Free Republic

SEOUL/CHICAGO Oct 9 (Reuters) - South Korea has suspended some U.S. beef imports after detecting the cattle feed additive zilpaterol in meat supplied by a unit of JBS USA Holdings Inc , raising concerns that the controversial animal growth enhancer may still be in the supply chain weeks after Merck & Co halted sales of Zilmax, the top-selling zilpaterol-based drug. The South Korean claim of zilpaterol-tainted beef is the first to come to light since Merck suspended sales of Zilmax on Aug. 16 amidst concerns about its impact on the health of cattle. It also comes at a time when...

The financial authorities are monitoring closely a massive inflow of foreign funds as a sudden reversal could impact the local currency and stock markets heavily. They are paying close attention to whether “hot money” seeking short-term speculative gains has flowed into the local financial market that has remained resilient despite volatility abroad. Policymakers and analysts suspect some of the incoming capital is hot money or hedge funds seeking speculative gains even from foreign exchange rates. “We can’t say how much is long-term investment and how much is short-term speculation as they are mixed. However, when volatility grows, short-term investments, using...

International rating agencies have reaffirmed Korea’s stable credit level, despite lingering external uncertainties like the timing of asset-purchase tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Standard & Poor’s, one of three credit rating agencies, announced yesterday it will keep the country’s A+ credit level with “stable” outlook, owing to favorable government policies and sound fiscal health. “We are affirming the foreign currency and local currency credit ratings at ‘A+/A-1’ and ‘AA-/A-1+,’ respectively,” the agency said in a report. “Our ratings on Korea reflect its favorable policy environment, sound fiscal position and net external creditor position.” S&P assessed the country’s debt level...

When Seoul’s city government decided to embrace “participatory budgeting” last year, many hailed the move as a meaningful step toward engaging the public in civic affairs and their bottom line. A total of 250 randomly selected Seoulites were put on the civil participatory budget committee, which was asked to decide budgets for local projects worth 47 billion won ($43.7 million) last year. The amount rose to 50 billion won this year. A year into implementation, however, the system doesn’t appear to be following rules set up to avoid reckless spending or half-baked proposals, according to a JoongAng Ilbo analysis of...

The government has decided not to choose the Boeing F-15SE as its next-generation fighter jet and opted instead to start the selection process from scratch. Boeing competed with Lockheed Martin's F-35 and EADS' Eurofighter and was the only manufacturer to submit a price that was within the government's budget of W8.3 trillion (US$1=W1,073). But the jet was dropped at the last minute amid criticism that the aircraft lacks stealth capabilities. If the government spends at least another year choosing another fighter jet, the Air Force will end up with a shortage of more than 100 aircraft in 2019 because the...

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea decided not to select Boeing's F-15SE as the country's next fighter jet Tuesday amid concern the sole-remaining candidate in the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) project is not suitable enough for future warfare as it lacks stealth features. The decision, which came in a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, prompted the government to restart the procurement program from the beginning, further delaying the replacement of the aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s. Locked in competition with Lockheed Martin's F-35 and EADS's Eurofighter, Boeing...

The ratio of South Korea’s total debt to its economic output rose to a record high in the second quarter of this year as debt grew at a faster pace despite the slowing economy, central bank data showed Sunday. The data compiled by the Bank of Korea showed that the combined debt of households, companies and the government reached 3,739.4 trillion won about (US3.4 trillion) as of the end of June, according to South Korea’s (Yonhap) News Agency. The ratio of such debt against the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, reached a record 289.8%...

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has not been affected by recent bouts of emerging market turmoil, but it is keeping close tabs on cross-border capital inflows as a possible sudden reversal of such funds will serve as a destabilizing factor for its economy. The government is raising its alertness against volatile capital movements as the Federal Reserve's recent surprise decision to postpone tapering its stimulus bond purchases is feared to accelerate foreign capital inflows, which could put upward pressure on the local currency. "Cross-border fund inflows are positive in the short term, but over the long haul, they...

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday South Korea won't tolerate any attempts to hurt its sovereignty over all of its islands, including the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo that Japan has repeatedly laid claim to. Park made the remark during a Coast Guard Day ceremony that also included the launch of a new patrol ship tasked with guarding Dokdo, a cluster of rocky outcroppings lying in the East Sea. Tokyo's claims to the islets have been a key source of tensions between the two countries. "It is important to firm up our maritime sovereignty if the...

Seven out of 10 Korean economists predict that the Korean economy will face a long-term slump like Japan's "lost decade." In a survey of 42 economists released by the Federation of Korean Industries on Sunday, 31 predicted "a high possibility of a Japanese-style long-term economic slump." Only a handful said such a slump is unlikely. About half of the experts who expect a drawn-out recession cited sluggish consumption and investment, followed by the low birthrate and ageing society and a sluggish real estate market. The long-term slump in Japan was sparked by an asset price bubble in 1991. It went...

