Hankyoreh newspaper

After completing a 4-night, 6-day state visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Kun-hee returned to Korea via Seoul Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the morning of the 26th and are heading by car. yunhap news

President Yoon Seok-yeol decided not to attend the citizens’ memorial rally held at Seoul Plaza on the 29th to mark the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster. An official from the President’s Office told the Hankyoreh on the 26th, “After receiving the invitation from the bereaved family, the President’s Office discussed it internally, but the day before, news broke that it would be held as an event co-hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea and hosted by the four opposition parties. “It has been confirmed that it was a political rally and not a memorial service,” he said. It has not been decided whether the President’s staff will attend. It is being discussed whether President Yoon will issue a related message ahead of the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster. In the ruling party, only People Power Party Policy Committee Chairman Yoo Yu-dong expressed his intention to attend. Previously, on the 18th, 10 days before the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster, the bereaved families invited President Yoon to the first anniversary memorial service, demanding the enactment of a ‘special law to uncover the truth of the Itaewon disaster’. Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also publicly proposed to the government and ruling party at the Supreme Committee of the National Assembly on the 25th that they attend a citizen memorial service commemorating the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster, saying, “If President Yoon, the government, and the ruling party also attend, it will be an opportunity to change the tone of state affairs.” . Reporter Kim Mina mina@hani.co.kr
2023-10-26 00:21:59
#Presidents #Office #Itaewon #memorial #political #rally #attending #cycle

Getty Image Bank

A. Climate change is pointed out as the root cause of the appearance of unfamiliar insects, but this is not necessarily true. There are various inflow routes for unfamiliar insects, including human traffic with foreign countries and import of goods. However, due to climate change, the possibility that they will survive longer in the country and spread further is increasing.

☞Subscribe to the Hankyoreh newsletter H:730. Type ‘Hankyoreh h730’ in the search bar. Recently, bedbugs were discovered in a sauna in Seo-gu, Incheon and a university dormitory in Daegu, causing an emergency. In Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the 5th of last month, a group of exotic termites, notorious as ‘wooden building killers’ by gnawing on trees at random, was discovered in a residential area, and in August last year, about 400 red fire ants, which cause skin inflammation and shock when bitten, were discovered at Incheon Port. The Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Quarantine Headquarters took emergency control measures. The red-backed velvet fly, also known as the ‘love bug,’ spread around the city center and became a hot topic. With the appearance of unfamiliar insects that are rarely seen, some are concerned that the climate crisis has brought them. This is half true and half false. Although the climate crisis is not the direct cause of these problems, it can greatly contribute to their spread. Kim Hae-dong, a professor of Earth and Environment at Keimyung University, said, “It is possible that invasive species were introduced into Korea due to human and material traffic with foreign countries, but it is difficult to say that they emerged naturally due to climate change.” Professor Kim explained, however, “As the domestic climate becomes subtropical due to global warming, the possibility that previously unnoticed species will spread significantly has increased.” After COVID-19, international exchanges have become more active again, increasing the possibility that various exotic species will be introduced into the country. Invasive alien species can disturb ecosystems dominated by native species, so we always need to be prepared. They say we need to be especially careful when it comes to insects. Lee Kang-un, director of the Holocene Ecological Conservation Research Institute, points out, “Because insects serve as the cornerstone of the ecosystem, they can disrupt the ecosystem of plants and animals as well as insects.” This means that if the cornerstone of the ecosystem called insects changes, the animals that feed on them and the plants that insects feed on can all be affected and damaged. According to Director Lee’s explanation, invasive foreign species of insects basically have a strong vitality and reproduce quickly. It is said that invasive species regard surrounding organisms as enemies and adapt very aggressively to unfamiliar environments. Moreover, thanks to their ‘unfamiliar extroversion’, birds that prey on similar insects have no natural enemies to avoid them. If the environment you move to becomes a warm and humid environment like the place you lived before, you will be able to adapt better. Some say that as insect life becomes more persistent, they may become more prosperous without being affected by climate change. The director says this is a “misunderstanding.” “Insects are cold-blooded animals designed to live in response to temperature changes, so sudden changes in temperature can actually threaten the lives of insects.” Insects are also ‘living fossils’ that have been adapting to various diseases and environmental changes for 350 million years, but climate change is a barrier that makes it difficult for insects to adapt as well. Research has shown that the number of insects living on land has decreased by more than 30% over the past 30 years. While most native insect species are unable to adapt to climate change and fail to survive, there is a risk that invasive alien species may dominate the environment disproportionately in an environment without natural enemies, destroying the ecosystem. The reason why this phenomenon must be viewed with caution is because the invasive alien species that are rampant due to the climate crisis can contribute to the destruction of the ecosystem, creating a vicious cycle that causes another climate crisis. In its ‘Climate Action for Nature’ report, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said, “Conserving and restoring natural spaces, both on land and in the ocean, is essential to limit carbon emissions and adapt to an already changing climate,” adding that it is a climate crisis. He explains that restoring damaged ecosystems is ultimately a means of responding to the climate crisis. Meanwhile, among the insects that have recently become a hot topic, there is one that is misunderstood. These are bedbugs. Before us, news of bed bug outbreaks spread in countries such as France and the UK, and bed bugs are also often misunderstood as an introduced species. Although bed bugs are known to have been eradicated in Korea since the 1980s and 1990s, they are still around. According to the director’s explanation, bed bugs survive by sucking the blood of warm-blooded animals. It mainly uses humans or bats as hosts. Although they are difficult to see in urban areas due to the quarantine effect, they are said to be alive throughout the areas where domestic bats are distributed. It is said that bed bugs can sometimes be seen dead after midnight on the window frames of the Holocene Ecology Conservation Research Institute in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do. Bedbugs, which like warm places, got stuck between the windows and died. Bed bugs, which have recently emerged, are highly resistant to insecticides and are known to be so prolific that if they enter someone’s bed, they can lay thousands of eggs within a few weeks. Bed bugs even like warm, humid climates, so they may survive in cities longer than we think. Reporter Shin So-yoon yoon@hani.co.kr
2023-10-25 22:00:29
#Bed #bugs #termites #fire #ants #invasive #species #counterattacking #due #climate #crisis

