Headlines, January 9, 2019

The Korean daily media headlines and humor
Wednesday, January 9, 2019

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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.

N.K. leader visits industrial facilities in China
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited industrial facilities in Beijing on Wednesday, a day after he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a show of close ties ahead of a possible second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim visited a pharmaceutical factory located in the economic-technological development zone in the Chinese capital. Sources said that he spent around 20-30 minutes touring the plant operated by Tong Ren Tang, a drug-making conglomerate known for its long history of more than 300 years.

President Moon replaces top aides amid surveillance controversy
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday replaced his chief of staff and two other senior secretaries in what was widely seen as a move to put behind a scandal that is apparently hurting his approval rating.
The president named Noh Young-min, currently the ambassador to China, as his new chief of staff.

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim announces resignation
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced his resignation Monday with nearly three years left in his term, but didn't state the reason for his decision.
The Korean-American said on Twitter that he will be stepping down Feb. 1 after serving in the position since 2012.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Kim Jong-un Holds 4th Summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
Kim’s fourth summit with Xi came on the second day of his four-day trip to China. He had arrived in Beijing earlier in the day via a special train along with his wife and top officials.

World Bank Cuts Global Growth Outlook for 2019 to 2.9%
The World Bank has downgraded its outlook for the global economy in 2019.
In a report titled "Darkening Skies," the bank said Tuesday that it expects the world economy to grow two-point-nine percent in this year, down from the three percent it forecast back in June last year.

Court Approves Seizure of Japanese Firm's Assets over Forced Labor Ruling
A local court has approved a request by South Korean plaintiffs to seize Korean assets of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal over Tokyo's wartime forced labor.
The Daegu District Court's Pohang branch said on Tuesday that it approved last Thursday a request to seize about 81-thousand of the Japanese company's shares in a local joint venture with South Korea's leading steelmaker, POSCO.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
President Moon to answer critical questions in new year press conference
President Moon Jae-in was set to face many critical questions, including how he plans to finally rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons and revitalize the possibly slowing economy, in his first press conference in the new year this week, officials said Wednesday.
The press conference will be held Thursday at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

N.K. leader in Beijing for talks with Xi ahead of possible summit with Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday, sources said, in an effort to coordinate strategies ahead of his possible second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
A special train carrying Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, arrived at a highly secure station in Beijing at around 10:55 a.m. Escorted by Chinese police, he and his entourage headed in prearranged limousines to Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

S. Korea's jobless rate rises in December
South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in December from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to create more jobs.
The unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Korea's jobless rate rises in December
South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in December from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to create more jobs.
The unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

US, N. Korea in back-channel talks over 2nd summit: ambassador
The United States and North Korea continue to have "back-channel" talks to arrange a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul's top envoy in Washington said Tuesday.
Trump and Kim have both said they want to meet again to follow up on their historic first summit last June, which produced an agreement to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from the US.

President Moon to answer critical questions in new year press conference
President Moon Jae-in was set to face many critical questions, including how he plans to finally rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons and revitalize the possibly slowing economy, in his first press conference in the new year this week, officials said Wednesday.
The press conference will be held Thursday at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Korea freezes Japan company assets over forced labor spat
A South Korean district court said Wednesday it has decided to freeze the local assets of a Japanese company involved in compensation disputes for wartime Korean laborers.
Last October, South Korea's top court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won ($88,000) each to four plaintiffs forced to work for the company when Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.

Korea's first K-pop arena to open in 2024
The Seoul city government said Wednesday it will open the country's first K-pop arena in northern Seoul in 2024 to attract more foreign tourists.
"We plan to start the work to construct the concerts-only complex, Seoul Arena, in September next year on a 50,149-square-meter lot near Changdong Station for completion at the end of 2023," a city official said.

Korea's jobless rate rises in December
South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in December from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as the finance minister vowed to create 150,000 jobs this year.
The unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Xi Fetes Kim Jong-un with Lavish Birthday Banquet
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was given a lavish welcome in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, which was his birthday.
Kim emerged from his quarters around 4 p.m. to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, where Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju joined them later. Xi then threw a lavish banquet for Kim to celebrate his birthday, but state-run CCTV made no mention of Kim's visit.

Seoul to Send Flu Drugs to N.Korea
South Korea will send about 200,000 doses of the influenza antiviral drug Tamiflu to North Korea.
A Unification Ministry official said on Tuesday it will deliver the drugs to the border town of Kaesong on Friday along with 50,000 rapid diagnostic test kits donated by a private company.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Kim Jong-un visits China upon invitation extended by Xi Jinping
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency has reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is visiting China from Jan. 7 to 10. The report was confirmed Korean Central Television, the official broadcaster of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Chun Doo-hwan once again fails to appear in court for defamation trial
After ex-president Chun Doo-hwan failed to appear in court, a South Korean court issued a warrant on Jan. 7 that will require him to testify in the trial. Chun has been charged with defamation in connection with the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement.
In a memoir published in Apr. 2018, Chun described the late priest Cho Cheol-hyeon (also known as Cho Pius) as “Satan wearing a mask.” Cho testified that government forces tasked with imposing martial law had fired on protesters from helicopters during the events in Gwangju. Chun was indicted without detention on May 3 on charges of libeling Cho.

