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Legend Says Boxing
Battling Stereotypes
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Once a breeding ground for
world-class boxers, South
Korea now seems to be down
for the count.
According to one of the
nation’s most popular boxing
heroes, the sport here has
failed to live up to its rich his-
tory and lost its place as
Korea’s most popular athletic
competition to baseball and
football long ago.
But Chang Jung-koo, a for-
mer World Boxing Council
(WBC) flyweight champion
who is considered the greatest
of all Korean boxers, believes
that above all, breaking the
sport’s stereotypes will help
boxing get up off the mat.
“South Koreans have had
this peculiar idea that boxers
are uneducated and poor, an
idea that is becoming more
entrenched as people are
becoming better off nowa-
days,” Chang said in an inter-
view with The Korea Times.
“The idea is deeply rooted
in our parents’ generation and
extends to mine and to our
children’s generation. But I
believe that this notion can be
changed in the future.”
Boxing was first introduced
here about 100 years ago, and
it gained in popularity until
the 1980s as Korea produced
several high-profile fighters.
But ever since South Korea
began enjoying its meteoric
rise in economic development
and standard of living in the
‘80s, Korean boxing has not
only lost ground, it has fallen
almost completely off the
map.
“There are about 500 box-
ers here, but none of them are
prepared to challenge for a
title,” a Korea Boxing Com-
mission (KBC) official told The
Korea Times. “People just
moonlight with boxing. As a
result, if they hit the wall, they
are quick to quit.”
Chang agrees that few peo-
ple take boxing seriously any-
more.
“There were do-or-die fight-
2
Foreigners Want Easier iPhone
Contracts
Times
Interview
Chang Jung-koo
Former WBC Flyweight Champion
ers in the old days, but now
people who are interested in
health and dieting box to lose
weight,” he said.
“There is a big difference
mentally between those who
want to become a boxer and
those who are interested in
dieting.”
The decline in the number
of people practicing the sport
has coincided with the decline
in media coverage and crowds
at events, and investment in
the sport has all but dried up.
After failing to find a spon-
sor, the country’s annual
rookie tournament, originally
slated to take place in Decem-
ber, had to be postponed until
this March.
Chang, now 46, turned pro
on Nov. 17, 1980 at the age of
17 after an impressive ama-
teur career and compiled an
18-0 record in the profession-
al ranks before earning him-
self a WBC light flyweight title
match against Hilario Zapata
of Panama on Sept. 18, 1982,
in which he suffered the first
loss of his career in a split
decision.
However, the Busan native
avenged the defeat six months
later, claiming the title from
Zapata with a third-round
technical knockout (TKO).
See Boxing on Page 12
Kumho Restructuring
–– Page 2
www.koreatimes.co.kr
Strong won: Currency dealers monitor computer screens in the dealing room of the Korea Exchange Bank in Myeong-
dong, downtown Seoul, Tuesday, as the Korean won sharply appreciated against the U.S. dollar. The won-dollar rate finished at
1,140.5 won on the day, down 14.3 won from the previous close.
Yeouido Has Image Problem as Financial Hub
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Four in 10 executives of for-
eign financial firms believe
Yeouido is too closely associated
with Korean politics, being home
to the National Assembly, to
become the regional financial
hub Korea wants it to be. Only
19 percent cited it as a viable
financial center.
According to a survey of 80
executives at foreign firms —
most of them financial services
companies — regarding Yeoui-
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Related Story on Page 11
do’s prospects, naysayers barely
outnumber optimists at 26 per-
cent to 24 percent. The rest opt-
ed not to answer the question.
They associate Seoul’s finan-
cial district with politics, which is
worrisome, considering the neg-
ative coverage the National
Assembly has received so far, as
scuffles between lawmakers
have been the constant butt of
jokes in the international com-
munity.
To overcome this image prob-
lem, the respondents suggested a
number of incentives to attract
Conglomerate Plans to Slash
20% of Executive Staff –– Page 11
Established 1950, No. 18387
Korea Times Photo by Lee Ho-jae
global firms.
“We are trying to meet the
needs of foreign investors,” Lee
Eun-hyo of Seoul City said.
City Hall conducted the survey
of executives of 136 foreign and
foreign-affiliated firms, and par-
ticipants of the Seoul Internation-
al Finance Conference last
November. About 80 responded.
Yeouido is key to the central
and local government’s ambi-
tious plan to set up a “Wall Street
of Asia” by 2013.
See Yeouido on Page 5
FEZs Alert
Over Sejong
City Project
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Korea’s free economic zones
(FEZs) are concerned over the
government’s plan to provide a
wide variety of incentives to
Sejong City.
The plan to run the city like an
FEZ is expected to deal a blow to
the already struggling zones.
Incheon, home of the country’s
largest FEZ, has attracted only 1
percent of its total investment
from foreigners.
“I am afraid Sejong City will
siphon away potential foreign
investors from Incheon and oth-
er FEZs,” said a city official, who
asked not to be named.
He added that even the exist-
ing investors, who have already
committed funds to the FEZs,
might have second thoughts if
the incentives for Sejong City are
more attractive.
The government made it clear
that the other cities will not be
affected by the Sejong City pro-
ject but local government officials
disagree.
Concern has been mounting as
the administration moves to
slash taxes and provide other
incentives for enterprises, hospi-
tals and universities that invest
in Sejong in line with its plan to
transform the area, originally
designed to be an administrative
complex, into a science-business
belt.
The incentives are the center-
piece of an alternative develop-
ment plan for Sejong, which will
be reported to President Lee
Myung-bak this week for
approval, officials from the Office
of the Prime Minister said Tues-
day.
The office plans to unveil the
master plan early next week
after adding final touches to it.
The draft plan came about two
months after Prime Minister
Chung Un-chan said the govern-
1,000 Won ★★★ City Edition
ment would drop the administra-
tive town project, approved by
the National Assembly in 2005
during the liberal Roh Moo-hyun
administration.
President Lee, in an address to
the nation in early November,
vowed to revise the project for
the country’s future, apologizing
for his earlier pledges to continue
the development as initially
planned.
The move is expected to draw
a wave of protests from opposi-
tion parties. Also drawing atten-
tion is how former Grand
National Party Chairwoman Rep.
Park Geun-hye will react.
Park, the leader of the govern-
ing party’s second-largest fac-
tion and arguably the biggest
political rival for President Lee,
has objected to revising the pro-
ject.
Under the draft alternative
plan, the government will pro-
vide land at some 400,000 won
($350) per 3.3 square meters to
large investors, about 50 percent
cheaper than the price for those
who moved into nearby industri-
al towns.
Firms and universities will be
allowed to use the land for their
own purposes without the gov-
ernment’s intervention.
Technology firms based in
Sejong will enjoy a full exemption
of income and corporate taxes
for three years, a 50-percent cut
in taxes for the following two
years. Additionally, they don’t
have to pay property taxes for 15
years.
Financial incentives were also
planned for those who relocate
offices to the envisioned town,
according to the office.
Reports say a number of firms
are talking with the government
about setting up their operations
in Sejong. They include Sam-
sung Group and Woongjin
Group.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
2 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Koreans Have Double Standard on Death Penalty
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
The execution of a British
drug smuggler in China last
week has revealed that the issue
of abolishing the death penalty
may be something that is “out of
sight, out of mind” for Koreans.
The debate on putting to death
domestic criminals is likely to
heat up this year as the Supreme
Court failed to deliver its verdict
on the matter on Dec. 29.
On Dec 30, representatives
from 15 NGOs and religious
groups held a press conference
in Seoul and urged the court to
opt for the abolishment of capital
punishment.
A total of 58 prisoners have
been sentenced to death in South
Korea, but the practice was sus-
pended after Kim Dae-jung was
elected President in 1997. But
this does not mean that Koreans
have been immune to death sen-
Jampacked: A larger-than-usual crowd of commuters exit from a train at Sindorim Station, southern Seoul, Tuesday. Monday’s heavy snowfall continued to snarl
road traffic, causing many people to use public transportation.
Scientists Develop Tumor-Busting Bacteria
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Scientists have unveiled a new
technique that uses fragments of
genetically-engineered bacteria
to target and destroy tumor cells.
Therapies based on this method
may treat diseases more effi-
ciently and dramatically reduce
side effects by eliminating the
need to flood the patient’s system
with cancer drugs, they said.
In a study published recently
by peer-review journal, Cancer
Research, a team of researchers
tences in other nations.
In 2001, a South Korean citi-
zen identified as Shin was exe-
cuted in Harbin in eastern China
for dealing drugs. Three years
later, another Korean man was
executed for a murder. In both
cases, the Korean government
didn’t make an official petition to
pardon the men, and the media
and NGOs also showed little
interest.
Currently there are 15 South
Korean convicts in China with
suspended death sentences, the
Donga Ilbo has reported, citing
the Korean embassy in Beijing —
most of them involved in drug
cases. But there haven’t been
any petitions from NGOs to the
Chinese government or serious
media coverage on those people.
The disparity in sympathy
toward criminals in Korea and
those in China seems to confirm
the theory that what makes peo-
ple uncomfortable about capital
led by Chonnam National Uni-
versity Medical School’s Min
Jung-joon, said their strategy
was based on using salmonella
designed to pack a tumor-bust-
ing punch.
The researchers first reduced
the toxic effect of salmonella by
stripping it of its relA and spoT
genes. The weakened bacteria
was then engineered to carry
cytolysin-A proteins, known as
“biological weapons” that kill cells
by destroying their membranes,
and injected into tumor cells.
The engineered bacteria had a
punishment is not who is being
executed but who is doing the
executing. Though citizens tend
to react furiously over cases of
serial murder and rape, overseas
crimes rarely get attention even
if they are committed by Kore-
ans, as in the case of Shin.
The execution of the British
drug smuggler, Akmal Shaikh,
by a Chinese firing squad on Dec.
29 stirred international anger,
but little attention was paid by
the media and anti-death penalty
petition groups in Korea. Most of
the media reports focused on the
war of words between the United
Kingdom and China. Some
viewed the case as China’s
revenge on Britain’s opium trade
in the 19th century. Internet
boards were mostly filled with
comments standing by the Chi-
nese authorities. Commentaries
in newspapers also focused on
the rising international status of
China.
potent effect in suppressing the
growth and spread of tumor cells
in mice transplanted with
human colon cancer, Min said.
There has been a wealth of
studies in past years on using
bacteria to monitor tumor cells
and deliver cancer drugs to
them. However, Min and his col-
leagues claim that their delivery
system is the first to kill two
birds with one stone, by using
the same bacteria to target
tumor cells and destroy them.
“Since the bacteria is designed
to pinpoint tumor cells and inject
them with cytolysin-A, this mini-
mizes the potential damage to
other health cells or organs. This
could make a huge difference
once the method is cleared for
use in humans,” Min said in a
news conference at the Ministry
of Education, Science and Tech-
nology in Seoul.
“Using bacteria to develop
methods for combating cancer
has been a subject for some sci-
Global Etiquette
MANNERS (4)
Pass behind people who are talking, rather than
between them
Koreans refuse to pass between two people who are talking, but
will instead force one of the people to step forward in order for
them to pass behind them. It might make an American feel
inconvenienced having to move when it would be easier for the
person to just pass through. Americans would rather quickly pass
through than to disturb the people by making them move.
This article is based on the book, “Ugly Koreans Ugly Americans”
by BCM U-Phone (www.shallwetalk.co.kr), available at all major book stores.
Please share your own experiences of cultural differences by sending them
to ukua@bcm.co.kr
“Drug-related crimes are giv-
ing China a headache. It seems
that the Chinese government is
expressing its will that it won’t
negotiate with foreign countries
over such a grave issue,” Kang
Jun-young, professor of Chinese
studies at Hankuk University of
Foreign Studies, told the Maeil
Economic Daily.
As for the constitutionality of
capital punishment, the Korean
court did not provide a timeline
or explanation about the post-
ponement of its decision. But a
history of polls and surveys sug-
gests that the court decision
should not stand on the public
opinion of a specific time. The
percentage of people in favor of
the death sentence was below 50
percent until 2006, but since
then it continued to climb, up to
nearly 70 percent early last year,
as reports on serial killers filled
evening TV news shows.
indizio@koreatimes.co.kr
Korea Times Photo by Bae Woo-han
Min Jung-joon, Chonnam National
University Medical School
entists in the United States and
Europe in the past years. But we
believe that our delivery system
represents a significant advance-
ment in this field, and may even-
tually contribute to developing
techniques to isolate and elimi-
nate tumor cells, which has been
one of the biggest goals in sci-
ence,” he said.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
Foreigners Want Easier
iPhone Contracts
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Korean tech geeks and fash-
ionistas are grateful that KT
ended its agonizing delay of
the iPhone — Apple’s do-it-all
smartphone that is the world’s
most sought after gadget at the
moment. But now, it’s the
expatriates that are complain-
ing about being left out of the
party.
iPhones are flying off local
shelves, with KT, the country’s
No. 2 mobile operator, manag-
ing to sell more than 20,000
just a month after its release in
late November. However, it’s
apparent that not many of the
iPhones sold are owned by for-
eigners employed here.
According to KT, foreign
nationals with F-2, F-4 or F-5
visas, which are issued to indi-
viduals with Korean “blood”
heritage, married to a Korean
national or granted perma-
nent residential status, are
able to sign two-year contracts
for the iPhone, just like Kore-
ans do.
However, foreigners with
other types of visas can only
get the iPhone on 1-year con-
tracts, and are pressed finan-
cially, as they will have to buy
Philippines to Conduct Korean Language Test for Workers
By Jonathan Hicap
Korea Times Correspondent
MANILA — The Philippine
government will conduct the
sixth Korean Language Test for
Filipinos who want to work in
South Korea under the
Employment Permit System
(EPS).
The test will be administered
by the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration
(POEA) in cooperation with the
Human Resources Develop-
ment Service of Korea (HRD
Korea).
POEA has said Filipino
workers need to pass the test
to be included on the list of
applicants from which Korean
employers electronically select
from to fill positions in the
manufacturing and construc-
tion sectors under the foreign
National
the phone upfront and not in
monthly installments.
KT claims that the restric-
tions are inevitable, saying that
foreign mobile users who leave
without paying their bills are
continuing to be a problem for
local mobile carriers. However,
foreign nationals here wonder
whether the company can do
more to make it easier for
them to buy and register
phones.
“The policy on foreigners
registering for our mobile serv-
ices is the same for iPhone as it
is with any other handset. But
the popularity of the iPhone
has allowed the problems to
surface,” said a KT
spokesman.
“Honestly, it can’t be said
that foreigners are experienc-
ing more problems registering
for phones here than Koreans
are when they are overseas —
imagine what is required for a
Korean mobile user to register
for AT&T’s mobile network.
The foreigners are our clients,
and we are considering more
ways to make it more conven-
ient for them to use our servic-
es, but there is not so much we
can do when the current poli-
cies don’t give us much free-
dom.”
labor quota for 2010.
South Korea and the Philip-
pines signed a new EPS agree-
ment last year that outlines
the process for hiring Filipinos
to work in South Korea. For-
eign workers who enter South
Korea under the EPS are only
allowed to work in five indus-
tries: manufacturing, con-
struction, agriculture and
stockbreeding, fishing and
services.
The POEA said applicants
should register on its Web site
(www.poea.gov.ph) on or
before Jan. 15 to qualify for the
test. Past registered applicants
are advised to keep their
accounts active, meaning that
they should have visited their
account at least once in the last
three months.
There are three require-
ments for Filipinos to qualify to
Although KT officials
declined to give out any specif-
ic numbers, other industry
sources in previous years esti-
mated that around 20 percent
of foreign mobile users left the
country without paying their
final bills.
KT states that it can’t
expand the 2-year contracts to
a larger number of foreigners
unless Seoul Guarantee Insur-
ance, the insurance guarantor
that approves the contracts,
supports it.
“You really can’t ask a
mobile operator to take that
much of a risk,” said the KT
spokesman.
SK Telecom, the country’s
biggest mobile operator, has
found a solution by requiring
deposits from foreigners sign-
ing up for mobile plans to
guard against the possibility of
them leaving the country with-
out paying their bills.
However, the company may
be operating in a legal grey
area, as the Korea Communi-
cations Commission (KCC), the
country’s converged regulator
for broadcasting and telecom-
munications, doesn’t acknowl-
edge deposit policies in mobile
contracts.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
take the EPS-KLT: They should
be between 18 to 38 years old,
at least a high school graduate
and have a valid passport.
Applicants shouldn’t have a
criminal or imprisonment
record, nor be restricted in
travelling to South Korea based
on past immigration violations.
The application period for
the EPS-KLT is from Jan. 25 to
29.
The examination will be
administered either on Feb. 28
or March 27, the POEA said.
The KLT will cover 50 items
consisting of reading (40 min-
utes) and listening (30 minutes)
questions, which will be taken
from a pool of questions in the
EPS-KLT review provided by
HRD Korea. Each item is worth
4 points and applicants needs
to get a minimum score of 80
to pass.
 National WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 3

Budget Loaded With Pork-Barrel Projects

By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
This year’s state budget, uni-
laterally passed by the governing
Grand National Party (GNP) on
Dec. 31, is laden with the pork-
barrel projects of political heavy-
weights, officials at the National
Assembly Secretariat (NAS) said
Tuesday.
Hindered by the opposition
parties’ boycott of budget delib-
erations and wrangling over the
four-river restoration project,
legislators failed to thoroughly
review and cut out earmarks
inserted into the appropriation
bill. The new fiscal year began
Jan. 1.
As a result, the spending for
Pohang and Ulleung Island, the
constituency of President Lee
Myung-bak’s elder brother, Lee
Sang-deuk, soared 11 billion
won ($9.6 million) past the budg-
et initially proposed by the gov-
ernment.
The budget for the Anti-Cor-
ruption and Civil Rights Commis-
sion, chaired by President Lee’s
confidant Lee Jae-oh, increased
by 2 billion won.
Former GNP Chairwoman
Park Geun-hye also secured an
additional 3 billion won for the
construction of a renewable
energy demonstration complex
in her constituency of Daegu.
Other GNP lawmakers, includ-
ing Kim Gi-hyeon and La Kyung-
won, also received extra funding
for multi-million dollar projects
in their electoral districts.
Multi-term lawmakers of the
main opposition Democratic Par-
ty (DP) were even more aggres-
sive in securing pork-barrel proj-
ects, the NAS officials said.
They claimed that DP heavy-
weights intentionally overlooked
the GNP’s railroading of the dis-
puted state spending bill and
secured additional pork-barrel
expenditure instead.
In fact, the DP’s resistance
against the unilateral budget pas-
sage was not as strong as expect-
ed. Some senior DP lawmakers
even smiled and shook hands
with GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-
soo and Rep. Shim Jae-chul ,
chairman of the Assembly Spe-
cial Committee on Budget and
Accounts, right after the GNP
rammed the budget bill through.
Three-term lawmaker Kim
Sung-gon of the DP secured an
additional 30 billion won for his
constituency of Yeosu in South
Jeolla Province for the construc-
tion of a highway, the officials
said.
Two-term lawmaker Kim Jin-
pyo of the DP secured an addi-
tional 20 billion won for the con-
struction of a subway line in his
electorate of Suwon, Gyeonggi
Province, they added.
Two-term lawmakers Kang Gi-
jung, Lee Si-jong and Park Jie-
won of the DP also received an
additional of 4 billion won, 2 bil-
lion won and 1 billion won,
respectively, for projects in their
constituencies, according to the
officials.
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr

Iranian parliamentary leader: National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, right, shakes hands with Seyed Hos- Lee Blasts Local Governments for Luxurious Offices
sein Hashemi, president of the Iran-Korea Parliamentarians’ Friendship Association, at his office, Tuesday. The Iranian parlia-
mentary leader is to leave Seoul Thursday. Yonhap By Na Jeong-ju of imported marble and it has a briefing on the government’s
Staff Reporter mayor-use-only elevator moving planned energy policies on
from the ground floor to mayor’s Dec. 21, according to Chung
Nationline President Lee Myung-bak office, located at the top of the Chang-sup, first vice minister
Korea Sets Goal of $1.5 Bil. strongly criticized some munici-
pal governments late last month
building.
Some other local governments,
of public administration and
security.

