O 070611Z JUL 08
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UNCLAS SEOUL 001345 
 
 
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TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL MARR ECON KS US
SUBJECT: PRESS BULLETIN - July 7, 2008 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
¶1. We Have More Important Things to Worry About 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 7, 2008, Page 31) 
 
 
Features 
 
¶2. U.S. "Condoned Summary Executions during Korean War" (Daily 
Chosun, July 7, 2008) 3 
¶3. Foreign Students in the U.S. Can Work as Interns 
(Dong-a Ilbo, July 7, 2008, Page 13) 3 
¶4. Majority of Koreans Think Candlelight Protests Should Stop 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 7, 2008, Front Page and Page 5) 
 
 
Top Headlines 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Foreign Investors Pulled 6 Trillion Won 
Out of Korean Stock Market over 20 Days 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Key Blue House Official: "Before Vacating Blue House, Former 
President Roh's Aides Moved Entire Main Computer Server System of 
Blue House to Bongha Village, Roh's Hometown where the Former 
President Retired after Leaving Office" 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
Cars Owned by Government Agencies will be Driven 
Every Other Day Starting July 15 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Chung Sye-kyun Elected Chairman of Main Opposition United Democratic 
Party; He Proposes a "Round-Table Meeting" between Lee Myung-bak 
Administration, Ruling Grand National Party and His Party to Resolve 
the Nation's Crises, Including Economic Hardship, Inter-Korean 
Deadlock, 
Public Sector Reform and Education Policy 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Blue House Turns Blind Eye to "Candlelight Public Sentiment"... It 
Again Takes "Hard line" on Protesters 
 
 
Domestic Developments 
 
¶1. President Lee Myung-bak will leave for Japan tomorrow to attend 
the G8 summit of major industrialized countries. The leaders of the 
G8 will begin their three-day summit today, with global warming and 
soaring oil and food prices atop the agenda. (All) 
¶2. According to a high-ranking diplomatic source in Washington, U.S. 
beef that passes the U.S. Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) program 
will arrive in the ROK in a month at the earliest. QSA is a 
voluntary program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
designed to verify that the beef exported to the ROK comes from 
cattle under 30 months of age. (Chosun, Dong-a, Segye) 
¶3. According to a Blue House official, all the Blue House's 
cafeterias will serve food made with U.S. beef for lunch on July 8, 
a move aimed at allaying public concern over the safety of U.S. 
beef. (All) 
¶4. "Is 'Candlelight' Calming Down?:" The weekend's massive 
candlelight protests ended without major conflict between protesters 
and police. Police estimated the number taking part in the protest 
on Saturday at about 50,000, while rally organizers put the number 
at more than 500,000. Religious groups, meanwhile, said yesterday 
that they will stop organizing mass gatherings for the time being. 
An official from the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice was 
quoted as saying in a statement: "Following a meaningful declaration 
of the people's victory on Saturday, the priests stopped fasting and 
returned to religious duty." (All`) 
¶5. According to a July 5 opinion survey by Research Plus, a local 
pollster, of 1,000 adults across the ROK, 68 percent of respondents 
said that they are still uneasy about U.S. beef. 44 percent of those 
polled said that they are sympathetic to candlelight vigils against 
U.S. beef imports but that it is time for them to stop. (Hankyoreh) 
¶6. According to AP, in the early days of the Korean War, the U.S. 
military implicitly connived with the ROK army and police to carry 
out mass executions of left-wingers and their sympathizers to 
prevent them from joining enemy forces. (Hankyoreh, MBC) 
 
 
International News 
 
¶1. President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, in their 
July 6 summit in Japan, agreed to cooperate closely on the North 
Korean nuclear and Japanese abduction issues. (JoongAng) 
¶2. Dennis Wilder, the U.S. National Security Council's Director for 
Asian Affairs, said on July 5 that a fresh round of the Six-Party 
Talks on North Korea's nuclear program will likely be held later 
this week (around July 11 or 12). (JoongAng, Dong-a, Hankyoreh, 
Segye, Seoul, VoiceofPeople) 
¶3. Dong-a Ilbo featured a story saying that U.S. hardliners on North 
Korea, angered by moderates going it alone in dealing with the North 
Korean nuclear issue, are preparing for a massive counterattack at 
the stage of verifying the North's nuclear declaration. (Dong-a) 
 
 
Media Analysis 
 
North Korea 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo today quoted President Bush and 
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as agreeing in their July 6 
summit in Japan to cooperate closely on the North Korean nuclear and 
Japanese abduction issues. 
 
