South Korea

November 10, 2009 -- A South Korean businessman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to five years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy involving a $206 million telecommunications contract and employees of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade also ordered Gi-Hwan Jeong to pay a $50,000 fine. Jeong pleaded guilty on June 11, 2009, to a five-count indictment, charging him with one count of conspiracy, two counts of honest services wire fraud and two counts of bribery.    » read more »

Letter urges Trade Ambassador Kirk to work toward opening South Korean and Japanese markets for U.S. automobile companies

November 6, 2009 -- (Washington D.C.) -- Congressman Sander Levin, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, released a letter today to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging that more be done to open South Korean and Japanese automobile markets.

During recent Korean and Japanese auto incentive programs, similar to the “Cash for Clunkers” program, market share for all foreign brands declined even further. The letter was signed by Senators Levin and Stabenow; Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel; Reps. Dingell, Upton, Ehlers, Kildee, McCotter, Peters, Sutton and Miller.    » read more »

July 1, 2009 -- FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple today announced that three local companies are parties to major contracts to supply 2009 food-grade soybeans to South Korean soy food importers.

The purchase agreements call for SB&B Foods of Casselton, Brushvale Seed of Wahpeton-Breckenridge, SunOpta of Moorhead and Wisconsin-based DeLong Company to export about 275,000 bushels of identity preserved soybeans to members of the Korean Federation of Soybean-Curd Industry Cooperatives (KFSCIC). The federation represents 12 Korean tofu-processing cooperatives. The sales are valued at about $5 million.    » read more »

May 25, 2009 -- The President spoke to Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak this evening to consult and coordinate our reaction to the North Korean nuclear test.

The two Presidents agreed that the test was a reckless violation of international law that compels action in response. They agreed to work closely together to seek and support a strong United Nations Security Council resolution with concrete measures to curtail North Korea's nuclear and missile activities.

President Obama assured President Lee of the unequivocal commitment of the United States to the defense of the Republic of Korea. President Obama expressed his appreciation to President Lee for the decision by the Republic of Korea to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).    » read more »

May 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke hosted a meeting with South Korea’s Minister for Trade Kim Jong-Hoon at the Commerce Department today. This was the first meeting between Minister Kim and Secretary Locke.

Secretary Locke and Minister Kim recognized the importance of the $83 billion in goods trade between the two countries in 2008. They expressed support for continuing to deepen cooperation on trade and investment issues.    » read more »

Approximately 100 Participants from 14 Countries Attending Second IP Crimes Enforcement Network Conference in Bangkok

March 11, 2009 -- BANGKOK, THAILAND – Building upon the successes of earlier efforts, the U.S. Department of Justice today announced the opening in Bangkok of a regional conference of approximately 100 key law enforcement and industry officials from more than a dozen nations with the goal of strengthening international cooperation in fighting large-scale intellectual property crimes.    » read more »

Seoul -- 21 August 2008 -- In just a few decades, South Korea transformed itself from an impoverished country devastated by war into the world's 13th largest economy. But that dramatic growth has a dark side, some mental health professionals say. South Korea has seen its suicide rate rise sharply, and the nation's youth are at risk. Jason Strother has the story from Seoul.

On the platforms in many of Seoul's subway stations, tall glass gates open and close as passengers enter and exit the train cars.

These barricades are a safety precaution but they were also installed to prevent people from throwing themselves onto the paths of trains. Last year, 23 people in Seoul attempted suicide this way, up from 18 the year before.    » read more »

August 5, 2008 -- PRESIDENT LEE: Mr. President, Mrs. Bush, as well as your lovely daughter, Barbara Bush, I would like to welcome you from the bottom of our hearts. Yes, well, Mr. President, the majority of the Korean people have been eagerly waiting for your visit to Korea this time, and as you saw yesterday, there were many people who gathered together to welcome your visit to Korea.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

PRESIDENT LEE: And also, Mr. President, yesterday, in the lawn in front of the Seoul City Hall, there were many people gathered there, thousands of people gathered, who came together to pray, not only for your visit, but also for the future of the Korea-U.S. relationship, as well.    » read more »

Seoul -- 17 June 2008 -- South Korea's biggest labor confederation says its members will go on strike, next month, to protest the policies of the country's president. The labor troubles heap new crisis on an administration facing mass street protests about trade with the United States.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced Tuesday it would conduct a nationwide general strike on July 2. And, KCTU president Lee Seok-haing says that is just the beginning.

Lee says after the strike, there will be several days of organized labor protests.

The KCTU is an umbrella union group for more than 600,000 members, working in nearly every sector of the country's economy.    » read more »

February 7, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Pendants and Candle Charms

Units: About 460,000

Importer: Benjamin International, of Middlebury, Conn.

Hazard: The recalled pendants and charms contain high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.    » read more »

29 January 2008 -- Iraq has halted crude oil exports to South Korea, in protest of an exploration deal between Korean firms and the Kurdish regional government.

The annual contract between Iraq and South Korea's top refiner, SK Energy, was due for renewal January 1. SK Energy says it has been told to back out of the Kurdistan deal if it wants exports to resume.    » read more »

26 January 2008 -- North Korea has called for a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War to be signed as soon as possible, to ease military tensions with the United States.

The call was made in a commentary published by the Rodong daily, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party. It said now is the right time for a peace treaty to replace the armistice that has been in place since 1953.

The Korean peninsula is technically still at war since the fighting ended.    » read more »

10 December 2007 -- South Korean officials say they will declare a long stretch of the country's western coastline a disaster area. The move makes residents and businesses eligible for compensation as an enormous oil spill devastates wildlife and fishing resources along the coast. Even with thousands of workers mobilized, the cleanup is expected to take months.

More than 100 boats and nearly 9,000 soldiers, police and civilians fought to limit the damage along the west coast of South Korea Monday as oil from a punctured tanker washes ashore near the city of Taean.    » read more »

24 November 2007 -- South Korean authorities have destroyed thousands of ducks at four southern farms after discovering what they call a "low pathogenic" strain of the bird flu virus.

Officials say the virus turned up on a farm near the southern city of Gwangju, about 250 kilometers south of Seoul. As a precaution, they destroyed 3,800 ducks on that farm and more than 12,000 at three other farms in the area.

This case of bird flu is a strain known as H7 that is not highly contagious to humans.    » read more »

29 October 2007, Washington (By Mary Morningstar) -- Beyonce continues her world tour this week with shows in:
Bangkok, Thailand (October 30);
Jakarta, Indonesia (November 1); and
Macau, China (November 3).

Beyonce is also scheduled to perform in:
Shanghai, China on November 5;
Taguig City, Philippines on November 7;
Seoul, South Korea on November 9 and 10; and
Taipei, Taiwan on November 12.

Beyonce is supporting her latest album B'Day.

In other Beyonce news, a live DVD of her Beyonce Experience summer tour will be released on November 27.

Source: VOANews.com