Power Shift

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North Korea has revised regulations to ensure a smooth transition of power to heir apparent Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang is apparently preparing for contingencies such as a sudden worsening of leader Kim Jong-il’s health.



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North Korea’s Workers’ Party has revised regulations to strengthen the authority of the Central Military Commission. Heir apparent Kim Jong-un is vice chairman of the commission. The revisions give the commission full authority to appoint officials and oversee national defense. Pyongyang presumably seeks to prepare for a sudden worsening of leader Kim Jong-il’s health by allowing Kim Jong-un to seize control of the military.



[Soundbite]Jeong Seong-jang (Sejong Institute): “The new regulations lay a foundation for handing down power directly to Kim Jong-un without requiring a high-ranking post.”



A new regulation allows the general secretary of the Workers’ Party, a post held by Kim Jong-il, to concurrently serve as chairman of the Central Military Commission. So by becoming secretary general, Kim Jong-un can control not only the party but the military as well. The North also deleted a regulation on holding a party convention every five years. That paves the way for convening meetings at any time to hand down power to Kim Jong-un if necessary.



2. Google Leak



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Google has been found to have illicitly collected users’ personal information using the "street view" function. Hundreds of thousands of Korean users are presumed to have fallen victim to privacy leaks.



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Police rummage through one of Google’s "street view" vehicles, which collect street information to be posted on the Internet. More than 70 hard discs for storing collected data are found on the back seat of the car. After two months of analysis, police have found that Google did indeed collect personal information. The results of the investigation showed that Google vehicles collected personal information five times a second every time laptop and cell phone users passed by wireless Internet routers. The collected information included email and online messenger, IDs and passwords. Police presume that hundreds of thousands of domestic users have fallen victim to privacy leaks.



[Soundbite]Jeong Seok-hwa (Cyber Terror Response Center): “The involved staff communicated via the Internet using special means. They are charged with collecting personal information using that communication channel.”



Police have also found and currently analyze a hundred-and-forty-five 750-giga bite hard discs that had been sent to the U.S. So far, 17 countries have been investigating the allegation over Google’s collection of personal information. But it’s the first time that evidence was found. Police will charge Google U.S. staff who produced privacy leak programs with the violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act but it’ll likely be hard to punish the culprits.



3. Korean Charity



[Anchor Lead]



Korea is reaching out to its Asian neighbors. Seoul has donated a fish refrigeration and processing complex to Philippine port city.



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The Philippines is rich in seafood resources. But about 20 percent of seafood is wasted due to the subtropical climate and improper storage. Dagupan is one of the leading Philippine cities for seafood production. A seafood processing complex with the largest freezer system in the Philippines has been built here. Korean technology is responsible for construction of the building and installation of indoor equipment. Around 10-thousand fish are processed here daily. The complex has also created jobs for Dagupan residents. The final products indicate support from Korea and are distributed to the market.



[Soundbite]Wesley Rosario (Chief, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources)



Residents have welcomed the new facility for allowing long-term seafood storage.



[Soundbite]Chrispina Plorendo (Resident)



The Korean government’s seafood processing complex is considered a model of overseas support going to an area urgently needing help.



4. Foreign Workers



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Agricultural villages are severely lacking laborers these days, and competition for foreign workers is fierce. Employment centers nationwide issued hiring permits yesterday, sparking a flood of applications. Here’s more.



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Though it’s early in the morning, the employment center is crowded with people. Numbers are given out to the group of people who have come before opening time. These are farmers from all over South Chungcheong Province who’ve come to apply for hiring new foreign workers expected to come to Korea this year.



[Soundbite]Kim Wan-gyu (Farmer): “I heard it was first come first serve so I came last night at eight and waited in my car overnight.”



Two-thousand and 900 foreign workers of the agricultural field are expected to come in this year’s first half. Issuance of permits to hire foreign workers has ended in no time with farmers nationwide flocking to such employment centers nationwide.



[Soundbite]Lee Jong-seop (Farmer): “As there are only seniors in their 60s and 70s, we can’t run the farms without foreign workers.”



The competition is fierce because of the lack of working hands in agricultural regions. The aging agricultural community is making it hard to get enough labor, and running a farm is growing tougher.



[Soundbite]Kim Yeong-hwan (Farmer): “When there’s a big harvest, we can’t pick everything at the right time, so we have to throw a lot away. The quality drops as well.”



Dependency on foreign working hands is becoming bigger in farms, heating up their competition.



5. 3rd Olympic Bid



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Pyeongchang County in Gangwon Province is gearing up for its third bid to host the Winter Olympics. Here’s a look at its preparations.



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Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province failed in its bids to land the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. The third time could be the charm. Pyeongchang’s bidding committee has signed a candidate city file to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee.



[Soundbite]Cho Yang-ho (Chairman, Pyeongchang Bidding Committee): “We didn’t give up and have worked hard to get better. Our efforts will bear fruit this time.”



The file describes Pyeongchang’s strengths such as competition facilities located within 30 minutes of each other. Pyeongchang has also been designated a special Olympic zone, making it eligible for stronger government support. IOC members will visit Pyeongchang next month to check preparation. Pyeongchang is competing against Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France. Annecy’s bid is considered weak because of internal conflict in its bidding committee. The host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics will be chosen at the IOC General Assembly in South Africa on July 6.



6. Lunar Break



[Anchor Lead]



The lunar New Year’s break, which starts on Feb. 2, is regarded by many Koreans as a golden holiday as it can be extended to as long as nine days. As such, travel agencies and plastic surgeons are seeing brisk business.



