Thursday, November 4, 2021
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Seoul greets a wonderful seasoned, ambitious lady ambassador from Cambodia
All these years since the resumption of diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Cambodia in 1997, the Republic of Korea has been favored with wonderful ambassadors from the country. However, this year it appears that Korea greets one of the most wonderful ambassadors. The ambassador, Madam Chring Botum Rangsay, spoke the English language in a manner which no one could really tell apart from that used by Britons or Americans. With the new ambassador from Cambodia, it appears that the two countries are now in for a one-notch upgraded level of relations, cooperation and friendship. At an exclusive interview with The Korea Post media (publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean news publications since 1985) on Oct. 26, 2021, Ambassador Chring disclosed that following the signing of free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and Cambodia, the Cambodian Embassy planned to cohost a business investment event in Seoul in early December with the participation of economy- and business-related ministers of Cambodia.
Grand Josun Busan, L’Escape Hotel launch special packages with Starbucks Korea
Grand Josun Busan and L’Escape Hotel, boutique-style hotel of Josun Hotels & Resorts, are working side by side with Starbucks Korea for the coming winter to introduce their own wonderful hotel promotions offering free Starbucks comforter from Oct. 28, 2021 to Jan. 31, 2022. All guests signing up for their two special hotel packages will receive Starbucks comforter for free to help them enjoy a warm and cozy winter season. This padding style comforter was created through collaboration with visual artist 275c known for colorful and modern-concept artworks, and by using the buckle attached to the piece, it can also be used as a cape. Starbucks comforter, a product of two Josun Hotels & Resorts’ hotels’ collaboration, was in-fact pre-produced exclusively for the use at the hotels, adding more special values to the piece.
Daesang Group replaces its corporate image in 24 years
Daesang Group unveiled its new corporate image (CI) on Nov. 1 to mark the 65th anniversary of its foundation. This is the first replacement in 24 years since 1997 when the group changed its name from Miwon to Daesang. Choi Sung-soo, CEO of Daesang Holdings, said, "We will pave the way for a leap forward to become a 100-year company with the introduction of a new CI." The new CI embodies a tree rooted on the ground and stretched branches toward the sky. This means that products and services created based on "nature," which is the basis of the Daesang business, are a virtuous cycle structure that enriches humans and nature. The group started with Dong-A Hwaseong Industrial Co., Ltd., founded in 1956 by the late Chairman Lim Dae-hong.
KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Key Figures in Land Development Scandal
A local court has issued arrest warrants for two key figures in a land development scandal. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday issued the warrant for Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, saying that the suspect may destroy evidence and there was sufficient proof of his charges. The prosecution requested the writ on Monday on charges of bribery, embezzlement and breach of trust. Kim allegedly conspired with Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corporation, and others so that Hwacheon Daeyu would reap profits of at least 65 billion won from the project, causing losses of that amount to the city-run developer.
S. Korea, Hungary Agree to Upgrade Bilateral Ties to Strategic Partnership
President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday and agreed to upgrade relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership. President Moon announced the agreement in a joint press briefing after the talks in Budapest. Moon said that the two sides assessed that bilateral trade between South Korea and Hungary reached a record high last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Moon and President Ader agreed to further enhance economic cooperation and work together to expand bilateral trade in promising industries such as electric vehicles and batteries.
Foliage Season on Mt. Halla Reaches Peak
The year’s foliage season on Mount Halla has peaked one week later than last year. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, leaves on South Korea's highest mountain began to turn last Tuesday and reached their zenith on Tuesday. The peak of the autumn foliage season on the Jeju mountain came seven days later than last year and four days later than the average of usual years. The weather agency said it usually takes two weeks for the foliage season to reach its peak, but the process has been accelerated due to recent clear weather conditions and steep temperature differences between the morning lows and daytime highs.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea, Arab nations agree to resumption of free trade talks
South Korea and a group of Arab countries have agreed to push for the resumption of their free trade talks that have been suspended for a decade in a move to forge deeper economic ties, Seoul's industry ministry said Wednesday. The announcement was made during the meeting between South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s Secretary General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf held in Riyadh earlier in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The GCC has six member nations -- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
Netflix VP says company is in talks with 'Squid Game' producers for additional bonus
Global streaming giant Netflix is considering giving an additional reward to Korean producers of "Squid Game," as it became the platform's biggest-ever original show, a senior official of the company was quoted as saying Wednesday. Dean Garfield, vice president of public policy at Netflix, said his company is in talks with "Squid Game" productions crews, including director Hwang Dong-hyuk, over special bonuses, Rep. Kim Yeung-shik told reporters. The Netflix official made the remark during a meeting with Rep. Kim while visiting Seoul for meetings with South Korean officials from the information service authorities and parliament, including Kim Hyun, vice chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission.
