Other Interesting headlines _September 14

- [Hankyoreh] In Dandong, China, a border city near North Korea, emergency guard is reported to have been imposed for three days from yesterday. The special train carrying Kim Jong-il used to pass the city and emergency guard has been issued whenever Kim visited China. North Korea experts expect Kim’s visit to China is imminent.

- [Yonhap] Lee Gun-hee, CEO of Samsung Group, left for the US to attend Van Fleet Award which will be held in Manhattan on September 19 by US Korea Society. A person close to the matter said “Chairman Lee will stay in the US for a while for visits to Samsung US offices and business meetings with US IT experts,” but declined to say further details of the visit. Meanwhile the prosecution said Lee informed the prosecution of his visit to the US long before his departure.

- [Kookmin Ilbo] SKY IMB-1000, Korea’s first satellite DMB phone, is complained a lot by its buyers on frequent failure. More than 200,000 phones have been sold since April despite huge price tag of W0.8 m. On cellular phone review sites, thousands of complaints have been posted but the company said it doesn’t have any plan to recall the phone.

- [Herald SaengSaeng News] More than 300 financial companies have disappeared in the past five years due to reconstructing moves in the sector, and 2000 workers in the field got pink slip. According to Financial Supervisory Service, the number of financial companies is 312 nationwide, down 18.3 per cent from 1395 at the end of 2000.

- [Kookmin Ilbo] Only 50 per cent of February graduates from Seoul National University got hired. The department of nursing science posted the biggest employment rate with nearly 100 per cent while 93.4 per cent of medical school graduates also found a workplace. But graduates of humane and music studies posted lower-than-average employment rate.

- [SBS] Consumer sentiment is usually very good in the run up to ‘Chuseok,’ Korea’s harvest festival, but amid disappointing economic performance and bleak future prospects, consumers are reluctant to open up their wallet.