Headline, June 25, 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

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

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

Jang Chang-yong named Korea Post Media vice chairman

Jang Chang-yong was named vice chairman and senior editorial writer of The Korea Post media, the news media announced on June 23. After graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature of Sungkyunkwan University in 1967, Jang entered the Maeil Kyungje Newspaper as a reporter. He also served as editorial chief, managing editor and senior executive director of Jeil Kyungje Newspaper. After retiring from the daily newspaper, he began to work at Korea Heavy Industries Co. as Public Relations (PR) senior executive director. Before joining The Korea Post media, Jang also served as an economics lecturer at Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). In his days as a reporter for Maeil Kyungje Newspaper, Jang contributed a lot to popularizing stocks and nurturing the capital market in the nation’s early days.

Novelis’ Yeongju plant processes 120 billion aluminum cans in its 1st decade

Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced that its Yeongju Recycling Center has processed 120 billion aluminum cans since opening in 2012. Located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the Yeongju plant is the largest of its kind in Asia, with capacity to annually recycle 320,000 tons of aluminum. Employing highly advanced recycling technologies, Novelis accepts used beverage cans at the facility and manufactures them into aluminum sheet used in new products. From placement in recycling bins to being restocked on store shelves, used aluminum cans are transformed into new ones, filled with consumers’ favorite beverages, in about 60 days. In support of its commitment to sustainability, Novelis invested approximately 800 billion won ($700 million U.S.) over the last 10 years in 15 recycling facilities in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. These plants collectively recycle 74 billion aluminum cans annually. By using recycled inputs to produce aluminum can sheet, Novelis reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent compared to making can sheet from primary aluminum.

Song Young-gil expects Kim Dong-yeon’s entry into the ruling party’s Presidential race

Both the ruling and opposition parties are showing a passionate courtship towards former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon, who has recently emerged as a Presidential runner-up, saying, 'He is closer to us'. Although former Deputy Prime Minister Kim is sparing of words and shows a cautious attitude, his choice is drawing attention as the courtship between the opposition and the ruling party for 'the first deputy prime minister of the Moon Jae-in government' is expected to continue for a while.

According to the political circles, Song Young-gil, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on June 23, "I think he (former Deputy Prime Minister Kim) is a person who agrees with our Moon Jae-in administration. We hope he will participate in our party’s contest if the schedule of the Presidential race is fixed.”

KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

DP Decides Not to Delay Primary Set to End by Sept. 5

Anchor: The ruling Democratic Party(DP) has decided not to delay its primary for next year's presidential race, despite opposition from supporters of presidential hopefuls Lee Nak-yon and Chung Sye-kyun. The primary is scheduled to end by September 5, as previously planned. ㅌhoi You Sun reports. Report: Ruling Democratic Party(DP) leader Song Young-gil said at Friday's Supreme Council meeting that the party has decided to conduct the primary for next year's presidential race in early September as previously scheduled. Song said while there were differences in opinion, the Supreme Council ultimately reached a unanimous agreement in accordance with the party constitution and regulations. Song added that six of the party's standing advisers, including former party leader Lee Hae-chan, agreed that the decision should be made according to principles. Six candidates will be named in early July and the primary elections will be completed by September 5. If no candidate manages to secure a majority at that time, a runoff election will be held on September 10, 180 days before the presidential election.

Pentagon Chief: Defense Budget will Help Counter Missile Threats from N. Korea, Iran

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that the United States is focused on bolstering its deterrence against China, but it also needs to counter ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran. Austin issued the position in a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on the Joe Biden administration's fiscal year 2022 defense budget request. The defense chief said that the budget, which includes more than five billion dollars for the Pacific Defense Initiative, is focused on matching the pacing challenge that the U.S. clearly sees from China. The Pentagon chief, however, said that China is not the only challenge the U.S. is facing, adding that the budget helps the U.S. counter threats from Russia, North Korea and Iran as well. Austin said that with its emphasis on space, missile defense and more sophisticated sensors, the budget will also help counter the increasing ballistic-missile capabilities of nations like North Korea and Iran.

