[298th]Korea more vulnerable to China threats than Japan/Avoiding total recall/Korean girls win first U-17 World Cup title

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1. Politics/International

Korea more vulnerable to China threats than Japan

09-27-2010 17:11

China’s recent diplomatic victory over Japan makes Korean bureaucrats and corporations sweat since the former’s lethal weapon of rare metals against the latter is expected to work on Korea as efficiently as on Japan.

Late last week Tokyo released the detained captain of a Chinese fishing trawler, who was detained by the Japanese coast guard early this month while operating in the waters around a group of uninhabited rocky outcroppings in the East China Sea.

Although Japan has shown a very stern attitude on issues involving disputed territory, the country easily surrendered this time around as China reportedly halted shipment of rare earth elements although Beijing denies such maneuver.

“What if China adopts the strategy of stopping shipment of the materials to Korea amid bilateral political or economic disputes? We would be at a loss on how to deal with it,” said a Seoul analyst who asked not to be named.

Rare-earth elements refer to a collection of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table. They are indispensable in producing high-tech products or eco-friendly technologies such as electric cars, wind turbines and liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

Korea, home to the world’s top LCD manufacturers, does not produce them at all and depends wholly on imports to procure them. Last year, all of its 2,600 tons of demand were met by shipments from China.

The state-run Korea Resources Corporation (KRC) has set up a target of maintaining its reserves for the rare-earth metals at more than 1,150 tons by 2016 but its present storage remains at a mere 3 tons.

In this climate, Korea seems to have no choice but to rely on China, around 95 percent of which produces all supplies. The communist state even imposed a global export quota on them.

Industry watchers point out that Asia’s fourth-largest economy needs to generate a long-term plan of grappling with the aforementioned problems.

“Many Koreans tend to presume that they would need us just as much as we need them. However, the reality check shows a different result as amply demonstrated by the past disputes,” the analyst said.

“Have a look at the garlic case a decade ago. We were already not in the position to commission a tit-for-tat [보복] strategy against China and now there are the rare-earth elements. We need to do something to level the playing field but the hitch is that nobody seemingly knows how to do so.”

Midway through 2000, the former Kim Dae-jung administration jacked up tariffs on Chinese garlic from 30 percent to as high as 315 percent by 2003 in order to protect Korean farmers from cheap Chinese imports.

A week later, the Chinese government countered the move by banning imports of Korean handsets. Seoul immediately backed off by cutting the tariffs after quick negotiations.

Korea’s dependency on China has shot up since then as the latter became the No. 1 trading partner of the former during the first decade of the new millennium, nudging past the United States.

By Kim Tae-gyu voc200@koreatimes.co.kr

Summary

Recently, China won territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Daioyu Islands. This is because China announced to halt shipment of rare-earth elements, which are indispensable in producing high-tech products or eco-friendly technologies. Korea also has no choice but to rely on China since its dependency on China has shot up after the China became the No.1 trading partner of Korea.

Questions

1. If China adopts the strategy of stopping shipment of the materials to Korea amid bilateral political disputes, what strategy Korea should take? Share your opinions.

2. Have you ever heard about the low-key strategy^*? Some say that governments should take low-key strategy when it comes to political issues like this. What is your opinion?

3. China-Japan territorial dispute is very similar to the battle over Dok-do between Korea and Japan. We Koreans think Dok-do is our own territory. What if Japan threats Korea like China did as this incident? Then, what things Korea need to do in order to strengthen our national competitiveness?

* low-key strategy: 자신을 과도하게 드러내기 보다는 조용히 바닥을 다지는 전략

2. Industry/Editorials

Avoiding total recall

September 28, 2010

It’s fortunate that Hyundai Motor made the decision to recall 139,500 units of its new YF Sonata model, which is manufactured and sold in the United States.

Consumers fork over a ton of money for cars, so they of course have the right to demand that the vehicles they purchase are free of mechanical or electrical defects. If a systemic problem is found, the best policy for an automaker in terms of crisis management is to quickly admit the fault and rectify the situation as soon as possible.

The latest recall involves a flaw tied to the car’s steering system, an important part of a vehicle when it comes to safety. Hyundai Motor explained that the problem resulted from a loose or separated joint that connects the steering wheel with the steering shaft. Given that the problem could cause a huge accident at any time, the company’s swift reaction is appropriate.

But there are some larger concerns with the latest incident.

We are deeply worried because it is the second recall involving Hyundai Motor’s YF Sonata. The company already recalled 40,000 units of the new model in the U.S. last January because of critical flaws involving its door-lock system. Recalls have become all too common for Hyundai and Kia this year. Kia issued recalls covering several models - including the Morning and Soul - after it discovered fissures and defective electrical welding in the fuel intake section of the vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia Motors are among the leading carmakers in the world. They are in fact the only companies in the industry that increased sales overseas since the outbreak of the global financial crisis. But we worry that the growing number of recalls might be in some way related to this rapid increase in sales. Such was the case for Toyota Motor, which fell behind in the areas of quality control and field supervision as its ramped up production quickly rose to meet foreign demand.