President Yoon Seok-yeol and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who are on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, are attending the Korea-Saudi Arabia agreement and MOU signing and exchange ceremony held at Yamaguchi Palace in Riyadh on the 22nd (local time). Joint reporting photo

While President Yoon Seok-yeol is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, the President’s Office announced that discussions on large-scale defense industry cooperation between Korea and Saudi Arabia have reached the final stage. Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said at a local briefing right after President Yoon and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concluded the Korea-Saudi summit at Yamaguchi Palace in Riyadh on the 22nd (local time), “We are talking about various areas such as air defense systems and fire weapons. “Discussions on large-scale defense industry cooperation are in the final stages,” he said. “We are discussing a long-term and systematic defense industry cooperation program, not a one-time cooperation.” The President’s Office cited the achievements of the visit to Saudi Arabia not only as attracting $15.6 billion (approximately KRW 21 trillion) through the signing of memorandums of understanding and contracts in the energy, power, and infrastructure fields, but also the expansion of cooperation between the two countries to the defense industry. Deputy Director Kim said, “We want to cooperate so that weapons systems using our excellent defense technology can help strengthen Saudi Arabia’s defense capabilities,” adding, “It will be a powerful driving force to expand defense industry export performance.” He also added, “We will use this trip to the Middle East as a catalyst to expand the scope of our defense export market.” Previously, Crown Prince Muhammad was known to have shown interest in the medium-range surface-to-air missile ‘Cheongung-II’ during his visit to Korea in November last year. Saudi Arabia, which has been under attack by armed drones from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, is in need of a missile interception system. However, a high-ranking official in the Presidential Office said, “It is in the consummation stage and the scale and amount are quite large,” but said that, considering the sensitive security situation of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries, the exact size of the weapons system and contract being discussed could not be revealed. Deputy Director Kim also said, “President Yoon exchanged opinions with Crown Prince bin Salman on the dynamics of international politics and economics surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian armed conflict,” and that the two leaders agreed that “the worsening humanitarian situation must be prevented.” . A senior official in the Presidential Office described the atmosphere of the Korea-Saudi Arabia meeting, saying, “(Crown Prince Muhammad) did not seem to be unilaterally siding with a particular side during the current conflict.” In a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the 10th, Crown Prince Mohammed said, “We will continue to stand by the Palestinian people.” The ‘joint statement’ to be announced by Korea and Saudi Arabia will include their will to cooperate on political issues on the Korean Peninsula, such as the Israel-Palestine war, the Ukraine crisis, and North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues. Meanwhile, President Yoon met with Saudi youth, scientists and engineers, and business leaders on the 23rd and repeatedly emphasized future cooperation between the two countries. In a lecture at King Saud University, Crown Prince Mohammed’s alma mater, President Yoon said, “Korea and Saudi Arabia must be reborn as ‘first movers’ who pioneer and lead new fields,” and added, “Future friendly cooperation between Korea and Saudi Arabia depends on you, the future generation. “It exists,” he said. He then discussed ways to strengthen science and technology partnerships in four major fields, including digital, clean energy, biohealth, and space, at the Korea-Saudi Future Technology Partnership Forum. Also, at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Saudi construction cooperation, he was present to sign two contracts and two memorandums of understanding between Saudi Arabia and Korean companies such as Hyundai Engineering, KT, and Samsung C&T. With President Yoon’s visit to Saudi Arabia, a total of 15.6 billion dollars worth of contracts and 51 memorandums of understanding will be signed. Riyadh/Reporter Bae Ji-hyeon beep@hani.co.kr
2023-10-23 14:41:39
#Korea #discusses #arms #exports #Saudi #Arabia.. #Largescale #cooperation #including #air #defense #systems

