Friday, October 15, 2021
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Amb. Fen greatly contributes to promoting ties between Korea, Uzbekistan, also other countries
On Oct. 6, 2021, The Korea Post media honored Ambassador Vitaliy Fen of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Seoul with a Plaque of Citation for the unreserved efforts and dedication he has made to the promotion of relations, cooperation and friendship between Korea and his country of Uzbekistan. With an ability of impeccable ability of communication in the Korean language, Ambassador Fen has immeasurably contributed to the enhancement of relations between Korea and Uzbekistan. Ambassador Fen was also very instrumental in the promotion of relations between Korea and the 117 different countries of the world with resident embassies in Korea as the dean of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.
Azerbaijan marks 30th anniversary of Restoration of Independence
The Republic of Azerbaijan marks the 30th anniversary of adoption of the Constitutional Act on the Restoration of the State Independence on Oct. 18, 2021. On this most auspicious occasion, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan provided The Korea Post media with a special statement. Details follow: October 18, 1991, it was thirty years ago when the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted the Constitutional Act on Restoration of State Independence. Thus, Azerbaijan regained its independence for the second time in the 20th century. On May 28, 1918, the First Democratic Republic in the Muslim East was established in Azerbaijan, and we are proud to have been the first in the Muslim World. Regaining independence was yet another historical moment for the Azerbaijani people, which unfortunately caused thousands of lives.
LG Chem to invest 120 billion won to expand tech centers to U.S. and Europe
LG Chem announced on Oct. 11 that it will invest around 120 billion won to expand the tech center, a customer-tailored technical support facility, to the United States and Europe. The investment is to strengthen the company’s global market position and lay the foundations required to secure additional production bases in the future. LG Chem will also construct a new ABS compound plant in the United States. ABS compound is the final process in the production of ABS products. Tech center is a dedicated customer support organization that provides comprehensive technical solutions such as product development, quality improvement, and productivity enhancement to customers and partners who purchased LG Chem's petrochemical products.
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
Court Rejects Arrest Warrant for Key Figure in Land Development Scandal
A local court has rejected an arrest warrant for a key suspect embroiled in corruption allegations surrounding a land development project in Seongnam city, Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul Central District Court denied the prosecution's request to arrest Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, saying that it's hard to accept the need to arrest the suspect compared with the need to guarantee his defense rights. The court held a hearing on Kim's arrest at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, which lasted two-and-a-half hours.
State Dept.: US Made Specific Proposals to N. Korea, Awaits Response
The U.S. State Department says that the United States has made "specific proposals" to North Korea and is awaiting a response. Department spokesperson Ned Price made the remarks on Thursday in a press briefing when asked if the U.S. proposed to North Korea that sanction relief be discussed in negotiations. The spokesperson refused to give a direct answer to the question, but stressed that "diplomacy is the most effective means" to meet the U.S.' policy objective on North Korea. Price added that Washington stands ready to meet North Korea without preconditions and has made specific proposals to the North and will await outreach from the North.
Court Upholds Disciplinary Action Against Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon
A Seoul court has rejected a request by former Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl for the repeal of a disciplinary action that a Justice Ministry committee imposed on him late last year. The Seoul Administrative Court issued the ruling on Thursday, some nine months after Yoon filed the suit asking the court to invalidate the disciplinary committee's two-month suspension against him. The committee ordered that the chief prosecutor be suspended from his duties after recognizing four of six allegations of misconduct against Yoon. They included the illegal surveillance of judges presiding over cases involving ruling camp figures and intervening in the prosecution's probe into collusion involving his close aide.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
President Moon urges financial authorities to ensure smooth supply of 'jeonse' loans
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called on financial authorities to closely monitor banks to ensure a smooth supply of loans for "jeonse" home rentals. Moon made the remarks after financial authorities decided to ease some restrictions on loans taken out for home rentals as part of efforts to protect people in actual need of borrowing money, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.
Jeonse is a home rental system unique to South Korea in which tenants pay a large sum of money as a deposit instead of paying monthly fees. Earlier in the day, Koh Seung-beom, the chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), told reporters that controls on such loans for renting homes through the "jeonse" arrangement will be managed in a "flexible" manner.
