SEOUL ESTH UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 001595 SIPDIS STATE FOR OES/IHB, OES/SAT, OES/PCI AND OES/EGC STATE FOR EAP/K, ISN/NESS AND STAS STATE PASS TO EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP AND CEQ DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL, NE, FE, AND EERE USDOC FOR 4400/MAC/EAP/OPB/ITA/TA USDOC FOR NIST HHS FOR OGHA HHS PASS TO NIH FOR FIC STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTL PROGRAMS STATE PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EIND ENRG TBIO TPHY TRGY TSPA KGHG KFLU KS SUBJECT: SEOUL ESTH UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2009 In This Issue - Korean Interest Groups Split on CO2 - Carbon Credit System Promotes Voluntary CO2 Reductions - Jeju Island to Pioneer "Smart Electricity Grid" Project - Korean Lithium-Ion Battery Makers Working with German and U.S. Producers - Government to Increase Spending on Space-Related Technologies - Korea to Start Full-Scale Tests on Nuclear Fusion as an Energy Source - Government Scales Back Measures in Schools for H1N1 Virus - Korea's Suicide Rate Highest Among Advanced Countries - Profile: Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) -------------- Environment -------------- Korean Interest Groups Split on CO2 -------------- ¶1. Korea's top businesses want the government to select the least restrictive option for its greenhouse gas emissions reduction when it decides a mid-term (2020) target later this year, according to a survey released on September 9 by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. About two-thirds of the 508 businesses surveyed want the government to select the option that allows for an eight percent increase over 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions, saying this least restrictive option would be best for businesses and the economy. The other two options being considered by the government are: 1) reducing emissions to and maintaining them at 2005 levels, and 2) reducing emissions to four percent below 2005 levels. Korea's most powerful business lobby group, the Federation of Korean Industries, has said that while Korea cannot oppose the international trend towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the government should consider the realities for Korean businesses in determining the methods and the timing for reducing emissions. In a separate poll by the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, experts from academic circles and government research institutes were in favor of the middle reduction target option, in which Korea's emissions are reduced to and frozen at 2005 levels. Civic groups and non-governmental organizations, on the other hand, have been calling on the country to make the deepest cuts possible in greenhouse gas emissions, saying this would lead to new business opportunities and send a message to Asian neighbors to take ambitious steps to counter global warming. Carbon Credit System Promotes Voluntary CO2 Reductions -------------- -------------- ¶2. Korean companies are making more voluntary reductions in carbon emissions, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) said in a September 10 press statement. According to the statement, government-approved Korea Certified Emission Reduction credits, or KCERs, awarded to businesses from January to September this year showed an increase of 73.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The credits awarded by the government to companies that reduce their carbon dioxide emissions so far in 2009 represent over two million tons of carbon dioxide savings compared to 1.2 million tons registered CO2 savings in 2008. The Ministry began awarding KCERs in 2007 and pays approximately 5000 won (USD 4) to companies that take part in the program for every ton of carbon dioxide SEOUL 00001595 002 OF 005 reduction. So far, the company that has earned the most credits under the system is POSCO steel company with 610,000 tons of CO2 reductions credits, followed by LG Chem, SK, and Samsung Electronics at 350,000 tons, 240,000 tons, and 220,000 tons, respectively. The Ministry is planning to expand the system to small and medium businesses in the near future, and to merge the KCER system into a future cap-and-trade system, which is part of the draft Basic Law on Low Carbon and Green Growth currently before the National Assembly. Jeju Island to Pioneer "Smart Electricity Grid" Project -------------- -------------- ¶3. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) said in a September 3 press release that Minster Lee Youn-ho had joined some 200 business representatives and local residents on August 31 at the opening of a pilot project for "smart power grids" on Jeju Island. Under the government-led project, 6,000 households in the northeastern region of Jeju Island will connect to smart electricity grid technology. Smart grids are intelligent electric power systems that merge conventional power lines with information technology infrastructure and satellite communication systems to permit real-time monitoring of electricity demand and output to help consumers use electricity more efficiently. The purpose of this pioneering project is to promote smart grids as a new economic growth engine while fostering