Thursday, April 7, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
April 10th marks 1 year of Uzbekistan’s joining GSP plus beneficiaries
April 10 marks one year since Uzbekistan joined the GSP plus group beneficiaries. Uzbekistan joined the group in April last year, becoming the ninth country to participate in the special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance. Through the GSP+, Uzbekistan will receive duty-free access to the EU market for about 66% of tariff lines. At the same time, the GSP+ supports Uzbekistan in implementing sustainable development objectives and making further progress in the fields of human and labour rights, environmental and climate protection and good governance.
KFS holds a tree planting event to commemorate the 77th Arbor Day
Korea Forest Service (KFS), led by Minister Choi Byeong-am, held a tree planting event to commemorate the 77th Arbor Day at Gahyeonsan Urban Forest in Gimpo City on April 5. A total of 70 people, including Nam Tae-heon, deputy minister of the KFS, and members of the Korea Forest Love Youth Corps attended the event to celebrate Arbor Day by planting 200 trees. Arbor Day was established in 1945 when Korea was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule, and the Arbor Day event has been held since the following year, marking its 77th anniversary this year. It is a meaningful day that has driven the successful promotion of forestation in Korea.
Nanox opens a semiconductor chip fabrication plant in Korea
NANO-X IMAGING Ltd., an innovative medical imaging technology company, announced on April 5 that it has opened its new semiconductor chip fabrication plant in South Korea. The facility is operational, opened on schedule, and will be the main production site of Nanox micro-electro-mechanical systems (“MEMs”) known as Nanox.SOURCE, a chip that produces the digital X-ray source for the Company’s Nanox.ARC system, a 3D medical imaging system that has the potential to democratize meaningful access to imaging not currently available in approximately two-thirds of the world.
Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
S.Korean Oil Tankers 'Sold to N.Korea'
Two oil tankers that belonged to South Korean shipping firms appear to have been sold to North Korea, prompting the UN Security Council to launch an investigation. The UN Security Council's Panel of Experts overseeing sanctions against North Korea said in a recent report that it is investigating the case of a South Korean-flagged oil tanker named Daeho Sunrise being sold to a Chinese company and ending up as the Ocean Sky under the nominal flag of Sierra Leone but owned by North Korea. The Ocean Sky is a mid-sized tanker of 5,807 DWT that was built in 1996.
U.S. to Speed up Return of Yongsan Garrison to Korea
The U.S. has reportedly promised president-elect Yoon Seok-youl that it will hurry up and finally return the vast former headquarters of the U.S. Forces Korea in central Seoul's Yongsan to Korea. A taskforce in Yoon's transition team overseeing the relocation of the presidential office to the current Defense Ministry building nearby is sticking to plans to turn the heavily polluted military base into a public park. A member of the taskforce told the Chosun Ilbo, "The U.S. military voiced its intention to cooperate in the relocation project by speeding up the return of South Post of the military base," which has been vacated at last.
Kim Jong-un's Sister Threatens to 'Exterminate' S.Korean Military
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister Yo-jong has resurfaced to threaten to "exterminate" the South Korean military with a "nuclear attack" in a war. It was the frankest expression yet who North Korea's nuclear arms are aimed at. Until recently, the regime maintained that its nuclear arsenal is deterring a U.S. nuclear attack, calling it a "treasured sword." But in a statement carried by the official Rodong Sinmun daily on Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong said, "If South Korea, for any reason -- whether or not it is blinded by misjudgment -- opts for such military action as 'preemptive strike'... the situation will change. In that case, South Korea itself will become a target."
Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
International flight schedules fast returning to normal
The Transport Ministry is resuming control of international flight operations at Korean airports from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) as the pandemic comes to an end. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday, the government hopes the number of international flights — arrivals plus departures — will return to 50 percent of 2019 levels this year. Year to date, the number of regular international flights operating are 8.9 percent of 2019 levels. Currently, 420 international flights are arriving or departing Korea every week. In May, the number will be raised to 520 and in June 620. By July, weekly international flights will break 900.
Yoon's delegation discusses more strategic assets in D.C.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's delegation to Washington discussed the deployment of additional U.S. strategic assets to South Korea in a meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Tuesday. The team also delivered a personal letter from Yoon to U.S. President Joe Biden, said People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Park Jin, head of the delegation, that reflects the president-elect's "firm will and vision for the development of the Korea-US alliance." During the 40-minute meeting with Sullivan, Park said it was stressed that "strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance is at the core of the foreign policy" of the incoming Yoon government.
