http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/18/200902180046.asp
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
South Korea cuts key interest rate amid recession fears
South Korea's central bank Thursday cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to a record low 2.0 percent as the nation struggles to avert its first recession for a decade.
The Bank of Korea reduced the benchmark seven-day repo rate at its monthly policy meeting. The rate has now been cut by 3.25 percentage points since last October.
The cut comes two days after new finance minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun warned that Asia's fourth largest economy will probably shrink two percent this year, the first annual contraction since the East Asian financial crisis in 1998.
Yoon, who also forecast job losses of around 200,000 this year, said the government would submit a supplementary budget to parliament by the end of March to try to stimulate domestic spending.
A series of recent grim economic figures shows the export-driven economy headed for recession as overseas demand for its ships, autos, microchips and electronics products dries up.
The economy shrank 5.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2008, the largest contraction since the first quarter of 1998.
Exports in January dropped by a third year-on-year, the steepest decline since Seoul started announcing monthly tallies in 1980.
The economy shed more than 100,000 jobs in the year to January as the global economic downturn worsened, the biggest contraction for over five years.
The International Monetary Fund predicted that the economy will shrink four percent this year before rebounding in 2010.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090212/ts_afp/financeeconomyskoreabankrate_20090212055331
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The Bank of Korea reduced the benchmark seven-day repo rate at its monthly policy meeting. The rate has now been cut by 3.25 percentage points since last October.
The cut comes two days after new finance minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun warned that Asia's fourth largest economy will probably shrink two percent this year, the first annual contraction since the East Asian financial crisis in 1998.
Yoon, who also forecast job losses of around 200,000 this year, said the government would submit a supplementary budget to parliament by the end of March to try to stimulate domestic spending.
A series of recent grim economic figures shows the export-driven economy headed for recession as overseas demand for its ships, autos, microchips and electronics products dries up.
The economy shrank 5.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2008, the largest contraction since the first quarter of 1998.
Exports in January dropped by a third year-on-year, the steepest decline since Seoul started announcing monthly tallies in 1980.
The economy shed more than 100,000 jobs in the year to January as the global economic downturn worsened, the biggest contraction for over five years.
The International Monetary Fund predicted that the economy will shrink four percent this year before rebounding in 2010.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090212/ts_afp/financeeconomyskoreabankrate_20090212055331
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
South Korea's burgeoning handheld device culture
A woman dressed in a fashionable outfit reaches into her purse to pull out a mobile phone that is buzzing excitedly. She puts it up to her ear and begins to talk as she descends, a little precariously, into the depths of a subway station; she has no fear or concern her conversation will be cut short even while riding the subway. Her confidence in her cell service proves to be well-founded as she steps onto a subway car -- conversation uninterrupted -- that whisks her through the winding tunnels beneath layers of concrete, earth, and asphalt.
On that subway car, a teenage boy dressed in a conservative school uniform is immersed in the live TV program he is watching on his own cell phone. The middle-aged man sitting next to him might ordinarily be watching that program at home, but instead, he is focused on blasting the alien creatures that swarm on the screen of his Playstation Portable (PSP). In fact, many other riders on the subway today are interacting with handheld electronic devices that come in a dizzying array of colors, sizes, and shapes.
For a Western visitor, visiting Seoul for the first time might induce a 21st-century version of culture shock. For while he or she may be prepared for differences in language and custom by the benefit of being well-traveled, few things can prepare such a visitor for the advanced stage of the gadget culture in Korea. Many of the nation's nearly 50 million persons take technologies for granted that would astound a typical visitor, such as paying for snacks at a 7-Eleven with a cell phone instead of a credit card.
Led by technological giants like Samsung and LG, Koreans have become accustomed to new and exciting gadgets introduced on an almost continual basis. Consumers here have access to all kinds of devices and technology that would boggle the minds of many foreigners. One can't help but wonder why are such gadgets and devices so popular among Koreans in particular? What is feeding this frenzy of gadget culture? The scenes on subways and buses in Korea strikingly different compared with those other big cities around the world. With regard to the latter, you may occasionally spot young people watching a video on their iPods, but most likely your fellow travelers will simply be using them to listen to music. In Korea -- Seoul to be precise -- however, at any given moment, it is possible to witness young people and older middle-aged people alike engrossed in watching a TV show. It has, in fact, become quite common to observe people of all ages playing sophisticated games on their cell phones as well.
So, what exactly is the driving force behind this obsession? Is it a question of vanity that spawns the desire to flaunt the latest, most expensive gadget to appear in the stores? Or, is it a question of the easily accessible high-speed Internet and the ease of sharing music and movie files on-line? Could it be the heavy investment in information technology and the popular willingness to quickly conform with the latest advance? Or, is it simply a way of coping with the long commutes, with one-quarter of the entire population of South Korea concentrated in Seoul and its close vicinity? There is no single reason, but a combination of all these factors contributes an environment that encourages a robust gadget culture.
HASSLE-FREE INTERNET
Many visitors are surprised to discover that Korea has the highest broadband penetration rate in the world, with about 90 percent of the population having access. Vast numbers of Korean consumers connect with each other via both mobile handsets and full-sized PCs. What's more, Korea pays the lowest rates for its broadband while enjoying one of the fastest average speeds. A typical broadband connection in Korea delivers data at between 50 and 100 megabits per second (as opposed to a typical speed of 1.5 megabits per second in the United States). The cheap rates make it possible for more than three-quarters of Korean households to deploy a rapid broadband connection.
This kind of high-speed Internet environment is highly conducive to downloading music, movies and the latest "dramas" (short episodic soap operas that are equally popular among the young and the old) in a relatively short time. Even if one is away from home, but need to access to the Internet, no problem! Just pop in any of the numerous Starbucks coffee shops in Korea, and you can easily get hassle-free wireless Internet service for your notebook computer or other Wi-Fi device without the use of subscriptions or logins. If the Internet wasn't this easily accessible or widespread, it's doubtful that portable devices such as PSPs would have become as popular as they are today.
Aside from enjoying fast and easy Internet connection, another major contributing factor may be the myriad "share sites" that exist. Koreans habitually upload the latest episode of a drama or interesting TV show that they viewed just a few hours prior; recent movies that played in theaters, the hottest popular music, computer software just to name a few of the items that are available for consumption on these sites. Perhaps it is the lax laws regulating sharing and swapping content compared to other countries, but Korean Internet users (known as netizens), share just about anything with each other. With so much rich content available, from the user-created content (UCC) videos that took Korea by storm in 2006 to Cyworld mini-homepages (Korea's home-grown version of Facebook and MySpace that already had enjoyed a large on-line audience years before either of these sites became the sensations they are today) to the various blog sites competing for attention and traffic, all help drive the Korean appetite for gadgets that allow them to consume this content.
Of course, the biggest reason may simply be the massive investment in advanced technology and its support by both the private and public sectors. One such technology that has helped to create the "device culture" is Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which allows cell phones and other portable devices to pick up TV broadcasts sent on special frequencies. Cell phones equipped with this function have been available since May 2005, at which time Korea became the first country where it is possible to receive digital TV broadcasting in this manner.
HIP FEATURES, CHIC DESIGNS
There are two types of DMB service -- satellite-based and terrestrial DMB. As the names suggest, the biggest differences between the two are where the broadcast signals are transmitted from and the cost. There is a monthly fee (about 13,000 won) for the satellite-based DMB while ground-based broadcasts are provided free of charge to anyone who has a receiver attached to the device. One might wonder, then, why would anyone want to pay for such a service when they could get something similar for free. The answer concerns user preferences and geographic location. Satellite-based DMB offers more variety of video and radio channels, thirteen and twenty-six respectively, as well as providing uniform service nationwide. TU Media, a company created from various business entities within SK Telecom (Korea's leading mobile carrier and the sole owner of the satellite deployed for this service), is the only company that provides satellite-based DMB.
On the other hand, terrestrial DMB is restricted to Seoul and its vicinity for now, with significantly fewer channels (seven video and ten radio channels), than satellite-based DMB. However, one advantage of this service is that it offers real-time TV broadcasts from the three major TV networks in Korea while satellite-based DMB cannot retransmit in real-time, but rather can only show reruns of the ground-based broadcasts because of restrictions put forth by the major broadcasters. Thus, one must decide which network -- and its offerings -- one wishes to choose when buying a DMB phone. However, that will change next year thanks to a new agreement drawn up by the two different DMB service entities. Consumers will soon be able to access both networks from one cell phone device, perhaps as early as the first quarter of 2009.
The six terrestrial DMB companies have come to an agreement with SK Telecom, to share their networks as a joint effort to promote DMB service. As a result, one of the features that may benefit users will be real-time traffic updates via satellite-based network as the user watches terrestrial DMB. This integration is predicted to bring in extra revenue for terrestrial DMB providers, which have been struggling due to a less-than-profitable business model.
