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Presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye, the daughter of South Korea’s former leader Park Chung-hee, has apologized for human rights violations committed during her father’s rule.
Park Geun-hye is the ruling party candidate for presidential elections in December.
Park Chung-hee seized power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled until he was assassinated by his spy chief in 1979.
He boosted the economy but was accused of ruthlessly crushing dissent, delaying democratic development.
Park Geun-hye is the ruling party candidate for the South Korean presidential elections in December
Park Geun-hye, 60, secured the ruling party nomination for the polls last month, marking the first time a woman has been chosen as a presidential candidate by one of South Korea’s main political parties.
But she has been battling her father’s legacy since the very beginning of her presidential campaign.
Park Chung-hee is credited with kick-starting South Korea’s economic success, but many younger and liberal voters see his human rights record as a blot on the country’s history.
Addressing a news conference, Park Geun-hye said her father had prioritized economic growth and national security issues.
“Behind the stellar growth were sacrifices by workers who suffered under a repressive labor environment,” she said.
“Behind the efforts for national security to protect [ourselves] from North Korea were human rights abuses committed by state power.”
Offering sincere apologies, she said: “I believe that it is an unchanging value of democracy that ends cannot justify the means in politics.”
Park Geun-hye remains ahead in opinion polls for the 19 December election.
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Self-styled messiah Rev. Sun Myung Moon, whose Unification Church became famous for marrying thousands of people in a single ceremony, has died, aged 92.
Sun Myung Moon set up the Church, popularly known as the Moonies, in the 1950s in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
He attracted huge publicity through mass weddings, and his claims to be the new messiah chosen by God.
Sun Myung Moon was also a fervent anti-Communist and set up newspapers and media businesses around the world.
Self-styled messiah Rev. Sun Myung Moon, whose Unification Church became famous for marrying thousands of people in a single ceremony, has died, aged 92
Church officials told the Associated Press news agency that Moon died on Monday at a hospital near his home in Gapyeong, north-east of Seoul.
He had been admitted to the hospital, which is owned by the Church, two weeks ago suffering from pneumonia.
The Church became notorious in the 1960s and 70s, often being accused of brainwashing members, breaking up families and lining Moon’s pockets.
He denied the allegations, but had to spend 11 months in jail after being convicted of tax evasion in 1982.
Sun Myung Moon owned large and lavish properties in the US, founded the Washington Times newspaper and ran arms factories in South Korea.
A South Korean court has ruled that tech giants Apple and Samsung both infringed each other’s patents on mobile devices.
The court imposed a limited ban on national sales of products by both companies covered by the ruling.
It ruled that Apple had infringed two patents held by Samsung, while Samsung had violated one of Apple’s patents.
The decision comes as a jury in California is deliberating on a patent trial between the two firms in the US.
A South Korean court has ruled that tech giants Apple and Samsung both infringed each other's patents on mobile devices
The sales ban will apply to Apple’s iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and its tablets the iPad and iPad 2.
Samsung products affected by the ban include its smartphone models Galaxy SI and SII and its Galaxy Tab and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet PCs.
The court ordered Apple to pay 40 million won ($35,000) in damages to its South Korean rival, while Samsung was told to pay Apple 25 million won.
The awards are dwarfed by the damages being sought by Apple in its case in California. It is seeking more than $2.5 billion from Samsung, for allegedly violating its patented designs and features in the iPad and iPhone.
A Samsung spokesperson said the court had found the South Korean firm guilty of violating Apple’s patent relating to the “bounce back” function.
The function lets users know that they have reached the end of a screen that they may be scrolling through on their devices.
Meanwhile, Apple has been found guilty of violating patents relating to telecom standards held by Samsung, including technology that makes the transfer and transmission of data between devices more efficient.
However, the court ruled against Apple’s claims that Samsung had copied the designs of its products.
“There are lots of external design similarities between the iPhone and Galaxy S, such as rounded corners and large screens… but these similarities had been documented in previous products,” a judge at the Seoul Central District Court was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.