Hyundai Motor might be facing a similar problem, at least in regards to its new Sonata model.

This could be just the start of the issue, too, considering that Hyundai and Kia are planning to increase production to 7 million cars annually by 2012.

The companies should therefore pay extra close attention to their quality management systems before they fall victim to such problems. They should be ready to fix production problems and seal holes in the process as they crop up. We also hope Hyundai will make sure that there are no deficiencies in the same models sold here. Domestic consumers are increasingly worried about the safety of their cars, too.

Summary

Hyundai Motor decided to recall new YF Sonata model, which is sold in the United States. Provided that the problem could cause a huge accident at any time, the company’s reaction is appropriate. Hyundai and Kia are the only companies that increased the sales overseas after the global financial crisis but we worry that this recall might be related to the rapid increase in sales as the case for Toyota Motor. Therefore, the motor companies should pay extra attention to their quality management system.

Questions

1. Has this recall affected the brand image of Hyundai cars? If said yes, how do you think this recall will have an impact on the sales? If not, why?

2. What factors do you concern most when you purchase vehicles? (Brand, Price, Design, Fuel Efficiency, Safety, and etc.) And why?

3. You probably remember Toyota recall crisis started last year. How did a company that became the world's largest and most profitable automaker for quality and dependability find itself at the center of the biggest product recall?

3. Sports

Korean girls win first U-17 World Cup title

September 27, 2010

The U-17 women’s national team won Korea’s first international FIFA-sanctioned tournament in dramatic fashion over Japan in a penalty shoot-out yesterday morning.

Facing off against archrival Japan in the U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the match lived up to the pregame hype as the two sides traded blows in an action-packed game. A 3-3 tie after 120 minutes of play was broken after Korea managed to win the tournament in thrilling fashion in a penalty shoot-out.

“It all feels like a dream,” said manager Choi Duck-joo in a postgame press conference. “I believe we were able to win today because our players refused to give up to the end and played their hearts out.”

Earlier in the day, Spain defeated North Korea 1-0 to secure third-place in the tourney. Raquel Pinel scored the lone goal of the match in the 65th minute and that’s all the European champions needed.

With much of the Korea-Japan pregame hype focused on Yeo Min-ji, Japan did a respectable job of containing the forward, who would win the Golden Boot and the Most Valuable Player at the postgame ceremonies. But it was her teammates who provided timely goals for Korea.

Lee Jung-eun opened the scoring with an impressive volley from roughly 23 meters (25 yards) out just six minutes into the match to give Korea an early lead. It did not take long for Japan to respond, as Hikaru Maomoto and Yoko Tanaka countered with two quick goals in the 11th and 17th minutes, respectively, to give Japan a 2-1 lead.

With Korea facing the prospect of heading into halftime with a one-goal deficit, captain Kim A-reum connected on a free kick one minute into added time to level the game at the 46th minute.

Japan took the lead again in the 57th minute off Chika Kato’s goal but Lee So-dam, who was substituted into the game at the 78th minute, scored in the 79th minute to push the game into extra time.

Korean players looked fatigued in extra time, failing to muster much of an attack as Japan set the pace, but the game could not be decided in extra time.

The penalty shoot-out proved to be every bit as exciting as the match itself, as the two sides tied at four goals apiece after the first five kickers. In the sudden death portion of the penalty shoot-out, Japan’s Tomoko Muramatsu hit the crossbar. Then, with Korea’s first international title on the line, defender Jang Sel-gi calmly scored to send the Korean players and coaching staff into a wild frenzy.

President Lee Myung-bak called to congratulate the team. “I watched the semifinals and the finals and you did a good job and I could see that the players gave it their all,” said Lee in a telephone conversation with Choi. “The people of Korea are joyous about our young girls winning the international tourney today.”

Korea’s first women’s national football team was formed ahead of the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, and its members consisted of a mix of players from field hockey and other teams.

Japan has 36,000 registered female players (8,302 high school players) compared with Korea’s 1,450 (345 high school players).

By Jason Kim [jason@joongang.co.kr]

Summary

For the first time in history, young Korean girls’ won Under-17 World Cup title in the match with Japan. The game tied until the penalty shoot-out decided the winner. Korea’s first women’s national team formed before 1990 Beijing Asian Games. There are 1,450 registered female players in Korea while Japan has 36,000 players.

Questions

1. Do you know (or like) any Korean female soccer players? If yes, how did you know them?

2. Considering the little attention and investment to the women’s soccer, these young players did an incredible job. Why do you think Korean young female players did so well at this event? Can you think of any reasons?

3. Which sports do you like? And do you like watching sports or playing sports?

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