SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 21, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000813 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 21, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo ROKG to Create Various Investment Funds to Absorb 811 Trillion Won Worth of Short-Term Funds Floating in Domestic Market JoongAng Ilbo With Korea's Labor-Management Relations Still among the World's "Most Rigid," Labor Unions Again Prepare for Massive Strike Dong-a Ilbo, SBS New Mt. Everest Route Conquered: ROK Alpinist Park Young-seok Breaks New Route Up Mt. Everest's Dangerous Southwest Face Hankook Ilbo Concerns about Some Media and Political Circles Trying to Turn "Trial-Tampering Justice Case" into an Ideological Confrontation Hankyoreh Shinmun ROKG "Bans All Mass Rallies in Urban Areas"... Constitution Article 21, which Guarantees Citizens' Freedom of Assembly, Is in Crisis Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun President's Friend Faces Second Grilling DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- The ROK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a special summit on Jeju Island June 1-2 to further strengthen ties and discuss cooperation on key issues, ranging from the financial crisis to climate change. (All) INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS -------------- On May 19, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her first foreign press conference since taking office, explained President Barack Obama's overall foreign policy but made no mention of North Korea. (Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) According to the Japanese media, President Obama's close friend and lawyer John Roos has informally been named as U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye, who had purportedly been considered a leading contender for the post, was apparently sidelined by Roos in the final stage of the personnel decision. (All) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -North Korea -------------- Most ROK media carried inside-page reports on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's May 19 first foreign press conference since taking office, in which she explained President Barack Obama's overall foreign policy, but made no mention of North Korea. Conservative Dong-a Ilbo headlined its story: "Secretary Clinton's 'Strategy of Neglect toward North Korea'?" Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun, in an article entitled "Clinton 'Silent' on North Korea," observed that Secretary Clinton's failure to mention North Korea (in her press conference) might indicate a changed U.S. stance on North Korea following the North's long-range rocket launch and reflect the prevailing view in the U.S. that it is better to have a cooling-off period with North Korea than to respond hastily to the North's SEOUL 00000813 002 OF 004 threats. Hankyoreh also cited some analysts who speculated that Secretary Clinton might have felt no need to mention North Korea because the Obama Administration is still reviewing its policy towards North Korea and there are no special pending issues regarding North Korea. (sic) All ROK TV networks quoted Secretary Clinton's statement at a Senate hearing that: "The U.S. will not give North Korea a penny of aid unless the North voluntarily returns to the Six-Party Talks." -New U.S. Auto Emission Standards -------------- Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "The problem for Korea is whether its automobile producers will be able to meet the (U.S.) requirement (to meet new emission and fuel efficiency standards) in time. This is not optional; it must be achieved. Should Korea fail to reach this target, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that Korea's auto industry will face bankruptcy. After all, we currently export 900,000 units to the U.S. per year. ... We need to embrace the new U.S. fuel efficiency standards as a stepping stone toward dealing with other challenges. We must begin an all-out effort to produce quality hybrid cars through the coordinated efforts of the government and the corporate sector." OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- HYBRID CHALLENGES AHEAD (JoongAng Ilbo, May 21, 2009, Page 38) The development of technologies for green cars - environment-friendly vehicles - has suddenly emerged as an urgent issue, sparked by U.S. President Barack Obama's recent announcement of new standards for fuel mileage and greenhouse-gas emissions. Obama said automakers must raise the average fuel efficiency of vehicles sold in the domestic market from the current 10.5 kilometers per liter (25 miles per gallon) to 15 kilometers (35.5 miles per gallon) by 2016. Starting that year, Korean car exporters must meet the requirements in order to sell in the U.S. market. The fuel efficiency requirement for passenger cars will be more stringent than that for trucks; passenger cars will be required to meet 16 kilometers per liter (39 miles per gallon) on average. The problem for Korea is whether its automobile producers will be able to meet the (U.S.) requirement (to meet new emission and fuel efficiency standards) in time. This is not optional; it must be achieved. Should Korea fail to reach this target, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that