Thursday, March 30, 2023
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

 

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

Korea is now a key economic/development partner of Bangladesh”
The Republic of Korea is now a key economic and development partner of Bangladesh and the bilateral trade crossed the US$2 billion mark for the first time in 2021 and then surpassed US$3 billion mark in 2022.” So said Ambassador Delwar Hossain of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Seoul in a speech he delivered at a gala reception he hosted at the prestigious grand ballroom of the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on the evening of March 27.


Bangladesh Embassy calls for global recognition of Genocide Day
On March 25, 2023, the Bangladesh Embassy in Mexico City observed Genocide Day with solemnity and gravity, in memory of the millions of innocent Bengali civilians who were brutally massacred by the Pakistani aggressors during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The Embassy commemorated the day with a series of events aimed at highlighting the importance of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The day commenced with the hoisting of the national flag at half-mast by Ambassador Abida Islam with the national anthem, followed by a minute of silence in the presence of all embassy officials.


China strengthens solidarity with other developing countries to make pie of cooperation bigger
"The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway has shown remarkable achievements in the areas of operation, maintenance and capacity building, and become an example of the ever-flourishing Sino-African relations," said an Ethiopian official during a celebration ceremony of the railway's fifth anniversary of operations recently. The project has effectively promoted the sustainable development of local communities and bettered people's wellbeing. It mirrors the tangible achievements of the cooperation between China and other developing countries.

 

 

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

Kim Jong-un Calls for Nuclear Arms Use 'Anywhere'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the country's nuclear weapons to be ready for use "any time and anywhere," state media said Tuesday. Kim "called for efforts to expand the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials and continue to produce powerful nuclear weapons in a bid to meet the goal of an exponential increase in the nuclear arsenal," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "Only when we perfectly prepare the ability to use nuclear weapons at any time and from any place will we ensure that we will forever not have to use nuclear weapons," he said.

 

Retail Investors Still Flock to Flagging Bourse
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 25 percent and the junior Kosdaq 35 percent in 2022, but the number of small shareholders in listed companies rose 4.1 percent to more than 14 million. The most popular stock remained Samsung Electronics, whose small stockholders mushroomed 14 percent to 6 million. According to the Korea Securities Depository, 14.41 million Koreans held shares in 2,509 listed companies as of the end of last year. Some 14.24 million of them were retail investors, up 3.6 percent. On average they owned stocks in 5.85 companies, down 1.8 percent from 2021, while the total number of shares per investor edged down 0.8 percent to 7,688.

 

Japan Continues Whitewash of Colonial Crimes in School Books

Japan is expected to remove the word "forced" from any references to the mobilization of Korean laborers in colonial times when it announces revisions of school textbooks on Tuesday. The textbooks are also likely to stress the island country's bogus claim to Korea's Dokdo islets, diplomatic sources said Monday. The whitewash was already enshrined in high school textbooks last year. News of the plan have taken the Korean government by surprise after President Yoon Suk-yeol traveled to Japan to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier this month in a historic attempt at reconciliation.

 

 

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

Envoy to U.S. named new national security adviser
Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Tae-yong was named as new national security adviser Wednesday after Kim Sung-han stepped down from the post that day.  Kim's resignation comes at an unusual time, with less than a month until President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States, following media speculation that Seoul's top security official would soon be replaced. "President Yoon decided to accept the resignation of National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han after careful consideration," Kim Eun-hye, senior secretary for press affairs, said in a press briefing, adding Cho was selected as his replacement.

 

South Korea to host third Summit for Democracy
President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden announced that South Korea will host a future third Summit for Democracy in a joint statement Wednesday, highlighting the two countries' shared bonds and values and Seoul's growing global leadership. The two leaders issued the statement just ahead of Biden's second Summit for Democracy, which Yoon co-hosted Wednesday. The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in our common democratic values and respect for human rights, and we are committed to further strengthening our robust political, economic, security and people-to-people ties," the statement read.

KHNP and Doosan Enerbility sign a $2.3 billion supply deal
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Doosan Enerbility signed a 2.9 trillion won ($2.3 billion) component supply agreement for the 10-year construction of Shin-Hanul 3 and 4, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. The Shin-Hanul 3 and 4 are two additional nuclear power plants to be built at the Shin-Hanul complex in Uljin, North Gyeongsang. Doosan Enerbility will manufacture and supply key components for the nuclear plants such as reactors, steam generators and turbine generators for the next 10 years to KHNP.

