Memo Leak Trial

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In the first trial on the case surrounding a leaked presidential document, key suspects including former presidential secretary Cho Eung-cheon denied charges lodged by the prosecution. Police superintendent Park Gwan-cheon, who's been arrested in the case, said that he will convey his opinion after examining more data.

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Former presidential secretary for civil service discipline Cho Eung-cheon appeared in court with a calm demeanor. But he tensed up and reserved words to reporter questions.

[Soundbite] Cho Eung-chon (Fmr. Pres. Secretary) : "I will sincerely take part in trial. I expect the truth to be unveiled in court."

Cho who has been arrested without detention, police superintendent Park who has been detained and another police lieutenant surnamed Han, all stood trial but they denied most of the charges. Han said that he passed on a copy of the presidential document to fellow lieutenant surnamed Choi but did not know that Choi would leak the paper. Amid the snowballing scandal, Choi took his life last month. Park showed a more prudent stance saying that there's a great deal of prosecutorial documents to be reviewed and that he will present his opinion later on. Prosecutors meanwhile asked the court to hold subsequent trials behind closed doors. The prosecution believes an open trial can divulge presidential records and public secrets to the media. They also cited privacy concerns for the parties involved. The court said it will make a discrete decision but noted that a public trial is the rule for the sake of the public's right to know and to guarantee the suspects' defense rights.

2. Blocking Terror Posts

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Authorities have begun blocking terrorism-related information on the Internet in the wake of a Korean teenager's suspected defection to the militant group Islamic State. Government censors’ first task was to block access to recruitment postings by Islamic State members.

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This is the social networking account of the Korean teenager surnamed Kim who went missing in Turkey. The number of followers, which rested at a few dozen only two days ago, has soared to over 400. Most of them were against terrorism or simply curious, but some indicated their willingness to join ISIS. This user claimed to be a 16-year-old Korean male in Arabic and declared that he hated the world. He asked several times how to join ISIS. Postings looking for prospective ISIS members can be found on the Internet. Consequently, the Korea Communications Standards Commission nearly tripled the number of its monitors to reinforce online inspection. First, the Commission found 29 posts for ISIS member recruits and blocked users in Korea from accessing them. The measure was to prevent other Koreans from following the missing teenager's actions.

[Soundbite] Yeo Hyeon-cheol (Law & Order Protection Div., KCSC) : "We will strengthen our reviews by steadily and aggressively monitoring information suspected of promoting or abetting terrorism."

However, public concern has not been completely dispelled, as it is realistically very challenging to completely block out overseas SNS accounts and posts.

3. Middle Class Housing

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The key to a government plan to offer middle class families with corporate-style homes for rent, as with all of real estate, is location, location, location. The government has named Dohwa District in Incheon City as the first site for the privately operated rental housing project. Construction will begin in September.

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The government has decided on the first site for corporate-style private sector rental homes that will be built by large Korean builders. The site is Dohwa District in the city of Incheon. The area is close to the subway and is home to many elementary, middle and high schools and universities, creating high demand potential. Some 2,000 apartment units, each 59 to 89 square meters in size, will be built on a 100,000 square meter site owned by the Incheon Development & Tourism Corporation. The rent will, of course, differ by apartment size. But an 84 square meter home's monthly rent, for instance, is expected to be priced at about 460 U.S. dollars with a key deposit of around 64,500 dollars. Daelim Group will build and operate the rental homes. The recruitment of tenants will begin as soon as the project breaks ground in September.

[Soundbite] Suh Seoung-hwan (MOLIT) : "We expect housing stability to rise when rent increases are capped at 5% for a maximum 8-year residence."

The Land Ministry aims to provide a total of 10,000 homes this year with plans to build similar corporate-style rental homes in Seoul's Sindang-dong and the new satellite town of Dongtan.

4. Dog Bite Care

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With many more Korean homes now adopting dogs as pets, the number of incidents involving pets is growing every year. What is so troubling is that many of the incidents involve dogs biting children at home. Here are some effective ways to deal with dog bites.