“Given that it’s very limited to make big design changes in touchscreen based mobile products in general… and the defendant [Samsung] differentiated its products with three buttons in the front and adopted different designs in camera and [on the] side, the two products have a different look,” the judge said.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is visiting islands also claimed by Japan, in a move set to raise diplomatic tensions.
Lee Myung-bak flew to the islands, which are known as Dokdo in South Korea and as Takeshima in Japan.
A Kyodo news agency report said Japan had summoned South Korea’s ambassador to protest against the visit.
Both South Korea and Japan say they have a historical claim to the islands, and the issue has been a long-standing thorn in relations.
The islands, which are roughly equidistant from the two countries, are small but lie in fishing grounds which could also contain large gas deposits.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is visiting islands also claimed by Japan, in a move set to raise diplomatic tensions
South Korea has controlled them since 1954 and stations a small coastguard detachment on them.
Lee Myung-bak is the first South Korean leader to visit the islands. The visit was announced by his spokeswoman early on Friday.
“If the visit is made, it would go against our country’s position and so we strongly urge its cancellation,” Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told journalists.
“We must respond to it firmly.”
He said the visit “would definitely have a large impact” on ties.
The South Korean president was first due to visit Ulleung Island before flying on to the disputed area, his spokeswoman said.
Lee Myung-bak’s visit comes with the two countries’ football teams due to play off for the Olympic bronze medal later in the day.
It also comes shortly before South Korea marks the anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule.
Disputed islands:
• Known as Dokdo (Solitary islands) in Korea, Takeshima (Bamboo islands) in Japan
• Also known as Liancourt rocks
• Claimed by Japan and South Korea, but occupied by South Korea since 1954
• Just 230,000 sq m in size, with no fresh water
• Surrounding waters valuable for their fishing
North Korea has strongly denied reports from South Korea that it is planning policy changes that will lead to the reform and opening of the country.
A government body dismissed reports that the present leadership was breaking with the past as “ridiculous”.
Some commentators have speculated that the recent removal of North Korea’s top general pointed to a possible power struggle over economic reform.
Kim Jong-Un succeeded his late father, Kim Jong-Il, in December.
Kim Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, has since adopted a warm public persona, being photographed at fun fairs and pop concerts with his young wife Ri Sol-Ju.
Kim Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, has since adopted a warm public persona, being photographed at fun fairs and pop concerts with his young wife Ri Sol-Ju
That – together with the recent removal of army chief General Ri Yong-Ho – has fuelled hopes in the South that he could be planning to open up North Korea’s closed state-run economy.
However, a spokesman for North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which deals with cross-border affairs, dismissed the speculation in an interview with state-run KCNA news agency on Sunday.
He said that Kim Jong-Un would pursue the “military first” policy brought in by his father and would build a “civilized and comfortable life for the people under socialism”.
“The puppet group (South Korea)… tried to give (the) impression that the present leadership of the DPRK (North Korea) broke with the past. This is the height of ignorance,” the spokesman said.
“To expect policy change and reform and opening from the DPRK is nothing but a foolish and silly dream, just like wanting the sun to rise in the west.”
He accused Seoul of trying to impose capitalism on Pyongyang by “trumpeting reform and opening”, adding: “There cannot be any slightest change in all policies.”
Any reference to reform has always been anathema for North Korean officials and it is a word they associate with victory for their capitalist enemies in the South.
There is also substantial external pressure for change, not least from China, which appears close to Kim Jong-Un and his inner circle and which has pressed for reform in North Korea for more than a decade.
Kim Jong-Un and those around him are being keenly watched for the direction in which they will take the communist state.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has apologized to the nation over corruption investigations involving his brother and former aides.
“I bow my head and apologize for causing the public concern as a result of these incidents,” Lee Myung-bak said in a short address on television.
His brother, Lee Sang-deuk, was detained by police on corruption charges earlier this month.
Lee Myung-bak’s five-year presidential term comes to an end in February 2013.
