Other important headlines_September 7

- Bank of Korea freezes its overnight call rate at 4.5 per cent on concern over sluggish economic growth. Various economic index point to worse-than-expected economic performance.

- Burwell Bell, United States Armed Forces Commander in Korea, showed confidence in Korean military’s capability to take independent wartime command and said Korea could handle wartime operational control in 2009 through military restructuring and a high degree of military drills.

- Regarding a group of intellectuals’ opposition to wartime control transfer, Prime Minister Han said their concern stemmed from misunderstanding of truth. She said the matter had been sufficiently discussed between Korea and the US.

- The market share of NHN, Korea’s biggest search engine, is 73.8 per cent, up from 72.8 per cent in July. Daum earned the distant second spot with 11.3 per cent followed by Yahoo (5.7 %) and Empas (3.5 %). NHN has been named top portal site for six months in a row by page view, search, and front page.

- Unlike the government announcement that Vision 2030 will need an additional budget of W1100 trillion, it is said that a report, which projected the spending around W1600 trillion, had been posted on the government website. The report was deleted from the site after the government’s announcement on the project. Speculation is rife that the government purposely released an underestimated figure in order to ally people’s fear for tax increase.

- According to Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and Korea Gas Corporation, Korea might be in for lack of LNG for this winter. The amount of government-holding LNG is much less than that of last year, which might trigger lack of heating resources. About 35-40 per cent of LNG is consumed for heating in household.

- Despite Korean government’s continuous warning, China is stepping up its efforts to distort history by laying claim to Korea’s ancient Kingdoms, Kochosun, Koguryo, and Balhae.

-Korea’s national football team achieved a sweeping victory against Taiwan yesterday by 8 to 0.