 

 

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

Yoon stresses the importance of combating fake news
President Yoon Suk Yeol has expressed concern that the spread of fake news via online platforms poses a threat to democracy and freedom. “Misinformation and demagogy distort decision-making by individuals and break down fundamental instruments of democracy, namely elections,” President Yoon said on Wednesday. In an introductory remark on the leader-level plenary on democracy delivering economic growth and shared prosperity at the second Summit for Democracy, President Yoon criticized the outright contestation of international order by authoritarian regimes and the rise of false democracy characterized by anti-intellectualism across the globe.

 

FKI to host business events on Yoon’s state visit to U.S.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) has confirmed that it will organize business events during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the United States, which is scheduled for the end of April, and has begun preparations. The eyes are on the background leading up to the FKI's designation to be in charge of both the presidential visit to Japan and the business event during the state visit to the U.S. According to sources in the business circle on Wednesday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) was initially expected to be in charge of organizing business events during the president’s state visit to the U.S., and the KCCI started preparations for the event.

 

Possibility of replacing national security advisor reportedly reviewed
South Korea's Presidential Office is reportedly considering replacing its National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han, who has been overseeing the policies of foreign affairs and national security for the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration. The news draws much attention as it is only a month away from the president’s summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. Following Chief of Protocol Kim Il-bum, President Yoon replaced his secretary Lee Moon-hee, who managed working-level issues on foreign and national security. Yoon is purportedly considering reshuffling his foreign policy and defense aides lineup ore the U.S.-ROK summit meeting in April.

 

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

Apple Pay may cause seismic shift in Korea’s contactless payment market
Apple Pay, which was recently launched in South Korea, is signaling a seismic shift to contactless payment in the country’s primarily contact-based payment infrastructure. Apple Pay uses chip and pin technology, or EMV, a security system already used in Europe on plastic credit cards. EMV is a near-field communication payment standard created by major card companies such as Visa, MasterCard and Europay. Apple Pay makes contactless payments through NFC terminals that adopt the EMV contactless method.

 

Korean Inc. ups cash holdings by 14% in 2022 amid growing uncertainties
Top companies listed on the main Kospi market in South Korea piled up cash reserves last year as they hoard safe assets amid growing uncertainties led by the weak economy and interest rate hikes. According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Tuesday, cash and cashable assets held by the top 20 Kospi-listed companies with the highest market capitalization, excluding financial and insurance companies, reached 124.3 trillion won ($95.7 billion) as of the end of December last year, up 14.4 percent from 108.6 trillion won in 2021 and up 28.1 percent from 97.05 trillion won in 2020.

 

Korean display manufacturers boost investments for survival after JOLED collapse
Uncertainty is looming over the global display industry after Japan’s organic light emitting diode (OLED) display manufacturer JOLED Inc. entered bankruptcy proceedings on Monday due to chronic losses amid market stagnation and fierce competition from China, sending shockwaves through South Korean players that are looking to increase investments for survival. According to industry sources on Tuesday, JOLED filed for rehabilitation proceedings with the Tokyo District Court on Monday as the company judged it was difficult to continue its business in the face of deteriorating financial soundness and debts totaling 33.7 billion yen ($257.3 million).

 

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

N. Korea reveals tactical nuclear warhead for first time
Kim Jong-un on Tuesday reportedly guided the work for mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles and “put spurs to continuing to produce powerful nuclear weapons,” according to a report in North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper. North Korea revealed a tactical nuclear warhead it calls the Hwasan-31 for the first time to the outside world in photographs published by the Rodong Sinmun. This refutes official intelligence assessments made by South Korean and US military officials that state that North Korea has not yet acquired tactical nuclear capabilities, but it also appears to be a flaunt of force in response to the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which arrived in Busan earlier in the day.

 

Yoon’s foreign policy comes under fire after Japan forgoes good faith gesture
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faces sharpening criticism over his foreign policy toward Japan after Tokyo approved social studies textbooks for elementary school students that downplay the compulsory nature of forced labor during its colonial rule of Korea and make a stronger territorial claim to the island of Dokdo. Yoon has already been savagely criticized for the sweeping concessions he made during a recent summit with the Japanese prime minister, and some see Tokyo’s latest historical distortions as amounting to a slap in the face.

