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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000318 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/IHB, OES/SAT, OES/PCI AND OES/EGC 
STATE FOR EAP/K, ISN/NESS AND STAS 
STATE PASS TO EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP AND CEQ 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL, NE, FE, AND EERE 
USDOC FOR 4400/MAC/EAP/OPB/ITA/TA 
USDOC FOR NIST 
HHS FOR OGHA 
HHS PASS TO NIH FOR FIC 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTL PROGRAMS 
STATE PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON ENRG TBIO TPHY TRGY TSPA KGHG KHIV KS
SUBJECT: SEOUL ESTH UPDATE - February 2009 
 
In This Issue 
------------- 
 
- ROKG to Introduce Low Carbon & Green Growth Bill 
- South Korea's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Up Slightly in 2006 
- Government Identifies 17 Projects for East Asia Climate 
  Partnership 
- South Korea's 2008 Nuclear Reactor Operational Rate Topped 93 
  Percent 
- Korea Completes Construction of High-Tech Radio Telescope Array 
- Korea to Build Global Research Campus at Incheon, Including 
  Stony Brook and other International Universities 
- Korea's New HIV Cases Increased by 7 Percent in 2008 to 797 
- Smoking Rate Rising Slightly to 22.3 Percent with Huge Gender 
  Gap 
- Tamiflu-Resistant Seasonal Influenza Virus Reported in Korea 
- Hospitals Allowed to Advertise for International Patients 
 
----------- 
ENVIRONMENT 
----------- 
 
ROKG to Introduce Low Carbon & Green Growth Bill 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶1.  The ROKG has issued a public notice on the upcoming introduction 
of legislation of a "Basic Law on Low Carbon, Green Growth."  The 
draft bill will be an amalgamation of three programs: 
 
A)  The Basic Law on Climate Change: Draft legislation that had 
already been pending at the National Assembly.  The Basic Law on 
Climate Change aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by expanding 
the construction of nuclear power plants, investing in the 
development of new and renewable energy such as hydrogen fuel cells 
and photovoltaic cells, adopting a cap-and-trade system for business 
and industry, and establishing greenhouse gas reporting requirements 
for greenhouse gas emitting industries. 
 
B)  The Green New Deal: A four-year program intended to create 
nearly one million jobs mostly through government funding of green 
infrastructure projects.  The projects include restoration of the 
country's four major rivers, building nearly 1300 kilometers of 
bicycle trails alongside the rivers and linking them with existing 
bicycle paths, construction of waste recycling facilities, and 
expansion of bus and rail mass transit systems. 
 
C)  New Growth Engines: Seventeen technologies identified by the 
Ministry of Knowledge Economy as future growth engines for the 
Korean economy.  The technologies include new and renewable energy, 
CO2 capture and sequestration, LED lighting applications, robotics, 
water management technologies such as dam construction, 
desalination, and waste water treatment, and biomedicine and 
bio-medical equipment manufacture. 
 
¶2.  Some overlap occurs among the three program entities that 
comprise the "Basic Law on Low Carbon, Green Growth."  For example, 
funding for R& D of new and renewable energy is a significant 
feature of all three. 
 
¶3.  To manage, monitor, and assess the activities outlined in the 
draft legislation, the government will establish a Committee for 
Green Growth under the President's office.  The Committee also will 
advise the President on "green growth" policies and strategies. 
 
SEOUL 00000318  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
South Korea's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Up Slightly in 2006 
-------------------------- ------------------------------- 
¶4.  South Korea's greenhouse gas emission levels edged up slightly 
in 2006 compared to the year before, a Ministry of Knowledge Economy 
(MKE) report said on February 2.  The country's annual greenhouse 
gas inventory report showed that 599.5 million carbon dioxide 
equivalent (CO2e) tons were released into the atmosphere in 2006, up 
0.9 percent from 594.4 million CO2e tons tallied for 2005, the 
report said. The report noted that construction of power plants and 
increased numbers of cars on the roads accounted for the small 
increase. 
 