The average price of a DMB cell phone starts from 600,000 won. Regardless of its rather steep price tag, it is not unusual to see these high-tech cell phones just about everywhere you go in Korea -- especially during commute hours on subways and buses. Before DMB service started, the sole way to view TV on a handheld device was on the small screen of a mobile phone.
Nowadays, though, cool gadgets such as specialized DMB players are far more common for TV and movie-viewing than mobile phones. DMB players typically feature chic designs and offer hip features at lower prices than an integrated DMB handset, which has rendered the former considerably more appealing.
http://www.ikjournal.com/
◦
On that subway car, a teenage boy dressed in a conservative school uniform is immersed in the live TV program he is watching on his own cell phone. The middle-aged man sitting next to him might ordinarily be watching that program at home, but instead, he is focused on blasting the alien creatures that swarm on the screen of his Playstation Portable (PSP). In fact, many other riders on the subway today are interacting with handheld electronic devices that come in a dizzying array of colors, sizes, and shapes.
For a Western visitor, visiting Seoul for the first time might induce a 21st-century version of culture shock. For while he or she may be prepared for differences in language and custom by the benefit of being well-traveled, few things can prepare such a visitor for the advanced stage of the gadget culture in Korea. Many of the nation's nearly 50 million persons take technologies for granted that would astound a typical visitor, such as paying for snacks at a 7-Eleven with a cell phone instead of a credit card.
Led by technological giants like Samsung and LG, Koreans have become accustomed to new and exciting gadgets introduced on an almost continual basis. Consumers here have access to all kinds of devices and technology that would boggle the minds of many foreigners. One can't help but wonder why are such gadgets and devices so popular among Koreans in particular? What is feeding this frenzy of gadget culture? The scenes on subways and buses in Korea strikingly different compared with those other big cities around the world. With regard to the latter, you may occasionally spot young people watching a video on their iPods, but most likely your fellow travelers will simply be using them to listen to music. In Korea -- Seoul to be precise -- however, at any given moment, it is possible to witness young people and older middle-aged people alike engrossed in watching a TV show. It has, in fact, become quite common to observe people of all ages playing sophisticated games on their cell phones as well.
So, what exactly is the driving force behind this obsession? Is it a question of vanity that spawns the desire to flaunt the latest, most expensive gadget to appear in the stores? Or, is it a question of the easily accessible high-speed Internet and the ease of sharing music and movie files on-line? Could it be the heavy investment in information technology and the popular willingness to quickly conform with the latest advance? Or, is it simply a way of coping with the long commutes, with one-quarter of the entire population of South Korea concentrated in Seoul and its close vicinity? There is no single reason, but a combination of all these factors contributes an environment that encourages a robust gadget culture.
HASSLE-FREE INTERNET
Many visitors are surprised to discover that Korea has the highest broadband penetration rate in the world, with about 90 percent of the population having access. Vast numbers of Korean consumers connect with each other via both mobile handsets and full-sized PCs. What's more, Korea pays the lowest rates for its broadband while enjoying one of the fastest average speeds. A typical broadband connection in Korea delivers data at between 50 and 100 megabits per second (as opposed to a typical speed of 1.5 megabits per second in the United States). The cheap rates make it possible for more than three-quarters of Korean households to deploy a rapid broadband connection.
This kind of high-speed Internet environment is highly conducive to downloading music, movies and the latest "dramas" (short episodic soap operas that are equally popular among the young and the old) in a relatively short time. Even if one is away from home, but need to access to the Internet, no problem! Just pop in any of the numerous Starbucks coffee shops in Korea, and you can easily get hassle-free wireless Internet service for your notebook computer or other Wi-Fi device without the use of subscriptions or logins. If the Internet wasn't this easily accessible or widespread, it's doubtful that portable devices such as PSPs would have become as popular as they are today.
Aside from enjoying fast and easy Internet connection, another major contributing factor may be the myriad "share sites" that exist. Koreans habitually upload the latest episode of a drama or interesting TV show that they viewed just a few hours prior; recent movies that played in theaters, the hottest popular music, computer software just to name a few of the items that are available for consumption on these sites. Perhaps it is the lax laws regulating sharing and swapping content compared to other countries, but Korean Internet users (known as netizens), share just about anything with each other. With so much rich content available, from the user-created content (UCC) videos that took Korea by storm in 2006 to Cyworld mini-homepages (Korea's home-grown version of Facebook and MySpace that already had enjoyed a large on-line audience years before either of these sites became the sensations they are today) to the various blog sites competing for attention and traffic, all help drive the Korean appetite for gadgets that allow them to consume this content.
Of course, the biggest reason may simply be the massive investment in advanced technology and its support by both the private and public sectors. One such technology that has helped to create the "device culture" is Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which allows cell phones and other portable devices to pick up TV broadcasts sent on special frequencies. Cell phones equipped with this function have been available since May 2005, at which time Korea became the first country where it is possible to receive digital TV broadcasting in this manner.
HIP FEATURES, CHIC DESIGNS
There are two types of DMB service -- satellite-based and terrestrial DMB. As the names suggest, the biggest differences between the two are where the broadcast signals are transmitted from and the cost. There is a monthly fee (about 13,000 won) for the satellite-based DMB while ground-based broadcasts are provided free of charge to anyone who has a receiver attached to the device. One might wonder, then, why would anyone want to pay for such a service when they could get something similar for free. The answer concerns user preferences and geographic location. Satellite-based DMB offers more variety of video and radio channels, thirteen and twenty-six respectively, as well as providing uniform service nationwide. TU Media, a company created from various business entities within SK Telecom (Korea's leading mobile carrier and the sole owner of the satellite deployed for this service), is the only company that provides satellite-based DMB.
On the other hand, terrestrial DMB is restricted to Seoul and its vicinity for now, with significantly fewer channels (seven video and ten radio channels), than satellite-based DMB. However, one advantage of this service is that it offers real-time TV broadcasts from the three major TV networks in Korea while satellite-based DMB cannot retransmit in real-time, but rather can only show reruns of the ground-based broadcasts because of restrictions put forth by the major broadcasters. Thus, one must decide which network -- and its offerings -- one wishes to choose when buying a DMB phone. However, that will change next year thanks to a new agreement drawn up by the two different DMB service entities. Consumers will soon be able to access both networks from one cell phone device, perhaps as early as the first quarter of 2009.
The six terrestrial DMB companies have come to an agreement with SK Telecom, to share their networks as a joint effort to promote DMB service. As a result, one of the features that may benefit users will be real-time traffic updates via satellite-based network as the user watches terrestrial DMB. This integration is predicted to bring in extra revenue for terrestrial DMB providers, which have been struggling due to a less-than-profitable business model.
The average price of a DMB cell phone starts from 600,000 won. Regardless of its rather steep price tag, it is not unusual to see these high-tech cell phones just about everywhere you go in Korea -- especially during commute hours on subways and buses. Before DMB service started, the sole way to view TV on a handheld device was on the small screen of a mobile phone.
Nowadays, though, cool gadgets such as specialized DMB players are far more common for TV and movie-viewing than mobile phones. DMB players typically feature chic designs and offer hip features at lower prices than an integrated DMB handset, which has rendered the former considerably more appealing.
http://www.ikjournal.com/
◦
Friday, February 06, 2009
Analysis: Few details on U.S. North Korea policy
President Barack Obama already has senior envoys working on crises in South Asia and the Middle East. The new administration has said little, however, about how it will handle a standoff with an increasingly hostile, nuclear-armed North Korea.
The North does not like being ignored by the United States, which the Bush administration was reminded of in 2006 when Pyongyang quickly moved itself up the list of top U.S. foreign policy problems by staging nuclear and missile tests.
North Korea is again showing signs of restlessness, and its belligerence toward its Asian neighbors could escalate should Pyongyang see a lack of U.S. attention or urgency.
In recent days, the North has pledged to scrap pacts designed to prevent hostilities with South Korea and apparently is preparing to test-fire a ballistic missile capable of striking the western United States.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to name a special representative for North Korea, but the timing is uncertain. She also has not yet named other top officials for Asia.
An absence of U.S. leadership is potentially risky, according to John Bolton, George W. Bush's U.N. envoy and a strident critic of what he sees as lenient U.S. policy toward North Korea.
"Neglecting North Korea is a dangerous gamble with very high stakes," Bolton wrote in a recent opinion piece.
So far, the State Department has provided few details about the future of North Korean nuclear efforts. Clinton has praised the Bush administration's use of six-nation disarmament talks, which are now stalled over North Korea's refusal to agree to a nuclear verification process, but she has said little else.
Still, Clinton will be sending an important message by making her first visit abroad to Asia. She will travel this month to Japan, South Korea and China three nations that, along with the United States and Russia, are pressing the North to abandon its bombs. Although North Korea will feature prominently in Clinton's meetings, it will be one of many topics, including climate change and tensions over natural resources, trade and Taiwan.
