5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
"Amid the global economic slowdown stemming from the eurozone debt crisis, China continues to grow at a rapid pace. Experts say there can't be a better time for Korea to begin its negotiations for a free trade agreement with its largest trade partner" (Arirang News, 1.09).
According to yesterday's S. Korean and Chinese media the official negotiations for a free-trade agreement with China will begin in February or March...
Here two controversial pieces regarding the subject.
1. Today's (conservative/reactionary) Chosun Ilbo published the following "analysis":
FTA with China Could Have Geopolitical Ramifications
Free trade talks between South Korea and China will have far-reaching implications beyond the realm of commerce. If the pact is concluded, it will have a strong diplomatic and security aspect that is capable of shifting the geopolitical landscape of Northeast Asia.
◆ Diplomatic Opportunities
A key government official on Tuesday said the FTA "must be pursued from a national strategic standpoint that bears Korean reunification in mind." Another government official said while North Korea "relies on China, the Seoul-Beijing relationship is based on mutual economic exchanges. From a long-term perspective, the South Korea-China FTA could spell opportunities to maintain stability in North Korea and head toward reunification."
Since forming diplomatic ties with China in 1992, Seoul has proposed to Beijing several ways to ensure stability in North Korea and pursue reunification, but none of them have succeeded. Deepening ties between South Korea and China through the economic pact could become an effective way to expand Seoul’s diplomatic and security options.
Kim Sung-han at Korea University said, “If the FTA is worked out successfully, we will be able to discuss the North Korean issue with Beijing and get a chance to create an atmosphere for achieving reunification of the two Koreas.
Experts say that the negotiating channel for the bilateral FTA will play a positive role, since it is being created at a time when uncertainties are mounting in the North following the sudden death of leader Kim Jong-il amid growing defection from the country. China is also apparently approaching the FTA from a strategic as well as an economic perspective.
Yoon Duk-min at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said, "From one perspective, China sees the FTA as a chance to overcome Washington's strategy of encirclement. For us, it would serve as a strong diplomatic card."
As of the end of 2010, bilateral trade totaled US$188.4 billion, which is more than the combined trade with the U.S. ($90.2 billion) and Japan ($92.5 billion). If Seoul and Beijing strengthen their economic alliance through the bilateral FTA, some experts believe China will no longer take such a passive approach to Korean reunification.
Beijing would have fewer reasons to fear a reunification led by the South if South Korea and China boost economic cooperation and bilateral ties.
◆ Geopolitical Impact
The South Korea-China FTA could have a major geopolitical impact on Northeast Asia as well. Until now, the security landscape in Northeast Asia has been a Cold-War-style standoff between the South Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance on one side and China and North Korea on the other. But if the Seoul-Beijing FTA is signed and economic cooperation increases rapidly, this traditional framework would crumble.
Heo Yoon at Sogang University said, "The reason why leftwing factions opposed the FTA with the U.S. is because they didn’t want Seoul-Washington ties to strengthen further. So from an economic perspective, the FTA with China would be a form of alliance, and we need to take a close, strategic look at simultaneously bolstering our ties with the U.S. and China and seek public consensus."
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/01/11/2012011101423.html
2. Today's editorial in Kyunghyang Shinmun("moderate progressive"):
No Reason to Rush the Korea-China FTA
Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak and China’s Paramount Leader Hu Jintao agreed on Monday to embark upon the domestic procedures necessary for beginning official negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two states.
The two leaders have thus effectively proclaimed the beginning of a Korea-China FTA.
The government is emphasizing that joint research on an FTA has been in progress between the two states for some time, but speculation is rife as to why the Lee Myung-bak government, previously half-hearted regarding a Korea-China FTA, has changed direction and begun negotiations with less than one year of its term in office remaining.
China has consistently urged Korea to enter negotiations over an FTA. Its interest, up to now, has reportedly been focused more on using the FTA to check US influence when it comes to the international political order in the Asia-Pacific region than on economic interests.
The diplomatic and national security interests tied up in a Korea-China FTA are accordingly complicated.
There are doubts as to how specific the government’s strategic plan was when it decided to open negotiations. If it has hurried into the FTA due to an awareness of the increased political uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula following the death of Kim Jong-il, and of China’s role, it stands a high chance of messing things up.
Neither is this something that should be subject to a greedy desire to achieve the flashy distinction of being the first country to conclude FTAs with the “world’s three great economic blocs,” following those with the USA and the EU.
There are concerns that the economic repercussions of the Korea-China FTA on products made by small and-medium industries, including agricultural and marine products and textiles, will be much greater than those brought by the FTAs with the US and the EU.
If tariff barriers disappear, the damage sustained by the these industries will inevitably be of fearful proportions. The agricultural industry, in particular, which has been harmed to an extent that is hard to measure by the US and EU FTAs, would be subjected to an additional, tsunami-like shock.