of Arms Sales This Year
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Defense Acquisition Pro-
gram Administration (DAPA) has
set a goal of achieving $1.5 bil-
lion in defense exports this year,
up 28 percent from last year’s
1.17 billion, the largest amount
ever.
“To this end, pan-government
efforts to pioneer worldwide
defense markets and come up
with related measures will be
implemented,” a DAPA
spokesman said.
Last year’s exports marked a
13 percent increase from the
previous year’s $1.03 billion, he
said.
Key export items included
depot level maintenance for sub-
marines, submarine combat sys-
tems, wheeled armored vehicles,
spare parts for the KT-1 basic
trainer and military communica-
tion systems, the spokesman
said.
About 100 domestic defense
companies contributed to
expanding arms sales abroad
last year, he added.
The spokesman said the T-50
Golden Eagle supersonic trainer
jet was a key defense good for
export next year.
The trainer jet, jointly built by
Korea Aerospace Industries and
Lockheed Martin of the U.S., is
competing for a trainer acquisi-
tion deal in Singapore, which is
Training of Development Consultants Planned
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Korea will train aspiring devel-
opment consultants and aid
workers who are interested in
providing overseas development
aid in order to meet the rising
demand for relief workers.
The Korea International Coop-
eration Agency (KOICA)
announced Tuesday that it will
introduce three courses that are
aimed at providing interested
candidates with hands-on, pro-
fessional training on develop-
ment assistance in March.
KOICA is an affiliate of the Min-
istry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade.
The measure came two
months after Korea joined the
OECD’s Development Assistance
Committee (DAC), a club of
donors, last November. Korea is
the only recipient-turned-donor
in the world.
Korea plans to increase the
number of overseas volunteers,
dubbed “World Friends Korea,”
from the current 3,000 to 20,000
by 2013, a KOICA spokesman
said.
Following Korea’s DAC mem-
bership, experts forecast that
there will be a rising demand for
development consultants who
have expertise in socio-economic
challenges facing developing
countries and can suggest possi-
ble policy responses.
As Korea has begun to estab-
lish international aid programs,
T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet
expected to announce the final
bidder by March.
The T-50 lost to Italy’s Aerma-
cchi M-346 in a contest last year
in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE).
The UAE has been negotiating
the final contract with the Italian
firm but still has an option to
retract its decision and negotiate
with South Korea over the T-50,
according to informed sources.
Other potential consumers for
the T-50 include the United
States, Iraq, Israel and Poland.
The single-engine jet, featuring
digital flight controls and a mod-
ern, ground-based training sys-
tem, is designed to have the
maneuverability, endurance and
systems to prepare pilots to fly
existing and next-generation
fighters, such as the Eurofighter
Typhoon, the F-22 Raptor and
the F-35 Lightning II. The jet has
a top speed of Mach 1.4 and an
operational range of 1,851kilo-
S. Korea Most Stable Nation
meters.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
field aid workers and regional
experts agree that Korea needs
more trained people who can
give advice on country-specific
relief programs.
In addition to relatively poor
expertise, home-grown relief
organizations have limited net-
working with local civic groups.
They’ve said that this makes it
difficult for them to implement
tailored humanitarian and relief
projects in underdeveloped
nations.
In an earlier interview with
The Korea Times, Lee Kyung-
shim, a senior activist working
with Korea NGO Council for
Overseas Cooperation, exhorted
the government to increase its
role in training professional
development experts.
In response to the mounting
request for government support,
KOICA is scheduled to open a
training center to focus on fixing
the problem.
The center will offer three
development assistance courses:
a general course for ordinary cit-
izens, a professional program for
aspiring development consult-
ants and a special educational
program.
“For the time being, we will
use a training center located
near our headquarters in
Gyeonggi Province as a venue for
the educational programs,” said
Kim Jin-oh, executive director of
the agency’s public relations
office.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
2 North Korean Fishermen for spending too much taxpay-
ers’ money on renovating their
including Ulsan City, are also fac-
ing public criticism for a “luxuri-
“I want to destroy the luxuri-
ous buildings and build new
to Be Sent Home Soon office buildings, a senior policy- ous” building. ones, if possible, to improve
maker said Tuesday. President Lee said it was non- energy efficiency,” Lee was quot-
South Korea has informed Seongnam in Gyeonggi sense to build luxurious office ed as saying.
North Korea that it will soon Province has come under fire for space when the central govern- The ministry initially planned
send two North Korean fish- spending more than 320 billion ment is stepping up a drive to to reduce energy consumption in
ermen, who drifted into won ($280 million) to construct save energy. the public sector by 3 percent
South Korean territory last an 11-story building. Lee laid the blame on munic- annually.
week, back home, an official President Lee Myung-bak The floor of its lobby is made ipal governments during a jj@koreatimes.co.kr
of the Ministry of Unification
said Tuesday.
The two were found near
the Dokdo Islets in the East
Sea Sunday after drifting
due to a faltering motor.
“They seemed lost after
being mistakenly separated
from their mother ship, and
the South Korean Coast
Guard found them drifting,”
the official said. “During an
inter-agency investigation,
they made it clear that they
want to return to the North.”
After the two Koreas
agree on a date of repatria-
tion, they are expected to
walk over the inter-Korean
border at the truce village of
Panmunjeom.
Late last month, seven
North Koreans were found
drifting south of the West
Sea border and sent back to
the North a few days later as
all of them expressed the
wish to be repatriated.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
Among Emerging Markets
NEW YORK –– South
Korea is the most stable
country in dealing with polit-
ical shock among 24 emerg-
ing markets in the world, a
monthly report released by a
global political and economic
consulting firm here said
Tuesday.
South Korea received 77
points, the highest in the
recent Global Political Risk
Index (GPRI) issued by Eura-
sia Group. The GPRI is an
index that measures a coun-
try's ability to absorb politi-
cal shocks or crises in four
categories –– government,
society, security and econo-
my –– on a scale of zero to
100.
The survey demonstrated
that Poland stood at second
acquiring 76 points, followed
by Brazil with 68, South
Africa 67, Russia 63 and
China 62. (Yonhap)
North Korea Names Rason
as Special City
North Korea designated
Rason, the country’s first
free trade zone, as a “special
city” on Monday, the North’s
official news media reported.
North Korea designated
Rason and nearby Sonbong,
located on the country’s
northernmost coast close to
both China and Russia, as
an economic free trade zone
in 1991, though foreign
investment has never mate-
rialized. (Yonhap)
4 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Nationline
Jeju Hesitant on Underground KTX Project
The southern island of Jeju is
showing negative over the pos-
sible construction of under-
ground high-speed train servic-
es connecting the island with
South Jeolla Province.
Governor Kim Tae-hwan
Monday said “The immediate
priority for Jeju is the construc-
tion of a new international air-
port.”
He expressed concerns that
the establishment of KTX serv-
ices to the southwestern
province may hamper state
support for the airport.
The remark came after the
National Assembly approved
on Dec. 31 a 1-billion-won
budget for a feasibility study on
the possible Honam-Jeju
Underground KTX line, a pet
project of lawmakers repre-
senting South Jeolla Province.
The Ministry of Land, Trans-
port and Maritime Affairs will
conduct the study sometime
this year.
The project entails building
three separate lines — a 66-
kilometer line from Mokpo to
Man Punished for Submitting False Evidence
The Gwangju District Court
Tuesday handed down a sus-
pended prison term to a man
for trying to frame a civil ser-
vant after losing a bid to win a
garbage disposal contract from
a district office.
According to court records,
the 45-year-old man, identified
as Choi and the owner of a
garbage disposal company,
tried to claim that the contract-
ing officer took bribes from
him. Choi falsified his account
books to make it look as if he
paid 3.5 million won in gas for
the public servant.
He submitted the account
books to police while the civil
More Koreans Smoke
More Koreans were smoking
last year than in 2008.
According to the Ministry for
Health, Welfare and Family
Affairs, the smoking rate for
people aged 19 or older
increased by 1 percentage
point, going up to 23.3 percent
at the end of last year.
The ministry surveyed 3,000
people by phone across the
nation. The rate for males went
up to 43.1 percent, from 40.9
percent, while that for females
decreased to 3.9 percent from
4.1 percent over the same peri-
od.
Asked what caused them to
smoke, 59.1 percent said they
smoke due to their long-term
habits and 32.6 percent pointed
to stress.
Of those surveyed, 68.8 per-
cent replied that they have
attempted to quit smoking at
least once.
In response to the rising
smoking rate, the ministry plans
Korea Likely to Have More Dementia Patients
Korea is likely to see an
increase in the number of
dementia patients among sen-
ior citizens.
The state-run Korea Insti-
tute for Health and Social
Affairs said Tuesday that the
number of dementia patients
is expected to rise to 47,000 in
2010, 2,000 more than last
year.
In 2009, some 45,000 peo-
ple suffered from the disease.
According to the report, the
Mock Human Rights Tribunal to Be Held
A mock human rights coun-
cil is scheduled to meet on Jan.
26 in order to help young stu-
dents learn more about the
subject.
The National Human Rights
Commission of Korea
announced Tuesday it will hold
the event, titled the “Mock
Human Rights Council for
Young Students,” jointly with
Korea University as an effort to
help young students better
Haenam, a 28-kilometer line
from Haenam to Bogil Island
and a 73-kilometer line from
Bogil Island to Chuja Island to
Jeju.
The last would be linked via
an undersea tunnel.
If connected to major railway
lines across the Honam region
and the rest of the country,
major inland cities and Jeju
would be connected by train for
the first time.
It would take 2 hours and 26
minutes to get to Jeju from
Seoul by KTX.
Jeju officials said that they
were not consulted by the min-
istry or the South Jeolla provin-
cial administration regarding
the project.
The Korea Transport Insti-
tute first conceived the project
in 2007, and since then it has
been gaining the attention of
experts and politicians.
However, authorities are
cautious because of the associ-
ated costs and the duration of
construction.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
servant was under investiga-
tion over bribery charges last
May. After the public servant
was cleared of the charges, the
garbage firm owner was inves-
tigated. He was indicted by the
prosecution for falsifying evi-
dence.
Choi was sentenced to eight-
month prison term, which was
suspended for two years.
He made a bid for the con-
tract at a district office, but
after failing to win, he submit-
ted the falsified account books
to police, apparently believing
he would win the deal if the
civil servant were to get into
legal trouble.
Despite anti-smoking efforts, Korea’s
smoking population is on the rise.
to intensify anti-smoking efforts
by designating more parks, hos-
pitals and other public facilities
as smoking-free areas.
ratio of dementia patients
among those aged 65 or older
is forecast to reach 9.7 percent
in 2020. Last year, it stood at
8.6 percent.
In the meantime, the med-
ical costs for such patients
amounted to 302.6 billion won
in 2007, a six-fold increase
from five years ago.
Korea is quickly becoming
an aged society with over 14
percent of the population
being 65 or older.
understand human rights and
discuss social issues.
The right to privacy, the
rights of children of immigrant
workers, euthanasia, military
service duty, and freedom of
expression will be among main
topics to be discussed during
the meeting. The council will
invite 200 students from high
school students to apply online
to participate.
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr
National
Korea Inc. in Dispute Over Inheritance
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter No. of Intra-Family Lawsuits on Rise
An upward trend in family disputes is The number of legal battles between July last year, the latest statistics avail-
evident in Korea Inc. which is in a rapid family members over inheritances has able, the court said.
generational transition. Such disputes increased in recent years, court statistics The value of property in dispute must
had a long history with Hyundai, Sam- showed Tuesday. vary from one case to another, but one
sung and other big family-oriented con- According to the Seoul Family Court, thing in common at the end of legal bat-
glomerates, but they have undergone 69 lawsuits were filed in 2002 for what tle may be a devastated family, and in
change. plaintiffs called “unfairly” divided for- the worst case for those running family-
Now, it is the smaller chaebol’s turn tunes left by their parents. owned companies, the collapse of their
with easy-to-recognize firms embroiled in The number jumped to 295 in 2008 businesses as a result of a leadership
one kind of inheritance dispute or anoth- and a total of 192 petitions were filed by vacuum.
er.
The latest conglomerate embroiled in
such action is Kumkang, one of the against his mother, in an effort to sus- Another similar dispute in a leading
largest shoemakers established in 1954, Chong Kun Dang Kumho Group’s pend the implementation of his father’s pharmaceutical company, Chong Kun
whose annual sales are estimated at Chairman Lee Jang-han Park Chan-koo will. Dang, was tentatively wrapped up in a
around one trillion won ($870 million). According to Huh’s mother and a court last year, but it does not necessary
The Seoul Central District Court said ters, did not announce their father’s lawyer, his father Huh Young-sup, who mean the ruling will serve as a perma-
Tuesday that two daughters of the late wealth due to malicious intent at the time founded the company in 1967 and died of nent settlement. In July, Chong Kun
Kim Dong-sin, founder of the company, of his death and then pocketed the major brain cancer on Nov. 15 last year, stipu- Dang CEO Lee Jang-han lost in a suit
had filed a suit against Kim Sung- portion of it. lated in his will that 410,000 shares out other family members filed against him,
hwan, their elder brother and incum- “Our repeated requests to redeem our of his 820,000 in Green Cross and anoth- demanding 78,880 shares of the com-
bent CEO of the company, demanding portion have gone unheeded,” the daugh- er company, valued at 46.5 billion won, pany kept in borrowed-name accounts.
three billion won in compensation. The ters said. The CEO was unavailable for will be donated to two social welfare They were part of the shares Chong
founder Kim died in November 1997. comment because he was out of the foundations. Kun Dang founder Lee Chong-kun
Kim was survived by six children country on business. A Kumkang All members of the distraught family, deposited in the accounts.
including two sons. spokesman refused to elaborate on the excluding the plaintiff, were destined to The Seoul Central District Court ordered
In a statement, the plaintiffs allege, matter, saying, “Our official position will receive between 50,000 and 100,000 Lee — the eldest son of the founder— to
“The accused deceived us in order not to be made after his return.” shares of the companies, she claimed, cit- give 35,000 shares to the plaintiffs. Kumho
fairly divide the founder’s inheritance.” Many other children of billionaires ing the will made public right after his Group, which is subject to creditors-led
In fact, the incumbent Kumkang CEO are also engaged in fights against each death. debt workout restructuring, had been
and the other son inherited property other to “take more and give less.” But Huh claimed in the petition, “It was plagued by a dispute involving two broth-
worth 100 billion won from their father, Sometimes, it becomes a parent-chil- written when my father was too ill to ers — Park Sam-koo and Park Chan-koo
while the two daughters received only 3.5 dren fight. make an appropriate judgment.” — who shared the ownership of the group.
billion won each. In November last year, Huh Sung-soo, He said it doesn’t make sense that his Park Sam-koo, the elder brother, recently
The plaintiffs claimed their brother, 39, vice president of domestic pharma- father excluded only him — the eldest retired as group chairman.
who is 12 years older than the two sis- ceutical company Green Cross, filed a suit son — from the list of beneficiaries. pss@koreatimes.co.kr
Has Seoul
Used Too
Much
Road Salt?
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
In a swift measure to cope
with the unprecedented
snowfall that halted the
nation’s traffic on Monday,
the government spread 4,769
tons of calcium chloride on
roads to melt the snow.
However, environmental-
ists warned that the chemical
could have a negative effect
on the environment and dam-
age cars, calling for the use of
environmentally-friendly sub-
stances.
Calcium chloride is a liquid
in its natural state and is con-
verted into a solid by dehy-
drating it — thus creating its
moisture-absorbing effect.
When it is converted back
into a liquid, it gives off heat.
Calcium chloride melts ice at
temperatures below zero
degrees Celsius.
An activist representing a coalition of civic groups countering Japan’s claim on Dokdo shows a letter of protest before delivering it to the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul, Currently, authorities have
Tuesday. Dokdo, the easternmost islets of Korea, has been a diplomatic flashpoint between the two neighboring countries as Japan keeps asserting more assertion its claim been mixing calcium chloride
on them. Korea Times Photo by Kim Ju-sung with sodium chloride as the
method is cheap and effec-
Foreign History Books Misrepresent Korea tive.
However, concerns over
the side effects of the mixture
are constantly being raised.
By Do Je-hae The Wisconsin Transporta-
Staff Reporter tion Bulletin recently reported
that soil, vegetation, water,
Many English-language history books published by foreign univer- highway facilities and vehi-
sities contain serious errors about Korea’s geography and history, cles are all affected by the
according to a paper to be published by the Northeast Asian History chemicals.
Foundation. The corrosion of vehicles is
Some maps from these textbooks display the entire Korean Penin- estimated to be the most seri-
sula as a territory of China, while others write the names of ancient ous impact. Even a relatively
Korean kingdoms. small amount of the chemi-
Gye Seung-beom, a research professor with the Institute of Korean cals can significantly acceler-
Culture at Korea University, came to this conclusion after examining ate this, it said.
146 textbooks. During a National Assem-
Around 125 of them carried maps related to Korea and 27 percent bly hearing in 2005, some
of the maps had errors regarding the country, Gye wrote in his the- asserted that the infamous
sis. 1994 collapse of Seongsu
The most glaring error found in these maps was not correctly Bridge in Seoul, which killed
defining the border between Korea and China, and misrepresenting some 100 people, was
Korea as part of Chinese territory. caused by damage due to
Some maps showing the Three Kingdoms of Korea marked the calcium chloride. In 2004,
southern regions of Korea as Japanese territory. The Three King- Asia were not as defined as they are today, misrepresentation of the National Institute of
doms refers to the ancient kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, borders between neighboring countries is quite difficult to address, Environmental Research
which dominated the Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria from he said. However, the researcher added that the romanization of verified the allegation that
57 BC until 668. Korean territory pursuant to Chinese pronunciation is a serious an excessive amount of cal-
The problem of the incorrect romanization of Korean dynasties issue that requires the attention of the authorities. cium chloride was detected
got worse the older the kingdoms were, such as Gojoseon (2333-108 Such concerns have been emerging from scholars who are trying in ground water near a facil-
BC). Some wrote Gojoseon as “Chao-Hsien,” which is how the three to counter Beijing’s attempts at claiming Goguryeo as its history on ity housing snow-removal
Chinese characters constituting the name are pronounced. Similar the grounds that most of Goguryeo’s territory today belongs to Chi- supplies. The residents using
examples were found with Goguryeo (37 BC-668 AD) pronounced as na. Goguryeo ruled most of northeastern China for more than 700 the water suffered from vari-
“Kao-li,” Baekje (18 BC-660 AD) as “Pai-chi,” Silla (57 BC-935 AD) years. ous skin diseases and other
as “Sin-lo” and Joseon (1392-1897) as “Chaoxian” or “Chaohsien.” The Chinese move, commonly referred to as the “Northeast Pro- ailments.
Some romanization of city names also contained errors, as in the ject,” was initiated by Beijing in 2002 to justify its claims regarding Prof. Yoo Jeong-chil of
case of “Ping-yang,” which is the Chinese pronunciation of Pyong- Goguryeo. Kyung Hee University said the
yang. In 2004, the Chinese Foreign Ministry deleted references to chemical could also have a
“The importance of maps in such textbooks play a profound role Goguryeo on its Web site covering Korean history, causing an negative effect on trees nearby.
in how Korea is perceived,” Gye wrote. uproar here. bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
Because the territorial boundaries in ancient times in Northeast jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
 5
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010

Itaewon Pool League Exploring Seoul’s Buddhist Offerings

Foreign Community
Offers Amusement, By Young Jin Kim
Contributing Writer

Midweek Break The Buddhist monk Thich

By Alan Green
Contributing Writer
Blaise Pascal wrote, “Thus
so wretched is man that he
would weary even without
any cause for weariness... and
so frivolous is he that, though
full of a thousand reasons for
weariness, the least thing,
such as playing billiards or
hitting a ball, is sufficient
enough to amuse him.”
The Itaewon Pool League
offers just such amusement
and for many has become a
Wednesday night ritual — a
midweek break to forget
about work for a few hours
while “shooting some stick.”
The league began with just
eight teams back in June
2000. But over the years it
has grown considerably. The
last season saw 18 venues
host 30 teams.
Almost every bar in Itae-
won, and in recent years Hae-
bangchon too, with a pool
table has at least one team.
Each team is made up of a
minimum of six players.
Currently each season con-
sists of a 20 week regular
schedule followed by playoffs
to determine the overall
champion. The top 16 teams
battle it out for the League
Championship, won last sea-
son by the Nashville Sharks.
The remaining teams play for
the Best-of-the-Rest trophy,
with Dolce Vita Sweet Life
emerging victorious at the end
of 2009.
While there are trophies on
offer for the top teams and
players and personal rank-
ings, the league is designed to
bea social affair.
It is a great way to meet
people and have some com-
petitive fun. Matches are gen-
erally relaxed but there are
instances when the intensity
rises, especially toward the
end of the season. Pride,
points and old rivalries can
make for some entertaining
viewing.
The new season starts on
Jan. 13 and teams will be
looking for fresh talent to bol-
ster their rosters. As it is a bar
league players must be of
legal drinking age and is not
open to professionals. The
only real requirement is the
ability to hold a cue and have
some free time on a Wednes-
day night.
Matches start at 7.30 p.m.
and usually wrap by 11 p.m.
but there has been the occa-
sional pool marathon that has
ended well after midnight.
The Itaewon Pool League
members form a diverse mix
of nationalities and back-
grounds. Koreans, military
personnel, English teachers
and businessmen and women
from all corners of the globe
come together to shoot some
stick, hang out and maybe sip
on a beer or two.
Having fun is the main aim
of the game but it takes time
and commitment from the
organizers of the league to
ensure its smooth running.
Each year a president, vice-
president, treasurer and sec-
retary are elected and selfless-
ly invest a lot of time and
energy so that everyone can
get the most out of the league.
As well as the regular sea-
son the league holds both sin-
gles and doubles tournaments
as well as hosting a banquet
at the end of each season.
Each team must pay a reg-
istration fee of 300,000 won
in order to play in the league.
This money pays for tro-
phies, prizes and the end of
season banquet but most
importantly offers a chance
for the league to give some-
thing back to the community
they live in.
At the end of the season
donations are made from the
remaining funds to various
local charities. The league is a
long time supporter of the Red
Cross but has also donated
money to orphanages and
other good causes.
In the time the league has
been running it has given
over 45 million won to charity
and shows no sign of stopping
any time soon.
Billiards has a long and
noble tradition evolving from
the lawn game of croquet in
the 15th century. Such was
Mary Queen of Scots passion
for the game that when her
castle was invaded she was
forbidden to play. After her
assassination in 1586 her
invaders wrapped her head-
less body in the cloth from her
billiard table.
Various forms of the game
followed, with different num-
bers of balls and pockets.
Some forms have no pockets
at all and the idea is to
“carom” the balls — a version
of this game is incredibly pop-
ular in Korea. The Itaewon
Pool League plays eight-ball
which was invented in the
early 1900s.
If pool is your game you are
in good company as other
notable enthusiasts of the
sport include Thomas Jeffer-
son, who had to hide his bil-
liard room as the game was
illegal in Virginia at that time,
as well as Mozart, Louis XIV,
Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln,
George Washington, Charles
Dickens, Lewis Carroll and
Theodore Roosevelt.
Whether a serious pool
shark or a drinker with a pool
problem you will find your
niche in the Itaewon Pool
League.
For more information
about the Itaewon Pool
League visit the Web site at
www.itaewonpool.orgnm and
as Shakespeare said in Antho-
ny and Cleopatra, “Let’s to bil-
liards.”
Nhat Hahn once wrote, “We
have more possibilities in each
moment than we realize.”
For English speakers seeking
to unlock the potential of the pre-
sent moment through Buddhism,
Seoul offers a richer variety of
possibilities than one might
think. Whether you’re an experi-
enced practitioner looking for
community or your New Year’s
resolution involves creating more
space for contemplation in 2010,
the city may have just what
you’re looking for. Here are three
resources to get you started.
Hwagyesa International Zen
Center, located at the foot of Mt.
Samgak in northern Seoul and
accessible from Suyu Station,
offers a meditation session and
English-language dharma talk on
Sundays from 1 p.m. The weekly
gathering begins with 30-minute
periods of sitting meditation
interspersed with walking medi-
tation and short breaks. First-
time participants can receive
instruction at 12:30 p.m.
The Dharma talks begin at 3
p.m. and may be attended inde-
pendently of the meditation,
though the center encourages
participants to gain insight
through both.
The talks — typically led by
Ven. Po Hwa Sunim, head monk
of the center — are centered on
traditional Korean Zen and its
use of “hwadu,” or ultimate
questions posed to participants
to help them realize the true
nature of all beings. Visitors to
the program — who are mixed
in their levels of familiarity with
the subject matter — may come
bearing their own questions
about Zen and life, as the talks
are Q&A based.
Po Hwa Sunim has practiced
Zen for over 35 years and is a
disciple of the 78th Patriarchal
Zen Master Myo Vong. He spent
15 years teaching and studying
in the United States, where he
Foreign Community
Buddhist practitioners meditate at Hwagyesa International Zen Center in northern Seoul, in this file photo. The center, which is located at the foot of the beautiful Mt. Samgak,
offers a meditation session and Dharma talk every Sunday.
intimate atmosphere, begins
each session with a 30-minute
period of meditation.
A discussion follows, during
which engaging topics regarding
Zen and Buddhism such as the
difference between compassion
and love will be discussed.
This winter, participants will
read passages from the book
“What the Buddha Taught” by
Walpola Rahula, a Sri Lankan
Buddhist and intellectual. The
reading and class materials are
aimed at sparking questions and
sharing among class members.
For more information about
Ahnkook Zen Center, located a short distance from Anguk Station in downtown Ahnkook Zen Center, visit
Seoul, offers a class on Zen for foreigners every Saturday. Courtesy of Ahnkook Zen Center www.ahnkookzen.org or call (02)
744-0772.
founded the World Zen Fellow- The class recently concluded For those interested in reading
ship, a network of centers whose its fall semester under the up on the teachings of the Bud-
branches include ones in New instruction of Lou Morrison, dur- dha, there’s the Buddhist English
York and Washington, D.C. ing which it studied a text from Library of Seoul (BELS).
For more information about the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392). Also located near Anguk Sta-
Hwagyesa International Zen Morrison will resume teaching tion, BELS is a cozy space that
Center, visit www.seoulzen.org on the first Saturday of March; houses a collection of some
or call (02) 900-4326. meanwhile, the class will contin- 1,600 books on Buddhism. Visi-
Ahnkook Zen Center, located ue through the winter facilitated tors are encouraged to take a
10 minutes by foot from Anguk by Song Soo-kyong, the coordi- break from their busy schedules,
Station in downtown Seoul, nator of the center’s English-lan- sip a cup of tea and peruse the
offers an English-language class guage activities. shelves, which also include jour-
on Zen every Saturday from 2:30 The class, which is character- nals and other publications in
p.m.-5 p.m. ized by lively discussions and an English and other languages.
Courtesy of Hwagyesa International Zen Center
Books and other materials can
be borrowed for two-week
stretches for a small fee.
In addition, BELS holds Dhar-
ma talks in English every Satur-
day from 2 p.m-4 p.m., led by
Ven. Chung-go, an ordained
monk originally from Canada.
The talks touch on such themes
as mindfulness, meditation, har-
monizing our relationships and
controlling our emotions.
According to its Web site,
BELS was established to create a
“center to further the prolifera-
tion of Buddhism not only
throughout Korea, but also
throughout the world.” Among
its functions, it trains lay monks
and nuns to become teachers of
Buddhism; conducts research,
development and translation
efforts; and raises funds to
finance the activities of monastic
individuals.
It also strives to be a space
where English-speaking people
interested in Buddhism can meet
and network with each other.
The library is open from 10 a.m.-
4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.-2
p.m. on Saturdays. For more infor-
mation, visit www.bels.kr.
w_dandy@hotmail.com

From Page 1
Yeouido Has Image Problem
Seoul City is currently building
the International Finance Center
Seoul (IFC Seoul): a complex of
three office buildings, a five-star
hotel and a shopping mall
designed by the renowned
Arquitectonica.
The survey also found that
more than 67 percent of expatri-
ates work at downtown offices
and 44 percent reside in the
Yongsan District.
The most common tool of
communication was English with
87 percent using it.
Of the respondents, 61 per-
cent were satisfied with the liv-
ing conditions in Seoul — most
were pleased with the residen-
2
tial environment and transporta-
tion.
However, they were least con-
tent with language barriers and
the educational system.
Six out of 10 do not live with
their children, implying that
Seoul offers poor international
education for expats.
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
Submissions
The Korea Times is seeking submis-
sions for Foreign Community. E-mail
community@koreatimes.co.kr.
6 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 World