Korea's auto industry will face bankruptcy. After all, we currently export 900,000 units to the U.S. per year. Of some concern is the fact that experts say that meeting the new standards is not that simple. The best fuel efficiency rating for a Hyundai Motor vehicle is 12.5 kilometers per liter. In the next seven years, the fuel efficiency has to be improved by around 4 kilometers per liter. The carmaker may consider reducing vehicle weight but the ultimate solution, experts say, lies in developing green cars, including hybrids. The fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles produced by Japan's carmakers now stands at 30-40 kilometers per liter. If Korea develops similar vehicles and exports them to the U.S., along with ordinary gasoline-based vehicles, it won't be difficult for Korea to lower the average fuel efficiency of cars shipped there. However, Korea lags behind Japan, the U.S. and Europe. One problem is that Korea's first hybrid vehicle, set to go on sale here in July, has a fuel efficiency of 17 kilometers per liter, less than half that of its Japanese counterparts. In addition, the Korean hybrid will be based on liquefied petroleum gas, unlike in Japan, where gasoline is used, or in Germany, where they use diesel, because Japan and Germany hold patents for those technologies. And since the U.S. doesn't currently have LPG stations, exports of Korean hybrids to the U.S. do not seem feasible. SEOUL 00000813 003 OF 004 But Korea shouldn't give up just on account of these three reasons. We need to embrace the new U.S. fuel efficiency standards as a stepping stone toward dealing with other challenges. We must begin an all-out effort to produce quality hybrid cars through the coordinated efforts of the government and the corporate sector. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version except that we have corrected the calculations of the conversions of kilometers per liter to mpg.) FEATURES -------------- SECRETARY CLINTON'S "STRATEGY OF NEGLECT TOWARD NORTH KOREA"? (Dong-a Ilbo, May 21, Page 6) At the National Press Building in Washington D.C. on May 19, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held her first foreign press conference since taking office. The conference was held only for foreign reporters under the title, 'Global Press Conference.' In the conference, she was expected to explain President Barack Obama's foreign policy to the foreign media. Prior to the conference, State Department officials hinted that she will likely mention the North Korean issue. They speculated that Secretary Clinton will likely discuss the Obama Administration's countermeasures against North Korea which, since its long-range rocket launch, has been threatening a second nuclear test and has been saying that the Six-Party Talks are 'dead'. However, there was no mention of North Korea during the conference. In an opening statement, Secretary Clinton mentioned Afghanistan and Pakistan, Middle East Peace and Iraq as issues of particular interest on which the U.S. is focusing. She also talked about carrying out 'smart diplomacy' to build a candid and constructive relationship with Russia and China while strengthening ties with traditional allies. She said that the U.S. is taking a new approach to Iran, which is dubbed the axis of nuclear proliferation along with North Korea. But she did not make any remark with regards to North Korea. At an earlier House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on April 22, she did not mention North Korea even once. This stands in contrast to her remarks at the January confirmation hearing that she will continue to work to prevent nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran and stop the alleged transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Syria. It also marks a sharp departure from her efforts to bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks during her February tour of four Asian countries, including the ROK, by directly mentioning the succession issue in North Korea. Observers in Washington view Secretary Clinton's change in attitude as a reflection of a new strategy on the part of the U.S. According to observers, when Pyongyang appeared to be testing the Obama Administration, even though the U.S. has repeatedly expressed its willingness for dialogue with the North through its Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth, she sent the message back to Pyongyang that "We (the Obama Administration) are different from the previous administration." A diplomatic source said, "North Korea would be making a mistake if it expects the Obama Administration to be like the Democratic government in 2000, when Washington sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang and even considered a visit by President Bill Clinton." However, some observers note that it is difficult to consider Secretary Clinton's failure to mention North Korea as an indication of "intentional disregard." This is because the U.S. is concentrating all its attention to Afghanistan while, at the same time, dismissing the U.S. commander in Afghanistan and deploying an additional 20,000 troops to the region and, as a result, there is no room to focus on North Korea. SEOUL 00000813 004 OF 004 STANTON