PM Offers Resignation

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Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo expressed his willingness to step down from the post on Monday night. Lee has faced increasing pressure to resign after his name was included in a list of people who received bribes from late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jung. President Park Geun-hye is on a 12-day overseas tour and not expected to accept his resignation until her return.

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Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo on Monday evening notified President Park Geun-hye, who is touring South America, of his decision to step down. Lee's decision comes six days after it was revealed that the late Keangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong gave Lee around 27,000 U.S. dollars. So far the prime minister repeatedly said that he had no intention to resign just because someone claimed that he had accepted a bribe.

[Soundbite] Rep. Lee Wan-koo(Prime Minister (Apr. 17)) : "I will take care of state affairs even more diligently than when the president is here."

However, sources say that on Monday the prime minister left his office earlier than usual, at around 5 p.m., prompting speculation that he was going to step down. Upon receiving a report about Lee's decision, President Park Geun-hye said that she could feel the prime minister's agony. She also stressed that the incident should not affect the state affairs. The president also urged prosecutors to find out the truth as a way to reform the political circles, and that the National Assembly must cooperate in processing bills on improving people's standards of living.

2. Expanding Investigation

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Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has hinted that the investigation into the Sung Woan-jong scandal could expand into illegal political funds more broadly. The ruling party repeatedly raised suspicions that late Kyeangnam Enterprises Chairman Sung Woan-jong was granted amnesty as special favor. The opposition camp called for a fair and transparent investigation.

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Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said that prosecutors' investigation will not be limited to the eight people listed in Sung Wan-jong's memo.

[Soundbite] Hwang Kyo-ahn(Justice Minister) : "It is necessary at the present time to probe all illegal political funds in the political sector. We will look into various cases, based on the materials we can obtain."

His remarks appear to suggest that the prosecutorial investigation could expand to cover the entire political sector. The ruling Saenuri Party repeatedly raised suspicions that the former Roh Moo-hyun government had given preferential amnesty to Sung.

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Jin-tae(Saenuri Party) : "Out of Keangnam Enterprises' USD 2.95Mn cash funds, a sum of money was withdrawn shortly before the second pardon. Is there no problem with this?"

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) called for a fair investigation into the scandal, expressing concern that the presidential office might intervene in the prosecutors' probe.

[Soundbite] Rep. Lee Chun-seok(NPAD) : "The Justice Ministry is not reporting investigation results to the prime minister's or presidential office. Is that what you mean?"

[Soundbite] Hwang Kyo-ahn(Justice Minister) : "We will prevent anyone's intervention in the investigation."

At a meeting of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee, the opposition camp took issue with former presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon's trip overseas, but Kim returned home Monday afternoon after a two-day visit to Japan for personal affairs.

3. Summit in Peru

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President Park Geun-hye held a summit meeting with her Peruvian counterpart as part of her four-nation South America tour. The two heads of state agreed to bolster bilateral cooperation in high value-added industries such as healthcare and aviation.

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At a summit meeting, President Park Geun-hye and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala agreed to expand cooperation in high value-added industries and engage Korean companies in the modernization of Peru. The two heads of state agreed to bolster cooperation in the aviation industry by co-manufacturing trainer aircraft in Peru using Korean technologies.

[Soundbite] Park Geun-hye(President) : "We have agreed to cooperate in various areas including multi-purpose advanced trainer aircrafts."

The presidential office said that as a result of the agreement between the two nations, Korean companies will hopefully be able to participate in more projects, such as the creation of a petrochemical complex, the restoration of the Rimac River, and the improvement of a transmission and distribution network in Peru. President Park also watched a folk music concert and attended the Korea-Peru Business Forum, where she stressed economic cooperation aimed at co-prosperity and co-existence. The president held a meeting with the president of the Peruvian Congress, Ana Maria Solorzano, and asked her to take more interest in the ethnic Korean community.

4. Drowsy Driving

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Spring fever can make driving a little more difficult. The number of traffic accidents caused by drowsy driving increases every spring. It’s a serious and dangerous problem: the fatality rate for drowsy driving is twice that of speeding.

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A passenger car runs on a highway. It crashes into a barrier at a curve in the road, and rolls several times. The drowsy driver was seriously injured. On a road leading to a rest stop, a cargo truck hits the sign board and comes to a halt. This was also an accident caused by driving while drowsy. With the warm weather in spring, the number of drowsy driving accidents increases 16 percent, compared to winter. According to the Korea Expressway Corporation's analysis of traffic accidents over the past five years, the fatality rate of drowsy driving accidents is 18 percent, twice as high as that of accidents caused by speeding. Accidents that occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. and noon and 3 p.m. account for more than half of all drowsy driving accidents.

[Soundbite] Baek Dong-hyun(Korea Expressway Corporation) : "Based on biorhythms, drowsy driving crashes frequently occur at daybreak, when drivers feel most sleepy, and after lunch, when they are hit by spring fatigue."

To stay alert at the wheel and prevent dozing off while driving in spring, drivers are advised to ventilate the car frequently and to take a short break at a rest stop before setting off.

5. Vehicular Abduction

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Any parents’ worst nightmare: a man stole a car with two children inside and took off. The engine of the car was running. The perpetrator was caught, however, after a perilous chase.

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A woman in her 60s parks her car and heads to a supermarket. The car was left with its engine on and two children inside. Just one or two minutes later, a man stole the car and fled the scene. The woman rushed to ask for help. A supermarket salesclerk called the police. To run away from the police, the perpetrator drove the car on an eight-lane motorway and through intersections at 120 kilometers an hour with two children inside - one, 12 years old and the other 7. The chase ended 25 minutes later only after three police cars blocked the perpetrator. The children looked terrified.