The naming of an envoy would be a break from the Bush administration, which called upon the heads of the State Department's East Asian affairs bureau to negotiate with the North. The Clinton administration used special envoys.
The return of a high-level special envoy dedicated to the time-consuming nuclear talks would allow the assistant secretary of state for East Asia to deal with parts of the region that have often felt neglected during Washington's push to settle a North Korean deal.
Michael Green, a former Bush administration Asia adviser, said the assistant secretary for East Asia has "become the North Korea desk officer. It's too much to ask one person to do both jobs."
The current top diplomat for East Asia, Christopher Hill, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, defended the focus on North Korea.
"In this line of work, when you're confronted with an urgent problem versus an important problem, you focus on the urgent," said Hill, the leading candidate to become the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq. "So I can't say I would do it differently, but, certainly, any time you spend a lot of time on an urgent problem, you're not spending time on other problems."
Clinton has yet to name her assistant secretary for East Asia but is expected to choose an Asia adviser from her husband's administration, Kurt Campbell.
The delay in naming a special envoy for North Korea could be because of a need to make sure the person chosen can work well with Campbell, especially if the envoy should be ordered to report to Clinton and Obama, and not to Campbell. Any friction between the assistant secretary and the envoy could complicate diplomatic efforts.
Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, said Campbell has close ties with Clinton and, therefore, will feel free "to walk into her office and say we need to coordinate a little better."
Any North Korea envoy, Cossa said, "will know Kurt has that special relationship with Clinton." ◦
The North does not like being ignored by the United States, which the Bush administration was reminded of in 2006 when Pyongyang quickly moved itself up the list of top U.S. foreign policy problems by staging nuclear and missile tests.
North Korea is again showing signs of restlessness, and its belligerence toward its Asian neighbors could escalate should Pyongyang see a lack of U.S. attention or urgency.
In recent days, the North has pledged to scrap pacts designed to prevent hostilities with South Korea and apparently is preparing to test-fire a ballistic missile capable of striking the western United States.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to name a special representative for North Korea, but the timing is uncertain. She also has not yet named other top officials for Asia.
An absence of U.S. leadership is potentially risky, according to John Bolton, George W. Bush's U.N. envoy and a strident critic of what he sees as lenient U.S. policy toward North Korea.
"Neglecting North Korea is a dangerous gamble with very high stakes," Bolton wrote in a recent opinion piece.
So far, the State Department has provided few details about the future of North Korean nuclear efforts. Clinton has praised the Bush administration's use of six-nation disarmament talks, which are now stalled over North Korea's refusal to agree to a nuclear verification process, but she has said little else.
Still, Clinton will be sending an important message by making her first visit abroad to Asia. She will travel this month to Japan, South Korea and China three nations that, along with the United States and Russia, are pressing the North to abandon its bombs. Although North Korea will feature prominently in Clinton's meetings, it will be one of many topics, including climate change and tensions over natural resources, trade and Taiwan.
The naming of an envoy would be a break from the Bush administration, which called upon the heads of the State Department's East Asian affairs bureau to negotiate with the North. The Clinton administration used special envoys.
The return of a high-level special envoy dedicated to the time-consuming nuclear talks would allow the assistant secretary of state for East Asia to deal with parts of the region that have often felt neglected during Washington's push to settle a North Korean deal.
Michael Green, a former Bush administration Asia adviser, said the assistant secretary for East Asia has "become the North Korea desk officer. It's too much to ask one person to do both jobs."
The current top diplomat for East Asia, Christopher Hill, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, defended the focus on North Korea.
"In this line of work, when you're confronted with an urgent problem versus an important problem, you focus on the urgent," said Hill, the leading candidate to become the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq. "So I can't say I would do it differently, but, certainly, any time you spend a lot of time on an urgent problem, you're not spending time on other problems."
Clinton has yet to name her assistant secretary for East Asia but is expected to choose an Asia adviser from her husband's administration, Kurt Campbell.
The delay in naming a special envoy for North Korea could be because of a need to make sure the person chosen can work well with Campbell, especially if the envoy should be ordered to report to Clinton and Obama, and not to Campbell. Any friction between the assistant secretary and the envoy could complicate diplomatic efforts.
Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, said Campbell has close ties with Clinton and, therefore, will feel free "to walk into her office and say we need to coordinate a little better."
Any North Korea envoy, Cossa said, "will know Kurt has that special relationship with Clinton." ◦
Monday, February 02, 2009
South Korean killer reignites death row debate
Amid a serial murder scandal that is shaking the country, voices are calling for the revival of capital punishment, which has been unused for the past few years.
Amnesty International, a human rights group, classified Korea as "abolitionist in practice" in 2007 because the country has not executed anyone in the past 12 years, though capital punishment is still valid.
Capital punishment in Korea was last carried out under the Kim Young-sam government on Dec. 20, 1997 when 23 people were executed.
Presently, 58 are on death row, theoretically awaiting execution, and 19 are serving life sentences after receiving commutation, according to the Justice Ministry.
As the police yesterday rounded off the crime scene investigation regarding serial killer Kang Ho-soon who admitted to killing seven women in the past two years, many are demanding that Kang be sentenced to death.
During the two-day crime scene investigation, Kang calmly demonstrated his crimes without signs of regret or agitation, said witnesses at the scene. Family members of his victims are swearing fierce resistance should the judiciary fail to condemn the murderer to an appropriate sentence.
If accusations against Kang turn out to be true, present criminal law provides that he be handed down the maximum legal sentence. Murder, when combined with rape, is subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment, with corpse abandonment adding another seven years.
A well-known serial killer, Yoo Young-chul, was given a death sentence in 2005 for killing 20 people, tearing their bodies to pieces and burying them. Another murderer, Chung Nam-gyu, was also given the sentence in 2007 for killing 13 people and injuring 20.
The Justice Ministry is skeptical about carrying out the irrevocable criminal sentence, despite mounting public requests.
"In the past scandalous serial murder cases, public opinion also demanded the death of the killers, but it was just not enough to resist the worldwide legal trend of capital punishment abolishment," said a Justice Ministry official. "The very nature of the death sentence is controversial, and Kang's case alone will probably not reverse the present flow of criminal punishment."
Yoo and Chung have been imprisoned for several years as their death sentences have not been carried out.
As of December 2007, 102 countries have abolished the death sentence and 31, including Korea, are classified as "abolitionist in practice," according to figures from the AI. Only 64 countries actually execute the maximum criminal penalty.
Those who sympathize with the ministry's stance point out the global trend against capital punishment, the possibility of judicial misjudgment and the value of human life.
The majority of the public, however, claim that the rights of innocent people should be prioritized.
"Legal authorities will be criticized as populist, should they refuse to sentence Kang Ho-soon to death, citing human rights as reasons," said Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo in a radio interview yesterday.
Criminal statistics from the Justice Ministry also showed a 32 percent increase in murder rates in the 10 years since the government's de facto abolition of the death sentence.
Some say that the government should stop wasting taxes by indefinitely delaying the execution of those condemned to death.
According to government data presented to Rep. Joo Kwang-deok of the ruling Grand National Party during a parliamentary audit last year, the state spends an annual 1.59 million won ($1,100) to keep a condemned criminals in prison.
Amid rising disputes over capital punishment, one of the oldest punishments in history, the Constitutional Court is to hold an open discussion on the legitimacy of the death sentence in June.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030056.asp
◦
Amnesty International, a human rights group, classified Korea as "abolitionist in practice" in 2007 because the country has not executed anyone in the past 12 years, though capital punishment is still valid.
Capital punishment in Korea was last carried out under the Kim Young-sam government on Dec. 20, 1997 when 23 people were executed.
Presently, 58 are on death row, theoretically awaiting execution, and 19 are serving life sentences after receiving commutation, according to the Justice Ministry.
As the police yesterday rounded off the crime scene investigation regarding serial killer Kang Ho-soon who admitted to killing seven women in the past two years, many are demanding that Kang be sentenced to death.
During the two-day crime scene investigation, Kang calmly demonstrated his crimes without signs of regret or agitation, said witnesses at the scene. Family members of his victims are swearing fierce resistance should the judiciary fail to condemn the murderer to an appropriate sentence.
If accusations against Kang turn out to be true, present criminal law provides that he be handed down the maximum legal sentence. Murder, when combined with rape, is subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment, with corpse abandonment adding another seven years.
A well-known serial killer, Yoo Young-chul, was given a death sentence in 2005 for killing 20 people, tearing their bodies to pieces and burying them. Another murderer, Chung Nam-gyu, was also given the sentence in 2007 for killing 13 people and injuring 20.
The Justice Ministry is skeptical about carrying out the irrevocable criminal sentence, despite mounting public requests.
"In the past scandalous serial murder cases, public opinion also demanded the death of the killers, but it was just not enough to resist the worldwide legal trend of capital punishment abolishment," said a Justice Ministry official. "The very nature of the death sentence is controversial, and Kang's case alone will probably not reverse the present flow of criminal punishment."
