SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; March 18, 2009

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SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; March 18, 2009

TOP HEADLINES
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Chosun Ilbo
Former President of Korea Maritime Institute Arrested for Receiving
Money from Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha during 2005
Parliamentary By-Elections

JoongAng Ilbo
ROKG's Plan to Front-load Budget Spending in First Half Fails to
Live Up to Public Expectations

Dong-a Ilbo
ROKG Seeks to Integrate Three Military Academies into One School

Hankook Ilbo
The Executive Above the Legislature?: ROKG Moves to Slash Capital
Gains Taxes for Multiple Homeowners before Relevant Laws are
Changed

Hankyoreh Shinmun
Supreme Court Justice Shin Ignores Pressure to Resign for
Influencing Junior Judges in Trials of Anti-U.S. Beef Protesters

Segye Ilbo
Per Capita Personal Debt Reaches 16 Million Won

Seoul Shinmun
No Principles and Procedures in April 29 Parliamentary By-Elections;
Elections Reduced to a Venue for Former Big Names to Make Political
Comebacks


DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
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The ROKG seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to impose on
North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range missile.
The projected list is aimed at stepping up pressure on the North
under UN Security Council Resolution 1718 and would specify people
and organizations in the North as targets for major sanctions,
including a travel ban and financial freeze. (Chosun)

Experts raised the possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North
Korea claims it is planning to launch might not be an experimental
communications satellite but rather a "disguised warhead."
(JoongAng)

North Korea yesterday fully re-opened the border for ROK citizens
traveling to and from the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The North also
allowed ROK citizens to travel to Mt. Kumgang. It is unclear,
however, whether the North will keep the border open. (All)

Experts saw this abrupt and unexpected change by North Korea as the
communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG.
(Chosun)


INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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The "Honeymoon" Again between North Korea and China Ahead of a
Missile Launch by the North: A North Korean delegation led by
Premier Kim Yong-il visited China yesterday to attend an event
marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties
between the two countries. (Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) Rumor
has it that the visit might also be aimed at discussing a visit to
China by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. (Hankook, Pressian)


MEDIA ANALYSIS
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-North Korea
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North Korea's re-opening yesterday of the inter-Korean border for
overland travel in both directions received wide play. Most of the
ROK media observed that since March 9, when the ROK and the U.S.
started their joint military exercises, North Korea has repeatedly
closed and opened the border, tantalizing ROK business owners at the
Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. Chosun Ilbo, citing
experts, viewed this abrupt and unexpected move by the North as the
communist state's old "hit-and-run" tactic to tame the ROKG.
Hankook Ilbo's headline read: "Is North Korea's Military Alone
behind Holding Kaesong Industrial Complex Hostage?... (The Move is)
North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il's 'Calculated Pressure'"

Most of the ROK media reported that the ROKG has asked businesses in
the joint industrial complex to refrain from visiting the North
except for trips by essential staff, because the situation remains
unstable.

On the North's missile front, Chosun Ilbo front-paged a report
saying that Seoul seeks to draft a list of potential sanctions to
impose on North Korea if it launches a rocket to test a long-range
missile. The report went on to say that the projected list is aimed
at stepping up pressure on the North under UN Security Council
Resolution 1718 and would specify people and organizations in the
North as targets for major sanctions, including a travel ban and
financial freeze. Chosun quoted an ROKG official as saying:
"Considering the positions of China and Russia, it's not easy to
reach a new resolution at the UN Security Council... However, there
is some consensus that the North's launch of such a projectile would
constitute a violation of Resolution 1718, even if it is a
satellite. A 'realistic alternative' would be to step up sanctions
according to the resolution, which have so far been nominal."

JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, quoted local pundits as raising the
possibility that the "Kwangmyongsong-2" North Korea claims it is
planning to launch might not be an experimental communications
satellite but rather a "disguised warhead."

Carrying the headline, "The 'Honeymoon' Again between North Korea
and China Ahead of a Missile Launch by the North," Hankook Ilbo
reported that a North Korean delegation led by Premier Kim Yong-il
visited China yesterday to attend an event marking the 60th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two
countries. The report went on to say that the North Korean Premier
is expected to meet today with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao to
discuss issues such as the North's planned rocket launch. The
report also quoted a diplomatic source as speculating that this
North Korean visit might be designed to discuss a visit to China by
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.