Court denies arrest warrant for key suspect in land development scandal
A Seoul court on Thursday rejected an arrest warrant for a key suspect at the center of a snowballing regional development corruption scandal, dealing a blow to the investigation into the case that has become the hottest topic in South Korean politics. The Seoul Central District Court denied the prosecution's request to arrest Kim Man-bae, owner of an asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, on bribery and other charges, citing an insufficient explanation of the need to detain him. Kim, a former journalist, has been under investigation in connection with how his previously little-known firm reaped massive profits from a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes.
Loan rules for home rentals to be eased: financial regulator
South Korea will ease tight regulations on loans taken out for home rentals as part of efforts to protect people in actual need of borrowing as financial authorities are set to unveil additional measures to rein in household debt this month, the head of the country's financial regulator said Thursday. In a brief meeting with reporters, Koh Seung-beom, the chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said that controls on such loans for the "jeonse" arrangement will be managed in a "flexible" manner. "For loans taken out for jeonse in October, November and December, the cap on aggregate loans will be applied in a flexible manner," Koh said. "We will tolerate it even if the growth rate of outstanding household debt exceeds the targeted range if that is due to a rise in loans for jeonse."
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Ex-Foreign Minister Kang’s ILO leadership bid stokes debate
Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha’s bid for the post of director general of the International Labor Organization is being met with criticism from labor groups, while the government backs the bid that could see the first woman and first Asian leader in the organization’s 103-year history. The election is slated for March. If Kang gets the job, her term would start next October, when current Director General Guy Ryder of the UK leaves the office. The South Korean government views that Kang’s bid could be a major diplomatic feat, pinning high hopes on her potential victory in raising the status of the country as a “developed country in labor matters” and breaking the glass ceiling for more female and Asian officials to take leadership positions in international organizations.
Herald Design Forum ponders ‘What comes after?’
Emerging from the darkest days of the pandemic, many countries, including South Korea, are now talking about “life with COVID-19.” It is against this backdrop that the Herald Design Forum brought together some of the world’s most renowned designers, architects and artists with the aptly themed title of “What comes after.” “Mankind is now in its way into the post-COVID-19 era. Things will greatly change and the field of design is not an exception. The latest edition of the annual Herald Design Forum is an attempt to help overcome limits and issues caused by the pandemic,” said Jeon Chang-hyeop, CEO and publisher of Herald Corp, which organizes the event, in his opening remarks Thursday.
Afghan teen evacuees share joys of new life in Korea
Clad in a taekwondo uniform, a 13-year-old Afghan girl says she is happy with her newfound freedom in South Korea. She can participate in all sorts of social activities, which were limited only to boys in her home country, and is glad she can do taekwondo without wearing a hijab. “I want to learn Korean and work here,” she told reporters at a press briefing organized by the Ministry of Justice. Another evacuee, a 15-year-old boy, hopes to make Korea his new home, saying he now feels secure and satisfied. “If I can get permanent residency, I want to think of (Korea) as my country and live by helping Koreans,” he said. Another 15-year-old boy wants to learn Korean, go to university and become a doctor to “help Koreans.”
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Moderna approves local use of COVID vaccines
Moderna has approved the domestic use of its COVID-19 vaccines to be produced by its South Korean business partner Samsung Biologics, two sources directly involved with the matter said, Thursday. While chances are low the mRNA-based biotech Moderna will let Samsung Biologics handle the total distribution process of its vaccines to be manufactured at Samsung's facility in Incheon's Songdo, Moderna's approval for the domestic use of its vaccines will be a huge plus in terms of backing Seoul's efforts to increase the local vaccination rate, and plans for initiating a round of booster shots for people in their 60s after their initial immunization, they said.
FTC asked to speed up process of Korean Air-Asiana Airlines acquisition
Korea's airline industry is expecting travel demand to boom again after more than a two-year slump due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the government takes steps to initiate a phased return to normal starting from the second week of next month. However, the process of Korean Air acquiring rival Asiana Airlines, which began in November of last year, is taking longer than expected,. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is raising concerns over Korean Air's possible monopoly in the domestic market if the acquisition is approved. The top antitrust watchdog says the combination of two full-service carriers can infringe on free competition in the flight service market.