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A child walks up to two pet dogs inside the home. When the child pats one dog's back, the dog gives him a friendly lick on the face. But not all pet dogs react in such an affectionate manner to people. 36-year-old Joo Hwan-woo had to be treated at the hospital for three months after being bitten by his pet dog.

[Soundbite] Joo Hwan-woo (Office Worker) : "I got bitten when I tried to get friendly by petting it. The doctor said the wound was bad, so I received several shots."

The number of pet dog bites reported to the Korea Consumer Agency has exceeded two thousand cases in the past four years and the number is increasing every year. In particular, accidents involving children younger than ten, who tend to be small in stature and very curious, account for 20% of all pet dog attacks. Bite wounds from pet dogs may not appear that serious, but they're prone to infection.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lim Ji-yong (Seoul St. Mary's Hospital) : "When first bitten, it usually looks like a little tear. But when the patient comes back the next day to get stitched up, the wound looks much worse."

When bitten by a pet dog, wash the wound with clean water and use bandages to apply pressure and stop the bleeding. Those with weakened immune systems must be treated at the hospital.

5. Smartphone Marketplace

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Smartphones are now even being used in the direct trade of agri-livestock products. Popularity is rising as quality produce can be purchased at an affordable price.

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At this slaughterhouse in Gyeonggi Province an average of 500 pigs are slaughtered each day. The pigs are then processed for sale. The slaughterhouse mainly partnered with big name distributors in the past, but it recently began to trade directly with small-scale restaurants. For instance, a kilogram of pork belly sold for $6.92 through a distributor can be bought for $5.44 using this smartphone app. Users can check the wholesale price in real time using their phones and buy the product minus the distribution fee, which makes the final price as much as 30 percent lower. The app has been downloaded 5,000 times in its first two months, gaining popularity both among the farmers and small-scale vendors.

[Soundbite] Go Gyeong-ui (Pres., Gyeonggi Prov. Livestock Processing Center) : "There's reduced risk on uncollected payments and unlike other partner firms, consumer patterns can be predicted, which helps plan for production and manage inventory."

This restaurant is also using a tablet PC to purchase its produce and ingredients instead of the old fashioned way of visiting suppliers. Some 4,000 quality food products are available at lower prices than the market rate. The ever-advancing information and communications technology sector is contributing to opening up new markets in transparent and reasonable ways.

6. New Puffer Breed

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River puffer fish is considered a delicacy in Korea, but they are slow to mature and very expensive. But now Korean scientists have developed a new breed of river puffer that grows more than twice as fast and three times larger in size.

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Hundreds of river puffer fish swim inside a water tank. They're an expensive breed of fish, fetching a wholesale price of nearly 100 dollars per kilogram. But the downsides are that the river puffer takes 3 years to grow to maturity and weighs only 400 grams even when fully grown.

[Soundbite] Kim Bong-seop (River Puffer Fish Farmer) : "River puffers are popular for their great texture. But they're hard to raise and don't yield much meat, so we're rather short on supply."

The Chungnam province Fisheries Research Institute succeeded in developing the so-called super river puffer that are more than three times larger than their ordinary counterparts. The new hybrid species was developed after four years of cross-breeding the river puffer with the tiger puffer, the fastest-growing and largest puffer breed. The appearance resembles a river puffer, but its physical constitution is similar to that of the tiger puffer, so the hybrid grows more than twice as fast. Now the challenge is to boost the early survival rate, which currently stands at around 3%.

[Soundbite] Dr. Yoo Gwang-yeol (Chungnam Prov. Fisheries Research Inst.) : "We're studying to improve the early survival rate to over 50%. Once we achieve that, we can commercialize the river puffers immediately."

The research team has applied for patents in Korea and overseas and is currently developing a non-spawning river puffer breed to increase the flesh yield.

7. Hallyu Control Tower

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To promote Korean culture worldwide and keep its popularity high, the government has announced plans to devise strategies for each specific region and set up a "hallyu control tower." The move is aimed at expanding Korea's cultural influence the world over.

