Friday, October 19, 2018

Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today:

The Korea Post media (www.koreapost.com) in English, (www.koreapost.co.kr) in Korean.

Pope Francis says may visit Pyongyang following official invitation

Pope Francis expressed his willingness on Oct. 18, 2018 to visit North Korea if officially invited, also saying he will "certainly" respond to such an invitation from the communist state.The remarks came in a meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who paid a courtesy call on the pope to deliver a verbal invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the pope to visit Pyongyang.

President Moon arrives in Brussels for ASEM summit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Brussels on Oct. 18, 2018 for a two-day visit to attend a multilateral forum of Asian and European leaders.Moon is scheduled to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Oct. 19, 2018 and hold bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha later in the day.

S. Korea, EU sign joint declaration on illegal fishing

South Korea and the European Union have agreed to work together to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to promote sustainable fisheries, Seoul's maritime ministry said on Oct. 18, 2018.Kim Young-choon, South Korean minister of oceans and fisheries, signed a joint declaration on IUU with Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, in their meeting in Brussels, the ministry said.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

Prices of Seoul Apartments Grow Slowest in 4 Months

About a month after the South Korean government introduced anti-speculation measures, the weekly price growth of apartments in Seoul has slowed to its lowest level in more than four months. The Korea Appraisal Board says the rate stood at zero-point-05 percent as of Monday.

Main Creditor Considers Vetoing GM Korea's Spin-off Plan

The main creditor of General Motors(GM) Korea says it will consider vetoing the company’s plan to spin off a research and development arm amid rekindled speculation GM is seeking to withdraw from the South Korean market. In a statement released on Oct. 18, 2018, Korea Development Bank(KDB), which is the second largest shareholder of GM Korea, said it is deeply worried about the company making such a move without sufficiently explaining to and consulting with the concerned parties.

Pres. Office: EU's Use of CVID No Different From S. Korea's 'Complete Denuclearization'

The presidential office on Oct. 18, 2018 said the European Union's call for North Korea's "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization"(CVID) is no different from South Korea's goal to achieve "complete denuclearization."Referring to the use of the term CVID during President Moon Jae-in's summits with the leaders of France and Italy this week, presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said it is the EU's joint security policy position on the North Korean nuclear issue.

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

Nearly 9 trillion won spent to treat diseases from bad habits

Nearly 9 trillion won (US$7.92 billion) is spent a year to treat diseases caused by health-harming habits, data from the National Health Insurance Service showed on Oct. 19, 2018.Records provided for parliamentary audit showed the medical cost due to bad habits, such as smoking, drinking and obesity, amounted to 8.9 trillion won in 2016, up 22.2 percent from 7.28 trillion won in 2014.

Gov't hones in on winning orders from Vietnam, UAE

South Korea's industry ministry said it will hold a meeting of government agencies, industry organizations and companies on Oct. 19, 2018 to discuss support measures in getting project orders from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam.The participants will present what has been achieved so far and the needed assistance from different agencies, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Seoul shares open lower on rate woes, slowing economy

Stocks on the Seoul bourse started lower on Oct. 19, 2018 as investors were fidgety over more U.S. interest rate hikes and the impact of global trade tensions on the South Korean economy.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sank 20.89 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,127.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index continued to lose ground as traders were jittery about the Federal Reserve's likely move to increase interest rates this year.

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

TV producer Na, actress Jung to sue over affair rumors

Na Young-seok, the producer of “Grandpas over Flowers,” a TV entertainment show remade in the US as “Better Late Than Never,” said he would sue the people behind rumors he was having an affair with actress Jung Yu-mi. Jung was in the cast of one of Na’s more recent series, “Youn’s Kitchen.” The show was a hit, and a pioneering work that took Korean celebrities overseas to Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia in season one and a beachside Spanish town of Garachico in season two for them to start overseas Korean restaurant.

200 Vietnamese students come to learn Korean, end up with illicit jobs

Immigration authorities said Wednesday they uncovered the irregular practices of a Korean agency that illegally hired Vietnamese students who entered the country to learn the local language.Between November 2016 and August 2018, the agency, located in Gyeonggi Province, hired 262 Vietnamese university students and put them to work at various subcontractor firms for large-scale supermarkets’ distribution centers. The agency profiteered off the wages the students received. If a student earned 10,000 won ($8.80), the agency took 3,000 won.

GM Korea R&D center spinoff vote sparks new round of disputes with KDB, labor union

GM Korea’s push to spin off its R&D center as a separate corporate body has fueled a new conflict with the state-run Korea Development Bank and unionized workers just seven months after they agreed on long-term cooperation this April.In the latest development, GM Korea’s shareholders will convene Friday afternoon to vote on the spinoff, following the Incheon District Court’s rejection of the injunction KDB filed to put off the vote.