SNU professors list their children as co-authors of research papers
Nearly half of all underage co-authors listed in research papers from Seoul National University (SNU) were the children of SNU professors, a ruling party lawmaker said, Thursday, calling for harsher disciplinary action against misconduct involving research by professors abusing their status. According to Rep. Seo Dong-yong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on the National Assembly Education Committee, the university's 22 research papers that listed minors as co-authors were concluded as cases of misconduct. Among them, nine involved children of SNU professors. Among the nine cases, four professors listed their own children as co-authors, while five listed children of their colleagues.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Koreans in Their Prime of Life Lose out on Work
Korea's employment rate of people in their 30s and 40s, the backbone of any country's economy, has declined so much that it now ranks near the bottom of the OECD. The Korea Economic Research Institute on Wednesday said that the employment rate among people in their 30s and 40s in Korea stood at just 76.2 percent last year, which was much lower than Germany's 85.8 percent, Japan and the U.K.'s 85.1 percent and France's 81.9 percent. In all these countries, the rate had edged up compared to 2015 -- 0.9 percentage points in Germany and France, 2.7 percentage points in Japan and 2.1 percentage points in the U.K. -- but Korea saw a decline of 0.7 percentage points.
Korean Battery Maker to Reimburse GM for Recall
LG Energy Solution has reached a deal to reimburse General Motors W1.4 trillion for a recall of the Chevrolet Bolt electric cars (US$1=W1,193). GM said Tuesday that the replacement of faulty batteries made by LG Energy Solution is expected to cost nearly US$2 billion. It had originally demanded that LG Energy Solution pay for all of it, but they reached a deal for compensation for only a certain number. A fire risk in the flagship EV has forced GM to recall 140,000 Bolts made since production began in 2016. It had to ask owners to park the car well away from others in a well-ventilated place due to the risk of the battery bursting into flame. But while the recall will proceed with "complete replacement of battery packs and modules made for the early models of batteries, the more recently manufactured battery modules will be selectively replaced following diagnostic software screening," LG Energy Solution said.
N.Korea Shows off New Weapons at Defense Expo
The North Korean regime mounted an armaments expo to mark the 76th anniversary of the Workers Party this week, displaying several new weapons that have been developed over the past five years. They include super-large multiple rocket launchers targeting South Korea and three kinds of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In an opening speech on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un himself called it "a show of national strength." "For our descendants we need to be strong." He accused South Korea of its developing and buying weapons in an "attempt for arms modernization that goes beyond bounds," according to state media.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Japan’s ruling party pledges to boost defense budget to 2% of GDP
Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has pledged to raise the country’s defense budget to around 2% of its gross domestic product and to fundamentally revise its current defense policy. The pledge can be seen as highlighting Japan’s determination to join forces with the US to counter the growing military threat posed by China in the East China Sea and elsewhere. In a joint statement following a summit with US President Joe Biden in April, then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga mentioned “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” for the first time in 52 years and declared that Japan had “resolved to bolster its own national defense capabilities to further strengthen the Alliance and regional security.” The LDP is suggesting that it means to begin taking concrete steps to follow through on those promises.
Lee Nak-yon admits defeat in Democratic Party primary
Lee Nak-yon, the former head of the ruling Democratic Party, conceded defeat in the party’s presidential primary on Wednesday, saying he would “respect the decision of the party affairs committee.” This was Lee’s first official announcement about the presidential primary results following Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung’s victory on Sunday. In an announcement that followed a decision by the Democratic Party’s party affairs committee to overturn a motion to nullify the results of the party’s presidential primary, Lee said that while the issue of handling ballots cast for candidates who dropped out of the race “still remains,” he stated that he respects the decision of the party affairs committee and accepts the results of the primary contest.
US has no hostile policy toward N. Korea, S. Korean security advisor says
The US White House has reaffirmed that it has no hostile policy toward North Korea, the Director of South Korea's National Security Office Suh Hoon said Tuesday while in Washington. The comment came in a news release after a consultation with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that afternoon that lasted over an hour. "Both sides said they have held close consultations on North Korea without interruption since the US formulated its policy toward North Korea, including diplomatic efforts of varying levels between Seoul and Washington," Suh said. "The US reaffirmed that it sincerely has no hostile policy toward North Korea and reemphasized its stance of being open to talks at any time without preconditions."
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Chief of U.S. Intelligence visits S. Korea on Sunday
Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence (DNI) in the U.S. overseeing all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is expected to visit South Korea on Sunday. The U.S. Intelligence chief’s visit to South Korea in five months garners much attention amid the tug-of-war between the U.S. and North Korea over terms for a resumption of dialogue. According to a South Korean government source, Director Haines will arrive in Seoul on Sunday. After visiting the U.S. Army Garrison in Yongsan on Monday, she is expected to meet with Park Jie-won, director of the South Korean National Intelligence Service in the afternoon.
