Friday, March 11, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

Amb. Al Nuaimi of the UAE wins ‘Best Ambassador Award’

TYM (Chairman Kim Hi-yong, Kim Do-hoon / formerly known as TongYang Moolsan Co. Ltd.), one of the major Korean agricultural machinery companies, announced a donation of 100 million won in cash and 10 tractors which are worth 400 million won on March 7. The purpose is to aid refugees and displaced people who are suffering from the Russian invasion on Ukrainian territory and to share the burden. Currently, agricultural tractors are used for war efforts and there is shortage of farming machines in the country.

 

Madam Kloose takes strong interest in enhancing ties, friendship, cooperation with Korea

Madam Flavia Athena Kloose, spouse of the former ambassador of Romania in Seoul, is a very special person for Korea as much as her husband, Ambassador Mihail Ciompec. She is very fond of Korea, especially the Korean culture and history. She makes it sure to attend all the tours organized by The Korea Post media to the local cultures and tourist sites for the promotion of relations, cooperation and friendship between her country of Romania in Seoul and Korea.


TYM donates 100 million won, 10 tractors to Ukrainian Embassy

TYM (Chairman Kim Hi-yong, Kim Do-hoon / formerly known as TongYang Moolsan Co. Ltd.), one of the major Korean agricultural machinery companies, announced a donation of 100 million won in cash and 10 tractors which are worth 400 million won on March 7. The purpose is to aid refugees and displaced people who are suffering from the Russian invasion on Ukrainian territory and to share the burden. Currently, agricultural tractors are used for war efforts and there is shortage of farming machines in the country.

 

                                                                                             

 

Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Swing Votes Helped Yoon to Wafer-Thin Victory

The presidential election on Wednesday was a heavy blow to the ruling Minjoo Party but no great triumph for the opposition camp, whose candidate Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party was elected by a wafer-thin majority. Initial analysis suggests that the swing was mostly due to young voters and supporters in the southwest and Seoul. Yoon won by a just 0.72 percentage points, showing liberals and conservatives almost equally balanced between their lackluster candidates. But the ruling party dramatically lost the fulsome support that led to its super-majority in the last general election.

N.Korea Expected to Test More Long-Range Missiles
North Korea hopes it will soon be able to launch its own surveillance satellites to spy on South Korea and the U.S. During a recent visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration, leader Kim Jong-un pledged to put several "military reconnaissance satellites" into orbit within five years, the official Rodong Sinmun reported on Thursday. But the technology for a space rocket that takes a satellite into orbit and an intercontinental ballistic missile is more or less the same, so one could be camouflage for the other. That would mean Kim is scrapping what remains of a moratorium declared in 2018 on long-range missile tests.
 

 

Yoon Seok-youl's Path to Presidency
President-elect Yoon Seok-youl became famous for saying at a National Assembly audit in 2013, "I am not loyal to any person." That led to his removal from a prosecution team investigating a major political scandal at the time but mobilized legions of supporters in the latest presidential election. Later, as prosecutor-general, Yoon became even more famous as a thorn in the side of the president who had appointed him as he spearheaded an investigation into fly-by-night justice minister Cho Kuk and his wife.

 

                                                                                             

 

Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
Quarantines being dropped for people coming to Korea

Quarantines are being dropped for vaccinated people arriving in Korea. Starting March 21, people vaccinated in Korea and overseas will no longer have to go into seven days of quarantine after entering the country, except for four countries: Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Myanmar. To qualify for a quarantine exemption, inbound travelers need proof of three vaccine shots, or two with the second being no more than 180 days old. People vaccinated in Korea have records in the local quarantine system. People vaccinated overseas have to send proof of vaccination to a public health center in Korea in advance of arriving.