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The popularity of Korean culture has gone beyond Asia, and has even spread to Europe and Central and Latin America on the other side of the globe. As such, promoting Korean culture across the world with just a single strategy has become a challenge. That's because each country has its own cultural peculiarities and preferences. For example, the K-pop group SHINee, known for its sophisticated style, is all the rage in the U.K. and France, while the girl group F(x), whose members include Chinese nationals, mostly performs in China. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to build a so-called "Hallyu map" based on a stronger distribution platform by analyzing the cultural demands of each region. The ministry's strategies targeting the Chinese market, which has been raising its barriers recently, focus on setting up co-production funds to avoid local regulations.

[Soundbite] Kim Hee-beom (1st Vice Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism) : "If we produce movies or TV shows through such funds, they will be recognized as Chinese-made, which will allow us to avoid China's regulations."

The Culture Ministry is also poised to develop a national brand to enhance Korea's international status, and create a unified symbol for the government and the nation as a whole.

8. Entertainment News

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The new album from the female duo Davichi is a hit. All of the tracks on the album have climbed to the top spots in the music charts. Here's more from the world of show business.

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The song "Cry Again" from the duo Davichi has swept Korea's major music charts. The plaintive mood of this ballad about a breakup is heightened by Davichi's heart-moving vocals. The Davichi members personally wrote the music and lyrics for three out of the five songs contained in the new album. One of the so-called C'est si bon singers - Lee Jang-hee - will hold a solo concert next month. Lee was at the forefront of spreading folk music in Korea in the 1970s. At the upcoming concert the singer will perform his popular hits with orchestral accompaniment. Online ticket sites selling tickets for music group EXO's concert slated for March crashed as users rushed to make their purchases. SM Entertainment said that more than 1.2 million people in Korea simultaneously accessed the sites. The agency promised to resume ticket sales next week after installing more servers. The first Japanese album from the group JYJ has climbed to the second spot of the Oricon daily chart. The group's agency said that even though it's the first album from JYJ to be officially distributed in Japan, it has already become a huge hit.

9. Managing Diabetes

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More cases of diabetes are being reported in Korea, as the Korean dietary patterns become more westernized. Diabetes is almost impossible to cure, which means those who have it must regulate their blood sugar levels all their life. Today we'll show you how to manage diabetic symptoms and introduce some foods that help lower the blood sugar level.

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Diabetes has become so prevalent in Korea that now one out of eight Korean adults is found to be diabetic. It's hard to be aware of the fact that you've developed diabetes, since no distinct symptoms are displayed. But here are some signs that warn you of the possibility. Drinking a lot of water from frequent thirst. Inability to hold urine and the need to go to the bathroom often. And weight loss despite increased food intake. Diabetes is diagnosed when the fasting blood sugar level is above 126 and the level two hours after a meal is above 200. TV actor Kim Seong-won has had diabetes for 45 years now.

[Soundbite] "Don't you get swept away and follow them blindly."

There's a reason why he never misses his daily hour-long walk.

[Soundbite] Kim Seong-won (TV Actor) : "Let's say my blood sugar level was 170 before taking a walk. After walking 13,000 steps, the level falls about 30. So imagine how fun walking is for me."

In addition to exercise, diet is crucial for diabetic patients who need to control their blood sugar levels. It's already widely known that brown rice, beans, white fish, nuts, and vegetables are good for diabetes. But here are some super foods that are particularly effective in treating diabetes. This is amaranth. It's rich in minerals and vegetable fats, which are very effective in keeping blood sugar low. Bitter gourd, known as natural insulin, not only lowers the blood sugar level, but also promotes pancreatic functions. The vegetable's bitter taste can be removed by drying. The dried bitter gourd can be brewed like tea to be enjoyed hot or cold. Some exercises are especially helpful in controlling diabetic symptoms throughout life. This simple exercise involves just tapping the feet against each other.

[Soundbite] Park Jong-chan (Qigong Exercise Specialist) : "Tapping the toes against each other is easy to do and stimulates blood circulation in the lower body, which helps raise your body temperature and boost your immune system."

Diabetes is an illness that's hard to cure, so regular exercise and diet are crucial. But prevention is always the best way, so people should take special care to work out and eat properly.