Shandong Province, which is geopolitically similar to Korea, has 4.4 times more arable land than the latter and produces 9-10 times more fruit and vegetables. In terms of physical distance, importing its products to Seoul’s Garak-dong Market would be similar to bringing in agricultural produce from Jeju-do.
This is why some are worry that Korea’s agricultural and fisheries could be obliterated. It is obvious that most beneficial effects of the Korea-China FTA, such as occupying the Chinese domestic market, would be concentrated toward internationally competitive big businesses, and that weaker small-medium enterprises, farmers and fishermen would be left in an even more vulnerable position.
It is a certainty that such an FTA would accelerate the growing social polarization between social classes and industrial sectors.
Even now, a quarter of Korean exports go to China and a fifth of imports come from it, gradually increasing worries about the “China Risk,” whereby the fallout from economic changes and inflation in China are passed on intact to Korea.
Now is the time to break from the vague “FTA supremacism,” which may be aimed at “expanding economic territory” or at “occupying markets,” and concentrate more on acquiring a sustainable economic structure that includes reduced polarization.
The Korea-China FTA must not be hurried; even if it does go ahead, it must faithfully observe a process of public consultation and be sure to obtain the agreement of the people. Only then can public conflict and resistance of the kind prompted by the KORUS FTA be minimized.
The role of the National Assembly is to put in place a mechanism that stops negotiators from flying solo, drawing lessons from the KORUS FTA, where negotiations were riddled with instances of haste and inequality.
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201201111331047&code=790101
"South Korea’s attempts to keep North Korean material from the eyes and ears of its citizens is coming under the global media spotlight as the country launches a new sweep of domestic web sites and discussion forums"(NKT, 1.07)
Well, possibly SK's current (insane) gov't and its (paranoid) NIS don't like it, but...
"South Korea’s National Security Law making headlines"
Only two days ago Choe Sang Hun wrotes in the New York Times(NYT) about the South Korean government snaring satirists in the hunt for Norko spies. The piece looks at Kim Myung-soo and his continuing legal battles since being arrested and later released on bail back in 2007 on charges of “aiding the enemy” by selling used books deemed pro-North Korean.
According to NYT, the net in South Korea is blossoming with sedition while the government works hard to root it out: “During the first 10 months of 2011, the police deleted 67,300 Web posts they believed threatened national security by “praising North Korea and denouncing the U.S. and the government,” a sharp rise from 14,430 posts in 2009.”
While criticizing the U.S. is more sport than crime, Kim says all of the books seized from him as evidence by police are available in government-supported libraries around Seoul... (The Marmot's Hole)
Related articles:
☞ South Korean Law Casts Wide Net, Snaring Satirists in a Hunt for Spies (NYT, 2012.1.07)
☞ In South korea, old law leads to new crackdown (npr, 2011.12.01)
☞ All Quiet on the Northern Front (Foreign Policy, 2011.8.25)
Last night, Hyundai Motors Union (Ulsan Regional Council, a part of KMWU/KCTU) 'vowed' to suspend all engine output in the company's biggest production base from tomorrow, saying an employee set himself on fire to protest the company's ongoing suppression of unionized workers...
Reuters reported today the following about the latest developments:
The incident indicates labor issues remain a potential vulnerability for the strongly performing South Korean carmaker, although it avoided strikes for a third year in a row last year.
The worker and union member with the surname Shin was found in flames at a Hyundai engine plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan at around noon on Sunday, and is currently in critical condition at a hospital in nearby Busan, Hyundai's union said in a statement.
The union said in a separate statement that a factory manager had tried to "unfairly control" Shin after he reported problems with engine quality to management, citing files found on his computer.
"Hyundai's management has not abandoned its outdated labor management policy, causing frequent conflicts with labor," the union said.
The union warned that it would suspend engine output throughout Hyundai's complex in Ulsan and refuse overtime and weekend work from Tuesday should the company fail to accept demand including preventing the repeat of incidents of alleged suppression or excessive monitoring.
A company spokesman denied (of course^^) any improper conduct in the treatment of unionized workers.
But employees at the plant where Shin worked already suspended production after the incident...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-hyundai-labour-idUSTRE80804C20120109
Related articles/reports:
☞ 문용문 지부장 "분신사태 왜곡 단호히 대처하겠다" (Ulsan LaborNews, 1.09)
☞ 금속노조 현대차지부 "조합원 분신 현장통제 때문" (OMN, 1.09)
☞ 현대차 분신 조합원 ‘위독’.. 화상전문병원서 긴급 수술 (VOP, 1.09)
☞ 현대차지부 조합원, 사측 현장통제에 맞서 항거분신 (KCTU, 1.08)
☞ Hyundai braced for labour unrest (beyondbrics, 1.09)
Impressions from Seoul's so-called "Paper District"(printing, processing etc.), i.e. one of the next potential "redevelopment" areas in downtown Seoul, near Eulchiro 3-ga Stn...