Yoo and Chung have been imprisoned for several years as their death sentences have not been carried out.
As of December 2007, 102 countries have abolished the death sentence and 31, including Korea, are classified as "abolitionist in practice," according to figures from the AI. Only 64 countries actually execute the maximum criminal penalty.
Those who sympathize with the ministry's stance point out the global trend against capital punishment, the possibility of judicial misjudgment and the value of human life.
The majority of the public, however, claim that the rights of innocent people should be prioritized.
"Legal authorities will be criticized as populist, should they refuse to sentence Kang Ho-soon to death, citing human rights as reasons," said Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo in a radio interview yesterday.
Criminal statistics from the Justice Ministry also showed a 32 percent increase in murder rates in the 10 years since the government's de facto abolition of the death sentence.
Some say that the government should stop wasting taxes by indefinitely delaying the execution of those condemned to death.
According to government data presented to Rep. Joo Kwang-deok of the ruling Grand National Party during a parliamentary audit last year, the state spends an annual 1.59 million won ($1,100) to keep a condemned criminals in prison.
Amid rising disputes over capital punishment, one of the oldest punishments in history, the Constitutional Court is to hold an open discussion on the legitimacy of the death sentence in June.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030056.asp
◦
Beauty finds a way to buck the recession in South Korea
In tough times people resort to small luxuries to compensate for letting go of big-budget plans or hobbies like traveling.
For example, two of the country's popular cosmetic brands, Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health Care, said recently that their third quarter sales rose 15.6 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
However, it does not hurt to be thrifty in these times, especially if the quality of a product is guaranteed. Such consumer mentality explains the success of a growing number of cosmetic brands that are selling exclusively on home shopping channels. Some of them are selling like hotcakes because, even though they are cheaper at about 100,000 won a kit, their quality is also ensured by those who make them.
Most of these brands are collaborations between top-notch make-up artists and leading local mid-sized manufacturers, including Aekyung Industries Inc. and Enprani Corporation.
One such successful TV home shopping cosmetic brand is LUNA, created by a partnership between top make-up artist Cho Sung-ah and Aekyung Industries Inc., a well-known home, health and beauty goods production company. LUNA, launched in 2006, is also the first to tap that particular market.
"LUNA was top-ranked in sales among all products sold on GS Homeshopping during the last year. We sold more than 400,000 cosmetic sets," said a spokesperson for GS Homeshopping.
SEP (Simple, Easy and Perfect) joined the market early last year, but is quickly catching up with LUNA. SEP was established by leading make-up artist duo Son Dae-sik and Park Tae-yoon with cosmetics company Enprani Corp.
"Through combining the experience of Son and Park and Enprani's expertise in cosmetics production, we have created a nice teamwork which is appealing to women in their 20s," said an Enprani spokesperson.
Both LUNA and SEP emphasize their convenience and simplicity. Besides the instructions that are enclosed in their products, which often come in complete sets, consumers can catch demonstrations by the make-up artists themselves on TV.
Instead of just selling the products to the consumers, the artists aim at enabling ordinary women to do their make-up well and fast, the Aekyung official said.
"Basically, a set enables beginners like me to finish make-up by just following the guidelines. The kit has everything I need," said Lee Na-yeon, a 24-year-old student.
These brands have also been timely in presenting seasonally suitable products while challenging standard cosmetic products by coming up with unique items.
Under the concept of "Noble Make-up," a trend young Korean women are avidly following nowadays, Son and Park duo have recently presented a cosmetics kit that includes mineral loose powder foundation. CJ Homeshopping sold over 70,000 of them translating into over 7 billion won in sales.
LUNA also has been constantly renewing its line-up of products according to different themes, such as "Baby-face" "Small face" and "Three-dimensional."
"The kit keeps evolving as time passes, adapting to the consumers' needs," said Yoo Hye-mi, 27.
Some items from LUNA have received wild responses from buyers for their creativity. They include "Brush Foundation," a foundation that has a brush attached to it and "Cheek & Eye Print," a stamp-like blush and eye-shadow shaped like those of the cheek and the eye.
LICHT, created by model/actress Byun Jung-soo and KAREN, launched by popular make-up artist Kim Sun-jin, were also introduced on CJ Homeshopping last year and have been enjoying robust sales.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030063.asp
◦
For example, two of the country's popular cosmetic brands, Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health Care, said recently that their third quarter sales rose 15.6 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
However, it does not hurt to be thrifty in these times, especially if the quality of a product is guaranteed. Such consumer mentality explains the success of a growing number of cosmetic brands that are selling exclusively on home shopping channels. Some of them are selling like hotcakes because, even though they are cheaper at about 100,000 won a kit, their quality is also ensured by those who make them.
Most of these brands are collaborations between top-notch make-up artists and leading local mid-sized manufacturers, including Aekyung Industries Inc. and Enprani Corporation.
One such successful TV home shopping cosmetic brand is LUNA, created by a partnership between top make-up artist Cho Sung-ah and Aekyung Industries Inc., a well-known home, health and beauty goods production company. LUNA, launched in 2006, is also the first to tap that particular market.
"LUNA was top-ranked in sales among all products sold on GS Homeshopping during the last year. We sold more than 400,000 cosmetic sets," said a spokesperson for GS Homeshopping.
SEP (Simple, Easy and Perfect) joined the market early last year, but is quickly catching up with LUNA. SEP was established by leading make-up artist duo Son Dae-sik and Park Tae-yoon with cosmetics company Enprani Corp.
"Through combining the experience of Son and Park and Enprani's expertise in cosmetics production, we have created a nice teamwork which is appealing to women in their 20s," said an Enprani spokesperson.
Both LUNA and SEP emphasize their convenience and simplicity. Besides the instructions that are enclosed in their products, which often come in complete sets, consumers can catch demonstrations by the make-up artists themselves on TV.
Instead of just selling the products to the consumers, the artists aim at enabling ordinary women to do their make-up well and fast, the Aekyung official said.
"Basically, a set enables beginners like me to finish make-up by just following the guidelines. The kit has everything I need," said Lee Na-yeon, a 24-year-old student.
These brands have also been timely in presenting seasonally suitable products while challenging standard cosmetic products by coming up with unique items.
Under the concept of "Noble Make-up," a trend young Korean women are avidly following nowadays, Son and Park duo have recently presented a cosmetics kit that includes mineral loose powder foundation. CJ Homeshopping sold over 70,000 of them translating into over 7 billion won in sales.
LUNA also has been constantly renewing its line-up of products according to different themes, such as "Baby-face" "Small face" and "Three-dimensional."
"The kit keeps evolving as time passes, adapting to the consumers' needs," said Yoo Hye-mi, 27.
Some items from LUNA have received wild responses from buyers for their creativity. They include "Brush Foundation," a foundation that has a brush attached to it and "Cheek & Eye Print," a stamp-like blush and eye-shadow shaped like those of the cheek and the eye.
LICHT, created by model/actress Byun Jung-soo and KAREN, launched by popular make-up artist Kim Sun-jin, were also introduced on CJ Homeshopping last year and have been enjoying robust sales.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030063.asp
◦
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Sunday, February 01, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Data points to bigger economic crash in South Korea than 1997
Korea's latest economic indicators are plummeting faster than they did during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, raising alarm that the current economic downturn could be worse, government data showed yesterday.
After the September debacle on Wall Street, the global financial crisis put Korea's output, exports and consumption into a downward spiral in November, and sapped jobs in December, according to data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the National Statistical Office and the Bank of Korea.
The data showed that production in the mining and manufacturing industries contracted 14.1 percent in November from a year ago, the worst since the government began compiling such data in 1970. The indicator first swung into the red in October with a 2.3 percent contraction.
The decline of the two monthly figures was steeper than a 0.4 percent contraction in December 1997 and a 7.7 percent contraction in January 1998.
Industry watchers attribute the quick contraction to worse-than-expected exports.
Exports, the main pillar of the Korean economy, dropped 19.5 percent in November and further plummeted an estimated 30 percent in the first 20 days of January.
According to the Korea Customs Service, local firms shipped an estimated $12.47 billion worth of goods during the first 20 days of this month, compared with $17.54 billion a year earlier.
Factories operated at just 68 percent of their capacity in November, compared with 80.6 percent a year ago, government data showed. It was the lowest level since 65.7 percent in August 1998.
As production of consumer goods decreased, consumption fell to the worst level in more than a decade. The November sales of consumer goods shrank 5.9 percent, the lowest since minus 7.3 percent in December 1998.
The weak exports and domestic demand created in a vicious circle, leading to output cuts and restructuring.
The economy lost 12,000 jobs in December from a year earlier, the first such decline in five years. The employment rate for those in their 20s stood at 57.8 percent in December, the lowest since May 1999, according to the NSO.
No bright spots in almost all economic indicators led the nation to suffer the worst fourth quarter GDP contraction in 11 years. The economy shrank 3.4 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier.
