Bank Raid

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A joint investigative team looking into corruption at savings banks raided the headquarters of Hana Capital on Wednesday.



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Investigators have raided the headquarters of Hana Capital, an affiliate of the Hana Financial Group. They are focusing their investigation on how Hana Capital invested 12.3 million dollars when Mirae Savings Bank issued new stocks to increase its capital last year. As collateral for its investment, Hana Capital took five paintings, some of the shares owned by Mirae Savings Bank Chairman Kim Chan-kyung and the savings bank’s headquarters building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. But investigators believe that the collateral is insufficient. The investigative team will see if former Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Seung-yu was involved in the deal. But Kim denied his involvement in the investment in question. He said that it was a proper investment backed by reliable collateral. Meanwhile, the joint investigative team and the Korea deposit Insurance Corporation have begun seizing the assets Mirae Savings Bank Chairman Kim hid in other people’s names. The targets are a golf course worth more than 127 million dollars, an apartment and a valuable old house in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. Authorities will soon begin seizing assets hidden by the major shareholders of other savings banks such as Hankook, Hanju and Solomon.



Roh Momentum



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Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the late President Roh Moo-hyun’s death. Presidential hopefuls who supported the late president took the opportunity to add some momentum to their campaigns.



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Members of opposition parties have gathered in Bongha Village, the hometown of late President Roh Moo-hyun, to mark the third anniversary of his death. The event brought together the late president’s bereaved family and the key officials of the former Roh Moo-hyun administration. Democratic United Party senior adviser Moon Jae-in, who has recently stepped down from his post as chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, made a pledge to carry on Roh Moo-hyun’s spirit.



[Soundbite] Moon Jae-in (Senior Adviser, DUP): "It’s high time to make his dreams come true in politics and develop them further."



Lee Hae-chan and Kim Han-gil, who are vying for the post of Democratic United Party chairman, will square off for the fourth time in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province on Thursday. So far, Lee Hae-chan has won 772 votes. Kim Han-gil is less then 30 votes behind. Meanwhile, members of pro-Roh Moo-hyun groups are demanding a say in the Democratic Party’s policy-making and the right to vote in its primaries. The Democratic United Party will draw a final decision on the matter at a general meeting on Thursday.



Liver Treatment



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A transplant is generally thought of as the only treatment for liver cirrhosis. But a team of Korean scientists has developed a new treatment using the patient’s bone marrow.



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This 50 something patient suffers from severe cirrhosis due to hepatitis type C. His albumin productivity, which is one of the functions of the liver, was 20 percent lower than normal. But after receiving a self marrow cell injection, the productivity recovered to the normal level.



Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University Medical School conducted a clinical test injecting self marrow cells in 15 patients suffering from severe cirrhosis. The liver functions were recovered in ten of the patients, almost 70 percent of the entire group. Injecting self marrow cells was effective in increasing the production of interleukin-10, which prevents cell activities that harden the liver, by up to 40 percent, while also increasing the number of T cells which control inflammation. Liver functions were recovered without a liver transplant, merely a single injection of self marrow cells.



[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Ja-kyung (Gangnam Severance Hospital): "It can prevent deterioration of liver function and extend the waiting time for liver transplants."



The research team is planning to expand clinical tests to have the new method applied in treating cirrhosis within about five years.



Idle Coins



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Ten-won coins have been in short supply recently. 2.5 million U.S. dollars worth of them are made a year, but few of them are returned to banks. Now, efforts are underway to cut coin manufacturing costs.



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Customers at this supermarket chain can convert their small change into membership points or miles. The supermarket chain came up with this idea to reduce coin production costs. Customers can also donate their change to the needy when paying for their groceries in cash at supermarkets. All they have to do is just join a charity site.



[Soundbite] Sim Tae-bok (Kookmin Bank): "The donated money is distributed to the needy via UNICEF or the Community Chest of Korea"



It costs around 60 million dollars to manufacture coins every year. The problem is especially serious with 10-won coins, which is roughly 0.8 U.S. cents. It costs around three cents to produce each 10-won coin. Last year 10-won coins worth 2.5 million dollars were produced, but their return rate is extremely low.



[Soundbite] Park Jong-nam (Bank of Korea): "Only 140 million won (US$ 120,000) (worth of coins) is returned. The return rate is 4.6%. "



10-won coins worth 62 million dollars are currently in circulation. That translates into 146 coins per person. Some say the country no longer needs 10-won coins, but financial authorities say their absence could undermine small donations and spur inflation. To tackle the problem, the government has launched a coin exchange campaign to encourage consumers to unearth 10-won coins that might be lying dormant in their wallets and pockets.



SOFA Change



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A change to the agreement between the U.S. military and the Korean government means that an American soldier accused of committing a violent crime will have to be handed over to Korean authorities if a request to do so is made.



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A U.S. soldier raped a Korean high school girl after breaking into her residence. Then he ran away. Korean police managed to bring the U.S. soldier into custody. But they had to return him to a U.S. base before deciding on whether to arrest him.



[Soundbite] Supt. Choe Jong-sang (Seoul Mapo Police Station (Oct. 7, ’11)): "The suspected should’ve been arrested on the scene. Under SOFA, decisions can be made after prosecutors indict them."



Korean police had to return the American suspect to the U.S. due to a clause in the Status of Forces Agreement that stipulates a U.S. soldier suspected of committing a violent crime must be indicted within 24 hours.



But on Wednesday, Korea and the U.S. agreed to delete the clause. In a meeting of the SOFA Joint Committee, the U.S. agreed with Korea to allow Korean police to hold a U.S. suspect in custody without the presence of U.S. government representatives. The Korean government said that the new agreement will enable Korean investigators to more thoroughly look into criminal cases involving U.S. military personnel in the early stages. But some critics are calling for a revision to SOFA, downplaying the new agreement, which is a subsidiary guideline.



