Roh Delivers Jolt To South Korean media - WSJ.com

Roh Delivers Jolt To South Korean media - WSJ.com:
"Press-Room Closures May Mean Increase In News Competition
By EVAN RAMSTAD
May 29, 2007 "

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 4 2007] The Right to Know What He Wants Us to Know

What's the problem with the briefing rooms the newspapers and radios are making much ado about? Why are the president and the press fighting each other?

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040032.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, 4 2007] LG Offers Free Insurance for Prada Phones

LG Electronics will provide free insurance coverage to 60,000 customers who own the company's high-end Prada phone. Prada phone users will be given up to W200,000 (US$1=W928) if their phone breaks, even if the owner is at fault. The free insurance is different from the existing product warranty.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040025.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 4 2007] LG to Offer PC with New Intel Chipset

LG Electronics will introduce a PC built with Intel's new top-of-the-line 3-series chipset, which was codenamed "Bear Lake." LG said Sunday that it will release the Xpion X820L desktop.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040022.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 4 2007] Digital Alzheimer's: When Your Memory's Shot at 30

Experts say more and more workers in their 20s and 30s suffer from forgetfulness due to the flood of information that assaults them in the office and their growing dependency on digital devices. Some seek treatment in hospitals when the symptoms get worse. Doctors even have a name for it: Digital Alzheimer’s Disease, a condition they say now afflict modern urbanites just like migraine or insomnia.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040016.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 4 2007] Lee Honey Still Plans to Showcase Korean Beauty

Lee Honey fell short of her goal to take home the 2007 Miss Universe crown, "but I'm still happy," she said. Lee returned home from Mexico on Friday, her impressions of ranking fourth place in the pageant still fresh.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040013.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 4 2007] Daejong Film Festival Opens

The opening ceremony of the Daejong Film Festival took place Friday night.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706040002.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 1 2007] Institutionalizing Revenge

A few years ago, a senior journalist told the hard-luck story of his career in the field. "I’d never be a journalist in the next life,” he said. “I’d pick another profession." But he immediately thought better of it. "No. I’d work again as a journalist, or I’d find some job where there was absolutely no chance of being harassed by journalists myself." Journalists are fully aware that they are not welcome anywhere.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706010024.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 1 2007] LG Files Patent for a MP3-Playing Washing Machine

LG has found itself the center of attention after filing a patent for a washing machine with an MP3 player. The washing machine has audio speakers on its lid. The product is still just in the idea stage, but LG has filed a patent for it in the U.S.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706010023.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 1 2007] Netizens Excited for Jeon Ji-hyun's New Do

Two TV commercials featuring actress Jeon Ji-hyun in short hair and a miniskirt are making big waves online. Jeon, whose trademark is her long straight hair, shows an exceptionally different image in a commercial for cosmetic brand Laneige. An online clip of the commercial is gaining in popularity, with over 310,000 views so far.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706010009.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 1 2007] Searching for Reason on the Internet

This reporter has been conducting an online war against an invisible porno hacker lately. The hacker showed up about a month ago on chosun.com, and since then he's been posting pop-up banners promoting pornographic DVDs almost every day. Naturally we keep deleting the banners and rejecting his log-on, but soon after he will create a new log-on and post more pornographic banners. It's like he's deliberately trying to make us angry. The hacker creates log-ons using the real names of about four or five people a month to post his banners, and the victims whose identities have been stolen may never know about it. These days, when anybody can find hundreds of resident registration numbers and names with a simple Google search, it is this reporter, sadly, who is the loser in this online war.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706010006.html

[The Chosun Ilbo, June 1 2007] Think Tank Upgrades Growth Forecast to 4.5%

A leading private think tank in Seoul said Thursday Korea's economic growth will reach 4.5 percent this year.

Samsung Economic Research Institute announced it has raised its forecast from its initial estimate of 4.3 percent.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706010004.html

[The Hankyoreh, June 12 2007] S. Korea's ranks 13th in number of scientific papers cited by int'l database

South Korea's ranking in terms of the number of scientific papers cited in a global reference index rose one notch to 13th place in 2006, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said 23,286 papers with South Korean authors were posted on the Science Citation Index Extended (SCIE) database. This is a gain from 23,089 papers the previous year, when the country ranked 14th.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/215534.html

[The Hankyoreh, June 10 2007] Gov't officials, journalists allegedly bought sex Case highlights 'cozy relations' between media, gov't officials: civic groups

Police are investigating allegations that some government officials and journalists bought sex at a massage parlor.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/214901.html

[The Hankyoreh, June 10 2007] Roh steps up attacks on conservative media

President Roh Moo-hyun criticized the conservative media Sunday for destabilizing democratic forces and clinging to privileges, as his government remained locked in a standoff with media outlets over his push to close most of pressrooms in government offices.