Many firms are forecast to suffer downgrades in their credit ratings, other industry data showed.
According to the credit rating agency Korea Investors Service, 283 Korean firms' annual rating drift rates, or upgrade rates minus downgrade rates divided by the total, swung into the red last year for the first time since minus 51.92 percent recorded in 1998.
The upward trend in credit ratings of Korean firms, which has been continuing since 1999, is now over due to increased credit risks from the last year's financial market distress, credit crunch and the deterioration in the real estate industry, a KIS official said.
Consequently, more than 20 percent of 481 corporate bonds as of Monday last week received BB or lower ratings, because the redemption of those bonds were deemed as somewhat speculative to be guaranteed in the long term, KIS said.
Ssangyong Motors and C&Heavy Industries have been excluded from the ratings evaluation since the two were rated D, or in default. Ssangyong, the Korean unit of Sanghai Automotive Industry Corp. of China has asked court receivership and creditor banks decided to cut off rescue loans to C& Heavy earlier this month. ◦
After the September debacle on Wall Street, the global financial crisis put Korea's output, exports and consumption into a downward spiral in November, and sapped jobs in December, according to data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the National Statistical Office and the Bank of Korea.
The data showed that production in the mining and manufacturing industries contracted 14.1 percent in November from a year ago, the worst since the government began compiling such data in 1970. The indicator first swung into the red in October with a 2.3 percent contraction.
The decline of the two monthly figures was steeper than a 0.4 percent contraction in December 1997 and a 7.7 percent contraction in January 1998.
Industry watchers attribute the quick contraction to worse-than-expected exports.
Exports, the main pillar of the Korean economy, dropped 19.5 percent in November and further plummeted an estimated 30 percent in the first 20 days of January.
According to the Korea Customs Service, local firms shipped an estimated $12.47 billion worth of goods during the first 20 days of this month, compared with $17.54 billion a year earlier.
Factories operated at just 68 percent of their capacity in November, compared with 80.6 percent a year ago, government data showed. It was the lowest level since 65.7 percent in August 1998.
As production of consumer goods decreased, consumption fell to the worst level in more than a decade. The November sales of consumer goods shrank 5.9 percent, the lowest since minus 7.3 percent in December 1998.
The weak exports and domestic demand created in a vicious circle, leading to output cuts and restructuring.
The economy lost 12,000 jobs in December from a year earlier, the first such decline in five years. The employment rate for those in their 20s stood at 57.8 percent in December, the lowest since May 1999, according to the NSO.
No bright spots in almost all economic indicators led the nation to suffer the worst fourth quarter GDP contraction in 11 years. The economy shrank 3.4 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier.
Many firms are forecast to suffer downgrades in their credit ratings, other industry data showed.
According to the credit rating agency Korea Investors Service, 283 Korean firms' annual rating drift rates, or upgrade rates minus downgrade rates divided by the total, swung into the red last year for the first time since minus 51.92 percent recorded in 1998.
The upward trend in credit ratings of Korean firms, which has been continuing since 1999, is now over due to increased credit risks from the last year's financial market distress, credit crunch and the deterioration in the real estate industry, a KIS official said.
Consequently, more than 20 percent of 481 corporate bonds as of Monday last week received BB or lower ratings, because the redemption of those bonds were deemed as somewhat speculative to be guaranteed in the long term, KIS said.
Ssangyong Motors and C&Heavy Industries have been excluded from the ratings evaluation since the two were rated D, or in default. Ssangyong, the Korean unit of Sanghai Automotive Industry Corp. of China has asked court receivership and creditor banks decided to cut off rescue loans to C& Heavy earlier this month. ◦
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Woman to appear on South Korean banknote for first time
A woman will appear on South Korean banknotes for the first time, with the issuance of a new 50,000-won ($36) bill, the central bank announced Tuesday.
The front of the bill — South Korea's largest-denominated note — will show artwork by and a portrait of Shin Saim-dang, a well-known artist who died in 1551. Shin was the mother of Yi I, a famous Confucian scholar, and is popularly referred to as a symbol of a "wise mother and good wife."
Some of Shin's artwork already appears on the back of the 5,000-won note; the front of the bill is adorned with a portrait of Yi, known by his pen name Yulgok.
Shin was one of the most respected female figures in Korea's Joseon Dynasty, which ruled from 1392 to 1910.
An official with the Bank of Korea said the choice of Shin was significant because it marks the first time a woman will be featured on the banknotes of South Korea, a traditionally male-dominated society.
The new note has strengthened anti-forgery technologies and will debut before June, said the official who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media.
The note will be the country's highest-denominated bill followed by the 10,000 won.
The bank decided last week not to issue a 100,000-won (about $70) bill at the government's request.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Taming Korea's Wild Wild Web
In a society where over 97% of households have high-speed broadband access, the Internet has the power to make or break the careers of South Korean politicians and entertainers and to publicize the private lives of common individuals. Live Web-casts of political rallies and street protests, like those this summer against U.S. beef imports, are common. And “netizens” are vigilant in their monitoring of politicians and the press.
But there is a downside. Internet bullying is a major problem. In 2005, netizens so harassed a girl who had not cleaned up after her dog that one newspaper called it “a kind of nationwide cyber lynching.” Today, many Koreans believe that Internet bullying caused the recent suicide of the famous actress, Choe Jin Sil. Korea’s ruling Grand National Party has seized the moment to push for stronger regulation and hopes to pass new legislation to increase Internet regulation by the end of the year.
The proposed legislation 1) requires real-name identification system for all who post comments online; 2) mandates portals to delete “malicious entries” within 24 hours of receiving complaints; 3) requires sites with more than 100,000 visitors, rather than the current 300,000, to verify user identities. Violators—both providers and consumers—can face jail time and/or substantive monetary fines. And the national police has been deployed to “hunt, arrest, and punish” individuals who upload falsities and pernicious rumors.
Advocates believe eliminating anonymity will discourage cyber-bullying and cyber-terrorism, while critics argue that the legislation threatens freedom of speech and privacy.
Many also accuse President Lee Myungbak and his party of seeking to control the Internet to suppress public opposition to his policies, such as the resumption of beef imports from the U.S. and the free trade agreement negotiated with the Bush administration.
But Mr. Lee’s administration is not the first to push for Internet controls. Government efforts began under his predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, the “progressive” whose election victory in 2002 was due in part to Internet mobilization of supporters. In 2005, both the ruling Uri Party and the opposition GNP supported the first attempt by the Ministry of Information and Culture (MIC) to require real names and resident registration numbers (akin to the Social Security number in the U.S.) for online postings. And Yahoo Korea, Naver, and Daum—the major online outlets—found that a majority of those polled also supported the real name system. The government and people were responding to the proliferation of cyber crimes. And in the fall of 2007, MIC made plans to permit the use of registered mobile-phone numbers or personal identification numbers (PINs) rather than the resident registration number in order to protect Internet users from cyber scams and the “leakage” of personal information.
Certainly, Internet culture in Korea is like the Wild Wild West, chaotic, and something of a free-for-all. It is an extension of “street politics” that has characterized Korean politics for decades. From the 1960s to the 1980s, people spilled out onto the streets to fight for democracy, and the habit of hurling political grievances, opinions and insults in public has continued since democratization. Not only common citizens but elected officials also regularly bombard streets and cyberspace to push their positions and oppose others’. Some Korean legislators have become notorious for using their own Web sites to skewer one another.
Regardless of good intentions to reduce or prevent Internet abuse, the Lee government’s current plans to contain the Internet by making online expression potentially criminal and punitive do not make sense in a modern democracy. Add to that the fact that no government can really control cyberspace. There is already a history of government control over political expression through the Internet. During the closing months of the last presidential campaign, the National Election commission had prohibited online postings that criticized the candidates. The penalty, if found guilty, was up to three years in prison or a 30 million won fine ($33,000). Many in Korea believed that the regulation had suppressed “Internet democracy,” especially in a society where online news access has overtaken traditional print media.
Improving laws on slander, libel and harassment, rather than tightening government control of the Internet, may be a more sensible way to hold online abusers accountable. But civic education, from elementary school on up, about personal responsibility in all areas of public life, not just the Internet, is urgently needed. In Korea (and elsewhere), many Internet users just scream at or condemn others. But blurting out words does not equal democratic participation. Democratic life requires learning how to deliberate on one’s own and with others by consuming and creating information with discipline and discernment. Fostering the deliberative process and constructive debate can make a big difference between democracy and chaos.
http://www.feer.com/politics/2008/november/Taming-Koreas-Wild-Wild-Web
◦
But there is a downside. Internet bullying is a major problem. In 2005, netizens so harassed a girl who had not cleaned up after her dog that one newspaper called it “a kind of nationwide cyber lynching.” Today, many Koreans believe that Internet bullying caused the recent suicide of the famous actress, Choe Jin Sil. Korea’s ruling Grand National Party has seized the moment to push for stronger regulation and hopes to pass new legislation to increase Internet regulation by the end of the year.
