CONTACT (Click map below !!)
Turkey Branch Office : Europe & Middle East (Click map below !!)
Mobile Phone Cases (Click photo here !)
Mobile Phone Cases
Friday, January 23, 2015
S. Korea's Q4 economic growth slowest in 2 yrs
The South Korean economy expanded at the slowest pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter, central bank data showed Friday, raising concerns over faltering growth.
Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.4 percent during the October-December period, sharply decelerating from the 0.9 percent on-quarter growth in the July-September period, according to the Bank of Korea. The figures are seasonally adjusted.
The fourth-quarter expansion marks the lowest on a quarterly basis since the 0.4 percent gain in the third quarter of 2012.
The central bank attributed the lackluster growth mainly to flagging exports.
Exports of goods slipped 0.6 percent in the fourth quater from three months earlier, falling for a second straight quarter, according to the central bank. Exports are the country's key driving force for growth.
"But with slowing shipments to China, which accounts for roughly 26 percent of all exports, overall growth was sluggish," said Jung Yung-taek, the director general of the BOK's economic statistics division.
Jung said the central bank is closely monitoring as key industries, with the exception of semiconductors, are "being quite challenged."
The figure is in line with an earlier estimate by BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol. He estimated growth to have slowed down in the fourth quarter, citing "exceptional" factors, such as "a significant fall in consumption expenditures of telecommunications products, as well as a fall in infrastructure investment due to insufficient tax revenue."
The BOK's Jung, however, said while the impact of a tightened mobile subsidy law was significant in October, the size of its impact was not as big as expected and is seen to have recovered to a normal level.
From a year earlier, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 2.7 percent in the three-month period, marking the slowest growth since the second quarter of 2013.
On an annual basis, the gross domestic product increased 3.3 percent on-year, picking up from a 3 percent growth posted in 2013. The figure is slightly lower than the central bank's growth forecast of 3.4 percent for this year.
By sector, private spending rose 0.5 percent on-quarter during the October-December period, slowing from a 1 percent growth three months earlier.
Government spending growth slowed to 0.5 percent, compared with a 2.3 percent increase in the third quarter. Construction investment dropped 9.2 percent on-quarter as government spending waned.
Exports, the country's key growth engine, slipped 0.3 percent on-quarter, shrinking for a second straight quarter. Imports also fell for a second consecutive quarter to 0.6 percent as oil prices continued to slide.
The data comes roughly a week after the central bank's sharp downward revision of its growth outlook spurred worries over the course of the South Korean economy.
The BOK governor said, however, the move does not reflect pessimism in its outlook for the economy.
"I do realize that some took it as a mild surprise that we had undertaken a downward revision," he said in a Jan. 22 press briefing. "Let me reiterate that this is because of the exceptional factors in the fourth quarter of last year, and we do not have a pessimistic or grim view of the Korean economic outlook for this year," said Lee, forecasting that the economy will post a 1 percent quarter-on-quarter growth this year.
Analysts said improvements are unlikely until the second half.
"There are many downside risk factors in the first half as exports are expected to further worsen. Perhaps, the figures will be met in the second half when falling oil prices will start to have positive effects," said Lee Seung-hoon, an economist at Samsung Securities. (Yonhap)
Japan agonizes over ways to free IS hostages
TOKYO -- Lacking strong clout and diplomatic reach in the Middle East, Japan scrambled Thursday for ways to secure the release of two hostages held by the Islamic State group, as two people with contacts there offered to try to negotiate.
The militants threatened in a video message to kill the hostages within 72 hours unless they receive $200 million. Based on the video's release time, that deadline would expire sometime Friday.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that Japan was trying all possible ways to reach those holding the hostages _ 47-year-old freelance journalist Kenji Goto, and 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, the founder of a private security company.
Japan had not received any message from IS since the release of the video, he said.
The crisis is a test of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to expand Japan's role in international affairs and raise the profile of its military. Tokyo lacks strong diplomatic connections in the Middle East, and Japanese diplomats left Syria as the civil war there escalated, adding to the difficulty of contacting the group holding the hostages.
So far, the only initiative made public was an offer by Ko Nakata, an expert on Islamic law and former professor at Kyoto's Doshisha University.
Appearing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Nakata, who is also a former Islamic specialist at the Japanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, read a message in Japanese and Arabic.
