President’s Friend Avoids Detention

Chun Shin-il CEO of SejoongnamoBy Park Si-soo Staff Reporter A court rejected a prosecution request made Tuesday for an arrest warrant for Chun Shin-il, CEO of Sejoongnam Tour and a close friend of President Lee Myung-bak. Chun has been accused of bribery and tax evasion between 2006 and 2007. Judge Kim Hyung-doo at the Seoul Central District Court, rejected the request at 10:30 p.m. after questioning Chun over the corruption allegations surrounding him. Chun has been accused of pressuring tax authorities to suspend an audit into Park Yeon-cha, the indicted CEO of shoemaker Taekwang, last year in return for monetary benefits worth about 700 million won ($560,000). He is also suspected of evading some 10 billion won in taxes by illegally handing over part of a stake in his company to his three children in April 2006 with the help of Park. Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Party (DP) filed a suit against senior prosecutors for making public unconfirmed information and allegations they uncovered during the investigation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. The party said it had filed the suit with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office against senior prosecutors, including Lee In-gyu, head of a central investigation unit of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Hong Man-pyo and Woo Byeong-woo. It said in a complaint that they intentionally leaked information they found during the investigation to the media before Roh was officially prosecuted, which is illegal. ``Roh denied all bribery allegations surrounding him. But they snubbed them and kept releasing one　-sided information to the media to corner him,'' it said. ``They even gave daily press briefings on the progress of their investigation.'' Under the law, those leaking investigation information before a suspect stands trial can face up to three years in prison or have their license suspended for up to five years. ``They should have announced information confirmed by both sides. They have to play by the rules and meet people's right to know in a sound way,'' said Kim Yoo-jung, DP spokesman. ``They also didn't respect Roh's right to be treated the same as an innocent person until indicted.'' pss@koreatimes.co.kr

그렇게도 가까이!

아마도 나는 너무나도 멀리서
행복을 찾아 헤매고 있나 봅니다.
행복은 마치 안경과 같습니다.
나는 안경을 보지 않습니다.
그렇지만 안경은 나의 코 위에 놓여 있습니다.
그렇게도 가까이!


- 쿠르트 호크의《나이 들지 않으면 알 수 없는 것들》중에서 -


* 바로 자기 코 위에 걸려있는 안경,
분신처럼 늘 가까이 있는데도 무심할 때가 많습니다.
내 집, 내 손과 발, 친구와 형제, 지금 만나는 사람,
모두가 그렇게도 가까이 있는 '안경'들입니다.
떠나거나 잃어버린 다음에야 비로소
그 소중함을 깨닫습니다.  
(2008년5월26일자 앙코르 메일)

- 1년 전 아침편지 -

요즘 많은 분들이 그렇듯
제 머리 속에도 생각의 파편이 무수히 많아,
1년 전 아침편지는 어떤 글이었을까 하고 다시 보았더니
'그렇게도 가까이!'라는 아침편지였습니다.

세월은 흘렀지만
다시 한 번 곱씹어 볼 만한 글이 아닐까 싶어,  
'1년 전 아침편지'를 다시 소개합니다.   

- '책읽고 밑줄긋기 대회' 1차 마감 -

제9회 책읽고 밑줄긋기 대회의
1차 마감이 오는 5월31일로 다가왔습니다.
준비하고 계신 분들은 아래 <제9회 책읽고 밑줄긋기대회> 버튼을
눌러 자세한 내용을 참고하셔서 마감 날짜 안에
보내 주시기 바랍니다.

2차 마감은 6월30일까지이니,
관심있는 분들의 많은 참여를 기대합니다.

길 위에서 나는 많은 길들 위에서 가장 가난한 소년이었고, 때로는 가장 큰 부자였다. 나는 길 위에서 새로운 사람들을 만나고, 새로운 이야기들을 듣고, 새로운 풍경들을 보면서 늘 행복했다. - 잭 캔필드 외의《행복한 여행자》중에서 - * 늘 다니던 길도 소중합니다. 그러나 새로운 길도 다녀봐야 합니다. 그래야 비로소 새로운 사람, 새로운 풍경과도 만나고 일생 일대의 상상력과 꿈을 발견할 수 있습니다. 새로운 길 위에서 새로운 것이 보입니다. 새 도전의 시작입니다. - '몽골에서 말타기 2008' 사진모음 - 오는 7월말 '몽골에서 말타기 2009' 여행을 앞두고 작년에 다녀온 '몽골에서 말타기 2008' 사진모음을 소개해 드립니다. 오늘부터 다섯 차례에 걸쳐 몽골 여행 사진을 시리즈로 올려드리겠습니다. 아래 <'몽골에서 말타기 2008' 사진모음>을 클릭하시면 첫번째 사진모음 '인천공항에서 몽골 헨티까지' 편을 보실 수 있습니다. '몽골에서 말타기'에 관심있는 분들은 한번씩 보시길 바랍니다. 오늘도 많이 웃으세요.