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

Huneed wins presidential award for innovation

Huneed Technologies has won a presidential award in recognition for its technological expertise in developing cutting-edge aerospace telecommunication systems supplied to the world's leading jet makers, the company said on Oct. 19, 2018.It received the top award at this year's National Productivity Award hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The annual award is given to manufacturing firms here which played a crucial role in generating outstanding business outcomes, thereby helping enhance the nation's economic development.

Moon to attend ASEM, P4G Summit

President Moon Jae-in will hold summits this week with European leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, to share his vision for North Korea. On Oct. 19, 2018, he will head to Brussels, Belgium, to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and then to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the P4G (Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030) Summit. President Moon is using his nine-day European tour to push a consensus-building process aimed at helping North Korea get sanctions relief and thus, according to him, moving the peace process forward, Cheong Wa Dae officials said.

Dispute remains despite governor's 'medical' check

The controversy over Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's alleged affair with actress Kim Boo-sun is unlikely to fade despite him having his skin checked by a doctor to refute her claim that he had a "big mole" on his body. Kim's supporters claim there is more evidence against the governor, and they will disclose this piece by piece.

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

Pope Willing to Visit N.Korea

Pope Francis said on Oct. 18, 2018 that he would be willing to visit North Korea after President Moon Jae-in passed on an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Asked if Kim can send him an official invitation, the pontiff said yes and voiced "strong support" for the South Korean government's pursuit of peace on the Korean peninsula, according to presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan.

Korean Women Have 1st Child 4.4 Years Later Than Global Average

The average age when women in Korea have their first child is 32.3, which is 4.4 years older than the global average, according to a report published by the UN Population Fund on Oct. 17, 2018. Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world at 191st in the league table, ahead only of Portugal and Moldova.

Koreans Embrace Cheap Chinese Electronics

Koreans are increasingly embracing cheaper Chinese electronics and abandoning their traditional preference for homegrown gadgets. Koreans made some 882,000 purchases of Chinese products online in the first half of this year, already surpassing the total for the whole of 2017, according to the Korea Customs Service. Purchases snowballed from 301,000 in 2016 to 880,000 last year.

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

Easing UN sanctions on N. Korea a potential way to accelerate denuclearization

While visiting the Vatican, in Rome, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, “Formally declaring the end of war on the Korean Peninsula and signing a peace treaty will dismantle the last Cold War alignment on earth. The division [of the peninsula] will certainly be overcome.”Following a special mass for peace on the Korean Peninsula arranged by the Vatican, Moon delivered a commemorative speech in which he mentioned how South and North Korea had adopted the Pyongyang Joint Declaration and vowed to make a “Korean Peninsula that is peaceful and free of nuclear weapons.”

ROK ambassador to US says inter-Korean relations and denuclearization move at different speeds

“Inter-Korean relations and the process of denuclearization can’t always move at the same speed,” said South Korean Ambassador to the US Cho Yoon-je on Oct. 16. Cho was expressing the South Korean government’s position in regard to American concerns that South Korea efforts to improve relations with North Korea are getting ahead of North Korea’s denuclearization.

Nearly 20,000 new South Korean convenience stores in last 7 years

Based on an analysis by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Choi In-ho of data provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the number of convenience stores in South Korea has increased by nearly 20,000 in the past seven years. Local supermarkets, conversely, are on the decline. Interestingly enough, while sales revenue for traditional markets and hypermarkets stagnated for the same period, revenue for online markets increased by 50 trillion won (US$44.1 billion).

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

Defector-turned-journalist banned from reporting in Panmunjom

The Journalists Association of Korea and the Korean Association of Newspapers have denounced the unification ministry for excluding a defector-turned-reporter from the joint press for the inter-Korean high-ranking meeting. On Monday, the Ministry of Unification removed Kim Myong-sung, a North Korean defector-turned-reporter of the Chosun Daily, from the joint panel of journalists put together to cover the high-level talks between the two Koreas at the Peace of House at the truce village of Panmunjom.

MBC's deficit hit 53.6 billion won at the first half of this year

The scope of MBC’s deficit exceeded 50 billion won in just the first half of this year and it has been pointed out that it will exceed 100 billion won at the end of this year.Rep. Chung Yong-gi of the Liberty Korea Party, who is a member of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, revealed at the parliamentary inspection Thursday that MBC acquired 2.7 billion won of business profits at the first half of last year but its deficit at the first half of this year hit 53.6 billion won.

Japan's Abe sends offering to controversial Tokyo war shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is visiting Europe, sent ritual offerings to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors World War II criminals, on Oct. 17, 2018 morning. Abe sent a sacred “masakaki” bearing his name "Cabinet Prime Minister Abe Shinzo" on the start of a four-day autumn festival. Masakaki is a cleyera japonica tree offered to the alter of a shrine.