``Seventy-two hours is just too short. Please wait just a bit longer, and do not try to take action immediately,'' he said, addressing the militants. ``If there is room to talk, I'm ready to go and negotiate.''
Nakata urged the Islamic State to ``explain the group's plan to the Japanese government, and wait for a counter proposal from our side.'' He also proposed offering $200 million in humanitarian aid to refugees and residents of areas controlled by the Islamic State, through the Red Crescent Society.
``The Red Crescent Society is operating under the Islamic State's control. Why don't we seek Turkey's mediation and give the money for the people affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria? I believe this could be a rational, acceptable option,'' he said.
Kosuke Tsuneoka, a Japanese journalist who was held hostage in Afghanistan in 2010, also offered to reach out to the Islamic State, with Nakata, to try to save the hostages.
It is unclear if the two would be allowed to go to Syria, since they have been questioned by Japan's security police on suspicion of trying to help a Japanese college student visit Syria to fight with the Islamic State group.
Nakata said his contact was the Islamic State group's current spokesman, whom he identified as Umar Grabar. But he said police surveillance and harassment was preventing communicationwith their Islamic State contacts.
Asked if Japan would consider the offer by Tsuneoka and Nakata to intercede, Suga said Tokyo was ``prepared to consider all possible ways to save the two hostages.''
Abe returned from a six-day Middle East tour on Wednesday, vowing not to give in to terrorism. He has limited choices, among them to openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syria since Japan's military operates only in a self-defense capacity at home.
Japanese media have reported that Goto's wife received an email in December asking for more than 2 billion yen ($17 million) in ransom, but not threatening to kill Goto.
It is unclear how many times Japan has paid ransom in past hostage cases. The only confirmed case was in Kyrgyzstan in 1999.
Abe and other Japanese officials have not said directly whether Japan would pay ransom _ a decision fraught with implications both for Japan and other countries.
That issue was raised by British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon on Wednesday in talks in London among the British and Japanese foreign and defense ministers.
He ``advised that we should always keep in mind what happens next as a result of our acts. He advised there will be consequences if we do not act strongly now,'' Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters in London.
Japan has sought and received offers of help from many countries, including Jordan, where an envoy sent by Abe, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama, met with King Abdullah II.
``Time is very short and we are very worried,'' Nakayama told reporters after his meeting with the king.
During his Mideast tour, Abe pledged $200 million in aid for refugees displaced by the fighting. In its ransom video, the Islamic State group accused Abe of providing money to kill Muslim women and children and destroy homes, a charge the Japanese government rejects.
The current crisis could make the public more wary of greater involvement in the Middle East and other global crises, based on past experience.
In 2004, militants captured a Japanese backpacker, demanding that Japan pull its troops out of humanitarian projects in southern Iraq. The government refused, and the backpacker was found beheaded. (AP)
The militants threatened in a video message to kill the hostages within 72 hours unless they receive $200 million. Based on the video's release time, that deadline would expire sometime Friday.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that Japan was trying all possible ways to reach those holding the hostages _ 47-year-old freelance journalist Kenji Goto, and 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, the founder of a private security company.
Japan had not received any message from IS since the release of the video, he said.
The crisis is a test of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to expand Japan's role in international affairs and raise the profile of its military. Tokyo lacks strong diplomatic connections in the Middle East, and Japanese diplomats left Syria as the civil war there escalated, adding to the difficulty of contacting the group holding the hostages.
 |
| Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reacts at a meeting on two Japanese hostages taken by the Islamic State group, at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap) |
So far, the only initiative made public was an offer by Ko Nakata, an expert on Islamic law and former professor at Kyoto's Doshisha University.
Appearing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Nakata, who is also a former Islamic specialist at the Japanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, read a message in Japanese and Arabic.
``Seventy-two hours is just too short. Please wait just a bit longer, and do not try to take action immediately,'' he said, addressing the militants. ``If there is room to talk, I'm ready to go and negotiate.''
Nakata urged the Islamic State to ``explain the group's plan to the Japanese government, and wait for a counter proposal from our side.'' He also proposed offering $200 million in humanitarian aid to refugees and residents of areas controlled by the Islamic State, through the Red Crescent Society.
``The Red Crescent Society is operating under the Islamic State's control. Why don't we seek Turkey's mediation and give the money for the people affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria? I believe this could be a rational, acceptable option,'' he said.