OPINIONS/EDITORIALS
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ROK-EU FTA Expected To Curb Trade Protectionism
(Munhwa Ilbo, March 17, 2009, Page 31)

The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be officially
concluded in the eighth round of talks scheduled to take place from
March 22 to 23. This adds momentum to an overall 'FTA network'
strategy. Lee Hye-min, chief negotiator for a free trade agreement
with the EU said on March 17 that both sides are negotiating ways to
strike a deal in time for the G20 Financial Summit to be held on
April 2 in London, England. He added that the ROK-EU FTA will carry
significance in that major trading partners, the ROK and the EU will
proclaim the importance of free trade, not protectionist trade.

A year and 10 months have passed since both sides officially
announced their negotiations in Seoul on May 6, 2007. In fact, the
ROK and the U.S. signed the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS
FTA) on June 30, 2007. The KORUS FTA however has not been ratified
by legislators of both countries. Therefore, great headway in

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negotiations between the ROK and the EU may pave the way for the
KORUS FTA to make rapid progress. If the ROK-EU FTA and the KORUS
FTA take effect, it will create a new market worth 30 trillion
dollars in terms of GDP.

If the ROK-EU FTA is reached at the G20 Financial Summit in London,
it will become an opportunity to prove the ROK's commitment to an
open world and will bring actual benefits to the nation. We take
note again that when the Group of 20 finance ministers and central
bankers adopted the 8-point joint statement, they accepted strong
demands from Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun and Bank of Korea
Governor Lee Seong-tae and declared in the first provision of the
statement that "we commit to fight all forms of protectionism and
maintain open trade and investment." Around the same time reports
surfaced concerning an imminent conclusion to the ROK-EU FTA talks,
U.S. Ambassador to the ROK Kathleen Stephens said, "The ROK-U.S. FTA
has the potential to offer much to citizens of both our countries.
I urge our Korean friends to give our new team in Washington some
time to get in place."

Once again, we point out to opponents of the ROK-U.S. FTA that
missing an opportunity to establish the FTA network is the same as
losing an opportunity for economic revival.


FEATURES
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Seoul Mulling List of Targets for N. Korea Sanctions
(Chosun Ilbo, March 18, 2009, Front Page)

By Reporter Lim Min-hyuk

The South Korean government is considering drafting a list of
targets for sanctions in North Korea in case the North launches a
long-range missile. The projected list is aimed at stepping up
pressure on the North under UN Security Council 1718.

The list would specify people and organizations in North Korea as
targets of major sanctions. When Resolution 1718 was adopted after
North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, no list was made out
of political consideration.

A government official said, "Considering the positions of China and
Russia, it's not easy to reach a new resolution at the UN Security
Council if the North keeps insisting that the projectile it plans to
launch is a satellite. But there is some consensus that the North's
launch of such a projectile would itself constitute a violation of
Resolution 1718, even if it is a satellite." He said a "realistic
alternative" would be to step up sanctions according to the
resolution, which have so far been nominal.

Resolution 1718 obliges all UN member countries to impose an arms
embargo, travel ban and financial freeze on North Korea. Of the
three kinds of sanctions, arms embargo and financial freeze
particularly oblige the member countries to specify "target
individuals and organizations" under Article 12 (e) of the
resolution. But political considerations including
Washington-Pyongyang negotiations over the resumption of the
Six-Party nuclear talks in 2006 meant no country made such a list of
targets.

A diplomatic source said it would be possible to put considerable
pressure on the North without having to take separate measures
because a list of targets including senior North Korean officials
would have "an enormous substantial and symbolic impact on the
North."

Some countries such as Japan are reportedly enthusiastic about the
idea, but much depends on the position China and Russia take.
Another diplomatic source said, "No full list was made even after
the North's nuclear test back then, so any countries can make such a
list to respond to the North's launch of a long-range missile if
they join efforts with the U.S."

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(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is
identical to the Korean version.)


STEPHENS