Local paper headlines_September 11

1. Chosun Ilbo

- President Roh met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sideline of ASEM, currently being held in Finland, and said of Beijing’s history research program that has triggered furor from South Koreans, “(it can) have negative impact on bilateral relations so the Chinese government needs to take necessary measures according to an agreement it concluded with Seoul.”

- A group of 160 people consisted of former diplomatic government officials announced a statement against the hotly-debated wartime operational control transfer. The statement goes, “the axis of Korea-US alliance is ROK-US Combined Forces Command and US-controlled wartime command,” and “if the axis disappears, it will cause the weakening of the alliance and military capability, which will consequently lead to a major disruption not only in politics but also in economy.”

- It is reported By English newspaper Daily Telegraph that Kim Jong-il has recently made clear his willingness to forge ahead with nuclear program tests. According to the paper, the North Korean leader said in front of Russian and Chinese diplomats the country would stage a military demonstration by having an experiment of underground nuclear explosion.

- As various economic index paint a bleak picture for the foreseeable future, an increasing number of companies is depending on ‘Pung-su management,” which means following the theory of divination based on topography. Especially when they make an important management decision such as building a new company building, they choose a new building site based on what topography experts recommend to be geographically and topographically good.

2. Maeil Business Daily

- KT is to boost ‘digital cinema’ service, a new state-of-the-art filming service, as the next promising business. According to industrial experts, KT developed the system and joined hands with big multiplex movie theaters including Lotte Cinema, CJ CGV, and Mega Box to provide the service.

- The US sent out a positive signal at the third round of FTA talks about the possibility to recognize Korean certificates in the field of nurses and architects. If the US accepts Korea’s proposal, workers in those fields will be granted permission to work in the US with their Korean certificates.

- The Uri party seeks to come up with a major compromise by November, which will include the abolition of inter-affiliate investment ceiling and the provision of incentives such as tax exemption if conglomerates voluntarily resolve the ‘circulatory investment’ practice, prevailing in the Korean chaebols.

-According to an internal report prepared by Ministry of Finance and Economy, the illegal gambling caused the country’s GDP to drop 0.3 per cent and severely disrupted domestic consumption.