...only few minutes away from Myeong-dong's "redevelopment" zone:
As today's "weekend reading" I would like to suggest...
Two days ago Kim Myong-chol(a.k.a. Pyeongyang's "unofficial spokesman") published in Asia Times Online(HK) - once again - a really strange article(*).
The "highlights" of his treatise are doubtless the following:
1.) "To be precise, Kim Jong-eun is a heaven-sent sun-like entity as was Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung, and Jumong, the founder of a the ancient Korean kingdom Koguryo more 2,300 years ago, and Dankun, founder of ancient Korea 5,000 years ago..."
2.) "Supreme commander Kim Jong-eun is one click away from vaporizing US carrier battle groups in the Korean waters and the Pacific, military bases in South Korea, Japan, Hawaii and bases and metropolitan centers in the American mainland. As a matter of course, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles are sitting ducks for nuclear-tipped North Korean missiles..."
* The entire piece you can "enjoy"(MUST READ!) here:
☞ 'Supreme commander' is a Canny Fox (^^)
Have a nice, relaxing weekend!!
Seoul's 'Metropolitan Housing Renewal Division' representative: "The objective of redevelopment projects in general is to improve downtrodden areas of the city."
"The purpose is to improve the living environment of regions where buildings have poor maintenance, infrastructure and are generally crammed with outworn structures," he said. (Korea Herald, 2010.3.29).
But the heretofore reality of generic "redevelopment" projects in downtown Seoul you can check out here (no comment!!)...
Next week I'll write more about the issue, incl. some of my 'ideas'!
Monday's (bourgeois) Korea Times wrote that...
The government will allow migrant workers, most likely from June this year, to change their workplaces without restrictions if they experienced discrimination at work or employers violated labor laws...
The bill will take effect five months after promulgation which is expected to take place within days...
Migrant workers have been permitted to change their workplaces only up to three times during their first-three year work permit here and twice more if they extend their visa for another two years.
This left room for employers to infringe on the rights of migrant workers, who are vulnerable to salary gouging, harassment and overtime work without due financial compensation.
Once the new legislation enters into force, they will be able to switch their jobs as much as they need if their employer breaches regulations to be set by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL).
A considerable number of foreigners have been expelled from the country as a result of circumstances where they had no choice but to walk out of their workplaces...
The revision bill states that migrant workers can switch jobs without any penalty or disadvantage if "the employer breached work conditions or if migrant workers cannot continue to work in their workplace due to reasons that they are not responsible for."
The move came amid pro-immigrant activists’ growing demand to scrap the regulation that infringes upon the freedom of job choice and the general pursuit of freedom guaranteed in the Constitution...
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/116_102082.html
Oops~ After almost ten years of struggle by migrant organizations, solidarity groups and trade unions, incl. MTU/KCTU, against the terrible EPS(at least its worst paragraphs) the S. Korean legislative is making - possibly(??) - a first step forward...
But of course - in reality - there's is a huge gap between a bill, passing the Nat'l Assembly and a lawful process!!
Comrade Michel, MTU's chairperson comments the approved bill as follows:
Just makes it easier to cover up all of the existing exploitative conditions. Also makes it easier for the migrants to be tied down to their employers...
It was initially sold as a law to make it possible for migrants to stay longer than 4 years 10 months but the condition is for the migrant to stay with only one employer, since a lot of the employers are also in need of a stable workforce.
But there is a lot more to be done since these laws do not really protect the working conditions of the migrants.
Another thing, it remains difficult for migrant workers to prove these violations because it might take them longer to prove those violations which might mean they would be unemployed longer to be able to have their workplace change not counted.
Sadly, laws on paper might look good than not having laws at all... but practice and application is the real gauge if conditions are good or not.
Yesterday's Korea Times reported the following:
Seoul to withdraw redevelopment plans
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to cancel large-scale housing projects in some districts, considering residents’ opposition to the development, a city official said Sunday.
“We have been at odds with residents of some areas that have been designated as sites for the New Town project,” the official said. “We will cancel some of designations if residents remain against the project.”
The city government had designated a total of 247 zones for redevelopment since 2002, but construction has not started in over 80 percent of the zones.
Delays are largely attributed to objection from residents and conflicts between resident associations and construction firms. Critics also argue that the simultaneous designation of many areas as New Towns caused instability in housing prices there and surrounding areas, making it difficult for residents to resettle.
The city government will soon announce more details on the annulment of the project after collecting more opinions from citizens and experts and coming up with alternative measures...
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/117_102021.html
Well, it's possibly(??) a first step in the right direction...
But - IMHO - the problem of "redevelopment", especially in Seoul's downtown areas, can't be solved just by putting the planned projects just on hold! (More about the issue in the next days...!)
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