US Overhauls Terrorist Watch List Bomber at CIA Base

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The
United States Monday radically
overhauled its terror watch
blacklists, adding dozens more
suspects to “no-fly” lists, as air
travelers around the world faced
tough new screening rules.
“There’s already been a
rescrubbing of all the different
lists,” White House spokesman
Bill Burton told journalists, refer-
ring to the lists which determine
whether a person is allowed to
board a U.S.-bound flight in a
foreign airport.
“Probably thousands upon
thousands upon thousands of
names were scrubbed, and prob-
ably dozens were moved to dif-
ferent lists,” he added of the
reviews carried out in the wake
of a botched Christmas Day
bombing of a Northwest jet.
New rules at international air-
ports also went into effect from
early Monday, meaning all pas-
sengers boarding U.S.-bound
flights may now be subjected to
random checks and baggage
searches.
Further boosting security
measures, all travelers coming
from or via 14 “terror linked”
countries will have to undergo
compulsory enhanced screening.
Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran,
Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Soma-
lia, Sudan and Syria and Yemen
are among the 14 countries
affected.
The alleged bomber of North-
west Flight 253, 23-year-old
Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdul-
mutallab, boarded the plane in
US Embassy in Yemen Reopens
After Two-Day Closure
SAN’A, Yemen (AP) — The
U.S. Embassy in Yemen
reopened its doors Tuesday after
a two-day closure, saying suc-
cessful Yemeni counterterrorism
operations have addressed the
threat that prompted the meas-
ure.
The embassy shut down
because of an imminent al-Qaida
attack. In an announcement on
its Web site, the embassy said
Yemeni actions “have addressed
a specific area of concern, and
have contributed to the
Embassy’s decision to resume
operations.”
The reopening comes a day
after Yemeni security forces
clashed with al-Qaida fighters,
killing two, in the latest sign the
embattled, longtime president is
making good on vows that his
country will cooperate with the
United States in fighting the ter-
ror network.
The Yemeni Interior Ministry
said Tuesday it had increased
A Chicago Police Department bomb sniffing dog makes its rounds at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Monday. The United
States demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks. AP-Yonhap
Amsterdam, after arriving from
Lagos.
He is also said to have spent
time in Yemen where he came
into contact with a cell of the al-
Qaida network.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Penin-
sula (AQAP) has said it was
behind the Christmas Day plot to
blow up the plane over Detroit
which failed when chemicals
sewn into Abdulmutallab’s under-
wear failed to explode correctly.
security measures around
embassies.
“There is nothing to fear from
any threats of terror attack,”
the ministry said in a state-
ment.
“Security is good in the capital
and the provinces, and there is
no fear for the lives of any for-
eigner or foreign embassy.”
Washington is embracing
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah
Saleh in the battle against al-Qai-
da’s offshoot here.
With an injection of U.S. coun-
terterror aid and help for its
security forces, Yemen’s govern-
ment has vowed in recent weeks
to work with the U.S. in stamp-
ing out the estimated hundreds
of al-Qaida fighters who have
built up strongholds in the coun-
try’s remote regions.
Last month, with U.S. help, it
carried out its heaviest strikes in
years against al-Qaida hideouts,
claiming to have killed 30 mili-
tants.
With Western pressure grow-
ing for Sanaa to tackle AQAP,
Yemeni forces shot dead two al-
Qaida militants Monday in a bid
to capture Mohammed al-Hanq,
one of the group’s most senior
leaders, who managed to flee the
firefight.
The United States, Britain and
France have all closed their
embassies in the Yemeni capital,
amid fears the al-Qaida cell may
be planning an attack.
China oil spill: Environmental protection agency workers set up blankets to
suck oil off the surface of the water on the Wei River after diesel spilled last Wednes-
day from a broken pipeline into the river, which feeds into the Yellow River, in Tong-
guan county, in northwest China's Shaanxi province, Monday. Hundreds of thousands
of Chinese were ordered Monday to stop drinking water from the Yellow River after
an upstream pipeline leaked 100 tons of diesel fuel into the tributary.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton warned instability in
Yemen posed a threat to its
neighbors and even further
afield.
“The instability in Yemen is a
threat to regional stability and
even global stability,” Clinton told
reporters. “And certainly, we
know that this is a difficult set of
challenges, but they have to be
addressed.”
She said the U.S. embassy
AP-Yonhap
would remain closed until the
security conditions were deemed
to have improved.
But Yemeni Foreign Minister
Abu Bakr al-Kurbi rejected any
comparison between his country
and Afghanistan as an al-Qaida
haven.
“The situation is different in
Yemen and cannot be compared
to Afghanistan,” Kurbi told
reporters during a visit to Doha.
“Yemen is capable of con-
fronting these groups, but it
needs international aid to form
and train anti-terrorist units as
well as economic aid, since the
problem also has an economic
dimension.”
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon mean-
while voiced support for upcom-
ing international talks on strife-
torn Yemen proposed by British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
later this month.
Britain has denied accusations
that it failed to share information
about Abdulmutallab, a graduate
of University College London
who was put on a watchlist bar-
ring him from future entry into
Britain in May 2009.
Brown’s office said informa-
tion gathered while he was a stu-
dent in London between 2005
and 2008 had been passed to
U.S. authorities.
“Clearly there was security
information about this individ-
ual’s activities and that was
information that was shared
with the U.S. authorities. That is
the key point,” Brown’s official
spokesman told reporters.
US Uncovers 3rd
Gate-Crasher at
India State Dinner
WASHINGTON (AFP) — U.S.
authorities said Monday that a
third gate-crasher sneaked
into November’s White House
state dinner for India’s prime
minister after an uninvited
couple raised concerns about
security.
The Secret Service, which pro-
tects President Barack Obama,
said that the individual came to
the White House along with the
official Indian delegation from a
nearby hotel.
The person went through
required security checks and
boarded a bus or van from the
Indian delegation’s hotel to the
White House to attend Obama’s
gala party for Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, the Secret
Service said.
“At present, there is nothing to
indicate that this individual went
through the receiving line or had
contact with the president or first
lady,” it said.
Was a Double Agent
WASHINGTON (AFP) —
The suicide attacker who
killed eight people in an attack
on a CIA base in Afghanistan
was a Jordanian who had
been recruited by Jordanian
intelligence as a double agent,
U.S. media said Monday.
NBC News cited western
intelligence officials as saying
the Jordanian, identified in the
report as Humam Khalil Abu-
Mulal al-Balawi, had been
brought to Afghanistan with
the specific mission of finding
and meeting al-Qaida number
two, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
NBC said his handler in
Afghanistan, a captain in the
Jordanian intelligence services
identified by the Jordanian state
news agency Petra as Ali bin
Zeid, was killed in the attack
along with seven CIA officers.
“The officer was also a
member of the Hashemite
royal family, which is part of
the reason the king and queen
attended his funeral, and why
he is being remembered as a
national hero,” Bruce Riedel, a
former CIA officer and White
House adviser, told AFP.
Western intelligence offi-
cials told NBC that al-Balawi
reportedly called his Jordan-
ian handler last week to say
he needed to meet with the
CIA team based in Khost,
Afghanistan because he had
urgent information about
Zawahiri, an Egyptian.
Worldline
Russia, Belarus in Energy Price Standoff
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — An
energy price dispute between
Russia and Belarus escalated
Monday as the Belarusian state
power company threatened to
cut off electricity to Russia’s west-
ernmost region in apparent retal-
iation for a Russian oil price hike.
Russia was still shipping oil
to Belarus and through the
country to Europe, officials
2 Dead in Las Vegas Building Shootout
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A gun-
man who opened fire with a
shotgun at a federal building
Monday, killing a court securi-
ty guard and wounding a U.S.
marshal before he was shot to
death, was upset over losing a
lawsuit over his Social Security
benefits, law enforcement offi-
cials told The Associated Press.
The two officials, who spoke
on condition of anonymity
“The bomber allegedly was
sent by Ayman Zawahiri him-
self to conduct the attack and
claimed he had information on
Zawahiri,” Riedel said, adding
“that all remains unconfirmed
as far as I know.”
There had been earlier
reports that the suicide attack-
er was an informant who
might not have been rigorous-
ly screened before being
brought onto Forward Operat-
ing Base Chapman, a base in
eastern Afghanistan that the
CIA used for its campaign
against militants on both sides
of the Afghan-Pakistani bor-
der.
Current and former U.S.
intelligence officials said the
special relationship with Jor-
dan dates back at least three
decades and has recently pro-
gressed to the point that the
CIA liaison officer in Amman
enjoys full, unescorted access
to GID headquarters, accord-
ing to the report.
The close ties helped dis-
rupt several known terrorist
plots, including the thwarted
2000 “millennium” conspiracy
to attack tourists at hotels and
other sites, the paper pointed
out. Jordanians also provided
U.S. officials with communica-
tions intercepts in the summer
of 2001 that warned of terror-
ist plans to carry out a major
attack on the United States,
The Post said.
said Monday, allaying fears of
a repeat of last year’s gas cut-
off through Ukraine. Russia’s
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
voiced hope for a quick deal.
However, Putin stressed in
televised comments that a solu-
tion must be based on Russian
law — a signal Moscow would
be unlikely to cede any ground
on its claims.
because they were not author-
ized to discuss the case, said
66-year-old Johnny Lee Wicks
opened fire with a shotgun at a
security checkpoint, touching
off a running gunbattle with
deputy U.S. marshals.
Although the investigation is
continuing, the officials said
evidence points to Wick’s
anger over his benefits case as
the motive for the shooting.

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Dubai Opens, Renames World’s
Tallest Tower Burj Khalifa
DUBAI (AP) — Dubai opened
the world’s tallest skyscraper
Monday, and in a surprise
move renamed the gleaming
glass-and-metal tower Burj
Khalifa in a nod to the leader of
neighboring Abu Dhabi — the
oil-rich sheikdom which came
to its rescue during the finan-
cial meltdown.
A multimedia presentation
Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower, the world's tallest skyscraper, is lit by laser lights
during its opening ceremony in the Gulf emirate, Monday.
Job Satisfaction Hits Record Low in US
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ameri-
cans who are lucky enough to
have work in this economy are
becoming more unhappy with
their jobs, according to a new
survey that found only 45 per-
cent of people are satisfied with
their work.
That was the lowest level ever
recorded by the Conference
Board research group in more
than 22 years of studying the
issue. In 2008, 49 percent of
those surveyed reported satisfac-
tion with their jobs.
The drop in workers’ happi-
ness can be partly blamed on the
worst recession since the 1930s,
which made it difficult for some
people to find challenging and
suitable jobs. But worker dissat-
isfaction has been on the rise for
more than two decades.
“It says something troubling
about work in America. It is not
about the business cycle or one
grumpy generation,” says Linda
Barrington, managing director of
human capital at the Conference
Board, who helped write the report,
which was released Tuesday.
Workers have grown steadily
more unhappy for a variety of
Junggangjin
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(6~19 F))
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F (15~32
Seoul
oul
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(8~19 F)
Daejeon
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(15~28 F)
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-8~-1 C
(17~30 F))
Mokpo
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Jeju
(24~33 F)
1~4 C
(33~39 F)
World
witnessed by Dubai’s ruler and debts.
thousands of onlookers at the Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al
base of the tower said the Nahyan is the ruler of Abu
building was 828 meters, or Dhabi and serves as the presi-
2717 feet, tall. dent of the United Arab Emi-
Dubai is opening the tower rates, the federation of seven
in the midst of a deep financial small emirates, including
crisis. Its oil rich neighbor Abu Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dhabi has pumped billions of Analysts have questioned
dollars in bailout funds into the what Dubai might need to offer
emirate as it struggles to pay its in exchange for the financial
support it has received from Abu
Dhabi, which controls nearly all
of the UAE’s oil wealth. Abu
Dhabi provided direct and indi-
rect injections totaling $25 bil-
lion last year as Dubai’s debt
problems deepened.
Dubai’s hereditary ruler,
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, in recent months
has increasingly underscored
the close relationship between
the two emirates. Sheik
Mohammed serves as vice
president and prime minister
of the UAE federation.
The developer of the newly
opened tower said it cost about
$1.5 billion to build the taper-
ing metal-and-glass spire billed
as a “vertical city” of luxury
apartments and offices. It
boasts four swimming pools, a
private library and a hotel
designed by Giorgio Armani.
The Burj’s developers say
they are confident in the safety
of the tower, which is more than
twice the height of New York’s
Empire State Building’s roof.
Greg Sang, Emaar’s director
of projects, said the Burj has
“refuge floors” at 25 to 30 story
intervals that are more fire
resistant and have separate air
supplies in case of emergency.
And its reinforced concrete
structure, he said, makes it
stronger than steel-frame sky-
AFP-Yonhap scrapers.
reasons: One clue that may explain
— Fewer workers consider workers’ growing dissatisfaction:
their jobs to be interesting. Only 51 percent now find their
— Incomes have not kept up jobs interesting — another low in
with inflation.
— The soaring cost of health
insurance has eaten into work-
the survey’s 22 years. In 1987,
nearly 70 percent said they were
interested in their work.
ers’ take-home pay. Workers who find their jobs
If the job satisfaction trend is interesting are more likely to be
not reversed, economists say, it innovative and to take the calculat-
could stifle innovation and hurt ed risks and the initiative that drive
America’s competitiveness and productivity and contribute to eco-
productivity. And it could make nomic growth, Barrington says.
unhappy older workers less “What’s really disturbing
inclined to take the time to share about growing job dissatisfaction
their knowledge and skills with is the way it can play into the
younger workers. competitive nature of the U.S.
Nate Carrasco, 26, of Odessa, work force down the road and
Texas, says he’s been unhappy on the growth of the U.S. econo-
in most of his jobs, including his my — all in a negative way,”
current one at an auto parts says Lynn Franco, another
store. author of the report and director
“There is no sense of team- of the Conference Board’s Con-
work in most places any more,” sumer Research Center.
Carrasco gripes. Conference Board officials and
When the Conference Board’s outside economists suggested that
first survey was conducted in weak wage growth helps explain
1987, most workers — 61 per- why workers’ unhappiness has
cent — said they were happy in been rising for more than 20
their jobs. The survey of 5,000 years. After growing in the 1980s
households was conducted for and 1990s, average household
the Conference Board by TNS, a incomes adjusted for inflation have
global market research company. been shrinking since 2000.
Thu Fri Sat Sun
Jan. 7 Jan. 8 Jan. 9 Jan. 10
Seoul/Gyeonggi -12/-6 -11/-3 -8/-2
Gangneung/Gangwon
Daejeon/Chungcheong
-5/1
-10/-2
-2/2
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-5/1
-7/1
Mokpo/Jeolla -4/1 -5/2 -3/3
Busan/Gyeongsang -4/4 -3/5 -2/6
Jeju 2/4 2/5 3/7
32
2 F)
F
Cheongju
-
-10~-2 C Sunrise 07:47 / Sunset 17:28 Moonrise 00:00 / Moonset 11:03
((14~28 F)
Daegu Berlin Moscow Beijing Singa Taipei Tokyo L.A. Chicago
pore
-7~0 C
((19~32 F)
-5~-1 c -15~-10 c -12~-3 c 24~32 c 15~16 c 5~10 c 13~22 c -10~-3 c
Busan
B European Parliament and has
-3~4 C Cape Hono Rio de
(26~39 F) London Paris Rome town Calcutta Sydney lulu Janeiro
-4~-2 c -5~-5 c 9~14 c 17~27 c 12~24 c 23~27 c 22~27 c 24~32 c
Korea, US Lift HIV Travel Ban
UN Praises Korea and US, Urges 57 Countries to Follow Quickly
UNITED NATIONS (AP) —
The United Nations praised the
United States and South Korea
on Monday for lifting travel
bans on people with HIV and
urged 57 other countries with
travel restrictions to end them
quickly.
President Barack Obama
announced in October that the
U.S. would overturn a 22-year-
old travel ban against people
with HIV, and the new rule elim-
inating the ban came into force
on Monday. South Korea elimi-
nated travel restrictions for peo-
ple with the HIV virus, which
causes AIDS, on Jan. 1.
Michel Sidibe, executive direc-
tor of UNAIDS, which coordi-
nates the U.N.’s AIDS response,
called the policy changes “a vic-
tory for human rights on two
sides of the globe.”
Ending the restrictions
means travelers who are HIV
New Year’s calligraphy contest: A Japanese girl writes calligraphy during the 46th annual calligraphy con-
test in Tokyo, Tuesday, to help mark the start of the new year. A total of 3,300 people gathered to display their calligraphy — using
traditional brushes and ink — to write messages in the New Year contest.
NASA’s Kepler Finds New Planets
WASHINGTON (AFP) —
NASA’s Kepler space telescope
has discovered five new planets
beyond the solar system, the U.S.
space agency said Monday, just
10 months after Kepler launched
into space to find Earth-like plan-
ets.
The discovery of the five exo-
planets “contributes to our
understanding of how planetary
systems form and evolve from
the gas and dust disks that give
rise to both the stars and their
planets,” NASA’s William Boruc-
ki, principal science investigator
for the Kepler mission, said in a
statement.
But all five exoplanets are “too
hot for life as we know it,” NASA
said.
The newly discovered planets
are known as “hot Jupiters”
because of their large masses
and extreme temperatures,
which range from 2,200 to 3,000
degrees Fahrenheit (1,204 -
1649 degrees Celsius) — hotter
than molten lava.
Their orbits last between three
and five days, meaning they fol-
low paths close to their stars,
-8/-1 which are hotter and larger than
-4/2
-6/2
Spain Miffed After Politician Denied Entry to Cuba
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s
-3/4 Foreign Ministry summoned
the Cuban ambassador Mon-
-1/7 day to explain why a Spanish
politician who has promoted
4/8 ties with Cuban opposition fig-
ures was denied entry to the
island and held for a couple of
hours before being sent back
home.
New
It was unjustifiable that Luis
York
Yanez, a Socialist who now holds
a seat representing Spain at the
-2~7 c
served under a previous Spanish
Mexico
government, was not allowed to
enter Cuba, the ministry said in a
11~24 c
statement.
The ministry’s top official for
Latin America, Juan Pablo de
positive can now enter both
countries.
In the United States, the ban
has kept out thousands of stu-
dents, tourists and refugees
and has complicated the adop-
tion of children with HIV. No
major international AIDS con-
ference has been held in the
U.S. since 1993, because HIV-
positive activists and
researchers could not enter the
country.
In 1987, at a time of wide-
spread fear and ignorance about
HIV, the Department of Health
and Human Services added HIV
to the list of communicable dis-
eases that disqualified a person
from entering the U.S. The
department tried in 1991 to
reverse its decision but was
opposed by Congress, which
went the other way two years
later and made HIV infection the
only medical condition explicitly
This image taken by the Kepler tele-
scope and released by NASA in 2009
shows a small portion of Kepler's full
field of view — an expansive, 100-
square-degree patch of sky in our Milky
Way galaxy. AFP-Yonhap
the Earth’s sun, NASA said.
The smallest of the newly dis-
covered planets is roughly the
size of Neptune, the fourth
largest planet in Earth’s solar
system, and the biggest is
around the size of Jupiter, the
largest planet in our solar sys-
tem. One of the planets, which
have been given the unimagina-
tive names of Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b,
7b and 8b, is similar in many
Laiglesia, called ambassador Ale-
jandro Gonzalez Galiano to come
in on Tuesday to provide an
explanation.
Yanez was detained upon
arrival and expelled from the
communist-run Caribbean coun-
try before dawn Monday, the
ministry said. There was no
immediate comment from Cuban
officials in Havana, and no one
answered the phone at the
Cuban embassy in Madrid.
Neither the foreign ministry
statement nor a ministry official
said why Yanez was visiting.
Yanez has promoted contacts
between European socialists and
democratic Cuban dissidents as
president of a group called Cuba-
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
listed under immigration law as
grounds for inadmissibility to the
U.S.
When Obama announced in
October that the ban would be
overturned, he commended Con-
gress and former President
George W. Bush for starting the
process to eliminate the ban in
2008 and said his administration
was “finishing the job.”
“It’s a step that will encourage
people to get tested and get treat-
ment, it’s a step that will keep
families together, and it’s a step
that will save lives,” Obama said.
“If we want to be the global
leader in combating HIV/AIDS,
we need to act like it.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon congratulated Obama in
October and applauded South
Korea’s President Lee Myung-
bak on Monday “for his country’s
leadership in ending restrictions
towards people living with HIV
AFP-Yonhap
ways to Neptune, although its
irradiation level is much higher.
Another planet is one of the
least dense ever discovered, and
along with the other three, con-
firms the existence of planets
with densities substantially lower
than those predicted for gas
giant planets. The five exoplanets
were among discoveries made
by the Kepler space telescope in
the first six weeks after it became
operational in May last year.
Borucki presented the early dis-
coveries and other findings at a
meeting of the American Astro-
nomical Society in Washington
on Monday.
Kepler looks for the signatures
of planets by measuring dips in a
star’s brightness which are
caused by planets crossing in
front of them and periodically
blocking out part of the starlight.
The size of the planet can be
derived from the size of the dip
in brightness while the tempera-
ture can be estimated from the
characteristics of the star it orbits
and the planet’s orbital period.
Kepler is NASA’s first mission
in search of Earth-like planets
orbiting suns similar to ours.
Europe in Progress. Spanish
news reports said Yanez was
denied a visa to enter Cuba in
2008 when he was invited to
attend a meeting of the Progres-
sive Arc dissident group.
Posted on the group’s Web site
is a column Yanez wrote in the
Spanish newspaper El Pais in
2007 decrying “the disappear-
ance of the most minimal free-
dom of expression and of artistic
creation” in Cuba, as well as the
jailing of dissidents.
Manuel Cuesta Morua, head of
Progressive Arc, told The Associ-
ated Press that Yanez had indi-
cated that he planned to visit
with him during his trip.
“I think that (the authorities)
7
that have no public health bene-
fit.”
“I repeat my call to all other
countries with such discrimina-
tory restrictions to take steps to
remove them at the earliest,”
Ban said in a statement.
Among the countries that still
have restrictions on entry, resi-
dence and length of stay for HIV
sufferers are China, Cuba, Egypt,
North Korea, Israel, New
Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Iraq
and Russia.
Sidibe, the UNAIDS chief,
called for “global freedom of
movement for people living with
HIV in 2010, the year when
countries have committed to
achieve universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and
support.”
Discrimination against people
with HIV “has no place in today’s
highly mobile world,” he said in
a statement.
US Tourism
Down but
NYC Is Top
NEW YORK (AP) — The num-
ber of visitors to New York City
fell last year for the first time
since 2001 when terrorists
struck. But tourism declines else-
where across the U.S. made it
the most popular destination in
the country for the first time in
almost two decades, tourism offi-
cials said Monday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
painted the 3.9 percent decline
— an estimated 45.3 million visi-
tors — as a victory, saying that
amid the recession the city had
anticipated losing as much as 10
percent of tourists. The city
expects to recoup most of the
loss this year and remains on
track to hit its longstanding goal
of 50 million yearly visitors by
2012, the mayor said.
Other hot spots were hit hard-
er, making New York America’s
No. 1 destination for the first
time since 1990, the mayor said.
For nearly two decades that title
was held by either Las Vegas or
Orlando.
“We have made our city clean-
er, safer and more exciting than
ever,” Bloomberg said at a press
conference at a Brooklyn restau-
rant. “I do think we’ll continue to
see even more tourists on our
streets as the economy improves,
and I think that we’ll continue to
fare better than other cities.”
While many travelers stayed
home simply because money
was tight, the mayor also attrib-
uted the decline in international
visitors to swine flu fears and
concerns over border security
measures.
Foreign visitors — traditionally
the biggest spenders — fell to 8.6
million in 2009, a drop of almost
10 percent from the year before.
That echoed a milder national
trend, with international visitors
to the U.S. down 7 percent in the
first 10 months of the year com-
pared to the same period the
year before.
Still, some attractions, includ-
ing the Statue of Liberty, report-
ed jumps in visitation. And the
city’s leisure and hospitality
industry — which provides one-
tenth of the city’s private sector
jobs — actually grew in 2009.
are taking reprisals,” Cuesta
said.
An official with the Spanish
Socialist Party said Yanez and
his wife Carmen Hermosin, who
is member of the Spanish parlia-
ment, had traveled to Cuba on a
tourist visa for a private trip with
no political meetings planned.
She flew back with her husband.
The official spoke on condition
of anonymity in line with party
rules.
In recent years, Cuba has
refused entry to several Euro-
pean and Spanish parliamentari-
ans who arrived on the island
with tourist visas but who were
believed to be planning to meet
with dissidents.
 Times Column
8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 Opinion

EDITORIAL Walk in a Snowstorm

S
eoul had nearly a foot of stand a blow from Mother Na-
New Korea-Japan Era snowfall Monday, a record
in 70 years since relevant
ture. I wondered to myself
whether it was the same feeling
data first began to be collected in of achievement Roald Amundsen
East Asian Union Is Impossible Without Historical Settlement 1937. But, unofficially, weather- Times Column had when he led the first success-
men say that it wouldn’t be terri- ful expedition to the South Pole or
Of all the anniversaries falling this year, none science and narrow-minded behavior of Japan bly wrong to say it was the heav- Sir Edmund Hillary felt when he
is more important than the centennial of Korea’s that has kept East Asia from moving from the iest snowfall in a century By Oh Young-jin stood atop Mt. Everest.
forced annexation by Japan. Historians on both yokes of the last century, while Europe and most Facing weather conditions of Assistant Managing Editor This sense of triumphalism
sides largely agree that the two countries can ei- other parts of the world have long gotten out of this magnitude, Seoul City Hall, was reinforced when I saw a
ther open a new era of cooperation or remain what historians call the century of barbarism. together with the central govern- Anyway, immediately after the ankle-deep snow, with their front “shovel brigade” clearing up the
mired in a cat-and-dog relationship, depending on To show he is a politician who acts, not just speaks, ment, used everything it had to tussle with the alarm, I peeked wheels spinning in a rut, gaining entrance of my office building. It
how they settle old historical scores this year. Prime Minister Hatoyama is urged to issue a state- clear the roads. An army of shov- through my bedroom window no traction. was not a snowplow but collec-
The atmosphere for tackling this crucial task ment, which moves way beyond the one issued by one el-wielding civil servants hit the outside to check whether it was When I began to walk, I didn’t tive pairs of human hands that
couldn’t be more ripe, too — at least on the sur- of his predecessors, Tomiichi Muramaya, in 1995, by streets alongside a fleet of snow- snowing. It wasn’t. know what the journey had in did the job.
face — as the two countries are now being gov- unequivocally admitting to Japan’s past wrongdoing, plows, some of them borrowed Thirty minutes or so later after store. It was a moment that dispelled
erned by leaders who are willing to put them- expressing heartfelt regrets and an apology and seek- from the Army, pouring thou- finishing my morning routine, I As I trekked in what now be- all two-bit doomsayers, who
selves in each other’s shoes. President Lee ing to come up with proper compensation for the vic- sands of tons of calcium chloride gave another peek outside. By came a snowstorm, first, I gave prophesize that machines will
Myung-bak has vowed not to raise historical is- tims — if he stops short of nullifying the 1910 Annexa- onto the roads. In the end, how- then, it was snowing so hard that up shaking off snow gathering on take over the world and enslave
sues during his tenure to forge a more future-ori- tion Treaty itself due to his weak political position. ever, their collective effort looked I barely managed to see yellow my shoulders. Then, I stopped humankind.
ented relationship, while Prime Minister Yukio Anything less would make Asian neighbors sus- to be a lost cause, when snow- dots of high-pressure sodium walking gingerly and started to For me, it was a day of a dou-
Hatoyama is ready to face up to past history. pect that calls from Japan’s first postwar-genera- drifts got bigger on the roadside street lamps down at ground lev- hit my normal stride over a long, ble victory for human beings —
Such an ostensible amity stops right there, how- tion premier for an East Asian Community may and the city remained snow- el. unbeaten snow-covered stretch beating Nature’s wrath and pre-
ever, as shown by two recent incidents in Tokyo: not be much different from Imperial Japan’s na- bound. I was worried about my trip to of sidewalk vailing over the machine in an
Japan reiterated its claims over Dokdo even without tional slogan of a “Great East Asian Sphere for Co- It was a rude wakeup call from office. So I got prepared as best When I looked sideways, I saw abridged version of Armaged-
naming the volcanic outcroppings located in the sea prosperity,” under which Tokyo joined in the Sec- Mother Nature, which was sup- as I could, which could, in nor- a road-full of cars, SUVs, buses don, until I realized my sense of
between the two countries; and Japan’s social insur- ond World War in this part of the world. posed to make human beings re- mal weather, have made me and trucks crawling at a snail’s victory was transient and illuso-
ance agency gave just 99 yen ($1.08) to each of sev- Korea should change, too. President Lee, without alize their limitations and be- stand out from the crowd — a pace. I had an odd mixture of ry.
en Korean women, who had sued Tokyo to claim seeking consent from any of his people, has unilater- come humble for a while. Or was man in suits, a tie and overcoat pleasures in anticipation of That nirvana came when I
compensation for part of their forced labor during ally forgiven pro-Japanese collaborators and invited it? but with a bulky pair of climbing reaching my destination faster waited impatiently for my sub-
Japan’s occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. the Japanese emperor to visit Korea, to which Ha- I felt rather contrary to this boots. than those stuck in the so-called way train and felt the same urge
The Japanese government’s payment of a mere toyama gave the cautious response of “serious con- conventional wisdom. At a bus stop, an anxious conveniences of civilization. I to walk back home as I had in the
pittance in the name of a welfare pension, which sideration,” in an apparent — and pitiable — rever- My Monday story began at 6 crowd had already gathered, imagined that it was like the feel- morning. After a long pause, I de-
was practically downright derision of the victims, sal of positions between the two countries. a.m. when the alarm clock in my each of the commuters looking ing of triumph the turtle had cided not, concluding that I didn’t
may have little problem legally, but makes a sharp Emperor Akihito’s visit, if realized hurriedly with- new mobile phone went off. A as if they were debating with when it beat the rabbit in one of need to walk hours in freezing
contrast with its German counterpart, which paid out proper preparations in two matters — apology footnote is that the alarm has an themselves about the chances of Aesop’s fables. It was like the cold weather. Instead of admit-
a total of 4.37 billion Euros to 1.67 million victims and compensation — might only aggravate the mu- inbuilt annoying feature — its their bus coming. A couple of moment I realized Nobel Peace ting to defeat, I found an excuse,
of World War II, never trying to avoid its moral re- tual estrangement of the two countries. sound gets louder until you hit them apparently gave up waiting prize winner Al Gore’s Inconve- telling myself, “After all, a few
sponsibility by hiding behind the law. Forging a future-oriented relationship is possible the snooze button — tempting and started their trek down the nient Truth suddenly became creature comforts won’t hurt and
It is mainly this utter lack of a guilty con- only based on a thorough settlement of the past. you to wait and hear how loud it snow-covered slope. My patience very “convenient.” I can beat Mother Nature or the
can get. But I have so far chosen was about to run out, when my Ironically, however, what hit crafty machine’s plan to conquer
to lose in this morning competi- bus didn’t come for another 10 me hardest was a sense of pre- mankind any time I want.”
Heaviest Snowfall tion for my mind. minutes and I saw cars stuck in sumptuousness that I could with- foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr

Time for Better Disaster Management System Today in History

Record snowfall on Monday proved how diffi-
cult it is to make an exact weather forecast de-
spite advanced science and technology. It blan-
keted the central part of the Korean Peninsula,
causing traffic chaos and massive flight cancella-
tions. Particularly, the capital city was severely
hit by 27 centimeters of snow in the first work
day of the New Year, marking the largest single-
day snowfall since the nation began conducting
meteorological surveys in 1937.
Clogged roads forced people to arrive at work
late in Seoul and other big cities. A large crowd of
commuters rushing to subways also experienced
inconveniences due to delayed train operations
caused by technical glitches and malfunctions. Sub-
zero temperatures aggravated the situation. Many
motorists abandoned their cars on the roads. Even
some ministers were late for a Cabinet meeting that
was forced to begin later than scheduled.
It is often said that natural disasters are acts of
God. So, all the chaos and inconvenience created by
the snowfall appeared to have been beyond human
control. And it might not be proper to blame some-
one for the relentless natural phenomenon. But we
have to overhaul the nation’s preparedness for nat-
ural disasters to better protect people and their
properties from potential calamities.
First, we need timely and accurate weather
forecasts. The Korea Meteorological Administra-
tion (KMA) should play an ever more important
role in providing detailed information about
weather changes. But we have to ask: Did the
KMA do its best to make a precise prediction
about Monday’s snowfall? Clearly not, since the
KMA said the previous day that the snowfall
would amount to only 2 to 7 centimeters in Today is Wednesday, January
Seoul and its surrounding areas. 6, the sixth day of 2010. There
Of course, this is not to say the weather agency are 359 days left in the year.
should make perfect predictions. But, critics often
point out that the KMA has frequently been wrong 1681 — First recorded boxing
and answered criticism by placing the blame on match (Duke of Albemarle’s but-
extremely changeable meteorological conditions. ler vs. his butcher)
More disappointing is that the KMA issued a be- 1832 — New England Anti-
lated warning at 8:20 a.m. after as much as 15 Slavery Society organizes
centimeters of snow had fallen. The administra- (Boston)
tion has already installed two up-to-date super- 1838 — Samuel Morse made
computers. It has also recruited an American ex- first public demonstration of tele-
pert to improve its forecasting capabilities. But it graph
has come under fire for failing to upgrade its soft- 1842 — 4,500 British and In-
ware programs for more precise predictions. It is dian troops leave Kabul, massa-
imperative that the KMA go all-out to find a funda- cred before India
mental solution to its problem. 1880 — Record snow cover in
Second, local authorities have poorly coped with Seattle — 20cm
the situation. The Seoul metropolitan government 1922 — Conference of Cannes
must realize that it cannot properly maintain the concerning German retribution
roads by only running snow-plowing trucks and payments
spraying chemical calcium chloride. It mobilized 1941 — FDR’s “4 Freedoms”
3,600 employees to clear away the snow. But, the speech (speech, worship, from
municipal authorities cannot avoid criticism that want and from fear)
their bureaucratic attitude and negligence have 1964 — Rolling Stones’ first
stood in the way of tackling unusual weather con- tour as headline act (with
ditions. The authorities need to work with the cen- Ronettes)
tral government to put a more effective disaster 1976 — China People’s Re-
management system in place. public performs nuclear test at
Third, citizens are also urged to actively cooper- Lop Nor People’s Republic of
ate with the authorities to minimize the fallout of China
such unpredictable weather changes. They are re-
quired to clear away snow around their homes as
stipulated by local regulations. In addition, people
must refrain from driving to work or to stores.
Thoughts of The Times

Overseas Comment
Equal Pay for Equal Work
By Julian Barker lations some (EPIK) and Teach and Learn in achieve this is by offering equal
Health Care Bills tension exists Korea (TALK). TALK and EPIK pay for equal work, or corre-

USA Today: Senate version, Americans
would have to wait until 2014.
If you have a potentially costly In part, the delay is a de-
ailment, or if you own a small plorable budgetary gimmick de-
business, or if you just want to signed to lowball the bill’s cost
change jobs without worrying over the next 10 years. (Republi-
about losing your health insur- cans did the same thing when
ance, one key aspect of the they created a new Medicare
health care bills now working drug benefit in 2003.)
their way through Congress In theory the federal govern-
could be a godsend. ment would create its own ex-
But in neither the House bill change, which would be avail-
nor the Senate bill would they go able to residents of states that fail
into effect any time soon. In the to act. But it is unclear when
43, 3-ga, Chungmuro, Chung-gu, Seoul (Postal code 100-013).
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The Korea Times observes the Press Code of Ethics and the Standard of Conduct of Newspapermen.
Washington would get to work
creating this exchange.
Here’s a better idea: If there’s
going to be health care reform, do
it right and move on. Don’t fill it
with gimmicks and stalling tactics
that serve only to hide costs and
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T
o see the New Year in, many
people across the world are
looking back at the past
decade, as well as to the future in
the hope that 2010 will bring new
opportunities. For 100 Indian
teachers a new door is about to
open, as for the first time, South
Korea will tentatively welcome En-
glish teachers from India.
The decision to employ En-
glish teachers from India was
made in 2009, and debate within
the Korean government has now
turned to the question of remu-
neration for the 100 teachers.
How much to pay the new
teachers is indeed an important
question, and the South Korean
government may well be able to
hire Indian teachers at a lower
cost than foreigners currently ad-
mitted to Korea on E2 visas. As
Lee Byung-min, an English edu-
cation professor at Seoul National
University, recently pointed out in
The Korea Times, “We can also
choose highly qualified non-native
teachers at lower costs as their
wages are relatively lower.”
It’s hardly astute to observe
that in all employer-employee re-
The Korea Times offers a daily audio service for one of the two editorials through its homepage (www.koreatimes.co.kr). Through the service, subscribers
can hear the editorial recorded by a native speaker as well as lectures on it. — ED.
between what
the employee
desires as re-
muneration
and what the
employer is
prepared to of-
fer. In the case of employing for-
eigners, governments around the
world, South Korea included, are
also critically aware that much of
what is paid to foreign workers
may leave the country.
The prospect of paying teach-
ers from India lower salaries
than other foreign teachers ad-
mitted on E2 visas is, therefore,
most likely tempting. However,
what the South Korean govern-
ment may wish to offer as com-
pensation, and what serves as
fair compensation, will likely be
two different amounts.
Arriving at a sum to offer the
Indian teachers will therefore
most likely be a matter of debate.
After all, how does one arrive at
a fair amount?
The Korean government has
already implemented two pro-
grams that hire foreign teachers,
the English Program in Korea
can serve as valuable bench-
marks for setting the remunera-
tion of the new teachers. If the
work that the Indian teachers
are expected to perform is simi-
lar to the work of EPIK or TALK
teachers, they should receive
similar remuneration.
All remuneration — and the
government officials tasked with
deciding the remuneration to be
offered would do well to take
note of this — should follow this
basic principle: People who com-
plete equal work should receive
equal pay.
That people who complete
equal work should receive equal
pay rests on the most basic of hu-
man rights — the right to “digni-
ty,” from which stems a sense that
all people, everywhere, are, at
some fundamental level, equal.
It does not matter that people
in India may be willing to sign
contracts which offer less remu-
neration than what is offered to
other foreign teachers. What
matters is that equality between
individuals should be recog-
nized, and the only way that the
South Korean government can
spondingly similar pay for simi-
lar work.
The South Korean government
cannot take advantage of some
Indian people’s willingness to
work for less when it has estab-
lished guidelines for what it
should pay to foreign English
teachers.
To violate the principle of “equal
pay for equal work” would
amount to a suggestion that some-
how, for some reason, Indian la-
bor is not worth as much as labor
provided by other foreigners, and
also amount to a violation of the
new teachers’ basic sense of
equality, and human dignity. This
would be unacceptable.
The South Korean govern-
ment, which is looking to posi-
tion itself as a global leader in
commerce and politics, is obliged
to accept the consequent respon-
sibility of upholding human
rights, and must be held to the
highest standards.
The writer is a South African who now lives
in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, and
teaches at a middle school. He can be
reached at julianbarker45@gmail.com.

2

Explanations on Chiang-Chen Talks
By Chen Yeong-cho
T
he Fourth Chiang-Chen
Talks were held in
Taichung, Taiwan, on Dec.
22. During the talks, the two
sides signed three agreements,
including the “Cross-Strait
Agreement on Cooperation in
Agricultural Product Quarantine
and Inspection,” “Cross-Strait
Agreement on the Cooperation in
Respect of Fishing Crew Affairs”
and “Cross-Strait Agreement on
Cooperation in Respect of Stan-
dards, Metrology, Inspection and
Accreditation.”
On the issue of “Cooperation
on the Avoidance of Double Tax-
ation and Strengthening of Tax
Cooperation,” the relevant
authorities on both sides have
been communicating and negoti-
ating steadily during this period
and have reached consensus on
the main contents.
However, further communica-
tions and discussions are needed
between officials of the two sides
on the more technical issues.
It is hoped that the negotia-
tions in this regard can be com-
pleted and the agreement
promptly signed and implement-
ed in the near future to help
eliminate double taxation across
the Taiwan Strait, improve the
competitive conditions for Tai-
wanese businesses and further
attract transnational corpora-
tions (TNCs) to invest in Taiwan.
The three agreements signed
by both sides at the Fourth Chi-
ang-Chen Talks are directly
related to the rights and interests
of the people.
The “Cross-Strait Agreement on
Cooperation of Agricultural Prod-
uct Quarantine and Inspection”
and “Cross-Strait Agreement on
Cooperation in Respect of Stan-
dards, Metrology, Inspection and
Accreditation,” in addition to the
“Cross-Strait Food Safety Agree-
ment” signed at the second Chi-
ang-Chen Talks, form a safety net
to protect the health and con-
sumer safety of the people of Tai-
wan with regards to the cross-
strait trade of various goods,
including food, agriculture and
fishery products, animal feedstuffs
and general industrial products.
The “Cross-Strait Agreement
on the Cooperation in Respect of
Fishing Crew Affairs” leaves the
current “offshore employment”
policy unchanged, while creating
a more institutionalized and
secure basis for the employment
of Mainland fishing crews
through the negotiation of a
By Deroy Murdock
Scripps Howard News Service
T
EMECULA, Calif. —
Where is Nelson Man-
dela when we need him?
In the fine new film “Invic-
tus,” South Africa’s first black
president inspects his first offi-
cial paycheck.
“This is terrible,” Mandela
says. He decides he earns too
much and subsequently
donates a third of his salary to
charity.
Mandela’s humility and fiscal
restraint would be as exotic in
the nation’s capital as a giraffe
atop the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial. Washington’s lavish
self-aggrandizement
relentless march toward
and
bankruptcy cruelly mock Man-
dela’s sacrifice.
Today’s thoughtless and cor-
rosive spend-o-rama began
under a Republican Congress
and the feckless Bush-Rove
administration. Alas, a Demo-
cratic White House and
Congress briskly outspend their
predecessors.
In stunning contrast to
Mandela’s example, Congress
carpet-bombs taxpayer dol-
lars on greedy federal
bureaucrats — even as Amer-
icans struggle, and often fail,
to pay their mortgages and
rents.
Between December 2007
and June 2009, USA Today
reported on Dec. 10, federal
employees earning more than
$100,000 annually increased
46 percent to 382,758.
2
Opinion
more sound
management
mechanism.
The two sides
also reviewed
the implementa-
tion of the nine
agreements
signed at the previous three Chi-
ang-Chen Talks. In particular, they
exchanged views on Mainland
tourist visits to Taiwan, increasing
the number of cross-strait flights,
providing assistance related to the
melamine-tainted milk incident,
jointly fighting crime, promoting
Mainland investment in Taiwan
and establishing a renminbi clear-
ance mechanism.
The two sides will continue to
discuss improvements through
the established channels and
platforms.
The fifth talks between the
Straits Exchange Foundation
(SEF) and Association for Rela-
tions Across the Taiwan Strait
(ARATS) in the first half of this
year will focus mainly on the
Cross-Strait Economic Coopera-
tion Framework Agreement
(ECFA), as well as address the
issue of protecting intellectual
property rights (IPR).
Chen Yunlin, left, chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan
Straits, shakes hands with Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman P. K. Chi-
ang during a signing ceremony in Taichung, Dec. 22. Taiwan and China have agreed
in principle to put a free trade pact on the agenda of the next round of formal trade
talks in China.
Since the resumption of insti-
tutionalized liaison channels
between the SEF and the
ARATS, the two sides have held
four Chiang-Chen Talks, signed
Bring Back Republicans
Those making more than
$150,000 rose 119 percent to
66,538. Only one Transporta-
tion Department employee
scored more than $170,000 as
the recession began. By last
June, that number had soared
to 1,690.
Federal indulgence and
incompetence are too vast to
catalog. But these illustrations
are sufficiently maddening.
— After “Cash for Clunkers”
gloriously shipped $3 billion
chiefly to Tokyo — and Seoul-
based automakers — the Oba-
ma administration concocted
“Cash for Caulkers” — fresh
subsidies to weatherize homes.
This program could cost up to
$20 billion, if House Democrats
prevail. So far, Texas has spent
$1.8 million in federal funds
and has treated seven homes,
averaging $257,000 each.
— Congress sent President
Barack Obama a $447 billion,
2,442-page omnibus spending
bill on Dec. 14. It ballooned fed-
eral spending 12 percent while
inflation inches along at 1.8
percent. This measure con-
tained 5,224 pork-barrel pro-
jects worth $3.9 billion, accord-
ing to Taxpayers for Common
Sense. These included
$700,000 for “Shrimp Industry
Fishing Effort Research Contin-
uation” in Silver Spring, Md.
— Breaking the law that
launched the Troubled Asset
Relief Program, the House mis-
allocated $154 billion in repay-
ments by TARP-funded banks.
That money legally must
Times Forum
12 agreements and reached one
consensus, thus turning a new
page in cross-strait relations.
The Fourth Chiang-Chen Talks
have made clear that institution-
alized negotiations between the
SEF and the ARATS now have
entered a stabilized phase.
This signifies that cross-strait
relations are developing orderly
toward benign interactions,
which can help establish a
secure and stable environment
for national development. It is
also a benchmark for protecting
peace and stability across the
Strait.
“Putting Taiwan first for the
benefit of the people” is the high-
est guiding principle in current
cross-strait interactions. “Putting
Taiwan first” means protecting
Taiwan-centric identity. The four
Chiang-Chen Talks have pro-
ceeded under the principle of
“equality and dignity” and devel-
oped a new negotiation model
for gradually expanding official
interactions.
They have not only pragmati-
cally resolved various issues
Reuters-Yonhap
stemming from cross-strait
exchanges, but they have also
highlighted the position of equali-
ty and mutual non-denial
between the two sides. “For the
finance deficit reduction. House
Democrats nevertheless flouted
the law by turning this cash
into America’s fourth economic
stimulus package.
— Even worse, political
favoritism has infected stimulus
spending. The free-market
Mercatus Center discovered
that the average congressional
district has received $355 mil-
lion from Obama’s $787 billion
stimulus package. However,
Democratic congressmen’s dis-
tricts averaged $439 million (a
23.7 percent bonus), while
Republican districts averaged
just $232 million (a 35.6 per-
cent penalty). The typical dis-
trict won 128 projects. Demo-
cratic districts averaged 152
such outlays (an extra 18.75
percent). GOP districts aver-
aged 94 awards (26.6 percent
fewer).
— At the Copenhagen cli-
mate conference, Obama
pledged to muster up to $100
billion annually for 10 years to
help developing nations battle
so-called global warming. This
could equal $1 trillion in car-
bon-coated foreign aid. Even if
other industrialized nations
participate, it’s hard to imagine
America in for less than $100
billion.
— With a 1:08 a.m. proce-
dural, the Senate’s 60-mem-
ber Democratic caucus
advanced a $2.5 trillion health
reform that 61 percent of
Americans oppose, according
to CNN. Greased by Democrat-
ic leader Harry Reid’s taxpay-
er-funded bribes to wobbly
benefit of the people” means that
the good results of cross-strait
negotiations should be enjoyed
by all of the people.
The negotiation issues at the
Fourth Chiang-Chen Talks are
vital to protecting the rights and
interests of the Taiwanese people,
strengthening the international
competitiveness of Taiwan’s
industries and upgrading Tai-
wan’s position in international
division-of-labor networks. As
with the previous three Chiang-
Chen Talks, the fruits of this
round of negotiations will be joint-
ly shared by all of the people.
The three agreements signed
at the Fourth Chiang-Chen Talks
all concern economic issues that
urgently require priority han-
dling to respond to the develop-
ment of cross-strait economic
and trade relations, and
strengthen the order of cross-
strait economic and trade
exchanges.
They further realize the spirit
of prioritizing the economy and
livelihood of the people in cross-
strait negotiations and facilitating
the normalized and institutional-
ized development of cross-strait
economic and trade relations.
Over the past 19 months, Tai-
wan has worked hard through
institutionalized negotiations to
improve cross-strait relations
and promote cross-strait and
regional peace and stability.
These efforts have already won
the unanimous support of the
international community.
In the future, Taiwan will con-
tinue to adhere to the principle of
“economic issues first and politi-
cal issues later,” “easy issues first
and difficult issues later” and
“urgent issues first and less
pressing issues later.”
Priority will be given to negoti-
ations on handling issues related
to the livelihood of the people
and economic development. This
is aimed at making joint efforts
to create a win-win outcome for
both sides to benefit the people
across the Taiwan Strait.
It is also hoped that the two
sides can continue, through insti-
tutionalized negotiation mecha-
nism, to create historic opportu-
nities for the welfare of the peo-
ple on both sides and benign
cross-strait interactions, jointly
promote the development of
cross-strait relations toward
peace and stability, and create
lasting peace in the region.
Chen Yeong-cho is representative of
Taipei Mission in Korea.
Democrats, the bill’s final pas-
sage at dawn on Christmas
Eve was engineered to
approve the measure before
senators faced pesky con-
stituents back home who want
to euthanize the bill.
— The Treasury announced
on Christmas Eve that it will
give blank checks to Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac for the
next three years. Estimated
cost: Up to $400 billion.
“The United States cannot
force foreign governments to
increase their holdings of Trea-
suries,” warned Zhu Min
deputy governor of the People’s
Bank of China, which kindly
pays America’s bills these days.
As he told Shanghai Daily: “The
world does not have so much
money to buy more U.S. Trea-
suries.”
One of 2010’s most intrigu-
ing questions will be whether
the American people’s aggre-
gated nausea by November
triggers the peaceful over-
throw of the U.S. govern-
ment.
Deroy Murdock is a columnist with
Scripps Howard News Service and a
media fellow with the Hoover Institu-
tion on War, Revolution and Peace at
Stanford University. E-mail him at
deroy.Murdock@gmail.com.
The Korea Times
News on Internet
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr
Trust Robert Gates
to Do Right Thing
By Arthur I. Cyr
Scripps Howard News Service
I
n the immediate wake of the
very fortunately failed
attempt to bomb a Detroit-
bound passenger jetliner, the
Obama administration has been
uneven in reaction.
President Barack Obama could
take three months to review
Afghanistan strategy before a
major new forces commitment,
but this incident required rapid
response, and our chief executive
so far in fact has acted effective-
ly.
In such a case, an immediate
appearance by the U.S. president
is not necessarily wise. He did
address the public soon after the
Christmas incident, forcefully
noting that senior administration
officials had two days to put a
comprehensive analysis of what
went wrong on his desk.
By contrast, Homeland Securi-
ty Secretary Janet Napolitano
has so far been notably ineffec-
tive, misguidedly trying to reas-
sure by stating that our security
system worked. The reverse is in
fact the case.
Terrorist agent Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab has a history of
increasingly radical activity, and
his own father had warned
authorities about him. Yet, the
would-be killer secured a U.S.
visa, and bought a one-way tick-
et with cash and without lug-
gage.
The jetliner was saved only
because alert courageous pas-
sengers prevented the aspiring
murderer from detonating explo-
sives concealed on his body, and
undetected during pro forma
passenger screening at the Ams-
terdam airport.
In the aftermath, full-body
scans and other thorough securi-
ty procedures are being imple-
Letter to the Editor
Congratulations on FSS’s Win!
Dear editor,
In a Korea Times article titled
“Regulators Kick Out KB Chair-
man Nominee” on Page 2 of its
Jan. 1 to 3 issue, I would like to
point out the continuation of
Korea’s backward policy toward
financial institutions.
To be more specific, it must be
a part of financial “socialism”
and a plot to put banking institu-
tions under the state, a shameful
maneuver which was seen very
often in the previous authoritari-
an governments.
On the surface of it, Kang
Chung-won’s abrupt withdrawal
We welcome your opinions for the Thoughts of the Times and comments on editorials, columns and other topics in The
Korea Times. The articles should not exceed 800 words and letters to the editor 300 words. They should bear the names
of writers, addresses, phone numbers and short biographical information. Send them to opinion@koreatimes.co.kr —
ED.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
mented.
By contrast, eliminating
Abdulmutallab’s sponsors in
Yemen will take time, and both
covert intelligence and overt mili-
tary efforts.
As this latest chapter of the
struggle against terrorists
unfolds, be attentive to Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates. By
experience and temperament as
well as current position, he may
prove our most crucial leader.
Appointed Pentagon head by
George W. Bush, Gates was
asked by Obama to remain in
Robert Gates
place and he agreed. His princi-
pal and most important mentor
has been President George H. W.
Bush.
Gates has become steadily
more influential in the still-new
Obama regime. So far, he has
shown himself to be a man for
all political seasons.
In notably candid memoirs,
“From the Shadows,” Gates is
blunt in his criticism of the
Carter administration for hostili-
ty to the intelligence agencies
from KB Financial Group’s chair-
manship nomination seems to be
a personal decision.
But a powerful financial
watchdog’s unscheduled investi-
gations of his business perfor-
mance and private life, high-
pitched unparalleled to previous
ones, have led many to believe
that Kang has been branded by
the Financial Supervisory Service
(FSS) as a “persona non grata”
as the group chairman, which
resulted in him giving up his
chairmanship candidacy.
The FSS’s investigations
kicked off on unfounded allega-
tions that Kang abused his pow-
9
and general ineffectiveness.
Tenure as deputy to Carter’s CIA
chief, Adm. Stansfield Turner,
was clearly one of the most
painful experiences of Gates’
working life.
By keeping Gates in place,
Obama was shrewdly construct-
ing continuity with the more gen-
erally conservative and Republi-
can sectors of Washington and
the wider American population.
Throughout his long career,
Gates has demonstrated top pro-
fessional competence combined
with shrewd political calculation.
He is one of very few CIA career
professionals to rise to the top of
the agency.
He was both director of Cen-
tral Intelligence and deputy
national security adviser to Presi-
dent G. H.W. Bush, who general-
ly receives high marks in foreign
and defense policies.
One of the most important of
many recent books on United
States national intelligence is
“Legacy of Ashes” by Tim Wein-
er. Weiner is notably positive
about Robert Gates.
He also provides persuasive
evidence the CIA was providing
strident warnings about impend-
ing terrorist attack to an indiffer-
ent Bush White House just before
9/11.
Gates played an influential role
in shaping the very professional
contemporary agency.
However, to succeed in Yemen
and elsewhere, U.S. counterter-
rorist efforts must have full
White House support. This
includes willingness to use the
sort of ruthless methods essential
in war but sometimes publicly
condemned by other Obama
administration officials.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen distinguished
professor at Carthage College. E-mail
him at acyr@carthage.edu.
er to be nominated as the head
of Korea’s leading lender group
in a conspiracy with a few out-
side directors. The FSS still has
not provided clear evidence to
back its assumptions.
Interestingly, the supervisory
body is keeping mum about
Kang’s departure from the chair-
manship nomination. Is the FSS
always a winner? As long as it
stays the “winner,” the people
remain the “losers.” Bravo! Con-
gratulations on FSS’s win! Hur-
rah, FSS!
Charles Kim
Jongno-gu, Seoul