 

Ma Ying-jeou’s welcome yet fraught visit to China
Ma Ying-jeou, former president of Taiwan, stepped foot on the Chinese mainland on Monday. That was the first time a former or current Taiwanese president has visited China in 74 years, since the Nationalists, known as the Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan after losing to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Ma described his trip to China as a personal visit during which he will pay respects at his ancestor’s graves in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, for the Qingming Festival, during which Chinese clean the tombs of their forebears, and visit Shanghai, as well as Nanjing and Chongqing, former capitals of the Kuomintang government.

 

 

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

Prime Minister Han, “If Covid Crisis Level Is Downgraded in Early May, Nation Will Shorten Quarantine Period for Patients to Five Days”
On March 29, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced, “First, we will take step one and determine whether to downgrade the COVID-19 crisis level in early May,” and said, “We will reduce the mandatory quarantine period for confirmed patients from seven to five days when we lower the crisis level.” The prime minister presided over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting in response to COVID-19 at the government office in Seoul Wednesday and made the announcement. He also said, “The government will consider the current stable management of the disease and draw up a plan to adjust the disease control measures still in place.”

 

A Relaxed Escape from the Law: Kwon Do-hyeong Received VIP Treatment and Even Founded a Company
Kwon Do-hyeong, the CEO of Terraform Labs arrested in Montenegro, was at ease as he fled from the law, receiving VIP treatment throughout the world. In Serbia, he even founded a corporation with another Korean citizen. According to Coingape, an overseas media outlet covering cryptocurrency, on March 28 (local time) Filip Adzic, the interior minister of Montenegro, said that the arrested Kwon and his associate were used to receiving VIP treatment in other parts of the world. He explained that they had spent some time in a neighboring country before entering Montenegro, and that they were in the country illegally. However, the interior minister did not specify which country the two men had been in.

 

Daughters” Disappear from “Daughters of a Revolution”: A Symbol of Lee Jae-myung’s Hardline Supporters, From Their Beginning to the Present
The word gaeddal, which refers to the strong supporters of Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung, comes from the TV drama “Reply” (1997, 1994, 1988) series. The word--which means “a bitch of a daughter”--was used to describe a daughter who appeared to be rough on the outside but who in her heart loved her father. The word gaeddal entered Korean politics as a Korean abbreviation for “daughters (ddal) of a revolution (gaehyeok)” during the presidential election on March 9, 2022. Some female voters in their twenties and thirties gathered to support Lee Jae-myung in opposition to Yoon Suk-yeol’s efforts to attract twenty-something male voters and began calling themselves gaeddal.

 

 

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

Ambassador to US Cho Tae-yong Named New Nat'l Security Adviser
President Yoon Suk Yeol has named the country's ambassador to the U.S. Cho Tae-yong as his new national security adviser. Presidential spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a press briefing on Wednesday that President Yoon decided to accept the resignation by National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han after much consideration. Yoon's acceptance of resignation came about just one hour after Kim offered to resign in a notice to the media. Ambassador Cho is expected to start work at the post of the country's top security and foreign affairs official after taking over the duties from Kim.

 

Top Office: Approach to Fukushima Won’t Endanger Public Health
The presidential office has asserted that the government will never make a decision that endangers the health and safety of the people amid reports that President Yoon Suk Yeol will seek the public’s understanding on Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea. An official at the top office issued the position on Thursday after Japan's Kyodo News reported that the president made the remark while discussing the plan for the crippled Fukushima power plant, adding that it correlates to the position already stated by the Seoul government.

 

Arrest Warrant Denied for Head of Broadcasting Watchdog
A local court has denied an arrest warrant for the chief of the nation's broadcasting watchdog, who is accused of being involved in the alleged manipulation of the broadcasting license renewal evaluation of a right-leaning cable TV channel in 2020. The Seoul Northern District Court on Thursday rejected the prosecution's warrant request for Korea Communications Commission(KCC) Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, citing room for contention on major charges. The court also said that the extent of evidence collected so far and the progress of the investigation renders the risk of destroying evidence unlikely, and placing Han under arrest may excessively limit his right to defend himself.

