| |
|
Online real-name system to be repealed but steps
needed to hinder spread of false information
A law requiring contributors to use their real names on the Internet has been ruled unconstitutional. The eight-member Constitutional Court said in a unanimous ruling that the online real-name system restricts freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution and obstructs the formation of free opinion that forms the basis of democracy. ``In order to restrict freedom of expression, there should be a clear effect of public interest from the real-name system but it was not so in this case,’’ the court said. The top court also said it found no proof that the system helped curb libel or the spread of false rumors and abusive comments. ``Instead, the system caused Internet users to go to overseas sites in an apparent reverse discrimination against domestic operators.’’ The online real-name system took effect in 2007 amid a flurry of celebrity suicides, including actress Choi Jin-sil, motivated by malicious comments on Internet message boards. Under the real-name law, websites with over 100,000 daily visitors required users to submit their identity information. As other reasons for its ruling, the court also cited the possibility of personal information being leaked and the widespread use of social media such as Facebook, which are not subject to the real-name system. With the ruling, the real-name policy will be repealed so people can post comments on the Internet without revealing his or her identity. The court’s decision makes sense in that the regulation has been criticized for discouraging people from voicing dissent out of fear that they may be punished. Civic groups have accused the Lee Myung-bak administration of trying to stifle freedom of speech in cyberspace by stepping up the real-name system and criminally punishing those who post critical comments about the government and its policies. Portal operators and other Internet businesses welcomed the ruling, saying local websites have been at a disadvantage against foreign competitors due to the real-name obligation. In the aftermath of the ruling, however, it’s almost certain that malicious messages, insults and abusive comments will be resurgent and major online message boards will be plastered with false propaganda ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency, nearly 58 percent of Internet users were found to have disseminated false messages or unconfirmed information on the Internet. And more than half of the respondents were victimized because of such malicious comments. We support the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the belief that it is a significant step toward fostering freedom of speech but the malignant environment that necessitated the obligatory use of real names five years ago despite the controversy of unconstitutionality remains the same. Given that libelous and abusive messages are quick to spread and leave extensive damage, the government should do its utmost to uproot online predators that pollute our cyberspace under the cloak of anonymity after the abolition of the real-name system. More than anything else, penalties should be strengthened against online perpetrators. In particular, punitive damages will have to be introduced to make Internet users feel greater responsibility when posting messages. The government, for its part, should come up with measures to make portal operators step up monitoring of their websites. In addition, a system needs to be introduced to allow Internet users to request that Internet operators delete slanderous information. |
CONTACT (Click map below !!)
Turkey Branch Office : Europe & Middle East (Click map below !!)
Mobile Phone Cases (Click photo here !)
Mobile Phone Cases
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Freedom of expression
Parties agree on probe into Lee’s retirement home scandal
South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties
agreed Friday to allow a special prosecutor to look into alleged irregularities
in the now-scrapped project to build a retirement home for President Lee
Myung-bak.
The Saenuri Party and the Democratic United Party (DUP) said they have ironed out the details on opening a new investigation into allegations raised about the violation of real estate transaction laws and irregularities in the purchase of the land located in Naegok-dong in the southern outskirts of Seoul.
“Two special prosecutor candidates will be recommended by the DUP, with one being appointed by the president,” Rep. Moon Byeong-ho told reporters. He said the bill permitting the special prosecutor to conduct his probe will be passed next Thursday.
The opposition lawmaker said once a special counsel has been named, he or she can receive two assistant prosecutors and other support personnel.
The parties said to make certain that the investigations are conducted in an unbiased manner, no one who is a member of a political party or was a registered member in the past can be appointed.
Special prosecutors can conduct a probe for 30 days following a 10-day preparation period. The probe can be extended for an additional 15 days if more time is needed.
The scandal centers on Lee Si-hyung, the president’s 34-year-old son, and six others who were accused of playing a role in buying land for the retirement home using about 1 billion won ($881,800) of taxpayers’ money.
The project drew public criticism last year following revelations that Lee’s son and the presidential office jointly purchased the planned site in Seoul’s Naegok-dong for a total of 5.4 billion won.
The DUP, filed a complaint with prosecutors in October, accusing the seven people of bringing losses to the country in the purchase deal.
Despite the allegations raised, state prosecutors dropped all charges by claiming there was no evidence of illegal activities.