Lee Sang-deuk, a former lawmaker for six terms and reportedly the president’s political mentor, faces allegations of taking 600 million won ($525,000) in bribes from two savings banks to help them avoid an audit.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has apologized to the nation over corruption investigations involving his brother and former aides
As the elder brother to South Korea’s head of state, his arrest and possible trial could affect support for the ruling party in December’s presidential elections.
There has been widespread anger over the savings bank scandal. Since the start of this year, South Korean regulators have closed 20 of the nation’s weakest banks.
Many of them were so-called savings banks, which were created following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. There used to be more than 100 of these small regional lenders, which were either private or rural co-operatives.
However, a rising number of mortgage defaults in the country’s lacklustre real-estate market following the 2008 financial crisis led many of these lenders to face capital and liquidity shortages.
In January 2011, the financial regulator began suspending operations of banks that did not have enough money.
Two of the troubled savings banks were Solomon Savings Bank, which was shut two months ago, and Mirae Savings Bank. Both allegedly made payments to the elder Lee Sang-deuk.
But prosecutors investigating the savings bank scandal allege the illegal activity goes much wider, and have indicted nearly 200 people, including politicians, lobbyists and bankers.
Customs officials in South Korea have discovered thousands of pills filled with powdered human flesh coming from China, it was revealed today.
South Korea says it will increase customs inspections targeting capsules containing powdered human flesh.
The Korea Customs Service said it had found almost 17,500 of the capsules being smuggled into the country from China since August 2011.
The powdered flesh, which officials said came from dead babies and foetuses, is reportedly thought by some to cure disease and boost stamina.
But officials said the capsules were full of bacteria and a health risk.
“It was confirmed those capsules contain materials harmful to the human body, such as super bacteria. We need to take tougher measures to protect public health,” a customs official was quoted as saying by the Korea Times.
The powdered flesh, which officials said came from dead babies and foetuses, is reportedly thought by some to cure disease and boost stamina
The San Francisco Times reported that tests carried out on the pills confirmed they were made up of 99.7% human remains.
Inspections are to be stepped up on shipments of drugs arriving from north-east China, Yonhap news agency reported.
The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said that capsules were being dyed or switched into boxes of other drugs in a bid to disguise them.
Some of the capsules were found in travelers’ luggage and some in the post, customs officials said.
Allegations that human flesh capsules were being trafficked from north-east China into South Korea emerged last year in a South Korean television documentary.
At the time China’s Health Ministry said it was investigating the claims raised by the programme.
Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua, quoted at the time in China Daily, said China had “strict management of disposal of infant and foetal remains as well as placentas”.
“Any practice that handles the remains as medical waste is strictly prohibited,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Oh Kil-nam, a retired South Korean economist, says his life was ruined by his decision to defect to North Korea.
Oh Kil-nam, 70, still does not know the fate of his wife and daughters – either dead or imprisoned in a labor camp.
In 1985, North Korean agents approached Oh Kil-nam and suggested he defect.
The agents offered him an important job working as an economist for the North Korean government and promised to provide free treatment for his wife’s hepatitis.
Oh Kil-nam took the offer seriously. He had just completed his PhD in Germany on a Marxist economist. Back at home in South Korea, Oh Kil-nam had been active in left-wing groups opposed to the country’s authoritarian regime.
His wife Shin Suk-ja was horrified by the idea of going to the North and opposed it from the start.
“Do you know what kind of place it is?” she asked.
“You have not even been there once. How can you make such a reckless decision?”
But Oh Kil-nam replied that the Northerners were Koreans too – they “cannot be that brutal”, he told her.
So at the end of November 1985, Oh Kil-nam, his wife and two young daughters travelled via East Berlin and Moscow to Pyongyang.
When they arrived at Pyongyang airport, Oh Kil-nam began to see he had made a mistake in coming. Communist party officials and children clutching flowers were there to meet them. But despite the cold of a North Korean December, the children were not wearing socks and their traditional clothes were so thin that they shivered.
“When I saw this I was really surprised and my wife even started to cry,” he said.
