Korea invests in the Arctic, home treatment for all COVID patients, and hacker sells sex videos from Korean smart homes
K-NEWS BITES
Wed 2021-12-01 (KST)
S. Korea to Invest in the Arctic in Climate Change Response (1 min read)
“The initiative stipulates Seoul’s intent to respond to climate change in the Arctic, to protect the North Pole's marine ecosystems, to expand cooperation with countries in the Arctic region and to emerge by 2050 as a country advanced in terms of Arctic governance by expanding related infrastructure and systems. The government plans to inject some 277 billion won through 2026 to build a next-generation icebreaker, a cube satellite and a high-altitude observatory with the aim to set up a comprehensive observation system and a polar data dam.”
President Moon makes last-ditch effort to realize North Korea talks within tenure (3 min read)
“As part of his efforts, the President replaced three out of four deputy heads at the country's spy agency to refresh its behind-the-scenes communications with Pyongyang over the end-of-war declaration… New first deputy head Park Sun-won is known as a North Korea specialist. He had been deputy head of planning and coordination and served as presidential secretary for unification during the 2003-08 Roh Moo-hyun administration.” The proposed end-of-war declaration is a non-binding political statement and does not affect the current state of the Korean Peninsula.
Over 20% of students in Seoul exposed to digital sex crime risks: survey (1 min read)
“In the survey on 4,012 students in Seoul aged between 12 and 19 conducted in July, 21.3 percent said they have been exposed to the risks of digital sex crimes through online chat applications or social media. Of those, 56.4 percent said they were sent sexual messages or images, and 27.2 percent said they were constantly heckled online for in-person meetings.” Of the respondents, 21.1 percent first experienced sexual images and videos through the internet during their 5th grade of elementary school.
Moon says Korea to halt further easing of distancing rules amid spiking infections (1 min read)
President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government will halt a further easing of social distancing rules amid spiking COVID-19 infections, and speed up the administration of booster shots and secure more hospital beds over the next four weeks. Moon made the remarks while presiding over a COVID-19 response meeting, making it clear that the government will not wind down its first-phase measures aimed at returning to normalcy despite a jump in serious cases and infections.
All COVID-19 patients to be treated at home (3 min read)
“As infections surge and the capacity for beds reaches its limit, the government decided that COVID-19 patients should be treated at home -- with hospital treatment the exception… The government will try to minimize the number of severely ill patients by encouraging active use of antibody treatments such as Regkirona.” The government considered “expanding the vaccine pass system and tightening limits on gatherings, but decided to take more time to ‘collect opinions,’ considering their social and economic impact.” Moon also urged all Koreans to take a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine, as well as speeding up the vaccination of teenagers.
Daily virus cases below 4,000 for 2nd day amid new variant woes (2 min read)
“South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the second straight day Monday due largely to fewer tests, but the high number of critically ill patients remained worrisome amid concerns about the new virus variant.… The country reported 3,309 new COVID-19 cases... raising the total caseload to 444,200… The country added 32 more deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, raising the death toll to 3,580. The fatality rate stood at 0.81 percent. Critically ill patients came to 629, down 18 from the previous day, but it still marked the sixth straight day such cases stayed above 600.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
Official: China Made Clear of Willingness to Take Part in War-End Declaration (1 min read)
“China has made clear of its willingness to participate in the signing of a declaration that would formally end the Korean War, according to a senior government official in Seoul… Beijing reportedly considers the war-end declaration as a step towards signing a peace agreement with North Korea, in contrast to Seoul and Washington viewing it more as a political and symbolic gesture for trust-building with Pyongyang. The future of related discussions will likely depend on how much Beijing will see eye-to-eye with Seoul and Washington's positions.”
China: North Korea fugitive captured after 40-day manhunt (2 min read)
The 39-year-old North Korean man, known by his Chinese name Zhu Xianjian “has been re-captured after evading the police for 40 days, following a bold escape from a Chinese prison. Zhu had been sentenced to prison in the city of Jilin after fleeing to China from North Korea in 2013. A large bounty [of $109,000] was offered for information leading to his capture. Footage released by state-run Beijing News showed Zhu on the night of 19 October climbing a prison shed and scaling its rooftop, before vaulting over the nearest electric fence to freedom.”
N. Korea slams AUKUS as US 'tool for war' threatening world security (1 min read)
“North Korea has criticized a new trilateral security partnership among Australia, Britain and the United States as an American ‘tool for war’ that poses ’serious threats’ to world peace. In a commentary posted on the North's foreign ministry website Monday, the Korea-Asia Association said the international community should be wary of the initiative, called AUKUS, that ‘brings dark clouds of a nuclear war to the world.’”
“Many new-build homes and properties in South Korea feature smart technology, which can be controlled over the internet… And the hacker reportedly accessed security cameras and other smart devices and stole pictures and videos, which included images of people either naked or having sex… A reporter from IT Chosun exposed the cyberattack after posing as a potential buyer on the dark web. After making contact with the hacker, the reporter was offered access to images from a number of properties, for the price of one tenth of a Bitcoin - or around £4,300 [$5,700].“
Samsung overhauls personnel system to nurture young leaders (3 min read)
“Samsung Electronics said Monday it will fully overhaul its personnel management and employee evaluation system to pave the way for young, talented workers to get promoted to higher positions regardless of age and rank.” A number of planned changes were announced, including the adoption of a ‘peer review’ system “to better evaluate performances of employees, a move aimed at reforming the top-down management structure and creating a more merit-based culture to make the organization more agile in responding to changes.”
Food columnist continues disparaging Korean-style fried chicken (2 min read)
"Are we really proud of the reality that fried chicken now represents Korean food? Are we proud that a dish of American origin overtook all other Korean traditional delicacies and scored highest among foreigners? Should we be proud of such a non-Korean food, without any Korean ingredients, to be consumed as Korean cuisine abroad?" the columnist wrote on Facebook, Sunday… But it seems many of the public do not agree with Hwang, as sarcastic and critical comments have dominated online discussions.” The article contains a couple of examples of these comments.
Korea's near-century-old 1st western restaurant to shut down due to pandemic (1 min read)
“A near-century-old restaurant in Seoul, believed to be the first to serve western-style cuisine in Korea, has announced it will shut down due to the pandemic after nearly a century of business. Seoul Station Grill, which opened on Oct. 15, 1925, on the second floor of the old Seoul Station building, is known for introducing pork cutlet and hamburger steak to Koreans for the first time during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. ‘Our business has suffered greatly from COVID-19,’ a restaurant employee told Yonhap News Agency of the reason for closure after 96 years.”
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