Small merchants continue to struggle, vaccine pass constitutionality, and foreigners want to stay longer
Happy Holidays!
K-NEWS BITES
Fri 2021-12-24 (KST)
As 2021 draws to a close, wishing you all a safe, thankful and happy holidays! 🎉Thank you all so much for your support 🙏, and I hope K-News Bites will continue to keep you k-informed in 2022! 🙂
S Korea presidential poll: Choosing the lesser of two evils (4 min read)
“South Koreans, especially young voters, want a leader who will increase social mobility and bring an end to their financial struggles. They also want a leader who will end corruption and make South Korean society more just and fair. While many voters believe neither Yoon nor Lee can be that leader, they will watch their moves closely in the coming months, and eventually vote for the candidate who they decide is the ‘lesser of the two evils’... [Both candidates seem to be] spending most of their energy… attacking each other –... [and] have repeatedly accused each other of corruption and even suggested that their rival ‘will go to jail’ after the election…”
Housing prices, debt are major risks to financial stability: BOK - The Korea Herald (2 min read)
“In a biannual report on financial stability, the Bank of Korea (BOK) called for policy efforts to stabilize the housing market and curb the growth of household debt, raising the need to ease the high level of financial imbalances… ‘Despite efforts to strengthen macroprudential policy, if (an economic) shock occurs at home and abroad, its negative impact on the financial market and the economy could be bigger due to the country's accumulated financial imbalances,’ it said… South Korea's housing prices have sharply risen in recent years despite the government's measures to cool down the red hot property market. People have taken out loans to buy homes in anticipation of further gains in home prices.”
Struggling small merchants hold rally against business curfews, vaccine pass system (3 min read)
“Hundreds of restaurant and other small business owners demonstrated in Seoul on Wednesday, demanding the government scrap the toughed social distancing rules and operating hour curfews that they say would crush their businesses already struggling amid the prolonged pandemic… The government has announced it will pay 1 million won (US$839) each to small businesses affected by the strengthened rule, but it apparently is nowhere near the amount of help and attention small merchants are requesting. Protesters demanded the government ensure the livelihoods of small businesses owners, repeal the vaccine pass system and abolish business curfews for fully vaccinated customers.”
[Newsmaker] Is vaccine pass constitutional? Korea is about to find out (1 min read)
“The Constitutional Court said Tuesday evening its full bench of nine justices would review the constitutionality of the pass’s enactment. The court’s full bench is usually summoned when a case is deemed to hold legitimacy… Earlier this month, the court received a submission from a group of 453 people, including high school students, challenging the constitutionality of the pass.The group said in a statement that the pass, in restricting the freedom of movement among other aspects, was tantamount to a vaccine mandate.”
S. Korea to add 10,000 hospital beds as critical COVID cases rise (2 min read)
“South Korea will secure 10,000 additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in January to counter the increasing number of critically ill coronavirus patients, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday. If the government successfully adds hospital beds, the total number could increase to 25,000… the government will designate additional public health care institutions -- including the National Medical Center and Seoul Medical Center -- to exclusively treat COVID-19 patients. The government will also ask national university hospitals to provide at least 300 extra hospital beds to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients.”
New COVID-19 cases fall below 7,000, but critical cases, deaths hit record highs (1 min read)
“The country added 6,919 more COVID-19 cases… bringing the cumulative total to 589,978… The number of critically ill patients came to a fresh high of 1,083, the KDCA [Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency] said, breaking its previous record high of 1,063 tallied Wednesday. The country added 109 more deaths from COVID-19, the most in one day since the onset of the pandemic, bringing the total to 5,015. The fatality rate stood at 0.85 percent. The country reported 12 new omicron variant cases, bringing the total to 246… As of Thursday… 82.2 percent [of the country’s population] had been fully vaccinated, while 26.7 percent had gotten booster shots.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
Korea turns blind eye to Hong Kong, Taiwan issues (3 min read)
“Korea is turning a blind eye to the democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, in an apparent gesture to keep a low profile regarding issues that could irk China. This approach contrasts starkly with its active voice on democracy issues in Myanmar, Nicaragua and Gambia. The Moon Jae-in administration's ambiguity on certain issues related to China are raising suspicions that Seoul is being selectively silent on democratic values overseas.”
