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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 000716 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 6, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
"High-Cost" Hotel Weddings under the Microscope 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Defense Ministry Reduces Defense Budget, Delays Troop Cuts; Economy 
Blamed for Modifications to the Defense Reform 2020 Project 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Lee Myung-bak Administration Needs "Policy of Unity and 
Communication" 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Real Estate, Stock, Currency Strengthening on the Back of Ample 
Liquidity; Experts, However, Warn that Economic Recovery May Still 
Be Far Away 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Ruling GNP Set to Push Ahead with an "Anti-Human Rights Bill," which 
will Drastically Restrict Rallies and Demonstrations 
 
Segye Ilbo 
ROKG's North Korea Policy Lacks Strategy and Focuses Only on 
Considering Public Opinion 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Politicians Face Summons in "Park Yeon-cha Bribery Scandal" 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
 
According to an ROKG official, the ROKG will approve a package of 
measures to support reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan during 
today's Cabinet meeting. The measures will include sending police 
officers to assist with security operations in the war-torn country 
and donating security and medical equipment worth $5 million. 
(Chosun, Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, all TVs) 
 
According to an ROKG source, the two Koreas are discussing the 
schedule and agenda for the second round of talks on the joint 
Kaesong Industrial Complex. (JoongAng, Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, 
Segye, Seoul) 
 
A month after the launch of the (U.S.-ROK) WEST (Work, English 
Study, and Travel) Program, Dong-a Ilbo featured a story quoting 
participants who expressed satisfaction with the program's 
systematic language classes and good prospects for internships in 
the U.S. 
 
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. 
Special Representative for North Korea Policy, will visit countries 
involved in the Six-Party Talks beginning today. He is expected to 
come to Seoul on May 8 after visiting China on May 7. (Hankook, all 
TVs) 
 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
- Troop Deployment to Afghanistan 
----------------------------------- 
 
Citing an ROKG official, most ROK media reported that the ROKG will 
approve a package of measures to support reconstruction efforts in 
Afghanistan during today's Cabinet meeting.  The measures will 
include sending police officers to help security operations in the 
war-torn country and donating security and medical equipment worth 
$5 million, according to media reports. 
 
In a related development, right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo 
 
SEOUL 00000716  002 OF 005 
 
 
editorialized on May 5: "The situation in Afghanistan is getting 
increasingly worse.  Outside the capital, Kabul, many parts of the 
country are largely under the control of the Taliban, which is 
rapidly expanding its influence over the southeastern area bordering 
Pakistan.  It is understandable that the U.S., which is in desperate 
need of help, has asked the ROK, one of its allies, to offer 
assistance.  However, any decision to dispatch Korean troops to 
Afghanistan should not be based purely on loyalty.  The lives of 
Koreans are at stake. ...  Once in Afghanistan, soldiers will have 
to risk their lives to fight Taliban soldiers, which is why we 
cannot be too careful about future redeployment.  This is also the 
reason why America's European allies have been reluctant to embrace 
U.S. calls for help in Afghanistan." 
 
Moderate Seoul Shimun's editorial observed today: "The U.S. 
administration should look favorably towards the ROKG's measures to 
support Afghanistan, which came after Seoul's serious consideration 
of both public opinion against troop redeployment and its role as a 
U.S. ally.  Washington should refrain from pressuring the ROKG by 
demanding excessive financial aid because Seoul does not send its 
troops to Afghanistan or by requesting troop deployment again. 
Separately from the decision on (providing assistance to) 
Afghanistan, the ROKG should make every effort to call the attention 
of the Obama Administration to the issue of North Korea.  ...  The 
Obama Administration's strategy of ignoring North Korea should be 
seen as part of its efforts to focus on foreign policy priorities 
regarding Iran and Afghanistan, rather than be dragged along by 
North Korea.  ...  The ROKG must focus the attention of the U.S. 
administration on North Korea and at the same time enhance the 
cooperative framework with the U.S. in order to devise the right 
policy toward North Korea.  Cooperation on North Korea should come 
before the issue of Afghanistan." 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
 