Solidarity of 82 civic groups ‘National Action to Protect Seoraksan National Park’
“An incident in which the environmental legal system collapsed… “I have to take responsibility.”

A bird’s eye view of the upper station of Seoraksan Osaek Cable Car. Provided by Yangyang-gun

On the 20th, the ‘People’s Action to Protect Seoraksan National Park’ (People’s Action), in solidarity with 82 civic groups across the country, announced on the 20th that the ‘Seoraksan National Park Five-Colored Cable Car Installation Project’ was finally approved and pushed forward, with politicians and public officials protesting. He announced that he would hold him accountable. The People’s Movement said that the approval of the Osaek Cable Car project was a ‘political decision’ that ignored the damage to the environment and natural scenery, and compiled a list of politicians and public officials who contributed to the approval of the project, urging politicians to campaign for election until the general election in April next year. He said he was planning to do it. The five-color cable car project promoted by Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do was planned in 1982 and has been debated for and against for over 40 years, but has not progressed due to the inevitable damage to the national park. However, in February, the Ministry of Environment presented a ‘conditional consultation’ opinion on the environmental impact assessment of the project, which was in fact concluded as ‘permission’, and on the 13th, the National Park Service granted permission to implement the industrial project, leaving only the groundbreaking ceremony. . In a phone call with the Hankyoreh, Jeong In-cheol, head of the People’s Action Situation Center, said, “The reason the project was approved is because it exceeds the allowable line for development projects covered by the Natural Parks Act (which preserves and promotes sustainable use of natural ecosystems, natural and cultural landscapes such as national parks). “It is a political decision, and it is an incident in which the environmental legal system has collapsed, including the identity of environmental impact assessment being damaged,” he said. “I think it is the role of civil society to hold politicians responsible for damaging the legal system accountable.” Yangyang-gun plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the five-color cable car project within this year, with the goal of completion in 2025. Accordingly, the People’s Action announced that it plans to file a lawsuit to cancel the National Park Service’s park project implementation permit prior to the release of the list and to protest to block the construction site. Reporter Shin So-yoon yoon@hani.co.kr
2023-10-20 03:14:44
#Politicians #favor #Seorak #fivecolor #cable #car #campaign #defeated

Panoramic view of the Ministry of Education building within the Sejong Government Complex. yunhap news

