“OFFICIALS TO REPORT VIRTUAL ASSETS”

"OFFICIALS TO REPORT VIRTUAL ASSETS"

[Anchor Lead]
The so-called 'Kim Nam-kuk Prevention Act', which includes the requirement for high-ranking public officials and members of the National Assembly to disclose their virtual assets, has passed its first hurdle in the Assembly. The People Power Party is pressuring the Democratic Party to expedite disciplinary measures against lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, while the Democratic Party maintains that all procedures must be followed.

[Pkg]
Currently, cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets are excluded from public officials' annual asset disclosure. The National Assembly's Public Administration and Security subcommittee passed a bill that requires public officials to report their virtual assets regardless of the amount. This bill was tabled in the wake of lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk's cryptocurrency scandal. Under the bill, a public official must not only report all virtual transactions but also register the virtual assets of his or her relatives. Those associated with related work are barred from owning any virtual assets. The Special Committee on Political Reform also passed a revision of the National Assembly Act that stipulates virtual assets be registered with parliament's ethics review committee to prevent conflict of interest. Consequently, incumbent lawmakers must finish registering their virtual assets by the end of June.

[Soundbite]
Chun Jae-soo (Special Committee on Political Reform (DP)): A lawmaker is mandated to report acquisition or ownership of even a single cryptocurrency.

Both the ruling and opposition parties plan to pass these two bills at Thursday's regular session. The Democratic Party said the disciplinary plan presented to the special ethics committee is to undergo a consideration period and the advisory committee's review. The People Power Party and Justice Party are adding pressure on the beleaguered party.

[Soundbite]
Yun Jae-ok (Floor Leader, People Power Party): There's no other way than to either push for a rapid disciplinary process or for Kim to voluntarily resign and cooperate with prosecutors' investigation.

[Soundbite]
Bae Jin-gyo (Floor Leader, Justice Party): The DP still insists on following the National Assembly Act and not saying anything about the level of disciplinary measures.

Meanwhile, prosecutors raided the virtual asset deposit and exchange platform used by Kim Nam-kuk. As for the accusation that he had received free cryptocurrencies, Kim explained earlier that he had simply used the service that provides different coins in return for depositing virtual assets.

PPP SEEKS BAN ON OVERNIGHT RALLIES

[Anchor Lead]
Following last week's large-scale downtown rally by the construction union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the governing party has decided to push for a revision to the 'Assembly and Demonstration Act' that bans rallies and protests from midnight to 6 AM. The Democratic Party criticized the move, emphasizing that the "freedom of assembly is a constitutional right" and dismissing the revision as "worthless".

[Pkg]
Construction workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a massive overnight outdoor rally on May 16 demanding a stop to government crackdown of labor unions. The ruling People Power Party said the chaotic gathering greatly inconvenienced the public and argued an idle response without using such means as water cannons cannot prevent those events, warning of a stern response. In its latest move, following consultations with the government, the PPP announced that it will push for a legal revision to ban nighttime rallies and protests between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. It also said the police must be allowed to execute their justified duties without being held responsible.

[Soundbite]
Park Dae-chul (PPP Policy Committee): The latest KCTU rally crossed the line. There is growing public call to revise the Assembly and Demonstration Act.

In 2009, the Constitutional Court found Article 10 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act banning rallies from sunset to sunrise the next day as not compatible with the Constitution. In another ruling in 2014, the court said that banning night protests from sunset to midnight violates the Constitution within a certain context. But it left for the legislative branch to decide whether to allow or ban gatherings taking place in hours past midnight. The PPP asserts the time has now come to flex legislative power and vowed to revise the law, a move which critics say violates the freedom of assembly. The main opposition Democratic Party criticized the ruling party for again bringing up the use of water cannons and trying to stigmatize the freedom of assembly as an illegal act.

[Soundbite]
Kwon Chil-seung (Senior spokesperson, DP): Rather than properly conducting state affairs, the gov’t and ruling party are shamelessly trying to silence public protests of their incompetence and failures.