 

In victory's flush, Yoon promises national unity

Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) emphasized a message of national unity after being elected Korea's president for the next five years. Yoon, 61, the first former prosecutor to be elected president, beat his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung by just 0.73 percentage points of the vote. In Korea's closest presidential election, frontrunners Yoon and Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) were neck-and-neck in exits polls Wednesday evening, making a victor too close to call until nearly all the votes were tallied around 4 a.m. With 100 percent of the ballots counted a little past 6 a.m., Yoon had 48.56 percent of votes and Lee 47.83 percent, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

 

Unlikely white knight brought conservatives back to power

Former prosecutor general Yoon Suk-yeol was an unlikely figure to lead the conservative People Power Party (PPP) back to power just five years after the impeachment of the party's last president, Park Geun-hye. After all, it was Yoon himself who led the investigation of Park that led to her removal from office — and the PPP's banishment to the political wilderness. Once reviled by conservatives for leading corruption probes against not only Park but also former president Lee Myung-bak, the heads of Samsung and Hyundai and a chief justice of the Supreme Court, Yoon's willingness to go after President Moon Jae-in's political allies just a few years later — and his front-page power struggles with key figures in the Moon administration — transformed him virtually overnight into the great right-wing hope.


                                                                                             

 

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

Pres. Moon to meet with President-elect Yoon next week
President Moon Jae-in spoke with President-elect Yoon Seok-youl on Thursday on the phone and said that he will support the transition process so that the new administration can smoothly take over the government. “Teach me a lot,” Yoon has reportedly asked Moon and expressed hope to meet as early as possible. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Park Kyung-mi, in a telephone conversation held for five minutes from 9:10 a.m., President Moon congratulated Yoon, saying, “Despite the differences in political stance and policies, there is a continuity in government and lots to handle in the change-over of presidential power,” and said that they would meet soon.

 

Biden mentions Samsung in roundtable gathering

Presiding over a meeting with global companies to discuss the expansion of semiconductors supply on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to Samsung Electronics. Thank you for being here. Samsung has committed $17 billion — its largest-ever U.S. investment — to build a semiconductor facility in Texas, which I understand is going to create 2,000 good-paying jobs,” said President Biden at a Roundtable meeting with global CEOs in support of the Bipartisan Innovation Bill.

 

Papyeong Yoon clan celebrates Yoon’s victory

Yoon Seok-youl, the 35th generation of Papyeong Yoon. Congratulations on your presidency.” Fifty or so banners were seen hanging across the small town of Byeongsa-1-ri, Noseong-myun of Nonsan City in South Chungcheong Province, the hometown of Yoon Gi-joong, the professor emeritus of Yonsei University and the father of South Korean President-elect Yoon Seok-youl. It was the members of the clan gathering for Papyeong Yoon and the towners that hung the banners in celebration of Yoon’s victory in the presidential election.

 

                                                                                                             

 

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

Kakao rumored to have offered nearly $810 mn for founder’s stake in SM Entertainment

Korean platform giant Kakao Corp. is said to be close to becoming the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment Co., South Korea`s leading first-generation entertainment company, through purchase of shares from the founder. According to the investment banking (IB) industry on Friday, Kakao has reached a tentative agreement with SM Entertainment’s founder and chief producer Lee Soo-man to buy his entire stake in SM Entertainment.

 

S. Korea’s March 1-10 exports and imports up nearly 15%

South Korean exports kept up modest double-digit growth of nearly 15 percent in the first 10 days of March against a year ago led by mainstay export items such as chips and petrochemical products despite rising geographical uncertainties from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to data released by Korea Customs Service on Friday, Korea’s exports totaled $18.7 billion in from 1st to 10th of March, up 14.9 percent from the same period a year earlier.

 

IMF and BIS officials from outside and BOK insiders floated as next BOK chief

Experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from outside and inside promotions are being floated as the candidates to next governorship at the Bank of Korea. BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol would be ending his second term on March 31 after serving eight years under both conservative and liberal presidents.

 

                                                                                              

 

HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

All eyes on Yoon’s plans for S. Korea-US ties, N. Korea policy after Biden call

In his first telephone conversation with South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday, US President Joe Biden said he looked forward to coordination on key global issues such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply chains. The conversation is focusing greater attention on the incoming administration’s vision for South Korea-US relations, as Biden went beyond a mere congratulatory message to stress the need for active coordination on major international issues.


