Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

I would like to see bilateral relations increasingly strengthened”
Madam Domingas Martins, spouse of the Ambassador of the Republic of Angola in Seoul, said, “As an Angolan citizen and the spouse of the Angolan Ambassador in Seoul, I would like to see bilateral cooperation relations between our countries increasingly strengthened.” Then she said, “The histories of our countries coincide in some points that could be explored in the interest of our peoples

 

EU adopts sixth package of sanctions against Russia
The European Commission welcomed the adoption of the sixth package of restrictive measures against Russia, the commission announced on June 3. Sanctions are among the EU's most visible, direct and powerful responses to Russia's brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, including systemic violence and atrocities against the civilian population. This package also imposes further sanctions against Belarus considering its involvement in this aggression.

 

A Pechakucha Story-telling Night was held in a grand fashion
On June 10, a Pechakucha Story-telling Night was held at the Swiss Embassy in a grand fashion. The garden of the Swiss embassy's Hanok (Korean-style residence) has been innovatively transformed. Starting with diversity for innovation, the 5th Korea-Switzerland Innovation Week presented various events on various themes. At this event, CEO Raymond Kron of Swiss Innovation, CEO Simone Bis Pedele of Swiss Trade and Investment Agency, and CEO Junho Choi of ABB Korea, who shared many experiences and perspectives on diversity, stood out.

 

                                                                                             

 

Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Int'l Air Travel Needs Time to Get Back on Its Feet

A bumper summer season for airlines to be in the offing for the first time in two years now the government has lifted restrictions on international flights. But prices remain sky-high and carriers seem unwilling to stir from their pandemic-induced torpor. Industry insiders predict it will take at least another couple of months until prices start to come down and volume recovers anywhere near pre-pandemic levels.


Korea's Trade Deficit Hits All-Time Record
Korea's trade deficit has reached an estimated US$13.8 billion so far this year, already exceeding the previous record of $9.16 billion for the first half set during the Asian financial crisis. According to the Korea Customs Service on Monday, this year's trade deficit had reached $13.82 billion by June 10. Imports soared 17.5 percent on-year in the first 10 days of June due to sky-high crude oil and coal prices, while exports dwindled 12.7 percent as workers took two days off for local elections and Memorial Day.

 

Korean Stocks Crash on Black Monday
Bourses around the world tumbled on Monday as the U.S. stock market crashed. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.52 percent on Monday to 2,504.51 points, the lowest in a year and seven months, while the junior Kosdaq closed down 4.72 percent to 828.77 points. U.S. stocks and bonds plummeted after the U.S.' May inflation rate hit a higher-than-expected 8.6 percent last week, sending shockwaves through Asian financial markets on Monday, when Japan's Nikkei Index dropped 3.01 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index 3.39 percent.

                                                                                             

Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )

Ken Rhee says his time in Ukraine was worth the possible jail sentence
Controversial YouTuber Ken Rhee, a former special forces officer, raised eyebrows in March by entering Ukraine and joining the war-stricken country’s volunteer troops to fight against the Russian invasion. Ukraine was, and still is, under the Korean government’s travel ban imposed on Feb. 13 due to escalating tensions in the region, making Rhee’s actions illegal. In an Instagram post back in March announcing his departure, Rhee stated that he will “take accountability and accept the punishment given” if he makes it back alive — which he did last month after sustaining an injury.

                                                       

Stocks fall for sixth day, Kospi below 2,500
With the Kospi down for a sixth day straight, the finance minister said that the country faces "multiple economic crises" and called on the ministry to keep an eye on government finances. On Tuesday, the index declined as much as 1.88 percent and ended the day down 0.46 percent to 2,492.97 after a rout on Wall Street overnight and a collapse of the cryptocurrency market.

 

Korean companies make their mark at BIO USA 2022
Though Korea is not yet a major player in the global biopharmaceutical market, the crowds in the Korea Pavilion at the BIO International Convention (BIO USA) prove that it is well on its way to expanding its presence in the market. BIO USA officially kicked off Monday in San Diego, where thirteen Korean biotechnology companies opened booths in the Korea Pavilion for possible business meetings and marketing efforts. The conference, often called the CES of biopharmaceuticals, is the first to be held with in-person participation in three years.

 

                                                                                               

 

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

Foreign Minister Park Jin calls for GSOMIA normalization
The South Korean government is reviewing ways to strengthen practical security cooperation between South Korea and Japan based on the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). The government wishes to remove the ‘conditional’ status of the GSOMIA, which has been conditionally suspended, and pursue working-level exchanges with Japan to ensure the effectiveness of the GSOMIA. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said South Korea wants to normalize the GSOMIA as soon as possible during a press conference following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday (local time).

