DP WINS BY-ELECTION

DP WINS BY-ELECTION

[Anchor Lead]
In a pivotal prelude to next year's general elections, Democratic Party's Jin Gyo-hoon secured a landslide victory in the Seoul Gangseo-gu District by-election. The DP said the win can be seen as public judgment on socio-economic disruption while the People Power Party said they humbly acknowledge the Gangseo-gu residents' decisive choice.

[Pkg]
Democratic Party candidate Jin Gyo-hoon was elected Seoul's Gangseo-gu District head in Wednesday's by-election. He easily beat People Power Party candidate Kim Tae-woo by more than 40,000 votes. The gap between the two candidates had nearly doubled at one time. Jin said that the election was the triumph of common sense and principle.

[Soundbite]
Jin Gyo-hoon (Winner of Gangseo-gu Dist. By-election): This is the victory of common sense, principle and the people of Gangseo-gu. I will be a servant who listens to residents and meets their needs.

Meanwhile, Kim said he will accept the will of the Gangseo-gu people and conceded the poll outcome.

[Soundbite]
Kim Tae-woo (Candidate in Gangseo-gu Dist. By-election (PPP)): I congratulate Mr. Jin and I ask him to take care of the Gangseo-gu people’s lives for the development of the district.

The two main parties' reactions differed greatly as the election served as a preview of next year's general election. The main opposition said the election result was voters' judgment on the destruction of people's lives and demanded the president change his policy direction and overhaul his personnel. DP leader Lee Jae-myung also noted that the election was a stern punishment that orders the administration to improve people's lives. Lee's grip on leadership is expected to be further tightened and the DP's attack on the ruling party stronger. The PPP said it will accept the sharp reproach. However, the ruling party is likely to feel uncertain about the voter support in the Seoul capital area and demand the party leadership be held accountable for the crushing defeat.

BAEMIN AD SYSTEM UNDER FIRE

[Anchor Lead]
Baedal Minjok, the top food delivery platform, is again under scrutiny for its 'Baemin Flags' advertising model. While the platform charges eateries for enhanced visibility, past promises to address concerns over the financial burden on businesses seem unfulfilled.

[Pkg]
This burger joint uses six Baemin flags on a popular food delivery app Baedal Minjok. The owner pays 80,000 won for each flag. The total comes out to nearly 500,000 won a month. It's a steep price to pay for the owner, but he can't cut down on the number of flags if he wants to attract customers.

[Soundbite]
Jo Min-gyu (Burger joint owner): The store must be exposed a lot on the internet. Each flag represents exposure. So, we have no choice.

Roughly 220,000 stores use such Baemin flags. This means one eatery uses an average of 3.3 flags and Baemin is estimated to earn more than 58 billion won per month in flag usage fees alone. In fact, the industry believes that the flag system helped the sales of Baemin's operator, Woowa Brothers, and put its operating profit in the black. Baemin's competitors without the revenues from such a fee are still in the red. This issue has been raised before. Three years ago, Baemin had limited the number of flags to three. The delivery platform admitted that it had failed to see the growing burden on business owners stemming from the competition to secure flags and promised to make a more reasonable pricing system. But the company failed to keep its promise and unlimited flag advertisements resumed just six days later.

[Soundbite]
Kim Sung-whan (Democratic Party): The flag ad system seems to bring excessive profit to Baemin. This issue has been noted once before but hasn’t been redressed yet.

Baemin claimed that the unlimited flag advertisement resumed since complaints poured in from the store owners who had been using multiple flags. The platform also added that the flag system costs less than handing out leaflets and its promotional effects are said to be very high.

YOON CONDEMNS HAMAS ATTACK

[Anchor Lead]
President Yoon Suk Yeol Wednesday condemned the indiscriminate attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Calling it a terrorist act in violation of the international humanitarian law, the president ordered the government to closely monitor oil prices and foreign exchange rates and prepare for the possible fallout from the conflict.

"CHINA SENDS BACK DEFECTORS"

[Anchor Lead]
A report emerged claiming that China on Monday allegedly repatriated over 600 North Korean defectors detained at their border. This move sparked intense criticism during South Korea's parliamentary audit. The government is actively verifying the claims and formulating a response.

[Pkg]
A North Korean human rights group, Justice For North Korea, claims that China on Monday repatriated some 600 North Korean defectors who were detained at the border area back to the North. According to the group, the repatriations took place simultaneously in areas such as Dandong and Hunchun and in some cases, North Korea's state security ministry was on site to command the operation. Most of those repatriated were women. There were also babies and young children. An estimated 2,000 North Korean defectors are believed to be detained in China and concerns of a large-scale forced repatriation ran high since the regime's post pandemic border opening.

[Soundbite]
Peter Jung (Director, Justice for N. Korea): If news of repatriation gets out to the world, it damages China’s image so the country avoided the move during the Asian Games.

South Korean lawmakers across the isle condemned the latest move during a parliamentary audit.

[Soundbite]
Chung Jin-suk (Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee (PPP)): This is a serious and shocking incident. Will the Unification ministry or gov’t make any statement to China?

[Soundbite]
Lee Won-wook (Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee (DP)): The 600 defectors who hoped to reach S. Korea are now in danger. What is the gov’t doing?

[Soundbite]
Kim Yung-ho (Minister of Unification): We will confirm the facts with related agencies and seek countermeasures.

The government said it is trying to verify the facts and stressed its opposition to forced repatriations under any circumstance.