Court issues arrest warrant for key figure in development corruption scandal
A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for the owner of an asset management firm at the center of an urban development corruption scandal over allegations his firm received business favors in exchange for bribes. Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is facing charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over how the previously unheard-of asset management company and its seven affiliates were chosen as private partners for the lucrative project and reaped astronomical profits.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
S. Korea, Hungary agree to upgrade ties as bilateral trade grows
President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday and agreed to upgrade relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership as two-way trade grew at a solid pace despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade reached a new high last year,” Moon said during a joint press briefing after the talks, adding that he hopes the two nations will step up cooperation in electric cars and batteries. The two sides also agreed to expand forward-looking cooperation in the fields of economy, science, technology and culture, and had in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics to strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations, Moon’s office said.
S. Korea seeks to sell 10 fighter jets to Slovakia
Korea Aerospace Industries, South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer, is in talks with the Slovakian government to sell 10 FA-50 homegrown trainer jets in a $500 million deal, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Wednesday. KAI is set to sign a deal with Slovakian aircraft repair company LOTN on Wednesday in Hungary upon President Moon Jae-in’s European tour this week. The president, who arrived in Budapest on Tuesday for a state visit, will hold a summit Thursday with the prime ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. It will be the second summit between South Korea and the Visegrad Group.
North Korea may launch space rocket next year: expert
North Korea may launch a space rocket next year as part of the regime’s program to enhance weapons capabilities amid long-stalled denuclearization talks with the US, a state-run think tank report says. Ko Jae-hong, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea’s spy agency, released a report Tuesday examining the North’s weapons expo held last month and the country’s defense outlook. Ko said that it is likely that the North could launch a space rocket next year, in time for the country’s major holidays in the first half of 2022.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
New Munch Museum offers unseen side of Norwegian artist
The Munch Museum, or MUNCH, in Oslo, Norway, opened its highly-anticipated new building to the public last month, and it lived up to expectations. The museum, home to some 27,000 works of art by the Norwegian expressionist painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), originally opened in Toyen, Oslo. It recently moved to the 13-story building dedicated to the artist in the neighborhood of Bjorvika. Frode Solberg, Norwegian Ambassador to Korea, spoke about the significance of Munch to Norway as well as to the world. "As Norwegians, we find this very important, of course, but I think also as global citizens. I think Edvard Munch belongs to the greatest, not only the greatest Norwegians, perhaps also among the greatest artists.
Ruling party, government clash over universal relief fund, taxation on virtual assets
Tension between the ruling party and the government seems to be escalating as its presidential candidate is floating ideas that go against the administration's policies. Ahead of the presidential election in March, Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said he would give a new COVID-19 relief payment to all Koreans, and delay the government's planned taxation of virtual assets ― presumably to appeal to young and centrist voters. Earlier this week, Lee said the government should provide an additional 300,000 won ($253) to 500,000 won per person in relief funding as the government is expected to log a larger-than-expected surplus in tax revenue this year and many people are still suffering from the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Korea, Hungary agree to upgrade ties as bilateral trade grows
President Moon Jae-in held a summit with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday and agreed to upgrade relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership as two-way trade grew at a solid pace despite the COVID-19 pandemic. "In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade reached a new high last year," Moon said during a joint press briefing after the talks, adding that he hopes the two nations will step up cooperation in electric cars and batteries. The two sides also agreed to expand forward-looking cooperation in the fields of economy, science, technology and culture, and had in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics to strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations, Moon's office said.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Moon Promotes N.Korea Forestation Plans at COP26
President Moon Jae-in on Monday used a keynote speech at the the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow to boost his fading hopes of engaging North Korea. "Through inter-Korean forestry cooperation, we will strive to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across the entire Korean Peninsula," Moon told world leaders. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun claimed Tuesday the efforts "mark the starting point of a virtuous cycle to advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, improve inter-Korean relations and lead to talks between the North and the U.S." But the idea attracted no global headlines, and no progress has been made in cross-border cooperation on reforestation or anything else.
