The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Thursday June 13, 2019

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.

Renault Samsung, union reach tentative deal over wages

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the Korean unit of French automaker Renault S.A., said it reached a tentative agreement with its labor union over wages and working conditions Wednesday. The union members will vote Friday on whether to accept the deal. It will be their second poll since the two sides' first tentative deal failed to earn approval from the unionists last month.

S. Korean steel artisan has more to offer the industry

He is not an alchemist, but when it comes to handling metals, Kim Yong-tae, an engineer at South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO, is a top-notch artisan, although he does not use a forge to make the metal submit to his will. Instead, he uses a complicated formula and a computer to carry out his steelmaking mastery.

N.K. leader sends condolence message, flowers for former first lady's funeral

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a condolence message and flowers to South Korea via his sister on Wednesday over the death of former first lady Lee Hee-ho. Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, delivered the message and flowers during a meeting at the border village of Panmunjom with Chung Eui-yong, head of South Korea's presidential National Security Office, Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho and Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace.

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

Hungarian Authorities Find No Additional Bodies Inside Salvaged Boat

Authorities did not find any traces of the four people that remain unaccounted for inside a salvaged tour boat that sank on the Danube River late last month with 33 South Koreans and two Hungarians aboard. A South Korean response team said Hungarian police on Wednesday searched the "Hableany" after it was pulled up from the water the previous day, but did not find the bodies of the four South Koreans that remain unaccounted for.

Trump Remains Positive About N. Korea; No Rush to Resume Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump has offered a positive outlook for negotiations with North Korea but reaffirmed an earlier stance that he would not rush to resume such talks. Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said that the U.S. is going to do very well with North Korea over a period of time, adding he is “in no rush.” He said sanctions against the North are on and that there has been no nuclear testing at all.

Moon Vows to Create Peace via Oslo Initiative

President Moon Jae-in has vowed to create peace that will provide the South Korean public with practical support in their daily lives. Moon revealed his Oslo Initiative on Wednesday through a keynote speech he delivered for the Oslo Forum in Norway at the University of Oslo.

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

Moon hopes to meet Kim Jong-un before Trump visits S. Korea in late June

South Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced hope Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the peninsula at the end of this month. Moon's offer came amid renewed expectations for a possible breakthrough in efforts to restart nuclear talks following the news of Kim's new personal letter to Trump.

N.K. leader sends condolence message, flowers for former first lady's funeral

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a condolence message and flowers to South Korea via his sister on Wednesday over the death of former first lady Lee Hee-ho. Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, delivered the message and flowers during a meeting at the border village of Panmunjom with Chung Eui-yong, head of South Korea's presidential National Security Office, Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho and Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace.

Top Asian football official hails S. Korea historic run to final

Asia's top football official on Wednesday praised South Korea for reaching the final at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, saying the country's run demonstrates the growth of the sport on the continent. South Korea defeated Ecuador 1-0 on Tuesday in Lublin, Poland, to set up the championship match against Ukraine. It will be South Korea's first appearance in the final of any FIFA men's tournament.

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

Moon hopes to meet Kim before Trump visits S. Korea in late June

South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed hope Wednesday that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the peninsula at the end of this month. Speaking at the Oslo Forum in the Norwegian capital, Moon also emphasized the urgency of Pyongyang and Washington resuming formal dialogue.

Kim’s letter to Trump sparks hopes for dialogue

US President Donald Trump’s comments regarding a personal letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are fanning speculations that US-North Korea dialogue may resume. On Tuesday, Trump revealed that he had received a letter from Kim the previous day and that he expects positive developments between the two countries.

LG Group pushes to sell stake in affiliates for future biz investments

LG Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, is continuing to streamline the group’s business portfolio by selling its stake in multiple affiliates in order to focus on future businesses, according to industry sources Wednesday. As part of the plan, the company is preparing to sell over 35 percent stake in LG CNS, an IT software development affiliate in which it owns 85 percent shares.

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

US and 25 nations accuse North Korea of violating sanctions

The United States and 25 other countries are accusing North Korea of violating U.N. sanctions by importing far more than the annual limit of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products. A complaint seen Wednesday by The Associated Press asks the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea to rule that Pyongyang breached the cap and demand an immediate halt to deliveries.

Hong Kong protesters vow to keep fighting extradition law

Following a day of sit-ins, tear gas and clashes with police, Hong Kong students and civil rights activists vowed Wednesday to keep protesting a proposed extradition bill that has become a lightning rod for concerns over greater Chinese control and erosion of civil liberties in the former British colony. The violence marked a major escalation of the biggest political crisis in years for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory and forced the delay of legislative debate on the contentious bill.