The July 4 edition of conservative Chosun Ilbo replayed a July 2 AFP 
report quoting President Bush as saying at a roundtable interview 
with Japanese news outlets prior to his departure for G8 summit: 
"North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs may have stemmed 
from leader Kim Jong-il becoming tired of his country's isolation 
from the international community."  President Bush was further 
quoted as saying: "Diplomacy has got to be the first choice of 
solving any of these problems, but military options remain on the 
table." 
 
Most newspapers also carried a quote from Dennis Wilder, the U.S. 
National Security Council's Director for Asian Affairs, who told 
reporters on July 5 on Air Force One carrying President Bush to the 
G8 summit that a fresh round of the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's 
nuclear program will likely be held later this week (around July 11 
or 12). 
 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun on Saturday, meanwhile, 
quoted a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying in a July 
4 statement that North Korea could not discuss the next stage of 
denuclearization until its negotiating partners fulfill their 
duties.  The spokesman was further quoted as claiming: "We have 
carried out more than 80 percent of the disablement of our key 
nuclear facilities but the five other parties fulfilled only 40 
percent of their obligations under the October third Six-Party 
Agreement."  Hankook saw this statement as a North Korean attempt to 
gain the upper hand in the soon-to-be held Six-Party Talks, and 
speculated that this development might set back the resumption of 
the Six-Party Talks, which are slated for July 10. 
 
Most newspapers over the weekend and today gave inside-page play to 
Abdul Qadeer Khan's interview with AP, in which the architect of 
Pakistan's nuclear program alleged that Pakistan's army supervised a 
shipment in 2000 of used P-1 centrifuges to North Korea and that it 
must have been sent with the approval of Pervez Musharraf, the 
then-army chief who took power in a 1999 coup. 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo ran an inside-page story today saying that 
U.S. hardliners on North Korea, angered by moderates going it alone 
in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, are preparing for a 
massive counterattack at the stage of verifying the North's nuclear 
declaration. 
 
U.S. Beef Controversy 
Carrying the identical headlines, "Is Candlelight Calming Down?," 
newspapers reported today that the weekend's massive candlelight 
protests ended without major conflict between protesters and police. 
 Newspapers cited the police as estimating the number taking part in 
the protest on Saturday at about 50,000, while rally organizers put 
the number at more than 500,000.  Newspapers also gave attention to 
yesterday's statement by religious groups saying that they will stop 
organizing mass gatherings for the time being.  An official from the 
Catholic Priests' Association for Justice was quoted as saying: 
"Following a meaningful declaration of the people's victory on 
Saturday, the priests stopped fasting and returned to religious 
duty." 
 
Citing a Blue House official, newspapers also reported that all the 
presidential Blue House's cafeterias will serve food made with U.S. 
beef for lunch on July 8, a move seen by newspapers as aimed at 
allaying public concern over the safety of U.S. beef. 
 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun today front-paged a July 5 opinion 
survey by Research Plus, a local pollster, of 1,000 adults across 
the ROK, in which 68 percent of respondents said that they are still 
uneasy about U.S. beef, with 44 percent of those polled saying that 
they are sympathetic to candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports 
but that it is time to stop them. 
 
G8 Summit in Japan 
Newspapers over the weekend and today gave inside-page coverage to 
the G8 summit in Japan, which will begin its three-day session 
today, with global warming and soaring oil and food prices atop the 
agenda.  President Lee Myung-bak, newspapers said, will leave for 
Japan tomorrow to participate in the G8 summit at Toyako and to hold 
a series of bilateral summit talks with President Bush, Russian 
President Dmitry Medvedev and leaders of India, Brazil, Mexico, 
Indonesia and Australia. 
 
