Korea-U.S. FTA

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Marking the second anniversary of the Korea-U.S. free trade accord, lawmakers from the two countries met in Washington D.C. to talk about successes and concerns going forward.

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In a forum marking the second anniversary of the Korea-U.S. free trade accord, legislators from the two countries agreed that the trade pact has been a successful one.

[Soundbite] Rep. CHUNG UI-HWA (Chairman, Korea-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Council)

[Soundbite] JOHNNY ISAKSON (U.S. Senator)

There was also a suggestion that the parties should not quibble about which side profited more from the free trade accord, but provide trade standards for the international community to follow.

[Soundbite] Rep. CHOO MI-AE (Vice Chairman, Korea-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Council) : "The U.S. should not focus on minute obstacles of the Korea-U.S. FTA and calculate the gains and losses of the agreement. Instead, it should think about how to bring China up to the international standards."

However, some American companies claimed that U.S. trade deficit ballooned since the Free Trade Agreement went into effect. As a matter of fact, the Korean Embassy in the U.S. reported that Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. went up considerably two years after the implementation of the FTA. Economic experts nonetheless pointed out that the participants should not overlook the positive effect of the Korea-U.S. free trade pact in expanding trade between the U.S. and Asia. However, Washington may exert more pressure on Seoul to open up the Korean market to American goods to offset Korea's growing trade surplus with the U.S.

2. Excessive Allowances

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Korean lawmakers receive annual allowances of more than 138,000 U.S. dollars, growing by as much as 20 percent since the 19th National Assembly began, and raising the question of whether such a high income is deserved.

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At the plenary parliamentary session on February 20 many seats at the National Assembly remained vacant. About 50 lawmakers failed to attend the session, and only 35 were still present when the session was over. Regardless of their attendance, each of the lawmakers received an allowance of over nine-thousand U.S. dollars on that day. Lawmakers of the 19th National Assembly receive an average annual allowance of around 128,000 U.S. dollars, up 20 percent from the 18th National Assembly. The increase is a far cry from the campaign pledges that the political parties made shortly before the 2012 presidential election.

[Soundbite] Rep. LEE HAHN-KOO (Saenuri Party (Dec. 6, 2012)) : "We promise to cut allowances for lawmakers by 30 percent. "

[Soundbite] Rep. PARK JI-WON (Democratic Party (Dec. 1, 2012)) : "I declare that our lawmakers have approved the bill on slashing lawmakers' allowances by 30 percent."

To tackle the controversy over the exuberant allowances of Korean policymakers, the National Assembly Secretariat last year compiled data comparing the allowances of lawmakers from six countries. The secretariat said that members of the Korean parliament were paid less than their counterparts in the U.S., Japan and Germany. It added that although Korean lawmakers received more than their counterparts in the UK and France, the latter also received retirement benefits in addition to their allowances. In other words, the secretariat says that Korean lawmakers are not overpaid.

[Soundbite] IM SEUNG-YONG (Korea Taxpayers Alliance for Tax Accountability) : "If you take the scope of economy into account, Korean lawmakers receive twice as much as lawmakers from advanced countries."

Former lawmakers in Korea who currently earn less than a certain amount are eligible for 11-hundred U.S. dollars in monthly pensions, whereas lawmakers from advanced countries rarely enjoy such a benefit. The controversy over whether members of parliament do deserve such generous allowances continues to brew in the nation. Meanwhile, Korean War veterans receive less than 160 dollars a month for risking their lives to protect their home country.

3. Defamation Case

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Former chief of the National Police Agency Cho Hyun-oh was sentenced to prison for defaming late President Roh Moo-hyun. The court ruled that his comments about the president’s suicide were without evidence.

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[Soundbite] CHO HYUN-OH (Fmr. Commissioner, National Police Agency (Mar., 2010)) : "Wasn't President Roh's bank account made under a borrowed name discovered the day before his suicide?"

This is a video footage from a lecture for police officers held in March 2010. Former Commissioner of the National Police Agency Cho Hyun-oh made a remark that suggested President Roh Moo-hyun had committed suicide because his slush fund was discovered in a borrowed-name bank account. Cho also said that First Lady Kwon Yang-sook had asked the Democratic Party for a favor to avoid an investigation by special prosecutors and to cover up the evidence. The nation's top court confirmed the original guilty verdict for Cho for making such defamatory remarks. The Supreme Court confirmed a lower court's sentencing of 8 months in prison for slandering the late President Roh Moo-hyun. The court said Cho never made an effort to verify the accuracy of the information he received even though he was in a position to take an action. The court added that Cho must have realized that the information about the late President's borrowed-name account was false, because the person who supposedly told the ex-commissioner about the slush fund is denying it. Cho was sentenced to ten months in prison in the first trial, but released on bail only eight days after he was locked up. He was again incarcerated after having been sentenced to an eight-month prison term in an appellate court last September.