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Workers at this travel agency are busy answering inquiry calls from early in the morning. More and more people are booking trips abroad for the lunar New Year’s holiday that can be as long as nine days. The current record is expected to be broken.



[Soundbite]Lee Seung-taek (Travel Agency): “Since its winter, many people prefer Southeast Asian countries and since the holiday is long many are planning to travel to the Americas or Europe as well.”



Hotels in Korea are also getting more reservations thanks to people planning to enjoy the holidays without traveling so far. Hotels in the cities are making special preparations for the lunar New Year’s holiday. Some hotels are offering packages including meals provided three times a day.



[Soundbite]Jang Ik-ho (Staff, Hotel Marketing Team): “We’ve made special packages that we’re publicizing; reservations are up to 15-20% over last year.”



Reservations at plastic surgeons have already been filled two months ago by people planning to get simple operations during the holidays.



[Soundbite]Dr. Kim Su-yeong (Plastic Surgeon): “Office workers and students who didn’t have the time are using the holidays and have made reservations two months ago.”



Several fields are seeing brisk business thanks to people trying to spend quality time with their families or improve themselves during the 2011 lunar New Year holiday.



7. Blood Pressure



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High blood pressure is often a problem in winter. If left untreated, the condition can lead to hypertension, which can causes serious issues such as strokes and heart attacks.



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This woman in her 80s has had high blood pressure for ten years. She was also diagnosed with angina pectoris last year, so she’s paying more attention to her blood pressure.



[Soundbite]Kim Jeong-hoe ((80), Patient): “I try not to go out in the cold and stay home.”



Blood vessels shrink when exposed to cold air, which raises blood pressure. So doctors advise extra caution in the wake of the country’s cold spell. Complications from high blood pressure like stroke and myocardial infarction are known to occur more frequently in winter.



[Soundbite]Dr. Yang Yong-mo (Cheongju St. Mary’s Hospital): “An important complication of hypertension is cardiovascular ailments such as angina or heart attacks, which patients are highly likely to develop.”



To curb hypertension, steady medication and avoidance of sudden exposure to low temperatures are advised. Outdoor exercise of more than 30 minutes per day should be done in the daytime, not in the colder morning and evening hours. Reduced sodium intake will also lower blood pressure, so experts advise less consumption of salty food.



8. Open Crossover



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Opera singers are working hard these days to meet audiences’ growing expectations by appearing in movies and musicals. Here’s more.



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Unlike conventional opera, this soprano performance features lying down and rolling on stage, as well as public display of affection. Good singing skills are not enough to portray this character.



[Soundbite]Park Eun-joo (Soprano): “When I’m on stage, I’m Lulu, not Park Eun-joo. If audiences find me extraordinary, then I have fulfilled my role.”



An opera singer plays a person who can’t carry a tune in this children’s operetta.



[Soundbite]Kang Hyun-su (Soprano): “It sounded like I actually couldn’t carry a tune. But sometimes it felt like I was singing correctly, even though I was doing it in correctly.”



Acting and even dancing are needed for opera choirs. Good singing and acting as well as attractive looks are also important in choosing opera singers for diverse roles.



[Soundbite]Kim Soo-jin (Soprano): “Movies and musicals are very accessible. That’s why opera singers are need to be able to act on stages as well as being able to sing.”



Opera singers are poised to win over audiences’ hearts by living up to their expectations and becoming a step closer.



9. Movie Closeup



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We’re going to the movies on Closeup today. Famed local filmmaker Shim Hyung-rae’s new film, "The Last Godfather" has met with mixed reviews. And "Beating Heart" stars Kim Yun-jin of “Lost” fame, along with and Park Hae-il.



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The goofy character Young-gu, portrayed by comedian Shim Hyung-rae, was a huge hit in the 1980s. Recently, it has debuted in Hollywood in the movie "The Last Godfather." It’s about a retiring mafia boss who tries to leave his post to his long-lost son, who turns out to be Young-gu. The son does not live up to his father’s expectations, to say the least. One of the members of the gang secretly hopes that he will take the helm because of Young-gu’s ineptness. He takes charge of training Young-gu, but ends up struggling. Young-gu is also exhausted by his training. One day, he rescues the only daughter of a rival mafia group and befriends her. To please his father, he tries his hand at extorting the local merchants, but only ends up promoting their products and becoming the hero of the town. Young-gu’s unpredictability helps him respond to the conspiracy against him. The movie’s director and lead actor, Shim Hyung-rae, says "The Last Godfather" is a global human comedy. It features large-scale scenes of 1950s New York. The movie also stars Harvey Keitel. "The Last Godfather" has tried for a family-like atmosphere in order to appeal to both Korean and international viewers.



Yeon-hui is a widow whose daughter Ye-eun is everything she has. But Ye-eun needs an immediate heart transplant to survive. Mother and daughter regain hope when one day a brain-dead woman is brought to the hospital. She has the same blood type as Ye-eun and her family agrees to donate her heart to the girl. But the situation changes when the woman’s son spots his mother vaguely moving her hand. Yeon-hui offers a large sum for the woman’s heart, but to no avail. Out of despair, Yeon-hui hires an organ broker and assaults the woman’s son, who retaliates by kidnapping Ye-eun. "Beating Heart" deals with the heavy subjects of kidnapping and organ smuggling. But viewers say that it’s more of a family drama than a thriller. The movie stars Park Hae-il, along with Kim Yun-jin, who appeared in the hit American TV show "Lost." "Beating Heart" sends a strong message of humanism through its portrayal of a mother eager to save her child and an ostensibly coldhearted son who still loves his mother despite being abandoned by her as a child.