The proposed legislation 1) requires real-name identification system for all who post comments online; 2) mandates portals to delete “malicious entries” within 24 hours of receiving complaints; 3) requires sites with more than 100,000 visitors, rather than the current 300,000, to verify user identities. Violators—both providers and consumers—can face jail time and/or substantive monetary fines. And the national police has been deployed to “hunt, arrest, and punish” individuals who upload falsities and pernicious rumors.
Advocates believe eliminating anonymity will discourage cyber-bullying and cyber-terrorism, while critics argue that the legislation threatens freedom of speech and privacy.
Many also accuse President Lee Myungbak and his party of seeking to control the Internet to suppress public opposition to his policies, such as the resumption of beef imports from the U.S. and the free trade agreement negotiated with the Bush administration.
But Mr. Lee’s administration is not the first to push for Internet controls. Government efforts began under his predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, the “progressive” whose election victory in 2002 was due in part to Internet mobilization of supporters. In 2005, both the ruling Uri Party and the opposition GNP supported the first attempt by the Ministry of Information and Culture (MIC) to require real names and resident registration numbers (akin to the Social Security number in the U.S.) for online postings. And Yahoo Korea, Naver, and Daum—the major online outlets—found that a majority of those polled also supported the real name system. The government and people were responding to the proliferation of cyber crimes. And in the fall of 2007, MIC made plans to permit the use of registered mobile-phone numbers or personal identification numbers (PINs) rather than the resident registration number in order to protect Internet users from cyber scams and the “leakage” of personal information.
Certainly, Internet culture in Korea is like the Wild Wild West, chaotic, and something of a free-for-all. It is an extension of “street politics” that has characterized Korean politics for decades. From the 1960s to the 1980s, people spilled out onto the streets to fight for democracy, and the habit of hurling political grievances, opinions and insults in public has continued since democratization. Not only common citizens but elected officials also regularly bombard streets and cyberspace to push their positions and oppose others’. Some Korean legislators have become notorious for using their own Web sites to skewer one another.
Regardless of good intentions to reduce or prevent Internet abuse, the Lee government’s current plans to contain the Internet by making online expression potentially criminal and punitive do not make sense in a modern democracy. Add to that the fact that no government can really control cyberspace. There is already a history of government control over political expression through the Internet. During the closing months of the last presidential campaign, the National Election commission had prohibited online postings that criticized the candidates. The penalty, if found guilty, was up to three years in prison or a 30 million won fine ($33,000). Many in Korea believed that the regulation had suppressed “Internet democracy,” especially in a society where online news access has overtaken traditional print media.
Improving laws on slander, libel and harassment, rather than tightening government control of the Internet, may be a more sensible way to hold online abusers accountable. But civic education, from elementary school on up, about personal responsibility in all areas of public life, not just the Internet, is urgently needed. In Korea (and elsewhere), many Internet users just scream at or condemn others. But blurting out words does not equal democratic participation. Democratic life requires learning how to deliberate on one’s own and with others by consuming and creating information with discipline and discernment. Fostering the deliberative process and constructive debate can make a big difference between democracy and chaos.
http://www.feer.com/politics/2008/november/Taming-Koreas-Wild-Wild-Web
◦
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
South Korean convicted of marital rape commits suicide
A man who last week became the first person convicted of marital rape in South Korea was found dead in an apparent suicide, police said.
The 42-year-old man was found hanged Tuesday at his home in the southern city of Busan, police officer Kim Jong-moon said.
An initial forensic examination shows that the man, identified only by his surname Lim, killed himself, though no suicide note was found, the officer said.
His death came four days after he was sentenced to a suspended 30-month prison term for raping his 25-year-old Filipino wife at knifepoint.
The case marked the first time a man in traditionally male-dominated South Korea has been convicted of marital rape.
Lim had strongly complained about his conviction, claiming the rape occurred "accidentally" while the couple fought and that their relationship was not good because she was negligent about housekeeping, news reports said.
Reports said the couple met through a marriage broker in 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_marital_rape_2
◦
The 42-year-old man was found hanged Tuesday at his home in the southern city of Busan, police officer Kim Jong-moon said.
An initial forensic examination shows that the man, identified only by his surname Lim, killed himself, though no suicide note was found, the officer said.
His death came four days after he was sentenced to a suspended 30-month prison term for raping his 25-year-old Filipino wife at knifepoint.
The case marked the first time a man in traditionally male-dominated South Korea has been convicted of marital rape.
Lim had strongly complained about his conviction, claiming the rape occurred "accidentally" while the couple fought and that their relationship was not good because she was negligent about housekeeping, news reports said.
Reports said the couple met through a marriage broker in 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_marital_rape_2
◦
Friday, January 16, 2009
WiBro Turns Into White Elephant
Korea's hope of creating a legacy in wireless technology may come true but for all the wrong reasons.
It wasn't long ago when government officials were convinced that the market was ready for a new kind of wireless network, which they dubbed WiBro, designed to provide high-speed data services to handsets, computers, homes and offices.
Now, just two-and-a-half years into deployment, WiBro, which is short for "wireless broadband,'' is looking more and more like a monumental letdown everyday.
Desperate to save the WiBro, policymakers recently enabled operators to provide voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services on their networks and pressed them to increase investment.
The problem with the plan is that these are the same companies that are backing alternative mobile-phone services that so far have successfully fended off WiBro's challenge with ease.
"We have no intention of allowing WiBro to fade out when we believe the technology has great potential,'' said Shin Yong-sub, an official of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country's broadcasting and telecommunications regulator.
"If the home-made WiBro goes international, it will bring new opportunities for Korean high-tech firms in royalty payments and equipment sales, and for this to happen, the local market for the service needs to get bigger. Allowing voice is a good way to achieve that and we need operators to renew their commitment and invest more aggressively,'' he said.
WiBro is designed as a predecessor to mobile WiMAX, which is competing with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in the fourth-generation (4G) telecommunications race.
The government has been promoting WiBro aggressively in hopes of allowing local companies to drive the standard and capture the benefits of homegrown intellectual property.
However, in a country that boasts one of the most advanced wireless networks in the world, WiBro looks like a solution without a problem. WiBro's struggles are not just a concern for its operators, but for high-tech giants Intel and Samsung Electronics, who are the biggest backers of WiMAX and had hoped WiBro would provide a convincing reference case against LTE in the standards race.
Now, WiBro seems to be mentioned more by LTE supporters, including Ericsson Vice President Jonas Lundstedt, who, in a recent news conference in Seoul, claimed that the experience in Korea indicates that mobile WiMAX is lagging by years.
KT, the country's biggest telephone company and Internet provider, has just 180,000 customers for its WiBro services, while wireless leader, SK Telecom, which had to be dragged into the market by heavy-handed government policies, gathered 11,000 customers through a half-hearted effort.
Around the time of WiBro's commercial launch in June 2006, the state-run Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) predicted the market for the technology would grow to 12.5 trillion won (about $9.2 billion) by 2012.
KCC now says the goal is to reach 330 billion won by then.
Considering that KT and SK Telecom used 790 and 600 billion won, respectively, to build their WiBro networks and each needs to spend between 200 and 400 billion won more to expand coverage, a 300 billion won-plus market after seven years hardly qualifies as a consolation prize.
KCC officials are betting heavily that VoIP could inject new life into WiBro, which appears particularly vulnerable. Jo Young-hoon, a KCC official, says that VoIP WiBro could provide customers with mobile services that are about 30 percent cheaper than current ones.
"We expect commercial services to start in December this year, when consumers will be able to use dual-band, dual-mode handsets that switch between WiBro and existing mobile-phone networks,'' he said.
The WiBro handsets will be given numbers that start with the 010 prefix, used by all three of the country's mobile-phone carriers ― SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom.
SK Telecom, which controls more than 50 percent of wireless customers and currently enjoys leadership in the third-generation (3G) market, doesn't like the scenario one bit.
KCC officials recently "recommended'' SK Telecom executives consider allowing VoIP calls on its WiBro handsets, according to government sources, which has the company reacting as if it was robbed of its wallet.
"We would need to invest at least two trillion won more to complete a nationwide WiBro network, and the cheap calls on WiBro handsets will erode our profits by initiating fierce competition,'' said an SK Telecom spokesman.
The idea of allowing VoIP over the WiBro network was first initiated by KT, which looked ready to tap into the mobile telephony market to compensate for its declining fixed-line revenue.
However, with the company expecting to complete its merger with its mobile subsidiary, KTF, during the first-half of the year, KT is suddenly indifferent.
Although KT plans to introduce the services by the end of the year, its level of commitment remains to be seen, as company officials now claim that WiBro should complement existing mobile-phone services, not cannibalize the customer pool.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2009/01/133_37712.html
◦
It wasn't long ago when government officials were convinced that the market was ready for a new kind of wireless network, which they dubbed WiBro, designed to provide high-speed data services to handsets, computers, homes and offices.
