YOON-HAN LENGTHY MEETING

YOON-HAN LENGTHY MEETING

[Anchor Lead]
In a pivotal two-hour and 37-minute meeting, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chairman Han Dong-hoon have marked the beginning of the final phase in resolving the sharp conflicts between the government and the ruling party. This encounter, amid the urgency of the upcoming general elections, is viewed as a transition towards productive collaboration and teamwork between the government and the ruling party.

[Pkg]
The face-to-face meeting lasted two hours and 37 minutes. The meeting took place after the People Power Party accepted the presidential office's request to hold it. It was intended to show the public that the president and the interim chief of the ruling party can meet at any time.

[Soundbite]
Han Dong-hoon (Chair, PPP Emergency Committee): (What are you going to discuss?) I don't think it's unusual for the president and the ruling party chief to have luncheon together.

Even after President Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Dong-hoon visited the site of the Seocheon Market fire last Tuesday, it was still hard to say that the ties between the presidential office and the PPP had been mended, as there were still calls within the party for emergency committee member Kim Kyung-yul's resignation. However, pundits say with just one day before a Cabinet meeting to discuss the Itaewon special bill and only some 70 days before the general elections, the two sides eventually agreed to sit down for talks. A senior PPP official said it's safe to say that the conflict has subsided and the latest meeting served as an opportunity to set the stage for government-ruling party teamwork.

[Soundbite]
Yun Jae-ok (Floor Leader, People Power Party): (Do you think the conflict was settled?) The gov‘t and the ruling party met to do their best to improve people's livelihoods. This is how you should view it.

The Democratic Party blasted the meeting by saying the two sides met at the pretext of discussing public livelihood issues, but that it produced no results and that Yoon continues his behind-the-scene politics. Meanwhile, the top office is expected to lay out its stance on various contentious issues soon, as it continues closed-door talks with the ruling party.

ELECTION MATCHES TAKING SHAPE

[Anchor Lead]
With the April general elections just 70 days away, the People Power Party has begun its nomination process, sparking a series of candidacy declarations. This includes the anticipated "assassin nominations," a concept aligned with people who took part in progressive student activist movements in the past, known as "undongkwon." advocated by interim chief Han Dong-hoon. Concurrently, the Democratic Party, advocating the "administration judgment theory," faces ongoing internal divisions and debates over nominations.

[Pkg]
Ruling People Power Party's interim chief Han Dong-hoon has again called for clearing politics of people who took part in progressive student activist movements in the past, known as "undongkwon." He took the example of former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok who is preparing to run for a district in the upcoming general election. His competition is former lawmaker Yoon Hee-suk.

[Soundbite]
Han Dong-hoon (Chair, PPP Emergency Committee): Im vs Yoon, who would save the economy? Politicians who enjoyed privileges for decades over their undongkwon career don't have the right to speak of livelihood issues.

PPP lawmaker Tae Yong-ho has decided to run against main opposition Democratic Party Rep. Youn Kun-young, another "undongkwon" politician who served as student body president at Kookmin University. Former veterans affairs minister Park Min-shik has declared to challenge 3-term DP lawmaker Kim Min-seok who headed the student council at Seoul National University. PPP spokesperson Ho Jun-seok is challenging 4-term DP lawmaker Lee In-young in Lee's own district. Lee served as inaugural chief of the national association of university student councils. Seoul's Jung and Seongdong-eul district currently held by DP's Park Sung-joon will be a battleground between Rep. Ha Tae-keung, former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon and former SMEs minister Lee Young. Meanwhile the DP has brushed off the PPP's call to eradicate undongkwon forces and instead calls for laying judgment on the current administration.

[Soundbite]
Lee Jae-myung (Chair, Democratic Party (Jan. 17)): There must be corresponding accountability. The election is an interim assessment on the administration and those in power.

Former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok said the ruling party's talk of undongkwon is a retrogressive idea that was repeated by coup détat forces of past military regimes. The DP also has its own election strategy disputes such as nominations aimed at taking down party members who don't align with chairman Lee Jae-myung and calls for those born in the 1960s and went to university in the '80s, known as the "8-6ers" to voluntarily step down to make room for others. The DP chief earlier said such nomination controversy is totally out of the question and there's no need for people with a history of taking part in democratic movements to be left out.

RESPONSE TO NORTH'S SLCM CLAIM

[Anchor Lead]
North Korea claims it has developed a diverse array of missiles, including ICBMs, hypersonic missiles, and submarine-launched cruise missiles, showcasing its ability to bypass South Korea and U.S. defense systems. Despite noting possible exaggerations in these claims, the South Korean military is heightening its preparedness.

[Pkg]
In March last year, North Korea first claimed that it launched submarine-launched cruise missiles. Ten days later, it disclosed images of the missiles flying over terrain. Unlike ballistic missiles, that ascend to a high altitude before descending at a fast speed, cruise missiles fly at lower altitudes and relatively slower speeds and are capable of evading radar and conducting various maneuvers. Also, it is almost impossible to detect cruise missiles in advance if they are launched from submarines. If these cruise missiles are launched from a nuclear-powered submarine capable of long-term submersion, even with a shorter range, they can approach the target discreetly, enabling surprise attacks. This is why North Korea is emphasizing he need to build nuclear-powered submarines loaded with nuclear weapons simultaneously.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Moon Geun-sik (Hanyang University (Ex-naval submarine captain)): N. Korea intends to have a system to attack targeted regions with low-yield nuclear warheads hidden in submarines.

However, the South Korean military believes that North Korea's announcement was somewhat exaggerated. The North did not say exactly that the missiles had been launched from a submarine. Plus, the missiles' flight time tracked by South Korean monitoring assets was far shorter than what Pyongyang announced. There are also doubts about whether Pyongyang has the technology to change the launching platform in just four days after conducting the first test-firing in an inland region last Wednesday.

