GOV’T TO TAME GROCERY PRICES

GOV'T TO TAME GROCERY PRICES

[Anchor Lead]
The wholesale price of apples has surged more than twofold in a year, marking an unprecedented record of over 90,000 won or some 68 U.S. dollars per 10 kilograms for the first time. As the prices of agricultural and livestock products show no signs of stabilizing, the relevant ministries are on high alert.

[Pkg]
Amid skyrocketing fruit and vegetable prices, shoppers complain that prices continue to rise even further. The wholesale price of apples has more than doubled from a year ago to surpass 90-thousand won or some 68 dollars per 10 kilograms.

[Soundbite]
Gwon Han-bun (Seoul resident): It's tough. I thought prices would ease after the Lunar New Year holiday but it's still going up for vegetables and everything else.

The agriculture minister and vice minister are visiting markets and meeting up with food company officials day after day to ask for cooperation. In such meetings, companies are asked to flexibly reflect changes in international raw material prices. In fact, the price index of edible oils sharply fell last month to 120.9 from 251.8 in March of 2022.

[Soundbite]
Han Hoon (Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs): For consumers, price hikes are swift but price cuts are slow. So we delivered such complaints to businesses.

The government is also urging major distributors to focus on discount deals. It will also further inject 23 billion won or 17 million dollars through April to support discount programs, after providing 69 billion won or 52 million dollars during the past Lunar New Year holiday to rein in on agro and livestock prices.

[Soundbite]
Song Mi-ryung (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (March 12)): We inspect the supply-demand situation daily and push to lower supply costs and support discounts to help lower consumer prices.

The government said it will also monitor collusive price fixing practices around the clock relating to key daily necessities such as processed foods.

OVERSEAS ONLINE SHOPPING ISSUES

[Anchor Lead]
AliExpress, a popular online platform in China known for its affordable prices and shipping costs, is now under scrutiny. Following a series of consumer complaints related to counterfeit products and quality issues, the government announced a joint measure yesterday targeting foreign online platforms.

[Pkg]
This forty-something man ordered a chair from Ali Express three months ago. It was delivered a week later, but when he opened the package, it contained only the toys he had ordered together with the chair.

[Soundbite]
Kim ○○ (Ali User): The plastic bag was big, but it contained only two walkie-talkies.

He wondered if it had gone through the customs properly. A package weighing only three kilograms was reported as a 17-kilogram chair, but the package was never inspected.

[Soundbite]
Kim ○○ (Ali User): The chair weighs more than 10kg. Nothing is checked once the package is shipped off from China.

Armed with low prices, Ali Express is growing rapidly in Korea. Its users numbered 7.17 million last month, threatening Coupang's place on top by becoming the second most popular shopping app in Korea. But consumer complaints also increased by over five times in just one year. The Korean government plans to mandate overseas businesses such as Ali and Temu of China to appoint a local agent.

[Soundbite]
Han Ki-jeong (Chair, Fair Trade Commission): Korea will mandate that overseas businesses fulfill their duty to protect consumers even when they don't have a local address or an office.

The government is also going to watch if they purposefully drive out competitors or exploit local suppliers. The market is already showing abnormal signs as a record number of online sellers went out of business last year.

[Soundbite]
Kang ○○ (Online Seller): When you buy on Ali, you don't need safety certification, but the prices are cheaper. That's very unfair. So, lots of people just close their businesses.

Korean authorities will also inspect illicit distribution of food and medicines and block out the items suspected to be knock-offs from the customs clearance stage.

CLEARER PRICES FOR WEDDINGS

[Anchor Lead]
In an era of costly weddings, a significant concern for couples is the price of the bundled package of studio photography, wedding attire, and makeup. The challenge lies in the complexity of these bundled deals, where hidden costs often emerge. A new mandate will soon require transparent pricing for these services, offering couples clearer insights into what they're paying for.

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This woman got married last October. She planned to spend about 1,500 U.S. dollars on engagement pictures, wedding dress rental and bridal makeup. But the actual spending exceeded 3,000 dollars.