US ITC Approves Anti-dumping Tariffs on Tire Imports from S. Korea

The U.S. International Trade Commission(ITC) has approved anti-dumping tariffs on car tires imported from South Korea and other countries. According to an ITC statement, the commission decided on Wednesday that U.S. manufacturers are "materially injured" by imports of passenger vehicle and light truck tires from South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The ITC also found subsidized passenger tires from Vietnam injure domestic manufacturers. The U.S. Commerce Department will issue anti-dumping duty orders on imports of these products from South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, and a countervailing duty order on imports of tires from Vietnam. The ITC decision comes about a month after the department said it will impose anti-dumping tariffs of between 14-point-72 percent and 27-point-05 percent on tires from South Korea. The United Steelworkers(USW) representing workers at U.S. tire plants, which filed the related petitions in 2020, claimed that the U.S. imported four-point-four billion dollars in tires from the four nations that year.

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

S. Korea to give all-out support for phase 3 trials of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine candidates

South Korea said Friday it will strengthen support for homegrown COVID-19 vaccine development so that candidates can enter late-stage phase three clinical trials by the end of the year in a move to bolster its vaccine arsenal against the pandemic. The country will also step up efforts to develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology to catch up to global pharmaceutical giants. The government has so far secured vaccines from multiple global pharmaceutical companies to inoculate nearly double its 51.3 million population, but the government has doubled down on its homegrown vaccine development program to prepare for a drawn-out fight against the pandemic.

DP opts not to postpone primaries for next year's presidential election

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Friday decided not to postpone its primary elections to pick the standard bearer for next year's presidential election in March. The DP's supreme council made the decision at a close-door meeting held earlier in the day, confirming the party's schedule to pick its sole presidential candidate before Sept. 10. "The supreme council decided, via a unanimous agreement, to elect the (final presidential) candidate in accordance with the current party constitution," DP spokesman Koh Yong-jin said. The decision follows the party's monthslong internal division on the issue. The DP's internal constitution mandates the party elect its presidential candidate at least 180 days before the election day, unless otherwise decided by the party's administrative committee for "a considerable reason."

S. Korea, U.S. agree to consider ending 'working group' forum on N. Korea policy

South Korea and the United States have agreed to consider terminating their "working group" forum on North Korea policy, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in what appears to be a conciliatory gesture to Pyongyang that has decried the forum as a hurdle to inter-Korean ties. Seoul's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, reached the agreement during their talks in Seoul on Monday, as they sought a coordinated strategy to resume nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. "During the talks between the top nuclear envoys, the two sides checked the operation of the existing working group and agreed to consider terminating it," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters. The ministry said that the two sides agreed to strengthen their director-general level consultations in addition to dialogue between their chief nuclear negotiators.

Commenting on an alternative to the working group forum, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun mentioned a comprehensive policy dialogue involving director general-level diplomats of the two countries.

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

S. Korea, Central American nations agree in summit to deepen comprehensive cooperation

The leaders of South Korea and eight Central American countries adopted a joint vision Friday for the development of comprehensive partnerships especially in the digital and environment-friendly sectors. The accord came at the first South Korea-Central American Integration System summit in 11 years. The regional group, widely known as SICA, consists of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic. During the virtual session, President Moon Jae-in noted that South Korea will commemorate the 60th anniversary next year of forging diplomatic ties with seven SICA members, except for Belize. Formal diplomatic relations between South Korea and Belize were established in 1987. In his opening remarks, Moon said, "I am very glad for South Korea to be with SICA's journey towards co-prosperity."

