emirates in Seoul was nominated by Director General Koh Kyung-sok of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea to take part in ‘Live Together’ campaign and he nominated Ambassador Bader Mohammad Al Awadi of the State of Kuwait in Seoul. The ‘Live Together’ campaign is a global movement against racism and discrimination, raising solidarity and inclusion in the international community to cope with hate crimes that have become more serious due to the prolonged COVID-19.

“My appeal is a generalization of the popular opinion, hopes and aspirations of our citizens”

The following article was provided by the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Seoul to The Korea Post media for publication—publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985.—Ed.  Mr. Sadyr Zhaparov to the people of the country. President Sadyr Japarov of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Dear Kyrgyzstanis! Dear compatriots living far from their homeland, from the snowy peaks of Ala-Too! Today, by the will of fate, I stand in front you, having signed the basic law – the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic! I appeal to each of you, to all the sons and daughters of our people, from young to old!

Moon U.S.-bound for First In-Person Summit with Biden

President Moon Jae-in has departed for Washington on Wednesday for his first face-to-face summit with U.S. President Joe Biden. The presidential office said Moon's visit will extend for four days and comes at the invitation of President Biden. The South Korean leader will be the second head of state to meet Biden in person after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Moon’s summit with Biden is set to be held in the early hours Saturday, Korea time.

USFK Nominee: Joint Military Drills 'Extremely Important' to Build Readiness

The nominee for commander of South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces and U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) has stressed that large-scale joint military drills between the two countries are “extremely important to build readiness.” General Paul LaCamera made the remark on Tuesday during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. He said in-person field exercises are also significantly important as they allow U.S. forces to work with their South Korean allies.

Events Held Nationwide to Mark Buddha's Birthday

Ceremonies were held throughout Wednesday at some 20-thousand temples nationwide to celebrate Buddha's birthday. Like last year, this year's events were considerably scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Politicians and religious figures attended the main ceremony held at Jogye Temple in Seoul, including Culture Minister Hwang Hee and heads of diplomatic missions. In a speech, Ven. Wonhaeng, chief monk of the Jogye Order, said that the entire world is in pain due to the pandemic, stressing that trust and cooperation are key at times such as these.

Moon in U.S. to hold summit with Biden on vaccines, N. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in the United States on Wednesday for summit talks with President Joe Biden on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, North Korea, alliance issues and bilateral economic partnerships. He is scheduled to hold the session at the White House on Friday afternoon (local time). It will mark their first face-to-face meeting. The two plan to announce the results of their talks in an ensuing joint press conference.

Ex-opposition floor leader Na to run for party chairperson

Na Kyung-won, a former four-term lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), will run for party leader, sources said Wednesday. Na will officially announce the bid at the National Assembly on Thursday, the sources said. The PPP plans to hold a convention on June 11 to elect its new chairperson and members of the party's Supreme Council. A former judge, Na served as floor leader of the PPP's predecessor, Liberty Korea Party, in 2018-2019.  After declaring her bid, Na plans to travel to the southwestern city of Gwangju, a traditional stronghold for the ruling Democratic Party, making it the first stop of her campaign

U.S. will build on Singapore agreement with N. Korea: Campbell

The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden will build on a 2018 summit agreement with North Korea, White House Asia czar Kurt Campbell said Tuesday, extending overtures to Pyongyang after completing a monthslong policy review on the North. "Our policy review took a careful look at everything that has been tried before. Our efforts will build on Singapore and other agreements made by previous administrations," Campbell, White House policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, said in a written interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Climate goals deepen but challenges linger

Fighting climate change is now a top domestic and international priority for many countries, as world leaders solidify their carbon-cutting commitments for a greener future. But experts say the goal may be harder to obtain than thought. The climate summit in late April, joined by dozens of world leaders and hosted by US President Joe Biden seeking to restore American leadership on climate policy, marked a renewed global push to tackle the crisis after years of lukewarm response to the challenge.

South Korean firms to forge vaccine alliance in anticipation of patent waiver

A group of South Korean biopharmaceutical companies are in talks to forge a consortium for co-production of COVID-19 vaccines in anticipation of a patent waiver, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the bio industry insiders who declined to be named, the talks involve about 10 local firms including Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Genexine, GC Pharma, GeneOne Life Science, ST Pharm, as well as Seoul National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology and Myongji Medical Foundation.