[Soundbite]
Lee ○○ (Married in October, 2023): Some 456 dollars were added for selecting a pricier shop. For the wedding dress, over 530 dollars were added as I chose a brand-new design. Some 230 dollars are added depending on which makeup artist you choose.

This woman had to pay a large amount of penalty for changing the wedding date six months before the ceremony.

[Soundbite]
Kim Ye-eun (Married in April, 2023): I didn't cancel. I just changed the date and paid penalty of about 1,500 dollars. It was outrageous.

Soon-to-be-married couples frequently face stressful situations in which they are asked to pay various additional charges and penalties. Last year alone, the Korea Consumer Agency received more than 600 complaints seeking damage relief. The wedding industry will have to introduce a price marking system, as other businesses like restaurants and gyms do.

[Soundbite]
Choi Sang-mok (Deputy Prime Minister for Economy): We will devise measures requiring wedding vendors to disclose their prices in order to help consumers.

The government will also require wedding vendors to reveal the current prices for their services while devising standard terms to settle the issue of excessive penalties.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Choi Chul (Sookmyung Women's University): It can be beneficial for consumers. But the market has an oligopolistic structure, there is possibility that prices won't go down as much as consumers want.

Six locations popular amongst the public, including the National Museum of Korea, will soon be offered as public wedding venues.

MED PROFESSORS MULL RESIGNATION

[Anchor Lead]
Professors from 19 medical schools nationwide, including Seoul National University College of Medicine, have convened an emergency committee, deciding to determine the status of their resignations by tomorrow, March 15th. The government has expressed strong concerns, stating that the professors' decision to leave their posts to protect their students, thus moving away from patient care, would not be acceptable to the public.

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Professors at 19 medical schools across the nation formed an emergency committee, saying that they will decide by Friday whether to resign. The emergency body was joined by medical professors belonging to the so-called big five hospitals in Seoul, such as Asan Medical Center, Severance Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. They intend to take action before trainee doctors resigning en masse and medical students taking a collective leave of absence are given administrative measures or penalties by the schools.

[Soundbite]
Bang Jae-seung (Emergency committee chair, Medical Professors Assn. (Mar. 13, KBS radio program)): Professors will likely tender resignations voluntarily. It's the professors’ obligation to protect medical students and trainee doctors.

On Thursday, the Medical Professors Association of Korea and faculty at Catholic University's medical college will each hold a general meeting to discuss whether to join the collective resignation. The government said that protecting their students from any disadvantages cannot be a reason for their group action.

[Soundbite]
Park Min-soo (Second vice minister of Health and Welfare): The people cannot understand the claim that they leave patients to protect their students.

In preparation for a possible collective resignation by medical professors, the government is considering issuing orders for them to remain on duty. It has also strengthened an emergency medical care system. The government will provide up to 18 million won or around 13,700 U.S. dollars a month to major general hospitals and public hospitals that hire new doctors. The monthly financial assistance will be around 4 million won or some 3,000 dollars for hospitals hiring new nurses. Meanwhile, the education ministry's proposal to hold a meeting with representatives from medical students over their collective leave of absence produced no result, as the students had not given a response.

WILL PROFESSORS LEAVE POSTS

[Anchor Lead]
Following our previous report, patients at hospitals are also concerned with the possibility of professors leaving their posts. The question of whether professors will indeed leave the hospitals looms large, as does the future of the medical field if such departures occur.

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Patients concern has deepened with the threat of mass resignation also by medical school professors.

[Soundbite]
An Seon-yeong (Korean organization for severe diseases): It would be an all-out panic as professors command hospital affairs from start to finish.

At top tier general hospitals, professors are involved in almost all stages of treatment for both outpatients and inpatients. They decide whether a patient should undergo surgery and make critical decisions in the operating room, and take responsibility for it. Their departure implies all this can come to a halt.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Jung Jae-hun (Gachon Univ. Gil Medical Center): Medical professors' mass resignation can render treatments nearly impossible and affect patient lives and safety.

However it appears unlikely that professors who conveyed their intent to resign will actually leave hospitals right away. Even if resignations are submitted, if they are not accepted by the hospital director, they have no effect. Professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine who have threatened to resign on March 18th made it clear that they will continue to treat patients until their resignations are processed.