Lives on the Line 
(JoongAng Ilbo, May 5, 2009, Page 34) 
 
The redeployment of troops to Afghanistan will almost certainly be 
on the agenda at the South Korea-U.S. summit on June 16 in 
Washington, D.C., now that the issue has resurfaced in the Korean 
media.  The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry here said the United 
States has not actually asked for redeployment and thus Seoul is not 
reviewing that possibility.  But when what's really going on is so 
obvious, sweeping the issue under the carpet is not the answer.  The 
Korean government should not be forced to make a hasty decision on 
this matter after agonizing over it for some time. 
 
The situation in Afghanistan is getting increasingly worse.  Outside 
of the capital, Kabul, many parts of the country are largely under 
the control of the Taliban, which is rapidly expanding its influence 
over the southeastern area bordering Pakistan.  It is understandable 
that the U.S., which is in desperate need of help, has asked South 
Korea, one of its allies, to offer assistance.  However, any 
decision to dispatch South Korean troops to Afghanistan should not 
be based purely on loyalty.  The lives of Koreans are at stake, and 
this will have great influence over public sentiment. 
 
Some would say having Korean soldiers in Afghanistan would not be a 
problem since our Zaytun troops have already served in Iraq.  But 
this is an uninformed view.  Afghanistan is not Iraq.  There is no 
equivalent Green Zone, a relatively safe area within Baghdad.  Once 
in Afghanistan, soldiers will have to risk their lives to fight 
Taliban soldiers, which is why we cannot be too careful about future 
redeployment.  This is also the reason why America's European allies 
have been reluctant to embrace U.S. calls for help in Afghanistan. 
 
For now, the Korean government plans to increase the size of the 
Provincial Reconstruction Team from 24 members to 90.  It will also 
expand civilian support.  The United States appears to understand 
Korea's plight and may not be pressing hard for redeployment just 
right now.  The best case scenario for us would be to end this 
discussion by merely upping our financial support. But we can't rule 
out the possibility that the situation in Afghanistan could 
 
SEOUL 00000716  003 OF 005 
 
 
deteriorate further. As such, the government should not 
categorically declare that redeployment will not take place. 
Whether Washington's call for help has been made through an official 
or an unofficial channel, the government should be open with the 
public and then try to persuade the people if necessary. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version.) 
 
 
U.S., ROK Should Put Cooperation on North Korea before Cooperation 
on Afghanistan 
(Seoul Shinmun, May 6, 2009, Page 27) 
 
The ROKG will announce a plan to provide reconstruction aid for 
Afghanistan today.  It reportedly plans to increase the number of 
the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) from about 20 to 300 and 
expand in-kind support through the Official Development Assistance 
(ODA).  It is fortunate that the ROKG sidestepped the (the issue of) 
redeploying troops to Afghanistan, a controversial issue for 
Koreans, and chose (instead) to offer personnel, equipment and 
capital for the reconstruction efforts.  When dealing with the issue 
of Afghanistan, where two innocent civilians died just about a year 
ago, the ROKG should give top priority to justification and national 
interests.  In this sense, our judgment is that troop redeployment 
is neither justified nor conforms to our national interests. 
 
With the U.S.-ROK summit slated for next month, the provision of aid 
to Afghanistan is emerging as an unavoidable pending issue.   The 
U.S. administration should look favorably towards the ROKG's 
measures to support Afghanistan, which came after Seoul's serious 
consideration of both public opinion against troop redeployment and 
its role as a U.S. ally.  Washington should refrain from pressuring 
the ROKG by demanding excessive financial aid because Seoul does not 
send its troops to Afghanistan or by requesting troop deployment 
again. 
 