'USFK can support out-of-area contingencies'

US Forces Korea commander nominee Gen. Paul LaCamera said he will advocate for inclusion of the USFK in contingency plans in the Indo-Pacific region, if it is confirmed he will take up the post. “Given the global role of the US military and, increasingly, the international reach of the South Korean military, opportunities are emerging for (Korea-US) alliance cooperation beyond the Korean Peninsula,” LaCamera said in his answers to advanced policy questions ahead of his confirmation hearing at the US Senate on Tuesday.

Seoul, Washington showing coordinated peace overture to Pyongyang

South Korea and the United States are displaying coordination in their approaches to North Korea before President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden hold their summit in Washington, D.C., Friday (local time), with ranking U.S. officials dropping remarks aimed at drawing Pyongyang out for talks. The summit is anticipated to be a key moment for inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea relations, and President Moon is expected to highlight this issue along with COVID-19 vaccines and investment in the microchip and battery industries.

Korea ranks low on expats' favored nations list

Korea ranked 47th out of 59 countries in an index based on a survey to determine the favorability of the living environment and conditions for expats. In the Expats Insider 2021 index released by InterNations, the world's largest expat community with around 4 million members, those in Korea had difficulty settling in, finding friends and feeling at home. The community conducted the annual survey in January on 12,420 expat respondents, representing 174 nationalities and living in 186 countries or territories, regarding their satisfaction in areas including quality of life, ease of settling in, working life, personal finance and cost of living.

Tokyo Games organizers get plea to cancel from medical body

The IOC and Tokyo Olympic organizers start three days of virtual meetings Wednesday and will run into some of the strongest medical-community opposition so far with the games set to open in just over eight weeks.The meetings are headed by IOC Vice President John Coates, who will attempt to again assure the Japanese population that the games will be ''safe and secure.'' Much of Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka, is under a state of emergency, which forced IOC President Thomas Bach to cancel a trip to Japan this month.

Young Jobseekers Lose Hope

Young job seekers suffer from anxiety and lethargy as their job prospects dwindle amid the protracted coronavirus lockdown and economic downturn. The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business polled 908 young jobseekers last month and found that 81.1 percent of them believe youth employment to be even lower than the official figure of 43.3 percent in March. Asked why, most cited the scaled-down hiring amid the economic slowdown followed by lack of opportunities because employers prefer experienced workers.

Koreans' Forex Deposits Cross $20 Billion

Koreans' foreign-currency deposits hit a new all-time high for the third straight month in April. The Bank of Korea said Monday that foreign deposits amounted to some US$94.8 billion, up $2.13 billion from March. The increase was due to a rise in the value of the won against the dollar. Companies deposited a great deal of money they earn from exports and individuals also bought a lot of dollars. Individuals' foreign-currency accounts exceeded $20 billion for the first time last month.

Retail Investors Dump Tesla as Stock Tankx

Retail investors in Korea have dumped US$43.27 million worth of Tesla shares so far this month as the popular stock tanked. Tesla, together with Samsung Electronics, epitomized the recent stock-market craze among small investors in Korea and had been the most popular foreign stock since October last year. But retail investors got the jitters when the share price started wobbling. After peaking at $900.4 in intra-day trading on Jan. 25, the stock plunged to just $589.74 on May 14 and the valuation of the Tesla shares held by Korean retail investors fell from $11 billion in late January to $7.6 billion.

What will Moon, Biden discuss at upcoming summit in Washington?

As the first summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden approaches, there’s a growing interest about what might be achieved at the summit. In addition to defining the overarching framework of South Korea-US relations over the next four years, the summit is likely to have a broader and more profound effect on South Korean society than any previous summit given its timing during the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp rivalry between the US and China over semiconductors and other high-tech industries.

S. Korea, US, Japan are planning trilateral summit at G7 next month, media reports

South Korea, the US, and Japan are reportedly seeking to arrange a summit to coincide with the G7 meeting that will be held in the UK next month. South Korea and Japan are also exploring the possibility of a bilateral summit of their own. Kyodo News cited multiple sources Saturday as saying that South Korea, the US, and Japan have begun planning a trilateral summit in Cornwall, in southwestern England, where the G7 summit is scheduled to take place on June 11-13. The UK, which holds the G7 presidency this year, has invited the presidents of South Korea, India, and Australia to attend alongside the leaders of the G7 countries.