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JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)

Korea discusses sanctions exemptions with Trump gov’t

Seoul is in discussions with Washington on sanctions exemptions for North Korea to accommodate its inter-Korean roads and railways project, and the Blue House on Oct. 18, 2018 said that it expects “good results.”Kim Eui-kyeom, the Blue House spokesman, said in a briefing in Seoul on Oct. 18, 2018 that the South Korean government is “in close consultation with the United States” on the inter-Korean railway and road project, adding it “expects good results.”

Bigwigs inspect DMZ disarming

South Korean Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok and two cabinet ministers visited a site in the border county of Cheorwon, Gangwon, Wednesday to check on a land mine removal operation, part of a follow up to the Pyongyang Declaration signed by the leaders of South and North Korea last month. Joined by Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, Im visited Arrowhead Ridge, or Hill 281, a scene of a notorious battle during the 1950-53 Korean War.

BOK drops growth estimate for 2018 to 2.7%

The Bank of Korea (BOK) slashed this year’s economic outlook to 2.7 percent on Oct. 18, 2018 amid worse-than-expected earnings, a sluggish job market and weak investment after a widely-expected freeze of its key interest rate.Uncertainties at home and abroad kept the central bank from normalizing unusually low interest rates.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Humanitarian Stay Permit for Yemenis: A Partially Positive Move

On October 17, the Jeju Immigration Office under the Ministry of Justice granted humanitarian stay permits to 339 out of 454 Yemenis that had applied for asylum. 34 applications were rejected with no permits issued. For another 85, decisions are pending. Including the 23 who have already obtained permits on September 14, a total of 362 now have humanitarian stay permits that allow the Yemenis to stay in South Korea for one year, who can also go outside Jeju and find work.

Korea-US Divided on ‘Pace of Inter-Korean Relations’

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea emphasized on October 17 that the “inter-Korean dialogue must remain linked to denuclearization,” and that South Korea should stay “synchronized with the United States.”The remarks came in his keynote speech during a meeting of security experts in Seoul co-hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Ministry of Justice Plays an Authoritarian Government: Says It’s All about Cracking

Minister Park Sang-ki of Justice demanded rigorous measures to handle false and manipulated information or so-called ‘fake news.’ In a press release issued on October 16, Minister Park ordered prosecutors that if someone should commit the offense of falsifying or manipulating information, they must promptly set up a chain of investigation at the initial stage to track down and identify any principal and de facto offender behind the production and distribution of such information.

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AJU Business Daily (http://eng.ajunews.com/korea)

State oil company considers converting gas platform into wind power turbine

South Korea's state oil company has installed a laser-based wind energy meter at an offshore gas platform off the southeastern port city of Ulsan to see if it could be converted into a floating wind power turbine to produce electricity.Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), which operates oil and gas fields abroad, said on Oct. 18, 2018 that the device was installed on Oct. 17, 2018 in the platform some 60 kilometers (36 miles) southwest of Ulsan to acquire related data. The gas platform's lifespan ends in June 2021..

Researchers develop highly sensitive flexible sensor for prosthetics

South Korea's state research institute has developed a highly sensitive flexible sensor for prosthetics and other purposes such as monitoring human body functions.The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said in a statement on Oct. 18, 2018 that its researchers have created Ecoflex, a highly sensitive flexible strain-pressure sensor using a graphene hybrid nanostructure foam.

S. Korea's only polar bear dies of old age just before relocation to Britain zoo

Tongki, a 24-year-old male polar bear, died of old age in a zoo at an amusement park a few weeks before his planned relocation to a wildlife park in Britain. He had been the only alive polar bear in South Korea.Everland, an amusement park in Yongin some 35 kilometers (21 miles) southeast of Seoul, said in a statement that a zookeeper found the bear dead in an enclosed area at around 6:00 p.m. (0900GMT) on Oct. 17, 2018. After an autopsy, a veterinary specialist said the bear has died of old age.

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

S. Korean gov’t to go all out to clamp down on housing price manipulation

The South Korean government has concluded that the country’s record high sales price of above 100 million won ($88,130) per pyong (35.58 square feet) for an apartment unit in the affluent Gangnam district might have been a false report, an attempt to manipulate the housing prices amid the booming apartment market.

Michelin Guide awards star to five new restaurants in Seoul

Five restaurants in Seoul were newly honored with a star from the Michelin Guide, the world’s most recognized guidebook on dining out, including two Korean restaurants Hansikgonggan and Lee Jong Kuk 104. The Michelin Guide Seoul on Oct. 18, 2018 listed 191 restaurants for its 2019 edition that includes two two-star and five one-star names from Korea.

Seoul expresses regret over Abe’s offering to controversial Yasukuni Shrine

The South Korean government on Thursday expressed “deep” regret over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine that honors 14 Class-A war criminals during the World War II when Japan forced colonization of Korea.

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Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com
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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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