New cases in 600s for 3rd day as eased distancing rules set to run from July

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the third straight day Friday due to sporadic cluster infections as the country is set to implement eased social distancing rules starting next month. The country reported 634 new cases, including 602 local infections, raising the total caseload to 153,789, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Cluster infections involving churches, restaurants, education facilities and hospitals continue to take place across the country, raising concerns that eased distancing rules and potential spread of the new coronavirus variants may trigger further infections. The country added one COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,009. The fatality rate came to 1.31 percent.

Former ruling party leader Lee calls for soft power diplomacy

Rep. Lee Nak-yon, a former Democratic Party leader and presidential hopeful, said Tuesday South Korea should aim for “soft power diplomacy” in line with a global paradigm shift for peace and creativity. “The paradigm of the world order and development has been changing since the post-cold war era,” Lee said in his keynote speech of an international conference on international order. “The scope of the territory, the size of the population and military power are becoming less meaningful,” Lee said, adding that instead, demand for creativity has grown. “The world is moving toward the age of soft power, and this requires high-tech skills, cultural content and an inclusive capacity to share the fruits of development.” South Korea’s new diplomacy should aim for national development and fulfill its responsibility to the international community as a soft power.

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

Firms urged to play balancing act over China's anti-foreign sanctions law

A sweeping new law recently passed in Beijing to counter foreign sanctions is causing Korean businesses operating in both the United States and China to engage in a greater balancing act amid the intensifying trade conflict between the two world powers. Effective immediately after its passage, June 10, the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law targets those involved in designing or implementing U.S. and EU sanctions. Blacklisted individuals or entities will be subject to denial of entry to China, deportation, seizure of properties and bans on commercial transactions with Chinese institutions. Under these circumstances, Korean companies could be caught in the crossfire as the Joe Biden Administration is committed to forming distinctively anti-China supply chains jointly with allies, according to analysts.

Korea lifts bank dividend cap

Domestic banks and financial holding companies will be allowed to pay unlimited interim dividends starting next month, after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced Thursday it was lifting its 20 percent dividend cap that it "advised" them to follow throughout the first half of the year. "We suggested that banks and their holding companies take into account the fact that uncertainties about the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be resolved completely, although they are allowed to make autonomous decisions on their dividend payouts," the FSC said in a statement. "They were advised to consider setting their dividend payout ratios at pre-pandemic levels." However, it clarified that it will not impose any penalties on those that do not follow the advice. In January, the financial authorities "recommended" banks and financial holding companies here, including internet-only and foreign banks, to keep their dividend ratios to below 20 percent to bolster their financial soundness amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the Financial Supervisory Service's stress test for assessing resilience and stability of the financial system, all of them were virtually forced to reduce the size of their dividends.

'Korean-style basic income system needed'

Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong said the old should cooperate with the young in tackling the issues of deepening inequality among the younger generations, in order to build an equal and inclusive society. His remarks came during an online discussion session held Monday with Nobel Prize-winning economist Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee on inequality issues in Korea and the importance of public education and social welfare systems in addressing such problems. The session came ahead of the 16th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, scheduled to be held from June 24 to 26 on the southern island of Jeju by the Jeju Peace Institute. The discussion kicked off with Banerjee's lecture on his book "Good Economics for Hard Times," co-written with Esther Duflo. He viewed that Korea, like many other countries, has encountered increasing inequality, with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis exacerbating the gap between rich and poor. He pointed out trade and automation, which have displaced many low-skilled workers, as the two main factors of deepening inequality.

Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
More Delta Variant Cases Found in Korea

A total of 190 cases of the Delta or Indian coronavirus variant have been found in Korea so far. That is still a small number compared to other countries, but the variant is more contagious than earlier strains and could spread fast because of the glacial pace of vaccination here.

Cases of the new variant have been found in 92 countries and those of the even more infectious Delta Plus variant in 10 countries.

The variant spread so quickly in the U.K. that the number of new coronavirus cases, which had dropped to about 1,000 per day, jumped to nearly 20,000. Some 41 cases of the Delta Plus strain have also been found there.