Prosecutors also said they found no proof that the president tried to buy land illegally using his son’s name.
(Yonhap News)
The Saenuri Party and the Democratic United Party (DUP) said they have ironed out the details on opening a new investigation into allegations raised about the violation of real estate transaction laws and irregularities in the purchase of the land located in Naegok-dong in the southern outskirts of Seoul.
“Two special prosecutor candidates will be recommended by the DUP, with one being appointed by the president,” Rep. Moon Byeong-ho told reporters. He said the bill permitting the special prosecutor to conduct his probe will be passed next Thursday.
The opposition lawmaker said once a special counsel has been named, he or she can receive two assistant prosecutors and other support personnel.
The parties said to make certain that the investigations are conducted in an unbiased manner, no one who is a member of a political party or was a registered member in the past can be appointed.
Special prosecutors can conduct a probe for 30 days following a 10-day preparation period. The probe can be extended for an additional 15 days if more time is needed.
The scandal centers on Lee Si-hyung, the president’s 34-year-old son, and six others who were accused of playing a role in buying land for the retirement home using about 1 billion won ($881,800) of taxpayers’ money.
The project drew public criticism last year following revelations that Lee’s son and the presidential office jointly purchased the planned site in Seoul’s Naegok-dong for a total of 5.4 billion won.
The DUP, filed a complaint with prosecutors in October, accusing the seven people of bringing losses to the country in the purchase deal.
Despite the allegations raised, state prosecutors dropped all charges by claiming there was no evidence of illegal activities.
Prosecutors also said they found no proof that the president tried to buy land illegally using his son’s name.
(Yonhap News)
Swansea hopes to seal Ki deal
 |
| Ki Sung-yueng (Yonhap News) |
Laudrup’s club have agreed a fee of around 6 million pounds with the Scottish champions for Ki, who helped his country win a bronze medal at the London Olympics.
The 23-year-old, who has yet to return to Celtic this season as he tries to secure a move, will travel to south Wales for a medical and contract talks and Laudrup expects the deal to be done before the weekend.
Former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Laudrup, whose side won 5-0 at QPR in the opening weekend of the Premier League season, believes Ki is a vital addition to Swansea’s squad after the loss of Wales international Joe Allen to Liverpool
“The contract is not signed yet. I would like to wait before everything is signed and sealed but the deal should go through. He is an important player for us to have in the midfield,” Laudrup said.
Spanish Super Cup
BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona rallied to beat Real Madrid 3-2 Thursday night in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, giving Tito Vilanova a victory in his first game as a head coach against Jose Mourinho.
Cristiano Ronaldo put the defending La Liga champions ahead in the 55th minute with a header off a corner kick, only for Pedro Rodriguez to tie the score one minute later for the Copa del Rey winner.
Lionel Messi converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute after Sergio Ramos tripped Andres Iniesta, and Iniesta fed Xavi Hernandez for a 3-1 lead in the 78th, delighting a crowd of 91,728.
Samsung loses U.S. patent case to Apple
 |
|
An Apple Inc.
iPad 2 and iPhone 4S smartphone, left, and a Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab
10.1 tablet computer and Galaxy S III smartphone are arranged for a photograph
in Seoul, South Korea, On Tuesday.
(Bloomberg)
|
After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad.
The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion. An appeal is expected.
Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.
During closing arguments, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny claimed Samsung was having a ``crisis of design'' after the 2007 launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device.
Samsung's lawyers countered that it was simply and legally giving consumers what they want: Smart phones with big screens. They said Samsung didn't violate any of Apple's patents and further alleged innovations claimed by Apple were actually created by other companies.
Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken Apple as the leading smartphone maker.
Samsung's Galaxy line of phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers.
Samsung conceded that Apple makes great products but said it doesn't have a monopoly on the design of rectangle phones with rounded corners that it claimed it created.
The trial came after each side filed a blizzard of legal motions and refused advisories by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to settle the dispute out of court.
Deliberations by the jury of seven men and two women began Wednesday.
Samsung has sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed uses its technology. McElhinny said those devices accounted for $8.16 billion in sales since June 2010.
Apple and Samsung combined account for more than half of global smartphone sales.
As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market.
From the beginning, legal experts and Wall Street analysts viewed Samsung as the underdog in the case. Apple's headquarters is a mere 10 miles from the courthouse, and jurors were picked from the heart of Silicon Valley where Apple's late founder Steve Jobs is a revered technological pioneer.