Communist party officials drove Oh Kil-nam and his family to what they described as a guest house. The building was inside a camp in the mountains and guarded by soldiers. There was no treatment for Shin Suk-ja’s hepatitis and no job for Oh Kil-nam as an economist. Instead, for several months, North Koreans indoctrinated them in the teachings of The Great Leader Kim Il-sung, the founder of the current regime.
Oh Kil-nam and his wife began working for a North Korean radio station.
“My wife began as a broadcaster but she was not able to carry on for long. Her health had deteriorated and at the same time she was quite critical of the North.”
Oh Kil-nam was less independent. “I began to read scripts based on party directives – in the end, I was like a parrot.”
Oh Kil-nam, now 70, still does not know the fate of his wife and daughters after more than 20 years
While he was there Oh Kil-nam came across South Koreans who had been abducted, including two air stewardesses and two passengers from a Korean Air Lines flight that had been hijacked by North Koreans in 1969.
Oh Kil-nam was approached to go on a mission abroad. He was to be based in the North Korean embassy in Copenhagen, from where he could do what had been done to him – lure South Korean students in Germany to the North Korean embassy.
When Shin Suk-ja heard about the plan she was furious.
“I remember the two of us talking about it softly under the blanket. I told my wife that by fulfilling this mission, we would preserve our livelihood in North Korea. But she slapped me in the face.”
His wife said they would have to pay the price for his mistakes – he could not entrap others.
“She told me I had to find a way to escape when I got to Europe, that there would be a way to rescue the family.”
On arriving at Copenhagen airport, Oh Kil-nam managed to escape from North Korean control. “I approached the immigration desk. I had a little piece of paper on which I had written: HELP ME. I explained that the passport they were seeing was not my real passport, that my real name was Oh Kil-nam, and that my real passport had been confiscated in North Korea.”
After two months in jail in Denmark, the Danish authorities sent Oh Kil-nam to Germany. There he tried to free his family, but with no luck.
“My biggest mistake was not to approach the German Foreign Ministry directly.”
Oh Kil-nam’s wife, Shin Suk-ja, and their daughters, Hye Won and Gyu Won
For Shin Suk-ja and her two daughters, Oh Kil-nam’s defection was catastrophic. They were taken to Yodok concentration camp, where the North Korean government imprisons its enemies. The conditions in this slave labor camp are reportedly as bad as anything in Nazi Germany or Stalin’s Gulag.
For a time, Oh Kil-nam heard nothing about the fate of his family. Then in February 1991 he managed to get six photographs of his wife and daughters and a tape cassette with a message from them.
“On the tape my daughters were telling me how much they missed me and my wife was saying that perhaps it would be OK for me to come back now.”
Oh Kil-nam suspected a trap. “North Korea was trying to stop me from heading back to South Korea because I had experience of working in its propaganda division. I knew a lot of its secrets, including the fact that many people from South Korea, who were kidnapped and taken to the North, were working there.”
But nonetheless the realization that he could not get back in touch with his family was devastating.
“By that time I had completely given up. My whole body was just broken down.”
In 1992, Oh Kil-nam returned to South Korea. “I felt that my death was not far away. I just wanted to be close to my brother and my sister on my death bed.”
Oh Kil-nam did not die but nor has he ever heard from his wife and daughters again. He does not know whether they are alive or whether they died in the prison camp.
“I do feel that I may be able to meet my family again, but it is just a hope, a glimmer of hope inside a dark tunnel.
“I hope there will come a day when I can meet my family again, hug them and embrace them, and cry tears of happiness. If it does happen it will be the happiest day of my life.”
Ten facts could paint the big picture of North Korea’s isolation from the international community.
1. High militarized area
The border between North and South Korea is one of the most militarized areas in the world, according to the State Department, with a combined total of almost two million military personnel under the control of Pyongyang (1.2 million), Seoul (680,000) and foreign powers including the United States (28,000). North Korean arms outnumber those in the South by about two to one, including offensive weapons such as tanks, long-range artillery, aircraft and armored personnel carriers. However, much of the military equipment in North Korea is obsolete.
