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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 000683 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; April 29, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Senior ROK Health Official Dispatched to WHO: "We are at War with 
Swine Flu. This is Just the Beginning. It could Take over Six Months 
to Defeat the Virus" 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Nine More Suspected "Swine Flu" Cases in ROK 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
First Case of Swine Flu "Presumed" in ROK 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
ROKG Tracking 10,000 People who have Entered the Nation from Mexico 
Since April 17 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
ROK Is Not "Safe" from Swine Flu 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
The ROKG yesterday raised its alert level from "concern" to 
"attention" as the nation's first "presumed" swine flu patient was 
identified. (Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul, all TVs) 
The ROKG also tentatively suspended imports of live hogs from North 
America to curb the spread of swine flu (Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, 
Seoul) and imposed travel restrictions to Mexico, where the death 
toll from swine flu has reached 152. (All) 
 
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 
------------------ 
According to a source in Washington, the USG is considering sending 
a high-level special envoy to North Korea to discuss pending issues, 
including the two U.S. journalists detained in the country and the 
nuclear issue. Former President Jimmy Carter and Bill Richardson, 
Governor of New Mexico, are being discussed as likely candidates. 
(Hankook) 
The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its global alert level on 
the spreading swine flu virus to Phase 4 on April 27, indicating 
that there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus 
causing outbreaks in at least one country. It is the first time that 
the level has been raised above Phase 3 since bird flu spread in 
Asia in 2003. (All) 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-North Korea 
------------ 
Citing a source in Washington, moderate Hankook Ilbo reported that 
the USG is considering sending a high-level special envoy to North 
Korea to discuss pending issues, including the two U.S. journalists 
detained in the country and the nuclear issue. 
 
The report went on to say that this U.S. move comes amid growing 
skepticism about the role of Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. Special 
Representative for North Korea Policy.  Former President Jimmy 
Carter and Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, are being 
discussed as likely candidates, according to the report. 
 
 
-Swine Flu 
---------- 
Reports of the first "presumed" case of swine flu in the ROK 
received front-page treatment.  According to media reports, the 
Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday raised the 
status of a 51-year-old Korean woman who had returned from a trip to 
Mexico from "suspected" of being infected with swine flu to 
"presumed" infected after close examination. 
 
 
SEOUL 00000683  002 OF 003 
 
 
Accordingly, the ROKG raised its alert level from "concern" to 
"attention" and imposed travel restrictions to Mexico, where the 
death toll from swine flu has reached 152, according to media 
reports.  The ROKG was also reported to have tentatively suspended 
imports of live hogs from North America to curb the spread of swine 
flu. 
 
Most ROK media reported that some 2,400 people are suspected of 
having contracted the swine flu in some 20 countries and that the 
virus is spreading faster than "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
(SARS)." 
 
-President Obama's 100 Days 
--------------------------- 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo commented from Washington that the first 100 
days of President Barack Obama's Administration has opened a "new 
chapter" of smart diplomacy and enjoyed a "glimmer of hope" for the 
economy but that the deadlock in talks on North Korea's nuclear and 
missile issues is putting President Obama to the test. 
 
Carrying the headline, "The First 'Hip President' Restructures the 
U.S.," left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun observed that fifty percent of 
Americans view President Obama's efforts to remove the legacies of 
the Bush Administration as being a step in the "right direction" but 
that it would take time for the President's reform efforts to bear 
fruit, due to the huge U.S. fiscal deficit and protests against the 
reform efforts from within the Democratic Party,  among other 
reasons. 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
ANTI-US BEEF PROTESTS: ONE YEAR LATER 
(Dong-a Ilbo, April 29, 2009, Page 31) 
 
A year ago today, the MBC investigative program PD Notebook called a 
downer cow a mad cow in an episode titled, "Breaking Coverage - Are 
U.S. Beef Imports Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?"  The program, 
employing forbidding background music, said Koreans are 94 percent 
more likely to contract a human form of mad cow disease.  The next 
day, posts about the program flooded Internet sites related to mad 
cow disease and the Web portal site Daum.  People scared by the 
program's unfounded claims and from online posts flocked to Seoul's 
downtown Cheonggye Plaza to hold candlelight vigils. 
 
Some 1,000 anti-American and pro-North Korea groups formed the 
People`s Association for Measures against Mad Cow Disease.  Led by 
the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Teachers' and 
Educational Workers' Union, the People's Solidarity for 
Participatory Democracy, the Korean Federation for Environmental 
Movement, and the Federation to Implement the Inter-Korean Summit (a 
group ruled as illegal) led the oftentimes violent protests for 
about 100 days and demanded the resignation of the President Lee 
Myung-bak. 
 
This shows that if a group takes advantage of media, a common asset 
of the people, a nation can slip into chaos and its very foundation 
can be shaken.  MBC reluctantly aired an apology under orders from 
the Korea Communications Commission, but seemed unremorseful over 
what it did.  In response to the investigation of PD Notebook's mad 
cow disease episode, the network stated, "This was a program that 
criticized government policy in the interest of the public's right 
to health.  The criminal investigation represents unprecedented 
oppression of the media in a civilized nation of the 21st century 
and is killing democracy." 
 
U.S. beef imports were resumed in June last year and are second only 
to those from Australia in the country.  Forty-eight million 
Koreans, 300 million Americans, one million Korean Americans, and 
people in 89 countries eat American beef with no problems.  The ROK 
suffered direct and indirect losses of 3.7 trillion won (2.7 billion 
dollars) due to the protests triggered by MBC's "falsehood and 
fanaticism," according to Korea Economic Research Institute. 
 
SEOUL 00000683  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
The Lee Administration was plagued by social instability and delayed 
reform of the public sector early in its term, and the global 
financial crisis has hit the country.  Law enforcement authorities 
were overwhelmed by illegal protests and a unruly conditions were 
left unattended for almost three months in Seoul.  Malicious 
Internet users blackmailed companies advertising in newspapers that 
criticized the protests, including The Dong-A Ilbo, threatening free 
speech and the market economy. 
 
Certain people who joined the candlelight protests were truly 
worried about public health and were disappointed by the 
government's poor negotiations over U.S. beef.  The instigators, 
however, disguised themselves as protesters holding candles to 
protect public health and took advantage of innocent citizens. 
 
Last week, Dr. Ahn Se-yeong, a professor at the Graduate School of 
International Studies at Sogang University in Seoul, told a panel 
discussion focusing on the protests, "Only by getting to the bottom 
of the truth will we not make the same mistake again."  Serious 
discussion and reflection on what happened a year ago are needed to 
prevent lying broadcasters and certain groups from instigating the 
public and fueling chaos. 
 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
STEPHENS