 

Fed highly likely to take ‘giant step’ in June and July
Despite the Fed’s repeated increase of interest rates, inflation remains still high, and economists now foresee a “giant step” of a 0.75 percentage point hike at the FOMC meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fed may take an interest rate hike in July as well, according to some analysts. The Biden administration and the Fed are under fire for having underplayed the inflation warning that resulted from the injection of massive liquidity as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and having ended up being at fault with its monetary policies, having no choice but to take a giant step that will destabilize the financial market.

 

Fed highly likely to take ‘giant step’ in June and July
Despite the Fed’s repeated increase of interest rates, inflation remains still high, and economists now foresee a “giant step” of a 0.75 percentage point hike at the FOMC meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fed may take an interest rate hike in July as well, according to some analysts. The Biden administration and the Fed are under fire for having underplayed the inflation warning that resulted from the injection of massive liquidity as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and having ended up being at fault with its monetary policies, having no choice but to take a giant step that will destabilize the financial market.

 

                                                                                                              

 

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

Korean authorities scramble with policy means as capital markets hit new bottom
South Korean fiscal, monetary, and financial authorities have ratcheted up interventionist rhetoric, vowing deployment of “all possible policy means” to stabilize the Korean capital markets hammered by panicky selling over imminent bolder rate increases to fight inflation.A composite crisis has started, and what’s worrying is that the condition may last for some time,” said Choo Kyung-ho, deputy prime minister doubling as the finance and economy minister Tuesday in an emergency meeting.

 

Korean stock bourse biggest loser in Asia due to strong inflation
The South Korean stock bourse has been this year’s biggest loser among key Asian markets due to its highly external reliant economic structure that has fanned inflation in the country. Korea’s key and secondary Kosdaq indices retreated 16.20 percent and 20.14 percent as of Monday versus their opening for the year, compared losses of 7.9 percent in Japan’s Nikkei, 10.11 percent in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and 10.37 percent in China’s Shanghai.

 

Stagflation looms for Korean economy as weak KRW worsens inflation: study
There is near 90 percent chance of South Korea getting the first bitter taste of stagflation – low growth coupled with high inflation – in 12-month time as strong import prices and weak local currency can push the highly external-reliant economy into a crisis environment, study showed. Maeil Business News and Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) on Monday derived two indices – crisis alert level and stagflation pressure index

                                                                                             

 

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

S. Korean infants, children sue country to take bolder action on climate change
Eun-woo, who is just 22 months old, arrived at the press conference on a kick scooter. After hopping off his scooter, he held up a sign made from a cardboard box that read, “The Earth is ours.” Eun-woo will most likely still be around in the year 2100. What will the planet look like then? On Monday, a press conference for a constitutional complaint arguing that the enforcement decree for the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth violates the basic human rights of future generations took place outside of the Constitutional Court of Korea in Seoul’s Jongno District.

 

S. Korea’s first lady meets with widow of President Roh Moo-hyun
Kim Keon-hee, wife of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, paid a visit to former President Roh Moo-hyun’s widow Kwon Yang-sook on Monday in the Bongha village of Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Arriving at Roh’s gravesite in Bongha at 2:45 that afternoon, Kim laid flowers and lit incense before meeting with Kwon for around an hour and a half. This was Kim’s first visit to Bongha. Kwon went to the door personally to welcome her.

 

N. Korean COVID-19 death toll likely exceeds 50,000, S. Korean expert says
As of Sunday, one month has passed since North Korea officially confirmed its first COVID-19 case on May 12. The media frenzy surrounding the COVID-19 situation in the country has subsided, while military tensions are escalating on the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang’s potential nuclear test being covered as major news. Still, the question remains: Is North Korea really in control of the massive spread of COVID-19 within its borders as it has maintained, despite the fact that it saw 400,000 new cases of “fever” in a single day at one point and has neither vaccines nor protective equipment?

 

                                                                                    

 

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

Yoon Suk-yeol Government Stresses Independence of Prosecutors, But Seeks Stronger Control over the Police
The government decided to newly establish a police bureau in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for the purpose of “democratic control,” triggering criticism over the president’s contrasting attitude toward the police and prosecutors, whose independence he stressed. President Yoon pledged to grant the Prosecution Service the authority to allocate its budget and to abolish the justice minister’s authority to lead investigations, a device enabling democratic control over prosecutors, to guarantee the independence of the prosecutors’ office.

 

Nuri-2 Launch Postponed a Day to June 16 Due to “Fierce Winds,” Says Korea Aerospace Research Institute
On June 14, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced that the launch of Nuri-2, scheduled for June 15, will be pushed back a day to June 16. After a review by the flight test board at 6 a.m. June 14, the space institute announced that Nuri-2 will be transported to the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do on June 15, a day after the set date, because strong winds were blowing at the space center and there was a possibility that the gusts could grow fiercer over time.