"The media should change. They shouldn't insist on their privileges or try to become political forces. They should become media which are faithful to reporting the facts in a fair, responsible manner," Roh said in a speech marking the 1987 pro-democracy movement that pushed the military-backed regime of former Army general Chun Doo-hwan to introduce a direct presidential voting system.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/215030.html

[The Hankyoreh, 7 2007] Criticism mount over verbal attacks on cyberspace

Concerns about the impact of malicious internet comments took center stage again this week after a high-school girl killed herself apparently due to verbal attacks from net users.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/214540.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, June 7 2007] Different setting, same control

In 1987, it was a struggle against dictatorship. In 2007, it is struggle against the hold that capital interests have on the media.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/214440.html

[The Hankyoreh, June 5 2007] S.K. artists release album of N.K. songs, all under copyright law Album's status thanks to new N.K. copyright office in joint collaboration with S.K. organization

In a new milestone for North-South relations, young South Korean music artists have produced an album of popular North Korean songs that is fully legal under copyright terms for circulation in South Korea.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/213989.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, June 4 2007] LG long-distance provider slammed for failure to halt fraud Critics accuse phone company of ignoring scam in order to profit

LG Dacom Corp. is accused of ignoring customer complaints and gaining profits, even as customers suffered financial damages for months due to fraudulent international collect calls.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/213747.html

[The Hankyoreh, June 4 2007] Parents, teens spar over mobile phone use
Kids see phones as necessity for communication with friends, relaxation, time management

There are very few households in South Korea that do not see trouble between parents and children over mobile phones.

In many cases, parents who gave their children mobile phones in order to vigilantly keep guard over their childrens’ comings and goings are worried that their children have been using the phone to talk with their friends instead, hurting their school performance. Such anxiety leads to distrust, and parents tend to try to interfere with their children’s behavior, resulting in disputes.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/213742.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, June 4 2007] Internet paves way for new forms of defamation

Old criminal records, partially reported stories result in damage to individuals

Asking to remain anonymous, an individual posted the following on an Internet portal’s online bulletin board: "When I search my name on an Internet portal, an article regarding a robbery I committed a long time ago comes up. I am concerned over the possibility that my child may find out about my crime one day by searching my name on the Internet. I was already cleared of the crime, so please delete the article."

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/213741.html

[The Hankyoreh Geurimpan, June 1 2007 ] Freedom from the press

President Roh Moo-hyun stands at the mouth of the labyrinth of ‘uprooting government-owned companies’ corruption’, satisfied at what he reads below the arrow pointing him forward: "Targets to consolidate and improve."

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/213280.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, May 31 2007] Journalists send protest letter to Roh over planned pressroom closure

Representatives of South Korea's major news organizations Thursday sent a statement of protest to President Roh Moo-hyun, denouncing Roh's plan to shut down pressrooms at almost all government agencies in August for encroaching upon people's right to know.

In the statement forwarded to presidential chief of staff Moon Jae-in, the reporters of 36 newspapers and broadcasters, all belonging to the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK), insisted that the Roh government is trying to keep the people in the dark about undesirable goings-on inside the government.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/213178.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, May 31 2007] Netizens call for police probe into death of 2-year-old

The situation surrounding a two-year-old’s death in Ulsan, North Gyeongsang Province, has sparked Internet bulletin boards to fill with angry calls from citizens to find the cause of death, which is still unknown to police.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/213040.html

[The Hankyoreh, May 31 2007 ] [Editorial] Roh must hold debate on media reform plan

At the weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday, president Roh Moo-hyun had some more to say about his "Scheme to Elevate the News Coverage Support System." No small amount of what he said appears to be the result of arbitrary interpretations and unmitigated rage. Before we even talk about his position on the media, we would like to say we are sad and concerned.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/213033.html

[The Hankyoreh, May 30 2007] Google announces changes in user interface for its S. Korean search site

Google Inc., the world's largest Internet company, has reconfigured its South Korean search site in a bid to help local users more easily access its search engine and help overcome years of sluggish business, Google Korea said Wednesday.

The facelift focuses on the inclusion of seven icons on its main page that link users directly to Google's most popular web services including Gmail and photo-editing Picasa, the company said.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/212906.html

[The Hankyoreh, May 29 2007] Roh escalates attack on local media

President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday justified his government's recent decision to close almost all pressrooms at government ministries and agencies, urging local media to follow the norm of advanced countries, presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/212689.html

[The Hankyoreh, May 29 2007] [Column] The voices in my head

From reading the reviews, it seems that Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights, which opened this year’s Cannes festival, is a bit of a letdown.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/212513.html

[Tha Hankyoreh, May 28 2007] Jeon's best actress award shines light on troubled movie industry

South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon's winning of the Cannes Film Festival's best actress award on Monday offered a glimmer of hope for the local film industry which stands at a crossroads due to rising production costs and shrinking box office revenue.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/212378.html

[The Hankyoreh, May 28.2007 ] After 10 years of local stardom, Jeon Do-yeon finally wins nod at Cannes

The wheel of fortune has just been reversed for Jeon. She won the best actress award in the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday with her role in "Secret Sunshine" by Lee Chang-dong.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/212241.htm