Xi Jinping wishes farewell to German chancellor
Chinese President Xi Jinping held farewell to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who leaves office after 16 years in the chancellery since 2005, in a video meeting on Wednesday and called her an “old friend (lăo péngyŏu),” speaking very highly of the outgoing leader of Germany. President Xi’s cordial greetings to Chancellor Merkel is likely to have been stemmed from Chancellor Merkel’s 12 visits to China during her tenure and her impartiality amid the U.S.-China tensions. The German chancellor frequently clashed with the Donald Trump administration over Trump’s intense pressure to spend more on defense and U.S. troops in Germany.
Moon urges speedy, thorough probe on Daejang-dong issue
President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday that the prosecution and police should fully cooperate and make all-out efforts to conduct speedy and thorough investigation to ascertain the substantive truth about the Daejang-dong development project, which is suspected of favoritism and irregularities. This is the first time the president ordered rigorous investigation since the establishment of an investigation unit specifically dedicated to investigate the Daejang-dong scandal at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office 13 days ago.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
The Aftermath of the Democratic Primaries Rings an Alarm: 40% of Lee Nak-yon’s Supporters Went to Yoon Seok-youl
On October 14, the results of a survey showed that some of the supporters of Lee Nak-yon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea who lost in the party primaries, expressed their support for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a presidential candidate of the People Power Party and not Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, who was elected as the Democratic Party candidate. Wounds from the party primaries have yet to heal, and they appear to be behind the latest result. Some experts believe this is a warning sign on the “one team” that the Democratic Party is trying to form ahead of the presidential race.
“What? Is He Blind?” Yoo Seong-min Attacks Yoon Seok-youl for His Unrefined Criticism
On October 14, former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min, one of the People Power Party’s presidential candidates, attacked former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl for making crude comments criticizing him and said that Yoon should take care of the cases of his mother-in-law, his wife and himself first; quit making one reckless comment a day; and study policies. He also said, “He (Yoon) became an overnight sensation thanks to his role as the Moon Jae-in government’s faithful dog, and now what? Is he blind?” This day, Yoo uploaded a post on social media and asked, “How can a cowardly candidate full of weaknesses beat Lee Jae-myung?”
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, “We Are Now at a Stage to Prepare a Return to Our Daily Lives after a Period of Adversity”
On October 13, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, “After going through a period of adversity, we are now at a stage for preparations to carefully restore our everyday life.” This day, the prime minister presided over the first meeting of a committee to support the return to everyday life following COVID-19 at the government office in Seoul and said, “The government will prepare a phased journey to restore everyday life based on our performance in disease control and the rising vaccination rate.” However, Kim said, “This does not mean, by any means, that we should immediately take off our masks,” and explained, “It means we will gradually promote a harmony between disease control and everyday life when preparing a return to our daily lives.”
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Korea’s battery trio forecast to record best-ever earnings in 2021 on EV boom
South Korea’s battery trio LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK On Co. are forecast to close this year with their best-ever earnings on a global electric vehicle boom backed by developed countries’ efforts to groom the EV market to expedite economic recovery and achieve decarbonization.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Korea’s No. 1 battery brand LG Energy Solution and runner-up Samsung SDI are projected to report record operating profit in battery business this year. SK On, which has been in the red since the launch of its battery business due to massive initial investment in overseas factories, is also expected to significantly narrow operating loss this year and may turn around by the final quarter of this year at the earliest or the first half of next year.
Chinese ports lure cargo carriers away from Korea amid global container crunch
South Korean exporters grappling with global container shortages, described as ‘Containergeddon,’ have met another challenge as Chinese ports are luring away cargo carriers returning from the U.S. with nearly zero rates, making Korea’s largest sea gateway Busan port less competitive. Busan port had received 18,629 foreign cargo ships from January to July this year, down 14.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago, showed National Logistics Information Center data on Wednesday.
SK joins hands with Monolith to produce clean hydrogen, carbon black products
South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group has joined hands with a U.S.-based hydrogen technology company Monolith to produce clean hydrogen and eco-friendly carbon black products in Korea as part of efforts to build a comprehensive hydrogen value chain by 2025. SK Inc., investment arm of SK Group, said on Wednesday that it has agreed to set up a joint venture with Monolith, a U.S.-based leader in clean hydrogen production, to produce clean hydrogen and a solid carbon material, called carbon black, products in Korea.
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Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net
Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com
Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
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