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Constitution Day: National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, fourth from left, cuts a long cake along with dignitaries during a luncheon meeting to celebrate the
60th Constitution Day held in the 63 City Building in Seoul, Thursday. From left are Prime Minister Han Seung-soo; ruling Grand National Party Chairman Park Hee-tae; Chief
Justice Lee Yong-hoon; Speaker Kim; Constitutional Court President Lee Kang-kook; former Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup; National Election Commission Chairperson Koh
Hyun-chul; and former Assembly Speaker Kim Won-ki. Yonhap
First in the Nation
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Lee Myung-bak adminis-tration has rejected a proposalby Japan that the foreign minis-ters of the two countries havetalks on the sidelines of theASEAN Regional Forum, slatedfor July 22-24 in Singapore.
Japan’s chief governmentspokesman voiced disappoint-ment immediately over Seoul’sboycott of the talks.
“Seoul has no plan to hold ameeting of foreign ministers withTokyo,” Moon Tae-young,spokesman for the Ministry ofForeign Affairs and Trade, toldreporters. “It is not necessary tohold such a meeting at a timewhen relations are worseningover Japan’s claim to the SouthKorean islets of Dokdo.”
Japan earlier proposed such ameeting in Singapore, but Seoulrebuffed the offer, ministry offi-cials said.
The rejection clouds theprospects for the summit betweenthe leaders of South Korea, Chinaand Japan, scheduled for Septem-ber in Tokyo. Japanese PrimeMinister Yasuo Fukuda alsopromised to visit Seoul to return avisit by President Lee in April, butthis is unlikely to take place at anearly date.
To protest Japan’s claim toDokdo, Seoul said Tuesday itmay boycott the planned summitin Tokyo.
“We’ve delivered a message toJapanese officials that we haveno intention of having a summitunless Japan takes appropriatemeasures regarding Dokdo,”Ambassador to Japan KwonChul-hyun said.
President Lee recalled KwonTuesday to protest Japan’s claimto the islets and pledged to map
out countermeasures to strength-en Korea’s practical control overthem.
Foreign ministers of Seoul andTokyo have met three timessince Lee’s inauguration in Feb-ruary to discuss North Korea’snuclear weapons program.
High on the agenda at theannual ASEAN Regional Forumwill be North Korea. It will alsoset the stage for various meetingsbetween foreign ministers fromSoutheast Asian countries plusSouth Korea, China, Japan andthe United States.
“The Dokdo issue may hamperpolicy coordination betweenSeoul and Tokyo over NorthKorea,” a foreign ministry officialsaid on condition of anonymity.“Seoul will take cautious steps toprevent the dispute over Dokdofrom hurting the alliancebetween Seoul, Tokyo andWashington in dealing with theNorth.”
However, many observersagree it will take time for Seoulto restore relations with Tokyofollowing mounting calls here forstern measures.
Chung Mong-joon, a SupremeCouncil member of the governingGrand National Party, called onthe government Thursday toannul its decade-old fisheriespact with Japan, claiming Dokdomust be included in the country’sexclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Our government designatedUlleung Island in the East Sea asthe starting point of its EEZ inthe 1999 fisheries agreementwith Japan and left Dokdo in the‘middle zone,’ which is not legiti-mate under international law,”Chung said.
“The government must annulthe deal immediately and renewthe fishing pact by setting Dokdoas the base point of Korea’s EEZ.Either side can cancel the fishingaccord unilaterally,” he added.
Seoul Turns DownTokyo’s Proposal for Bilateral Talks
President Set Against Broadcasters
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A spacious 2,100 square feetunit — fully automated andloaded with wall-to-wall luxuryfeatures — tucked away in anexclusive gated community, sur-rounded by a huge, resident-onlyaccess park. This is just a quickoverview of a supreme four-bed-room apartment sold recently fora grand total of 5.7 billion won($5.5 million), a transactionindustry experts call “a miracle.”
That’s because this Samsung-dong sale, which was reportedlysealed in April, came at a time
when home prices in the south-ern Seoul district began to tum-ble. The downward trend —both in value and the number oftransactions — continued forthree straight months until June,according to the Ministry ofLand, Transport and MaritimeAffairs.
Apartment prices in the afflu-ent areas south of the Han Rivershed an average 0.7 percent inthe first half of this year, andanalysts predict a furthergloomy outlook, citing the sloweconomy and tight property reg-ulations.