LG to Spur Air Conditioning Business
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
LG Electronics expects air con-
ditioners to be a bigger part of its
corporate muscle in the next few
years, projecting global revenue
of $10 billion from the business
in 2013.
Much of the growth is expect-
ed to come from emerging mar-
kets such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil
and India, where the company
will be spending more money
this year to hire more marketing
personnel and improve manufac-
turing capabilities, company offi-
cials said.
In a news conference in Seoul,
Tuesday, LG Electronics said it
will reorganize its air-conditioner
division into four separate units,
covering households, business
customers, solutions and solar-
power-related products, which
Foreign Investment
Declines 1.9 Percent
Foreign direct investment
(FDI) in Korea dipped 1.9 per-
cent from a year earlier in 2009
as companies tightened spending
amid an overall slump in the
global economy, a government
report said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Knowledge
Economy said foreign direct
investment in the country
reached $11.5 billion last year,
marking the second straight year
FDI topped the $11 billion mark,
as businesses and investors
struggled to cope with the finan-
cial crisis brought on by the col-
lapse of Lehman Brothers Hold-
ing Inc.
But the decrease was far
smaller than the 41 percent drop
in foreign direct investment suf-
fered last year by the countries of
the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
and large developing economies
such as China, India and Brazil.
Foreign direct investment in
India and Brazil is estimated to
have fallen around 22 percent
and 44 percent year-on-year,
respectively, in the first 10
months of 2009, while China
may have posted negative
growth of 9.9 percent up till
November.
It added that fresh “green-
field” investments shot up 11.4
percent compared to the previ-
ous year to $8.11 billion, with
the total poured into manufactur-
ing surging 23.9 percent.
Manufacturing investments
generally helps create more jobs
and can strengthen the overall
industrial foundation of the
country.
“On the whole, the quality of
investments improved signifi-
cantly,” said Park Soon-kee,
head of the ministry’s investment
policy division.
He said that in the case of
South Korea, the relatively weak-
ness of its currency vis-a-vis the
dollar and faster-than-expected
recovery helped buoy foreign
direct investment. (Yonhap)
Employees of Hyosung Power & Industrial Systems Performance Group check the
gearbox for a wind power generation system at its plant in Changwon, South
Gyeongsang Province, Monday.
2
shows its intentions to dabble
into low-power lighting systems
and solar cells as well.
Noh Hwang-yong, LG Elec-
tronics senior vice president and
head of the company’s air-condi-
tioner business, said the changes
will help the company identify
new opportunities in different
markets around the world and
deliver more innovative products
to exploit growth areas.
LG Electronics’ air-conditioner
division is believed to have gen-
erated $5 billion in revenue last
year, with $4 billion coming from
sales overseas, representing
about 20 percent annual growth,
company officials said.
“We are confident that the air-
conditioner division could
achieve new growth in energy
solutions, which could create
synergies with our strength in
green and low-power products,”
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo starts ignition of the newly completed blast furnace of its steel-making affiliate Hyundai Steel at its mill in Dangjin,
South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday.
Hyundai’s Dustless Blast Furnace Starts Operation
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Hyundai Steel, an affiliate of
local auto giant Hyundai-Kia
Automotive Group, started oper-
ating the country’s biggest blast
furnace that emits no dust dur-
ing production, Tuesday.
The company held an igniting
ceremony for the first-ever inte-
grated plant in Dangjin, South
Chungcheong Province that will
churn out a total of 4 million tons
of steel products annually. Con-
struction was completed three
years and three months after
ground was broken in October
2006.
Guests at the ceremony includ-
ed Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung
Mong-koo and Marc Solvi, CEO
of Paul Wurth S.A. The Luxem-
Courtesy of Hyosung
Noh said.
“The sales from the products
manufactured from our plant in
Saudi Arabia have been doubling
each year. We also plan to
strengthen our marketing effort
in neighboring countries in the
Middle East and African regions,
and our local business units
there will get new injections of
personnel.
“The production capacity of
our Brazil plant will be expand-
ed, as the South American mar-
ket is becoming more crucial for
us, and our goal is to achieve a
40 percent share of the Indian
air-conditioner market.”
Noh said the company’s expe-
rience and established presence
in the market for commercial air
conditioners and business solu-
tions will provide a solid base for
its nascent energy solutions busi-
ness, where the company sees a
bourg-based engineering firm,
an affiliate of world’s largest steel
maker ArcelorMittal, supplied
core technological components
for the furnace.
“Through Hyundai Steel’s sub-
stantial investment of 5.8 trillion
won ($5.1 billion), we construct-
ed the most advanced and eco-
friendly integrated steel mill in
the world, which is also in line
with the government’s low car-
bon, green growth agenda,”
Chung said at the ceremony.
“It will give our automotive
group a strong edge by allowing
us to secure and develop our
own supply of high-quality steel,
as well as contributing to the
Korean economy.”
The overall capacity of the mill
located in the west-costal city will
be expanded to an annual 8 mil-
Hyosung to Export Wind Power Parts
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Hyosung Power & Industrial
Systems Performance Group has
become the first Korean exporter
of components for wind power
generation plants.
The group inked a 45.6 billion
won ($39.8 million) deal with
India’s Ghodawat Energy to sup-
ply 1.65-megawatt wind turbine
gearboxes until 2013, a group
spokesman said.
It also signed a letter of intent
for the Indian firm’s purchase of
several other key parts and relat-
ed products.
Placed 80 to 100 meters high
in the nacelle of the power tow-
ers, the gearboxes are a key
component of a wind power gen-
eration system. They enhance
the spinning speed of the blades,
which allow the fan-driven tow-
ers to be fast enough to generate
electricity.
Ghodawat Energy, an affiliate
wealth of business-to-business
(B2B) opportunities.
The company will renew its
focus on eco-friendly, low-power
products for markets in North
America, Europe and Asia, utiliz-
ing advanced compressor tech-
nology and environment-friendly
refrigerants in more of its air con-
ditioners sold in those markets.
During the news conference,
LG Electronics also unveiled the
latest version of its “Whisen” air
conditioner, its flagship house-
hold product, which is designed
with automatic sensors that
monitor movement and control
wind power and direction. The
air conditioner is also equipped
with power-saving technologies
that allow users to save up to 70
percent on their electricity bills
when compared to conventional
products, the company said.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
lion tons in 2011, when the com-
pany completes a second furnace
at the same site.
Standing 110 meters in height
and 17 meters in width, the fur-
nace features various engineer-
ing technologies and is expected
to help Hyundai Steel secure bet-
ter competitiveness in both quali-
ty and price when fully opera-
tional.
The most prominent feature of
the new steel mill is its emission
control system, which eliminates
the production of scattering dust,
the worst pollutant from inte-
grated steel plants.
Its dome-shaped roof, 60
meters in height and 130 meters
in diameter, on its processing
and storage unit keeps dust from
scattering by delivering iron ore
and soft coal directly from the
of the rapid-growing Indian con-
glomerate Ghodawat Group,
operates more than 150 genera-
tors across India and looks to
take up over 25 percent of the
country’s wind power market by
2012.
Currently, European compa-
nies, including the world’s two
largest makers — Germany’s
Winergy and Belgium’s Hansen
— dominate the global market,
with more than a 60 percent
share.
Hyosung, however, expects the
industrial geography will see
changes after it successfully taps
the Indian market, which is
expected to grow 17 percent
annually over the next five years.
Further overseas supply will
also be possible for wind power
system makers in the industry’s
leading markets such as the
United States and China follow-
ing the initial exports, it said.
“It’s a noteworthy achieve-
ment to advance into a large
Movie stars Han Ye-seul, left, and Song
Seung-hun, pitchmen for LG Electronics’
air conditioner products, pose with the
company’s new 2010 Whisen air condi-
tioner. Courtesy of LG
Courtesy of Hyundai Steel
port to the mill on airtight con-
veyer belts.
Solvi said the new blast fur-
nace features the best available
technologies and solutions as one
of the most modern steel-making
facilities.
Hyundai-Kia also expects the
newest facility to boost the ailing
local economy by creating jobs
and business opportunities for
small- and medium-sized com-
panies.
The Dangjin steel mill will cre-
ate some 171,000 jobs in con-
struction and operation, the con-
glomerate forecast. After the
entire facility is completed in
2011, it is expected to lead to
sales of more than 1.7 trillion
won for related local small- and
medium-sized firms.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
emerging market with high
growth potential. This long-term
contract shows our products are
globally recognized as reliable,”
performance group chief Cho
Hyun-moon said in a statement.
“We will focus on expanding
production capacity, as well as
our market share, to become one
of the leading top three providers
of wind turbine gearboxes in the
world by 2020.”
Hyosung is one of the local
leaders in the emerging eco-
friendly energy industry. Last
year, it received DEWI-OCC certi-
fications by the German Wind
Energy Institute for its 750-kilo-
watt and 2-megawatt wind pow-
er systems, becoming the first
Korean maker to be approved by
the acclaimed international body.
The company is also in charge
of the National Offshore 5-
Megawatt Project, a government-
led project that aims to localize
wind power equipment.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
New Year’s Resolutions
Ring in Brisk Sales
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
It’s a new year — a time of
fresh resolutions to make all
kinds of self-improvements.
Goals may be abandoned
soon, but for the time being,
stores offering products and
services that promise success
are capitalizing on the resolu-
tion spirit.
The nation’s top home shop-
ping retailers tallied up their
sales for the first three days of
2010 and the results showed
Tuesday that items in self-help
categories saw an average
sales jump of more than 50
percent.
Viewers who tuned into GS
Shop on Jan. 1 and 2 pur-
chased 3,000 sets of electric
cigarettes, generating more
than 600 million won in sales,
according to company data.
The retailer sold 3,200 pairs
of mountain climbing shoes
and 2,500 sets of mountain
climbing sportswear — sales
growth of 40 and 30 percent,
respectively, compared to
average sales.
Fitness goods were also
popular at rival Hyundai Home
Shopping, as the company said
walking machines, similar to
treadmills, ranked No. 1 on its
bestseller list during the New
Year’s holiday.
Meanwhile, CJ O Shopping
rang in the biggest chunk of its
holiday sales from diet supple-
Businessline
Cool touch: Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest consumer elec-
tronics maker, plans to release a portable music player with a transparent
active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display, which will support
better picture quality and enable touch-screen functions on both sides of the
screen. The music player, dubbed “Ice Touch,” will be unveiled at the Interna-
tional Consumer Electronics Show (ICES) in Las Vegas this month.
LG Chem to Supply Batteries to US Firm
LG Chem said Tuesday it
will supply lithium ion batter-
ies for commercial hybrid
electric vehicles (HEVs) to
U.S.-based Eaton Corp. for
four years starting November.
Eaton, which holds more
than 90 percent of the U.S.
commercial hybrid vehicle
market, will install the batter-
ies in powertrain systems and
sell them to global commercial
vehicles makers, including
Navistar, Peterbilt, Kenworth
and IVECO.
LG Chem plans to expand
the assembly line of Compact
Power Inc., its U.S. unit based
in Troy, Michigan, in anticipa-
tion of increasing its batteries
supply to Eaton, the company
said in a statement.
Representatives said the
South Korean firm will first
SK-Led Consortium Wins $78 Mil. Order
SK Engineering & Construc-
tion said that a consortium it
leads has clinched a $77.8 mil-
lion order from an Indian
state-run oil company to build
an underground oil storage
facility.
The order, awarded by India
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Ltd., calls for the consortium to
build the facility that can store
1.25 million tons of crude in
10
English
ments. The company sold
more than 1 million won
worth of the popular diet pill
“BBF HCA” during the first
three days of this year.
Language books were next
up as sales were up 30 per-
cent, generating more than
500 million won, according to
CJ O.
“Less than a week into the
new year, most people are still
sticking to their freshly minted
resolutions,” said a company
representative, who added that
sales of various self-improve-
ment products generally see
an uptick until the end of Janu-
ary.
According to a recent sur-
vey, exercise and diet turned
out to be the No. 1 New Year’s
resolution.
Coming in second was to
quit smoking, according to the
poll of 5,000 men and women
conducted by online retailer G
Market. Getting rid of debt,
landing a job, marrying and
having a child were next on
the list.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
begin by supplying batteries
for commercial HEVs and
then expand its supply for
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
(PHEVs), which have batteries
that can be recharged when
connected to a power outlet.
HEVs are vehicles that are
powered by both electricity
and gasoline. Eaton is the lat-
est addition to LG Chem’s
growing customer base,
including GM, Hyundai Motor,
Kia Motors and CT&T.
“Supplying batteries to Eaton
means that LG Chem will be
ahead in the global commercial
hybrid vehicle market since the
North American commercial
vehicle market represents over
50 percent of the global mar-
ket,” said LG Chem Vice Chair-
man Kim Ban-seok.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
Padur, 45 kilometers north of
Mangalore, a southwestern
port city of India, SK Engineer-
ing said. It will take three
years to complete the facility,
the South Korean builder said.
SK Engineering has formed
the consortium with Karam
Chand Thapar & Bros. Ltd., an
Indian coal company, and owns
a 60 percent stake in the pro-
ject, the builder said.
 Finance WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 11

NTS to Tackle Tax Kumho to Cut Executive Staff by 20%

By Lee Hyo-sik Kumho Tire, Kumho Petrochem- KDB and other creditors, yield-
Officials’ Corruption Staff Reporter

The cash-strapped Kumho

By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
In an effort to root out tax-
related corruption by its offi-
cials abusing their power, the
National Tax Service (NTS)
said Tuesday it will stop send-
ing officials to become tax
chiefs of their hometowns.
NTS Commissioner Baek
Yong-ho has spearheaded the
reform drive. On Monday he
appointed 22 officials as new
chiefs of local tax offices where
they have no background at
all.
“We have kept this principle
to avoid corruption among
local taxpayers,” said, Jung
Sam-jin, a spokesman at the
NTS.
“The tax agency will now
consider the birthplace, and
middle and high schools that
officials attended when
appointing new tax chiefs,”
he added.
The NTS may expand the
so-called “Avoiding Home-
town Policy” to regional chief
officials. President Lee
Myung-bak called for new
plans to root out corruption at
government agencies, such as
prosecutors’ offices, police
departments and tax offices
recently.
“We are looking to apply the
policy to regional top officials
as President Lee said,” the
NTS spokesman said.
There have been many cas-
es where top regional tax offi-
cials had connections to politi-
cians and company owners in
their jurisdiction. Former NTS
assistant commissioner Ahn
Won-goo was a particular
example.
Baek Yong-ho
NTS Commissioner
The North Gyeongsang
Province native had connec-
tions with powerful politicians
when he was in charge of
Daegu Regional Tax Office,
which covers the region, from
2007 to 2008. Ahn claimed
that former NTS Commission-
er Han Sang-ryul asked to be
introduced to those figures.
Some analysts welcomed
the idea saying the policy
could prevent officials from
becoming involved in corrup-
tion.
“Officials may heed the poli-
cy. They will be more careful
about corruption and dubious
connections with local taxpay-
ers,” the Korean Taxpayers
Union Secretary General
Chung Se-jung told The Korea
Times.
“Politicians, who have pow-
er to affect appointment of tax
officials, are another problem.
They ask for money from the
officials,” Jung added.
Currently, two top regional
officials are working in their
hometowns of Gwangju and
Busan.
shosta@koreatimes.co.kr
Asiana Group said Tuesday that
it will cut the number of its exec-
utives by more than 20 percent
and force all employees to take
unpaid vacation for one month
as part of restructuring efforts to
overcome its growing liquidity
problem. Korea’s once ninth-
largest conglomerate will also
raise 1.3 trillion won by dispos-
ing of real estate properties and
other assets held by its units.
The move came a day after the
state-run Korea Development
Bank (KDB) and other creditors
decided to freeze debts of Kumho
Petrochemical and Asiana Air-
lines for one year to help the
financially troubled business
group tide over its worsening
cash flow problem.
They also plan to freeze debts
of Kumho Industrial and Kumho
Tire, carry out due diligence for
eight weeks and finalize a debt
repayment program for the two
units by the end of February.
The two enterprises turned to
creditors for help last week to
reverse their worsening liquidity.
KDB will acquire Daewoo Engi-
neering & Construction (E&C)
through a private equity fund
and has begun seeking strategic
investors among large corpora-
tions here.
Under the restructuring
scheme largely aimed at down-
sizing its workforce, Kumho will
reduce the number of members
of the strategic management
division, the group’s control tow-
er, by over 40 percent and
reduce the number of executives
by more than 20 percent from
the current 230 to 180.
Park Sam-gu, honorary
chairman of Kumho Asiana Group
The conglomerate will also cut
executive wages by 20 percent.
Kumho workers will be required
to sharply cut office expenses
and other operating costs until
management returns to normal.
Additionally, the group will sell
the assets of its debt-ridden four
units — Kumho Industrial,
ical and Asiana Airlines — in a
bid to raise additional working
capital of up to 1.3 trillion won.
Kumho Industrial will secure
an estimated 477.6 billion won
by disposing of its properties in
Vietnam and Hong Kong, while
Kumho Tire plans to make 150
billion won through the sale of its
49 percent stake in a Hong Kong
subsidiary.
Kumho Petrochemical plans to
earn 265.3 billion won by selling
its treasury stocks and one of its
power plants, with Asiana Air-
lines seeking to sell its software
developer, Asiana IDT, and its
stake in Kumho Investment Bank.
Kumho had tried to resolve its
cash flow problems by selling
Daewoo E&C and other units to
strategic investors and imple-
menting self-imposed restructur-
ing measures. But it had faced
difficulties in disposing of the
builder in recent months and
had no other choice but to go to
Moneyline
Foreign Reserves Dip From Record High in Dec.
Korea’s foreign exchange
reserves fell from a record high
in December as a strong U.S.
dollar eroded the conversion val-
ue of assets in other currencies,
the central bank said Tuesday.
The country’s foreign
reserves totaled $269.99 billion
as of the end of December,
down $900 million from the
previous month and the first
decline in 10 months, accord-
ing to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
But for the whole year of
2009, foreign reserves rose by
$68.77 billion, marking the
largest full-year increase on
record, the BOK added. In
November, the country’s for-
eign reserves hit an all-time
high of $270.89 billion.
ing managerial control over
Kumho Industrial and Kumho
Tire in return for fresh capital.
In 2006, the group mobilized
the two units to sign a put option
deal with 18 financial investors
when taking over Daewoo E&C.
The group promised to buy back
the builder’s shares on Dec. 15,
2009 if they wanted to sell them
at the pre-set price of 31,500
won per share in return for a 3-
trillion-won investment, expect-
ing that the stock price would
hover well above that mark. The
group spent 6.5 trillion won to
take over a 72.1 percent stake in
Daewoo.
However, the buy-back option
proved to be a disaster as Dae-
woo shares plummeted to below
15,000 won in the aftermath of
the global credit crunch late last
year, forcing the group to pay
financial investors an additional
4.2 trillion out of its own pocket.
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr
“In December, the reserves
declined mainly because a
strong dollar brought down the
conversion value of other cur-
rencies like the euro and the
yen, outweighing several favor-
able factors,” Moon Han-geun,
an official at the BOK, said.
Moon said that given expect-
ed investment gains and the
repayment of the swap
arrangement by the National
Pension Service (NPS), there is
a possibility that the reserves
will be on the upward trend
down the road, but that would
also depend on the value of
non-dollar currencies.
In December, the govern-
ment retrieved about $200 mil-
lion in maturing dollar funds

Generation Gap Hinders For your tomorrow : Samsung Life Insurance employees show boards bearing the “U-Tomorrow,” slogan for the
Foreign reserves consist of
securities and deposits denomi-
nated in overseas currencies,
that it provided to local banks,
while the NPS repaid $1.3 bil-
lion to the BOK. This year, the

Efficiency at Workplaces
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Ahn Jae-hyung, who is in
charge of the finance team at a
mid-sized business in Seoul,
can’t understand his younger
colleague who recently joined the
team. The new recruit, who just
graduated from university,
doesn’t hesitate to leave the
office early
when his
senior col-
leagues are on
night duty.
He comes to
office dressed
in casual
attire, and nev-
er wears a tie
— even when
he’s wearing a suit. Ahn was
surprised to get an e-mail from
the rookie filled with emoticons,
but he is trying to get used to it.
According to Job Korea, a job
market information portal, many
senior managers and recent grad-
uates at workplaces here are
experiencing the effects of a huge
generation gap — and they believe
it is hurting work efficiency.
In a survey on 741 workers,
younger or older than them by
over 10 years.
They were especially aware of
differences in communication
style, with over half of respon-
dents saying they felt the gap in
this regard. The workers also feel
a major divergence when it comes
to the handling of the workload,
workplace attire and when to
arrive and leave the office.
While many
senior man-
agers pointed to
attire and work-
ing hours as the
most glaring
examples of the
gap, the recent-
ly-graduated
rookies said
communication
was the biggest difference.
The gap seems to be negatively
affecting businesses. Half of work-
ers said that it was hindering
effectiveness at their workplaces.
Some 82.1 percent of workers
said they are making some kind
of effort to bridge the gap. Such
efforts included chatting over cof-
fee and organizing gatherings out-
side the office that all must attend.
Nearly half of the respondents
company’s new promotion campaign for 2010, at the insurer’s headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. The campaign aims at encourag-
ing people to prepare for the future with the insurer amid the economic recovery.
Won-Dollar Rate Falls Below 1,150 Won
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
The Korean currency is contin-
uing to gain ground against the
greenback with the won-dollar
exchange rate finishing below
the psychologically-significant
1,150 won mark for the first time
in 15 months.
The rate ended at 1,140 won
per dollar Tuesday, down 1.2
percent from its previous close.
This is the first time that the
Korean won has fallen below
the 1,150 won plateau since
August 2008.
“With the United States keep-
ing its key interest rate at zero,
investors have incentives to sell
dollars to buy other currencies.
This leads to a weak dollar and
the resultant strong won,” Woori
Investment & Securities econo-
mist Lawrence Kim said.
“The downward trend is
expected to continue for the time
being so the rate could move into
the vicinity of 1,100 won unless
the Seoul administration inter-
venes in the market.”
When necessary, the govern-
ment has channeled dollars into
the market in a so-called
smoothing operation. But it has
not funneled them en masse in
order to keep the won artificially
weak.
Overseas investment banks
are more aggressive in predict-
ing the won-dollar rate for this
year. JP Morgan projects that the
won will appreciate to 1050 won
in late 2010.
This is not good news for
Korean exporters such as Sam-
sung Electronics or Hyundai
Motor, which would see the dol-
lar-denominated prices of their
products rise.
“Outbound shipments will be
negatively affected due to the
strong won and the current
account surplus is expected to
substantially shrink throughout
the year,” Kim said.
“In consideration of the global
trend of the dollar losing its value,
Courtesy of Samsung Life Insurance
however, local companies should
have set up strategies to cope
while embracing the low won-dol-
lar exchange rate,” he added.
Korean corporations chalked
up a fast increase in their over-
seas sales last year thanks to
the weak won. As a result,
Asia’s fourth-largest economy
recorded a current account sur-
plus of more than $40 billion in
2009.
But the figure is expected to
starkly diminish this year as the
won gains against the green-
back.
“The market consensus seems
to be that the won is still under-
valued even though it has appre-
ciated too much of late,” a Seoul
analyst said.
The won-dollar rate once
approached 1,600 won per dol-
lar in March last year, but
remained upside of the 1,200
won level for most of 2009,
plummeting below it in Decem-
ber.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
along with International Mone-
tary Fund reserve positions,
special drawing rights and gold.
Banks to Lend Less to Smaller Firms
Banks are expected to
strengthen their grip on lending
to smaller firms in the first quar-
ter as the credit risk of such
companies still remains high,
the central bank said Tuesday.
An index gauging lender atti-
tudes on loans to small and
medium enterprises (SMEs)
reached minus 6 for the first
quarter, compared with zero for
the previous quarter, according
to a survey of 16 lenders by the
Bank of Korea (BOK).
The index figure is compiled
on the basis of banks’ assess-
ment of economic conditions
and other factors such as inter-
Market Indicators
 KOSPI
1,690.62 (-5.52)
 WON/DOLLAR
BOK plans to retrieve an addi-
tional $1.2 billion from the
NPS.
est rates.
The lower the reading, the
more likely that banks will
tighten their restrictions on
lending. A reading below zero
means that the number of
banks that will stiffen lending
criteria surpasses that of
lenders planning to ease their
grip on loans.
“Local banks’ lending criteria
for SMEs is expected to be
tougher in the first quarter as
they are lending less to smaller
firms with low credit and
incentives for supporting the
companies are decreasing,” an
official at the BOK said.
 KOSDAQ
533.27 (+5.18)