4. Downtown Drug Bust

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Police have captured a man accused of growing hemp in downtown Seoul. The man has a criminal record and has served time behind bars for illegal drug trade.

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Investigators raid a building in the vicinity of the Myeong-dong shopping district. After they finally opened the tightly locked door, they found a greenhouse with hemp growing in it. Equipped with special lighting, ventilating and heating systems, the facility used 15-hundred U.S. dollars-worth of electricity monthly. The owner of the greenhouse is a 45-year-old man who had been expelled from the U.S. after serving his prison term for selling illegal drugs. He bought Canadian hemp seeds via the Internet last winter and grew the plant in the greenhouse, which he made firsthand. The variety that he had been growing costs more than 93 U.S. dollars per gram, which is 25 times as expensive as Korean varieties. The amount of hemp in his greenhouse was enough to be used by three thousand people and amounted to around 25-thousand U.S.dollars in terms of price. The perpetrator hired an 18-year-old Korean-American boy to sell the hemp. They contacted each other only through cell phones registered under other people's names. The two sold the drug on a Web site frequently visited by Korean students studying abroad. Police have arrested the greenhouse owner and another 25-year-old man for buying and smoking marijuana. The underage seller has been indicted without physical detention.

[Soundbite] Ins. SIN HYEON-SEO (Seoul District Police Agency) : "We’ll continue to track and investigate those who sold hemp seeds to the suspect and bought marijuana from him."

Drug-smuggling via international mail has been on the rise in recent years.
Last year alone the number of drug-smuggling cases recorded 139, up 53 percent from 2012.

5. Cherry Blossoms

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The last of the winter’s chill could delay the coming of the cherry blossoming season. Weather forecasters project Korea will see the blossoms two or three days later than usual this year.

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Fragrant plum blossoms herald the arrival of spring in Jeju Island. Visitors enjoy the balmy breezes and warmer temperatures of the island that reached the island earlier than mainland.

[Soundbite] YUN YEONG-SEOP (Visitor) : "I came to enjoy the spring, which seems to be here already. The sunshine feels very warm."

Cherry blossoms, a spring icon, will start blooming around the 27th of this month, beginning with Seogwipo in Jeju Island. The wave of cherry blossoms will spread to Jinhae around March 31st, known for its cherry blossom festival, and reach Seoul and the central region by April 11th. The late winter chill in March is why the flowers are blooming two to three days later than in previous years.

[Soundbite] PARK SEONG-CHAN (Korea Meteorological Administration Official) : "The temperatures in the first ten days of March were lower than usual, while the temperatures for the rest of the month are likely to be similar. So cherry blossoms will start blooming later than usual."

Cherry trees will go into full bloom about a week after the first buds blossom. Jinhae in southeastern Korea will see the peak cherry blossom season around April 7th and Yeouido in Seoul April 15th. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasts that April will be warmer than usual, so Koreans would be blessed with a perfect weather for enjoying spring flowers.

6. Unique Species Find

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A KBS team discovered a unique fish species inside a volcanic cave on Jeju Island four years ago. Scientific research has confirmed it’s a previously unregistered species, not found in any other part of the world.

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A tiny fish swims ten meters deep in the Yongcheon Cave lake on Jeju Island. The fish is four to seven centimeters long. It has a pinkish translucent body and a big head. Its atrophied eyes look like black dots. The production team of the KBS program "Environment Special" spotted the fish while exploring the cave four years ago. It was the first time that fish was found in a cave in Korea. The Cultural Heritage Administration asked the Jeju National University to conduct a study. After two years, the researchers concluded that the fish belonged to the family of flat-headed gobies but had some genetic differences. The species was unregistered with the international academic community. The researchers believe that the species' ancestors first appeared in the cave six-thousand years ago after a surge in the sea levels following the Ice Age. The discovery of the new fish species is expected to provide clues to the evolution of back-boned animals.

7. Big Catch

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A fishing vessel catching mackerels in waters near Jeju Island came upon a school of huge bluefin tuna. They even reeled in a fish weighing in at over 190 kilograms. Here’s more on this unusual catch.

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The rare bluefin tuna, dubbed the jackpot of the seas, fill the auction ground. The large sized ones weighing over 100 kilos number as many as 170. Also spotted is an extra-large bluefin tuna longer than two meters. It's the first time in nine months that a large catch of bluefin tuna were caught in waters near Korea and are auctioned for sale. Fishermen who went out to the seas to catch mackerel had one lucky day with their far expensive catch.