The minor opposition Justice Party also slammed what it called PPP's double standards noting the party in past years when it was called the Liberty Korea Party was also prolific in street protests.

S. KOREA, EU PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

[Anchor Lead]
President Yoon Suk Yeol held summit talks with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his office on Monday and issued a joint statement, condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pledging support for Ukraine as long as it takes. The two sides called on Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine. They also agreed to maintain and increase collective pressure on Russia through effective implementation of respective restrictive measures. Yoon and the EU leaders also took indirect aim at China by stressing the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

S. KOREA WATCHING CHINA'S MICRON BAN

[Anchor Lead]
Right after the G7 Summit came to a close, China banned all sales in the country by American semiconductor firm Micron, citing serious security concerns. The retaliatory measures, stemming from tensions with Western countries including the US, have put other dosmetic companies on alert as well.

[Pkg]
The global market for DRAM chips is dominated by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of South Korea and Micron of the U.S. This is why some observers say that China's sales restrictions on Micron would create opportunities for South Korean chipmakers. However, it seems direct effects will likely be limited.

[Soundbite]
Ahn Ki-hyun (Korea Semiconductor Industry Association): Micron has a small share in the Chinese market. So the Chinese ban will have little impact on Korean companies in the short term.

Rather, the Korean semiconductor industry is concerned that the conflict between the U.S. and China will intensify and market uncertainties will increase. There are reports claiming that the U.S. asked Korean companies not to fill the gap left by Micron in the Chinese market. But the Korean government has not yet announced an official decision. The U.S. previously imposed a ban on exporting cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. Samsung and SK Hynix are exempt until the end of October, but Seoul has not yet devised measures on how to address the ban after the grace period expires. Korean chipmakers are operating large production facilities in China. They will likely suffer a blow if the U.S. ban restricts their plant operations in China. The government said it will not choose between Washington and Beijing, stressing that it is continuing to promote economic cooperation with China.

[Soundbite]
Choo Kyung-ho (Deputy Prime Minister for Economy): The government has never declared a decision to decouple from China. It has no intention to do so. A policy to strengthen ties with the U.S. cannot be seen as an estrangement from China.

This month, Korea's exports to China have shrunk more than 20 percent on-year. It has also posted a trade deficit with China for seven months in a row. The domestic semiconductor industry is on alert, as China's push to speed up technology self-reliance amid tensions with the U.S. can pose a serious threat in the long term.

FAKED ACCIDENTS FOR INSURANCE MONEY

[Anchor Lead]
Parents in their twenties have been arrested by the police for intentionally causing traffic accidents with their toddler in the car, aiming to claim insurance money. They targeted the policy rule that provides higher insurance payout when more people are involved in the accident. The total amount they fraudulently received through this method exceeded 100 million won.

[Pkg]
On a road in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do Province. A truck driver signals with his hand to change lanes. Nonetheless, the car from another lane is seen colliding into the truck. At another location, on another road a motorcycle veers toward a vehicle making a left turn. The motorcyclist bumps into the car and the biker pretends to fall down. Both are accidents intentionally caused by a man in his twenties surnamed Seo to claim insurance money. He caused a total of 37 accidents in the Seoul capital region in the past five years. He received 160 million won in insurance payout. To avoid suspicion, he even had his wife and his child less than two years old in the car with him for 16 of such accidents. The baby's startled outburst was recorded in the dash cam. Besides also having a prior record of insurance scam, he was caught when an insurance company reported him for repeatedly getting into similar accidents.

[Soundbite]
Gyeong Yun-su (Insurance company employee (May, 2022)): You got into another accident?

[Soundbite]
Seo (VOICE MODIFIED): Yesterday, I was just driving when another car rammed into me without seeing me.

[Soundbite]
Gyeong Yun-su (Insurance company employee (May, 2022)): I called you a few times with a warning. It looks like a repeat of what happened before.

[Soundbite]
Seo (VOICE MODIFIED): That's not the case.