An analysis showed that half of the educational land owned by 14 private university corporations in the metropolitan area (four times the area of ​​Yeouido) is forest land (forests, fields, wastelands, etc.) in areas far from the universities. As it is nominally educational land, it should be used for education and research purposes, but there is little room to utilize forest land far from schools for education, leading to criticism that universities are holding useless real estate assets for profit purposes. As a result of analysis of the ‘Status of educational land for private universities’ as of April 2022 received from the Ministry of Education by Seo Dong-yong, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, there were a total of 14 private university corporations in the metropolitan area holding ‘educational land of more than 1 million ㎡.’ The area of ​​educational land they own is 73.29 million m2, which is nine times the area of ​​Yeouido. Among these, about half, or 32.66 million ㎡, was found to be land located far away from the university’s main campus (land located in a city or city other than the main campus or branch campus). Looking at land use, 98% (32.16 million ㎡) was forest land, mostly hillsides. The university corporation that owns the most remote land is Kyung Hee Academy (Kyung Hee University), with an area of ​​12.73 million m2. It is 7.5 times the size of the Kyung Hee University campus (school site), and most of it (11.4 million ㎡) is forest land in Yeongdong-gun, North Chungcheong Province. An official from Kyung Hee University said, “The land was donated by someone who served as temporary director of the university foundation in the past, and students in forestry-related departments are utilizing this land for practical training.” Next, Dongguk University (Dongguk University), an educational corporation, had the second largest amount, owning 7.48 million ㎡ of remote land in Gangneung and Yangyang, Gangwon-do. Korea Central Academy (Korea University) also owns 6.96 million ㎡ of land, which is half of the total educational land, in areas completely different from the university campus, such as Cheorwon and Yangyang in Gangwon-do and Goesan in North Chungcheong Province. Forests owned by universities are sometimes used for educational purposes, such as academic forests, but the area is too large and distance restrictions are large, so there are clear limitations in using them for student education or research activities. In fact, an official from a university in Seoul said about remote forests, “I understand that most of them were acquired through donations,” but “It seems difficult to use them for education or research.” Moreover, property tax and acquisition tax are exempted for educational land, but if it is revealed that the land has been neglected for more than three years for purposes not suitable for education or research, it must be repaid. This is why there are suspicions that real estate assets that have no usability value and are subject to tax burden are being held with the expectation of an ‘increase in land prices’. Rep. Seo Dong-yong said, “Educational land at universities that has been left unused for a long period of time is enough to raise suspicions that excessive land was held in anticipation of an increase in land prices.” He pointed out, “We must take action to actively sell it at the corporate level, and return it to educational use so that it can be used to improve the education and research environment.” Reporter Kim Min-je summer@hani.co.kr
2023-10-18 20:09:38
#단독 #private #universities #metropolitan #area #hills #times #size #Yeouido

Local residents, including Korean nationals who were stranded in Israel, arrived at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the evening of the 14th and disembarked from the Air Force transport aircraft (KC330 ‘Cygnus’). Joint photo reporting group

The Japanese government, which has been criticized for evacuating Israeli citizens later than Korea and charging fees, is now pursuing a plan to evacuate its citizens free of charge via Self-Defense Force transport. NHK broadcast reported on the 18th that as the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas intensifies, the Japanese government is considering deploying Self-Defense Force transport planes to evacuate its citizens still remaining in Israel. The Japanese government is surveying its citizens about their intention to leave the country, and if the number of people wishing to leave the country exceeds a certain number, it is considering evacuating them to Japan by Self-Defense Force transport plane later this week. According to a Japanese government official, the Self-Defense Forces transport plane will fly from Israel to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport via neighboring Jordan, and passengers will not be charged any fees. Currently, two SDF C2 transport aircraft and KC767 aerial refueling transport aircraft have arrived in Jordan, and one C2 transport aircraft is on standby in Djibouti, East Africa, in case it receives a transport order.

The Air Force transport plane (KC330) ‘Cygnus’ dispatched to Israel by the Korean government landed at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the evening of the 14th. On this day, Japanese embassy staff are guiding the Japanese people who came with us through procedures. Joint photo reporting group

Previously, on the 15th, the Japanese government chartered a plane to Israel to evacuate eight Korean citizens to Dubai Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and charged 30,000 yen (270,000 won) per person in return. This is compared to the response of the Korean government, which evacuated 220 people, including 163 Koreans, 51 Japanese, and 6 Singaporeans, who were staying in Israel in Israel by air force transport plane a day earlier on the 14th, to Korea for free, and the Japanese say that the response is ‘late’. Criticism poured in. The right-wing Sankei Shimbun also pointed out the late response of the Fumio cabinet in an editorial on the 18th, saying, “Isn’t the response to evacuating its citizens slower than that of Korea?” The Sankei Shimbun said, “In a crisis, a small gap in time can make the difference between light and dark. “Japan virtually failed in its operation to evacuate Koreans from Afghanistan the year before last (2021),” he criticized. The Sankei Shimbun also said, “We are grateful to the Korean government for allowing the Japanese to ride together from a humanitarian perspective.” Previously, the Japanese government explained that the reason it charged the fee was because it considered fairness as there were Japanese nationals who left Israel using regular aircraft while Tel Aviv International Airport was still operating flights. Reporter Lee Yu-jin yjlee@hani.co.kr
2023-10-18 06:38:50
#Korean #free #ritual #Japan #promotes #free #evacuation #Israeli #citizens