the drive toward low-carbon and green growth by addressing energy and environmental needs simultaneously. MKE also said the government will form a smart grid consortium with private partners and is considering the possibility of opening the consortium to foreign companies. A steering committee will take control of the Jeju Island project to ensure safety and minimize any inconveniences to residents of the test bed area. "The pilot project will serve as a stepping stone for Korea to emerge as one of the leading countries in smart grid technology," said Minister Lee. "It will also make enormous contributions to green growth." Korean Lithium-Ion Battery Makers Working with German and U.S. Producers -------------- ¶4. Korea's Samsung SDI, the world's third largest producer of rechargeable batteries, said on September 11 that its joint venture with Germany's Bosch Corporation will start commercial production of lithium-ion battery for hybrid electric vehicles by 2011. Construction of a plant for the joint venture, SB LiMotive Co., commenced on September 11 in the industrial city of Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province, where batteries for hybrid electric vehicles will be produced, Samsung SDI said. "The joint venture is targeting a 30 percent share in the global auto battery market by 2015," chief executive of Samsung SDI was quoted as saying to local news media. The company in August clinched a deal with BMW AG to provide batteries to the world's largest premium automakers. Lithium-ion batteries are used in a wide range of devices, including cell phones, digital cameras and game consoles. New breeds of hybrid electric vehicles will require much larger batteries with longer time spans between charges. Another Korean lithium-ion battery maker, LG Chem - the world's fourth largest rechargeable battery producer - has been selected as the sole supplier for lithium-ion batteries to be used in GM's plug-in hybrid electric car the Chevrolet Volt beginning from November 2010. LG Chem also plans to build a plant in Michigan to produce the batteries in the United States. SEOUL 00001595 003 OF 005 -------------- Science & Technology -------------- Government to Increase Spending on Space-Related Technologies -------------- ¶5. Following its August 25 failed attempt to place a scientific satellite into orbit, the Government of Korea announced in a September 1 statement that it will spend an additional 24 billion won (USD 19.2 million) over the next three years in funding for universities to fuel research and development into space-related technologies. The government's current annual budget for space-related spending through the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is approximately 300 billion won (USD 250 million). The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said it has selected six core investment areas it believes will help the country gain the ability to independently launch rockets and place into orbit, operate and maintain satellites. Technological areas that will receive additional funding include development of light and heat-resistance materials, infrared space sensors, S-band transmitters and receivers for satellites, and next-generation data processing systems. According to officials, work on these projects will start next month with an emphasis on gaining knowledge in technologies that cannot be purchased abroad, as well as in those that will have the greatest synergistic impact on other industries. The Ministry said it has selected 11 university labs to award the funding for conducting basic research on these space-related technologies. Korea to Start Full-Scale Tests on Nuclear Fusion as an Energy Source -------------- ¶6. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said on September 9 that it will soon start full-scale experiments at the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device (a testing center for research into nuclear fusion for energy) that could help create a limitless source of clean electricity. KSTAR, which took 12 years to build at a cost of USD 329 million, was completed at the National Fusion Research Center in Daejeon in September 2007 and has since been undergoing trial runs to check its capabilities. ¶7. KSTAR is one of the world's most advanced Tokamaks, a magnetic device for confining high energy plasmas using superconducting coils and advanced techniques to heat and shape the plasmas. Data collected from the KSTAR experiments are directly relevant to the international collaboration in fusion research that will have at its center the larger-scale International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarche, France, construction of which is scheduled to be completed in 2016. -------------- Health -------------- Government Scales Back Measures to Control H1N1 Virus -------------- -------------- ¶8. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology eased rules SEOUL 00001595 004 OF 005 September 18 on how schools cope with students and H1N1 flu, saying preventive measures at schools are meaningless now that the virus has spread across the country. Starting September 18, the Ministry will no longer require elementary, middle and high schools with H1N1-infected students to close temporarily; instead, the infected students will be prohibited from attending school until symptoms subside. In addition, the Ministry will lift a requirement that students returning from overseas stay home for seven days before returning to school. Local school administrators may still temporarily close schools at their discretion and in consultation with local health authorities in unusual circumstances. ¶9. On September 20, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (MHWFA) discontinued publishing daily numbers of new H1N1 cases on its website. It will replace the daily numbers with a new statistic -- the influenza-like illness index (ILI index),which will be published on the website on a weekly basis. The ILI index is the number of patients with influenza-like illness who visit hospitals or clinics or doctor's offices in the preceding week per 1000 population. The Ministry will continue to collect and monitor data specifically on H1N1 infections, however, and will keep the information accessible to interested parties, to the public, and to international bodies such as the World Health Organization. ¶10. As of September 20, the number of confirmed H1N1 influenza cases in South Korea totaled 14,912 with 11 deaths. The actions to scale back control of H1N1 were taken following interagency governmental discussions about the balance between social costs and health benefits associated with measures for a disease which has had a case fatality rate in Korea of less than one death per thousand reported cases and a similarly low rate of reported cases with anything more than mild symptoms. Korea's Suicide Rate Highest among Advanced Countries -------------- -------------- ¶11. Korea's suicide rate is estimated to be the highest among advanced countries, according to recent data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Issuing its annual mortality statistical report, the NSO said a total of 12,858 people, or 24.3 persons out of every 100,000 Koreans, took their own lives last year. The figure represents a rise from 23.9 per 100,000 people in 2007 and 21.5 for 100,000 in 2006. The figure for Japan, where suicide is also a major social problem, was 19.4 in 2007, and the rate for Hungry, which is also known to have a high suicide rate, was 21 per 100,000 in 2005, according to the latest data from the OECD. ¶12. Among all age groups in Korea, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death after cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiovascular diseases. Suicide first overtook diabetes as Korea's fourth leading cause of death in 2007. According to the NSO, suicide was the single leading cause of death for Koreans between 20 and 30 years old, accounting for more than 40 percent of deaths in that age group, the NSO said. Traffic accidents and cancer caused 18.8 percent and 10.5 percent of deaths, respectively, for Koreans between 20 and 30 years old. -------------- Profile -------------- SEOUL 00001595 005 OF 005 Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) -------------- - ¶13. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) was founded in 1959 with the mission of making nuclear energy an important source of energy for Korea. In May this year, KAERI celebrated its 50th anniversary. In the intervening years, the institute has become a global leader in nuclear energy research and development with highly skilled and talented manpower. Over the past 50 years, KAERI has played a key role in initiating and promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in South Korea. It founded a cornerstone of the South Korean nuclear industry by participating in the establishment of a nuclear engineering company and a nuclear fuel company, and by localizing nuclear fuel and reactor technology; it has maintained nuclear expertise in the whole spectrum of nuclear energy technologies by conducting the nation's nuclear energy research and development programs, operating nuclear energy research facilities, and training and educating specialized nuclear energy engineers and technicians; and it has contributed to nuclear safety by creating and developing a specialized South Korean nuclear energy regulatory body. ¶14. KAERI comprises six research departments: Reactor System Technology Development, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology Development, Nuclear Safety Research, Applied Nuclear Technology Development, Basic Science and Technology, and Advanced Radiation Technology. It receives most of its funding from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and advises the Ministry on technical and policy issues related to nuclear energy. Currently KAERI has 1,141 full-time employees. Of the total employees, 612 hold a Ph.D., and about 90 of them received an M.S. or Ph.D. from a U.S. university. ¶15. Dr. Yang Myung-seung has been the president of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute since November 2007. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Seoul National University and received a Master of Science from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Technology from Northwestern University in the United States. Dr. Yang is a member of the Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Energy of the IAEA. TOKOLA