1,140.50 (-14.30)
 INTEREST

4.41 (-0.03)
86.1 percent said they experi- said they were making an effort to Global Banks Expect 5% Growth for Korea
enced the generation gap while understand the other group.
working with colleagues who are chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr By Kim Tae-gyu mistic forecasts by and large as “Korea is estimated to have
Staff Reporter Nomura Securities and Deutsche expanded by 0.2 percent last Foreign Exchange Rates
Bank projected 5.5-percent year while its competitors Hong
Overseas investment banks growth, followed by 5.4 percent Kong, Singapore and Taiwan all Seoul (in won) Jan. 5
expect Korea will be able to by BNP Paribas. suffered from contractions of 2
chalk up 5-percent growth this In comparison, U.S.-based or 3 percent in 2009,” a KCIF T/T Cash Basic
year. They estimate that Asia’s Goldman Sachs and Citibank official said. Currency Rate
Buying Selling Buying Selling
fourth-largest economy also predicted 4.8 percent and 4.7 “Hence, you are required to
U.S. Dollar 1,151.60 1,129.40 1,160.45 1,120.55 1,140.50
expanded 0.2 percent in 2009 percent growth, respectively. understand that Korea’s basis is
Japanese Yen (100) 1,255.77 1,231.41 1,265.35 1,221.83 1,243.59
from the previous year. UBS has also presented a sub- different from those of Singapore
Euro 1,666.22 1,633.24 1,682.55 1,616.91 1,649.73
The Korea Center for Interna- par prediction of 4.6 percent. or Taiwan. Our 5-percent growth
British Pound 1,858.24 1,821.46 1,876.46 1,803.24 1,839.85
tional Finance (KCIF) said Tues- Gross domestic product (GDP) is tantamount to almost 7 or 8
Swiss Franc 1,122.71 1,100.49 1,133.72 1,089.48 1,111.60
day that 10 main foreign invest- of the two emerging economies percent for the neighboring Canadian Dollar 1,110.48 1,088.50 1,121.36 1,077.62 1,099.49
ment banks projected that the of China and India are expected countries,” he said. Australian Dollar 1,053.18 1,032.34 1,063.51 1,022.01 1,042.76
Korean economy will expand 5 to grow by 9.8 percent and 7.9 The 10 investment banks’ con- New Zealand Dollar 846.65 829.89 854.95 821.59 838.27
percent this year and 4.1 percent percent apiece in 2010. But sensus on Korea’s consumer price Hong Kong Dollar 148.52 145.58 149.97 144.13 147.05
next year on average. those of the United States and growth rates stands at 3 percent Swedish Krone 163.83 160.59 166.26 158.16 162.21
This is in line with the official Japan are predicted to be low at this year and 3.2 percent next Danish Krone 223.92 219.50 227.25 216.17 221.71
target of the Seoul administra- 3 percent and 1.5 percent. year from 2.8 percent in 2009. Norwegian Krone 202.58 198.58 205.59 195.57 200.58
tion while higher than the 4.6 The KCIF said that the 5-per- In addition, they projected that Saudi Riyal 307.11 301.03 316.23 279.75 304.07
percent of the Bank of Korea, 4.5 cent growth is lower than for the current surplus would sub- Kuwait Dinar 4,016.12 3,936.60 4,135.41 3,658.26 3,976.36
Foreign currency account: Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) will provide percent of the International Mon- those for Korea’s regional rivals stantially decline from 5.1 per- Bahrain Dinar 3,055.37 2,994.87 3,146.12 2,783.12 3,025.12
a foreign currency account offering favorable interest for new subscribers from Fri- etary Fund and 3.7 percent of such as Singapore with 6.2 per- cent of GDP last year to 1.9 per- Singapore Dollar 826.62 810.26 838.90 797.98 818.44
day. Those who sign up for the product can get additional interest of 0.05 percentage the World Bank. cent and Taiwan with 5.3 per- cent this year and 0.8 percent China Yuan 173.71 163.69 178.72 158.68 167.03
points to 0.2 percentage points based on the length of the period and the amount of Non-U.S. entities were found cent. But the KCIF sees things in next year.
the deposit. Courtesy of KEB to come up with the most opti- a different way. voc200@koreatimes.co.kr Source: Banks may charge different rates. They are quoted several times a day.
12 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Global Stocks Kick Off 2010 on Upbeat Note
Manufacturing Reports Bolster Hopes for Recovery
LONDON/HONG KONG (AP) —
Asian stock markets gained
more ground Tuesday, following
Wall Street’s advance as an
upbeat U.S. manufacturing
report buoyed investor confi-
dence in a global recovery. Euro-
pean shares slipped in early
trade.
Most major Asian markets
were higher for a second straight
session, while the dollar fell
against the yen and the euro.
Crude oil prices closed in on $82
a barrel.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock aver-
age added 27.04 points, or 0.3
percent, to 10,681.83, its
advance curtailed in the after-
noon session on selling of
exporters as the yen climbed
again the dollar.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
jumped 456.30, or 2.1 percent,
to 22,279.58. Shanghai’s main
stock measure climbed 1.2 per-
cent to 3,282.18 after falling the
day before. Australia’s market
was up 1 percent, helped by
stronger commodity prices,
while Singapore’s index gained
Moynihan Starts Job
as BofA’s New CEO
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Bank of
America Corp.’s new CEO Brian
Moynihan said Monday his com-
pany is continuing to recover
from the financial crisis but will
remain cautious even as it
expects to grow in 2010.
“Recovering from an (econom-
ic downturn) cycle, you have to
be mindful of what got you here,”
said Moynihan during an inter-
view with The Associated Press
on his first official working day in
his new job. “That’s where you
have to be careful that you don’t
grow too fast and take on exces-
sive risk, which is a lesson that
we and everyone else learned.”
Speaking later in a speech at
an annual economic forecast
forum in Raleigh, Moynihan
added: “We as an industry can-
not avoid the simple fact that we
caused a lot of damage, and we
have to help make sure it doesn’t
happen again.”
Moynihan also said in the
speech that he expects unemploy-
ment to stay “stubbornly high.”
The forum he was speaking at
Boxing
His reign as champion would
last from 1983 to 1988, during
which time he successfully
defended his title 15 times
against the likes of German Tor-
res (three times), Sot Chitlada,
Hideyuki Ohashi (twice), and
Isidro Perez — all of whom later
claimed world titles.
His 15 defenses stood as a
record until compatriot Yuh
Myoung-woo defended his World
Boxing Association (WBA) junior
flyweight title 17 times in a row
between 1985 and 1991.
“I never thought that I would
be good enough to win 15 suc-
cessive title defenses,” Chang
said.
“There had never been a
Korean boxer who had pulled off
a fifth title defense, so I set my
sights on going for six. And after
achieving that, my goal was nine,
because the Chinese letter for my
given name, ‘koo,’ stands for
nine. After that, I just tried my
best in every single bout.”
The perm-haired boxer earned
2
0.8 percent and India’s Sensex
rose 0.7 percent.
World stock markets shot
higher Monday on the first trad-
ing day of 2010.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index
of leading British shares closed
up 87.46 points, or 1.6 percent,
at 5,500.34 while Germany’s
DAX rose 90.87 points, or 1.5
percent, to 6,048.30. The CAC-
40 in France was 63.36 points,
or 1.6 percent, higher at
4,013.97.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones
industrial average was up
149.94 points, or 1.4 percent, at
10,577.99 around midday New
York time while the broader
Standard & Poor’s 500 index
was 16.68 points, or 1.5 percent,
higher at 1,131.78.
Stocks around the world have
been buoyed by a raft of surveys
pointing to a further pickup in
manufacturing activity in Decem-
ber — indicative of a continuing
rebound in global trade volumes.
“The flow of economic data
right around the world has been
positive today, starting with Chi-
was sponsored by the North Car-
olina Bankers Association and the
state’s Chamber of Commerce.
Investors will get the latest
reading on unemployment on
Friday when the Labor Depart-
ment releases its monthly jobs
report. Wall Street economists
expect that the unemployment
rate ticked up to 10.1 percent in
December from 10 percent in
November.
Any movement in the jobless
rate will create an “ongoing drag
on consumer spending and
growth, and that will create mis-
ery for far too many of our
friends and neighbors,” Moyni-
han said.
Moynihan takes over at time
when the bank faces continued
loan losses in the billions of dol-
lars. It lost more than $2.2 billion
in the third quarter as bad debt
kept rising with consumers still
struggling to pay their bills.
Investors will hear if there’s been
any improvement when the bank
reports its fourth-quarter earn-
ings on Jan. 20.
From Page 1
many Korean firsts in his career,
although none more surprising
than when he became the first
Korean boxer to renounce a
world title.
Soon after his 15th title
defense, the 25-year-old champi-
on, who had a 36-1 record at the
time, suddenly relinquished the
belt and retired from the sport in
1988 when his wife took off to
America with all his money.
“My life was in disarray at that
time due to complicated domes-
tic reasons, so I made up my
mind to walk away from box-
ing,” said Chang, now a busi-
nessman in Seoul.
“As I valued pride above
everything else, I wanted to quit
with honor rather than lose and
earn fight money, although my
16th title defense match had
already been set.”
But boxing is not a sport
known for its happy endings and
Chang was no exception.
Financial difficulties forced
Chang — once the highest-earn-
ing Korean athlete who received
70 million won per bout at his
peak, compared to the 20 million
na which posted its fastest rate
for manufacturing output last
month in five years,” said David
Buik, markets analyst at BGC
Partners.
China’s survey was followed
by upbeat reports into the state
of manufacturing in the 16-coun-
try eurozone and Britain, culmi-
nating in extremely strong U.S.
data.
The Institute for Supply Man-
agement said its purchasing
managers index — a key gauge
of activity — for the U.S. manu-
facturing sector rose to 55.9 in
December from 53.6 in Novem-
ber.
December’s increase was
more than anticipated — the
consensus in the markets was for
a far more modest increase to
54.3 — and means that the U.S.
manufacturing sector is growing
at its fastest rate in around three
and a half years.
A reading above 50 indicates
expansion and the bigger the dif-
ference from the 50, the faster
the growth.
Paul Ashworth, senior U.S.
Brian T. Moynihan, president and CEO of Bank of America, addresses the annual
economic forecast forum sponsored by the North Carolina Bankers Association at
the state’s Chamber of Commerce in Raleigh, N.C., Monday. Moynihan officially suc-
ceeded Ken Lewis in the role of chief executive officer of the largest U.S. lender on
New Year’s Day.
won made annually by the most
expensive baseball player back
then — to return to the ring the
following year.
But all that awaited the past-
his-prime 26 year old upon his
return was a bitter ending.
Chang fell to Humberto Gonza-
lez in a WBC light flyweight title
match and also lost two more
WBC flyweight title bids before
hanging up his gloves for good
with a 38-4 (17 KOs) record in
1991.
“Although for me, returning to
the ring was inevitable, I never
should have gone back after giv-
ing up the title,” Chang said.
“When I made my return to
the ring, I was not who I had
been before.
“It was really tough to regain
my form after an emotional
shock.”
Despite a disappointing end to
his career, Chang — nicknamed
“The Korean Hawk” for his
relentless style comparable to
former junior welterweight
champion Aaron “Hawk” Pryor
of the United States — estab-
lished himself as the most suc-
economist at Capital Economics,
said the headline number is con-
sistent with a 4 percent annual-
ized increase in GDP, which
would go a long way to recoup-
ing the output lost during the
recession.
“The rebound in the index
should restore some faith in the
sustainability of the industrial
recovery,” said Ashworth.
Monday’s manufacturing data
kicked off a big week in terms of
economic releases around the
world.
Most attention will likely cen-
ter on Friday’s U.S. nonfarm
payrolls data for December and
many in the markets expect the
first job creation in two years —
the jobs data often set the stock
market tone for a week or two.
The likely key driver to stock
market performance this year
will be whether the economic
figures back up the optimism
that is evident in company valu-
ations following a nine month
bull run.
Stock markets around the
world rallied strongly since
AFP-Yonhap
cessful South Korean boxer ever.
He became the first South
Korean boxer to be ranked
among the top 10 pound-for-
pound fighters by Ring Maga-
zine, which also listed him as the
second-best junior flyweight of
all-time behind American
Michael Carbajal.
In addition, he was selected as
one of the top 10 boxers of the
1980s by the WBC; one of the top
27 in honor of the WBC’s 30th
anniversary in 1993; and one of
its top 25 of the 20th century.
Perhaps Chang’s biggest honor
came on Dec. 8 when it was
announced that he will be
among 11 inductees to the Inter-
national Boxing Hall of Fame
(IBHOF).
“He was an outstanding fighter
and a national hero in Korea,”
said Angelo Dundee, a 1992 Hall
of Fame inductee.
“Chang Jung-koo is one of the
truly greatest fighters Korea has
ever produced,” HOF Executive
Director Edward Brophy said.
“It is a big honor as a boxer,”
Chang said.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
World Business
Traders work on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange in Argentina, Monday. Latin America’s three major stock markets closed
higher on Monday with Mexico City’s IPC index rising 1.99 percent, Buenos Aires’ Merval up 2.74 percent and Sao Paulo’s lead-
ing Bovespa up 2.12 percent.
March’s lows — the Dow and the
S&P 500 for example surged
more than 60 percent since then
— as investors grew more opti-
mistic about the global economic
recovery after central banks and
governments pushed through
extraordinary policy measures to
mitigate the deepest recession
since World War II.
Kit Juckes, chief economist at
ECU Group, said the positive eco-
Bankruptcies
Total 1.4 Mil.
Last Year in US
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — U.S.
consumers and businesses are
filing for bankruptcy at a pace
that made 2009 the seventh-
worst year on record, with more
than 1.4 million petitions submit-
ted, an Associated Press tally
showed Monday.
The AP gathered data from the
nation’s 90 bankruptcy districts
and found 1.43 million filings, an
increase of 32 percent from
2008. There were 116,000
recorded bankruptcies in Decem-
ber, up 22 percent from the
same month a year before.
While experts believe some of
the increase is due to a natural
recovery as consumers and
attorneys become accustomed to
a recent overhaul of bankruptcy
laws, the numbers indicate clear
correlations to recession-weary
regions. Arizona saw the fastest
increase, a jump of 77 percent
from the year before, followed by
Wyoming (60 percent), Nevada
(59 percent) and California (58
percent).
Emile Harmon, who owns a
law firm in Tempe, Arizona, said
the firm has doubled its staff to
handle the surge in bankruptcy
filings. The lawyers have been
steadily shifting away from their
other areas of business, civil law-
suits and divorce cases.
“Bankruptcy is kind of swal-
lowing the whole practice.” Har-
mon said. “There’s little time to
do other stuff.”
There’s also no sign that
things are slowing down. Har-
mon said bankruptcies have
been coming in waves, first with
those 18 months ago who had
adjustable-rate mortgages, then
with those who lost their jobs
due to the housing downturn.
Now he’s finding wealthy indi-
viduals and business owners
who have finally succumbed to
lower incomes and shrinking
home values.
“A lot of the people we see were
in a really good financial position
two years ago,” Harmon said.
“People really look at you and say,
’I can’t believe I’m here.”’
For three years, filings have
been steadily rising back toward
levels reached early in the
decade before Congress over-
hauled the nation’s bankruptcy
laws.
nomic mood will likely spillover
into further stock market gains
in the early part of the year.
However, he warned that
mounting economic optimism
may mean that the world’s lead-
ing central banks withdraw their
loose monetary policies, which
would include higher interest
rates, sooner than anticipated —
much of the nine-month bull run
can be explained by central bank
Businessline
Apple to Unveil Tablet Device Soon
SEATTLE (AP) — Specula-
tion intensified Monday that
Apple Inc. will soon unveil a
tablet-style gadget for consum-
ing music, movies, books and
other media.
The Wall Street Journal
reported that Apple is planning
to take the wraps off such a
device this month and begin
shipping it in March.
That jibes with several
online reports that the compa-
ny has scheduled an event for
Jan. 26 or 27 at the Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts in
San Francisco, one of Apple’s
Skiff Unveils E-Reader for Newspapers
WASHINGTON (AFP) — U.S.
company Skiff released details
Monday of its upcoming elec-
tronic reader, a device slightly
bigger than Amazon’s largest
Kindle designed for reading
newspapers and magazines in
addition to books.
The Skiff Reader features an
11.5 inch (29.2-centimeter)
screen, about two inches (five
cms) larger than that of the
Kindle DX, and is also the
thinnest e-reader to date at
just a quarter of an inch (0.63
cms), according to Skiff.
Skiff, which is backed by
Dow Jones Combines WSJ, News Wire Businesses
NEW YORK (AP) — Dow
Jones &Co. is dismantling the
divisions separating its flag-
ship newspaper, The Wall
Street Journal, from the
investment tools and other
services aimed at a narrower
business audience.
The change announced
Monday combines Dow
Jones’ consumer media
group, a segment that includ-
Novartis Looks to Buy Out Alcon for $38.5 Bil.
GENEVA (AP) — Drug mak-
er Novartis AG made a bid to
become a leading player in the
growing global market for
eye-care products Monday
with an announcement that it
plans to take over Alcon Inc.
by paying $38.5 billion for the
77 percent stake it does not
already own.
Novartis will buy Nestle SA’s
52 percent stake for $28 bil-
Xinhua-Yonhap
moves to boost the money sup-
ply.
“This is where the outlook (for
stock markets) gets trickier,” he
said.
As a result, many investors
will be keeping a close eye on a
raft of speeches from U.S. Feder-
al Reserve officials as well as
Wednesday’s publication of the
minutes to the Fed’s December
rate-setting meeting.
customary spaces for product
launches.
The gadget, which online
pundits have at different times
christened the iTablet and the
iSlate, is to have a 10-inch to
11-inch (25-centimeter to 28-
centimeter) touch screen, a bit
smaller than those on Apple’s
MacBook laptops but larger
than the iPhone’s, said the
Journal, citing unnamed peo-
ple briefed on the matter.
Apple spokesman Steve
Dowling said the company
does not comment on rumors
and speculation.
U.S. newspaper and magazine
publisher Hearst Corp., said
wireless connectivity for the
device, which weighs just over
one pound (0.45 kilograms)
will be provided by Skiff part-
ner Sprint Nextel.
Skiff did not announce a
price for the device, which will
be available starting later this
year in Sprint stores across the
country and online.
Unlike the Kindle, which is
geared mainly for book readers,
Skiff said its device is the “first
e-reader optimized for newspa-
per and magazine content.”
ed the Journal and Barron’s,
with its enterprise media
group, which includes the
Dow Jones Newswires, the
Dow Jones stock indexes and
the business research service
Factiva.
Dow Jones, owned by News
Corp., thinks the overhaul will
enable it to identify and
respond to customer needs
more quickly.
lion in cash before carrying
out a merger with Alcon that
would give it control of the
remaining 23 percent held by
minority shareholders.
The Basel-based drug mak-
er had already purchased 25
percent of Alcon from Nestle in
April 2008 for $11 billion, with
the option of buying the food
and drinks company’s remain-
ing stake at a later date.
E-mail: ktmkt@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-722-2760, 724-2827-8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 13

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 14
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010

AlbumReviews
Heroines Line Up for Dramas in 2010
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Korean dramas may be

Beyonce
‘I Am ... Yours’
(SONYBMG)
Pop superstar Beyonce is
undoubtedly one of the
most exciting performers
around today. Fans can
experience the Beyonce
concert with the CD and
DVD “I Am ... Yours: An
Intimate Performance at
Wynn Las Vegas.”
The concert features 30
songs, including the catchy
hits “Single Ladies (Put a
Ring on It),” “Irreplaceable,”
“Halo,” “Sweet Dreams,”
and “If I Were a Boy.” Bey-
once continues to impress
with her strong vocals, pow-
erful dance moves and
charismatic stage presence.
It also offers behind-the-
scenes footage that gives a
glimpse of the real Beyonce.
—CATHY ROSE A. GARCIA
famous for their catchy storylines
and handsome characters, but
there is no doubt that heroines
also play a big part in terms of
popularity and content.
This year’s drama lineup
boasts various female characters,
following last year’s femme fatale
Mi-shil from “The Great Queen
Seondeok” and secret agent Choi
Seung-hee from “Iris.”
Lee Da-hae stars in the new
drama “The Slave Hunters” as
the captive Eon-nyeun who
receives a new name, Kim Hae-
won, upon rising in social status
to the high-rank of “yangban.”
She falls for fellow yangban-
turned-slave-hunter Dae-gil,
played by actor Jang Hyuk, but
things take a turn when she
befriends Song Tae-ha, played
by Oh Ji-ho, the slave Dae-gil is
pursuing.
The 25-year-old actress, along
with the cast and producers, has
a lot of weight on her shoulders,
as the new drama follows the
trail of the successful “Iris.”
“I do hope that we will be able to
continue the popularity and interest
‘Iris’ enjoyed,” Lee said during a
press conference last year.
Lee has been in a number of
successful dramas, but only time
will tell whether the drama will
succeed. She dropped out of
“East of Eden,” the drama that
aired in 2008, leaving after a
couple of episodes, saying that
Lee Da-hae in “The Slave Hunters”
she did not understand her char-
acter. “The Slave Hunters” will
air every Wednesday and Thurs-
day at 10 p.m on KBS.
Actress Han Go-eun, 34, will
journey back in time as the partner
of Choi Guk-sun, a member of one
of the noblest families in Korea,
played by Cha In-pyo, in the drama
“The Reputable Family.”
Han’s character, Han Dan-yi,
teaches Cha’s character about
the world of business. Although
the two have feelings for each
other, they hide them and work
together to bring the Choi family
back to its glory days.
“I was drawn to the fact that
she was a woman who worked
her way through the difficult
time when there were so many
social restrictions for women,”
Han Go-eun in “The Reputable Family”
Han said at a press conference
last year.
The 16-episode soap airs
every weekend night at 9:40
p.m. on KBS.
Meanwhile, model-turned-
actress Bae Doo-na will appear
as a high school English teacher
in the new soap “Master of
Study” airing every Monday and
Tuesday at 9:55 p.m.
The 30-year-old will portray
Han Soo-jeong, a warm and
naive character initially bullied
by the headstrong students.
“I was given English phrases
and I had to come up with a lec-
ture myself,” Bae said during a
press conference last year,
adding that her favorite subject
during high school was in fact
English.
Bae Doo-na in “Master of Study”
“I think we will be able to get
30 percent in ratings,” Bae said,
smiling. “We’re dreaming big.”
Bae, one of the most successful
model-turned-actresses in the
business, recently won an award
for best actress for her role in the
Japanese film “Air Doll” at the
Japan Academy Awards last
year.
Meanwhile, fellow actress
Kong Hyo-jin returns as aspiring
chef Seo Yoo-gyeong in the tele-
vision series “Pasta.”
“Seo is cute and adorable,
someone you could find in real
life,” she said during an inter-
view with the broadcaster MBC.
This is Kong’s first drama in
three years.
Kong is famous for her strong-
willed characters who endure
Kong Hyo-jin in “Pasta”
hardships and finally reach their
goals, and this time, she will move
into the busy kitchen as an aspiring
chef.
“Pasta” airs every Mondays
and Tuesdays at 9:55 p.m., com-
peting with fellow dramas
“Jejungwon The Hospital” and
“Master of Study.”
“It’s not common to have such
anticipated works from different
networks airing on the same
day, but I hope we will be able to
continue the successful streak of
culinary dramas,” she said.
Last but not least, Han Hye-jin
appears in the medical drama
“Jejungwon The Hospital” on
SBS. The actress shot to stardom
thanks to the period drama
“Prince of the Legend” (MBC),
but failed to garner fans with
Han Hye-jin in “Jejungwon The
Hospital”
more modern works, including
her most recent television series
“Terroir” (SBS).
“To be honest, I’m actually
scared of period dramas and I
know I’m not very good at them.
I was given many roles in such
dramas, but my fear stopped me.
But now as I get older and espe-
cially after I failed with ‘Terroir,’
I started to tell myself to be confi-
dent and just go for it,” she said.
The drama started airing Mon-
day, and although it was hard to
grasp her character’s persona
through one airing, the actress
seemed comfortable and confi-
dent as the smart and passionate
doctor-to-be. The soap airs every
Monday and Tuesday at 9:55
p.m.
sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr

Snoop Dogg
‘Malice in Wonderland’
(WARNER MUSIC KOREA)
Snoop Dogg returns to
form in his 10th album
“Malice in Wonderland.”
The rapper’s new album is
full of collaborations with
the hottest names in hip-
hop such as Lil Jon, R. Kelly,
The Dream and Soulja Boy.
The tracks are a fusion of
the gangsta rap that Snoop
popularized, with today’s
trendy R&B and pop beats.
“I Wanna Rock,” which
samples “It Takes Two” by
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, is
a sure-fire hit with its catchy
riffs. There’s a lot to like in
this album: “Gangsta Luv,”
“Pimpin Ain’t EZ” featuring
R. Kelly, and “Special,” fea-
turing Brandy and Pharrell.
Snoop doesn’t exactly offer
anything groundbreaking
Actress Lee Shows Off ‘Handsome’ Look
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Actress Lee Na-young, a symbol of cheery
Audrey Hepburn-esque grace and femininity, was
thrilled to have her looks compared to male stars
such as Jung Woo-sung.
In the upcoming family comedy “Lady Daddy,”
the screen beauty dons a “handsome look,” com-
plete with a necktie and mustache. She plays the
role of Ji-hyeon, a charming photographer whose
perfect life is disrupted with the sudden arrival of a
young boy who claims she fathered him, before
her sex-change operation. Ji-hyeon is forced to
spend a week with the boy, and tries to fulfill a
“more conventional” role as a dad while her
boyfriend, played by Kim Ji-suk, grows suspicious.
In a press conference Monday in Seoul, Lee
expressed appreciation for comparisons to pretty-
faced actors. “But I’m afraid fans (of the male
stars) might not like it, but it’s the best compliment
for me,” the 30-year-old actress said shyly.
The unconventional role, moreover, fulfills her Popular male group Backstreet Boys will be holding a concert at the Melon-AX Hall, eastern Seoul. Courtesy of Nine Factory
longtime personal wish of playing a man onscreen.