“The lucky seller had been
actively seeking a buyer formore than two months,” saidKim Hee-jung, a real estate bro-ker familiar with the purchase,adding that all of the propertyagents in the area were com-peting to seal the mega transac-tion.
Kim Hyong-oh, another broker,calls the deal a miracle not onlybecause the market is so slug-gish, but also because thislargest-ever apartment transac-tion was completed without anydiscount. “More than five billion won was
what he asked for and that’swhat he got,” he said, without
further elaborating on the sellerand buyer’s information.
According to ministry datareleased Thursday, the high-riseunit in the Samsung-dong I-Parkcomplex is the most expensiveapartment sold since 2006 whenthe government first required allapartment transactions to bereported.
Among others on the price listwere two Tower Palace units(4.5 billion won and 4.8 billionwon) in Dogok-dong, anotheraffluent area in southern Seoul,and two Hyundai Apartmentunits (3.6 billion won and 3.5billion won) in Apkujeong-dong,
one of the traditional dwellingsof the rich.
Do Mi-na, a property agent,says luxury homes tagged“urgent” have been spotted moreoften on the market these days,but I-Park — widely consideredto have beaten Tower Palace interms of a posh reputation — isstill uniquely holding up its sta-tus.
“Sellers have too much pride tomark their homes with a quicksale tag,” she said, adding thatthe rush was unnecessary sincethe wealthy rarely need cashurgently.
Will Korea Head Off Deflation?
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The Lee Myung-bak govern-ment has been bruised and bat-tered by public anger over itsdecision to resume U.S. beefimports, and major televisionstations, MBC, and even state-run KBS, were happy to guidethe assault.
Now, with the candlelitprotests becoming a fading fadand the idea of American beefon the dinner table sinking inas a reality for local consumers,the government seems to begetting bolder in what is shap-ing up as a war against thebroadcast media. In a controversial decision late
Wednesday, the Korea Commu-nications Commission (KCC)ordered the creators of “PDNotebook,” a popular MBCnews program, to air a publicapology over what the mediaarbitration body ruled was falseinformation in its reports onmad cow disease.
The commission also issued awarning to “News 9,” the 9o’clock news program of KBS,over four separate reportsbetween May 21 and June 11
that accused the government ofpressuring television broadcast-ers through audits.
The ruling on PD Notebook isconsidered the severest penaltyfor a television news programsince SBS was ordered to air anapology for flawed reporting onits “News 8” program in 2006.
The ruling was made afterthree commission members,named by opposing politicalparties, left the meeting roomto protest what they called theflawed decision-making processof the arbitration body.
“Instead of holding an openand real debate about thepenalties, the commission’sgeneral meeting is turning intoa place where a ruling made bythe lower committee isapproved and passed,” saidBaek Mi-sook, one of the com-mission members who left ear-ly.
KBS refused to accept the ver-dict and will demand a review.
MBC and KBS, the country’stwo largest television stations,had been up in arms againstthe Lee administration from thestart, accusing it of pushing forthe privatization of televisionstations. And the public con-
cern over U.S. beef importsgave them more than enoughammunition.
President Lee, who finds hisbiggest support in conservativenewspapers, including the “BigThree” Chosun Ilbo, JoongAngIlbo and Dong-A Ilbo, seems tobelieve he could ill afford toback down from the powerstruggle, having already seenhis young presidency rattled byan onslaught from the broad-cast media.
Choi See-joong, chairman ofthe KCC and one of Lee’s clos-est confidents, has been openlycalling for the resignation ofKBS President Jung Yun-joo.
And Choi’s naming of KooBong-hong, Lee’s media advis-er during the presidential cam-paign, as YTN president, a 24-hour news channel, triggeredanger from media unionistswho accused the government oftrying to strengthen its grip ontelevision stations.
Koo was named YTN presi-dent in the company’s share-holder’s meeting Thursday, adecision made in 30 seconds asthe management hired body-guards to block union membersfrom entering the meeting.
In its editions on April 29 andMay 13, PD Notebook urgedpolicymakers to take a harderlook on the health concernsover U.S. beef, basically claim-ing that meat from older cattleis more likely to be susceptibleto mad cow disease.
However, critics have accusedPD Notebook of being toooverzealous in getting its mes-sage across and manipulatingthe facts to inflate concernsover mad cow disease. On itsApril 29 edition, it presentedthe story of an Americanwoman, Aretha Vinson, whowas described as dying fromvariant Creutzfeldt-Jakob dis-ease (vCDJ), or the human formof mad cow disease.
