Pro-North Motive?

[Anchor Lead]

Police investigating the knife attack on the U.S. ambassador to South Korea by a man named Kim Ki-jong say that pro-North Korean contents were found in items that they had seized from Kim’s residence. The investigation into Kim’s motive continues.

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These printed materials titled "Lectures on Political Philosophy” are used to teach North Korea's self-reliance ideology. According to the police, they recieved an external institution's analysis into items that had been seized from Kim Ki-jong's office. The results say that 13 of the items, including the printed materials, point to Kim's intentions to benefit the enemy. One of the materials is a copy of "On the Art of the Cinema" written by the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

[Soundbite] Sen. Supt. Kim Du-yeon(SMPA) : "He says that he acquired the materials during rallies and bought some of them in the Cheonggye Stream area."

Police are trying to find additional evidence such as reasons Kim had been possessing the so called, "enemy-benefiting" contents. In order to charge someone for violating the National Security Law, authorities must first find evidence to prove that the items were intended to threaten national security or the basic order of free democracy. The investigators said that during his interrogation Kim Ki-jong made such remarks as, "I believe that Kim Il-sung is the national leader of the 20th century" and "South Korea is a semi-colonial society, whereas North Korea is an independent regime." Kim has also been denying all charges.

2. President's Visit

[Anchor Lead]

Returning from her trip to the Middle East, President Park Geun-hye visited U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert who is still recovering at a hospital in Seoul. Park praised Lippert for his brave response to the attack, while the U.S. ambassador said that he would do his best to further improve South Korea-U.S. relations.

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Immediately after disembarking from the presidential plane on Monday morning, President Park Geun-hye went to visit U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, who is recovering at a hospital in Seoul.

[Soundbite] Park Geun-hye(President) : "How are you feeling?"

Park praised Lippert for his dignified responses to the attack, saying that his attitude has moved the hearts of the Korean people and helped boost Korea-U.S. relations.

[Soundbite] "South Korean people were deeply moved by the message of "we go together" that you wrote from your hospital bed."

The U.S. ambassador responded that he and his wife were deeply moved by the consolation from the South Korean government and people. In a conference with reporters on her return flight, the president stressed the significance and accomplishments of her trip to four Middle Eastern countries.

[Soundbite] "During the tour, I frequently thought that a second Middle East boom was becoming a reality."

Park said that she intends to schedule a meeting with the heads of the ruling and opposition parties to brief them on her Middle Eastern tour.

3. Posthumous Medals

[Anchor Lead]

A U.S. non-profit foundation has granted posthumous medals to honor the teacher and cabin crew who died in the Sewol ferry disaster while trying to rescue passengers. Here’s more.

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The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States is dedicated to four U.S. Army chaplains who gave their lives to save hundreds of civilian and military personnel from a sinking ship during World War Two. The foundation has endowed special medals to the late high school teacher Choi Hye-jeong and cabin crew member Park Ji-young, who perished during the Sewol ferry sinking. It said that their sacrifices were as priceless as those of the World War Two heroes.

[Soundbite] Louis A. Cavaliere(Chairman, Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation)

The medals were given to the mothers of the deceased. They expressed deep gratitude for holding the sacrifices of their daughters in high regard even from abroad.

[Soundbite] Song Myung-sun(Mother, Choi Hye-jeong) : "It's sad that parents have to receive awards on behalf of their deceased children. But we're also very proud of our daughters."

The two Sewol tragedy heroines became the first Koreans to receive the foundation's gold medals, joining four former American presidents as the only ones to receive the honor.

4. "Khat" Trafficking

[Anchor Lead]

An addictive drug native to Africa known as “khat” has been categorized in South Korea for the first time. Drug traffickers were attempting to ship the drug overseas via South Korea. Over three tons of khat, worth over three million U.S. dollars, were smuggled into the country.