SK to Invest Trillions in U.S. Plants
SK chairman Chey Tae-won has announced plans to invest some W60 trillion in the company's U.S. operations by 2030 (US$1=W1,176). Chey was in Washington for about a week until Monday and met with politicians like Senate minority leader Mitchell McConnell to exchange ideas, according to the company. He told McConnell SK will invest half of the US$52 billion in environmentally friendly areas such as electric car batteries and hydrogen energy. Chey also met Republican senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty from Tennessee to woo their support to build an EV battery plant in the state. SK is working to build battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee after establishing a joint venture with Ford.
N.Korea Shows up at UN Climate Conference
A delegation of North Korean officials unexpectedly showed up at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday. The North is among 190 countries that have signed up to the 2015 Paris Climate Accords and has sent representatives to subsequent meetings. But instead of a team from Pyongyang, the North's ambassador to the U.K. attended the meeting because North Korea's borders are completely sealed and nobody can come in or out. Ambassador Choe Il and other delegates were almost barred from the venue when they tried to attend the opening ceremony and speeches delivered by world leaders without special tickets. They were finally able to enter after showing their North Korean passports.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Moon underscores S. Korea’s role in leading cooperation on climate change
While touring Europe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Budapest, Hungary, for a state visit on Tuesday. Following an official welcome event on Wednesday, Moon plans to hold separate meetings with Hungarian President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “We must take immediate action on climate change,” Moon said following his attendance at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland. The conference, also called COP26, was attended by countries that are signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
PPP presidential contenders use regressive tactics to pick up support
The camps of prospective presidential candidates in the People Power Party (PPP) are being criticized for adopting regressive approaches as they seek to capture party support with the primary entering its final stages. Many of them have been bringing jailed former President Park Geun-hye into the mix and making statements damaging to gender equality as they adopt it as a wedge issue to target male voters in their 20s and 30s. On Tuesday, the election camp of lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo announced that it had received an endorsement from former Korea Football Association President Park Jun-hong, the cousin of ex-President Park Geun-hye.
Global climate change measures not immune to US-China rift
In the current era that has been described as a “new Cold War,” global warming has been viewed as a meaningful issue on which international cooperation between the world’s two giants — the US and China — may be possible. But the two-day G20 summit in Rome on Saturday and Sunday showed how difficult it will be to achieve US-China cooperation and other forms of international solidarity on the issue. The key question at the summit was whether the world’s major powers would be able to reach a meaningful and unanimous decision on climate change response measures ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, which commenced in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Meeting between Moon and Kishida falls through
The first meeting scheduled between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) fell through. As the South Korean and Japanese governments have not closed a gap regarding the resolution of the issues of sex slaves and forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial era, it is predicted that President Moon is unlikely to find momentum in the bilateral relations in the last several months of his term. President Moon attended an event to launch the Global Methane Pledge led by U.S. President Joe Biden as the final program of COP26 held in Glasgow on Tuesday (local time).
Kakao Pay becomes the 13th largest company
South Korea’s Kakao Pay, the fintech service arm of Kakao Corp., became the 13th largest company on the KOSPI on debut by securing a market capitalization of 25 trillion won. The company is now making the second largest stock in the financial sector in Korea. Listed on the KOSPI on Wednesday, Kakao Pay surged 7.22% (13,000 won) from the opening price and ended day one of trading at 193,000 won. Investors who were allocated Kakao Pay shares through IPO under the equal share allocations system would have earned 103,000 won per stock.