Travelers are being checked on arrival at Incheon International Airport on Thursday. /Yonhap

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control predicts that the Delta variant will account for 90 percent of all new cases in the EU by late August.

© This is copyrighted material owned by Digital Chosun Inc. No part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

N.Korea's Borders Still Tightly Closed

North Korea's borders remain so tightly sealed to the outside that even the country's own ambassador to China has been unable to return after his tour ended. Ji Jae-ryong remains in the embassy in Beijing together with his successor Ri Ryong-nam, a former vice premier, who arrived in February. The new Chinese ambassador to Pyongyang, Wang Yajun, has also been waiting to replace Li Jinjun in Pyongyang while the borders remain sealed. All flights and trains between China and the North were stopped a year-and-a-half ago, though some ships still carry vital cargo like fertilizer to the impoverished country. North Korean students who are stranded in China after finishing their courses have been put up in university dormitories. And North Korean restaurant workers, who should have been repatriated months ago under UN sanctions, are instead being bounced around various North Korean restaurants that remain open. Many of them have already been inoculated with Chinese coronavirus vaccines, but that seems to make no difference to the North Korean regime.

U.S. to Miss July 4 COVID Vaccination Goal of 70%

The United States will miss President Joe Biden's goal of having 70 percent of U.S. adults partially or fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, but the White House says it expects to hit that mark "in a few extra weeks." In a new assessment Tuesday of the country's vaccination effort, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said the federal government expects that 70 percent of those 27 and older will have gotten at least one vaccination shot by the July 4 holiday, which he described as "a remarkable achievement." "The virus is in retreat," Zients said, with the country regaining a sense of normalcy. "We are entering a summer of joy, a summer of freedom." Now, he said, a renewed effort is being made to inoculate more younger adults in the 18-to-26 age group. Many of the younger adults, for various reasons, have shown little interest in getting vaccinated, especially since the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths has fallen sharply in the country in recent weeks and many businesses have reopened without facemask and social distancing restrictions that had been in place for more than a year.

HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Inside N. Korean refugee protection center

The North Korean Refugee Protection Center, where North Korean defectors who enter the South first stay before venturing out into society, has been opened up to outsiders for the first time in seven years. This is only the second time that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) has opened up its facility for questioning defectors, after a previous opening in 2014 amid a controversy over alleged human rights infringements. Meeting reporters Wednesday at the center in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, NIS Director Park Jie-won said he was “well aware that some people still associate the Protection Center with past cases of fabricated espionage allegations.” “As the NIS marks its 60th anniversary, we have opened up the facility to show the South Korean public that the Protection Center has moved beyond its past and is proceeding toward the future,” he explained.

With working group on its way out, S. Korea and US should create new deliberative body for N. Korea policy

South Korea and the US will probably be terminating a working group that began to coordinate North Korea policy, which critics say has turned into an obstacle to improving inter-Korean relations. Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, and Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, agreed to consider terminating the two countries' working group during a meeting on Monday. South Korea and the US established the working group in November 2018 to strengthen bilateral communication and cooperation on implementing sanctions on North Korea, achieve the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization, and establish permanent peace there. The working group's ostensible purpose was to smoothly handle issues about sanctions on North Korea in a single deliberative body, without requiring various US government bodies to discuss every issue that came up. But in reality, the US used the working group to obstruct inter-Korean relations on the pretext of complying with UN sanctions.

S. Korea ranks ninth out of 12 countries examined for corporate governance, report shows

South Korean companies are having a tough time shedding their image of lagging far behind when it comes to their governance structures. They tend to rate very poorly even in international comparisons that are restricted to Asian countries. It’s a situation that bears some connections with routine violations of the rules, including the funneling of work to affiliates and questionable tactics to pave the way for later generations to inherit the management reins. Is there a possibility that this backward situation might now be improving? On Sunday, the Federation of Korean Industries released findings from an analysis of corporate governance structure reports from 175 non-financial companies. The results showed an average adoption rate of 64.6% for 15 total indicators as of 2020. The rate was up from 52.9% from an analysis in 2018 (161 companies), the year that mandatory publication of corporate governance structure reports was first instituted, and from 58.6% in a 2019 analysis (171 companies). This suggests that gradual improvements have been made over the past three years.