Another body found in Budapest search for boat accident victims

The body of what appeared to be an Asian person was found some 82 kilometers downstream from the sinking site of a tour boat in the Danube River in Budapest on Wednesday (Hungary time), officials said. Hungarian authorities are trying to identify the body. Should it be confirmed to be a South Korean victim, it will bring the total number of Koreans killed in the May 29 sinking to 23, and the number of those missing to three.

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

N.Korea Tested Missiles 'to Perfect Solid-Fuel Engine'

North Korea's missile tests on May 4 and 9 "appear to be aimed at advancing solid fuel and guidance systems," the U.S. Congressional Research Service says. The CRS in its latest report said the missiles were KN-23 short-range missiles similar to the Russian Iskander-type missiles.

Zero Progress in Denuclearization 1 Year After N.Korea-U.S. Summit

A year to the day after the backslapping and photo ops of the historic U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore there is zero progress in efforts to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The U.S. and South Korea struggle to agree on a concerted strategy to engage the North, with Seoul continuing to call for another inter-Korean summit as the best way to restart dialogue, while the U.S. insists on palpable progress in denuclearization and tougher sanctions.

NGO Identifies Hundreds of Public Execution Sites in N.Korea

Human rights activists have identified over 300 public execution sites in North Korea and mass graves as well as pinpointing the locations where the evidence incriminating the brutal regime may be stored. The Transitional Justice Working Group, which pinpoints mass graves around the world with cutting-edge mapping technology, published a report on Tuesday based on interviews of 610 North Korean defectors in South Korea and satellite images.

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

1 year after the Singapore summit, the NK-US stalemate still persists

One year after the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, 2018, the summit that was called the “meeting of the century” and kindled the hope of peace, the nuclear talks between the two countries are at a standstill. North Korea and the US are in a standoff, each waiting for the other side to make the first move. From June 7 to 10, the Hankyoreh consulted 10 experts on Korean Peninsula issues — five from South Korea and five from the US — about the causes of this standoff, what South Korea, North Korea, and the US should do to resolve it, and prospects for the future.

Trump says he received letter from Kim Jong-un

US President Donald Trump said on June 11 that he has a “good relationship” with Kim Jong-un and had received a personal letter from the North Korean leader the day before. It was the first public mention of correspondence between the two leaders since the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi ended without a deal in late February. Coming ahead of a scheduled South Korea-US summit between President Moon Jae-in and Trump in late June, the message is raising questions over whether some breakthrough may be achieved in the current impasse in relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

Planting South and North Korean flowers in downtown Berlin

“Our project changes in fluid ways with the state of inter-Korean relations. I thought that aspect itself could be an artistic process: the artwork takes on dynamic variables amid the dynamics of politics. Right now, we’re waiting for plants to arrive from North Korea.” A 3D miniature version of the Baekdudaegan mountain range, reminiscent of the landscape painting “After Rain at Mt. Inwang” by artist Jeong Seon (1676–1759, known by the pen name “Gyeomjae”), has been created in Berlin. Part of the “Third Nature” project, the creation has clouds and mist billowing over a mountain of rocks modeled on the Baekdudaegan range in basalt and earth. In the garden, indigenous South and North Korean flora has been planted from across the Korean Peninsula.

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

Chinese envoy ‘highly assesses’ Seoul’s putting no restriction on 5G equipment

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong said Wednesday that he “highly assesses” the fact that the South Korean government does not restrict private corporations’ use of the fifth-generation (5G) telecommunication equipment. The remark was in response to an official at Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae who told reporters last Friday that there was “no impact” from the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s 5G equipment to the defense security of South Korea and the United States. The official added that it was up to each private corporation to decide which 5G equipment it would use. The Chinese envoy made the remark during a meeting Wednesday with Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the Liberty Korea Party who heads the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, saying that China is making efforts to guarantee South Korean companies’ legal activities in China. When Yoon expressed concern over the Chinese government’s warning to South Korean businesses over the Huawei issue, Qui argued that Beijing was listening to the companies’ views on their situations without putting any pressure on them. The Chinese diplomat reportedly complained during a behind-closed-door meeting about the United States’ “unilateral” measures against Huawei.