While the legal and technological issues were complex, patent expert Alexander I. Poltorak previously said the case would likely boil down to whether jurors believe Samsung's products look and feel almost identical to Apple's iPhone and iPad.
To overcome that challenge at trial, Samsung's lawyers argued that many of Apple's claims of innovation were either obvious concepts or ideas stolen from Sony Corp. and others. Experts called that line of argument a high-risk strategy because of Apple's reputation as an innovator.
Apple's lawyers argued there is almost no difference between Samsung products and those of Apple, and presented internal Samsung documents they said showed it copied Apple designs. Samsung lawyers insisted that several other companies and inventors had previously developed much of the Apple technology at issue.
The U.S. trial is just the latest skirmish between the two tech giants over product designs. Previous legal battles were fought in Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The U.S. case is one of some 50 lawsuits among myriad telecommunications companies jockeying for position in the burgeoning $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets.
A jury has ruled for Apple in its huge smartphone patent infringement case involving Samsung and ordered Samsung to pay $1.5 billion.
The verdict was reached Friday.
In its lawsuit filed last year, Apple Inc. had demanded $2.5 billion while accusing Samsung of ripping off the design technology of iPhones and iPads.
During closing arguments at the trial, Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven called that demand ridiculous and asked the jury to award Samsung $399 million after claiming Apple used Samsung Electronics Co. technology without proper compensation.
The two companies lead the $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets. They are enmeshed in similar lawsuits in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. (AP)
K-pop’s SNS explosion
Going viral brings new fans of
Korean pop across the world
K-pop used to have a certain formula to be successful overseas. Korean pop artists had to be armed with youth, good looks and cool dance moves, and have plenty of TV exposure through variety shows. Not anymore. Going viral is the new rule.
Not-so-young, not-so-good-looking Korean rapper and singer Psy, whose horse-riding dance is more hilarious than cool, earned instant international fame when his latest music video went viral in recent weeks. “Gangnam Style” has amassed over 50 million views on YouTube so far, just over a month after it was put on the video-sharing site on July 15.
The 34-year-old artist’s video was spotted by U.S. pop idol Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, a prolific Twitter user with more than 1.8 million followers. His tweeting of Psy’s YouTube video link, saying “How did I not sign this guy,” led to “retweets” by fans of Justin Bieber, whose Twitter account has more than 26 million followers. U.S. pop singer Katy Perry joined the latest Psy craze, tweeting “Help, I’m in a Gangnam style K hole” on Tuesday.
By country, 47 percent of the 50 million views of “Gangnam Style” came from the U.S., 7 percent from the U.K., 6.8 percent from Canada and 4 percent from Korea, according to analysis by Park Han-woo, associate professor at Yeungnam University’s media and communication department.
Psy’s global success shows that going viral on social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter has become “a must” for K-pop artists looking for international exposure, industry watchers said.
With the fast international growth of K-pop, YouTube created an official K-pop channel under its music category in December.
Entertainment agencies cite “instant promotion effects with no cost” as the greatest strength of using YouTube as their K-pop overseas marketing tool.
“Social media tools allow us to save time and money for traditional PR events ― which can be redirected to more investment in new K-pop songs and artists,” said Kim Eun-a, spokesperson for S.M. Entertainment.
On Aug. 14, YouTube’s Twitter page officially tweeted to its 15.4 million followers that K-pop boy band Super Junior has released its latest music video “Spy,” offering a link to the music video page.
“Attention K-pop fans: Super Junior is back with a new hit video and a license to kill (on the dance floor). http://goo.gl/Sv3yM,” the tweet said.
Super Junior’s “Spy” music video generated more than 4 million clicks in just nine days after it was first put on YouTube on Aug. 12.
Facebook’s power is formidable as well.
Best-known K-pop girl band Girls’ Generation has 3.4 million likes on its Facebook page, boy band Big Bang 3.5 million likes, girl group 2NE1 2.9 million likes and boy band SHINee 2.8 million likes, as of Tuesday.
Big Bang’s Facebook status update on July 15 ― noting that its member G-Dragon is featured on Psy’s new album, on the first track “Blue Flog” ― helped Psy promote his new album to Big Bang’s multitude of Facebook fans.