2. Still at war
Both sides are technically in a state of war, after a ceasefire halted the Korean War more than 50 years ago. Tensions reached their highest levels in years in 2010 with the torpedoing of a South Korean warship, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors. The South blamed the attack on Pyongyang, but North denied responsibility. Later that year, the North bombarded a South Korean island, the first such attack against civilian target since the 1950-53 Korean War.
3. 51 social categories
North Korea groups its citizens into 51 social categories, graded by loyalty to the regime, according to The Economist. Of those groups, 29 are considered to make up a mostly rural underclass that is hostile or at best ambivalent towards the regime.
4. Gourmet cuisine, starvation
Late dictator Kim Jong-Il had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, while four in five of North Korean children suffer from malnutrition because food is poorly distributed. In March 2011, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that 6 million North Koreans needed food aid and a third of children were chronically malnourished or stunted daily potato rations have been cut by a third, to two for each person.
5. At least two inches shorter
Analysis of escapees from North Korea shows that those born after the partitioning of the Korean Peninsula in the North were consistently about two inches shorter than their counterparts in the South, according to a 2004 report in Economics and Human Biology. The minimum height for recruitment to the North Korean army is reported to have fallen by just under an inch. The well-nourished Kim Jong-Un was fit enough to have been a keen basketball player while at school in Switzerland, according to fellow students.
Kim Jong-Un was kept from public view until September 2010, when he was 27 years old and appeared with his father Kim Jong-Il
6. Secret children
Kim Jong-Un was kept from public view until September 2010, when he was 27 years old. The existence of his eldest brother, who was passed over in Kim Jong-Il’s succession, was hidden completely from grandfather Kim Il-Sung until his death in 1994.
7. “Clairvoyant wisdom”
North Korea is famous for its colorful use of language, praising its leaders and denouncing its critics. The statement announcing Kim Jong -Il’s death ran to 1,500 words, and was addressed to “All Party Members, Servicepersons and People”. It praised his “clairvoyant wisdom” and said he had “put the dignity and power of the nation on the highest level and ushered in the golden days of prosperity unprecedented in the nation’s history.” It concluded: “Arduous is the road for our revolution to follow and grim is the present situation. But no force on earth can check the revolutionary advance of our party, army and people under the wise leadership of Kim Jong-Un.”
8. China crucial
North Korea’s survival depends on crucial trade with China: in 2010, trade between the two was worth an estimated $3.5 billion, up nearly 30% from 2009.
9. What a golfer!
Kim Jong-Il piloted jet fighters, according to the country’s propaganda machine, even though he traveled by land for his infrequent trips abroad, reputedly because he was nervous about flying. He penned operas, had a photographic memory, produced movies and accomplished a feat unmatched in the annals of professional golf, shooting 11 holes-in-one on the first round he ever played — if North Korea is to be believed.
10. War, war or jaw, jaw?
Despite the regular tensions, at least one expert thinks the North and South have too much to lose from a full-scale military conflict. Dr. Jim Hoare, a British former diplomat who served in the country, said both sides had “gone to the brink of conflict several times” but stopped short.
“Seoul [20 miles from the border] is a vulnerable city and the North would face annihilation.”
Kraft Foods has claimed its controversial Oreo breastfeeding baby advert was “never meant to go public”.
Kraft Foods said the provocative picture of a child clenching a chocolate cookie while suckling on a woman’s breast was only supposed to be used once.
The nipple-exposing promo was made by its Cheil Worldwide agency, it added, which was merely going to use it for an advertising forum.
It also denied widely the reported allegations that it had been was running in publications across South Korea.
The image, with the headline of “Milks Favourite Cookie”, has caused quite a storm, and seriously divided opinion, on online forums, blogs and Twitter.
One said: “There is a thin line between creative liberty and ethics. A complete fail for me.”
Another added her disgust by saying: “Simply not pleasant. Nor appealing. (Are you going to have a nice warm cup of mother’s milk with your cookie now?)”
Kraft Foods has claimed its controversial Oreo breastfeeding baby advert was “never meant to go public”
But others said they loved the picture. Thenikcreative posted on adsoftheworld.com: “Are you guys kidding? As an OREO fan I find this ad absolutely fantastic.