47% of Republicans support Trump as presidential candidate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (photo) has an overwhelmingly high support rate as the next presidential candidate by Republicans, coming in first place. Political news site The Hill reported on Tuesday that Trump had a 47% support rate from Republicans and independents, according to Harvard’s Center for Political Studies and The Harris Poll. Ron DeSantis came in second at 10%, followed by 9% for former Vice President Mike Pence. Nineteen percent did not indicate whom they supported for. The survey was conducted of 1,578 voters from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Daejang-dong Members Set the Fixed Price of 200 Billion Won Before the Launch of the Seongnam Development Corporation
The figures involved in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi had agreed to fixed profits of 200 billion won for the city of Seongnam just before the launch of the Seongnam Development Corporation. The city later earned 182.2 billion won from the Daejang-dong project. The people involved in the Daejang-dong project not only designed a plan based on a “fixed profit” instead of a “recovery of excess profits,” but they also set the fixed profit that would go to the Seongnam Development Corporation and managed to achieve similar results.
“Moon to the Window (or Detention Center)” Kim So-yeon Released from Her Position after News of Her Joining Yoon Seok-youl’s Campaign Got Out
The day the news got out that lawyer Kim So-yeon, chief of the municipal administration monitoring team at the People Power Party’s Daejeon office, joined former prosecutor general Yoon Seok-youl’s election campaign, she was released from her position. Last year, Kim stirred controversy after hanging a placard with the words, “The Moon to the Window (The Korean word for ‘window’ could also be read as a ‘military detention center.’ Thus this phrase can be interpreted as a demand that President Moon be sent to prison.),” in downtown Daejeon. She also came under fire for controversial comments condemning the party’s leader Lee Jun-seok, whom she once called a “retard.” Yoon’s camp appears to have decided to remove Kim because of her negative image.
North Korean Government Officials Were Present When President Moon Gave a Speech on “Inter-Korean Cooperation in Forest Restoration”
On November 1 (local time), President Moon Jae-in gave a keynote address at the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP26) and suggested inter-Korean cooperation in forest restoration. North Korean government officials were on site and listened to the president’s speech until the end. However, President Moon was not able to meet with the North Korean officials. This day, President Moon gave a keynote speech at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, where the COP 26 summit is taking place. The president said, “Cooperation in forest restoration is a way to promote peace in the border area,” and added that the two Koreas could reduce greenhouse gases on the Korean Peninsula through cooperation in forest restoration.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Korean memory majors likely to beat DRAM down cycle with lead in DDR5
Korean memory behemoths Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could be less worried about latest softening in DRAM prices as they expect faster migration to high-end next-gen double data rate 5 (DDR5) memory, in which they have made comfortable head start in commercialization and perfection. Intel is set to release Alder Lake CPU, the first DDR5-powered desktop processor on Thursday. The U.S. semiconductor giant also plans to release its new data center processor Sapphire Rapids that supports DDR5 memory in the first half of 2022.
Woori Financial Group okayed to go by internal rating, assets raised by $17 bn
Woori Financial Group received go-ahead from South Korea’s financial authority to go by internal rating system, a move that could boost its assets by 20 trillion won ($17 billion) and gain enough ammunition to bulk up as a full-fledged holding entity. The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday approved Woori Financial Group to employ an internal rating model instead of general credit risk assessing standards for banking and investment activities.
Four out of 6 on BOK board approve of rate hike, bonds surge on govt intervention
Four out of six on the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea believe the base rate should go higher, according to the minutes of the last meeting in October that chose inaction to wait out the effect of a hike in August. According to the minutes from Oct 12 monetary policy board’s meeting released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, four out of six committee members excluding Chairman Lee Ju-yeol, approved of additional raise. Lee had named two dissident members Lim Ji-won and Suh Young-kyung in October meeting.
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 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.
What are you waiting for?
Use us!
The Korea Post media are more than eager to be used, and to serve you—with the following five news outlets, 36 years old this year!
Korean-language Internet edition: http://www.koreapost.co.kr
English-language Internet edition: http://www.koreapost.com
Korean-language print newspaper:
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3801.pdf
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3802.pdf
http://pdf.koreapost.co.kr/38/3803.pdf
http://www.koreapost.co.kr/pdf/list.php?category=&syear=2018&smonth=03&sday=26&hosu=40
English E-daily: http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=10690