2NE1 was interviewed on “Facebook Live” in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, Korea time, mainly talking with their fans about their first overseas concert held in New York on Aug. 17 that attracted about 7,000 concertgoers.
The Facebook interview, a rare event for a Korean act, attracted attention to their next show at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Friday.
By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)
K-pop used to have a certain formula to be successful overseas. Korean pop artists had to be armed with youth, good looks and cool dance moves, and have plenty of TV exposure through variety shows. Not anymore. Going viral is the new rule.
Not-so-young, not-so-good-looking Korean rapper and singer Psy, whose horse-riding dance is more hilarious than cool, earned instant international fame when his latest music video went viral in recent weeks. “Gangnam Style” has amassed over 50 million views on YouTube so far, just over a month after it was put on the video-sharing site on July 15.
 |
| Screen captures of K-pop music videos on YouTube show (from top left, clockwise) Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” Super Junior’s “Spy,” Girls’ Generation’s “Paparazzi” and 2NE1’s “I Love You.” (YouTube) |
The 34-year-old artist’s video was spotted by U.S. pop idol Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, a prolific Twitter user with more than 1.8 million followers. His tweeting of Psy’s YouTube video link, saying “How did I not sign this guy,” led to “retweets” by fans of Justin Bieber, whose Twitter account has more than 26 million followers. U.S. pop singer Katy Perry joined the latest Psy craze, tweeting “Help, I’m in a Gangnam style K hole” on Tuesday.
By country, 47 percent of the 50 million views of “Gangnam Style” came from the U.S., 7 percent from the U.K., 6.8 percent from Canada and 4 percent from Korea, according to analysis by Park Han-woo, associate professor at Yeungnam University’s media and communication department.
Psy’s global success shows that going viral on social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter has become “a must” for K-pop artists looking for international exposure, industry watchers said.
With the fast international growth of K-pop, YouTube created an official K-pop channel under its music category in December.
Entertainment agencies cite “instant promotion effects with no cost” as the greatest strength of using YouTube as their K-pop overseas marketing tool.
“Social media tools allow us to save time and money for traditional PR events ― which can be redirected to more investment in new K-pop songs and artists,” said Kim Eun-a, spokesperson for S.M. Entertainment.
On Aug. 14, YouTube’s Twitter page officially tweeted to its 15.4 million followers that K-pop boy band Super Junior has released its latest music video “Spy,” offering a link to the music video page.
“Attention K-pop fans: Super Junior is back with a new hit video and a license to kill (on the dance floor). http://goo.gl/Sv3yM,” the tweet said.
Super Junior’s “Spy” music video generated more than 4 million clicks in just nine days after it was first put on YouTube on Aug. 12.
Facebook’s power is formidable as well.
Best-known K-pop girl band Girls’ Generation has 3.4 million likes on its Facebook page, boy band Big Bang 3.5 million likes, girl group 2NE1 2.9 million likes and boy band SHINee 2.8 million likes, as of Tuesday.
Big Bang’s Facebook status update on July 15 ― noting that its member G-Dragon is featured on Psy’s new album, on the first track “Blue Flog” ― helped Psy promote his new album to Big Bang’s multitude of Facebook fans.
2NE1 was interviewed on “Facebook Live” in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, Korea time, mainly talking with their fans about their first overseas concert held in New York on Aug. 17 that attracted about 7,000 concertgoers.
The Facebook interview, a rare event for a Korean act, attracted attention to their next show at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Friday.
By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Kakao Game Center an instant hit
Kakao, the creator of Korea’s most-used
mobile messenger Kakao Talk, is seeing rapid growth in its mobile gaming
platform business.
Since the launch of Kakao Game Center on July 30, two games released via Kakao’s gaming platform have topped the charts on Google Play, an app market for Android-based smartphone users.
“Anipang,” developed by Kakao’s strategic partner Sundaytoz, has become the top grossing game in Korea, edging over the popular “Rule the Sky” by JCE, part of Korea’s biggest gamer Nexon, and even “Angry Birds” by Rovio.
Anipang, a puzzle game featuring animals such as rabbits and cats, recorded daily active user numbers of 1 million in 15 days since its release, and increased to over 3 million as of today.
The other game, “Viking Island,” by WeMade has also become a hit, ranking fourth in terms of gross on Google Play. WeMade formed a strategic partnership with Kakao through an equity investment in the mobile messenger.
The success of the games is going to further help establish its gaming platform as its sustainable business model for the company, said a spokeswoman for Kakao.