S. Korea, Japan likely to set up consultative body on Fukushima water release

South Korea and Japan are likely to set up a group to discuss a Japanese plan to release radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. “The Japanese are looking into accepting the South Korean government’s idea of holding new deliberations [about the contaminated water at Fukushima],” the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported Sunday, quoting a diplomatic source. The newspaper said that the South Korean government has put out feelers about setting up such a deliberative body given the need for not only diplomats but also experts to trade viewpoints about safety issues.

Pres. Moon’s U.S. visit carries message of ‘racial opposition’

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the U.S., which kicks off on Thursday (local time) in Washington, D.C., is said to include messages to oppose against racial discrimination such as hate crime against Asians, a serious issue escalating in the nation. According to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, President Moon is scheduled to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cardinal Wilton Gregory and other leading figures in addition to U.S.

Google showcases conversational AI that talks like a human

Google unveiled next-generation conversational AI model “LaMDA” and “MUM,” a new technology for answering complex search queries, which are currently in development, at its annual developer conference Google I/O. Both technologies are yet to be commercialized, but their demonstration has garnered attention for being a lot more like a human than the existing AI technology. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai introduced a conversation that Google’s development team recently had with LaMDA during his keynote speech at Google I/O 2021, which was broadcasted live from the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California on Tuesday.

COVID-19 deaths will reduce dramatically, say authorities

“Deaths by COVID-19 will be very rare beyond July,” announced Korean public health authorities. As 95% of COVID-19 related deaths have come from the old population, the authorities expect that the death risk will dramatically go down once vaccinations on the elderly are completed by June. The task will be to encourage vaccination of the senior people, of which reservation rates are merely 50%. “Once the vaccinations are completed, we no longer need to worry COVID-19 infection and high death rates of elderly populations,” explained Sohn Young-rae, the head of the Social Strategy Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

“We Won’t Vote Just Because You Hand out Money” Twenty-Somethings Rebuke the Democratic Party

“We won’t be fooled by the promise that you’ll give us money.” “You should accept the thoughts of the people, instead of trying to teach us.” The Democratic Party of Korea organized a meeting with people in their twenties on May 17, Coming-of-Age Day, but the young people poured out harsh criticism. They gave bitter advice telling the Democratic Party to cast off the image of a ggondae or a stubborn boss. The party’s leader Song Young-gil apologized, saying that the advice was uncomfortable but unavoidable. Song organized the meeting to listen to the voices of young people as an effort to resolve the party’s loss of supporters in their twenties and thirties, shown in the party’s defeat in the April 7 by-elections.

Government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out Plan and Support for Severe Yet Unclear Reactions

Due to a temporary problem with supply, authorities had administered a significantly smaller number of first shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. However, they will resume administering the first shots of the Pfizer vaccine as scheduled beginning this weekend. They will administer mostly the first shots of the Pfizer vaccine until the second week of June and then begin administering the second shots. On May 16, the COVID-19 vaccination response team announced, “After concentrating on administering the first shots of the Pfizer vaccine until April, the second shots will be administered until this coming May 21.

Viva Republica seeks new capital worth $266 mn for mobile brokerage service

South Korea’s Viva Republica, the operator of the country’s popular peer-to-peer money transfer app Toss, seeks to raise capital to enhance the market competitiveness of its newly launched brokerage arm Toss Securities. According to investment banking sources on Tuesday, Viva Republica recently has named Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the lead manager to attract an estimated 300 billion won ($265.7 million) in new funding from investors.

Biden’s plan to send extra Covid-19 shots overseas raises hope for vaccine swap deal with Korea

U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a plan to send an additional 20 million doses of U.S.-approved Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines to other countries by the end of June, raising the possibility for the U.S. and South Korea to reach a vaccine swap deal at an upcoming summit meeting in Washington on Friday. "Our vaccination program has led the world, and today we are taking an additional step to help the world," said President Biden in a speech at the White House on Monday (local time).

LG AI research to spend $100 mn to develop hyper-mega AI system

South Korea’s LG Group will invest $100 million over the next three years to develop more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system with human-level learning, judging, and thinking capability under the direction of Chairman Koo Kwang-mo who has picked AI as key growth engine for the group. Founded late last year, LG AI Research, an organization that specializes in AI technology in LG Group, on Monday announced it will invest $100 million over the next three years to develop hyper-mega AI system.