Korea Today_Headlines Feb. 7

- Kang Shin-ho, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, rejected to assume the chairman post, without giving specific reasons for the turnaround.

- Local steelmakers are set to increase output by building more plants, causing concerns for oversupply.

- The National Tax Office announced yesterday the number of people who earn more than W100m a year increased 29 per cent to 53,000 in 2005 from a year ago.

- Lee Ku-taek was reelected as POSCO CEO.

- Samsung Electronics introduced into the market a new 2007 version of its popular premium LCD TV Bordeaux.

- Seven former Uri party representatives including Chun Jung-bae revealed this morning in a press conference they launched a “livelihood politics preparation committee” but said they would not grow the committee into a parliamentary negotiation bloc.

- Yoon Jeung-Hyun, Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, warned listed companies to correct deceptive accounting practices, if any, before the end of March.

- Leading presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak revealed the so-called “MB Doctrine” which includes his plan to help, if elected, boost North Korea’s GDP per capita from the current $900 to $3,000 in ten years. Separately, he met Christopher Hill on February 4 in Lotte Hotel for about an hour but didn’t reveal what was discussed during the meeting.

- Hyundai Asan is to overhaul its structure in order to strengthen its North Korean businesses and boost earnings growth.

- Since government’s January 11 real estate cooling measures, the overall transaction has been very bearish. The price of reconstruction apartments in Kangnam area dropped by as much as W200m.

- A research paper by Dankook University shows fierce protests against the US army relocation to Pyongtaek cost Korea W53 bn in social expenses excluding the cost arising from delayed construction.

- Kim Jong-il has been on tour to inspect companies and power plants in Hamkyungbukdo since February 5 amid intensified policing in the area after a group of patrolling soldiers in Heoryong was reported to have defected the regime en masse.

- Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday that North Korea earned W21 bn from exports of frozen fishes to Thailand. The export volume is 18 times that of 2005.

- Kookmin Bank is filed a W445.8 bn worth of lawsuit against by Korea Lottery Service for not paying commissions on lottery sales.

- The Daily NK reported yesterday 120 inmates escaped from a political detention center housing 10,000 political criminals in Hwasung, Hamkyungbukdo on December 20 last year.