Now, just two-and-a-half years into deployment, WiBro, which is short for "wireless broadband,'' is looking more and more like a monumental letdown everyday.
Desperate to save the WiBro, policymakers recently enabled operators to provide voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services on their networks and pressed them to increase investment.
The problem with the plan is that these are the same companies that are backing alternative mobile-phone services that so far have successfully fended off WiBro's challenge with ease.
"We have no intention of allowing WiBro to fade out when we believe the technology has great potential,'' said Shin Yong-sub, an official of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country's broadcasting and telecommunications regulator.
"If the home-made WiBro goes international, it will bring new opportunities for Korean high-tech firms in royalty payments and equipment sales, and for this to happen, the local market for the service needs to get bigger. Allowing voice is a good way to achieve that and we need operators to renew their commitment and invest more aggressively,'' he said.
WiBro is designed as a predecessor to mobile WiMAX, which is competing with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in the fourth-generation (4G) telecommunications race.
The government has been promoting WiBro aggressively in hopes of allowing local companies to drive the standard and capture the benefits of homegrown intellectual property.
However, in a country that boasts one of the most advanced wireless networks in the world, WiBro looks like a solution without a problem. WiBro's struggles are not just a concern for its operators, but for high-tech giants Intel and Samsung Electronics, who are the biggest backers of WiMAX and had hoped WiBro would provide a convincing reference case against LTE in the standards race.
Now, WiBro seems to be mentioned more by LTE supporters, including Ericsson Vice President Jonas Lundstedt, who, in a recent news conference in Seoul, claimed that the experience in Korea indicates that mobile WiMAX is lagging by years.
KT, the country's biggest telephone company and Internet provider, has just 180,000 customers for its WiBro services, while wireless leader, SK Telecom, which had to be dragged into the market by heavy-handed government policies, gathered 11,000 customers through a half-hearted effort.
Around the time of WiBro's commercial launch in June 2006, the state-run Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) predicted the market for the technology would grow to 12.5 trillion won (about $9.2 billion) by 2012.
KCC now says the goal is to reach 330 billion won by then.
Considering that KT and SK Telecom used 790 and 600 billion won, respectively, to build their WiBro networks and each needs to spend between 200 and 400 billion won more to expand coverage, a 300 billion won-plus market after seven years hardly qualifies as a consolation prize.
KCC officials are betting heavily that VoIP could inject new life into WiBro, which appears particularly vulnerable. Jo Young-hoon, a KCC official, says that VoIP WiBro could provide customers with mobile services that are about 30 percent cheaper than current ones.
"We expect commercial services to start in December this year, when consumers will be able to use dual-band, dual-mode handsets that switch between WiBro and existing mobile-phone networks,'' he said.
The WiBro handsets will be given numbers that start with the 010 prefix, used by all three of the country's mobile-phone carriers ― SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom.
SK Telecom, which controls more than 50 percent of wireless customers and currently enjoys leadership in the third-generation (3G) market, doesn't like the scenario one bit.
KCC officials recently "recommended'' SK Telecom executives consider allowing VoIP calls on its WiBro handsets, according to government sources, which has the company reacting as if it was robbed of its wallet.
"We would need to invest at least two trillion won more to complete a nationwide WiBro network, and the cheap calls on WiBro handsets will erode our profits by initiating fierce competition,'' said an SK Telecom spokesman.
The idea of allowing VoIP over the WiBro network was first initiated by KT, which looked ready to tap into the mobile telephony market to compensate for its declining fixed-line revenue.
However, with the company expecting to complete its merger with its mobile subsidiary, KTF, during the first-half of the year, KT is suddenly indifferent.
Although KT plans to introduce the services by the end of the year, its level of commitment remains to be seen, as company officials now claim that WiBro should complement existing mobile-phone services, not cannibalize the customer pool.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2009/01/133_37712.html
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The arrest of South Korea's financial blogger
FOR several months a blogger going by the name of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, has proved a severe irritant to South Korea’s government. He made several correct financial predictions, such as the Korean won’s sharp decline against the American dollar, and heaped scorn on President Lee Myung-bak and his finance minister, Kang Man-soo, for their handling of the economic crisis. This made him both a household name and a target for official persecution.
Indeed, since January 10th Minerva, who has been revealed to be an unemployed man, Park Dae-sung, has been in detention. Riot police raided his flat, finding the 31-year-old at his screen, surrounded by financial primers. He is under arrest on charges related to a posting on December 29th, asserting that in order to support the won the finance ministry had ordered financial institutions to stop buying American dollars. The ministry denies this, and prosecutors argue that the post contravened so-called “cyber-slander” legislation, and caused so much currency turmoil that the government had to spend the equivalent of $2 billion to support the won. Civic groups and opposition parties, infuriated by this apparent attack on free speech, have vowed to support him.
It is possible that Mr Park is just one of several Minervas. He denies writing a newspaper article published under his pseudonym. Others question whether a man with no formal economic training can grasp financial arcana (though many journalists claim to manage). But, however many Minervas there are, the government’s sledgehammer to the blogger’s nut does nothing to improve Mr Lee’s perceived lack of a common touch.
Mr Park seems to have fallen foul of both the two main causes of official paranoia: the internet and the financial crisis. It has been alarmed about online activism ever since this helped opposition forces organise protests that brought central Seoul to a halt last year. Over the financial crisis, the finance ministry has urged foreign journalists to “care about the Korean people’s psychology” and not use adjectives like “failing”, “desperate” or “jittery” to describe markets. After all, say officials, press and people must stand together “to tackle this giant monster”. As for the ministry’s denial, traders agree that it did not put out an emergency order, as Minerva claimed. But all of the big banks in the foreign-exchange market, they say, were called and urged to curb their dollar purchases.
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12947490&subjectID=348963&fsrc=nwl ◦
Indeed, since January 10th Minerva, who has been revealed to be an unemployed man, Park Dae-sung, has been in detention. Riot police raided his flat, finding the 31-year-old at his screen, surrounded by financial primers. He is under arrest on charges related to a posting on December 29th, asserting that in order to support the won the finance ministry had ordered financial institutions to stop buying American dollars. The ministry denies this, and prosecutors argue that the post contravened so-called “cyber-slander” legislation, and caused so much currency turmoil that the government had to spend the equivalent of $2 billion to support the won. Civic groups and opposition parties, infuriated by this apparent attack on free speech, have vowed to support him.
It is possible that Mr Park is just one of several Minervas. He denies writing a newspaper article published under his pseudonym. Others question whether a man with no formal economic training can grasp financial arcana (though many journalists claim to manage). But, however many Minervas there are, the government’s sledgehammer to the blogger’s nut does nothing to improve Mr Lee’s perceived lack of a common touch.
Mr Park seems to have fallen foul of both the two main causes of official paranoia: the internet and the financial crisis. It has been alarmed about online activism ever since this helped opposition forces organise protests that brought central Seoul to a halt last year. Over the financial crisis, the finance ministry has urged foreign journalists to “care about the Korean people’s psychology” and not use adjectives like “failing”, “desperate” or “jittery” to describe markets. After all, say officials, press and people must stand together “to tackle this giant monster”. As for the ministry’s denial, traders agree that it did not put out an emergency order, as Minerva claimed. But all of the big banks in the foreign-exchange market, they say, were called and urged to curb their dollar purchases.
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12947490&subjectID=348963&fsrc=nwl ◦
Thursday, December 18, 2008
iPhone, BlackBerry to Make Debut in Korea
Tech-savvy residents in South Korea will finally have access to the iPhone and the BlackBerry Bold after being shut out from the globally popular smartphones. SK Telecom, Korea’s largest mobile carrier, and Canada’s Research in Motion held an ornate ceremony at a posh Seoul hotel on Dec. 16 to mark the launch of the BlackBerry Bold in the country at the end of this month. It will be the first time the BlackBerry service is offered to Koreans by a major local wireless carrier.
To counter SK’s initiative, KT Freetel, Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier known as KTF, says it plans to introduce Apple’s 3G iPhone in April although it has yet to agree with Apple on pricing and other details. The rush to introduce the iPhone underscores the smartphone race underway among Korean operators trying to increase revenues in a market with a mobile subscription rate of well over 90%.
The use of the iPhone and other foreign phones has been discouraged by Korea’s regulatory requirements too. To help smaller companies develop Internet-related applications at lower costs, the Seoul government in 2005 made it mandatory for all handset makers and content providers to use a software standard for Internet access, called WIPI, or Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, in Korea. The Korean Communications Commission announced last week that the rule, which meant extra cost for foreign makers because of the need to modify their phones, will be abolished from April 1.
