YOON OVERHAULS PRES. OFFICE

YOON OVERHAULS PRES. OFFICE

[Anchor Lead]
Eighteen months into his term, President Yoon Suk Yeol has implemented a major reorganization in his administration, introducing a new Policy Director role and shifting to a three-office structure. This strategic move is aimed at accelerating policy implementation with increased effectiveness.

[Pkg]
The incoming Office of the President due to be launched next week focuses on having three director-level officials. The post of policy director was reinstated after it was abolished to simplify the office at the start of the Yoon administration. Lee Kwan-seop, the current Senior Secretary for Policy Planning, was appointed the first director for policy.

[Soundbite]
Kim Dae-ki (Presidential Chief of Staff): He is knowledgeable in gov’t administration and is capable of navigating gov’t tasks with clear communication.

The Office of the President explained the reshuffle's objective was to better coordinate policies with the cabinet and the ruling party. The latest overhaul seems motivated by the difficulties in executing policies, namely over working hours and the college entrance exam. Newly appointed policy director Lee admitted that there were many shortcomings in the past 18 months and said his first priority is to stabilize inflation.

[Soundbite]
Lee Kwan-seop (New Policy Director for the President): The priority will be in stabilizing inflation using all policies possible.

Five out of six senior secretaries were replaced as they are expected to run in next year's general election. Han O-sub, the current state affairs monitoring secretary, was named senior secretary for political affairs, and former KBS journalist Hwang Sang-moo senior secretary for civil and social agenda. Presidential spokesman Lee Do-woon was promoted to senior press secretary while Monetary Policy Board director Park Chun-sup was appointed to senior economic affairs secretary and Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon to senior social policy secretary. The offices of the senior economic and social secretaries which used to be overseen by the chief of staff will now be placed under the presidential secretary for policy affairs. The newly established office of the senior secretary for science and technology is expected to be fully staffed by early next year at the latest. A major cabinet reshuffle is also expected soon, suggesting that President Yoon is looking to transform the government through extensive personnel reorganization ahead of his third year as president.

NEW PRES. OFFICE FOR SCIENCE

[Anchor Lead]
In a significant reshuffling of the presidential office, a notable development is the establishment of a new senior secretary position for science and technology. Initially planned to be completed early next year, this expansion is now confirmed to focus primarily on digital and biotechnological sectors.

[Pkg]
The newly created presidential secretariat office for science and technology will comprise four secretaries and some 20 staff members. The office will focus on digital and bio affairs. In the digital sector, it will work to maximize the government’s data utilization capabilities such as in hyperscale artificial intelligence models. This will lay the groundwork to realize the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s No. 1 campaign pledge of establishing a “Digital platform government.” In bio, the other of the two focus areas, in an effort to seek new growth engines other than chips, the office will strive to facilitate a new bio-economy through bio-healthcare and digital bio industries that combine AI and biotechnology. In view of the controversial R&D budget reduction and recent blackouts in administrative network systems, the new office will be led by a higher rank senior secretary and also expand its size in order to properly function as a control tower overseeing the whole science and technology field.

[Soundbite]
Yoon Suk Yeol (President (Nov. 27, Cabinet meeting)): We must overcome chronic low economic growth and invest in world-class innovative, ambitious research projects to attain future growth and prosperity.

According to a ruling party source, former Kwangwoon University president Yoo Ji-sang or current president of UNIST Lee Yong-hoon are being considered for the post of inaugural presidential secretary for science and technology.

ANTI-REPATRIATION RESOLUTION

[Anchor Lead]
The National Assembly has adopted a resolution urging China to immediately stop the forced repatriation of North Korean escapees. The resolution also calls on China to recognize them as refugees and help their transfer to South Korea or other third countries. It also urges active efforts by international organizations to stop the repatriations and for the South Korean government to conduct all-out diplomacy to address the issue.

KIM RULES OUT TALKS WITH U.S.

[Anchor Lead]
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has declared that the sovereign rights of an independent country can never be up for negotiation, and ruled out any talks with the U.S. on the matter. In the latest statement, coming about four months after her last remarks in July, Kim Yo-jong said the North must be equally prepared either for dialogue or confrontation, in reference to the U.S. In response, South Korea's unification ministry urged Pyongyang to wisely consider what is more conducive to the regime, dialogue or confrontation.

BOK KEEPS KEY RATE UNCHANGED

[Anchor Lead]
At the year's final Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the Bank of Korea has decided to keep the key interest rate steady at 3.5%. Despite market expectations of a rate cut, Governor Rhee Chang-yong emphasized maintaining a tight monetary policy until the inflation rate reaches its target. This stance could extend beyond six months, signaling the bank's commitment to inflation control over immediate rate reductions.

[Pkg]
The Monetary Policy Committee has unanimously agreed that the nation's key rate should be kept at the current level of 3.5 percent. The committee members agreed there is no need to raise the rate excessively amid the surge in household debt and external uncertainties. They added, the current austerity measures will continue for a sufficiently long time. In other words, they are more inclined to keep the key rate high for a long time rather than lower it in line with market expectations.

[Soundbite]
Rhee Chang-yong (Governor, Bank of Korea (Nov. 30)): Given the current situation, it could last more than 6 months. We’ll keep austerity measures in place until the inflation is close to the target level.

The Bank of Korea predicts the inflation rate to reach the target 2-percent range by late 2024 or early 2025. Therefore, experts believe the key rate could be cut only after the first half of next year.

