- Inter-Korean businesses rose in the first quarter by 53 per cent from the same period last year while humanitarian aid bound for the North declined by 20.4 per cent for the same period. Commercial transactions involved in the joint industrial complex of Kaesung especially showed a much spike in its volume with 91 per cent increase. An official from the unification ministry cited the uncertainty of the new government’s NK policy as the main reason for the aid decline.

- Japanese newspaper, Nihon Geizai, reported yesterday China adopted a new financial settlement system which allows a North Korean business to open a Chinese bank account to expedite business transactions between the two countries. It is a rare move by the Chinese government especially since it imposed a financial sanction in 2006 when the North defiantly tested its nuclear missiles.

- Nuclear negotiators of the US and North Korea are to have a meeting tomorrow in Singapore hopefully to bring the prolonged nuclear deadlock to an end. It is expected that Pyongyang is likely to deliver its final position on the reporting of its nuclear activities since the US demanded Pyongyang’s position on the declaration as the pre-condition to the meeting.

- Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Group Chairman, admitted he was responsible for the on-going controversies surrounding Samsung, to some extent. Asked whether he acknowledged any wrongdoings after the investigation by the special counsel, he replied “not 100 per cent in some cases.” But he categorically denied any group-wide conspiracy or his direct order in the sale of Everland convertible bonds to his son.

- Rising prices of grains and fertilizer might cause some problems for the government in its northern-bound humanitarian aid. Seoul has been shipping around 0.4 million tons of rice and 0.3 M tons of fertilizer every year to Pyongyang. An official from the unification ministry admitted that shipment could be cut in volume due to budget constraints.

Embarrassed Chung Mong-jun

Chung Mong-jun, a GNP candidate for the up-coming general election, is embroiled in an embarrassing ‘sexual harassment’ allegation.

During the electioneering yesterday, he was alleged to ‘tap’ twice a female reporter from MBC on the cheek when asked a question from her. She is reported to immediately confront him about the action, saying “you are sexually harassing me now.” And he, looking clearly embarrassed and awkward, exited the scene without saying sorry to her.

Chung’s wife is reported to visit the MBC headquarters later that day to apologize for her husband’s inappropriate action but MBC and the reporter rejected to accept the apology. He explained today in the press release that he mistakenly, not deliberately, touched her face and expressed sorry to her.

It is very worrisome that some of those high figures in Korean society are often found to have no clear standard for what is appropriate and acceptable. Choi Yeon-hee, a three-time representative and running as an independent in the April 9 election, hit the headlines in 2006 when he was reported to ‘grope’ female reporter’s breast in an restaurant. He later explained he mistook her for a waitress, a remark that triggered fierce angry reactions from restaurant owners and waitresses nationwide.

Though it is not clear how this incident will play out for Chung’s election, the last thing voters want is to see those lacking in social manners run this country.

Rising consumer prices worry Seoul

Consumer prices in March jumped 3.9 per cent from the same period last year, putting more pressure on the government to grapple with the ever-increasing prices. Fuel prices are found to be the biggest contributor to the rise, followed by gas bills.

The so-called ‘MB items,’ comprised of 52 necessities handpicked by the president last week subject to close monitoring, are reported to have seen 5.78 per cent increase in the price from a year ago. The president is said to have ordered his staff to closely watch the prices of those necessities because they are deemed very crucial items for people’s everyday life.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance warned April 1 that “consumer prices are expected to grow in the mid-three percentage points for the time being.” The ministry is to hold the second Task Force meeting tomorrow to hammer out prices-stabilizing measures.

Hong Rae-hee summoned

Hong Rae-hee, the queen of the Samsung dynasty, was summoned today by the special probe team to answer whether she was involved in the purchase of expensive paintings with the slush funds.

Her appearance was the second by the Lee family since Lee Jay-yong, the heir-apparent of the Samsung kingdom who is suspected to have bought shares of Samsung Everland at a far below market price in order to take management control, appeared before the investigation team on February 28.

The team has issued an overseas travel ban on her on February 18, and been since considering the right timing for the summon.

A scores of people involved in the case have been called into the prosecutor’s office for questioning, but many suspect that the company is highly likely to get away with its alleged wrongdoings. In fact, the junior Lee was acquitted of the charges that Samsung affiliates lost tens of billions of wons by buying back his shares in several Samsung internet enterprises, where he was the biggest shareholder, at a firesale price.

That the newly-elect president was a chaebol-man himself and vowed to make Korea a more business-friendly, or 'chaebol-friendly' as pointed by some, country is not of any help for people to believe that he is serious about getting chaebols to clean up their acts. His recent around-the-clock hot-line with the business people clearly shows how far he is willing to go to get things easier for the nation’s big companies. He seems to believe that his promise to reengineer the Korean economy can be materialized when chaebols can exert unfettered influence and are not bothered by ‘law and order’ as they have always been.