Seo testified that he used the insurance money to pay off his gambling debt.

[Soundbite]
Choi Gyu-dong (Gyeonggi Nambu Prov. Police Agency): The amount of settlement money grows with the number of passengers. That's why there are many insurance scams taking advantage of the fact.

The police transferred Seo and his three accomplices which include his wife and
friend to the prosecution.

TEENAGERS CAPTURED FOR EXTORTION

[Anchor Lead]
Teenagers who threatened convenience store owners and extorted money after buying cigarettes and selling them to minors have been arrested by the police. These teenagers deceived store workers by claiming that they had no identification because they had just been released from prison.

[Pkg]
A young man enters a convenience store and buys a pack of cigarettes. He immediately opens the pack and puts a cigarette in his mouth before leaving. Some moments later, another young man enters and complains about the store selling cigarettes to his underaged brother. He then demands money, threatening to go to the police.

[Soundbite]
(Victim Convenience Store owner A (VOICE MODIFIED)): I heard they demanded 400,000 won in cash. As the worker rejected it, they immediately reported the incident.

At another convenience store, he intimidates the worker by showing tattoos on his arms and mentioning his time in prison.

[Soundbite]
(Victim Convenience Store owner B (VOICE MODIFIED)): Coming into the store, he mentioned on the phone that he had been released from prison and would go soon. I was really terrified.

After an investigation, police found that a group of five teenagers demanded money this way at six convenience stores in Gwangju for three days from May 15. They extorted a total of 700,000 won from two stores. The store owners paid them out of fear they will be punished or slapped with business suspensions if they are found to have sold cigarettes or alcohol to minors. The group was caught after a convenience store owner reported the five to the police. Police booked two of them on charges of intimidation and extortion. They are pursuing the remaining three people.

[Soundbite]
(Gwangju Dongbu Police Station official): We will thoroughly investigate if they committed other crimes.

Police are advising convenience stores to carefully check if customers are of legal age before selling cigarettes or alcohol.

OBLIGATORY FIRE BRIGADE TO DISBAND

[Anchor Lead]
The compulsory fire brigade, which was introduced to fulfill military service duties at fire stations and supplement the lack of firefighting personnel, will fade into history next month due to the decrease in population and shortage of military resources. The system was introduced about 20 years ago.

[Pkg]
In 2001, six firefighters died in action while trying to put out a fire that occurred in a house in Hongje-dong, Seoul. Following the tragedy, poor working conditions for firefighters were made public. In May of 2002, the obligatory fire brigade was established as an alternative to the mandatory military service in the country. Introduced to assist regular firefighters, the brigade also experienced tragic incidents. In December 2012, brigade member Kim Sang-min fell while working to extinguish a fire at a factory in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province. He received medical treatment but died eventually. The fire brigade did its utmost to ensure public safety but at times, suffered from heart-wrenching experiences.

[Soundbite]
Han Gyu-yeon (Hwaseong Fire Station): A month after I enlisted, a fire broke out at a warehouse in Pyeongtaek and three firefighters died. I was on the scene and saw all of them perish.

Despite the tough, challenging work, members took pride in their service and the obligatory fire brigade gained popularity. Many brigade members opted to become regular, full-time firefighters after completing the alternative service period.

[Soundbite]
Kim Hyung-won (Seongnam fire safety special inspection team): I felt happy when I could help other people and they expressed appreciation for my work. With the experiences, I decided to serve as firefighter.

After helping protect lives and properties of citizens for 21 years, the brigade will now be disbanded. This is largely because the system on the brigade's operation as an alternative military service will be abolished due to shortages in military conscripts and recruits.

[Soundbite]
Cho Sun-ho (Chief, Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster HQs): It has played a crucial role and made great contribution to protecting the people. We will carry on with the spirit of the obligatory fire brigade.

Currently, the Gyeonggi-do Provincial Obligatory Fire Brigade has 16 members. It will end its operation on June 13 when the current members are discharged.