NEC opposes investigation of its election management
The National Election Commission (NEC) on Wednesday expressed opposition to a planned probe of its management of the 20th presidential election, arguing that the investigation could "infringe on the independence and neutrality" of its work. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) informed the presidential transition committee on March 27 that it will begin a formal investigation into allegations that the NEC mismanaged or poorly safeguarded ballots cast during early March voting in the presidential election. The NEC has refused to meet with the transition team, saying it might appear improper ahead of local government elections in June, despite the transition team requesting a meeting to raise concerns about the management of the presidential election.
The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Zelenskyy says Russia should be removed from UN Security Council
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed in detail the Russian forces’ killing of citizens and urged that Russia should be removed from the U.N. Security Council. The president attended an opening meeting of the U.N. Security Council held at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday (local time) and said that Russia should be removed as a permanent member of the Security Council so that it won’t be able to stop the council’s decisions on its invasion.
Yoon’s delegation delivers a letter to Biden
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s policy consultation delegation to the U.S. met with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday (local time) and discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula, including aircraft carriers and strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Park Jin, head of the delegation, said the two sides shared the understanding that North Korea’s nuclear and missile development poses a threat to regional security as well as the Korean Peninsula.
Ukraine says killing of civilians a 'deliberate massacre'
As news about Russian troops’ massacre of innocent people in Bucha near the capital city of Kyiv has driven the rest of the world into a state of shock, there is growing evidence that Russia committed the mass-killing of civilians in other parts of Ukraine. The West World including the United States has started collecting evidence to put Russian President Vladimir Putin on trial for his involvement in wartime wrongdoings. The Ukrainian government on Monday (local time) found the mayor of Motyzhyn, a village 45 kilometers west of Kyiv, and her family dead covered with sand, according to the Guardian.
Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Samsung Elec Q1 sales hit quarterly record on strong smartphone, chip sales
Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday reported its best quarterly sales in the January-March period despite multiple whammies from chip to shipping disruptions and geopolitical risks thanks to strong sales of its latest premium smartphone series and still solid chip prices. The South Korean tech giant in its earnings guidance estimated its operating income at 14.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion) for the first quarter, up 1.66 percent against the previous quarter and 50.32 percent from a year ago.
Russia dropped from primary roll-out country list for Samsung’s new Galaxy A53
Samsung Electronics Co. has dropped Russia from the list of primary destinations to launch its new mid-range Galaxy A53 series, a move that could affect its leadership position in Europe’s largest smartphone market where rival Xiaomi from China is chasing at a fast pace. The Galaxy A53 officially launched early this month was excluded from the list of new available products for Russian consumers, Maeil Business Newspaper learned from Samsung’s Russian website on Wednesday.
LGES investors turn wary on NHTSA probe on battery supplies in US
Shares of LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES), pure-play battery maker under South Korea’s LG Group, fell more than 1 percent Wednesday after the battery supplier of large car sellers in North America has come under a probe by the U.S. authority on its high-voltage electric vehicle batteries after voluntary recalls over fire risks. According to foreign media outlets on Tuesday, local time, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into LGES batteries after recalls of EVs with the battery cells have been issued due to internal failures. The probe covers 138,324 vehicles, reports said.
HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
S. Korean president-elect’s envoy says it reached consensus with US on upgrading alliance
A delegation for South Korea-US policy discussions dispatched by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced that it had “reached a consensus” with the US after “sharing President-elect Yoon’s vision for upgrading the South Korea-US alliance to the higher level of a comprehensive strategic alliance.”“The US welcomed the President-elect’s vision for strengthening the South Korea-US alliance — a key pillar of regional security and prosperity — into a partnership that contributes at the global level, including the responses to the Ukraine situation and COVID-19,” said the delegation’s leader, People Power Party lawmaker Park Jin, while speaking with reporters Monday after a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman..
N. Korea won’t fire “even a single bullet” toward S. Korea, says Kim Yo-jong
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that “we oppose war” and “will not fire even a single bullet or shell toward South Korea” in a press statement carried by the party-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Monday. But in the same statement, Kim, whose official title is vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), said that if “South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty.” The statement seems intended not only for an internal audience but also for the incoming administration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol in the South.