 

Cargo Truckers Solidarity and Transport Ministry Fail to Reach Agreement in Fourth Talks on Safe Trucking Freight Rate, “The People Power Party Opposed”
The Cargo Truckers Solidarity of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport failed to reach an agreement after engaging in the fourth talks on extending the Safe Trucking Freight Rate--the minimum wage for truckers--scheduled to end this year and expanding the policy to all types of vehicles and cargo. The truckers’ union expressed its regret claiming that the parties failed to reach an agreement because of opposition from the People Power Party.

 

                                                                                                 


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

Nuri Rocket Being Moved to Launch Pad for Thursday Liftoff
South Korea’s first domestically produced rocket is being transported to a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Wednesday morning for its scheduled launch on Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the transfer to the launch pad of Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle Two, or Nuri, began at around 7:20 a.m. from the center’s assembly unit, adding the transportation will be complete in about an hour.

 

Cargo Truckers Returning to Work after Reaching Deal with Gov't
Unionized cargo truck drivers have ended their strike after reaching a deal with the government. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Cargo Truckers Solidarity, the two parties reached an agreement on Tuesday extending the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System. They also agreed on the continuation and expansion of the fuel subsidy provision system considering a recent uptick in oil and other fuel prices, as well as a “reasonable” adjustment of shipping charges. Under the deal, partakers of the strike will return to work on Wednesday.

 

Gasoline, Diesel Prices Surpass 2,080 Won
Gasoline and diesel prices have surpassed two-thousand-80 won per liter in South Korea as prices continue to climb. According to oil price portal Opinet run by the Korea National Oil Corporation, the average price of gasoline sold at pumps nationwide was listed at two-thousand-80-point-93 won as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. The average price of diesel stood at two-thousand-82-point-47 won per liter. Both prices are setting new highs by the day. Diesel remains more expensive than gas after overtaking it on Monday.

 

                                                                                                                

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

Truckers to return to work after weeklong strike
Unionized cargo truck drivers on Tuesday have decided to end their walkout that caused nationwide logistic disruptions and delays after reaching an agreement with the government over a freight rate system. Members of the 22,000-strong Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the wing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, reached the agreement with the transport ministry late in the day, and decided to end the strike that began on June 7 and return to work from Wednesday.

 

S. Korea's job growth extended for 15th month in May
South Korea reported job additions for the 15th consecutive month in May as economic recovery momentum has been extended despite heightened global uncertainty, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.49 million last month, up 935,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The May reading was higher than an on-year increase of 865,000 in April and also marked the largest job additions in 22 years for any May.

 

Presidential office to be called 'Yongsan Presidential Office' for now
The presidential office will be called the "Yongsan Presidential Office" for now after all five candidate names were deemed unfit, the presidential spokesperson said Tuesday. The decision was made during a meeting of a naming committee, according to the spokesperson, Kang In-sun. "After holding a final meeting and debating for nearly two hours, the committee decided not to recommend a new name for the presidential office," Kang said during a press briefing.

                                                                                  

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

US, Korea willing to adjust military posture in case of NK nuclear test
The United States and South Korea are prepared to make adjustments to their military posture to counter North Korea, the foreign affairs chiefs of the two allies said. In their first face-to-face bilateral talks on Monday in the US, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed their joint commitment for extended nuclear deterrence, while urging North Korea to come to dialogue.

 

South Korea’s young suicides rise despite overall drop
Suicides among young people, especially women, increased during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, despite a drop overall in South Korea. The number of suicides fell by 604 to 13,195 in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report published Tuesday. The ministry said preliminary data from 2021 indicated a continued declining trend.

 

US extends North Korea national emergency declaration
US President Joe Biden on Monday continued to declare a national emergency concerning North Korea on the grounds of its nuclear and missile threats, extending sanctions against the regime. Separately the same day, the United Nations called for relaxing sanctions on Pyongyang to enable COVID-related assistance.

                                                                                    

 

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

Foreign minister stresses cooperation with Japan to thwart North Korean threats
Foreign Minister Park Jin has hinted that South Korea will take action to get its security cooperation with Japan back on track, as the new South Korean government is looking to mend ties with the neighboring country. His gesture also comes as speculation is mounting that President Yoon Suk-yeol may hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Spain on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' meeting scheduled for June 29 and 30.

 

DPK lawmakers propose bill to give National Assembly more clout
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposed a bill aimed at strengthening National Assembly oversight of the government Tuesday despite objections from the ruling People Power Party (PPP). Rep. Cho Eung-chon and 13 other DPK lawmakers proposed revising the National Assembly Act in a way that empowers Assembly standing committees to request revisions to presidential decrees or enforcement ordinances if they deem them to be incompatible with the law.

 

Yoon to preside over strategic meeting on deregulation
The government will set up a tribunal reviewing regulations affecting businesses, in a follow-up measure to President Yoon Suk-yeol's deregulation pledge to resuscitate the country's economic dynamism. Along with the tribunal program, the government will also launch a "strategic meeting on reforming regulations" which will be presided over by the president to facilitate the decision-making process, according to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Tuesday.

                                                                                                                   

 

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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