“The art direction is great – the look in the babies eyes is priceless … well done Cheil.”
And ashtrinjuljim said: “I’m a mother of 3 …I see nothing wrong with this ad…its natural for a mother to breast feed and if that’s the part u take offense to then Ur a prude plan and simple.
“The whole part about the baby holding the Oreo is cute and eye catching…..and as for those of u who think mothers breasts don’t look like the while breast feeding guess what some moms do! Get over yourself and Ur own insecurity….”
Some have suggested the “leak” of the advert could be part of Oreo’s 100th birthday promotional campaign which it officially celebrated last month.
A Kraft Foods spokesman said: “This ad was created by our agency for a one-time use at an advertising forum. It was never intended for public distribution or use with consumers.
“It has never run in Korea or any other markets.”
Born on March 6, 1912, the Oreo brand now fetches a staggering $1.5 billion in global revenues and is the world’s top selling cookie of the 21st Century.
A staple in households from New Jersey to Indonesia, the first ever Oreo was baked by the National Biscuit Co. bakery on West 15th Street in New York City.
The company sold its first batch of the creme-filled delights by weight in Hoboken, New Jersey, for $0.30/lb.
Inspired advertising campaigns right from the outset have ensured an enduring shelf life for the traditional cookie.
Oreo cookies 1951 advert
With slogans like “Oh-oh! Oreo” and “Milk’s favourite cookie”, along with collaborations with ice cream manufacturers and milk advertisers, the name Oreo is never far from one’s mind when it comes to the thought of tasty tea-time treats.
The decorative design of the cookie itself has changed only slightly since its inception when in the Fifties the Nabisco emblem was incorporated into the embossing.
Nowadays Oreos take 59 minutes to make and are covered in a pattern of 12 flowers, 12 dots and 12 dashes, and 90 ridges around the edge.
Sold in over 100 countries, the cookies are adored by children and adults alike from China to Chile where variations take into account local flavors and cultural tastes.
In Argentina, three layers of Oreo cookie and creme are covered in chocolate to make a traditional Argentine snack cake.
North Korea has announced the launch of a satellite mounted on a rocket to mark the 100th birthday of its late former President Kim Il-Sung.
The rocket launch will take place between 12 and 16 April, a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology said.
South Korea said the launch would be a “grave provocation” and Japan urged the North to “exercise restraint”.
The move is seen as violating UN Security Council resolutions passed after a similar launch in 2009.
Japan is particularly concerned as North Korea’s April 2009 rocket was launched over the country.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, told a news conference on Friday that his country had set up a crisis management taskforce to monitor the situation and was co-operating with the US and South Korea.
“We believe a launch would be a move to interfere with our effort toward a dialogue, and we strongly urge North Korea not to carry out a satellite launch,” Osamu Fujimura said.
North Korea plans of launching a rocket in April is seen as violating UN Security Council resolutions passed after a similar launch in 2009
South Korea’s foreign ministry said such a move would be a “clear violation” of UN Security Council Resolutions.
“It would be a grave provocation threatening the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and north-east Asia,” the ministry said in a statement.
Last month, Pyongyang agreed to suspend long-range missile tests.
The agreement was part of a deal for the United States to supply 240,000 tons of food aid to North Korea.
In the 2009 launch, Pyongyang said the satellite made it into orbit and characterized it as a test of its satellite technology.
The move drew condemnation from the US and South Korea and led to the UN resolutions prohibiting the North from nuclear and ballistic missile activity.
Foreign officials said there were no indications that a satellite had reached space and that the launch was a cover for Pyongyang to test long-range missile technology.
The launch next month of a ”working satellite”, the Kwangmyongsong-3, is an opportunity for ”putting the country’s technology of space use for peaceful purposes on a higher stage”, said a North Korean spokesman.
The rocket would be launched from the Solace Satellite Launching Station in Cholsan county, North Pyongan province on the country’s west coast.
State media also reported that the North has already launched two experimental satellites.
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