“The popularity of the games ‘channeled’ through the platform has proven that the company has developed a profit model,” she said.
Analysts also said that the company was likely to see further momentum.
“Kakao’s Game Center has proven to be an effective game channel where the market can expect to see Kakao maximize synergy with its partners such as WeMade,” said Sung Jong-hwa, an analyst of E-Trade Securities.
Kakao has long been viewed externally as a company without a solid business model given that its mobile messenger, used by over 50 million people worldwide, is free.
However, the spokeswoman said its gaming platform will help change this perception.
She noted that Kakao currently has partnerships with seven game developers.
By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)
Since the launch of Kakao Game Center on July 30, two games released via Kakao’s gaming platform have topped the charts on Google Play, an app market for Android-based smartphone users.
“Anipang,” developed by Kakao’s strategic partner Sundaytoz, has become the top grossing game in Korea, edging over the popular “Rule the Sky” by JCE, part of Korea’s biggest gamer Nexon, and even “Angry Birds” by Rovio.
Anipang, a puzzle game featuring animals such as rabbits and cats, recorded daily active user numbers of 1 million in 15 days since its release, and increased to over 3 million as of today.
The other game, “Viking Island,” by WeMade has also become a hit, ranking fourth in terms of gross on Google Play. WeMade formed a strategic partnership with Kakao through an equity investment in the mobile messenger.
The success of the games is going to further help establish its gaming platform as its sustainable business model for the company, said a spokeswoman for Kakao.
“The popularity of the games ‘channeled’ through the platform has proven that the company has developed a profit model,” she said.
Analysts also said that the company was likely to see further momentum.
“Kakao’s Game Center has proven to be an effective game channel where the market can expect to see Kakao maximize synergy with its partners such as WeMade,” said Sung Jong-hwa, an analyst of E-Trade Securities.
Kakao has long been viewed externally as a company without a solid business model given that its mobile messenger, used by over 50 million people worldwide, is free.
However, the spokeswoman said its gaming platform will help change this perception.
She noted that Kakao currently has partnerships with seven game developers.
By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)
Korea awards first damage from EU FTA
South Korea has recognized damages from the country's bilateral free trade
agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) for the first time since the trade
deal went into effect last year, the government said Thursday.
The decision came at a meeting on Wednesday, in which the National Trade Commission accepted a claim from a local pork processing company that it suffered damages from the growing market share of European pork in the country.
In 2010, market shares of South Korean and European pork were at 84.76 percent and 5.65 percent, respectively. South Korean products, however, shrank to 70.98 percent at the end of last year, shortly after the Korea-EU FTA went into effect in July of 2011, according to the commission. The market share of European pork grew to 12.22 percent over the cited period.
With the recognition of damages from the FTA, the pork company will be subject to various financial and administrative support designed to help boost its sales and exports.
The case marks the first time South Korea recognized damages from the free trade pact with the EU.
The trade commission is already reviewing three other cases, including a claim from a brewery company that its sales of traditional Korean wine dipped significantly amid growing imports of European wine, according to officials at the commission. (Yonhap News)
<한글 기사>
"한•EU FTA로 무역피해입었다" 정부 인정
무역조정 지원기업 지정 예정..유사신청 이어질 듯
한국과 유럽연합(EU)의 자유무역협정(FTA)으로 국내 업체가 피해를 봤다는 정부의 첫 판정이 나왔다.
지식경제부 무역위원회(현정택 위원장)는 22일 306차 무역위원회를 열어 전북 소재 돈육업체 A사가 한•EU FTA로 돼지고기 수입이 늘어 무역 피해를 본 것이 인정 된다고 결정했다.
위원회는 FTA 발효 후 품질은 비슷하지만 가격이 싼 EU 산 돼지고기의 시장 점유율이 높아진 게 A사의 매출액과 영업이익 감소에 영향을 줬다고 판단했다.
2010년 한국산과 EU 산 돼지고기의 국내 시장 점유율은 84.76％와 5.65％였는데 작년에 각각 70.98％와 12.22％로 변동했다.
지식경제부는 무역조정지원제도에 따라 A사를 조만간 무역조정 지원기업으로 지정해 지원할 예정이다.
무역조정지원제도는 FTA 상대국으로부터 수입이 급증해 심각한 손해를 입은 기업의 구조조정을 위해 융자•컨설팅 등을 지원하는 제도다.
6개월 이상 심각한 피해를 보거나 그럴 것이 확실하고 동종 또는 직접 경쟁하는 상품•서비스의 수입 증가가 피해 원인일 때 무역조정지원기업으로 인정한다.
이번 판단은 한•EU FTA에 대한 무역조정 신청의 첫 결론이며 FTA로 경영에 타격을 입은 업체의 유사한 신청이 이어지는 계기가 될 것으로 보인다.
위원회는 와인 수입으로 피해를 봤다고 주장하는 복분자주 업체를 비롯해 한•E U FTA로 피해를 봤다고 주장하는 업체의 신청 3건을 더 심사 중이다.
위원회는 지난달 무역조정 지원 기준이 완화됨에 따라 FTA로 피해를 본 기업의 신청이 이어질 것으로 예상하고 있다.
The decision came at a meeting on Wednesday, in which the National Trade Commission accepted a claim from a local pork processing company that it suffered damages from the growing market share of European pork in the country.
In 2010, market shares of South Korean and European pork were at 84.76 percent and 5.65 percent, respectively. South Korean products, however, shrank to 70.98 percent at the end of last year, shortly after the Korea-EU FTA went into effect in July of 2011, according to the commission. The market share of European pork grew to 12.22 percent over the cited period.
With the recognition of damages from the FTA, the pork company will be subject to various financial and administrative support designed to help boost its sales and exports.
The case marks the first time South Korea recognized damages from the free trade pact with the EU.
The trade commission is already reviewing three other cases, including a claim from a brewery company that its sales of traditional Korean wine dipped significantly amid growing imports of European wine, according to officials at the commission. (Yonhap News)
<한글 기사>
"한•EU FTA로 무역피해입었다" 정부 인정
무역조정 지원기업 지정 예정..유사신청 이어질 듯
한국과 유럽연합(EU)의 자유무역협정(FTA)으로 국내 업체가 피해를 봤다는 정부의 첫 판정이 나왔다.
지식경제부 무역위원회(현정택 위원장)는 22일 306차 무역위원회를 열어 전북 소재 돈육업체 A사가 한•EU FTA로 돼지고기 수입이 늘어 무역 피해를 본 것이 인정 된다고 결정했다.
위원회는 FTA 발효 후 품질은 비슷하지만 가격이 싼 EU 산 돼지고기의 시장 점유율이 높아진 게 A사의 매출액과 영업이익 감소에 영향을 줬다고 판단했다.
2010년 한국산과 EU 산 돼지고기의 국내 시장 점유율은 84.76％와 5.65％였는데 작년에 각각 70.98％와 12.22％로 변동했다.
지식경제부는 무역조정지원제도에 따라 A사를 조만간 무역조정 지원기업으로 지정해 지원할 예정이다.
무역조정지원제도는 FTA 상대국으로부터 수입이 급증해 심각한 손해를 입은 기업의 구조조정을 위해 융자•컨설팅 등을 지원하는 제도다.
6개월 이상 심각한 피해를 보거나 그럴 것이 확실하고 동종 또는 직접 경쟁하는 상품•서비스의 수입 증가가 피해 원인일 때 무역조정지원기업으로 인정한다.
이번 판단은 한•EU FTA에 대한 무역조정 신청의 첫 결론이며 FTA로 경영에 타격을 입은 업체의 유사한 신청이 이어지는 계기가 될 것으로 보인다.
위원회는 와인 수입으로 피해를 봤다고 주장하는 복분자주 업체를 비롯해 한•E U FTA로 피해를 봤다고 주장하는 업체의 신청 3건을 더 심사 중이다.
위원회는 지난달 무역조정 지원 기준이 완화됨에 따라 FTA로 피해를 본 기업의 신청이 이어질 것으로 예상하고 있다.
KARA’s ‘Pandora’ beats Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’
On Thursday, “Pandora” beat Psy’s sensational “Gangnam Style” and ranked first on the real-time charts of music sites such as MelOn, Olleh Music, Bugs, and Naver Music.
KARA presented the showcase of their new mini album on Wednesday at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul. The girl group’s performance of the song will air for the first time on KBS Music Bank on Friday.
The choreography of “Pandora” is said to display a more mature and womanly side of KARA, compared to the group’s previous dances.
By Jennifer Ryu (ryu_jenn@hotmail.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)