[Soundbite]
Lee Sung-jun (Joint Chiefs of Staff): N. Korea might have exaggerated its capability to change the launching platform in such a short period.

Based on the South Korea-U.S. joint defense posture, the military plans to strengthen its capabilities by enhancing surveillance assets, including the Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which are being sequentially introduced this year.

WARNING OVER RUSSIAN REMARK

[Anchor Lead]
South Korea has issued a warning to Russia over the latter's comment about collapsing bilateral relations after Seoul's defense chief expressed the possibility of full support for Ukraine. A foreign ministry official has warned that future moves by Moscow will be critical to managing bilateral ties, adding that Seoul is monitoring Russia's military cooperation with North Korea. In a media interview on January 22, defense minister Shin Won-sik hinted at possible direct military support for Kyiv, while noting that South Korea remains focused on nonlethal aid provision. Following the comment, the Russian foreign ministry denounced what it called Seoul’s “reckless action.”

SEOUL CITY WORKER SUSPENDED

[Anchor Lead]
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has set a precedent by suspending a civil servant for receiving the lowest grade in a recent performance evaluation, marking the first time an employee has been excluded from duties based solely on such an assessment. Could this be a turning point towards eradicating the notions of guaranteed job security and complacency in public sector employment? We take a look.

[Pkg]
Late last year, the Seoul city government conducted performance evaluations on 10,000 employees who are grade 5 or below. Four of them were given the lowest performance evaluation marks. This is the first time the city government has given the lowest mark to any of its employees since it introduced a four-tier performance review in 2019. Three of the lowest-performing employees were transferred to other posts while one was suspended from duty. This marks the first time the city government has ever suspended an employee from duty solely based on a performance review. The lowest-performing employees were reportedly negligent on the job or even aggressive toward their colleagues. Employees given the lowest mark are ineligible for incentives and required to undergo special training from the city government. A Seoul city government official said that the mayor has the authority to suspend lowest-performing employees who fail to show improvements even after receiving additional training. The city government said it is important to create an environment encouraging employees to be diligent at work. It added it will also review giving the lowest mark to any employees who wield negative influence in the organizational culture as well.

CHILDCARE LEAVE DISCRIMINATION

[Anchor Lead]
Municipalities in Seoul that were imposing or planning to impose discriminatory restrictions on public official appointments for those taking childcare leave have decided to correct the disputed measures following a related report aired by KBS on January 9. For instance, the Gwanak-gu district office has decided not to take into account the parental leave period in deciding one's position assignment. Dongdaemun and Gangnam-gu districts have also decided to remove discriminatory provisions and make improvements.

BANKER'S SUSPICIOUS GOLFING

[Anchor Lead]
It has come to light that an employee of Kookmin Bank, known for being the top seller of Hong Kong ELS products, has received multiple golfing entertainments from several securities companies, leading to a severe disciplinary action. This revelation has once again raised concerns over the inadequate internal controls within the banking sector.

[Pkg]
Last June, Kookmin Bank disciplined one of its employees for committing irregularities. The employee had been found to have received free golf sessions at least 10 times from securities companies. The employee in question was tasked with handling derivatives. The irregularity was committed at the bank that sold derivatives worth 8 trillion won, or nearly 6 billion dollars, when losses associated with equity-linked securities tracking Hong Kong's H index were snowballing. The results of an internal audit revealed no evidence of influence-peddling when selecting products. Nonetheless, the bank decided to discipline the employee to emphasize the importance of ethical conduct. The Financial Supervisory Service has vowed to look into not only the misselling of ELS, but also into employees' irregularities when investigating H-index ELS sellers. Losses from the H-index ELS products have already surpassed 300 billion won, or around 225 million dollars. There is also a possibility of Hang Seng plunging further on Evergrande Group's liquidation. This has led to increased criticism of the financial institutions that sold these products.

[Soundbite]
Lee Bok-hyun (Chief, Financial Supervisory Service (Jan. 29)): The banks are presenting various formal and procedural actions, but we're looking into whether they are effective.

The FSS is set to wrap up its probe into the sale of H-index ELS products and announce the results as early as next month. Meanwhile, Hana Bank says it will suspend its sales of ELS products, following a similar move by Nonghyup Bank.

NET-TANGLED DOLPHIN RESCUE

[Anchor Lead]
In a deeply concerning situation off the coast of Jeju-do Island, a young Indo-Pacific dolphin has been struggling for over two months, its body entangled in fishing lines and other debris. Thankfully, a rescue operation has commenced and has successfully removed some of the netting ensnaring the dolphin.

[Pkg]
With its tail entangled in an abandoned fishing net, this dolphin is seen painstakingly swimming around. Named Jongdari, this Indo-Pacific dolphin is believed to be less than a year-old. It even shows abnormal behavior of spinning in place. At this point, even its life appears to be at risk. An operation is carried out to rescue the dolphin. Aboard a boat, rescue workers carefully approach the dolphin and begin to remove the net from its body. Shortly after, Jogdari is seen swimming with more ease. It's because more than half of the tangled net was cut off. Compared to an image taken two weeks ago, the net trapping its tail has become noticeably smaller.

[Soundbite]
Shin Jae-young (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries): This is the first time in the country to try treating a dolphin on the scene.

In order to put the dolphin at ease, the rescue team worked to build a friendly relationship with Jongdari for a week. As a result, they could remove part of the net from the dolphin. It is still too early to say that the dolphin is now safe.

[Soundbite]
Jo Yak-gol (Head, Hot Pink Dolphins): The net is tangled from the nose to the tail. We cannot say yet that the net has been removed completely.

The rescue team will continue the operation until they remove the net completely.