Day: August 31, 2023

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S. Korea to sell 4.5 tln won of Treasury bills in Sept.

South Korea plans to sell 4.5 trillion won (US$3.4 billion) worth of Treasury bills next month to finance the government’s fiscal spending, the financial ministry said Thursday.

The bills, which have a maturity of 63 days, will be sold in three separate auctions next month, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Treasury bills are usually floated to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls and are generally sold with a maturity of less than a year. The debts should be repaid within the year of issuance.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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Sangam-dong finally picked as site of Seoul’s new waste incinerator

The Seoul city government said Thursday it has finally selected Sangam-dong in the western district of Mapo as the site of its new waste incineration plant.

Sangam-dong has been chosen out of five candidate sites throughout the capital after comprehensive environmental impact assessments, the city government said.

Sangam-dong is already home to a waste incineration plant, formally called the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility, and the new incinerator will be built right next to the old one, it said.

The new waste incineration plant will be built underground on a 21,000-square-meter lot by 2026 and the old plant will be demolished by 2035 and be converted into a park, it said.

At present, Seoul has three other incineration plants — Yangcheon in the southwestern district, Nowon in the northern district and Gangnam in the southern district — and the four facilities incinerate about 2,200 tons of waste per day.

About 1,000 tons of waste that cannot be handled by the four plants is now being sent to a landfill in Incheon, west of Seoul. But the Incheon landfill will be shut down in 2026.

The new Sangam-dong plant will have a daily incineration capacity of 1,000 tons, compared with the old one’s 750 tons.

Considering fierce protests from Sangam-dong residents, the city government said it will thoroughly monitor pollutant emissions from the new incinerator through the installation of cutting-edge automation and pollution prevention facilities and build various cultural and leisure facilities on the grounds of the plant.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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Yoon to visit Indonesia, India for ASEAN, G20 summits

President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit Indonesia and India next week to attend regional summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Group of 20 (G20), his office said Thursday.

Yoon will visit Jakarta from Tuesday to Friday to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and an East Asia Summit before also holding a bilateral meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo as part of an official bilateral visit to the country, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters.

From Jakarta, Yoon will head to New Delhi, India, on Sept. 8 and attend the G20 summit during a three-day stay.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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8 more drug suspects identified in connection with police officer’s fall to death

Police have confirmed eight more people were present at the scene when a police officer fell off an apartment building in Seoul to his death earlier this week and imposed exit bans on all of them over suspected drug use, officials said Thursday.

The officer in his 30s, affiliated with the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, died at around 5 a.m. on Sunday in Seoul’s Yongsan district after falling from an apartment building’s 14th floor.

Police initially identified seven people who were at the site and booked them for an investigation on suspicions of violating the narcotic control act.

Officials said Thursday that eight more people were found to have been with the officer at the time, and all 15 people have been banned from leaving the country for an investigation on drug charges.

Instant drug tests conducted on some of the initial suspects were positive for ketamine, ecstasy and cocaine. Police said another round of instant drug tests were under way for the other eight suspects.

Police earlier confiscated syringes and unidentified pills at the apartment belonging to one of the suspects and were looking into whether they had been utilized for drugs.

Investigations showed the police officer and the others got together the night before his death at the apartment. They told police the officer opened a window and jumped while they were spending time together as members of a sports club.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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LG H&H renames luxury beauty brand, to launch renewed products in China

South Korean cosmetics giant LG H&H Co. said Thursday it has changed the name of its luxury beauty brand, The history of Whoo, and will launch the brand’s renewed flagship product line in China this week.

The history of Whoo, now renamed The Whoo, renewed its key basic skincare line, Cheongidan, for the first time since the line was launched in 2010 to improve anti-aging functions.

The new Cheongidan products will be launched in China on Friday and will be available in South Korea in October.

LG H&H launched a five-day promotion event in Shanghai on Wednesday.

China was once the biggest purchaser of South Korean cosmetics products, but in recent years, their sales in China have decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of “nationalistic consumption” by Chinese consumers.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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(LEAD) N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting on Sept. 26

North Korea plans to convene a key parliamentary meeting next month to mainly discuss organizational matters, state media said Thursday, amid speculation that its leader Kim Jong-un could replace the country’s premier over flood damage.

The standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) decided the previous day to hold the ninth session of the 14th SPA on Sept. 26, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The upcoming session will discuss organizational matters and the issue of examining and adopting various laws, including those on ensuring the rights of disabled persons and irrigation, the report said.

The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the North’s constitution, but it actually only rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

The announcement came after the North’s leader Kim strongly berated the country’s premier, Kim Tok-hun, and the Cabinet last week over their “irresponsible” attitude in failing to prevent flood damage and “spoiling” the country’s economic plans.

The North Korean leader’s sharp-worded comments fueled speculation that he may replace the premier, who was appointed to the post in 2020, and reshuffle the Cabinet.

Still, Kim Tok-hun has been carrying out his official duty as premier, as state media reported that he attended an economy-related event on Wednesday.

Experts said the North Korean leader chastised the premier in an apparent bid to shift responsibility to the Cabinet for the faltering economy, aggravated by its prolonged COVID-19 border closure.

During Wednesday’s meeting, participants also discussed a law on tourism including “revitalizing domestic tourism and expanding international tourism simultaneously,” in a sign that the North may be preparing to accept foreign tourists soon.

After resuming flights to China and Russia following more than three years of strict virus restrictions earlier this month, the North recently lifted an entry ban imposed on its citizens staying abroad over COVID-19 concerns.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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‘Road to Boston’ sheds light on Korean marathon hero

Director Kang Je-gyu’s new period film “Road to Boston” tells a heartwarming drama based on the true story of a Korean athlete who became the first Asian winner of the Boston Marathon in 1947.

The story follows Suh Yun-bok (1923-2017), played by Im Si-wan, as he competes in the Boston Marathon bearing the Korean flag for the first time after his country’s liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.

Suh set the then world record with a time of 2:25:39 at the age of 24, becoming the first Asian champion to win the prestigious sporting event, which was founded in 1897.

His coach was Sohn Kee-chung (1912-2002), played by Ha Jung-woo, another iconic Korean athlete and the winner of the marathon at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, when Korea was a colony of Japan.

Director Kang, best known for “Shiri” (1999) and “Taegukgi” (2004), both of which dealt with dark moments in Korean history, said he tried to stay faithful to the historical records of the marathoners.

He said he focused on designing the 42.195-kilometer marathon course and the actors’ embodiment of the marathoners for authentic portrayal of the real event.

“As it is a film based on true stories, I wanted to portray their stories as faithfully as possible,” Kang said in a press conference on Thursday.

Ha interpreted Sohn as an athlete who had to endure pain after running with the Japanese flag on his chest. During the award ceremony at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the champion was spotted hiding the Japanese flag with an oak tree.

“I think Sohn carried enormous pain in his heart for a long time. He endured a difficult time of oppression and persecution for covering the Japanese flag at the award ceremony,” Ha said.

Im, who lowered his body fat percentage to 6 percent through intensive physical training, said he joined the project with the mindset of a national athlete.

“I thought I should approach the role with the mindset of a national athlete bearing the Korean flag, just like Suh did,” Im said. “Through this project, I learned the joy of running and picked up a healthier hobby. That’s how special this work is to me.”

“Road to Boston” opens at local theaters Sept. 27.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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S. Korea, Japan, China in talks to hold trilateral summit this year

South Korea, Japan and China are in talks to arrange a trilateral summit before the end of the year, a presidential official said Thursday.

South Korea is the current chair of the trilateral summit, which has not been held since 2019 due to historical disputes between South Korea and Japan, and the pandemic.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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LG H&H renames luxury beauty brand, to launch renewed products in China

South Korean cosmetics giant LG H&H Co. said Thursday it has changed the name of its luxury beauty brand, The history of Whoo, and will launch the brand’s renewed flagship product line in China this week.

The history of Whoo, now renamed The Whoo, renewed its key basic skincare line, Cheongidan, for the first time since the line was launched in 2010 to improve anti-aging functions.

The new Cheongidan products will be launched in China on Friday and will be available in South Korea in October.

LG H&H launched a five-day promotion event in Shanghai on Wednesday.

China was once the biggest purchaser of South Korean cosmetics products, but in recent years, their sales in China have decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of “nationalistic consumption” by Chinese consumers.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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