Former PPP campaign advisor says women’s rights in Korea are “not necessarily unequal”
“South Korea ranks first among Asian countries in the UN Gender Inequality Index, so what’s there to be gained now by insisting on improving women’s rights? I’m a woman myself, but this is how I personally think [about the issue].” This remark came from Lee Soo-jung, a professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University, during a panel debate on the future of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building on Tuesday. The event was co-hosted by the Korean National Council of Women and People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun’s office.
The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Han Duck-soo’s Prime Minister Nomination Triggers Controversy over Kim & Chang’s Advisor Fees: President-elect Yoon Seok-youl Asks for “Favorable” Judgment
Prime minister nominee Han Duck-soo (73) received over 1.8 billion won while working as an advisor for the law firm Kim & Chang for four years and four months, and this has sparked controversy the day after he was nominated as the new prime minister. President-elect Yoon Seok-youl, who knew that this could be a problem in the confirmation process, stressed the purpose of his nomination and asked for “favorable” judgment. Since there could be a clash of interests with the position of the prime minister, what activities Han Duck-soo engaged in in exchange for the advisor fees are expected to emerge as a major issue.
Cheongwadae, “President Moon Did Not Attend the Jeju April 3 Memorial Ceremony to Let President-elect Yoon Attend”
Cheongwadae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee explained the reason why President Moon Jae-in did not attend this year’s memorial ceremony for victims of the Jeju April 3 incident on April 3 and said, “It was to give President-elect Yoon Seok-youl the opportunity to attend the ceremony.” On April 5, Park appeared on the KBS radio show, Joo Jin-woo Live and when asked about any conflicts between the new and old power during this transitional phase, she mentioned the memorial ceremony and said, “Cheongwadae is actually doing its utmost for a smooth transition, and President Moon’s consideration of President-elect Yoon is extraordinary.”
Shadow of Kim & Chang Cast on the New Government, as Former Lawyers Take on Key Roles In and Outside the Transition Committee
At a workshop on March 26, eight days after the launch of the presidential transition committee, Kim Hyoung-tae, the chief economist at Kim & Chang, appeared on stage. He gave a lecture on the changes in the global macroeconomy and responses from the South Korean economy, and President-elect Yoon Seok-youl changed his previous schedule to attend the lecture. The shadow of the law firm Kim & Chang is cast over the new government. The deputy chief spokesperson, working-level officials, and experts in the transition committee and the first prime minister nominee appointed by the president-elect were all former employees of Kim & Chang.
KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
US Nuke Envoy: N. Korea May Conduct Nuclear Test for April 15th Anniversary
U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said that Pyongyang could be planning another missile launch or a nuclear test for its April 15 holiday. The top nuclear envoy made the remarks to reporters on Wednesday, when asked about concerns that the North may take provocative action on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founding leader Kim Il-sung. In a briefing over the phone, Kim said that he didn't want to speculate too much, but it could be another missile launch or a nuclear test. Kim added that the important thing is that the U.S., in cooperation and coordination with its allies and partners, is prepared to deal with whatever North Korea may undertake.
Cabinet Approves 36 Bil. Won to Fund Presidential Office Move to Yongsan
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a motion to spend 36 billion won in reserve funds for President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's initiative to relocate the presidential office to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan. The earmarked funds include eleven-point-six billion won for building security facilities such as the crisis management center and eleven-point-eight billion won for moving the defense ministry. The amount is 13-point-six billion won less than what the transition team had requested. The government said the difference is due to the upcoming military exercise between Seoul and Washington. The defense ministry's command units and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will remain in place until the conclusion of the exercise on April 28.
Calling COVID-19 'Endemic' Premature Though Distancing Rules Need to Be Concluded
Health authorities have underlined the need to wean off social distancing regulations, although they also assessed it is too early to treat COVID-19 as an endemic. At a regular press briefing on Wednesday, authorities at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said while it would be premature to declare an endemic amid the emergence of variants, it is necessary to shift toward a general response system that appropriately reflects the reduced risks of the current virus. They reiterated the need to ease the rules, citing their diminishing effectiveness due to the rapid transmission of the omicron variant and the snowballing socioeconomic impact.
Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
U.S. prepared to deal with any N. Korean provocation, including nuclear test: Sung Kim
The United States and its allies are prepared to deal with any further provocations by North Korea, U.S. special envoy for North Korea said Wednesday, noting the recalcitrant state may conduct a nuclear test in the future. Sung Kim also urged the North to return to dialogue, saying the U.S. is prepared to discuss "any concerns" it may have. "I don't want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch. It could be a nuclear test," Kim said when asked about the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test around the upcoming anniversary of the birth of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15.
New S. Korean gov't needs 'forward-looking' policy on N. Korea to prevent nuke testing: minister
South Korea's outgoing point man on North Korea urged the country's incoming administration Wednesday to adopt a "forward-looking" approach toward North Korea, especially in order to prevent nuclear weapons testing amid heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Unification Minister Lee In-young made the remarks during his last regular press conference in his capacity as the liberal Moon Jae-in government's top official on Pyongyang.
Oh beats Song in hypothetical 2-way Seoul mayoral race: poll
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is leading Rep. Song Young-gil, former head of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), by a wide margin in a hypothetical two-race for the upcoming June mayoral race, a poll showed Wednesday. According to the survey of 1,015 voters aged 18 and older conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Tuesday, Oh led Song 50.3 percent to 36.7 percent, which was outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Those who didn't have a preferred candidate stood at 7.3 percent.
The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Killings of Ukrainian civilians could bring more sanctions
BUCHA -- Police and other investigators walked the silent streets of ruined towns around Ukraine's capital, documenting widespread killings of unarmed civilians and other alleged war crimes by Russian forces that could draw tougher Western sanctions as soon as Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has kept up demands for war-crimes trials for Russian troops and their leaders, while warning they were regrouping for fresh assaults on Ukraine's east and south.
Yoon delegation discuss possible deployment of US strategic assets with US
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s delegation discussed the possible deployment of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as they agreed on the need for extended deterrence against Pyongyang’s nuclear threats, the chief delegate said Tuesday. In their 40-minute meeting in Washington, the delegation and the US side recognized North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons as threats, and agreed on strengthening the bilateral alliance, Rep. Park Jin of the People Power Party leading the delegation said. The Korean delegation also delivered the president-elect’s personal letter to the White House in the visit.
Yoon unlikely start his term in Yongsan on May 10
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is unlikely to begin his term in the new presidential office as the time frame is too short to relocate in, Yoon’s office conceded Wednesday. “Once the reserve funds for the relocation are approved (at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday), working-level discussions will begin in earnest,” said Yoon’s spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin at a morning briefing.“It is impossible to relocate the office on May 10 due to the time spent (for the previous discussions) and it is also expected to take some time after that.” She said the government and transition committee will consider moving the office promptly and smoothly, along with working-level discussions on concrete relocation plans.
The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
US prepared to deal with any North Korean provocation: Sung Kim
The United States and its allies are prepared to deal with any further provocations by North Korea, U.S. special envoy for North Korea said Wednesday, noting the recalcitrant state may conduct a nuclear test in the future. Sung Kim also urged the North to return to dialogue, saying the U.S. is prepared to discuss "any concerns" it may have. "I don't want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch. It could be a nuclear test," Kim said when asked about the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test around the upcoming anniversary of the birth of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15.
Minimum wage policy faces major overhaul under new administration
The incoming administration headed by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will seek to overhaul the country's highly controversial minimum wage policy in a bid to help small businesses reeling from the economic fallout of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The dispute is centered on revamping President Moon Jae-in's pro-labor wage policies by applying differential wage systems for each industry at a critical juncture where a growing number of the self-employed and small business owners are crying foul over a rising labor cost burden. The country's hourly minimum wage came in at 6,470 won ($5.31) in 2017, the first year of Moon's presidency.
Korean companies in dilemma over doing business in Sri Lanka
Samsung Electronics, Hyundai E&C and other companies doing business in Sri Lanka are increasingly concerned about the potential negative impact of the island country's political turmoil and economic crisis, according to industry officials, Wednesday. Fears have escalated since anti-government protests broke out last month against the Sri Lankan government for its failure to solve the deepening economic crisis which global investment banks and credit rating agencies expect will lead to a sovereign debt default. Although Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked a five-day emergency order late on Tuesday (local time) and the International Monetary Fund promised to discuss a loan program with the government, the country is still suffering from a shortage of food products, medical supplies, electricity and even paper and ink.
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