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

Moon: ‘Kim Jong Un is very honest, has international sense’

In an interview with the Time magazine, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be “very honest … very enthusiastic [and] one with strong determination.” However, Time gave quite the opposite assessment of Kim, saying, “Chairman Kim brutally murdered his uncle and half-brother, and according to the historical report by the UN Commission of Inquiry in 2014, he masterminded “crimes against humanity’ including massacre, tortures, and rapes and was responsible for a prolonged famine.”

US Embassy in South Korea to move to Yongsan

U.S. Embassy in South Korea will move to Yongsan after spending 50 years near Gwanghwamun since 1968. “The 11th joint committee of architecture & urban planning passed a plan to relocate the U.S. Embassy to 1-5, Yongsan-dong 1-ga, Yongsan-gu,” the Seoul metropolitan government announced on Thursday. The necessary legal procedures have been completed, following the announcement of the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to the site in March last year. The relocation project began when the South Korean and U.S. governments signed the memorandum of understanding for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in 2005. In 2011, the Seoul metropolitan government and the U.S. government signed the memorandum of understanding for the construction of the U.S. Embassy and began district unit planning.

Sung Kim discusses N. Korean nuclear with S. Korea and Japan

The U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim will start his official schedule by beginning a bilateral discussion with North Korean nuclear envoy in Korea and a trilateral discussion with Korea’s and Japan’s envoys. Kim’s message toward North Korea is garnering attention as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently announced his first official statement to the Joe Biden administration that his country should be ready for dialogue and confrontation with the U.S. A special representative for North Korea is a position that negotiates with North Korea.  Sung Kim will meet with his South Korean counterpart Noh Kyu-duk at a hotel in Seoul on Monday morning after arriving in Korea on Saturday and having personal time until Sunday. It is the first discussion between North Korea special representatives in South Korea and the U.S. after the U.S. President Joe Biden publicly announced the appointment of Kim at a press conference after the South Korea-U.S. summit on May 21 (local time).

TheKyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Ruling and Opposition Parties Point Fingers at Each Other: Tossing the “Yoon Seok-youl X-Files” Before They Explode

The controversy over the “Yoon Seok-youl X-files” between ruling and opposition politicians is turning out to be more and more interesting. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and the People Power Party argued that the X-files was a political maneuver and an illegal investigation by the ruling party. This angered the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which cited the opposition including independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo as the source of the problem. At the same time, the ruling party mentioned the verification of Yoon Seok-youl as a presidential candidate and heightened its attacks. The People Power Party fought back accusing the ruling party of engaging in “an outdated politics of propaganda,” and now the nation’s political circle is bubbling with the X-file controversy.

Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil appeared on TBS radio on June 23 and asked, “Shouldn’t it (verification of a candidate) be more extensive than the investigation of the wife and family of former Minister Cho Kuk (conducted by Yoon)?” The ruling party leader also said, “The verification of the ‘president’s spouse,’ who will have a legal status and receive state support, is no less important than that of the president.” Kang Byung-won, a member of the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council also said in a council meeting, “Yoon asserted that he had never caused anyone to suffer a penny’s worth of damages, but new allegations surrounding his mother-in-law are popping up shaming those words.” He further attacked, “A strong presidential candidate should be able to sufficiently explain and clarify any allegation to the people.”