¶5.  MKE said greenhouse gas output increased 1.4 percent in the 
power generation sector, 2.7 percent in transportation, and 2.9 
percent in waste disposal treatment.  Industrial sector greenhouse 
gas emissions fell slightly as the country's petrochemical and 
cement sectors reduced output and companies moved to incorporate 
clean development mechanisms (CDM) into their manufacturing 
processes. 
 
¶6.  The report said that the 2006 emissions of 599.5 million CO2e 
tons were 101 percent higher than South Korea's 1990 greenhouse gas 
output of 298.1 million CO2e tons.  According to the most recent 
international data available (2005), South Korea ranks as the 
world's 10th largest CO2 emitter and the 15th largest overall 
greenhouse gas emitter (as measured in CO2e). 
 
Government Identifies 17 Projects for East Asia Climate Partnership 
---------------------------- -------------------------- 
¶7.  The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) has identified 17 
projects to kick off the East Asia Climate Partnership that 
President Lee Myung-bak announced at July's G-8 Summit.  The 
Partnership is intended to assist developing countries in Asia 
(primarily the ASEAN countries, but also China and India) in their 
efforts to mitigate global warming.  MKE has allocated 18.2 billion 
won (USD 13.5 million) for the 17 projects, which fall into three 
categories -- new and renewable energy (12.3 billion won), 
establishment of infrastructure (2.9 billion won), and cooperation 
with international organizations (3 billion won). 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
-------------------- 
 
South Korea's 2008 Nuclear Reactor Operational Rate Topped 93 
Percent 
------------------------------------- ----------------------- 
¶8.  The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in 
January that the average operational rate (the percentage of time 
that facilities are actually operating) of the country's commercial 
nuclear power reactors is estimated to have reached an average of 
93.4 percent in 2008.  The figure is a gain from the 90.3 percent 
tallied in 2007, and higher than the 91 percent and 76 percent rates 
reached by the nuclear industries of the United States and France, 
respectively.  During the year 2008, South Korea's 20 nuclear power 
reactors experienced 14 mechanical problems, nine of which required 
a temporary halt in power generation. 
 
¶9.  At present, Korea ranks sixth in terms of total energy produced 
by nuclear reactors after the United States, France, Japan, Russia 
and Germany.  Nuclear power plants provide approximately 36 percent 
 
SEOUL 00000318  003 OF 004 
 
 
of the country's electrical power supply.  That figure is expected 
to increase to 59 percent with 12 new reactors coming on line by 
¶2030. 
 
Korea Completes Construction of High-Tech Radio Telescope Array 
----------------------------------- --------------------------- 
¶10.  The U.S.-based Science magazine reported that Korea has 
completed construction of the last of three 21-meter radio 
telescopes in its Korean Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) 
Network on December 2.  Perched on a hilltop at Yonsei University in 
Seoul, the 21-meter radio antenna telescope simultaneously captures 
data on energy emitted at four different frequencies (22, 43, 86, 
and 129 gigahertz) from stars and other galactic objects, something 
no other telescope can do. 
 
¶11.  Korea's radio telescope array is linked to arrays in Japan and 
China, creating the East Asia VLBI Network, which comprises 19 
antennas scattered over 6000 kilometers from Urumqi in northwestern 
China to Kunming in China's southwest to Hokkaido and the remote 
Ogaswara Island of Japan.  Together, the three countries will use 
the arrays to refine and extend the map of the Milky Way, plotting 
the evolution and movement of each star to reveal the dynamics of 
the galaxy.  A second objective is to study Active Galactic Nuclei 
(AGNs), supermassive black holes believed to lie at the center of 
most galaxies.  To combine data from the national arrays, Japan and 
Korea plan to jointly build a specialized computer called a 
correlator in Seoul and have it up and running by the end of 2009. 
 