Kosuke Tsuneoka, a Japanese journalist who was held hostage in Afghanistan in 2010, also offered to reach out to the Islamic State, with Nakata, to try to save the hostages.
It is unclear if the two would be allowed to go to Syria, since they have been questioned by Japan's security police on suspicion of trying to help a Japanese college student visit Syria to fight with the Islamic State group.
Nakata said his contact was the Islamic State group's current spokesman, whom he identified as Umar Grabar. But he said police surveillance and harassment was preventing communicationwith their Islamic State contacts.
Asked if Japan would consider the offer by Tsuneoka and Nakata to intercede, Suga said Tokyo was ``prepared to consider all possible ways to save the two hostages.''
Abe returned from a six-day Middle East tour on Wednesday, vowing not to give in to terrorism. He has limited choices, among them to openly pay the extremists or ask an ally like the United States to attempt a risky rescue inside Syria since Japan's military operates only in a self-defense capacity at home.
Japanese media have reported that Goto's wife received an email in December asking for more than 2 billion yen ($17 million) in ransom, but not threatening to kill Goto.
It is unclear how many times Japan has paid ransom in past hostage cases. The only confirmed case was in Kyrgyzstan in 1999.
Abe and other Japanese officials have not said directly whether Japan would pay ransom _ a decision fraught with implications both for Japan and other countries.
That issue was raised by British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon on Wednesday in talks in London among the British and Japanese foreign and defense ministers.
He ``advised that we should always keep in mind what happens next as a result of our acts. He advised there will be consequences if we do not act strongly now,'' Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters in London.
Japan has sought and received offers of help from many countries, including Jordan, where an envoy sent by Abe, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama, met with King Abdullah II.
``Time is very short and we are very worried,'' Nakayama told reporters after his meeting with the king.
During his Mideast tour, Abe pledged $200 million in aid for refugees displaced by the fighting. In its ransom video, the Islamic State group accused Abe of providing money to kill Muslim women and children and destroy homes, a charge the Japanese government rejects.
The current crisis could make the public more wary of greater involvement in the Middle East and other global crises, based on past experience.
In 2004, militants captured a Japanese backpacker, demanding that Japan pull its troops out of humanitarian projects in southern Iraq. The government refused, and the backpacker was found beheaded. (AP)
LG’s smartphone sales up 25% on-year in 2014
South Korea’s No. 2 tech giant, LG Electronics is estimated to have posted a 25 percent gain in its smartphone sales last year from a year earlier, industry sources said Thursday, taking a step closer to claiming the third spot in the global market.
The combined smartphone shipment of LG Electronics is estimated at 59.6 million units for 2014, up from the 47.6 million units posted a year earlier, the sources said. Industry watchers earlier expected its sales would hover around 60 million units last year.
LG entered the smartphone market dominated by its bigger home-grown rival Samsung Electronics Co. in 2009 as a latecomer.
LG shipped 20 million units of smartphones worldwide in 2011 and gradually expanded to 26.3 million units in 2012, data by market tracker Strategy Analytics showed.
Industry watchers said LG’s robust sales performance is attributable to the rising popularity of the G lineup, which included the flagship G3, as well as its low-end editions: the G3 Stylus and the G3 Beat.
The company also released its first flip-style smartphone last year that comes with a button that directly connects to South Korea’s top free mobile messenger, Kakao Talk, powered by Daum Kakao Corp., in a bid to grab a wider generation of users.
LG Electronics, which took the fourth spot in terms of market share with China-based Huawei Technologies Co., however, also maintained its position in the third quarter of 2014, this time defeated by Xiaomi Inc., another Chinese rival, the Strategy Analytics data also showed.
Industry watchers said the slowed growth of Chinese players expected for 2015, however, will cast a brighter outlook for LG‘s performance this year.
“As Xiaomi and other Chinese players will see slowed earnings in the first half of this year, LG’s smartphone shares and profitability will improve,” an industry insider said.
LG is set to commence the sales of the high-end G Flex 2 at home later this month, beginning its full-fledged push to catch up rivals in 2015.
The G Flex 2, featuring a 5.5-inch display that curves inward from top to bottom, is slightly smaller than its 6-inch predecessor. The device was first showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. (Yonhap)
The combined smartphone shipment of LG Electronics is estimated at 59.6 million units for 2014, up from the 47.6 million units posted a year earlier, the sources said. Industry watchers earlier expected its sales would hover around 60 million units last year.