What South Korea Can Learn From India on Diplomatic Balancing (4 min read)
By following the example of India’s diplomacy with Russia and the U.S., “South Korea could apply similar arguments to diplomatically maneuver between the United States and China… Korean policymakers could convince their American counterparts that carving out “autonomous space” for South Korea’s diplomacy toward China would ultimately benefit U.S. regional strategy… South Korea is still in the early stage of diversifying its trade networks away from the Chinese market. Premature disruption of bilateral trade would damage South Korea’s economy more than China’s and could cripple South Korea’s capacity to contribute to the regional and global order. Second, South Korea’s partnership with China could mitigate the latter’s strategic alliance with North Korea… and dissuade the former’s one-sided support for the DPRK regime.”
Women face sexual abuse, abortions, and starvation in Kim Jong-un’s army (1 min read)
“A female North Korean soldier describes the misery she faces in Kim Jong Un's army, where she faces sexual assault, abortions without anaesthesia, and malnutrition… According to her, up to 70% of women are subjected to sexual assault or harassment. According to a report by Dailymail, Jennifer Kim, 23, said, ‘If I refuse his request, I can't become a member of the Workers' Party of Korea… I will be stigmatised for the rest of my life. That means you won't be able to get a good job, and it will be a problem when you try to marry. What could I have chosen?’”
N. Korea's economy tanks 4.5% in 2020 on sanctions, pandemic (1 min read)
“North Korea's economy shrank 4.5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to international sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The drop in the reclusive country's real gross domestic product (GDP) represents a turnaround from a 0.4 percent increase a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The statistics agency attributed the decline to international economic sanctions for its weapons program and border lockdowns stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak. The data also showed North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) coming to 35 trillion won ($29.4 billion) last year, or one-fifty-sixth of South Korea's.”
Outlining the South Korean Presidential Candidates’ Technology Plans (5 min read)
“Unfortunately, many technology experts and business leaders in South Korea are concerned that [the] candidates are not putting enough priority on the futuristic industry that could push Korea forward in the digital age. What are the key presidential candidates’ pledges for science and technology…?”
Lee Jae-myung (ruling Democratic Party candidate): “The three pillars of his digital transformation initiative include: first, cultivating talent and building data infrastructure, especially in IoT, the cloud and 5G/6G; second, expanding industrial, technological, and global territory in the digital space, including the metaverse, by focusing on six areas (AI, quantum technology, cybersecurity, blockchain, supercomputing, and semiconductors); and third, guaranteeing the public’s digital sovereignty… In practice, a Lee presidency may mean the continuation of [the current president] Moon’s policies in this area.”
Yoon Seok-youl (candidate of the opposition People Power Party): “[Yoon] has not announced an ICT policy vision yet. Based on his comments and speeches at various events… his ICT policies will involve less government-led initiatives compared to [the] Moon administration and more control to the private sector… [At a recent event] Yoon said he will actively support start-ups by creating ‘negative regulations’ rather than the positive regulation currently in place and establishing a ‘one-stop’ regulation system where one organization is fully in charge of all regulation-related measures from start to end… Yoon’s policy chief, announced that Yoon’s digital strategy includes establishing a virtuous cycle of AI and data governance, education, and job innovation to accelerate digital innovation, revitalize the platform economy, and establish an innovative and open public-private cooperation system.”
Celebrating Christmas in Korea in 2021 (3 min read)
“… it is getting harder to celebrate the holiday season. But there are still ways to capture the festive atmosphere and get in the Christmas mood.” The article lists some simple ways to get into the Christmas mood: Food: “Those craving a Christmas feast should probably turn their attention toward apps and delivery services offering meals, such as Wadiz, Coupang Eats and Market Kurly”; Drink: try some Makgeoli; Go Shopping or go for a walk: around one of the many urban streams/tracks around Seoul, or check out a local festival. Listen to music: the article suggests some live music venues and an amusing Korean punk bad recommendation.
Nearly 9 in 10 foreign nationals in Korea want to extend their stays (2 min read)
“Data from Statistics Korea showed that 88.2 percent of foreign nationals without F-5 visas said that they wanted to continue to remain in Korea as of May, up 1.7 percent from the previous year… Over one in seven of those surveyed said their pay is higher in Korea than in their country of origin. Some 18.4 percent said their pay level is similar, while some 7.8 percent said their pay is lower in Korea.”
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GamSaHabNiDa! 🙇