In the aired interview, Vin-son’s mother says her daugh-ter “could possibly have” con-tracted vCDJ, but the Koreansubtitles were translated as“the disease that my daughterhad.”
The arbitrators also accusedPD Notebook of unbalancedreporting, saying it only airedinterviews of American con-sumer advocates and represen-tatives of the Humane Society.
Polarization Roils Real Estate Market in Seoul
By Kim Jae-kyoung
Staff Reporter
Amid growing concerns overasset deflation, a noted globaleconomist said that Korea shouldtransform its economy into a ser-
vices-basedone toweather thecurrent diffi-culties andhead off aJ a p a n e s estyle defla-tion.
In an e-mail inter-view withThe KoreaTimes, Mau-ro F. Guillen,professor at
the Wharton School of the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania, said thatreal estate prices in Korea havenot risen as much as in Japan inthe 1980s, but there is a parallel.
“What is very important is forthe central bank and governmentto have very good information asto the solidity of the banking sys-tem,” he said.
“If loans go into default, banksshould make provisions prompt-ly and seek capital as soon aspossible. The danger is to repeatJapan’s mistake, not to addressrisks associated with asset defla-tion,” he added.
With stagflation — a combina-tion of rising inflation and stag-nant growth — about to touchdown on the Korean peninsula,there are brewing concerns overasset deflation triggered by theburst of a massive property bub-ble funded by debt.
He pointed out that China andother countries have becomemajor powerhouses and this ishurting Japan, Korea and Tai-wan. “Of the original tiger economies,
only Hong Kong and Singaporehave continued to do well, andthat’s because they’ve movedinto services. That’s what Koreamust do, emphasizing high-valueadded services,” he said. Guillen, who is an expert on the
Korean economy, pointed outthat the root of Korea’s problem,with its less than ideal growthrates is that it is not making thetransition to a services economyfast enough.
“There’s too much competitionin manufacturing. Korea mustliberalize and deregulate servicesas soon as possible,” he said.
Rebirth: A photo of
“Booger,” the late com-
panion of American
Bernann McKinney,
who has since hired the
services of Korean
biotech firm RNL Bio to
clone her former pet pit-
bull who died in 2006.
RNL said it has three
genetic clones of
Booger conceived in
two surrogate mother
dogs that will be born on
July 28.
Courtesy of RNL Bio
See Deflation on Page 2
Prof. Mauro F. Guillen
2
No. 17932FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008
The Korea Times has an opening for a junior-level sports reporter
position. Applicants must be fluent in both Korean and English with
experience in sports journalism. Deadline is on July 25 and successful
candidates will be individually notified for interview.
Applicants are asked to submit an English resume, a 300-word self-
introduction and a 500-word sports article (published article acceptable).
Documents will be sent to [email protected]. Inquiries can be made
only through email.
Candidates proficient in QuarkXPress layout will be given preference.
Salaries are commensurate with experience and talent. Entry-level
applicants will also be reviewed.
Related Story on Page 4
Deflation
From Page 1
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Dispute Over Dog Meat Heats UpBy Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Disputes over eating dogmeat often get fiercer with thesweltering summer heat. SeoulCity’s recent announcement tolaunch sanitation inspections ofdog meat restaurants has trig-gered a fresh round of debateover “bosintang,” or dog meatsoup.
City officials say the inspec-tion does not mean that itacknowledges dog meat dishesas food. But the inspection, thefirst in about 20 years, can beseen as an attempt to allow thesale of dog meat. Currently,dogs are not categorized as live-stock requiring inspection.
A team of inspectors fromthe city government Wednesdayraided restaurants in northernSeoul, which specialize in so-called invigorating food such asbosintang and samgyetang, orchicken broth.
“It is necessary to checkhygiene conditions of restau-rants that serve bostintang andsamgyetang in the season whenconsumption of such dishes isat its peak,” said Oh Jae-hyo, anofficial from the food safety divi-sion of Seoul Metropolitan Gov-ernment. “Diners may have
dishes cooked in unsanitaryconditions.”
They checked the storageof ingredients and hygieneconditions of kitchen facili-ties. They also took samplesof dog meat and chicken forinvestigation of harmful sub-stances.
But it only seemed to be asymbolic warning to restaurantowners as the team of threeinspectors along with onesupervisor from a civic groupchecked only 30 randomly-cho-sen restaurants during a four-day inspection.
“We have only limited man-power, which does not allow usto properly regulate restaurantsand monitor their sanitationconditions,” Oh said. “But wewill continue the inspections lat-er.”