Trump hints at announcement of location for 2nd summit in “not-too-distant future”
On Jan. 6, US President Donald Trump said that the US and North Korea were deliberating the location of their second summit and that the results would soon be announced. Since the beginning of the year, the leaders of the two sides have exchanged a flurry of positive messages, boosting expectations about the second summit.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
N. Korean leader visits Beijing for talks with Xi
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing Tuesday for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This marked Kim’s fourth trip to the ally for the past 10 months since he first traveled to Beijing in last March. While Kim warned that the North would take a “new path” in his New Year’s address, a coordinated message coming out of Kim’s sit-down with Xi is likely to point to the future direction of a second U.S.-North Korea summit and nuclear talks.

LG unveils world's first rollable OLED TV at CES 2019
LG Electronics announced that it will launch the world’s first “rollable” TV within this year. It took 20 years for Braun tube TVs to be replaced by flat liquid crystal display TVs. Now the shape of TV is transforming once again.

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JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)
Kim Jong-un takes 4-day trip to China to meet Xi
Kick-starting the year with a burst of diplomacy, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is on a trip to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, an opportunity for the two sides to strategize ahead of a possible second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The North’s official Rodong Sinmun reported on its front page Tuesday that Kim, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and top aides, kicked off a four-day visit to China Monday at the invitation of Xi.

Samsung ‘shock’ as profits start to droop
Samsung Electronics announced sharply lower earnings for the fourth quarter, an earnings “shock” that suggested that the “supercycle” in the global semiconductor market is nearing an end.
Preliminary 2018 performance numbers released Tuesday predicted the local IT giant’s operating profit between October and December of last year would be 10.8 trillion won ($9.6 billion), down 28.71 percent year on year.

Moon reshuffles chief of staff and two senior secretaries
President Moon Jae-in changed his chief of staff and two senior secretaries Tuesday afternoon in a major Blue House reshuffle that came amid dour economic prospects, two whistle-blowing scandals and record-low approval ratings.
Moon tapped Korean Ambassador to China Noh Young-min as his new chief of staff. Kang Gi-jung, who formerly served as a Democratic Party lawmaker, was named the new senior secretary for political affairs. Yoon Do-han, a former political commentator from broadcaster MBC, was picked as senior secretary for public affairs.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Conflicts with Japan Should No Longer Be Neglected
Conflicts between South Korea and Japan continue to intensify. Tensions continued for two weeks after a battle of nerves was triggered when a South Korean warship radar detected a Japanese patrol plane. Then on January 6, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave instructions to initiate a legal response to the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling on compensations for forced labor during Japanese occupation. The victims of forced labor applied for an attachment against the Japanese corporations based on the Supreme Court ruling, and Prime Minister Abe instructed his officials to seek ways to file a suit against such a move at the International Court of Justice. Recently, the citizens of both countries have joined in the controversy with online comments. Considering that the two countries had never clashed on a military issue, some people are voicing their concerns that the bilateral conflict has entered a new phase.

Betrayal by the Democratic Party of Korea
The controversy triggered by Shin Jae-min, a former deputy director of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, appeared to quickly die down, but lawmaker Sohn Hye-won poured gas onto the dying flames, turning the situation into a near catastrophe. Lawmaker Sohn's uncouth post was outrageous, but the Democratic Party of Korea's negligence--as if watching a fire burning across the river--was also frightening. The reason the brakes failed to stop lawmaker Sohn's stampede was probably because she was fighting on "our side." This is similar to how the lawmakers rushed to silence the argument about Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Kuk's responsibility (raised by lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon), when a staff in Cheong Wa Dae's special inspection team stirred controversy.

Rhyu Si-min's Alileo, A Sensation: Rhyu Emerges as the Relief Pitcher for the Ruling Party
It looks like Rhyu Si-min (60), the chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, will be the relief pitcher for the Moon Jae-in government. Despite numerous public statements that he has no intention to run for public office, Rhyu's YouTube debut was a hit as he represented the ruling party and government and fought the conservative press and opposition parties. Some people claim this is a deja vu of when Rhyu abandoned his role as a "knowledge retailer" and rolled up his sleeves as the “political security chief” of the presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun in 2002.

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AJU Business Daily (http://www.ajudaily.com)
Hyundai aims to have 10 mln active connectivity users in three years
LAS VEGAS -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group presented a new mobility roadmap to have ten million active connectivity users globally and apply connected car technology to all vehicle segments in 2022. The group aims to provide a curated future lifestyle to customers in a society where all aspects of life are connected to mobility for a true car-to-life experience.

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Maeil Business News Korea ( http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Korean cities in race to bring home SK Hynix-led chip cluster
South Korea’s local governments are in a heated competition to bring home new chip lines of the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix in a government-backed project worth 120 trillion won ($106.9 billion) to create the world’s largest semiconductor cluster by 2028.

Samsung Elec stk faces downgrades after Q4 results, likely rebound 2H
Shares of Samsung Electronics Co., battered by downgrades by institutional players after the world’s largest chipmaker delivered the lowest results in nearly two years in preliminary fourth-quarter income report, won’t likely recover in full gear until the second half, analysts agree.

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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koeapost.com