It remains to be seen whether the counsel can fulfill its ‘special investigation’ purposes to live up to the expectations of most Koreans who believe now is the time to right the decade-old problems related to illegal transfer of management control.

People are no longer to buy the claim that Samsung can’t sustain without the family. After all, the Lee family holds only 4.5 per cent of Samsung Group and the rest is owned by shareholders.

Blogers' opinions on the on-going Samsung investigation

Public opinions on the on-going investigation into Samsung problems



By zagni http://news.egloos.com/

Now is a boiling point when it comes to the Samsung problems. There is a mountain ahead of us to climb over for our society to grow further. It seems Samsung doesn't have an ability to do so on its own. The public opinion is the strongest power and we should gather it together.


by nammoo http://studioxga.egloos.com/

A Samsung's collapse will certainly have the ripple effects on the economy. But a company has a social responsibility. It is not right that one company moves to the interests of some of the management.

By cuzim http://cuzim.egloos.com/

Samsung can't exist above the law. It should be punished for its wrongdoings and Korea takes this opportunity to establish a clean corporate culture. I hope Samsung remains worthy of its reputation.

by cactus http://realmove.egloos.com/


Samsung group is robbed by a family who has systematic methods for the robbery and has been doing all the dirty things to transfer wealth from grandfather to grandson. Then what should the real owner Samsung do? They should get rid of the criminals. Keeping everything good about Samsung in place but the Lee family.

by eulpaso http://eulpaso.egloos.com/

By far, people have been brainwashed by groundless sayings created by Samsung's power and money and the press that Samsung equals Korea. Before too late, we should be out of this ridiculous illusion.

By Lee Jung-won http://www.jw2blog.com/

One of the biggest problems of Koreans is the belief that a business is owned by a chaebol family. We should remove such perceptions. A company belongs to not a single person or family, but shareholders.



These following opinions are displayed on the internet forum of Chosun.com

By Lee Won-young

The Special investigation into Samsung causes the economic growth rate to be cut by more than 1 per cent. And it will ultimately lead to Samsung affiliates collapses, which will churn out massive number of the unemployed, adding pains for Samsung employees as well as many SMEs.

By Park Myung-joo


It (the investigation) goes too far. They should stop driving this country to a chaos. All companies did their share of wrongdoings. Is there any company that has contributed to our economic revival more than Samsung did since the Asian financial crisis?

By Sohn Jong-rak

Samsung is a global company that represents Korea before we can call it as Lee Kun-hee's company. It is our pride. We should seriously consider how big losses would be, economically and nationally, when this company is hurt. The politically-motivated investigation should be stopped right away.

.....................................

With the result of the research, my conclusion is the majority of people seem to think that the investigation into Samsung is a necessary evil.

Even though it might have some bad effects on the economy, we should resolve this matter this time. It seems like a "now or never" kind of mindset.

Also many people think they have been brainwashed or persuaded to believe that Samsung is owned by the Lee family, not by shareholders, and try to dispel the wrong belief this time around. People seem to increasingly think that Samsung will be OK even without the family because they have a firm belief in the power and technical edge of Samsung.

Pyongyang steps up its war of words

Pyongyang’s uneasiness with the current Lee government finally raised its ugly head. In the today’s Commentator’s article in Rodong Sinmun, the party’s official mouthpiece, titled “The only thing the South can get by confronting the North is self-destruction,” the regime directly criticized the president Lee for turning sour inter-Korean relations again after a decade of rather thawing-out relations under two engaging governments.

In the article which is believed by many NK experts to be often used by the regime when it wants to express deep frustration or angry over external situations, it put blames the recent developments including casting South Korean officials out of Kaesung, the joint industrial zone, last month, solely on Lee Myung-bak, who took office vowing to have a tough line against its recalcitrant Northern neighbor.

“Lee Myung-bak and his clique try to overturn every accomplishment since the June 15 declaration citing nonsense like ‘regaining the lost decade,’ ‘putting priority on the Korea-US relations,’ ‘and pragmatism,’" goes the article, not failing to mention the name, Lee Myung-bak, as the prime target of its bold criticism.

Since the conservative president took power over a month ago, the North avoided an all-out verbal war with the South, even though it continued showing its usual hard-feelings against the fact that a conservative candidate won the election which indicated Seoul’s future NK policy would be a lot different from the ones of the last decade.

Seoul remained unmoved by NK’s outburst of anger against the president but scurried to call its senior officials together on an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to it. Lee Dong-kwan, Blue House spokesman, said “we will respond (to it) according to our practical position of thorough principles and flexibility.”

Given that Pyongyang’s decades-long tendency to try to tip the difficult situation to its side by waging a war of words, this can be understood as such, but the fact that Lee was elected on promises to act sternly against Pyongyang’s misbehaviors points that the two Koreas would not find it easy to see eye-to-eye on every issue ranging from inter-Korea businesses to more tricky human rights issue in NK.