LG entered the smartphone market dominated by its bigger home-grown rival Samsung Electronics Co. in 2009 as a latecomer.
LG shipped 20 million units of smartphones worldwide in 2011 and gradually expanded to 26.3 million units in 2012, data by market tracker Strategy Analytics showed.
Industry watchers said LG’s robust sales performance is attributable to the rising popularity of the G lineup, which included the flagship G3, as well as its low-end editions: the G3 Stylus and the G3 Beat.
The company also released its first flip-style smartphone last year that comes with a button that directly connects to South Korea’s top free mobile messenger, Kakao Talk, powered by Daum Kakao Corp., in a bid to grab a wider generation of users.
LG Electronics, which took the fourth spot in terms of market share with China-based Huawei Technologies Co., however, also maintained its position in the third quarter of 2014, this time defeated by Xiaomi Inc., another Chinese rival, the Strategy Analytics data also showed.
Industry watchers said the slowed growth of Chinese players expected for 2015, however, will cast a brighter outlook for LG‘s performance this year.
“As Xiaomi and other Chinese players will see slowed earnings in the first half of this year, LG’s smartphone shares and profitability will improve,” an industry insider said.
LG is set to commence the sales of the high-end G Flex 2 at home later this month, beginning its full-fledged push to catch up rivals in 2015.
The G Flex 2, featuring a 5.5-inch display that curves inward from top to bottom, is slightly smaller than its 6-inch predecessor. The device was first showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. (Yonhap)
Samsung starts sales of low-end smartphone Galaxy A5
South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will start sales of the Galaxy A5, the latest in its low-end smartphone lineup, at home Thursday, as it seeks to expand its footing in the low-end sector.
The 5-inch Galaxy A5, equipped with a metal frame, will cost around 484,000 won ($445.26) at home, the company said. It is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with a 2,300 mAh battery capacity.
Samsung said its 5-megapixel front camera also allows users to take better selfies, as the device comes with various photo-related features, allowing them to take pictures by folding and unfolding hands. It is also able to take wide-angle photos expanding up to 120 degrees.
The world’s No. 1 maker of smartphone’s announcement of the local sales of the Galaxy A5 came a week after Samsung had said it will also launch another metal-framed model, the Galaxy A7, only
6.3 mm thick, in major emerging markets at the end of January.
With a 5.5-inch display, the Galaxy A7 is the thinnest smartphone ever released by Samsung. The 4.7-inch Galaxy Alpha and A5 held the previous records at 6.7 mm. The price tag on the Galaxy A7 stands at 583,000 won.
The Galaxy A5 is equipped with a HD Super active mode organic light-emitting diode display with a quad-core processor, whereas the Galaxy A7 boasts a Full HD AMOLED display with an octa-core processor.
Samsung has been making efforts to beef up its low-end lineup this year, also rolling out a smartphone powered by its own operating system, Tizen, in India, as its mainstay business continues to suffer amid the rise of Chinese rivals. (Yonhap)
The 5-inch Galaxy A5, equipped with a metal frame, will cost around 484,000 won ($445.26) at home, the company said. It is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with a 2,300 mAh battery capacity.
 |
| Models pose with Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 smartphones, featuring metal, ultraslim bodies, which will be on sale from Thursday.( Samsung Electronics) |
Samsung said its 5-megapixel front camera also allows users to take better selfies, as the device comes with various photo-related features, allowing them to take pictures by folding and unfolding hands. It is also able to take wide-angle photos expanding up to 120 degrees.
The world’s No. 1 maker of smartphone’s announcement of the local sales of the Galaxy A5 came a week after Samsung had said it will also launch another metal-framed model, the Galaxy A7, only
6.3 mm thick, in major emerging markets at the end of January.
With a 5.5-inch display, the Galaxy A7 is the thinnest smartphone ever released by Samsung. The 4.7-inch Galaxy Alpha and A5 held the previous records at 6.7 mm. The price tag on the Galaxy A7 stands at 583,000 won.
The Galaxy A5 is equipped with a HD Super active mode organic light-emitting diode display with a quad-core processor, whereas the Galaxy A7 boasts a Full HD AMOLED display with an octa-core processor.