[Pkg]

These Middle Eastern men can be seen continuously chewing on something. It is a plant native to Africa called "khat," and it is categorized as a new addictive drug in South Korea, as it causes excitement and wakefulness. South Korean prosecutors exposed two Ethiopian smugglers attempting to ship khat to the U.S. through South Korea. One of the two was a 34-year-old woman employed as an English instructor here. They smuggled the drug into South Korea by covering it up as henna dye, which is used for tattoos.

[Soundbite] Park Young-joo(Drug Investigation Office, Incheon Airport Customs) : "When inspecting imported plants, we don't check whether they contain narcotic substances. They deliberately took advantage of this."

More than three tons of khat were smuggled into South Korea this way. That's nearly 300 times as much as the total amount of narcotics found by South Korean investigators last year. Detained by South Korean prosecutors, the two Ethiopian smugglers are insisting that they don't know each other and that they were just asked to carry the substance, unaware that it is an illegal drug. But prosecutors are tracking the drug distribution system, believing it to be highly likely that the two are members of an international narcotics ring.

5. Phone Discount Policies

[Anchor Lead]

To alleviate the burden mobile service subscribers face, the government has provided discounts on monthly phone fees instead of phone subsidies. But as the government's policy came under fire for a lack of efficacy, policies to promote discounts for mobile phone users are on the way.

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Under the telecom act which came into effect from October last year, the government began offering 12 percent discounts on mobile phone fees instead of subsidies on devices. But only a few people have received the discount so far. Mobile phone carriers only sent short text messages notifying their subscribers of the discount and did little to advertise the benefit.

[Soundbite] Jeon Woo-seok(Seoul Resident) : "I only heard about the subsidies. I never heard that those who refused subsidies were eligible for the discount."

Many mobile phone sellers shun the service because of the low commissions, while subscribers avoid it due to early termination fees. The results of a government poll have shown that only 25 percent of those eligible for the service chose monthly fee discounts instead of the phone subsidies, while the remaining subscribers did not receive the discount.

[Soundbite] Mobile Phone Seller(Voice Modified) : "All policies of telecom providers are based on subsidies for 24-month agreements."

The government has embarked on devising measures to promote mobile phone discounts by cracking down on telecom providers and mobile phone sellers who refuse the service to their customers.

6. KAIST Smart Glasses

[Anchor Lead]

A research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has unveiled new smart glasses operated by eye movements and blinks. The glasses also feature an augmented reality function, making them a rival for Google Glass.

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A rack of magazines at a library is seen through the "K-Glass 2." The pointer moves according to the direction of the user's gaze. As he blinks at a certain magazine, its price and major headlines appear on the screen. With the user's gaze directed inside a car, information on various parts appears. Blinking at the parts needing repairs results in the order of the replacement process being shown. KAIST's K-Glass 2 is operated by eye movement and blinking, through eye tracking and object recognition sensors.

[Soundbite] Hong In-jun(Dept. of Electrical Engineering, KAIST) : "The device can perform this function because it can distinguish an intentional, second-long blink from involuntary blinks."

Compared to Google Glass, which is mostly operated by voice recognition, the K-Glass 2 can be used anywhere and is better suited to augmented reality functions, as it can track the user's eye movements. Its operation time is also more than ten times as long as Google Glass.

[Soundbite] Prof. Yoo Hoi-jun(KAIST) : "Google Glass batteries are exhausted by watching a movie for 45 minutes. But our chip can be used for 24 hours."

KAIST plans to reduce the digital eyeglasses' weight from the current 200 grams to 100 grams and to commercialize it within the year.

7. Walking School Bus

[Anchor Lead]

At the start of the new school term many parents worry about how their young children will get to school every day. But in the city of Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province, a special service called the Walking School Bus guides children to school safely and puts parents’ minds at ease.

[Soundbite] "Watch out for cars."

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It's 8:30 in the morning and children start showing up one by one. They've come to a Walking School Bus stop.

[Soundbite] "There's Na-yeon, Seung-yeon, Jae-min, and Jae-woo."

These safety instructors walk with the first and second grade children to guide them safely to their elementary school nearby.

[Soundbite] "Stay close to the teacher. Say "yes.""