However, restaurant ownerswere perplexed by the suddenvisit since it was first inspectionof dog meat restaurants since1988, when the country waspreparing for the Seoul OlympicGames.
They feared that the inspec-tion might cause severe damageto their business in the peakseason.
“We have been in bad busi-ness and it worries me that the
inspection will keep our guestsfrom dining here,” the owner ofrestaurant Ssarigol said. “We doour best to serve delicious andsafe dishes.”
Right to Eat?
Dog meat eaters claim theyhave just as much right to eatdog meat as people who eatbeef or chicken and that inspec-tion of restaurants is necessaryto help them enjoy quality dish-es.
But they also argue that suchinspections should not beabused to regulate the trade ofdog meat and violate their rightto eat it.
“We couldn’t agree more onthe necessity of the inspection,”said a man eating bosintang ata restaurant. “But we feel badabout eating dog meat when wesee inspectors around therestaurant. It should be done ina quieter manner.”
But dog lovers and animalrights organizations denouncedthe inspection, citing it could bethe first step in legalizing thesale of dog meat. The city gov-ernment had previously pro-posed categorizing dogs as live-stock but delayed the moveafter facing criticism from theorganizations.
“It doesn’t directly mean thelegalization of the dog meattrade but the inspection itselfseems to be a step towards it,”Jun Kyung-ok, director of the
Coexistence of Animal Rights onEarth, said, further calling it a“disgusting dish” and hoping itwould be banned.
While authorities have beenin a dilemma regarding theongoing dispute between thosewho are for and against theconsumption of dog meat,restaurant owners have beenlong free from hygiene inspec-tions, which in turn put dogmeat eaters in danger.
One of the four restaurantsthat the inspectors visitedWednesday showed terriblehygiene conditions, with cock-roaches around the kitchen. Asthe owner violated the FoodHygiene Law, she will face legalpunishment.
But if dog meat at her restau-rant is contaminated or con-tains harmful substances, shewill not be liable for any legalpunishment due to the lack of arelated law.
“We bought dog meat atMoran Market. But we don’tknow how the dog meat isprepared,” Kang Kwang-sook, owner of Golmoksache-oltang, said. “But there hasbeen nobody who has had aproblem after eating ourdishes.”
Locals Oppose Car Insurance
Premium Differentiation PlanBy Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The same driver driving thesame car may be paying highercar insurance premiums if he orshe moves to South JeollaProvince. The government set upa plan to differentiate auto insur-ance premiums from region toregion, only to meet fierce oppo-sition from provincial govern-ments.
The Ministry of Public Admin-istration and Security recentlyinvited officials from provincialgovernments to a discussion. Theministry has been consideringdifferentiating insurance premi-ums for each region as part of aplan to cut car accident numbersin half by 2012.
According to the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD), the deathtoll per 10,000 cars averaged 3.4in Korea as of 2005, the highestlevel among OECD membercountries. It doesn’t mean, how-ever, that all Korean drivers areequally exposed to the danger.
The ratio of people who diedin car accidents averaged 29.6per 100,000 people in SouthJeolla Province last year, thehighest level in the country.North Gyeongsang Province fol-lowed with 28 deaths per100,000, and SouthChungcheong Province with27.9.
Insurance companies, conse-quently, were paying out moreinsurance money in theseregions. The auto insurance lossratio, or the ratio of the insur-ance money payout to the insur-
ance premium, stood at 82.9percent for South Jeolla , fol-lowed by South Chungcheong at77.9 percent.
The ministry predicts thatallowing insurers to levy differentinsurance premiums for eachregion could help decrease thenumber of car accidents, as localgovernments will be motivated toimprove road conditions andmake other efforts as well. If exe-cuted, owners of cars registeredin South Jeolla Province andSouth Chungcheong Province, forexample, would be paying higherinsurance premiums than thoseregistered in Seoul.
According to the ministry, anumber of countries, includingthe United States, Japan, theUnited Kingdom, Germany,France, and Italy, are alreadylevying different insurance pre-miums according to region.
However, regional govern-ments as well as their residentsare opposing the idea. They saythat the ministry should considerpoor road conditions in theseprovinces, which also are poorerthan others in terms of budget InSouth Jeolla Province, for exam-ple, only 69.3 percent of roadsare paved. Moreover, the mea-sure would be of no use if driversregistered their cars with otherregional governments to avoidhigher insurance premiums.
Faced with the opposition, theministry announced that it hasno concrete plan on differentia-tion yet. The Financial Supervi-sory Service also considered thedifferentiation measure in 2003,but gave up due to opposition.