A 25-Year-Old College Student Becomes Cheongwadae Secretary

On June 21, President Moon Jae-in chose Park Seong-min, a university student who was born in 1996 and who formerly served as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea’s Supreme Council, as the Cheongwadae secretary for young people-related matters and chose attorney Kim Han-kyu from the law firm Kim & Chang as his secretary for political affairs. After Lee Jun-seok was elected leader of the People Power Party, the opposition drew the interest of young voters. And the president’s bold choices seem intended to attract young people in their twenties and thirties. Park is twenty-five this year. She studied Korean literature at Kangnam University but transferred to Korea University and is currently studying in the school’s Department of Korean Language and Literature. She entered politics as a steering committee member of the Democratic Party’s National College Student Council and went on to serve as the party’s youth spokesperson, head of the youth task force, a member of the Supreme Council, and co-chair of a joint meeting on young people and the future. She will be the youngest secretary in the Moon Jae-in government, and reportedly will request a temporary absence from school to serve as Cheongwadae secretary. Cheongwadae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a press briefing, “We expect her to better understand the challenges young people face from their position and to create and coordinate policies by communicating with the young people.”

Restaurants to Open Until Midnight. Restriction on Gatherings Lifted Outside the Greater Seoul Area

On June 20, the government released new physical (social) distancing guidelines after four months of deliberation. The government significantly eased preventive measures from the draft released in March and drew up more detailed guidelines for public facilities. The government plans to restore everyday life more quickly and broadly than it originally planned. The new system, which will be applied beginning July 1, reduced the number of distancing levels from five to four. The current 0.5-level margins had been criticized for failing to sufficiently reflect the difference in risks in each level, and it was difficult to quickly adjust the level of distancing. Authorities also considered the fact that current regulations to prevent contagion resulted in damages concentrated on self-employed business owners and store owners. “It was group punishment where the majority of the good groups who faithfully followed the guidelines suffered damages because a few facilities failed to abide by the guidelines,” said Kim Yoon, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine.

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

Korean labor groups propose 23.9% increase in minimum wage to 10,800 won

Major labor unions in South Korea called for 10,800 won ($9.53) as the hourly minimum wage for 2022, a 23.9 percent increase from this year, inviting strong protest from companies. The Korea Confederation of Trade Union released a statement on Thursday that it has agreed with the other labor group – the Federation of Korea Trade Unions – to propose the hourly minimum wage of 10,800 won and monthly wage of 2.25 million won based on 40 hours of work per week and 209 hours per month for 2022. Compared with the current hourly minimum wage of 8,720 won, it is a 23.9 percent increase.

BOK chief gives clearest-yet signal of a rate hike within the year, bond prices fall

The base rate should be “normalized not too late within the year,” said the chief of the South Korean central bank in the clearest heads-up of a hike from the record low of 0.50 percent. ‘Orderly normalization in monetary policy must take place not too late within the year,” said Lee in briefing on the Bank of Korea’s regular goal on stabilizing consumer prices Since last month, Lee has been building up rationale for a tightening with equivocal mention about ‘timely and orderly’ adjustment in present loose policy on May 11 and that a hike would hinge on economic performance in the second half in a briefing after the monetary policy meeting on May 27 that kept the rate unchanged for a yearlong after back-to-back cuts to record low level amid Covid-19 outbreak,.

Korea United Pharm stock rally upon winning $54 mn deal to provide drugs to Mexico

Shares of Korea United Pharm Inc. rallied Monday after it won a deal to supply $54 million worth anti-cancer medicines to Mexico by 2024. The Korean drug maker signed a contract with Medimex, a medical supplies procurement company designated by the Mexican government, to supply 16 types of anti-cancer drugs to seven state-led medical institutions including the Institute of Health for Welfare (INSABI) and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). ‘ The Kospi-trading stock ended Monday 4.7 percent higher at 53,300 won. The company will ship a total of $54 million worth anti-cancer medicines to the country by 2024, with the first batch of $14.04 million worth drugs to be delivered this year. The Mexican government visited Korea United Pharm in March as part of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)’s medicine export support program in an effort to relieve the country’s medicine shortage.

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USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com

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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 Heraldwww.smh.com.au

Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com

Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.combfp@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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