Samsung has been making efforts to beef up its low-end lineup this year, also rolling out a smartphone powered by its own operating system, Tizen, in India, as its mainstay business continues to suffer amid the rise of Chinese rivals. (Yonhap)
Sunday, January 18, 2015
South Korea's Liberal Democracy is Under Threat
It is not hard to list the domestic and international challenges for South Korea for 2015. There are many.
Democracy Under Fire
At the end of 2014, South Korea faces economic slowdown, an ageing population, worsening socio-economic inequality, rising youth unemployment, mounting household debt and a real-estate market slump. The list of diplomatic tasks includes sluggish or worsening relations with Kim Jong-un’s North Korea, soured relationships with Abe’s Japan and coping with the dilemmas of China–US dynamics.
But the biggest challenge that now faces South Korea will be ensuring the soundness and strength of its democracy. Since Park Geun-hye’s government took office in February 2013, soundness of political democracy requires special attention. South Korea’s liberal democracy is under threat.
A series of political scandals have cast doubt over the democratic credentials of Park’s Saenuri Party and Park’s own presidency. The National Intelligence Service’s alleged interference in the 2012 presidential election in favour of Park and the enforced resignation of the Prosecutor General leading the investigation into the claims; the arrest of the United Progressive Party (UPP) MP Lee Seok-ki; antagonism towards the labour unions; the legal suit against Sankei Shimbun journalist Tatsuya Kato and the ‘memogate scandal’ have all hurt Park’s public support.
It is no secret in South Korea that conservative governments have used security concerns for domestic political purposes. Some suspect Park’s administration of abusing the security agenda to camouflage its poor political performance. From the beginning of her tenure, numerous nominees for key government positions — including the prime minister — have not passed the parliamentary hearings process or have had to quit once in office because of sex and political scandals.
Failure to rescue more than 300 passengers including about 250 high school students in the tragic Sewol Ferry disaster has also discredited the government’s, and the president’s, capacity to manage national emergencies. But President Park’s biggest failing has been her lack of will and inability to communicate with constituents and even with her supporters.
There is wide suspicion that whenever the president faces serious political challenges, announcements of espionage activities and subversion plots by pro-North Korea groups follow. Such claims are often found to be baseless by the courts. But they make citizens feel more secure and thus increase support for Park.
The South Korean constitutional court’s recent order to dissolve the UPP is not free from such suspicion. The tiny UPP — 5 out of 300 National Assembly seats — was disbanded on the grounds that it ‘aimed at using violent means to overthrow [South Korea’s] free democratic system’ and was ‘ultimately establishing a North Korean style system’. The court also ordered that the party’s five lawmakers be stripped of their parliamentary seats. As the first verdict of its kind in South Korea, it may stir up intensive political conflict because progressive South Koreans think that the evidence for the order is not persuasive. They also argue that the order is not fair — that is, it is politically motivated in favour of the president and conservative party.
Institutionally, the nine members of the court — three each nominated by the president, the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court — struggle to be seen as independent from the clout of the president. Normally, any ruling by the Constitutional Court takes more than two years. The UPP dissolution order only took slightly more than a year. Pundits suggest that the court case was used by Park’s administration to distract from the memogate scandal, which dragged Park’s approval rating down to its lowest level since inauguration.
The waning of press freedom is the deepest concern for South Korean democracy. In 2011, under the previous Lee Myong-bak administration, Freedom House downgraded South Korea from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ citing increased online censorship and claiming that 160 journalists had been penalised for criticising the government. The Park administration has increased pressure on critical media, by increasing the number of active against journalists. Spearheaded by the case of Sankei journalist Tatsuya Kato in August, the Park administration boldly sued the Hankyoreh Newspaper, the Sisa Journal, the Chosun Daily, and the Segye Daily for the alleged defamation of the president and high government officials. A Korean political analyst criticises that the ‘government is sending a message to the press not to write negative reports about the government’. Borrowing a Korean observer’s words, ‘Park is taking a page from her dictator father’s playbook’.
The long-term cost of undermining democracy is the loss of presidential and governmental credibility. President Park changing her governing style to enhance transparency and democracy seems to be the solution, but is unlikely. Park and her chief aides emphasise that 2015 will be a golden year for reform: the administration will not face any elections at the national level until 2016.
But a president with ideologically divided citizens cannot break through barriers to properly handle the controversial but imminent national challenges facing South Korea.
Democracy is the biggest challenge for South Korea in 2015 is republished with permission fromEast Asia Forum
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)