Friday, March 17, 2023
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )
“Malaysia will continue to work with Korea to ensure more successes with LEP initiatives”
Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz of Malaysia said, “I believe that this momentous event today is not only meant to celebrate and commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Look East Policy (LEP) between Malaysia and Korea but, more importantly, to maintain the momentum in further driving the trajectory of robust and vibrant economic ties between our two countries.” Speaking at a gala reception Minister Zafrul then emphasized, “In this spirit, Malaysia will continue its commitment to work with Korea in ensuring more success stories under the LEP initiatives through the execution of impactful projects that bring tangible benefits to the economy, business community and the people at large.”
China's GDP target of 'around 5 percent' for 2023 manifests prudence and confidence
China has set its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target at "around 5 percent" for 2023. The projected target has been widely reported by overseas media as soon as it was announced. Foreign media including Reuters, Bloomberg and Cable News Network (CNN), cited analyses by authoritative international organizations and personages as saying that the target sent a positive signal for pushing the Chinese economy on an upward trajectory.
Cause of gender equality enjoys sustained, healthy development in China
Women's status mirrors a country's social etiquette and civility. In China, female pediatric intensive care specialist Qian Suyun, who has nearly 40 years of pediatric experience, has brought a ray of hope to numerous children in emergency and critical conditions with her superb medical skills and ethics. Bi Lixia, a woman that heads a rice farming cooperative in Jianli, central China's Hubei province, has actively applied technologies in rice growing, contributing her strength to maintaining food security.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Yoon, Kishida Take 1st Steps to Restoring Relations
President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in Japan for a two-day visit on Thursday and meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the afternoon. Their meeting heralds the resumption of annual shuttle diplomacy after Korea announced plans to compensate victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation from a fund financed by Korean businesses. Relations chilled to less than zero when the Supreme Court here ruled in 2018 that a 1965 treaty between the two countries cannot override individual claims for compensation and ordered Japanese firms to pay.
POSCO Donates Another W4 Billion to Forced Labor Victims Fund
A growing number of Korean businesses are paying into a government fund that is to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation. Steelmaker POSCO, which was among the prime beneficiaries of lump-sum reparations Japan paid under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic relations, gave W4 billion for the fund on Wednesday (US$1=W1,304). "We decided to voluntarily contribute W4 billion based on a past agreement to contribute W10 billion," the steelmaker said. POSCO's board pledged back in 2012 to donate W10 billion to the fund and already paid W6 billion.
Apartment Sales in Seoul Brisk Again
Sales of apartments in Seoul recovered to the highest level in 16 months in February. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 1,982 apartments were bought and sold in the capital last month, up almost 40 percent from January and the highest number of transactions in 16 months. The increase was attributed to the easing of regulations on housing loans and punitive taxes aimed at stimulating the stagnant real estate market.
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Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )
National interest not a zero-sum game with Japan: Yoon
President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed that it's in both Korea and Japan's national interests to normalize relations to better respond to security issues following his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday. "Korea's national interest is not a zero-sum relationship with Japan's national interest," said Yoon, adding that the normalization of bilateral relations will be helpful to the security of both countries in a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.
Korean and Japanese first ladies make sweets, discuss cultural exchanges
Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee had several opportunities to build friendship with Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida as the leaders of the two countries held a bilateral summit in Tokyo Thursday. Kim held a meeting with Kishida at the prime minister's residence Thursday at the invitation of the Japanese first lady, said presidential spokesman Lee Do-woon in a statement Friday. The meeting between Kim and Kishida was the first in four months since they met at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November.
Japan lifts export restrictions on Korea
Japan removed its export curbs on certain key materials to Korea as Korea simultaneously withdrew its complaint filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Japan for its restrictions, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday. The announcement comes over three years after the restrictive measures were first imposed. The industry ministries of Korea and Japan held a policy dialogue from Tuesday to Thursday to reach a mutual agreement on measures, ahead of the scheduled summit between the two countries.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
NK fires an ICBM before South Korea-Japan summit
North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea just before President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the Korea-Japan summit on Thursday. The military considers the missile fired more likely to be a "monster ICBM (Hwasong-17 ICBM)" with multiple warhead capabilities or an improved version. North's ICBM provocation is the first in a month since the launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM on Feb. 18.
Korea-Japan exchanges in SMEs should be expanded
The Korea Die Mold Cooperative (KDMC), a group of mold companies that create the “framework” necessary for producing various products, plans to hold a mold exhibition in Japan next month. This will be the first time in four years since an exhibition holding in Japan has been suspended since 2019 due to the spread of COVID-19. “The amount of Japan-bound work has been cut in half, but if exchanges between Korea and Japan increase again, the number of orders will increase. Given the lack of domestic orders, mold orders from Japanese companies will provide an important source of revenue,” said KDMC Chairman Shin Yong-moon.