The ratio of South Korea's total debt to its economic output rose to a record high in the second quarter of this year as debt grew at a faster pace despite the slowing economy, central bank data showed Sunday. The combined debt of households, companies and the government reached 3,739.4 trillion won ($3.4 trillion) as of the end of June, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The ratio of such debt against the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, reached a record 289.8 percent, compared with 285.2 percent in the second...

In every way, Yu Woo-seong was a model defector. In his early 30s, he was smart, friendly, ambitious, and well liked. Trained as a doctor in North Korea, he eschewed the competitive South Korean medical school system and instead pursued a bachelor's degree in business and Chinese at a prominent Seoul university. Although he was still adapting to his new environment, Yu completed his university studies in 2011, having been in South Korea for less than six years. While taking on organizing roles in Seoul-based clubs and organizations for North Korean defectors, Yu gained entry into a master's degree program...

(Reuters) - South Korean upstart Infraware Inc is in a David and Goliath battle with software giant Microsoft over a lucrative niche of the mobile office business and just like the diminutive biblical hero, it believes it can win. Infraware already dominates the market for office software applications on Android devices and says it now has a killer strategy to extend that domination to Apple Inc handsets as well by giving its best-selling Polaris app away for free. The contest between the $250 million Korean minnow and the $270 billion U.S. titan illustrates how small firms can outwit lumbering technology...

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's most tenacious protesters compare themselves to warriors, and their demonstrations to a life-or-death struggle against evil. They are known around the world for their passion, persistence and flamboyance. Their demonstrations — spontaneous and meticulously planned, large and small — form a near-constant backdrop for the 10 million people living in Seoul, the capital. Their causes are rooted in the country's tumultuous history: a brutal Japanese colonization until 1945, the subsequent division of the Korean Peninsula, three years of vicious warfare and decades of military dictatorship that gave way to democracy as South Korea became...

Around one in 10 families in South Korea are unable to afford traditional gifts for the country's forthcoming Chuseok (harvest festival) holiday, it has been reported. A poll of more than 1,200 people found that 11.6% would not buy presents for the annual celebration, says one of the country's largest supermarkets. Choi Choon-seok of South Korean hypermarket Lotte Mart expects "a noticeable trend toward inexpensive and practical presents" as households grapple with the continuing recession, says The Chosun Ilbo newspaper. People buying presents are likely to spend an average of 196,000 won ($180; £115) on gifts of fruit and healthy...

Known for their impulsive temper, Koreans may be no less likely than others to be drawn into various patterns of addiction. Figures from the government and private organizations seem to support this unpleasant presumption. About 3.3 million Koreans, or 6.7 percent of the country’s population, are thought to be addicted to alcohol, gambling, online games or narcotics. Experts say that more than 10 percent of them need immediate treatment ― 220,000 for alcoholism, 50,000 for online games addiction, 60,000 for gambling and 10,000 for drug addiction. Another alarming estimate puts the number of Koreans exposed to the risk of becoming...

ONG, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate inched down in August from a month earlier and job creation also accelerated, raising hopes that labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, down from 3.1 percent in July. The jobless rate adjusted for inflation also fell from 3.2 percent to 3.1 percent. Job creation is picking up speed. The number of employed people was 25.29 million in August, up 432,000 from a year earlier, which was larger than 367,000 tallied a...

The number of suicides among the youth in South Korea has increased by 57 percent since 2001, data showed Tuesday, growing at a faster pace than that of adults. The number of suicides per 100,000 people aged 10 to 19 rose 57.2 percent to 5.58 in 2011 from 3.19 in 2001, according to the data by the state-run Korea Health Promotion Foundation (KHPF) on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on Sept. 10. The suicide rate for adults in the 20-64 age group increased 50.5 percent from 16.96 per 100,000 to 33.58 during the same period. The...

An unmanned, helium-filled surveillance drone capable of operating 24 hours a day will be dispatched to Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, some 230 kilometers (142.9 miles) northwest of Seoul, a military official said Sunday. The special-purpose inflatable craft, equipped with a state-of-the-art surveillance device, is expected to “put movements of North Korean army across Baengnyeong Island under surveillance day and night,” said the official. After the shelling of nearby Yeongpyeong Island in Nov. 2010, the military recognized the need for a strategic craft to get intelligence on the movements of North Korean ships across the maritime border, the official...

Two old Chinese maps have been discovered showing that the Dokdo islets belonged to Korea, further undermining Japan's flimsy colonial claim to the rocks. The two maps were made in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty and were unveiled by Lee Myeong-hee of Kyunghee University's Humanitas College at a seminar on Sept. 6. One is an eight-piece folding-screen map of the world from 1845 and depicts Ulleung Island and Dokdo in close proximity to the Korean Peninsula, clearly showing that they belonged to the Chosun Kingdom. The other map, created in 1851, depicts Ulleung Island and Dokdo in the...