Left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun's inside-page report on Friday noted 
that the G8 industrialized countries have a big difference of 
opinion on issues such as regulating biofuels and speculative funds 
and speculated that it would be difficult for them to set a target 
goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Hankyoreh's headline read: 
"Leaders of G8 Summit Only Bent on Serving Their Own National 
Interests" 
 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
We Have More Important Things to Worry About 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 7, 2008, Page 31) 
 
A massive protest organized by the People's Association for Measures 
Against Mad Cow Disease (PAMAMCD) was held in Seoul on Saturday. 
Religious groups including Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists and Won 
Buddhists, as well as the opposition United Democratic Party, 
Democratic Labor Party, New Progressive Party and Renewal of Korea 
Party took part.  The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and 
university students also showed up.  Protests have been going on for 
two months now, with participants claiming that eating U.S. beef 
leads to death by variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD), or the 
human form of mad cow disease.  Over the last two months, anybody 
who is anybody has joined in the protests, and just about every 
imaginable act of violence has been committed. 
 
It's about time the protests came to an end.  People in around a 
hundred countries eat U.S. beef every day, including Americans and 
Europeans.  Most people around the world consume U.S. beef from 
cattle aged 30 months or older, but nowhere do you see mad cow 
hysteria or protests.  If you ask people in other countries right 
now whether they believe eating American beef will cause them to 
come down with vCJD, they will say you must be out of your mind. 
 
A former presidential candidate of the opposition left for the 
United States a few days ago, where he plans to stay for more than a 
year.  The leading candidates who vied for the top UDP spot in the 
party's election convention on Sunday lived in the U.S. until 
recently.  If what the protesters are saying is correct, then one of 
the UDP's candidates must have had a death wish and the other 
candidate should be dropping dead from vCJD soon.  It's all 
nonsense. 
 
A few days ago, one civic group that was believed to have more 
common sense announced it would take part in the mad cow protests. 
At least its members did not carry signs saying "mad cow disease." 
Most of the protesters must know that the notion is ridiculous, but 
the PAMAMCD has succeeded by leading the protests this far based on 
such nonsense. 
 
But in the shadow of that success, the traders and residents of 
downtown Seoul are crying out for help.  Mad cow disease is not even 
a topic of concern for Korea's business leaders: far more serious 
problems face the country.  One businessman said just 1,000 unsold 
homes translates into hundreds of billions of won in losses for 
construction companies, and right now builders in Korea are left 
 
with many thousands of unsold homes.  He said Korea will feel the 
full blast of the real bomb that is ticking away behind their backs 
as they are fixated on the candlelight protests.  The monthly 
interest on mortgages has soared past 9 percent and consumer prices 
are increasing faster than growth, leading to a sharp gain in 
household debt.  Middle-class families are being driven to the edge 
and the entire economy may end up being shaken to its foundations. 
Prices of crude oil, grain, iron ore and other raw materials are 
rising to ever-new highs.  And now, the fluctuation of the Korean 
won against the U.S. dollar is mimicking patterns seen before the 
Asian financial crisis. 
 
Amid these dangerous developments, we see thousands of people, 
including innocent children, making a great song and dance downtown 
about how U.S. beef will cause vCJD.  A major force in the protests 
is the KCTU, which is saying laborers can't work if they catch vCJD 
and has vowed to hold strikes that damage production. 
 
How much longer are these forces going to enjoy the mad cow festival 
while their country is being driven closer to the brink? It is time 
for everyone to worry about reality. 
 
* This is a translation provided by the newspaper and it is 
identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
Features 
 
U.S. "Condoned Summary Executions during Korean War" 
(English Chosun, July 7, 2008) 
 
In the early days of the Korean War, the U.S. military implicitly 
connived with the South Korean army and police to carry out mass 
executions of left-wingers and their sympathizers to prevent them 
from joining enemy forces, AP reported Saturday. 
 