KAIST Conflict



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Students of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology are calling for their president, Suh Nam-pyo, to resign in the aftermath of a string of student suicides last year.



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KAIST students hold a news conference to demand that the institute’s president, Suh Nam-pyo, step down. The demand is unprecedented in KAIST’s 41-year history.



[Soundbite] "President Suh Nam-pyo should resign!"



An online survey shows that 75 percent of respondents want Suh to resign. More than 80 percent answered that they don’t trust his leadership.



[Soundbite] Kim Do-han (Student Body President, KAIST): "He didn’t listen to our demands, no matter how logically and fundamentally we raised issues. So we have lost our trust in him and the school."



The school administration downplayed the results of the survey, as only 33 percent of KAIST students participated in it. But it promised to take the student council’s opinion seriously. The KAIST president came under fire for his management style following a series of students’ suicides in April last year. Since then, the school administration, professors and students have agreed on 26 reformative measures. The school administration says that all but three clauses of the reformative measures have been implemented. But the student and professor councils insist that half of the promises have not been kept. A meeting of KAIST’s board of directors slated for Thursday will decide the outcome of the conflict.



Market Shows



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As traditional markets struggle to survive in the face of fierce competition from modern supermarket chains, some have started organizing cultural performances to attract customers.



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This conventional market in Cheongju is usually deserted during the day. But today it’s crowded with customers. They have flocked here to watch nostalgic movies of the 1960s and 70s - free of charge. The theater was created on the former site of an empty warehouse. It screens movies every Wednesday. The customers have welcomed the change, as they can shop and watch movies all in one place.



[Soundbite] "I like it a lot because I can take a rest and drink some water. "



A musical is also staged at the market. During breaks, customers can learn about the specialty products of various regions.



[Soundbite] "These garlic soondae is made with the famous six-clove Danyang garlic, which has excellent health properties."



24 conventional markets nationwide hold cultural performances on a regular basis. They try to appeal to customers by arousing their nostalgia.



[Soundbite] Bang Pil-sun (Cheongju City Official): "They can’t beat supermarket chains in terms of facilities. So they use niche strategies to create their culture."



Conventional markets are poised to survive the fierce competition with supermarket chains on their own merits.



Soccer Monks



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Child monks have held a soccer match ahead of Buddha’s birthday. They became Buddhist monks a month ago.



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A temple is decorated with myriad lotus lanterns. As child monks begin a soccer game, the temple’s otherwise serene and solemn yard becomes full of energy. The opponent is a team of child monks from another temple. Some of them show off impressive soccer skills. But many look pretty clumsy. They fall, and strongly determined to win, catch the ball with their hands. The teams missed the chance to score a goal in the second half. The spectators enthusiastically cheer on the young monks. The rivals become friends in no time.



[Soundbite] (Ven. Won Myeong): "(What do you want to do with your friends?) I want to play with them."



These child monks have worked hard to learn the Buddhist teachings over the past one month. This soccer match shows that children’s innocent hearts represent the Buddha’s teachings.



Seed Sauces



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Soy sauce made the traditional way in Korea is left to mature for decades and sometimes even centuries. A little bit of this so-called seed sauce is added when making a new batch, deepening the flavor with its bacteria. The people who make these special aged sauces think of it as an art form. Let’s go meet them.



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This family clan in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province is known for its seed soy sauce with a history of 350 years.



[Soundbite]  "It’s been 350 years since my great grandmother’s time; it’s been 100 years since we settled here."



Seed soy sauce, fermented over decades and decades, is markedly different from newer soy sauces, starting from the color.



[Soundbite]  "It was auctioned off at 5 million won (US$4,200) per liter."



Regular soy sauce is salty but the older varieties have a sweet aftertaste. Also, as moisture has evaporated over the years, crystallized salt particles have formed.



[Soundbite] "We only use this soy sauce for cooking on special occasions – when we perform ancestral rites or when the households’ eldest daughter-in-law gives birth, or when her family members visit."



Some seed sauce is always mixed in when making new batches of soy sauce or soybean paste called doenjang.



[Soundbite] "It’s mixed in the new batch to evenly spread the bacteria to produce a consistent flavor."



All the famous seed soy sauces in the country are said to be gathered here.



[Soundbite] Sin Ban-cho (Korea Agricultural Arts Council): "Some are 60, 200 and even 350 year old."



Some brands are revered as art.



[Soundbite]  "There’s little sauce in the jar but microorganisms still remain inside it. So the passing of years can be artistically expressed through it."



This soy sauce was made by combining 20 different sauces each with a history of its own.



[Soundbite] "We plan to parcel out this for 50 million won (US$42,000) per 100 milliliters."



Just as some whiskey is blended with great care and respect in the West, so new blends of soy sauce are created in Korea. These dishes are put together with traditional soy sauce: steamed rice cake mixed with mugwort and soy sauce salad. Aged soy sauce has less salt content but more nutrients than the regular kind. So, how does it taste?



[Soundbite] Sin Ban-cho (Korea Agricultural Arts Council): "Soy sauce, gochujang (pepper paste) and doenjang are sauces that can truly conquer the world. "



This is an exhibition of Korea’s leading fermented food products. One soy sauce, some 60 years old, costs over 85,000 U.S. dollars for two kilos.



[Soundbite] "It’s special and has a clean taste."



In accordance with the changing times, soy sauce and other fermented foods continue to evolve. Aged Korean soy sauce continues to prove that good things come to those who wait.