US drone and Russian fighter jet collide during operations
A U.S. drone collided with a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday (local time) and crashed while doing a reconnaissance over the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. This is the first time that U.S. and Russian military aircraft collided during military operations since the Cold War era. As it was the first direct collision between the two countries on a battlefield since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, some are worried about a potential rise in military tensions.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
South Korea’s Yoon orders revision in planned work-hour system
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed the government to revise its controversial plan to extend the maximum weekly work hours to up to 69 hours, stating that working even 60 hours or longer per week would be unreasonable, according to Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Affairs Ahn Sang-hoon on Friday.
LG Energy, SK on, Samsung SDI showcase new battery products at exhibition
South Korea’s three major battery makers - LG Energy Solution Ltd., SK on Co. and Samsung SDI Co. - unveiled new products, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, in their efforts to expand their markets to better compete against their rivals in China. The companies unveiled in Seoul their new products at Interbattery 2023, the largest battery exhibition in Korea. A total of 477 companies, including battery and material companies, set up booths at this year’s event, attracting 40,000 visitors on the first day Wednesday.
Korea to remove mask mandate on public transportation from Monday
South Korea will lift the mask mandate for public transportation from Monday, ending the requirement after two years and five months, as Covid-19 is on the wane. “Prevention conditions are stable and no new mutations have been discovered since we eased the indoor mask mandate on Jan. 30,” said Han Chang-seob, vice minister of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, on Wednesday. “The daily average number of Covid-19 cases fell 37.5 percent and the number of new severe-symptom patients 54.6 percent.”
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Yoon reassures Japan that forced labor deal won't be reversed down the line
In an interview with a Japanese newspaper, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that there are “contradictions” between the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that ordered Japanese perpetrator companies to pay damages to the victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period and a 1965 agreement in which Korea and Japan agreed to settled outstanding claims. Yoon added that finding a harmonious solution is “the duty of political leaders.” His remarks appear to be an attempt to placate Japan by rejecting the South Korean Supreme Court’s finding that the individual right to claim damages was not exhausted by the Korea-Japan claims agreement signed decades earlier.
S. Korea plans to build chipmaking mega cluster, with Samsung investing 300T won
The South Korean government plans on establishing the world’s largest system semiconductor cluster in the greater Seoul area by attracting 300 trillion won in private investments. New national industrial complexes will also be built in 14 locations outside the capital area to promote high-tech industries such as space, future vehicles, and hydrogen. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced their strategy for promoting national high-tech industries and a plan to create a “national high-tech industry belt” at an economic policy meeting.
“A schoolboy eager to hand in his homework”: Yoon’s trip to Japan comes under fire
On Wednesday, one day before South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was set to hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the opposition Democratic Party castigated the Yoon administration for “offering tribute” to Japan while failing to insist on an apology or a show of remorse. Korean civic groups also held a press conference to express their grave concerns about Yoon’s plans. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung took Yoon to task in a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
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The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/ )
DPRK Fires ICBM into the East Sea on the Day of the Summit Between South Korea and Japan
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on March 16, the day of a summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, around 7:10 a.m. Thursday, the military detected the launch of a long-range ballistic missile from Sunan in Pyongyang into the East Sea. The flight time was similar to the Hwasong-15 fired on February 18, so the latest missile could be another Hwasong-15 or similar missile.
The Fathers’ Bigamy Blocks Kopino Children from Living with Their Mothers in Korea
Kopino (born between a South Korean father and a Filipino mother) children who obtained South Korean nationality with a Korean court ruling came to Korea to live with their mothers, Filipino nationals, but the Ministry of Justice refused to issue the mothers an F-6-2 (child-raising) visa. The ministry claims it could not issue the F-6-2 visa because the mother was an alien, and the father was already married to a South Korean woman. Thus, the Kopinos could not apply for resident registration or subscribe to health insurance.
An Exposé by Chun Doo-hwan’s Grandson, “Grandpa was a Slaughterer. My Family Is Spending Black Money.”
A, the grandson of former president Chun Doo-hwan, disclosed the luxurious life of the Chun family on social media. A said, “I think my grandfather is a slaughterer. He is not a hero who defended the country, but just a criminal.” He claimed he was exposing his family secret “to help reveal the criminal and fraudulent acts that my family is probably engaging in.” On March 15, A posted a video of a woman, presumed to be Chun’s widow, Lee Soon-ja, playing indoor golf on Instagram. A claimed that the facility in which the woman was playing golf was an indoor “screen golf” room inside her residence in Yeonhui-dong.
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KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)
Yoon’s Office Denies Reports that Kishida Mentioned Dokdo Issue
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly alluded to the sensitive issue of the Dokdo islets in a call to deal with “all pending issues” during his summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Tokyo on Thursday. Japan’s Kyodo News quoted a Tokyo official who elaborated on Kishida’s comment to reporters after the summit that he had made the call during the meeting with Yoon. The official said that the “pending issues” include the dispute over the islets, which Japan calls the Takeshima Islands.