The wire agency reported based on its own archival research in 
declassified documents from the U.S. National Archives and Records 
Administration that American officers observed, photographed and 
c-o-n-f-i-d-e-n-t-i-a-l-l-y reported the wholesale executions by 
their South Korean ally, 
 
AP said the "s-e-c-r-e-t-i-v-e slaughter" was believed to have 
killed 100,000 or more leftists and supposed sympathizers, usually 
without charge or trial, in a few weeks in mid-1950s.  Its research 
found no indication that Far East Commander General Douglas 
MacArthur took action to stem the killing. 
 
The declassified record shows an equivocal U.S. attitude continuing 
into the fall of 1950, it said, when Seoul was retaken and South 
Korean forces began shooting residents who had collaborated with the 
northern occupiers.  When Washington's British allies protested, 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk told them U.S. 
commanders were doing "everything they can to curb such atrocities," 
according to a memo of Oct. 28, 1950.  British troops at one stage 
seized "Execution Hill" outside Seoul to block further mass killings 
there. 
 
(Editor's Note: This same AP story is also carried in the July 7 
edition of Hankyoreh Shinmun without additional comment.) 
 
 
Foreign Students in the U.S. Can Work as Interns 
(Dong-a Ilbo, July 7, 2008, Page 13) 
 
By Reporter Hwang Kyu-in 
 
Starting from September, the Department of State will add the 
student internship subcategory to the J1 visa program. 
 
Student interns may participate in a student internship program for 
up to 12 months at each degree level. 
 
Only when they are accepted into a U.S. internship program can they 
apply for a J1 visa. 
 
From the second semester of this year, the door will be open for 
undergraduate or graduate students to make money in the U.S. for a 
year while studying there. 
 
According to the latest issue of the Federal Register, the U.S. 
 
Department of State created a new subcategory of "Student Interns" 
in the J1 Visa or cultural exchange visitor program.  Under this 
subcategory, student interns can participate in an internship 
program at a U.S. accredited academic institution for up to 12 
months. 
 
The addition of the new student intern subcategory has consequently 
brought the number of the types of the J1 visa programs to 18. 
Among them, the subcategories of exchange students, interns and 
student interns are similar.  However, exchange students can only 
maintain a J-1 status when they take classes at accredited academic 
institutions for more than 18 hours per week, and although they may 
participate in an internship, they can only earn credits.  On the 
other hand, interns can make money at a private company but cannot 
enroll in an accredited academic institution. 
 
The new student internship program is a combination of these two 
types.  Student interns are allowed to work as paid interns at a 
designated university or private sector entity for at least 32 hours 
a week while taking classes at an accredited academic institution. 
This revision, which expands internship program sponsors from 
government agencies or private sector entities to universities, is 
effective July 21, 2008. 
 
Kim Sang-rok, 24, who stayed in the U.S. as an exchange student last 
year, said, "Among the part-time jobs that an exchange student can 
do is simply serving food at a school restaurant at the minimum 
wage," adding, "If the student internship program is introduced, it 
will help build experience in fields of study and help (students) 
understand the corporate culture of the U.S." 
 
Potential applicants for the J-1 Student Intern visa should be 
students currently enrolled in university or graduate school located 
outside the U.S.  To apply for the visa, they also need an admission 
notice for the student intern programs issued by the universities, 
research institutes or government organizations for which they want 
to work. 
 
Those who receive this visa granting them the status of student 
intern will be able to stay for a maximum of 12 months in the U.S. 
for each bachelor's course. Undergraduate students who worked as 
student intern can stay for another 12 months when they enter the 
master's course and for another 12 months again for their doctor's 
course. 
 
Professor Moon Hae-won, in charge of international educational 
exchanges programs at Yonsei University, said, "Since school 
performance and the English ability required by each U.S. private or 
government organizations differ, potential applicants for the 
student intern programs need to check for detailed information 
through their colleges." 
 