Yoon talks “rebuilding” alliance with US, overcoming COVID-19 crisis at first presser as president-elect

Yoon Suk-yeol held his first press conference as president-elect on Thursday at the National Assembly. In his speech, he revealed a detailed roadmap for his administration that included plans to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, establish stronger defense capabilities to respond to the North Korean nuclear threat, and balance regional development. Focusing on private sector-led economic growth, Yoon emphasized that his administration would “switch to a private sector-centered economy rather than a government-led economy to create more jobs and strengthen the middle class.”

 

A 0.73-point win is a warning from the South Korean people

A mere 247,077 votes, or 0.73 percentage points. This was the razor-thin margin that separated the winner from the loser in South Korea’s presidential election Wednesday. The South Korean electorate didn’t give their full support to either of the main candidates on March 9, instead voting in a way that made for a nail-biting night more exhilarating than any drama you could find on TV. With both candidates failing to present strong visions for how they would govern the country, voters appear to have sent both sides a warning with this election.

 

                                                                                    

 

The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Daejang-dong and Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant, Will Investigations Target the Moon Jae-in Government?

Now that the presidential election has ended, all eyes are on the direction of several investigations, which had been pushed back until after the election. Investigations on President-elect Yoon Seok-youl and his family, on Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung, and on the incumbent government are still ongoing. Due to the presidential privilege against prosecution, many believe the investigations concerning Yoon will lose momentum. Some predict the possibility that investigations will now target Lee Jae-myung and the incumbent government.

 

Hong Joon-pyo Announces Bid for Daegu Mayor, “I Will Renovate Daegu”

People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo (Hong Jun-pyo) officially announced his bid for the mayor of Daegu. On March 10, Hong wrote a post on his online politics platform The Youth Dream and said, “I will leave central politics to President-elect Yoon Seok-youl and will go local.” He explained, “I decided to go local because now that my dream of renovating the Republic of Korea has been frustrated, I believe it is right for me to go and first renovate Daegu, which raised me.” The lawmaker also said, “My heart is much lighter than when I went south to serve as the governor of Gyeongsangnam-do ten years ago,” and added, “Even if I go local, I will continue my channel TV Hongka Cola and The Youth Dream. I seek more of your guidance and support.”

 

President-Elect Yoon Seok-youl, “The Race Is Over. Time to Come Together as One for the Republic of Korea”

On March 10, the 20th president-elect Yoon Seok-youl said, “The race is over for now, and we must all come together and become one for the people and the Republic of Korea,” in his acceptance speech. Shortly after his victory was confirmed early this morning, Yoon visited the People Power Party vote-counting situation room set up in the B1 auditorium at the National Assembly Library of Korea in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. He then met with reporters and said, “Now as president-elect, I will prepare a new government, and when I officially take on the role of president, I will respect the spirit of our Constitution, respect the National Assembly, and cooperate with the opposition parties to better serve the people.”

 

                                                                                                

 


KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)

Presidential Transition Committee to Comprise 7 Divisions

President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's transition committee will comprise seven divisions focusing on key areas of national interest. Yoon's chief of staff Chang Je-won, told reporters on Friday that Yoon approved a draft version of the committee's organizational chart. The seven divisions include planning and adjustment; foreign policy and national security; legal, political and administrative affairs; the economy; science, technology and education; and culture, society, and welfare. A special committee on national unity will also likely be set up directly under the helm of the president-elect.

 

President-Elect Yoon Certain S. Korea-China Relations Will Further Develop

President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol told China's top envoy to South Korea that he was certain that Seoul-Beijing relations will further develop in the future. Yoon made the remark when Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming paid a courtesy call on Friday, noting China is South Korea's biggest trade partner, while South Korea is China's third largest. In reference to the commemoration of 30 years of diplomatic ties dating back to 1992, Yoon said such a relationship is of great help to people in both countries and also advanced economic progress.

 

Prime Minister Projects Omicron Wave Will Peak in Roughly 10 Days

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has projected that the omicron wave currently sweeping the country will peak in around ten days with daily cases hovering around 370-thousand. Kim made the remark on Friday during a government meeting on the COVID-19 response. He stressed that the government will place top priority on reducing severe COVID-19 cases and deaths to protect their lives in the culminating period. The prime minister said starting next Monday, the government plans to allow hospitalized patients with underlying conditions that test positive for COVID-19 to receive treatment in general wards.