KCNA: N. Korea Test-fired Hwasong-17 ICBM on Thursday
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly supervised the launch of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) on Thursday with his daughter, Ju-ae. The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Friday that the ICBM was test-fired the previous day in response to the instability of the security environment on the Korean Peninsula resulting from the "provocative and aggressive large-scale war drills" conducted by the United States and South Korea.
Yoon Hints that Right to Indemnity Ruled out on Forced Labor Issue
President Yoon Suk Yeol has hinted that South Korea will not exercise its right to indemnity on the issue of Japan's wartime forced labor. The president issued the position on Thursday in a question-and-answer segment of a joint press conference following his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Yoon said that if the right to indemnity is exercised, all problems will return to square one. He said that the 2018 ruling by the South Korean top court ordering defendant Japanese firms to compensate the suing victims conflicted with the 1965 agreement that normalized diplomatic ties between the two nations.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr )
Yoon announces 'complete normalization' of military intel-sharing pact with Japan
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday he agreed to "completely normalize" a military intelligence-sharing pact between South Korea and Japan to better respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Yoon made the remark after a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, referring to the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) that Seoul's previous administration threatened to suspend amid a bilateral dispute over wartime forced labor.
U.S.-S. Korea military exercises deter N. Korean aggression: Pentagon
Joint military exercises between the United States and its allies are working effectively to deter aggression despite continued provocations from North Korea, a U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson said Thursday. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder made the remarks hours after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking its second ICBM launch this year. "I think what's important for people to understand is one, deterrence continues to work," the Pentagon spokesperson told a daily press briefing when asked how the U.S.' joint military drills can help prevent North Korean provocations.
N. Korea fires one ICBM ahead of S. Korea-Japan summit: military
North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday, Seoul's military said, hours before summit talks between the leaders of South Korea and Japan on pending bilateral issues and regional security. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 a.m., and the missile, fired at a lofted angle, flew some 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the sea. It appears to be a "projectile" akin to the North's newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, with chances slim that the North shot a solid-fuel ICBM, according to a Seoul official who requested anonymity.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com )
Yoon, Kishida vow new era of ties
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to open up a new era of Korea-Japan ties during their summit in Tokyo on Thursday, stressing the need to bolster security and economic cooperation for future generations and to deter evolving threats from North Korea. Yoon said the summit, the first in 12 years, signified a fresh start of bilateral ties, calling Japan a partner with common values and goals. The two leaders also agreed to resume “shuttle diplomacy” that is “free from any format,” and to normalize a suspended military intelligence sharing pact and restore consultations between the two governments on diplomatic, economic and cultural relations.
Tokyo lifts export curbs; Seoul withdraws WTO complaint
South Korea and Japan's easing of trade tensions has spurred hope among Korean businesses, as the two agreed to bolster economic ties on the sidelines of the summit talks held in Tokyo on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Japan announced it would lift restrictions on exports of key semiconductor materials to Korea, while Korea in return decided to withdraw its complaint filed with the World Trade Organization against the export curbs. Both countries also plan to continue talks to reinstate each other to their “whitelist” of trusted trading partners.
Yoon, Kishida say Japan firms won’t be asked to pay damages
The Japanese companies held liable for damages by a 2018 South Korean court ruling for forcing Koreans to provide labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula will not be asked to reimburse Korean company funds used for such compensation. President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida both publicly denied speculation that Seoul would go after the Japanese firms to enforce the plan after compensating the Korean victims on its own, largely because Tokyo refuses to recognize the ruling, at a summit held Thursday in Tokyo.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr )
Breakthrough summit thaws up frozen S. Korea-Japan ties
A milestone summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan held Thursday highlighted both nations' willingness to thaw bilateral relations which had been deeply frozen over the past few years. President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kihsida on the first day of his two-day visit to Tokyo. It was the first time in 12 years for a South Korean president to visit Japan for a summit. It was the third time for the two leaders to sit down for talks, as they have previously held bilateral meetings only on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings.
Yoon sees Korea-Japan relations as 'win-win,' not 'zero-sum'
President Yoon Suk Yeol said, Thursday, that improving bilateral relations to respond more effectively to security and economic issues serves the national interests of both South Korea and Japan and is not a "zero-sum" game, but a win-win situation. He made the comment following his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which was the latest among steps he has taken to improve frayed ties between the two countries.
NK test-fired Hwasong-17 ICBM guided by Kim Jong-un: state media
North Korea said Friday it test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day guided by leader Kim Jong-un in protest against ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Thursday's launch was conducted in response to the "unstable security environment" on the Korean Peninsula due to "provocative and aggressive large-scale war drills" conducted by the United States and South Korea. It claimed the ICBM, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, reached a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers and flew 1,000.2 km for 4,151 seconds before accurately landing on the preset area in the open waters off the East Sea.
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