Human rights for North Korean defector: Activists from several civic groups, including the Committee
for Democratization of North Korea, shout slogans calling for the improvement of human rights for Hwang Jang-yup, a former
secretary of the North Korean Communist Party, in front of the Government Complex in Seoul, Thursday. Hwang defected to
South Korea in 1997. Yonhap
Speed Limit in Residential Area to Be 30 km per HourBy Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The government has set speedlimits on residential streets at 30kilometers per hour as part ofmeasures to reduce traffic acci-dents. Currently, regional policeagencies restrict speed limitsaccording to the environment, andwhether schools and residentialareas are near the road. The newrules will go into effect in 2010.
The government will alsocrack down on unlicensedmotorcycle riders and toughenpunishment for drunken drivers.
The measures are an attemptto reduce the number of deathsfrom traffic accidents, which hit3.1 per 10,000 cars in 2007,more than double the OECDaverage. “With these measures,we aim to cut the number to 1.3by 2012,” said an official fromthe Ministry of Land, Transportand Maritime Affairs.
Many of the fatalities wereamong elderly and child pedes-trians. Korea has seen a highnumber of elderly traffic accidentvictims — those aged over 65
accounted for 29 percent of thetotal death toll in 2007, while theOECD average was 19.3 percent.
Traffic lights, which are cur-rently located behind a pedestri-an crosswalk, will be relocatedahead of it, forcing drivers tostop earlier when there is a redlight. Jeonju city changed the location
of traffic lights at some intersec-tions, and saw the number ofaccidents fall to 86 in 2004 from2001’s 198, the official said.
It will also apply stricter ruleson motorcyclists. Currently,those with an automobile licensecan drive motorcycles of 125 ccor less without the need for aseparate license. As 30 percentof accidents involving motorcy-cles are committed by such dri-vers, the new measure will forcepeople to obtain a separatelicense for motorcycles.
Punishment for drink drivingwill also get tougher — a three-year prison term or a 10 millionwon fine from the current two-year jail term and maximum 5million won fine.
Korean Air Jet
Makes Emergency
Landing in Japan TOKYO (AFP) — A South
Korean airliner headed to NewYork landed safely in northernJapan on Thursday after fears ofa fire on board, officials said.
The Korean Air jet, which wascarrying 322 people, dumpedfuel into the sea before landing atNew Chitose Airport near the cityof Sapporo.
The Boeing 747-400 aircraft,which had taken off fromIncheon airport near Seoul,arrived without incident on therainy runway, according to tele-vision footage.
A lamp had come on during theflight that indicated a fire couldbreak out around the auxiliarypower unit, an airport official said.
“We don’t know exactly whathappened, but a gadget in thecockpit flashed the message‘fire,’ so it made an emergencylanding here instead of headingon to Kennedy Airport in NewYork,” said the official, HiromichiOgasawara.
“It landed safely,” he said. In Seoul, a Korean Air
spokesman declined to call theincident an emergency landing.
“It was not an emergencylanding but a brief landing toreplace some problematic parts.There were no casualties,” thespokesman said.
People walk past a dog meat restau-
rant in central Seoul, Thursday, a day
after Seoul City started sanitation
inspection of dog meat restaurants.
Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Regarding the government’srecent intervention to stabilizethe won, Guillen said that withinterest in Korea already quitehigh, it does make sense to useother means to stabilize the won,especially given that the countryholds one of the largest foreignreserves in the world.
“Korea faces an interesting setof tradeoffs. Both GDP growthand inflation rates are up, andthis may cause trouble. Much ofthe inflation is due to a tightlabor market, but also because ofthe weak won relative to the dol-lar,” he said.
“The key is to bring downinflation quickly, without reduc-ing growth. That’s why I saidthat using foreign reserves as atactical tool instead of interest
rates may be a good idea,” headded.
Referring to the recent fall inKorea’s foreign direct investment(FDI), Guillen said that there aretwo reasons behind the setback.
“The first is that Korea has notbeen aggressive enough in termsof privatizing services and infra-structure industries,” he said.
“The second is that foreignfirms continue to view Korea asa country that discriminatesagainst foreign investors anddoes not welcome them,” headded. “FDI is generally good,but Korea continues to be appre-hensive about it.”
He stressed that the bestrecipe for attracting FDI is fur-ther liberalization of the econo-my, deregulation of the serviceand infrastructure sectors, andmacroeconomic stability.
2
2 FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008