Backstreet Boys Back

musically, but the album is
still good fun.
— CATHY ROSE A. GARCIA
Kaori Muraji
‘Kaori Muraji Plays Bach’
(DECCA)
Classical guitarist Kaori
Muarji has made a foray
into the architectural world
of J.S. Bach with the
Bachorchester Leipzig.
Bach’s Cembalo Concerto
Nos. 2 and 5, along with
“Air on a G String,” have
been arranged for guitar
and orchestra.
The album makes the dis-
parity between the cembalo
(harpsichord) and the guitar
quite palpable, since they
cover different tonal ranges.
At the same time, Muraji
evokes an aura of a time
long gone, and suggests that
the guitar is not unlike the
Baroque instrument in its
capacity to express great
intensity or quiet medita-
tion. Also included are gui-
tar solos “Choral Jesus Blei-
bet Meine Freude” and Par-
tita No. 2.
—LEE HYO-WON
2
“I’ve always wanted to play a male character. Ever
since seeing Cate Blanchett impersonate Bob Dylan
in ‘I’m Not There’ I dreamed of not simply dressing From left, actors Kim Ji-suk, Kim Heui-su and Lee Na-young
up as a man but playing a real man,” she said. appear in a press event in Seoul, Monday, to promote their
It was challenging, however, to cast off prejudices
for her role. Lee said she initially thought about such
details as shaking a leg like a man, or the way she
would sit or cry, but eventually felt no need.
movie “Lady Daddy.” Lee stars as a transgendered woman
who must “revert” to being a man when a boy claiming to be
her son comes knocking at her door. Yonhap
in Seoul in February
“My character onscreen is a very feminine trans- Kim, who starred in the 2009 summer hit By Cathy Rose A. Garcia started noticing them. and “Just Want You to Know.
gender so she doesn’t need to possess such mascu- “Take-Off,” will be enrolling in the army at the end Staff Reporter They racked up hit songs like In 2006, Richardson
line habits. So when her son comes knocking at of the year. The 28-year-old added that he would “Quit Playin’ Games (With My announced he was leaving the
her door, she awkwardly disguises herself as a be ecstatic if Lee came to visit him. The Backstreet Boys, one of Heart),” “I’ll Never Break Your group to start a family. Instead of
man. It wasn’t too difficult to pull off because I He had said during a previous press event that he the most enduring boy bands Heart,” “Everybody (Back- disbanding, the four remaining
thought a clumsy attempt to act masculine would didn’t even know his co-star’s phone number. He in pop music, will be coming street’s Back)” and “As Long As members decided to continue
be natural,” she said. has since succeeded in getting Lee’s number and back to Seoul in February. You Love Me.” The Boys were recording and performing.
Lee thus focused on having to play the role of a ignited laughter from the room by saying his next The American group will be nominated Best New Artist at The four-member Backstreet
father of a child. mission would be to become good friends with her so performing at the Melon-AX the 1999 Grammy Awards. Boys have since released two
She added that she never questioned her gender she would actually visit him during his service. Hall, Feb. 24, as part of their Their album “Millennium” albums, “Unbreakable,” and the
identity but was felt comfortable with the shoot Meanwhile, Kim said he plans to appear in a TV “This Is Us Tour” to promote proved to be both commercially latest, “This is Us.” Their 7th
because she prefers sporting a boyish style. drama or movie before enrolling in the army but their latest album. This will be and critically successful. It album represents a return to the
“Lee Na-young was still pretty and goddess-like even has not yet made any concrete decisions. the Boys’ third concert in Seoul, became the fastest selling album electronic pop dance music that
when she cross-dressed as a man,” complimented her In theaters Jan. 14. Distributed by after shows in 2006 and 2008. of the year, with 1.13 million made them famous in the 90s.
co-star Kim. “I think I would be able to fall in love with Showbox/Mediaplex. Originally five members, sold in its first week of release. They worked with Lady Gaga’s
a cross-dresser if she is like Lee Na-young.” hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr Backstreet Boys are now just At the 2000 Grammy Awards, producer RedOne on “Straight
composed of Brian Littrell, Nick “Millennium” was nominated Through My Heart” and “All of
4Minute, Beast to Advance Overseas Carter, A.J. McLean and Howie
Dorough. Kevin Richardson left
the group in 2006.
for Album of the Year and Best
Pop Album, while “I Want it
That Way” was nominated for
Your Life (You Need Love),” hip-
hop star T-Pain on “She’s a
Dream” and OneRepublic’s Ryan
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia marketing strategies and network The first step of the cooperation The Boys have sold over 130 Record of the Year, Song of the Tedder on “Undone.”
Staff Reporter will help introduce Play Cube will involve the release of 4Minute’s million albums throughout their Year and Best Pop Vocal Perfor- The Boys will kick off the Asian
artists to the world market. We are debut album “For Muzik” in eight 16-year career, and have had mance by a Group. Other hit leg of their “This is Us” tour in
K-pop girl group 4Minute and very pleased to introduce wonder- Asian countries, including Japan. 14 Top 40 hits on the Billboard songs from the album include Japan, Feb. 5 with concerts in
boy band Beast will soon be advanc- ful and talented artists from Play 4Minute hit it big in 2009 with the charts. “Larger than Life,” “Show Me Tokyo, Kobe and Nagoya. After
ing into overseas markets, thanks to Cube,” Max Hole, president of catchy dance songs “Hot Issue” The group, formed by produc- The Meaning Of Being Lonely” Seoul, they head to Taiwan, Singa-
an agreement signed by their UMG International Asia-Pacific and “What a Girl Wants.” er Lou Perlman in Orlando, and “The One.” pore, Australia and New Zealand.
agency Play Cube Entertainment region, said in a statement. Aside from 4Minute, other Play Florida, made their debut in In 2000, the Backstreet Boys The Seoul concert starts at 8
with Universal Music Group (UMG). Simon Hong, CEO of Play Cube, Cube artists are boy band Beast, 1993. With their cute image, released “Black & Blue,” and pro- p.m. Tickets are 110,000 won
UMG, the world’s leading music said the partnership will greatly which released the single “Crazy” last good vocals and slick dance moted it by traveling around the for both standing and R seats.
company, signed a strategic part- help their artists on the world stage. year; Mario; Eddie; AJ; and Youngji. moves, the Backstreet Boys first world in 100 hours, making stops Visit ticket.interpark.com (1544-
nership with Play Cube, Monday. Yang Beom-joon, Universal UMG develops, markets and attracted fans in Europe and in Sweden, Japan, Australia, 1555) or call organizer Nine
This agreement will allow Univer- Music Korea managing director, distributes recorded music Asia. South Africa, Brazil and the U.S. Factory (02) 3443-9969. To get
sal Music to distribute and market expressed confidence that K-pop through a network of sub- It was only in 1997 when After a three-year hiatus, the to Melon-AX Hall, get off Gwang-
albums by Play Cube’s artists such music will get a lot of love and sidiaries, joint ventures and they released their second group released “Never Gone,” naru Station Line 5, Exit 2.
as 4Minute and Beast abroad. attention from fans around the licensees in 77 countries. album that American fans which featured hits “Incomplete” cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
“Universal Music’s powerful world. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Winter Fest Beckons Children to Daehangno
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The sixth ASSITEJ (Interna-
tional Association of Theater for
Children and Young People)
Korea Winter Festival, the
largest children’s performing
arts event, will take place from
Jan. 9 to 17 at various venues in
Daehangno with eight produc-
tions from four countries.
This year’s festival will fea-
ture diverse genres, including a
family musical inspired by a
folktale, a play using recycled
articles, a dance show and a
puppet show.
The opening work, “Blue
Hour,” is an international resi-
dence program co-produced by
artists from Vietnam, Taiwan
and Japan who stayed in Korea
for three months to tour the nat-
ural environment such as Upo
Wetland, Suncheon Bay, Sihwa
Lake and Nanji Island. The play
aims to raise awareness about
environmental problems through
intriguing characters. “Blue
Hour” will be staged on Jan. 9
and 10 at Blackbox Theater.
Among others, the overseas
productions are rare and selec-
tive. “Echoa,” a French produc-
tion of music and dance present-
ed by the Arcosm Company, will
be performed from Jan. 13 to 17
at Daehangno Arts Theater. The
production is a festive perfor-
mance combining dance and
music performed by the two per-
cussionists and two choreogra-
phers.
“Teru Teru” is a Japanese pro-
duction by A.C.O. Okinawa,
which features cloth puppets
made for praying for good
weather. The play will be staged
Far-off Museum to Save Ethiopian Tribe’s Soul
KONSO, Ethiopia (AFP) —
Women jump up in their fluffy
orange cotton skirts, waggling
their shoulders at men who are
swift to join the dance, sporting
white feathers in their hair and
shepherd’s crooks in their
hands.
This tribal dance pays tribute to
the heroes of the small Konso com-
munity, an ethnic group which has
lived for 700 years in a remote
region of southeast Ethiopia 600
kilometers (375 miles) from the
capital Addis Ababa.
The fete was organized to cele-
brate the inauguration in Decem-
ber of a local museum dedicated
to Konso culture, which will above
all serve to preserve the Waka, or
funeral steles in carved wood that
have long been placed on the
tombs of Konso clan chiefs.
1
Arts & Living
“Red Bean Porridge Granny & the
Tiger,” based on renowned author Yoon
Mi-suk’s fairytale, will take to the stage
from Jan. 15 to 17 at Daehangno Arts
Theater in Daehangno, central Seoul, as
part of the ASSITEJ Korea Winter Festi-
val. Courtesy of ASSITEJ Korea
on Jan 11 and 12 at the Black-
box Theater.
For the Korean productions,
“Hello, Let’s Play” presented by
Theater Namu will be performed
from Jan. 9 to 11 at Daehangno
Arts Theater. The play uses recy-
cled articles as stage props to
entertain and educate children.
“Flour Doll, Joy” by Theater
Beautiful World will portray an
adventure taken by a cook and a
flour doll. It will be on stage from
Jan. 12 to 14 at Daehangno Arts
Theater.
“Red Bean Porridge Granny &
the Tiger,” presented by Theater
Donggrami is based on
These rare carvings have long
been easy prey for arts traffick-
ers and tomb raiders without
scruples who sell them abroad
for a few thousand euros (dol-
lars) apiece.
Ethiopian customs agents have
since 1996 impounded more
than 200 of the statues, often the
size of a man, but no system of
conservation was put in place
until a French ambassador went
to the Konso region.
“It was pure chance, I was on
my way back with colleagues
from a paleontological site,” said
Stephane Gompertz, the former
ambassador who is now the
Africa director at the French for-
eign ministry.
“We visited Konso villages and
from there, we were taken to see
the premises of the cultural office
“Teru Teru,” a Japanese production that features cloth puppets made to pray for good weather, will be staged on Jan. 11 and 12
at Blackbox Theater in Daehangno, central Seoul,as part of the ASSITEJ Korea Winter Festival.
renowned author Yoon Mi-suk’s
fairytale. The folk play will take
to the stage from Jan. 15 to 17 at
Daehangno Arts Theater.
Theater Tombang’s “Vienna’s
Music Box” will revolve around a
mouse traveling to the Austrian
capital to meet various musicians
such as Haydn, Mozart and
Beethoven. The play will be on
stage from Jan. 15 to 17 at Hap-
py Theater.
“30, Mother” will be shown
from Jan. 15 to 17 at Blackbox
Theater. The play, with cheerful
and witty touches, portrays the
story of an ordinary life of a cou-
and the police station where they
kept the Waka stolen from the
tombs and recovered by the cus-
toms,” he explained.
“Konso officials asked us if we
could help them to build a muse-
um to protect these statues,” Gom-
pertz said, emphasising the help
that was provided for the project
by the Museum of Primitive Arts
on the Quai Branly in Paris.
The Waka are traditionally
placed on the tombs of chiefs or
of tribal heroes, recognized for
their feats of valor in hunting
and in war.
“The Waka are made of very
tough woods like acacia, and can
last for 200 years,” said Denote
Kusia Shenkri, a Konso elder.
“But when they are taken or rot,
then the spirit of the dead man
flies away. It can’t be replaced
ple who become parents at the
age of 30. It’s about a mother
and father who are unskillful and
inexperienced in taking care of
their baby.
Alongside the major pro-
grams, side programs will
attract children and their par-
ents. English musicals, exhibi-
tions, street magic shows,
forums, symposiums and semi-
nars will be held throughout the
nine-day festival.
ASSITEJ was established in
1965 to enrich the lives of chil-
dren and young people, and
unite individuals, professional
because the Konso believe that
you only die once.”
The museum is a vast edifice
constructed in the spirit of the
Konso culture, renowned for its
fortifications built around vil-
lages, its farming terraces and its
tukuls, which are round huts
with thatched roofs.
“I thought it mattered to take
inspiration from local traditions
so that the Konso think of the
building as their own and help in
the construction,” said architect
Thierry Begat, who conceived
the building that took three years
to build.
The total budget is 120,000
euros ($173,000), with France
paying two-thirds and the rest
provided by the Konso.
Wearing a tall blue turban,
Kala Gesagn Woldedawit, the
Courtesy of ASSITEJ Korea
theaters and theater organiza-
tions to raise the artistic stan-
dards of theater for children and
young people. It is the architect
of an international network that
links thousands of theater and
individuals across nearly 70
countries.
For more information about
the festival, call (02) 745-5874/5
or visit www.assitejkorea.org.
Tickets cost 10,000 won for
the experience programs and
15,000 won for all the perfor-
mances except for “Echoa,”
which is 20,000 won.
chungay@koreatimes.co.kr
traditional leader of the Konso, is
proud of the creation of the
museum, especially since “there
will be fewer and fewer Waka.”
“The Waka are stolen, and thus
there are no more heroes, because
there are no wild beasts nor ene-
mies to kill. So this museum is
important for keeping up our old
traditions and future generations
will be able to see the Waka and
understand our traditions.
“Even if the Waka are no
longer in their original place, they
can have a strong symbolic signif-
icance and here they will be well
looked after,” the chief added.
Ethiopia’s junior culture minis-
ter, Mahamouda Gaas, stressed
that the “museum is only a first
step, since our goal is that the
Konso culture be recognized as a
world heritage by UNESCO.”
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Celebrated violinist Chung Kyung-wha, who has kept many of her fans waiting while
she took a break due to a finger injury, will perform twice in Seoul this year, in May
and November, respectively.
Chung Kyung-wha to Return
After Five-Year Hiatus
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Violin virtuoso Chung Kyung-
wha will return to the Seoul
stage after a five-year hiatus.
The 61-year-old artist will
resume playing as a soloist with
world-renowned orchestras in
May and November. She has
kept many fans waiting ever
since taking a break due to a fin-
ger injury.
She will appear with the Phil-
harmonia Orchestra on May 4 at
Seoul Arts Center. Russian Mae-
stro Vladimir Ashkenazy will
lead the esteemed British
ensemble in Brahms’ violin con-
certo.
On Nov. 21 at Seoul Arts Cen-
ter, she will showcase the
Beethoven violin concerto oppo-
site the Cleveland Orchestra. Ris-
ing young Austrian conductor
Franz Welser-Moest will wield
the baton.
Born into a musical family,
Chung trained at the Juilliard
School in New York and has
been lauded for her passionate
musicality and dazzling tech-
nique.
15
She has since appeared in
major halls across the world in
recitals and in concert with top
tier orchestras, working with
esteemed conductors such as
Claudio Abbado, Daniel Baren-
boim and Sir Simon Rattle,
among others.
She is a member of the famous
Chung Trio with her brother,
pianist-conductor Myung-whun,
and cellist-professor Myung-wha.
The violinist also has done many
critically acclaimed recordings
for EMI, Deutsche Grammophon,
Decca and RCA.
The Korean government
awarded Chung one of its high-
est honors, the Medal of Civil
Merit. She was cited by London’s
Sunday Times as one of the most
important contributors to British
cultural life.
For more information about
the concerts, visit www.sac.or.kr.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
The Korea Times
News on Internet
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr
16 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Star Reporter Born
With Heavy Snowfall
By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
Park Dae-gi, a 31-year-old
KBS city desk reporter, became
a star overnight among Inter-
net users not because he got a
scoop but because his snow-
covered appearance while
reading the news under heavy
snow impressed viewers.
From 6 to 8:30 a.m., Mon-
day, Park, standing outside
under the falling flakes,
reported on the record snow-
fall in Seoul eight times in 20
to 30 minute intervals for KBS
news programs.
The video clips showed his
head and coat were covered
with snow and viewers were
more attracted to his snow-
man-like image than what he
was reporting.
Some Internet users posted
the images on Web sites, mak-
ing him a star and one of the
most-searched figures on the
Internet.
His first name means “wait-
ing” in Korean and his email,
which appeared at the bottom
of the TV screen, is
waiting@kbs.co.kr.
It drew lots of comments
from Netizens. Among them
are: “You must have waited
long,” “It’s really funny your
email is waiting” and “You
showed real professionalism.”
Bae’s ‘God’s Waterdrop’
Project Turns Sour
Top star Bae Yong-joon has
been forced to give up on his
project of turning a popular
Japanese comic series, “God’s
Waterdrop,” into a drama due to
rules restricting the use of real
wine brands, officials from his
agency said.
The comic book, featuring a
renowned wine critic and two
men searching for 12 kinds of
wine called “God’s disciples,”
recently boosted sales of wine in
Korea and had been called a
CEO’s must-read at one point.
However, the project went
bust, as they could not overcome
the rules on product placement,
which tightly restrict indirect
advertising of products such as
the use of real wine brands in
dramas.
Keyeast, an entertainment
company controlled by Bae, has
relinquished its right to make the
comic into a drama to the Japan-
ese publisher.
“On top of the expired contract
we signed in 2008, the key rea-
son for the cancellation of the
project is because we were
unable to resolve the problems
involving indirect ads,” a Keyeast
official said.
On top of production, Bae orig-
Blagojevich, Strawberry to Compete on ‘Apprentice’
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald
Trump boasted that the upcom-
ing season of “The Celebrity
Apprentice” is the best ever and
promised the star power of its
cast “blows ‘Dancing With the
Stars’ away.”
Yes, it’s a new cycle for the
Trump-hosted competition
show, which won’t premiere
until March 14 but threw an
introductory news conference
way back last October, with
sworn-to-secrecy members of
the media meeting the con-
tenders.
Now NBC says it’s time to
unveil that roster of 14 partici-
pants, who will likely spur
responses ranging from “Wow!”
to “Huh?”
Maybe the most interesting
(to use Trump’s pet adjective)
participant is former Illinois
Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Vaulted
to infamy by headlines and
punch lines, he is charged with
scheming to auction off Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s former
U.S. Senate seat, campaign
fundraising abuses and other
2
This video clip shows Park Dae-gi, a
KBS city desk reporter, reporting on
heavy snow, Monday. Courtesy of KBS
Park later said it’s not
unusual for him to have to
wait before cameramen start
shooting.
“I was surprised that it
made such a big fuss. I’m hap-
py to have given a little bit of
solace to those who had a
hard time due to the heavy
snow,” Park said.
On KBS’s Web site, his col-
leagues also posted a number
of comments, with one read-
ing: “You were aesthetically
pleasing to watch while you
were waiting.”
Park has also been listed in
the Korean Wikipedia.
chojh@koreatimes.co.kr
Actor Bae Yong-joon gave up on his
project of turning a popular Japanese
comic series, “God’s Waterdrop,” into a
drama due to rules restricting the use of
real wine brands.
inally planned to take a leading
role in the drama, targeting
Asian markets.
It is known that the writers of
the comic book are avid fans of
the Korean hallyu star.
chojh@koreatimes.co.kr
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
offenses. He was removed from
office last January, but has
denied wrongdoing.
Maybe not so interesting: the
comedian-actor Sinbad and
Australian TV chef Curtis Stone.
“I’m certainly not a house-
hold name,” said comedian-
author Carol Leifer, but she
sounded confident. “I’m not
South African President Jacob
Zuma, left, sings and dances
with his newlywed Thobeka
Madiba at their wedding cere-
mony, Monday in a colorful
Zulu traditional wedding outfit
at Zuma’s rural homestead of
Nkandla, some 400 kilometers
north of Durban. Wearing leop-
ard skins and carrying a Zulu
shield, South Africa’s polyga-
mous President Jacob Zuma
married for fifth time, in a tradi-
tional ceremony in his remote
hometown. AFP-Yonhap
Zuma Formally Weds 3rd Wife in Zulu Ceremony
KWANXAMALALA, South
Africa (AP) — South Africa’s
president formalized his mar-
riage to his third wife during a
traditional ceremony Monday
amid media reports he plans to
take a fourth bride later this
year.
Some 2,000 guests thronged a
homestead in rural KwaZulu-
Natal province to watch the cere-
mony in which 67-year-old Pres-
ident Jacob Zuma and 38-year-
old Tobeka Madiba took part.
The couple are already mar-
ried under South African law
and have three children. Madiba
attended Zuma’s inauguration
ceremony in May. He paid a
Jo Han-sun’s wedding picture:
released Tuesday ahead of their wedding scheduled for Sunday. The model-turned-actor made his debut in 2002 on the MBC TV
drama “Nonstop 3” and has since appeared in a number of movies including “My New Partner.”
surprised that Joan Rivers won
(last season), because, as a
standup comic, you’re a one-
man band — it makes you very
prepared for stressful situations
to be able to react to a lot of
pressure. Humor is a weapon
anywhere and everywhere!”
Former Poison vocalist Bret
Michaels declared that, with a
party-hearty rock singer’s
image, he would be assessed
as the season’s “super-under-
dog.”
“But I’ve been my own boss
since I’ve been 19 years old,”
said the 46-year-old former star
of the “Rock of Love” reality
show. “For better or worse, I’ve
been on my own, I’ve learned to
roll with the punches.”
Then the pro wrestler-actor
who calls himself Goldberg
issued fair warning.
“I know I’m going to explode
during this show at some point
and say things I probably don’t
mean,” he said. “I realize that
about myself. I’m human and
have flaws.”
Baseball great Darryl Straw-
dowry to her family in 2007 as is
tradition.
Meanwhile, a family member
told The Associated Press on
Monday that Zuma is also plan-
ning to marry again later this
year.
Other relatives have told South
African media that the president
plans to wed Durban native Glo-
ria Bongi Ngema. The presi-
dent’s office has not commented
on the reports.
Monday’s ceremony included
an hourlong traditional Zulu
wedding dance. During the cere-
mony, Madiba performed a solo
dance while holding a spear and
a shield to symbolize her accept-
Actor Jo Han-sun, 27, and his bride Chung Hye-jung pose in this picture
berry, rock-star wife and TV
personality Sharon Osbourne,
and Olympic gold-medal sprint-
er Michael Johnson will also be
competing, along with singer
Cyndi Lauper, actress Holly
Robinson Peete and Victoria’s
Secret model Selita Ebanks.
As they spoke, the contest-
ants were scheduled to begin
taping “Celebrity Apprentice”
the next day, and WWE
wrestler-model Maria Kanellis
was asked if they were already
sizing up each other.
“Of course, we are!” she
replied.
The celebrities won’t be vying
for a job with Trump, as in the
old, civilian-cast “Apprentice,”
but instead will compete in
business-oriented tasks around
Manhattan to raise money for
(and publicize) their favorite
charities.
“I live a fairly normal life. I’m
a mom with two kids,” said
Olympic swimmer Summer
Sanders, who is championing
the Right to Play, an organiza-
tion that uses sport and play to
ance of her new husband.
Zuma, wearing a skirt made of
animal fur pelts and sporting
bright white tennis shoes, then
joined the dance. The bride wore
matching sneakers.
Guests dined on traditional
Zulu foods, and attendees were
told that more than a dozen
sheep, goats and cows had been
slaughtered for the feast.
Wedding guest Sipho Msomi, a
cattle herder, said the wedding
made him proud to be Zulu, the
nation’s largest ethnic group.
“We love him because he is
one of us and does not look
down upon us,” he said. “Zuma
can marry as many women as
Yonhap
improve the lives of disadvan-
taged children. “But to have the
opportunity to introduce my
charity to the world is the rea-
son I chose to do this.”
Blagojevich, whose chosen
charity is the Children’s Cancer
Center (which assists kids with
life-threatening diseases and
their families), has tried before
to land a role on a reality show.
Last spring he attempted to join
NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity ... Get
Me Out of Here,” but a federal
judge barred him from going to
the Costa Rican site where the
show originated. His wife, for-
mer first lady Patti Blagojevich,
competed in his place.
“The conventional thinking
among a lot of traditional
lawyers is that you simply don’t
do these things, you don’t say
anything, you hide somewhere
until you have your day in
court,” said Blagojevich.
By contrast, his instinct is “to
fight back,” he explained, which
maybe helps account for his
participation on “Celebrity
Apprentice.”
People
he wants. It is our culture.”
Another guest, 28-year-old
Prudence Khumalo, said she also
supported the polygamous tradi-
tion.
“In the West is frowned upon,”
she said. “Here we celebrate it. It
is our culture and we stand by
it.”
Zuma, 67, a Zulu traditionalist
and an unabashed polygamist,
has now married at least five
women over the years and has
19 children. He currently has
three wives including Madiba:
Sizakele Khumalo, whom he
married in 1973, and Nom-
pumelelo Ntuli, whom he wed in
2008.
Spike Lee
Lends Aid
to US World
Cup Bid
NEW YORK (AFP) — Outspo-
ken film director Spike Lee has
thrown his support behind the
United States’ bid to host the
World Cup in either 2018 or
2022.
The Academy Award-nomi-
nated director has accepted an
invitation to join the board of the
bid committee, US Soccer said
Wednesday.
Lee is known as a keen sports
fan who is frequently sighted at
New York basketball games. Per-
haps less well known Stateside is
his passion for football. He’s a
supporter of English premiership
club Arsenal and a season-ticket
holder for Italian club Inter
Milan.
“Spike Lee owns a distinct cre-
ative spirit and unbridled passion
for sport and we’re privileged to
be able to incorporate his voice
into the development of our bid,”
said Sunil Gulati, the Chairman of
the USA Bid Committee and Pres-
ident of US Soccer.
“As a fan of soccer and a
father of a youth level player,
Spike will provide a unique and
invaluable perspective to our
board of directors.”
FIFA’s 24-man executive com-
mittee will decide the hosts of
both the 2018 and 2022 events
in December of this year.
Australia, England, Indonesia,
Japan, Netherlands-Belgium,
Russia, and Spain-Portugal have
also bid to host either of the
World Cups, and Qatar and
South Korea bid for 2022 only.
South Africa is hosting this
year’s World Cup with Brazil
staging the 2014 event.
Lee said football “has a global
unifying aspect that allows it to
break down social barriers and
sets it among other universal
languages such as music and the
visual arts.”
“I’m honored to be part of the
USA Bid Committee and its
efforts to bring the FIFA World
Cup back to our country as we
see the second half of our soccer
history develop in front of our
eyes.”
Peopleline
Actor Song Il-gook
Sheds 15kg
for New Drama
Top actor Song Il-gook
has lost 15kg for his new
drama, according to press
reports.
He has been building up
his body before the shoot-
ing of a new MBC special
weekend drama, “A Man
Called to Be a God.” He
was well known for having
a robust body — 185cm in
height and 90kg in weight.
However, he is now down
to 75kg.
Drama production offi-
cials said the main charac-
ter of this drama is origi-
nally fast and fit, and Song
was trying to make himself
look the part.
He has been eating less
food and exercising to keep
fit. He is focusing on aero-
bic exercises instead of
weight training.
A drama production offi-
cial said, “His arms and
legs are longer than normal
people due to his tall height.
His clothes for this drama
are going to be separately
tailored. This drama is
showing a modern hero
instead of the traditional
ones of past dramas. Song
is already adjusting himself
well to the character.”
sahds@koreatimes.co.kr
Woods on Vanity Fair:
Golfer Tiger Woods is shown on
the cover of the February 2010
edition of Vanity Fair magazine in
this publicity photo released to
Reuters, Monday. Reuters-Yonhap
French Rocker
Hallyday’s Daughter
Hospitalized
PARIS (AFP) — French
actress Laura Smet, daugh-
ter of rock legend Johnny
Hallyday, was hospitalized
in Paris Monday after con-
suming a mixture of medica-
tions and alcohol, an emer-
gency services source said.
According to the source,
Smet, 26, allegedly
attempted suicide in the
church at Saint-German
des Pres in central Paris
and was rushed by fire-
fighters to Val-de-Grace
hospital.
A police source told AFP
that Smet was in a “seri-
ous” condition in hospital,
but added that at this point
police could not say
whether it amounted to an
attempted suicide.
Smet’s agent, however,
said the young actress had
simply taken ill.
“We confirm that Laura
Smet has been hospitalised
but there are no worries
about her condition as a
result of a simple illness
that surfaced today,” Elisa-
beth Tanner told the
agency Artmedia in a state-
ment. When contacted by
AFP, the actress’s lawyer,
Herve Temime, said Smet
“is not in any danger.”
Hallyday’s own health
has been in the news lately
after the singer had to
undergo two surgeries in
Los Angeles to treat compli-
cations from a Paris opera-
tion on a herniated disc.
 Lifestyle WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 17