BOK Cautious Over Economic Recovery

Lee Seong-tae Bank of Korea chiefBy Kim Jae-kyoung Staff Reporter The nation's top central banker said Tuesday that the ong　oing economic recession will be ``deep'' and ``long,'' indicating that Asia's fourth-largest economy will not rebound anytime soon and may undergo a U-shaped recovery. The remarks came after Bank of Korea (BOK) chief Lee Seong-tae and his six board members froze its seven-day repurchase agreement rate at the current level of 2 percent for the third consecutive month. It has slashed the key rate by a combined 3.75 percentage points since last October. ``The economy is not walking backward but it is unlikely that economic activities will turn around soon,'' Lee told reporters following the monetary policy committee meeting. ``A high degree of uncertainty is surrounding the business situation given the existence of both upside and downside risks,'' he added. ``The downside risk to economic growth is expected to persist because of the sustained global slump and sluggish job market.'' He pointed out that the outlook for the exports environment still remains bleak due to sluggish economic activities in major economies, such as the United States and Europe, while private spending and facilities investment are still in the doldrums. ``The economy has managed to avert the worst-case scenario but things are unlikely to markedly improve in the second half,'' he said. Regarding the future course of monetary policy, Lee said that the central bank will maintain an accommodative policy stance for a while. His comments suggest that the credit easing cycle is over and the central bank will not cut rates again unless unexpected external shocks take place. His view is widely shared by market analysts, who forecast neither rate cuts nor rate hikes for the rest of this year. ``I think the BOK easing cycle is over and the next move is up, probably sometime in early 2010,'' ING Group senior Asia economist Tim Condon told The Korea Times. ``But BOK has room to cut in the event of an unanticipated negative shock,'' he added. Morgan Stanley analyst Sharon Lam echoed the view, saying, ``Korea's rate cut cycle may have been completed. We believe BOK will likely keep rate unchanged at 2 percent for the rest of this year until rate hike in the first quarter of next year. ``We do not completely rule out the possibility of a double dip if developed market demand disappoints again. Nevertheless, I believe the chance of a rate hike is still low this year.'' On growing concerns over excess short-term liquidity in the market, the governor said that although there is a need to keep a close watch on the money flow, now is not the time to absorb the money given current economic conditions. Market Force Company CEO James Rooney said that the Korean economy is still under a lot of stress and it may still be necessary for BOK to retain some flexibility in case it is necessary to further stimulate the economy. ``Re-absorbing excess liquidity is something that should be done cautiously and steadily to avoid creating any new dislocations in the financial markets and to avoid putting further stress on the fragile real economy,'' he said. ``From past experience, it is quite likely that there will be further 'after-shocks' to this global crisis later on this year, so let us not be too hasty in claiming that all the problems have been solved.'' kjk@koreatimes.co.kr

S. Korea, US Chart Contingency Plans on N. Korea

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States will complete their joint action plans to respond to any type of internal instability in North Korea this month, a government source said Wednesday. President Lee Myung-bak has recently directed the timeline for transforming a conceptual plan (CONPLAN) on North Korean contingency situations to a full-fledged operational plan (OPLAN), as tension has been heightened following North Korea's rocket launch and other provocative moves in recent months, the source said. ``President Lee asked the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) last week to finalize OPLAN 5029 by April 30 and prepare for various levels of internal instability in the North,'' the source told The Korea Times, requesting anonymity. In related news, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Walter Sharp confirmed that his troops were fully prepared for any North Korean contingency. Sharp said in a seminar in Seoul that his command was working with South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff on a plan for instability in North Korea. ``We are prepared for that. We have a good plan and we have had an exercise with it,'' said Sharp, who concurrently serves as chief of the CFC and United Nations Command The source said the plan will include specific courses of action to cope with a mass inflow of North Korean refugees, a civil war provoked by revolt or coup, South Korean hostages being held in North Korea and natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods. The plan will also outline measures to prevent Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from being smuggled out of the North if the regime becomes involved in a domestic crisis or suddenly collapses, he added. The move comes as South Korea is seriously considering more actively participating in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aimed at interdicting North Korean and other nations' ships suspected of carrying materials that could be used for WMD. The Seoul government is also frustrated at North Korea's detaining a South Korean worker at a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Gaeseong for more than three weeks, citing the worker's ``inappropriate behavior.'' An informed military source indicated that under OPLAN 5029, either South Korean or U.S. troops would lead stabilizing operations in North Korea, such as securing the North's WMD and nuclear facilities, in a flexible manner when contingency situations occur. ``There are various case-by-case scenarios in the plan,'' the source said. ``Both troops will conduct contingency operations jointly or independently in accordance with emerging situations.'' The move reflects a major turnaround from contingency strategies under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, which pursued greater independence from the United States. The liberal Roh administration wanted South Korean forces to lead most operations in the case of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, in line with the planned takeover of wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. military in 2012. The United States actually proposed in 2005 that CONPLAN 5029, drawn up in 1999, be developed to OPLAN 5029. But the Roh administration rejected the proposal, arguing the plan could infringe on the country's sovereignty and cause a full-scale war on the peninsula should the U.S. military conduct unilateral action against North Korea. Roh's policymakers also cited an alleged scenario under which the U.S. military could command South Korean military assets in the event of a North Korean collapse, to seize the North's key nuclear and military facilities. gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr