SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; April 29, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 000683 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; April 29, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo Senior ROK Health Official Dispatched to WHO: "We are at War with Swine Flu. This is Just the Beginning. It could Take over Six Months to Defeat the Virus" JoongAng Ilbo Nine More Suspected "Swine Flu" Cases in ROK Dong-a Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs First Case of Swine Flu "Presumed" in ROK Hankook Ilbo ROKG Tracking 10,000 People who have Entered the Nation from Mexico Since April 17 Hankyoreh Shinmun ROK Is Not "Safe" from Swine Flu DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- The ROKG yesterday raised its alert level from "concern" to "attention" as the nation's first "presumed" swine flu patient was identified. (Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, all TVs) The ROKG also tentatively suspended imports of live hogs from North America to curb the spread of swine flu (Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Seoul) and imposed travel restrictions to Mexico, where the death toll from swine flu has reached 152. (All) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- According to a source in Washington, the USG is considering sending a high-level special envoy to North Korea to discuss pending issues, including the two U.S. journalists detained in the country and the nuclear issue. Former President Jimmy Carter and Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, are being discussed as likely candidates. (Hankook) The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its global alert level on the spreading swine flu virus to Phase 4 on April 27, indicating that there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country. It is the first time that the level has been raised above Phase 3 since bird flu spread in Asia in 2003. (All) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -North Korea -------------- Citing a source in Washington, moderate Hankook Ilbo reported that the USG is considering sending a high-level special envoy to North Korea to discuss pending issues, including the two U.S. journalists detained in the country and the nuclear issue. The report went on to say that this U.S. move comes amid growing skepticism about the role of Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy. Former President Jimmy Carter and Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, are being discussed as likely candidates, according to the report. -Swine Flu -------------- Reports of the first "presumed" case of swine flu in the ROK received front-page treatment. According to media reports, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday raised the status of a 51-year-old Korean woman who had returned from a trip to Mexico from "suspected" of being infected with swine flu to "presumed" infected after close examination. SEOUL 00000683 002 OF 003 Accordingly, the ROKG raised its alert level from "concern" to "attention" and imposed travel restrictions to Mexico, where the death toll from swine flu has reached 152, according to media reports. The ROKG was also reported to have tentatively suspended imports of live hogs from North America to curb the spread of swine flu. Most ROK media reported that some 2,400 people are suspected of having contracted the swine flu in some 20 countries and that the virus is spreading faster than "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)." -President Obama's 100 Days -------------- Moderate Hankook Ilbo commented from Washington that the first 100 days of President Barack Obama's Administration has opened a "new chapter" of smart diplomacy and enjoyed a "glimmer of hope" for the economy but that the deadlock in talks on North Korea's nuclear and missile issues is putting President Obama to the test. Carrying the headline, "The First 'Hip President' Restructures the U.S.," left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun observed that fifty percent of Americans view President Obama's efforts to remove the legacies of the Bush Administration as being a step in the "right direction" but that it would take time for the President's reform efforts to bear fruit, due to the huge U.S. fiscal deficit and protests against the reform efforts from within the Democratic Party, among other reasons. OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- ANTI-US BEEF PROTESTS: ONE YEAR LATER (Dong-a Ilbo, April 29, 2009, Page 31) A year ago today, the MBC investigative program PD Notebook called a downer cow a mad cow in an episode titled, "Breaking Coverage - Are U.S. Beef Imports Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?" The program, employing forbidding background music, said Koreans are 94 percent more likely to contract a human form of mad cow disease. The next day, posts about the program flooded Internet sites related to mad cow disease and the Web portal site Daum. People scared by the program's unfounded claims and from online posts flocked to Seoul's downtown Cheonggye Plaza to hold candlelight vigils. Some 1,000 anti-American and pro-North Korea groups formed the People`s Association for Measures against Mad Cow Disease. Led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Teachers' and Educational Workers' Union, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, and the Federation to Implement the Inter-Korean Summit (a group ruled as illegal) led the oftentimes violent protests for about 100 days and demanded the resignation of the President Lee Myung-bak. This shows that if a group takes advantage of media, a common asset of the people, a nation can slip into chaos and its very foundation can be shaken. MBC reluctantly aired an apology under orders from the Korea Communications Commission, but seemed unremorseful over what it did. In response to the investigation of PD Notebook's mad cow disease episode, the network stated, "This was a program that criticized government policy in the interest of the public's right to health. The criminal investigation represents unprecedented oppression of the media in a civilized nation of the 21st century and is killing democracy." U.S. beef imports were resumed in June last year and are second only to those from Australia in the country. Forty-eight million Koreans, 300 million Americans, one million Korean Americans, and people in 89 countries eat American beef with no problems. The ROK suffered direct and indirect losses of 3.7 trillion won (2.7 billion dollars) due to the protests triggered by MBC's "falsehood and fanaticism," according to Korea Economic Research Institute. SEOUL 00000683 003 OF 003 The Lee Administration was plagued by social instability and delayed reform of the public sector early in its term, and the global financial crisis has hit the country. Law enforcement authorities were overwhelmed by illegal protests and a unruly conditions were left unattended for almost three months in Seoul. Malicious Internet users blackmailed companies advertising in newspapers that criticized the protests, including The Dong-A Ilbo, threatening free speech and the market economy. Certain people who joined the candlelight protests were truly worried about public health and were disappointed by the government's poor negotiations over U.S. beef. The instigators, however, disguised themselves as protesters holding candles to protect public health and took advantage of innocent citizens. Last week, Dr. Ahn Se-yeong, a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University in Seoul, told a panel discussion focusing on the protests, "Only by getting to the bottom of the truth will we not make the same mistake again." Serious discussion and reflection on what happened a year ago are needed to prevent lying broadcasters and certain groups from instigating the public and fueling chaos. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) STEPHENS