 


                                                                                                                

 

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

Yoon says sure S. Korea-China relations will develop further

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he is certain South Korea-China relations will develop further as he met with Beijing's top envoy to Seoul. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming two days after his election, noting China is South Korea's largest trading partner and South Korea is China's third-largest. "I'm certain South Korea-China relations will develop further," he said at the People Power Party headquarters, recalling this year marks 30 years since the two countries' establishment of diplomatic ties.

 

Yoon, Ahn meet ahead of presidential transition committee launch

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday met with People's Party chief Ahn Cheol-soo, who endorsed Yoon in the presidential election, amid speculation that Ahn may lead the transition committee. In their meeting in Seoul, the two were expected to discuss how to form the presidential transition committee, with focus on selecting and appointing committee personnel. Ahn later told reporters that they did not talk about personnel issues at all, but speculation has been growing that he could head the committee to prepare the initiation of the new government.

 

Main opposition party chief Lee tests positive for virus in rapid antigen test

The head of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 in a rapid antigen test while on a visit to the southwestern city of Gwangju, according to party officials. Should PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok's infection be confirmed in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will also have to take a virus test, because party officials said the two had lunch together Thursday.

 

                                                                                   

 

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

Yoon tells Japan, China’s leaders to further develop relations

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has told leaders of neighboring Japan and China to develop relations further. The leaders agreed to strengthen ties with South Korea. On Friday morning, Yoon met with the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming in Seoul, saying he is confident that Korea-China relations will develop further.

 

President-elect seeks to start term outside Cheong Wa Dae
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his aides are working to move the presidential office from where it is now in Cheong Wa Dae to the government complex by the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul, as he had promised during his campaign. The project would be one of the first initiatives Yoon will push in starting his presidential transition committee, which will officially launch within the next two weeks. The committee is expected to have around 200 officials, including many experts and officials who took part in Yoon’s campaign.

 

Yoon hopes to strengthen ties with US, expand cooperation

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday vowed to strengthen ties with the United States during his term, highlighting the need to expand cooperation between the two countries based on their alliance. In a meeting with Christopher Del Corso, charge d’affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Seoul, Yoon said South Korea and the US will have to adjust its relationship to reflect that the countries are “sworn by blood” to help each other.

 

                                                                                     

 

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

Yoon mulls relocating presidential office to Gwanghwamun

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has been mulling over whether to relocate the country's presidential office to Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, to keep a promise he made during the presidential campaign, according to his party, March 10. Citing a source familiar with the matter, local daily Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that relocating the top office is the first task among the campaign pledges he made as a presidential candidate. If the plan works out, the incoming president and his family are most likely to live in the prime minister's current residence in Samcheong-dong in Seoul's Jongno District.

 

Cryptocurrency market forecast to boom under Yoon administration

Korea's cryptocurrency market will boom under President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol as the incoming administration is widely expected to adopt a deregulatory stance by easing taxation on crypto trading and allowing an initial coin offering (ICO), officials said Friday. Yoon made a series of campaign pledges which center on easing tight regulations introduced by the incumbent administration. First and foremost, he pledged to reduce taxation on crypto gains. Last year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance planned to impose tougher crypto income taxes on those whose gains exceed 2.5 million won ($2,225) beginning from 2022.

 

Daegu World Gas Conference on alert over Ukraine crisis, Omicron spread

The World Gas Conference Daegu 2022 scheduled for May is bracing itself for the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and the escalating Russia-Ukraine war, event organizers said Friday. According to the Daegu Metropolitan Office, the international event to be held in Daegu from May 23 to 27, has received only 200 registration requests, as of Friday, only 5 percent of the initially expected attendance of 4,800. "Many participating firms seem hesitant to register early," said a Daegu Metropolitan Office official who coordinates the event with the WGC 2022 National Organizing Committee associated with Korea Gas Corp.


                                                                                                                   

 

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.
 

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