An exception to that requirement was made earlier this year for business users, paving the way for the BlackBerry Bold’s debut before April. SK says the phone will be offered to all consumers if there’s demand for non-business use. Industry watchers notes KTF, which has a 31.5% market share in Korea, has been desperately trying to offer differentiated services to narrow its gap with SK, with more than 50% share, and the iPhone could be one option.
Some analysts say, however, the iPhone probably won’t do the trick. Nokia is virtually non-existent in Korea where consumers are more attracted to phones made by local companies Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The two Korean electronic powerhouses each roll out scores of sleek multimedia handsets and smartphones featuring leading-edge technologies every year. The Big Two together control nearly 80% of the Korean handset market.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2008/12/iphone_blackber.html
◦
To counter SK’s initiative, KT Freetel, Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier known as KTF, says it plans to introduce Apple’s 3G iPhone in April although it has yet to agree with Apple on pricing and other details. The rush to introduce the iPhone underscores the smartphone race underway among Korean operators trying to increase revenues in a market with a mobile subscription rate of well over 90%.
The use of the iPhone and other foreign phones has been discouraged by Korea’s regulatory requirements too. To help smaller companies develop Internet-related applications at lower costs, the Seoul government in 2005 made it mandatory for all handset makers and content providers to use a software standard for Internet access, called WIPI, or Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, in Korea. The Korean Communications Commission announced last week that the rule, which meant extra cost for foreign makers because of the need to modify their phones, will be abolished from April 1.
An exception to that requirement was made earlier this year for business users, paving the way for the BlackBerry Bold’s debut before April. SK says the phone will be offered to all consumers if there’s demand for non-business use. Industry watchers notes KTF, which has a 31.5% market share in Korea, has been desperately trying to offer differentiated services to narrow its gap with SK, with more than 50% share, and the iPhone could be one option.
Some analysts say, however, the iPhone probably won’t do the trick. Nokia is virtually non-existent in Korea where consumers are more attracted to phones made by local companies Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The two Korean electronic powerhouses each roll out scores of sleek multimedia handsets and smartphones featuring leading-edge technologies every year. The Big Two together control nearly 80% of the Korean handset market.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2008/12/iphone_blackber.html
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
South Korean actress found guilty of adultery
One of South Korea's most famous actresses was convicted of adultery Wednesday in a high-profile case that drew renewed attention to a decades-old law prohibiting extramarital affairs.
Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.
"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.
A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.
There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.
The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.
Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.
The court appeared to show some sympathy for Ok's predicament.
"Though the fact of adultery should be criticized, (the court) issued this ruling taking into account that husband Park Chul's responsibility was not small," the court said, according to cable news channel YTN.
She also "suffered mental pains" due to the exposure of her privacy, the court said.
Ok earlier this year filed a petition to have the adultery ban ruled an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. But in October, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, part of South Korea's 55-year-old criminal code.
Despite decades of Western influence, South Korea remains deeply conservative and is influenced by a Confucian heritage. Those convicted under the anti-adultery law face prison sentences of up to two years, though few serve time.
Supporters of the adultery ban say it promotes monogamy and keeps families intact. Opponents argue the law violates privacy. Complaints have been filed with the Constitutional Court three times in 1990, 1993 and 2001 to abolish the law, but the court has upheld it every time.
While women's rights group were the ban's biggest supporters in the past when the law was meant to keep philandering husbands in line, in recent years some husbands have begun pressing adultery charges on their unfaithful wives.
The number of adultery cases filed in South Korea has dropped in recent years, declining to 8,070 in 2006 from 12,760 in 2000, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. About 80 percent of those cases were dropped before formal charges were filed, largely because complaints were withdrawn.
Many Muslim nations have anti-adultery laws, some with harsh penalties. Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland and some U.S. states also have laws prohibiting extramarital affairs, according to the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, a government-funded legal counseling office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_adultery_3
◦
Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.
"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.
A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.
There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.
The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.
Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.
The court appeared to show some sympathy for Ok's predicament.
"Though the fact of adultery should be criticized, (the court) issued this ruling taking into account that husband Park Chul's responsibility was not small," the court said, according to cable news channel YTN.
She also "suffered mental pains" due to the exposure of her privacy, the court said.
Ok earlier this year filed a petition to have the adultery ban ruled an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. But in October, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, part of South Korea's 55-year-old criminal code.
Despite decades of Western influence, South Korea remains deeply conservative and is influenced by a Confucian heritage. Those convicted under the anti-adultery law face prison sentences of up to two years, though few serve time.
Supporters of the adultery ban say it promotes monogamy and keeps families intact. Opponents argue the law violates privacy. Complaints have been filed with the Constitutional Court three times in 1990, 1993 and 2001 to abolish the law, but the court has upheld it every time.
While women's rights group were the ban's biggest supporters in the past when the law was meant to keep philandering husbands in line, in recent years some husbands have begun pressing adultery charges on their unfaithful wives.
The number of adultery cases filed in South Korea has dropped in recent years, declining to 8,070 in 2006 from 12,760 in 2000, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. About 80 percent of those cases were dropped before formal charges were filed, largely because complaints were withdrawn.
Many Muslim nations have anti-adultery laws, some with harsh penalties. Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland and some U.S. states also have laws prohibiting extramarital affairs, according to the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, a government-funded legal counseling office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_adultery_3
◦
Friday, December 12, 2008
South Korea's online economic Nostradamus, and the search for his identity
BACK in September a message appeared on an online bulletin board owned by Daum, the most popular web host in a country, South Korea, with a huge internet culture. Written by someone called “Minerva”, it predicted the imminent collapse of Lehman Brothers, a now-defunct investment bank.
Wild speculation is normally disregarded, but when it proved to be right just five days later, a prophet was born. Word raced through the “netizen” community, and when Minerva went on to predict that the Korean won would fall against the dollar by around 50 won a day in the first half of the week of October 6th, his followers began to watch the currency markets in anticipation. The won did indeed fall by about that much over the next three days.
Minerva became an internet phenomenon, with 40m-odd hits to date. Web-users combed through previous posts, looking for prognostications, and clues about his identity. Sharp comments on the state of the Korean economy and government policy only increased his standing. The media now call him “the Internet Economic President”.
The administration of President Lee Myung-bak is frequently accused of authoritarianism by opponents, so it came as little surprise when the finance minister, Kang Man-soo, admitted that officials had attempted to uncover the blogger’s identity. Some people believe him to be a senior figure in a financial firm. Others think he may even be a civil servant undermining the government from inside. All Minerva has revealed is that he is a man in his 50s.
With the government on his tail, the Minerva case is no longer just about economic prescience. As one equity analyst in Seoul puts it, “The real issue about Minerva is the government’s action…we are not in the 1970s or 1980s!” During that period South Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship, and freedom of speech curtailed.
For now, given the state of Korea’s economy—the central bank slashed rates again this week—Minerva’s identity has taken a back seat to his more recent predictions. He says the KOSPI 100 stockmarket index, now over 1,000, will drop to 500, and the value of flats in Seoul will fall by half. Such a bearish prospect may appear outlandish but, unlike Cassandra, Minerva has many believers.
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12783609&subjectID=348963&fsrc=nwl ◦
Wild speculation is normally disregarded, but when it proved to be right just five days later, a prophet was born. Word raced through the “netizen” community, and when Minerva went on to predict that the Korean won would fall against the dollar by around 50 won a day in the first half of the week of October 6th, his followers began to watch the currency markets in anticipation. The won did indeed fall by about that much over the next three days.
Minerva became an internet phenomenon, with 40m-odd hits to date. Web-users combed through previous posts, looking for prognostications, and clues about his identity. Sharp comments on the state of the Korean economy and government policy only increased his standing. The media now call him “the Internet Economic President”.
The administration of President Lee Myung-bak is frequently accused of authoritarianism by opponents, so it came as little surprise when the finance minister, Kang Man-soo, admitted that officials had attempted to uncover the blogger’s identity. Some people believe him to be a senior figure in a financial firm. Others think he may even be a civil servant undermining the government from inside. All Minerva has revealed is that he is a man in his 50s.
With the government on his tail, the Minerva case is no longer just about economic prescience. As one equity analyst in Seoul puts it, “The real issue about Minerva is the government’s action…we are not in the 1970s or 1980s!” During that period South Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship, and freedom of speech curtailed.
For now, given the state of Korea’s economy—the central bank slashed rates again this week—Minerva’s identity has taken a back seat to his more recent predictions. He says the KOSPI 100 stockmarket index, now over 1,000, will drop to 500, and the value of flats in Seoul will fall by half. Such a bearish prospect may appear outlandish but, unlike Cassandra, Minerva has many believers.
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12783609&subjectID=348963&fsrc=nwl ◦
Monday, December 08, 2008
Coming to a tiny screen near you
Watching TV and movies on cellphones is so common in South Korea, people no longer think twice about it.
http://futureofless.blogspot.com/2008/12/coming-to-tiny-screen-near-you.html ◦
http://futureofless.blogspot.com/2008/12/coming-to-tiny-screen-near-you.html ◦
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