COMPOSER MEMORIALS DISPUTE

[Anchor Lead]
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has urged cities, including Gwangju Metropolitan City, to immediately halt commemorative projects involving Jeong Yul-seong Historical Park. The recommendation comes as Jeong is criticized for composing anthems for North Korean and Chinese forces during the Korean War. Gwangju City, however, has pushed back, asserting that the project is a lawful administrative matter of local autonomy.

[Pkg]
Set to be completed by the end of this year, this is the construction site of the Jeong yul-seong Historical Park, a 4.8-billion won project the Gwangju metropolitan city government is carrying out as an exchange program with China. The birthplace of composer Jeong Yul-seong will be restored and an outdoor stage will be created. But amid continuing controversy over the composer's past, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs asked the city government to immediately stop the construction. The ministry said the memorial project is unacceptable, as Jeong was a figure who threatened the system of South Korea by composing marches for North Korean and Chinese armed forces during the Korean War. It also pointed out that no objective materials were verified in a review of his achievements as an independence activist and he was not conferred an honor for his support of the North Korean regime. The ministry also recommended the removal of the street dedicated to Jeong and his murals and busts across Gwangju and Jeollanam-do Province, with a plan to issue a correction order if the city government fails to do so.

[Soundbite]
Park Min-shik (Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs): Honoring Jeong is equivalent to denying the identity of S. Korea and damaging the honor of patriots and their bereaved families.

The Gwangju city government is refusing to accept the recommendation. It said it is within the local government's authority to implement memorial projects and a central government agency can issue a correction order only when they are illegal. But the Jeong Yul-seong project has been carried out since the Roh Tae-woo administration and it does not violate the law. Noting the current law stating that correction orders can be issued only by the minister in charge, the city government raised questions about the ministry's discretion to decide on the issue. But some local governments in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do Province say they will review projects carried out in memory of Jeong Yul-seong. Neungju Elementary School in Hwasun County has decided to remove his mural and other memorials.

SAMSUNG Q3 PROFIT REBOUNDS

[Anchor Lead]
In the recent quarter, Samsung Electronics hit its first trillion-won operating profit for the year. This impressive feat is attributed to strong sales in the mobile phone and display sectors. Meanwhile, the semiconductor division, despite previous setbacks, is believed to have significantly reduced its deficit.

[Pkg]
Samsung Electronics has issued a projection of its third quarter performance. It expects sales of 67 trillion won and operating profit of 2.4 trillion won posted during the July to September period. Compared to the second quarter, sales is up by 11% and operating profit a whopping 258%. The tech giant's operating profit remained in the 600 billion won range for the first and second quarters of this year. It has now been restored to the trillion won level. However, compared to the same period last year when Samsung recorded all-time high Q3 figures, sales are down 12.7% and operating profit by 77.9%. Pundits attribute the latest rebound to solid performance in mobile phone and display sectors. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 phones released in July posted brisk sales while new product lines in displays also had a significant impact. The chip sector has also likely improved. The semiconductor business ran deficits in the 4 trillion won range in the two previous quarters which is believed to have eased to around 3 trillion won in the third quarter.

[Soundbite]
Ahn Ki-hyun (Korea Semiconductor Industry Association): Demand is up for AI chips and production cut has begun to show effects. A rebound for DRAM is possible this year while it’s uncertain for NAND flash.

As a result, observers speculate that in Q4, deficit in chips will dip below one trillion won while DRAMS will shift to a surplus. Samsung Electronics' finalized Q3 records will be announced on October 31. Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution has projected a record high performance for the third quarter. In a tentative estimate, its sales rose 7.5% on-year to over 8.2 trillion won and operating profit jumped more than 40% to 730 billion won.

DEFENSE EXHIBITION TO OPEN

[Anchor Lead]
The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2023 will open on next Tuesday at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, with some 550 businesses from 35 countries participating. In the six-day event, Korea's fighter jet KF-21 Boramae will be made public for the first time. The U.S.' F-22 Raptor fighter jet will also be put on display.

PINE WILT MENACE

[Anchor Lead]
This year has seen a sharp increase in pine tree deaths due to 'pine wilt disease'. Withered trees heighten forest fire and landslide risks, with climate change identified as the main catalyst.

[Pkg]
Mountains appeared to have turned color in fall foliage. However a closer look unveils they are pine trees that are supposed to be green all year round. The trees are withering away, plagued by pine wilt disease.

[Soundbite]
Jeong Yong-seong (Forestry expert): If the red coloration is visible, then we can presume the tree has almost completely dried up.

Pine wilt nematodes live off insects such as longhorn beetles that live on pine trees. When the insects nibble into a tree, the nematodes are transferred into the wood, causing it to die. Pine trees infected with the wilt disease shrivel away in one year's time. The damage is greater this year. Last year, some 370-thousand trees dried up nationwide. The count has nearly tripled to over one million so far this year. Climate change is the main culprit. Amid higher temperatures this spring, insects spreading the wilt disease woke up nearly 10 days faster from their winter hibernation compared to 2020.

[Soundbite]
Kim Myung-gwan (Korea Forest Service): This year, insects woke up early by a week amid warm spring conditions which expanded their length of activity, causing more damage.

As the mercury continues to rise, regions where the insects become active faster will also increase by about 14 fold. Once a tree develops pine wilt disease, there is no cure. Prevention is the best option. However, next year's budget set aside for prevention efforts is down by 20 billion won from this year.

[Soundbite]
Jeong Gyu-won (Forestry technician): Lack of prevention due to short budget will lead to a rapid spread of pine wilt disease.

Pine wilt disease has a much wider effect than just killing the trees. Parched trees trigger forest fires and also raises the risk of landslide. It poses a threat to human life.