 
Korea to Build Global Research Campus at Incheon, Including Stony 
Brook and other International Universities 
-------------------------------- -------------------------------- 
¶12.  The government will set aside 40 billion won (USD 30 million) 
this year to establish a global research-education campus in Songdo 
at the Incheon Free Economic Zone about 40 km west of Seoul, the 
Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on February 3.   The opening of 
the campus is planned for 2010.  The campus will house up to 10 
local and foreign universities and will be composed of between 4 and 
10 branches of local and foreign universities that will pool 
resources to conduct research and educate students in cutting edge 
technologies. 
 
¶13.  MKE said the State University of New York at Stony Brook has 
agreed to establish a college at the campus, while the State 
University of North Carolina is close to signing a similar contract. 
 Talks are underway with Britain's Surry University and Delaware 
State University.  Yonsei, Inha and other local universities are 
currently soliciting interest among other foreign schools.  The Salk 
Institute, a non-profit scientific research institute based in 
California, established a Center for Biology at Songdo late last 
year. 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
Korea's New HIV Cases Increased by 7 Percent in 2008 to 797 
-------------------------------- -------------------------- 
¶14.  The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said 
in a February 2 preliminary report that the number of new HIV cases 
among Korean citizens totaled 797 in the year 2008.  That brings to 
6,120 the number of officially-recorded HIV cases among Korean 
 
SEOUL 00000318  004 OF 004 
 
 
citizens since 1985. 
 
¶15.  The infection pathway was identified for 459 of the 797 new 
cases recorded last year.  Of those, 58 percent (234 males and 34 
females) contracted the virus through heterosexual contact, and 42 
percent through homosexual contact.  None of the new cases 
contracted the virus through intravenous drug use or mother-to-child 
transmission.  Of the cumulative 6,120 officially-recorded HIV 
carriers (5,604 males and 516 females), 1,084 have died and 783 have 
been diagnosed with active cases of AIDS. 
 
¶16.  The number of new cases in 2008 represents an increase of 7.1 
percent over the 744 new cases reported in 2007.  Because of the 
still very low absolute numbers, fluctuations in annual percent 
increases may appear to be overstated.  The annual rate of increase 
in new HIV cases in Korea has been slowing slightly in the most 
recent years.  It actually decreased by nearly one percent from 2006 
to 2007. 
 
Smoking Rate Rising Slightly to 22.3 Percent with Huge Gender Gap 
------------------------------------- --------------------------- 
¶17.  About 22.3 percent of Korean adults aged over 19 smoke, the 
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said on January 2. 
According to an end-of-year government survey of 1,484 males and 
1,522 females aged over 19, the smoking rate was higher than the 
21.9 rate recorded mid-year.  Among men, the rate was 40.9 percent, 
up from 40.4 percent six months ago.  The female smoking rate stood 
at 4.1 percent, up from 3.7 percent.  A ministry official cited the 
stress of worsening economic conditions among the factors behind the 
slight rise. 
 
Tamiflu-Resistant Seasonal Influenza Virus Reported in Korea 
---------------------------- ------------------------------- 
¶18.  The Korean Center for Disease Control reported January 9 that 
during a surveillance program from September 7 to December 13, it 
isolated 220 influenza A/H1N1 viruses from humans (type A/subtype 
H1N1 is a seasonal influenza virus that circulates worldwide). 
Seventeen of the viruses were tested for anti-viral drug resistance, 
and 16 of the 17 were found to be resistant to Tamiflu 
(oseltamivir).  The findings correlate with testing performed in 
other countries that demonstrates a significant increase in the 
prevalence of oseltamivir resistance among influenza A/H1N1 viruses 
worldwide.  The findings are significant because oseltamivir 
continues to be the drug of choice for treating influenza. 
 
Hospitals Allowed to Advertise for International Patients 
------------------------------- ------------------------- 
¶19.  The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said on 
January 9 that it will allow Korean hospitals to engage in 
advertising and other activities aimed at attracting patients from 
abroad as part of efforts to internationalize the medical service 
sector.  The directive will go into effect in April, the Ministry 
said. 
STEPHENS