 

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

Yoon taps ambassador to U.S. as new nat'l security adviser
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday nominated Seoul's chief envoy to Washington as his new national security adviser following the resignation of his current adviser, an official said. Amb. Cho Tae-yong was tapped to replace Kim Sung-han, who announced his resignation the same day amid reports of trouble over a planning issue related to Yoon's state visit to Washington next month. "President Yoon Suk Yeol decided to accept National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han's resignation offer after deep thought," senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye told reporters.

 

Yoon says S. Korea will work to firmly defend democracy
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that South Korea will partner with the international community to firmly defend democracy in the face of challenges from authoritarian forces. Yoon made the pledge while leading the first plenary session of the second Summit for Democracy, titled "Democracy Delivering Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity." South Korea is one of five co-hosts for this year's summit, along with the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.

 

S. Korea set to host third Summit for Democracy in future: U.S. official
South Korea has agreed to host what will be the third Summit for Democracy, a senior administration official from the United States said, as the second summit was set to kick-start here later Wednesday with some 120 global leaders taking part. A formal announcement of South Korea hosting the third summit will be made later in the day, according to the official. "We are really pleased to share that the Republic of Korea has agreed to host a future third summit,"

 

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

Seoul plans shortening COVID-19 isolation to 5 days
South Korea has proposed a plan to shorten the mandatory COVID-19 isolation period from seven days to five starting early May, moving away from the country's crisis-response mode, health authorities said Wednesday. According to a set of new plans dubbed "road map for returning to normalcy," the government will also consider lowering the crisis level from "serious" to "alert," as well as the disease's classification level.

 

Opposition urges Yoon to sack foreign policy heads over Japan textbook changes
South Korea’s main opposition on Wednesday rallied for President Yoon Suk Yeol to fire his foreign policy chiefs over the controversial updates to Japanese textbooks unveiled the day before. The Democratic Party of Korea blamed the “humiliating concessions” the president made in his recent summit in Tokyo for the revisions in Japan’s history education. Japan’s Education Ministry announced Tuesday the new curriculum guidelines that touched on some of the historical disputes between the two countries. The curriculum would teach Dokdo -- the contested islets in the waters off the southwestern coast of South Korea -

 

Arrest warrant denied for broadcasting watchdog chief over alleged score rigging in cable channel relicensing
A Seoul court on Thursday denied the arrest warrant for the chief of the state broadcasting regulator who is being investigated for suspected score manipulation during the 2020 broadcasting license renewal for a cable TV channel. Prosecutors requested the pretrial warrant last week to detain Korea Communications Commission Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, on charges of involvement in deliberately giving low scores to TV Chosun, a right-leaning cable channel, during its license renewal evaluation process three years ago.

 

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

Will dismantling oligopoly result in successful bank industry reform?
The government's drive to dismantle Korea's oligopolistic banking industry structure is raising questions over the consequences of such reforms in the face of increasing turmoil in global financial markets this month. Financial authorities want to dismantle the market dominance held by a handful of large banks by bringing in more competition, in a bid to prevent mainstream players from reaping excessive profits while being lax on serving customers responsibly. Under the circumstances, the global banking turmoil sparked by the sudden collapses of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the United States and Credit Suisse in Europe hint that the government's anti-oligopoly campaign can rather backfire or disrupt the positive influence of large banks.

 

Tax certainty, labor reform, better IP protection will help Korea become Asia's business hub: AMCHAM
Greater policy certainty in corporate taxes, flexibility in the labor market and enhanced intellectual property (IP) rights are needed for Korea to become a regional business hub in Asia, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea), Wednesday. The relocation of regional headquarters of global firms to Korea in that sense is about more than greater job opportunities here, according to the group representing the interests of U.S. firms operating in Korea. Rather, the objective is more about having senior executive positions with key decision-making authority, as well as about more effective supply chain management and increased trade flows through Korea.


Yoon says Korea will work to firmly defend democracy
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that Korea will partner with the international community to firmly defend democracy in the face of challenges from authoritarian forces. Yoon made the pledge while leading the first plenary session of the second Summit for Democracy, titled "Democracy Delivering Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity." Korea is one of five co-hosts for this year's summit, along with the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia. "The democracy that led humanity's freedom and prosperity in the last century is faced with a significant challenge," Yoon said during the virtual gathering of dozens of leaders from around the world.

 

 

 

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

Gwangmyeong Daily 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.com, bfp@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

 

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Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE

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