The number of J-1 visa issuance by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul last 
year was 17,452, up by 750 from 2006.  When the student intern 
program is added to the J-1 visa category, the figure is likely to 
increase further. 
 
An official from the ROK Foreign Ministry said, "The U.S. created a 
system which is modeled on Japan's working holiday visa that allows 
foreigners to learn Japanese, travel and work in Japan."  The 
official added, "More American private firms are likely to join the 
student intern program since they do not have to pay employment 
taxes for hiring interns." 
 
According to the U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Information 
System (SEVIS), Koreans were the largest foreign student group in 
the U.S. as of the end of last year.  The number of Korean students 
in America marked 103,394, accounting for 14 percent of foreign 
students in the U.S. 
 
 
Majority of Koreans Think Candlelight Protests Should Stop 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 7, 2008, Front Page and Page 5) 
 
By Reporters Lim Seok-gyu, Lee Hwa-ju and Shin Seong-gun 
 
But citizens still want U.S. beef agreement renegotiated and put the 
president's approval ratings at 20.9 pct. 
In spite of the South Korean government's additional round of 
negotiations with the United States over quarantine terms for the 
resumption of U.S. beef imports, public fears about the American 
meat have not been eased and a majority of people still think the 
government should renegotiate the deal to revise the quarantine 
terms.  As for the candlelight demonstrations, people said they 
((agree with the reasons people are protesting)), but the majority 
of respondents to a recent survey said that the rallies should 
stop. 
According to an opinion poll conducted by The Hankyoreh and Research 
Plus on May 5, 29 percent of respondents said that "concerns (about 
American meat) have been eased," while 67.5 percent responded that 
"concerns (about American meat) have not been eased."  In addition, 
59.9 percent said that renegotiation of the beef agreement is 
"necessary," while 34.5 percent said renegotiation is "not 
necessary."  These results are in contrast to the government's 
assertion that public fears over U.S. beef have eased after the 
additional round of negotiations in June. 
The survey also confirmed the existence of lingering concerns about 
the government's plan to increase the number of restaurants that are 
required to show country-of-origin information for beef.  The poll 
showed that 73.9 percent of respondents do not trust the 
government's plan, which will require most restaurants and retailers 
to provide the information.  These results seem to support the 
public sentiment that a renegotiation with the U.S. would be the 
best way to guarantee the safety of beef and likewise call into 
question the effectiveness of other government measures, such as an 
expansion of the country-of-origin labeling policy. 
As for the candlelight rallies, 28.5 percent of survey respondents 
said they "agree with the reasons behind the rallies" and that "the 
rallies should go on," while 43.7 percent said they "agree with the 
reasons behind the rallies," but that "the rallies should be 
halted."  Another 22 percent said they "do not agree with the 
reasons behind the rallies" and that "the rallies should be halted." 
 While 72.2 percent of respondents said they agree with the 
candlelight protests, more than fifty percent think that the 
protests should be brought to an end. 
Lim Sang-ryeol, the president of Research Plus, said, "While people 
are still critical of the government's handling of U.S. beef imports 
and agree with the candlelight rallies, they are likely feeling a 
sense of fatigue and expect a resolution as both the government and 
protesters have been in confrontation for a long time without any 
sign of compromise." 
When asked about whether the government should replace 
economy-related ministers, including Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, 
49.1 percent responded that they should be replaced, while 30.5 
percent said they should remain in office. 
As for President Lee Myung-bak's appointment of people who served as 
his media advisers during his election campaign as presidents of 
broadcasting companies, 67.7 percent said the move is "problematic 
because it could undermine the neutrality of the broadcasters," 
while 21.7 percent said there is "no problem because the 
appointments are based on (an individual's) competence and 
specialization."  The poll showed that President Lee's approval 
rating stood at 20.9 percent, compared with the 22.2 percent 
recorded in a May 31 survey. 
The telephone survey was conducted nationwide among 1,000 people 
aged 19 or older.  The survey had a response rate of 16 percent and 
a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points with a 
confidence level of 95 percent. 
 
* This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
Vershbow