[Soundbite] JO HYEONG-CHAN (Sales Manager, Busan Cooperative Fish Market) : "Many of the fish caught weigh over 100 kg. Tuna has been scarce until now so their prices are expected to rise."

Some 24-hundred boxes of bluefin tuna are up for auction. The biggest of all the fish was sold at 3300 dollars. Altogether, they sold at a total of 729-thousand dollars. Most of the bluefin tuna will be exported to Japan while some are sold to restaurants here at home.

[Soundbite] JANG JAE-SU (CEO, Fishing Company) : "Prices in Japan are the determining factor as 80-90% of the catch is exported to Japan."

The fisheries market has been sluggish due to bad climate in recent days. Thursday provided a much needed boost with the handsome catch of tuna.

8. Back in Theaters

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Classic films from a bygone era return to the big screen this spring – after a digital restoration makeover, that is.

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The 2002 movie "Hero" by Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been restored into a digital film and will open on March 20. The 1996 "Romeo and Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio will also make a comeback to mark the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare. The Japanese film "Secret" and the Hollywood classics "Edward Scissorhands" and "Moulin Rouge" will also hit theaters in the first half of the year in digital formats. Singer Kim Bum-soo, who is known for his powerful vocals, will hold a concert at Sydney Opera House on March 27. His concert will be a collaboration with the Sydney Orchestra and producer Don Spike, and will feature some of Kim's best-known songs. Big Bang's member T.O.P., who is known for his charismatic stage presence has released his first solo package in Japan that has already topped the Oricon daily DVD chart. The album includes the music videos of TOP's solo tracks "Doom Dada" and "Turn It Up."

9. Spring Cleaning

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Now might be the perfect time to do some spring cleaning, before the dust storms from China hit Korea yet again in coming months. Here's how to make your home dust-free, without a lot of elbow grease.

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Korean homemakers are recovering from the battle to keep dust out of their homes during recent dust storms. But now that the smog is gone, it is the perfect time to tackle the long-delayed chore of spring cleaning. Let's visit a homemaker who has rolled up her sleeves for a springtime spruce-up. She gets off to an ambitious start, dusting the corners and sweeping under the sofa. But before long she throws in the towel.

[Soundbite] MIN SUN-MI (Homemaker) : "Spring cleaning would make me feel refreshed, but there are so many things to do that I get tired and give up midway."

Let's get some cleaning tips from an expert.

[Soundbite] GANG JIN-YEOL (Employee, Cleaner Company) : "There is a certain order to cleaning. You will be able to finish in a short time if you follow that order."

Cleaning should start from outside. That means you should attack the terrace or foyer first. Dusting high places first will prevent dust from settling back in other parts of the house. Now let's start with the screens. Newspapers come in handy when cleaning the window screens.

[Soundbite] "You can see large clumps of dust on the screens. These wet newspapers are used to remove the dust."

Wet newspapers are used to trap dust. After the newspapers become somewhat dry, remove them before wiping off the screen with a cloth sprayed with detergent. Light fixture covers are easy to neglect. But if you wipe the cover with soapy water, you will realize that the room has become much brighter. Under the sofa or bed is is where you'll find the hideout for dust bunnies. Cover a long stick with stockings and insert it under the furniture to trap the dust with static electricity. It is not easy to wash area rugs, so try using coarse salt instead. Electrically charged salt particles attract dirt, so just sprinkle some salt on the rug and vacuum it up.

[Soundbite] "Cleaning is made easy. Now I feel refreshed."

Cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms can be a daunting task. They're used every day and dirt and grime tend to build up pretty quickly.

[Soundbite] IM GI-WON (Homemaker) : "I tidy up every day, but I don't know how to get rid of the grime."

She's invited a professional organizer for help. The expert first takes a careful look around the house.

[Soundbite] KIM HU-YEONG (Professional Organizer) : "I will show you how to clean the house with natural cleaning products."

Water, vinegar and baking soda are essential ingredients for house cleaning. Soap deposits and water stains cause the biggest headaches in bathrooms. Mix water and vinegar in equal amounts and scrub the sink gently. The baking soda particles are abrasive, helping you clean the sink. For bathroom mirrors, a mixture of water, baking soda, and vinegar is recommended. Acidic vinegar has an antibacterial property as well, so you can neutralize alkaline soap stains and kill germs at the same time. Stoves with stuck-on grease can also be a big challenge. First mix water, vinegar and dishwashing detergent. Spray an ample amount of cleaner and let it stand for 30 minutes. Then wipe it off with a dry cloth and you'll see a sparkling clean stove. With the cold winter behind us, now is the perfect time to spruce up your home to welcome in the spring.