Local paper headlines

1. Chosun Ilbo

- BoC has frozen North Korea’s bank account in Macau in association with the regime’s alleged US greenback counterfeiting and money laundering. It was the first move by the Chinese government to impose such a measure. The Macau bank is where National Intelligence Service wired $200m to achieve inter-Korean summit back in 2000.

- Hyundai Motor and its labor union failed to hammer out agreement on wage raises before summer vacation.

- Yoon Young-gwan, who served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade under the Roh government, lambasted the government for its policies towards North Korea and the US. “We need a principle in embracing Pyongyang. By doing so both the South and the North can avoid being ‘a missing child’ in the international community,” he said. “Korea-US alliance is what we have chosen aggressively by ourselves and under the stable alliance environment we could accomplish economic development and democracy.”

- Frustration is mounting among government officials in charge of diplomacy and security mainly due to Pyongyang’s unpredictable behaviors and increasing domestic criticism toward government’s North Korean policy. An official said to a reporter “please don’t criticize when you can’t offer an alternative.”

2. Maekyung

- Amid ‘parachuting appointment’ scandal, Korea Exchange might face a partial stoppage. Korea Exchange labor union said “we will stage an all-out sit-in in the face of legitimization of ‘‘parachuting appointment’ by Cheong Wa Dae, the political circle, and the puppet management.”

- As part of measures to improve working environment for temporary workers, the government unveiled a wage increase plan. According to a document obtained by Maekyung, the government will increase the wage for temporary workers in the field of security and cleaning in the public building to the level of private sector.

- Despite crack-down by the police, illegal gambling doesn’t show any sign of abating. Experts say the government should introduce stricter rules for the illegal gambling, otherwise it will continue popping up in the city.