[Soundbite]
Bang Jae-seung (Emergency committee chair, Medical Professors Assn. (Mar. 13, KBS radio program)): Even if we resign, we're still doctors. We thought of ways to continue duties as volunteers or form a medical squad as was the case during a strike in 2000.

It seems that despite the grave warning, professors are more intent on urging the government to change its stance rather than actually leaving their posts. However their possible departure can't be ruled out as professors have been taking on a heavy workload amid the trainee doctors' walkout which is now in its 4th week.

PLANS TO HELP MEDIA INDUSTRY

[Anchor Lead]
As online streaming services like Netflix rapidly expand their influence, the media content market is undergoing rapid changes. The government has announced plans to continue leveraging the proven competitiveness of South Korea content in the global market and to secure new growth engines for the domestic media industry.

[Pkg]
TV shows that lead the Korean wave. K-pop stars' concerts. The growth of quality media contents was driven by the local media industry. But the growth of media business sales which used to be nearly 15% in 2010 plunged to merely 1.8% in 2022. The deficit has also worsened due to an increase in production costs.

[Soundbite]
Lee Jeong-won (2nd Vice minister, Office for Gov't Policy Coordination): The fierce competition between the broadcasting, OTT, and other media industries and global businesses is stalling industry growth.

The government presented a set of assistance plans to help the local media sector. First, the tax credit rate on video contents production cost will be raised up to 30%. The plan includes such concrete measures as raising a large-scale fund, relaxing ad regulations, and loosening the restrictions on owning the shares of large broadcasting companies. However, the means for broadcasting businesses to receive just reward for producing and providing contents haven't been developed. The truth is that three IPTV giants operated by major communication service providers used their monopolistic status to undermine the growth of smaller broadcasting companies. The three IPTV companies take up 86% of the paid television service market. Korea's three major communications service providers have used products combined with their IPTV services to enjoy record profits. But only 28% of the basic channels package sales go toward paying for content use(
[Soundbite]
Prof. Ko Min-su (Gangneung-Wonju Nat'l University): They lower content producers' productivity and weaken K-contents by knocking down prices and providing insufficient compensation for using content.

The Korean Broadcasters Association urged the government to develop balanced policies so that all media companies stand to receive fair rewards for supplying media contents.

RESCUING GORALS FROM SNOW

[Anchor Lead]
This winter, we've seen an unusually high frequency and volume of snowfall. As a result, more than 200 long-tailed gorals have been found isolated or dead due to exhaustion from the frequent heavy snowfalls. Fortunately, about a dozen of these animals have been successfully rescued and are currently recovering their health, eagerly awaiting their return to the wild.

[Pkg]
Jinburyeong mountain pass is covered with snow. A long-tailed goral, an endangered species, is stuck in a pile of snow. A rescue officer carefully approaches the animal, battling thick snow that reaches waist level.

[Soundbite]
Don't go near water!

The goral, totally exhausted, can barely move. The officer attaches a hook to the neck area, pulls it out of the snow and eventually manages to carry it on his back. The rescued mammal, aged 4, weighs a mere 30 kilograms which is only three-fourths the normal weight. Two weeks later, on a field below Daeamsan Mountain standing 13-hundred meters high. Long-tailed gorals roam freely about. This is a ranch where 14 gorals rescued this winter are being looked after. Younger ones under 12 months are kept indoors to ensure stability.

[Soundbite]
Jo Jae-woon (Director, Goral·Musk Deer Center): They must be protected against hypothermia and fed high protein meals for fast recovery.

In the first two months of this year, 261 dead gorals have been reported nationwide that's 20 times that of last year.

[Soundbite]
Kang Kyung-bo (Cultural Heritage Administration): Amid heavy snow and lack of food in winter, animals are often found stuck in snow, unable to move.

As mountainous regions are still covered with snow, a center dedicated to the welfare of gorals and musk deers in Yanggu-gun county will continue rescue operations and food provision through late spring. Gorals that have resuscitated their strength at the center will begin to be discharged to the wild in phases from May with signal devices attached.