This is a godsend to working couples, whose mornings can be quite hectic.

[Soundbite] Kim Ji-yeong(Parent) : "I have to take my younger child to kindergarten too, and this service saves me 30 minutes."

[Soundbite] "Hurry up."

The so-called driver is a safety instructor who lives in the same neighborhood. Children chatter happily on their walk to school.

[Soundbite] Choi Sun-hwa(Safety Instructor) : "What did you do over the weekend? I rode a Viking ship and I almost fell because it was moving so fast. That was a close call."

Half of the traffic accidents involving children occur when crossing streets. In Bucheon, where there are numerous alleyways, this walk-to-school service has become quite popular and the number of applicants is rising steadily. This year's budget for this service is about 806,000 U.S. dollars. It's money well-spent, for it keeps children safe while also creating jobs.

8. Entertainment News

[Anchor Lead]

Young artists from Korea, China, and Japan are holding an exhibition that features artworks representing the social landscape of their respective countries and their personal experiences.

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A statue of Greek hero Hercules is set upon a statue of Buddha fashioned in Tang-dynasty style. This is the artist's interpretation of Chinese society undergoing rapid westernization. A Japanese artist made this video to satirize kamikaze attacks during World War II. The artist also captured in video his father drawing a bomber plane he had seen during the war. It is an attempt to overcome the conflicts that occur between the post-war generation and older people over the issues concerning war and history.

[Soundbite] Meiro Koizumi (Video Artist)

A Korean artist stirs up the imagination of visitors through a variety of installation artworks that stimuate the senses of sight, hearing, and touch.

[Soundbite] Yangachi(Installation Artist) : "I think Korean society is tired. How can we build the present from the future? I needed to mobilize different senses to answer that question."

In addition, a colloquium on the cultural exchange and historical issues among the three countries is to be held at the exhibit.

9. First Full Moon

[Anchor Lead]

A wide variety of events and festivals marked the lunar year's first full moon, or Jeongwol Daeboreum, on March 5. To find out how it's celebrated in Korea, let's take a look.

[Pkg]

Jeongwol Daeboreum refers to the first full moon day of the year according to the Lunar Calendar. In the past, Korean people regarded the holiday as important as Lunar New Year's Day. Koreans eat okokbap or five-grain rice on Jeongwol Daeboreum. They hope for a good harvest, cooking rice with five grains of sticky rice, red beans, beans, millet and sorghum.

[Soundbite] Prof. Im Jang-hyuk(Chung-Ang Univ.) : "“Jeongwol Daeboreum" was the day when farmers held various events to wish for a good harvest and prosperity."

Hot, steamy five-grain rice is ready. Ancestors wished good luck and health to each other while sharing bowls of five-grain rice and cooked greens with their neighbors.

[Soundbite] Yoo Min-seok(Dongjak District, Seoul) : "I feel I will stay in good health, as I ate "okokbap.""

Another long-standing tradition for Jeongwol Daeboreum is biting into nuts like peanuts and walnuts. The tradition is meant to prevent skin diseases. As the round moon begins to rise, events are held to greet the year's first full moon. One of major events is daljip taewoogi, or burning a bundle of pine twigs and straw, called daljip. Before setting it on fire, people carefully tie notes and well-wishes to the daljip. It is said that if the daljip burns well, it bodes well for a bumper crop and a good year.

[Soundbite] Baek Young-sam(Osan, Gyeonggi Prov.) : "I wish all children, including mine, will grow well in a safe society without worrying about education."

Another key tradition is jwibul nori. This is a traditional practice where one swings around a ball of fire to remove pests in the field and to prevent bad fortune from coming.

[Soundbite] Lee Dong-goon(Osan, Gyeonggi Prov.) : "This is more fun than computer games."

[Soundbite] Park Hyun-jeong(Osan, GYeonggi Prov.) : "I feel as if this year will bring good things to me."

Korea celebrated the year's first full moon day, wishing for good luck and health practicing the special traditions and partaking various events.