[Soundbite] Park Dong-min(Traffic Officer, Ulsan Jungbu Police Station) : "The children were crying and trembling with fear in the back seat. They weren’t even able to speak."

Police have arrested and are investigating the 42-year-old culprit for stealing a car with children inside. He is facing charges of theft and forcible confinement.

6. Overseas Shopping Malls

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More and more South Korean people are making purchases directly from overseas shopping malls. The most popular item among South Korean online shoppers is nutritional supplements. Here is the story.

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The Korea Customs Service analyzed statistics on individual customs clearance serial numbers issued to 1.15 million South Korean shoppers who made direct purchases from overseas online stores. The analysis shows that women prefer buying direct from overseas more than men, accounting for 61 percent of purchases. By age, those in their 30s represent the largest portion at 57 percent. Nutritional supplements are the most popular shopping category. Health supplements such as vitamins and Omega 3 account for 19 percent of all imports, the largest portion. Other popular items include foods at 14 percent, clothing at 12 percent, and cosmetics and perfume at 7 percent. The increasing direct purchases of health supplements are due to lower prices and a wider variety of products available

[Soundbite] Byun Dong-wook(Korea Customs Service) : "Asians have different body shapes and skin types from Westerners, so direct purchases of clothing and cosmetics are smaller."

Direct purchases from the U.S. accounted for more than half of the total at 54 percent, followed by Germany with 15 percent, China with 10 percent and the U.K. with 7 percent.

7. Science Day

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Tuesday is Science Day in Korea. In celebrating Korea's scientific developments, we'll introduce a Korean scientist who has played an instrumental role in commercializing the world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. His latest project is to find a way to use hydrogen as rocket fuel

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This is a domestically developed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, which was successfully commercialized for the first time in the world in 2013. It's a zero emissions vehicle that emits no exhaust gas, only water. Korea used to lag far behind advanced nations in this technology as recently as the 1990s, but now it is among the world's leaders. Korea's technological advances in this field can largely be attributed to Dr. Oh In-hwan of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, who developed the source technology. Oh started researching fuel cells in the mid-1990s and succeeded in developing Korea's first prototype hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2000.

[Soundbite] Yu Seong-jong(Senior Research Fellow, KIST) : "Fuel cells are not a stand-alone research topic. They require cooperation. Dr. Oh has added very crucial research to the field."

Dr. Oh recently developed technology to produce liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. Liquid hydrogen fuel produces much greater thrust for its weight than the fuel used in the Naro, Korea's first homegrown rocket. It is, therefore, very likely that liquid hydrogen may be used as rocket fuel in the future.

8. Entertainment News

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People often think of opera as expensive and maybe even a little elitist. But now there is a wide variety of opera productions for everyone to appreciate. That and more are coming up in today's show biz news.

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A grand festival of operas will soon be underway in Korea. The festival will feature some works rarely performed in Korea, as well as original productions. The month-long opera festival scheduled to begin on May 8th will feature, among others, Puccini's collection of three one-act operas "Il Tritico," which is very rarely performed in Korea, and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" much loved by the Korean audience. Together with the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic, the Netherlands' Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is cited as one of the world's three best orchestras. Now the illustrated orchestra will perform all of Beethoven's symphonies in Korea over a period of four days. A baby abandoned in a subway locker grows up to join a criminal organization in Chinatown and fights for her survival. The crime boss is played by charismatic actress Kim Hye-soo, making her big screen comeback after a break of a year and a half.

[Soundbite] Kim Hye-soo(Actress) : "I believe the movie makes us think about human nature deep inside of us."

The film "Chinatown" will be released on April 29th.

9. Halal Food Focus

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Halal food, which is prepared in accordance with Islamic law and growing in popularity worldwide, offers a new business opportunity for international food makers. Here is the story of halal business ventures opening right here in Korea.

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Muslims place high priority on food when choosing a tourist destination. The halal food industry is expected to one day grow to ten trillion U.S. dollars.

[Soundbite] Lee Ju-hwa(Imam, Korea Muslim Federation) : "Halal means permissible. It refers to anything necessary for Muslims to live their daily lives. Halal foods, therefore, refer to permissible foods."

This is South Korea's first halal meat store.

[Soundbite] "These are all halal meat."

To obtain halal food certification, food companies must make their products free of antibiotics or additives, from meat to crops, vegetable and fruits. South Korean food makers can obtain halal food certification from the Korea Muslim Federation. This is a halal restaurant in South Korea. It is gaining fame among not only Muslims but also among South Korean diners.

[Soundbite] (Consumer) : "I am not Muslim. But I come here because the dishes taste light and healthy with no chemical seasonings."

This Korean restaurant obtained halal certification. It uses organic vegetables and meat from animals slaughtered according to Islamic law.

[Soundbite] "Muslim"

At halal restaurants, cooks and chefs must be Muslim. So, the owner of the halal Korean restaurant is Muslim, of course.

[Soundbite] Yoo Hyun-woo(Owner, Halal Korean Restaurant) : "I opened this restaurant to help Muslims who struggle with food when they visit Korea. I also want to promote Korean dishes as a healthy diet and showcase their natural tastes to non-Muslims as well."

Food is an important lens through which to understand a foreign culture. Korean food makers must regard the halal food industry with respect and understanding to keep their business ventures alive and in the meantime promote cultural exchange.