Hyundai Rotem wins 335.8 billion won tram order from Poland

Hyundai Rotem Co., South Korea's major railway system and plant equipment maker, said Wednesday it has won a 335.8 billion won (284 million U.S. dollars) contract to export 123 trams to a Polish company operating the tram network in Warsaw. A tram is a rail vehicle that runs on tracks along public urban roads. As trams produce less pollutants and are believed to be effective in reducing fine particles because they are powered by electricity, rather than fossil fuel, they are recognized as environmentally friendly means of public transportation in Europe, Japan, the United States and Hong Kong. The trams, which will be operated in the Polish capital, will be manufactured in South Korea and shipped to Poland in the second half of 2021. Hyundai Rotem said its trams will consist of five-module bi-directional and uni-directional units and three-module bi-directional units and that they will be designed to run at a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour. The five-module and three-module models can accommodate up to 240 and 160 passengers, respectively. The trams will also be able to run more than 120 kilometers without external power supply.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon joins the ‘Sosaeng’ campaign

Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon has joined the “Sosaeng” campaign organized by the Dong-A Ilbo under the slogan that says, “The sound of Dr. Helicopter is life.” Mayor Park participated in the event to pop a red balloon in his office at the Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu on Tuesday. The red balloon popping event was initiated to raise the public awareness of the sound of the takeoff and landing of Dr. Helicopter, which is comparable to the sound of balloon popping in volume. Dr. Jo Jun-pil, president of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine and professor of Emergency Medicine at Ajou University, named Mayor Park as the next person to join the “Sosaeng” relay campaign.

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

The Tragedy on the Danube Emerges: Where Are the Four Missing Victims?

The tour boat Hableany, which sank in the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary with 35 passengers including South Korean tourists on board, was salvaged and emerged above the water on June 11 (local time), thirteen days after the accident. A total of four bodies including the body of a six-year-old girl were recovered from the hull. The Hungarian Counter Terrorism Center (TEK), which is overseeing the accident, began to salvage the riverboat at the site where it sank, near the Margaret Bridge, at 6:47 a.m. on June 11. The large crane, Clark Adam, standing by at the site of the accident, began pulling the wires fixed to the hull. Twenty-six minutes later, the wheelhouse located at the top of the hull began to appear.

"I Will Pray for the People and for a Peaceful Unification. Love and Seek Harmony with One Another"

Ms. Lee Hee-ho, the chairperson of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center died at the age of 97 on the night of June 10. In her will, she said, "I will pray for our people and for the peaceful reunification of our people in heaven." The late chairperson, along with her late husband former president Kim Dae-jung, spent her life promoting democracy, peace between the two Koreas, and stronger women's rights. On June 11, Kim Sung-jae, director of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center announced that Ms. Lee also said, "I thank our people for the great love they have shown my husband, President Kim Dae-jung, and me. I hope that our people will love one another, seek harmony and lead a happy life."

No Follow-on Measures for NK and US, But Denuclearization Agreement Still Ongoing

Exactly one year ago, North Korea and the United States took their first step toward ending a hostile relationship that had lasted seven decades. On June 12, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump sat facing each other on Sentosa, an island in Singapore, and signed a joint statement (Singapore agreement). It was a symbolic event that will remain in the history of world conflicts.

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

LG Corp puts 37.3% stake in LG CNS worth nearly $85 mn on sale

South Korea’s fourth largest conglomerate LG Group is attempting to divest a sizeable stake in its in-house system integration unit to give impetus to its stretch beyond LG family and secure financial ammunitions in M&As and other investment for new growth. According to investment banking sources on Tuesday, the group’s holding entity LG Corp. named JP Morgan as the lead financial advisor for the sale of a 37.3 percent stake in LG CNS Co. worth about more than 1 trillion won ($847 million).

Hyundai Rotem shares rally on news of $284-mn tram deal in Poland

Shares of Hyundai Rotem Co., the locomotive and rolling stock unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, rallied on Wednesday after news that it won a 335.8 billion won ($284 million) deal to supply trams in Poland. Shares of Hyundai Rotem rose 5.68 percent, or 1,150 won, to finish at 21,400 won on main Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) on Wednesday, after hitting 22,650 won during intraday trading. Its stocks gained more than 15 percent in just one month after it hit a 52-week low at 18,500 won on May 14. A total 3.2 million shares were traded on Wednesday, significantly higher than previous daily trading volume that has remained as low as 200,000 shares and as high as 600,000 shares.

Renault Samsung union calls off strike amid hardline action

The union leadership of Renault Samsung Motors withdrew its “indefinite strike” scheme Wednesday and agreed to work out the wage differences through dialogue in the face of slow participation from factory workers and the management’s threat to take legal action on top of a partial lockout at the Busan plant. The move comes amid escalating complaints of fatigue from the year-long labor dispute coupled with hard-line actions from the management.

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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 Herald http://www.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
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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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