Embarrassing Pictures Send woman. We are happy together

DEAR ABBY
by Abigail Van Buren
DEAR ABBY: Shortly after
college and a bad breakup, I
met someone I thought was a
“nice” guy. I allowed him to
take sexually explicit photos of
me. I realize now that I did it
because I had very low self-
esteem back then.
The moment he snapped the
pictures I regretted it and asked
for them back. He refused, and
even tried to extort money from
me with threats of sending
copies to my workplace. I was
working for a Fortune 500 com-
pany at the time and was
scared to death. Fortunately, he
a Thousand Words of Warning
didn’t follow through on his
threat.
Fast forward 20 years: I am
now a stay-at-home mom with
a wonderful husband and two
young children. I still think
about the mistakes I made all
those years ago, and I had a
dream recently about this par-
ticular situation.
I’m not worried about my
husband finding out because I
told him about this before we
were married. However, I do
wonder what happened to the
pictures. With today’s technolo-
gy, they could be anywhere
now.
Who we are today is not nec-
essarily who we are going to be
tomorrow. Abby, please warn
young girls and boys to THINK
before doing something that
can possibly follow them
through a lifetime.
NAMELESS IN GEORGIA
DEAR NAMELESS: Amen!
But your letter is a more effec-
tive warning than any sermon
that could come from me. Not
only is it a fact that the photos
and statements we post on the
Internet are there for eternity,
but the “sexts,” texts, videos
and blogs of yesteryear can
haunt us like tattered vagrant
ghosts instead of staying buried.
One need only recall the embar-
rassment of certain celebrities
— who should have known bet-
ter — whose names and images
have been blasted across the
media and learn from their mis-
takes.
DEAR ABBY: My wife had a
series of affairs during our 25
years of marriage. I loved her,
so I tried to ignore what was
happening for the sake of our
three children. When she left
me for her boss, divorce was
my only option.
The years have passed and I
am remarried to a wonderful
and life is good.
Abby, what should my role
be in building a bridge between
my children and their mother?
Our oldest son hasn’t spoken to
her in seven years. The middle
child, our daughter, has accept-
ed her mother’s husband. Our
younger son blocks his moth-
er’s calls and e-mails.
The kids are in their 20s and
live on their own. The hurt is
still there from her betrayal,
cheating and lies, but I worry
about my kids and their rela-
tionship with their mother. Is it
my responsibility to intercede
on her behalf?
DISTRESSED DAD
IN ILLINOIS
DEAR DISTRESSED DAD:
No. In fact, you should stay out
of it.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van
Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips,
and was founded by her mother,
Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at
www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box
69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

BLONDIE By Dean Young and Stan Drake

Promoting vegan eating:

Jessica Levin, a member of People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),
GARFIELD By Jim Davis hands out pamphlets about vegetarian
lifestyles during an event to promote
vegan eating and animal rights at Far-
ragut Square in Washington, D.C., Mon-
day. AFP-Yonhap

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6 someone with whom you can share a

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY:
Danny Pintauro, 33; Gabrielle Reece,
40; Rowan Atkinson, 55; Bonnie
FOXTROT By Bill Amend Franklin, 66
Happy Birthday: Don’t let obstacles
stand in your way. Look at added
responsibilities and burdens as life
lessons that will come in handy in the
future. You will be looked up to for
your clever and economic way of han-
dling matters that others may shy
away from. The experiences you have
will lead to an unusual proposal. Your
numbers are 7, 11, 14, 27, 30, 32, 45
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t
let restrictions worry you. If you are
DOONESBURY By Gary Trudeau focused on what needs to be accom-
plished, you will get what you need to
do out of the way and can take care of
issues that are causing you difficulties.
A work-related matter may stir up
emotions. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ll
have plenty to say that may help you
at a personal level but, when it comes
to talking business, don’t give away
too much information. Gather all the
facts you can from someone with more
Last Word in Astrology
by Eugenia Last
experience and clout than you. 3 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t let
your spending habits be your downfall.
Legal matters, contracts or invest-
ments must be dealt with conserva-
tively. You can make some headway if
you are dealing with institutions but
only with regard to older or younger
family members. 5 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You will
face a difference of opinion with some-
one with whom you have a monetary
attachment. Before you get into trou-
ble, assess the situation. Limitations
and added burdens may be dropped in
your lap. 2 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Taking on
an interesting proposal or project will
help you stabilize your own financial
situation. You can come up with solu-
tions that will serve others well and
help you in the interim. An educated
move will allow you to invest wisely. 4
stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You may
face additional expenses if you are too
generous, especially with children and
old folks. Before you offer something
you cannot afford, consider what ser-
vices you can use to benefit others.
Romance is in the stars. 3 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stay cool,
calm and collected and concentrate on
the things and people you enjoy. A cre-
ative endeavor will help you chill out
and discover what it is you truly want
to do with the rest of your life. It’s nev-
er too late to change. 3 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t let
anyone restrict you or your plans. An
issue at home may confuse you if you
don’t do your own fact-finding. Now is
not the time to rely on anyone but
yourself in an emotional situation.
Anger will not pay off. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
You need a little adventure in your life.
Take time out to plan a trip or visit
little excitement. Idle time will be your
enemy and can lead to a costly profes-
sional mistake. 4 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Don’t take on a battle that’s not yours.
You will only damage your reputation,
leaving you in a vulnerable position.
Contemplate a move that allows you to
try something different and removes
you from uncertain circumstances. 2
stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t
hesitate to take on a task that includes
institutions, corporations or govern-
ment agencies. You can get the help
you need and pave the way for a bet-
ter future. Past experience will help
you make the right decisions. 5 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t
get angry at the circumstances you
face. Instead, use it to reinvent some of
your talents and skills. You have more
to offer than you think and can move
forward in the right direction. 3 stars
Birthday Baby: You are reserved
and private about your thoughts. You
are careful about how you handle per-
sonal and financial matters. You lean
toward unusual pastimes.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6 Television Programs Notice: (R) Replay (K) Korean Movie TV schedules are subject to change without prior notice.

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 18
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010

Nadal’s Trail to a Drought-Breaker Made Easier

DOHA (AFP) — Rafael Nadal, who
played mock tennis with Roger Federer
on a suspended “magic” carpet, was on
Monday given a slightly
easier path to the final of
the opening tournament of
what could be a transfor-
mative season.
Though Spain’s Aus-
tralian Open champion
looked relaxed and happy while per-
forming with his great rival in the mid-
dle of a local souq Sunday, he hasn’t
won a tournament for nearly nine
months since struggling with injuries.
However Nadal starts the 2010 ATP
World Tour Tuesday with a comfort-
able-looking draw in the Qatar Open
against Simone Bolelli, the world num-
ber 93 from Italy - and with his project-
ed semi-final opponent suddenly
removed. The fourth-seeded Mikhail
Youzhny fell at the first hurdle against
Sergiy Stakhovsky, the former U.S. Open
junior finalist, an outcome which may
be more helpful to Nadal than it may at
first seem, since the Russian demolished
him in the opening week of the 2008
season in the Chennai final.
Now though Youzhny let slip two set
points, at 9-8 and 10-9 in a monster 24-
point tie-break, before losing 7-6, 6-2 to
the dynamically-attacking, multi-lingual
Czech-based Ukrainian.
Nadal has made it clear he would like
to end his title drought this week,
though to do that he will probably have
to overcome Federer, who succeeded
him both as French Open and Wimble-
don champion, in Saturday’s showdown
— on a ground-level court.
Before that Federer could conceivably
have a semi-final against a familiar and
dangerous foe — Ivo Karlovic, whose vic-
tory over him at Cincinnati in 2008 did
much to knock him from the world num-
ber one spot after a four-year tenure.
The six-foot ten-inch Croatian beat
Fabio Fognini, a young Italian pushing
towards the top 50, by 6-4, 6-4, Karlovic
securing in both sets early breaks of
serve which had a huge psychological
effect upon the encounter.
Because Karlovic finished the 2009
Rafael Nadal of Spain attends a training session with children prior to the start of the ATP Qatar Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Monday.
men’s tour top of the stats lists both for
the number of aces (890) and the per-
centage of service games won (92), it
meant that once Fognini has dropped
serve the sense of an uphill struggle was
very steep indeed.
Karlovic will though have to win once
more to earn a likely last eight with
Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian whose
last ATP World Tour event saw him
beat Federer en route to becoming the
2009 year-end Masters champion in
London.
Federer Wants to Stay on Top in 2010
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Now that Roger
Federer is back atop the world rank-
ings, he intends to stay there in 2010.
Yang Yong-eun
Yang Starts
Season
in Hawaii
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Asia’s first major tourna-
ment champion Yang
Yong-eun is gearing up for
the new PGA
season in
Hawaii, where
the first tourna-
ment of 2009
AFP-Yonhap tees off this
week.
Federer, who faces Christophe “I am healthy now,” Federer said. “I “You go back to your roots,” Federer The PGA Championship
Rochus of Belgium in the Qatar Open on know I can win many more tourna- said. “You tell yourself how you became winner will be at the Plan-
Tuesday in his first competitive match of ments than I did last year. Last year was a good player. You enjoy competition. tation Course at Kapaluna,
2010, reclaimed the No. 1 ranking last fantastic, but I am looking at one match You tell yourself how you have been Maui in the SBS Champi-
year from Rafael Nadal. at a time at each event I play this sea- around for so long. You have to have onship from Thursday to
“I would like to stay No. 1 for an obvi- son. Right now, my focus is on the first regard for the hard work you have put Sunday.
ous reason — getting to No. 1 from No. match here.” in.” The event, exclusively for
2 was very hard work,” the 28-year-old The 15-time Grand Slam champion, Federer, who competed in all 40 tournament winners from
Swiss player said Monday. who won four tournaments in 2009, Grand Slam tournaments in the last 2009, has a total purse of
“Nadal played so well to stay No. 1. said he enjoys the pressure that comes decade, said his technique allowed him $5.6 million, including a
Now, I want to stay No. 1 for as long as with being arguably the greatest player to avoid serious injury. $1.12 million winner’s
possible. I am sure if I stay healthy, I of all time. “My movements are very smooth. share.
can win tournaments and stay No. 1.” “There’s always pressure from one That has helped me stay injury-free. Choi Kyoung-ju and
Federer was dethroned at the top of quarter or the other,” Federer said. And if there was a niggling injury, I Korean-American Anthony
the rankings in August 2008, only a few “There’s pressure from yourself, pres- would listen to my body. I would listen Kim didn’t win trophies last
weeks after losing an epic five-set Wim- sure from fans, your team. But I play to signals my body would give me,” Fed- year, leaving Yang as the
bledon final to Nadal. Federer returned better under pressure.” erer said. only Korean at the win-
to No. 1 after beating Andy Roddick in Winning tournaments has become “You have to look at the larger pic- ners-only event.
last year’s Wimbledon final. easier after a decade on top, he said. ture,” he added. The 37-year-old, who
won twice in 2009, includ-

Kwan Calls Kim Yu-na Good Role Model ing the Honda Classic,

SEOUL (AP) — Five-time

world champion figure skater
Michelle Kwan says South
Korea’s Kim Yu-na is an influen-
tial role model for future champi-
ons from the Asian nation.
Kwan, visiting South Korea this
week as a goodwill ambassador
for the U.S. State Department, led
a training session Tuesday in
downtown Seoul for young skaters
preparing for the Special Olympics.
“I know they all look up to Yu-
na Kim. It’s a very big compli-
ment when (Kim) said ’I looked
up to you Michelle when I was
very young,”’ Kwan said.
Kim, the reigning world champi-
on, is South Korea’s first hope for
an Olympic medal in figure skat-
ing. The 19-year-old is currently
training in Canada in preparation
for the Vancouver Winter Games.
She said in August that she
grew up idolizing Kwan, who also
won a silver medal at the 1998
Nagano Olympics and a bronze at
the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Kim invited Kwan to perform
with her at an exhibition last
year, the American skater’s first
trip to South Korea.
Kwan, now 29, told reporters
that the Kim will be grappling
with the pressure of competing
at her first Olympics. Her advice:
Enjoy the games.
Dressed in a blue Team USA
sweat shirt, Kwan spent an hour
Redskins Pursuing Shanahan After Zorn Axed
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The
Washington Redskins moved
quickly in their pursuit of Mike
Shanahan on Monday,
flying in the former
Denver Broncos coach
on the same day the
team fired Jim Zorn.
Shanahan and wife Peggy
landed at Dulles International
Airport near Redskins Park in
mid-afternoon and were driven
away in a limousine to meet with
owner Dan Snyder and general
manager Bruce Allen. Snyder
planned for Shanahan to stay
overnight at the owner’s house
Former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan guides a young figure skater at the
skating rink at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday guiding 11 young skaters
in spins, jumps and crossovers.
She had arrived in South
Korea on Sunday, but was forced
to cancel master classes Monday
because of a snowstorm that was
the heaviest on record. Kwan
in Maryland, and a formal hiring
announcement could come as
early as Tuesday.
Shanahan’s arrival was the high-
light of a long, eventful day as the
Redskins sought a new direction
after a 4-12 season. The first move
came in the pre-dawn hours, when
Zorn was dismissed during a meet-
ing in his office with Allen after the
team’s cross-country flight follow-
ing a 23-20 loss to the San Diego
Chargers on Sunday.
Bills Fire Entire Coaching Staff
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP)
Yonhap
also is slated to visit with U.S.
troops while in Korea.
“I know that these kids have a
good role model, and that’s Yu-
na Kim,” she said. “Hopefully in
the future, they will be future
world champions.”
— The Buffalo Bills opened
their offseason with a purge by
firing interim coach Perry
Fewell and the rest of his staff
on Monday.
Though Fewell was dismissed,
he will still interview for the
team’s vacant head coaching job,
a person familiar with the deci-
sions told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on the condition
of anonymity because the team
has not announced the dismissals.
The shakeup came a day after
the Bills (6-10) closed their sea-
son with a 30-7 win over the
Indianapolis Colts.
Park Named Monaco Player of Month didn’t take much of a break
over the holidays because
of a busy schedule, which
has raised some concerns
By Kang Seung-woo that the Korean golf hero
Staff Reporter won’t be at his best to start
2010.
AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young has been Yang did have some
named the club’s player of the month for downtime in the United
December by fans. States last month and said
In the poll announced Tuesday he believes that he needs
(KST), the South Korean striker was rest more than training.
the clear winner, garnering 77 per- Yang entered 2009 as a
cent of fan support, followed by mid- virtual unknown, but
fielder Sebastien Puygrenier (10 per- expectations from fans are
cent) and goalkeeper Stephane now a lot higher for the
Ruffier (seven percent). major winner. But the Jeju
Monaco fans had high praise for their No. 10. native said he won’t let that
“Thanks to his efficiency in front of goal, this affect him.
award is well deserved,” said Stephane, a Mona- AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young was named AS Mona- “I will play this season
co fan, on the club’s Web site. co‘s player of month for December, Tuesday (KST). Park with composure. I will play
Another fan, Etienne, said: “In addition to his scored a goal in three straight games. AP-Yonhap more slowly and calmly
goals, his fighting spirit is really valuable to the when reading the courses.”
team.” equalizer in each of two games against Geoff Ogilvy, who led
It is the second time the South Korean inter- Olympique Lyonnais and Le Mans UC 72 in the from wire-to-wire at the
national has been selected the player of the ensuing weeks. 2009 SBS Championship, is
month since he joined the French outfit in Sep- The Daegu native, who enjoyed a successful back to defend his title.
tember 2008. debut season with five goals and six assists in 31 Steve Stricker, winner of
Park, a former member of FC Seoul in the K- matches last year, has appeared in 16 matches three tournaments in 2009,
League, previously won the honor in October this season and has scored six goals and set up is also among the con-
2008. two more to establish himself as manager Guy tenders. However, Tiger
The 24-year-old was impressive in December, Lacombe’s side’s best attacking footballer. Woods, who is taking a
scoring goals in three straight games. He also Meanwhile, Park will sit out on Sunday when break from the tour to deal
played a full 90 minutes four times in five 11th-place Monaco takes on Tours FC at the with issues in his personal
appearances. Coupe de France because of yellow card accu- life, will not be in atten-
Park scored the game-winner in a 1-0 win mulation. dance.
over Stade Rennais on Dec. 17 and netted an ksw@koreatimes.co.kr yc@koreatimes.co.kr
Arenas Apologizes for Gun ‘Joke’
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Gilbert Arenas says he
took unloaded guns from his locker in the Wash-
his locker on December 21 “in a misguided effort
to play a joke on a teammate.”
ington Wizards arena in a “misguided effort to play “Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a
a joke” on a teammate. mistake and was wrong,” Arenas said. “I should not
Arenas spoke with law enforcement offi- have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I
cials on Monday, answering all questions he now realize that there’s no such thing as joking
faced in a two-hour interview, his lawyer around when it comes to guns - even if unloaded.
said. “I am very sorry for the effect that my serious
Afterward, the NBA player issued a writ- lapse in judgment has had on my team, my team-
ten statement in which he repeated his mates, the National Basketball Association and its
claim that he brought four firearms to the Verizon fans,” Arenas said. “I want to apologize to every-
Center to store unloaded in his locker because he body for letting them down with my conduct, and I
didn’t want them in his house with his children. promise to do better in the future.”
The presence of the guns at the facility had Crittenton’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Mon-
already sparked a police investigation when the day that his client did nothing wrong. It wasn’t
New York Post reported on Friday that Arenas and clear whether Crittenton would also meet with
teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each investigators probing the incident.
other in a dispute over a gambling debt. NBA rules bar players from possessing firearms Gilbert Arenas, right, of the Washington
Arenas, who had previously said the report was at league facilities or when traveling on league Wizards apologized for what he called a
overblown, said he took the unloaded guns out of business. “joke.” AP-Yonhap

2

Sportsline
Mega-Fight Seeks
Mediation
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AFP)
— Manny Pacquiao and
Floyd Mayweather Jr. will
go to mediation in a bid to
salvage their March 13
mega-fight.
Representatives of the two
fighters will meet Tuesday
with a California mediator in
an effort to reach agreement
on blood testing issues that
have threatened to scupper
the highly anticipated bout.
The mediator, retired
federal judge Daniel Wein-
stein, was used by promot-
ers for both fighters three
years ago to resolve a dis-
pute over promotional
rights to Pacquiao.
Pacquiao has been
angered by the Mayweath-
er camp’s insistence on
doping control blood tests
in the buildup to their wel-
terweight showdown — a
demand that has the March
13 fight in doubt.
3B Beltre Signs
With Red Sox
Associated Press
A person familiar with
the negotiations says free-
agent third baseman Adri-
an Beltre and the Boston
Red Sox are close to agree-
ing on a one-year contract.
A home run threat known
for strong defense, Beltre
spent the past five years with
Seattle. Injuries limited him
to 111 games last season,
when he batted .265 with
eight homers and 44 RBIs.
Beltre, 30, is a two-time
Gold Glove winner. He
would supplant Mike Lowell
at third base in Boston.
1
Sports
Cote D’Ivoire Favored in African Cup
LUANDA (AFP) — The 2010
African football feast begins Sun-
day in Angola with the Nations
Cup serving as a tempting starter
ahead of the multi-flavoured
World Cup main course.
Only hosts South Africa of the
six World Cup qualifiers from
Africa will be missing and Algeria,
Cameroon, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire
and Nigeria are expected to make
the Nations Cup knockout phase.
Add defending champions
Egypt and hosts Angola and the
list of likely African champions is
complete for the first Nations
Cup to be staged in a Por-
tuguese-speaking country since
its inception 53 years ago.
Didier Drogba-inspired Cote
D’Ivoire are the darlings of the
media and for the second con-
secutive tournament carry the
favourites tag into a 22-day
extravaganza scheduled for capi-
tal Luanda plus Benguela, Cabin-
da and Lubango.
After trampling all before them
two years ago in Ghana the Ivo-
rians came horribly unstuck in
the semi-finals against title hold-
ers Egyptians, who won 4-1 with
Amr Zaki scoring twice.
Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodz-
ic has been busy lately dampening
Cote D’Ivoire expectations, warn-
ing that while his star-sprinkled
squad makes for impressive read-
ing, the total impact is often less
than the sum of the parts.
Drogba, who has hinted that
Angola will be his Nations Cup
swansong, says the arrogance
and complacency of the 2008
squad must be eradicated if the
Ivorians are to win the tourna-
ment a second time.
“We will treat every opponent
with respect, humility and seri-
ousness. There is no room for
complacency like in Ghana. No
game is won in advance,”
warned the 31-year-old Chelsea
goal machine.
Cote D’Ivoire are in an all-west
Africa Group B with Ghana,
Burkina Faso and Togo and it
would be a shock if the two
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Choi Jin-soo
to Leave Maryland,
Hopes to Play in KBL
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Unable to balance the rigors
of a university education and
a basketball career, Choi Jin-
soo, Korea’s first NCAA bas-
ketball player, has decided to
leave the University of Mary-
land and return to Korea.
“It is really hard to do both
— play basketball and study,”
Choi told Korean basketball
magazine Jump Ball.
“Studying causes me a lot of
stress. I only want to play bas-
ketball, I don’t want to have to
think about studying,” added
Choi.
The 20-year-old has strug-
gled academically and failed a
class, which could result in a
two-month suspension begin-
ning Jan. 22.
The sophomore is now hop-
ing to play professionally in
Korea and has already con-
tacted the Korean Basketball
League (KBL) about the 2010
draft. However, the deadline
for players to enter the 2010
draft was Dec. 3. The league
committee plans to meet to
Fulham defender Chris Smalling, bottom, challenges Chelsea striker Didier Drogba during an English Premier League match at determine whether to make
Stamford Bridge in London on Dec. 28, 2009. Drogba will lead Cote D’Ivoire at the Cup of African Nations, which begins Sunday
in Angola. Reuters-Yonhap
EA Standing Behind Woods
Group A Group B Group C Group D SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elec-
1. Angola 1. Cote D’Ivoire 1. Egypt 1. Cameroon tronic Arts Inc. is standing
2. Mali 2. Ghana 2. Nigeria 2. Tunisia behind Tiger Woods and plans to
3. Algeria 3. Togo 3. Benin 3. Zambia go ahead with the release this
4. Malawi 4. Burkina Faso 4. Mozambique 4. Gabon month of an online game featur-
ing the embattled golf superstar.
EA Sports President Peter
World Cup qualifiers failed to and Laryea Kingston ruled out. Togo boast Manchester City Moore says Woods is “still one of
stamp their authority. And Serb coach Milovan Raje- striker Emmanuel Adebayor and the greatest athletes in history”
Without a Nations Cup title since vac axed midfielder Sulley Muntari the pick of the Burkina Faso line- despite his missteps off the golf
1982, Ghana have been ravaged for ill discipline so the always up is Moumouni Dagano, a course. He also cited the compa-
by injuries with central defenders demanding workload for box-to- Qatar-based striker and leading ny’s extensive work over the past
John Pantsil and John Mensah box Chelsea workaholic Michael scorer in the qualifying competi- year in developing the new
and midfielders Stephen Appiah Essien just got a bit heavier. tion with 12 goals. game, “Tiger Woods PGA Tour
19
an exception for the 2.03-
meter small forward.
If the KBL does not allow
him to enter the draft, he
could transfer to a university
in Korea, which would come
with complications because
he did not complete his sec-
ond year in the United
States.
The addition of Choi, one of
the brightest young stars of
Korean basketball, to any KBL
team would be a significant
move that would have a big
impact.
But Choi has been the vic-
tim of some unfortunate cir-
cumstances, which have
made it difficult for him to
succeed. He missed time at
school to train with the
national team, but it was not
time well spent. He was called
up twice but did not get a
chance to play in any interna-
tional matches before he was
dropped from the team.
National team officials have
been criticized for poorly han-
dling the talented young play-
er, who was first named to the
team as a 19-year-old.
yc@koreatimes.co.kr
Online.”
AT&T Inc. and Accenture have
dropped their sponsorships of
Woods, who is taking a break
from the sport to focus on his
marriage after his admitted infi-
delity.
EA wouldn’t comment on
whether plans for a new edition
of the popular “Tiger Woods PGA
Tour” console game would be
affected. The franchise has raked
in hundreds of millions of dol-
lars.
20 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010