[Soundbite]
Joo Won (Hyundai Research Institute): The sticky inflation period, when inflation remains persistently high, will likely begin next year, and cutting the key rate will not be easy.

The BOK has raised the inflation rate outlook for this year and next because it has exceeded initial expectations. The BOK has also slashed the nation's economic growth outlook from 2.2 percent to 2.1 percent.

[Soundbite]
Rhee Chang-yong (Governor, Bank of Korea (Nov. 30)): The growth rates of advanced nations are expected to plummet next year, whereas Korea’s is to stay above 2%, which is relatively not bad.

The BOK added lowering the key rate at this point in time would cause undesirable side effects as it would only further fuel housing prices and produce other adverse ripple effects.

TOXINS IN CAR CARE PRODUCTS

[Anchor Lead]
As the popularity of self-service car washes grows, so does the trend of purchasing car care products like detergents and air fresheners through overseas direct buying. However, there's rising concern, as several of these imported products contain substances banned in South Korea, including ingredients found in humidifier disinfectants.

[Pkg]
A self-service car wash in Seoul. Most customers use cleaning tools provided at car wash centers, but some purchase and bring their own detergents and coating products.

[Soundbite]
Yang Sung-hyun (Customer): I try to use various domestic and imported products. There is a lot of information on the internet.

Car care products that are only available overseas can be purchased easily on domestic online shopping websites. The Korea Consumer Agency has found four out of ten car care products sold overseas through direct purchase, including cleaning products and air fresheners, fail to meet domestic safety standards. Car care products must be sold in Korea after verifying their safety in line with the local standards, even when no such standards exist abroad. However, this requirement is often ignored. This car coating product purchased directly from the U.K. contains both methylisothiazolinone and chloromethylisothiazolinone, the two major materials of humidifier disinfectants. In Korea, they are both prohibited from use in spray-type consumer chemical products. When inhaled in certain concentrations, they can cause serious problems in the skin, respiratory organs and eyes.

[Soundbite]
Han Sung-jun (Korea Consumer Agency): Consumers are advised to check first if the products they want to purchase from overseas have a domestic safety mark.

The Korea Consumer Agency recommends that the sale of products that fail to meet safety standards be suspended. It will also provide relevant guidelines to online platforms.

LOCAL CHATGPT’S ADVANTAGE

[Anchor Lead]
In the wake of the advancement of ChatGPT, the generative AI industry is witnessing rapid growth, with South Korean IT companies accelerating their technological development. Particularly noteworthy is their proficiency in processing Korean language data. However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed.

[Pkg]
ChatGPT was asked to interpret this sentence. It means 'give me a lot of tangerines' in Jeju dialect, but ChatGPT provided a wrong answer. But the generative artificial intelligence developed by a local firm got it right.

[Soundbite]
Seong Nak-ho (Platform company (Aug.)): It’s a super-giant language model that studied Korean language immensely. So, it understands our language, culture and context very well.

Such homemade generative AI programs armed with accurate processing of Korean language data are expanding their presence in the market. Naver, LG, and KT unveiled their super-giant AI programs this year and are speeding up the development of AI programs customized to their work needs.

[Soundbite]
Chang Du-seong (Telecommunications company staff): Going beyond just answering questions, the AI program now extends to areas of expertise needed for work.

Furthermore, slated for release next year is an AI smartphone equipped with generative AI technology to enable real-time language translation. The more local companies come up with generative AI tailored to their needs, the more they can protect data sovereignty and become technologically independent. But they still need to address the challenges of data security or intellectual property issues.

[Soundbite]
Prof. Lee Seong-yeob (Korea University): There needs to be a discussion about how to promote the AI industry while protecting personal information or trade secrets.

However, the so-called AI Basic Act that can help nurture the industry and ensure stability is still pending at the National Assembly.

WEBTOON JOB FESTA

[Anchor Lead]
In what's being hailed as the golden age of webtoons, their growing prominence in the content industry has diversified related careers. The inaugural Webtoon Job Festa, a government initiative, presents a prime opportunity to assess the evolving landscape and future of webtoon-related professions.

[Pkg]
This movie about the survivors of a devastating earthquake in a city is based on the webtoon "Pleasant Outcast." Webtoons have emerged as a promising cultural genre thanks to bold imagination and romantic storylines.

[Soundbite]
Park Ha-na, Kim Yu-kyung, Park Su-jin (Bucheon residents): (I enjoy reading webtoons about surreal stories.) I find solace in webtoons when I am tired of the mundane.

The Webtoon Job Festa, held for the first time this year, showcases a wide array of webtoon-related professions, which now include not only movies or TV shows but games, animation films and advertisements.

[Soundbite]
Lim Dong-kwan (Student, Hansung University): Webtoon-related jobs are becoming more diverse and detailed. They include storyboard and adaptation writers, editors and others.

There are also services that link not only popular webtoons but also lesser known ones to certain readers.

[Soundbite]
Kim Ji-hoon (CEO, Condact): The bottom-90 percent of webtoons have fan bases and meeting their needs eventually correlates to profitability.

[Soundbite]
Jo Hyun-rae (President, Korea Creative Content Agency): As webtoons grow, they create new content of genres and connect different sectors. This festa helps find better jobs in those fields.

Experts say anyone interested in webtoons and creative enough can try their hand at writing webtoons regardless of age and gender. The rapidly growing webtoon industry is creating jobs for the future.