Separately from the decision on (providing assistance to) 
Afghanistan, the ROKG should make every effort to call the attention 
of the Obama Administration to the issue of North Korea.. If the 
issue of Afghanistan is a top foreign policy issue for U.S. 
President Obama, the North Korean issue is an urgent task facing us. 
 Although the North, which launched a rocket and restarted the 
Yongbyon nuclear facilities, is now destroying the Six-Party 
framework by threatening to conduct a second nuclear test, 
(Secretary) Clinton's foreign policy team is simply ratcheting up 
its rhetoric without any clear countermeasure. 
 
The Obama Administration's strategy of ignoring the North should be 
seen as part of its efforts to focus on foreign policy priorities 
regarding Iran and Afghanistan, rather than be dragged along by 
North Korea.  However, this should not be the case.  The ROKG must 
focus the attention of the U.S. administration on North Korea and at 
the same time enhance the cooperative framework with the U.S. in 
order to devise the right policy toward North Korea.  Cooperation on 
North Korea should come before the issue of Afghanistan. 
 
FEATURES 
--------- 
 
WEST Participants Are "Satisfied with Language Classes"... 
"Prospects for Internships Are Good" 
(Dong-a Ilbo, May 6, 2009, Page 5) 
 
By Reporter Hwang Kyu-in 
 
One Month after the WEST Program 
 
"Through the WEST Program, you can study TOEIC in a systematic 
way... Homestay is good but rather costly... Gathering information 
before departure is the key to success." 
 
Jin Min-hee (23, a senior majoring in food science and technology at 
Pusan National University) takes an English conversation class 
 
SEOUL 00000716  004 OF 005 
 
 
everyday on the 63rd floor of the Empire State Building in New York 
in the U.S.  When she does not have a class, she visits fashion 
brand shops, such as Zara and Forever 21, H&M.  Jin said, "Because I 
have been very interested in the advanced Virtual Merchandising 
(VMD) system, I am also pleased to see and learn about it in 
person." 
 
Jin, who had never been abroad before joining the WEST (Work, 
English Study, and Travel) Program as one of the first participants, 
arrived in the U.S. at the end of March.  In addition to Jin, other 
WEST participants - Suh In-suk (26, a senior majoring in journalism 
at Hanyang University), Ahn Su-jin (22, a junior majoring in law at 
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies), Lee Suk-kyun (26, a sophomore 
majoring in creative advertising at Seoul Institute of the Arts) and 
Ban Ji-eun (23, a senior majoring in English language and literature 
at Kangnung-Wonju National University) - told Dong-a Ilbo about 
their month-long stay in the U.S. 
 
They all said, "In order to reduce mistakes, future WEST 
participants should gather as much information as possible in the 
ROK before leaving for the U.S."  The second group of participants 
will leave at the end of August. 
 
Systematic English classes 
 
Most of the 190 participants of the first group (in the WEST 
program) will finish taking the language course by September.  Ahn 
is taking the TOEIC class at Intrax International Institute in San 
Francisco.  She said, "At first, I was not happy with the class 
because I had taken the same TOEIC class in the ROK.  However, the 
class here is different, as it does not simply give an answer but 
tells us why it is the answer in a systematic way."  Language 
institutes provide a variety of classes focused on speaking, 
business communication and internship programs for students who have 
different levels of language proficiency.  Ban, who had studied at 
Tennessee State University as an exchange student last year, noted, 
"Now that I do not have school work to do, I feel less burdened," 
adding, "I am pleased to have a chance to study business English, 
not daily conversation."  WEST participants say they are unhappy 
that there are so many Korean students in language classes.  Lee 
said, "Since Korean students are accustomed to rote learning, they 
often have difficulty participating in discussion, depriving the 
debate class of its vitality.  In Chicago, some classes are only 
composed of WEST participants." 
 
In higher level classes, there are more non-Korean students thereby 
giving the WEST participants more opportunity to to actively 
participate in the class.  Suh said, "Even in January and February, 
the selection period for the first batch of WEST participants, I 
continued to study English hard by preparing for the TOEIC test and 
listening to English speeches, and that seemed to be very helpful 
when I took the level test."  Among the WEST participants studying 
at Intrax, Suh is the only one qualified to take the ESL Level 10 
class. 
 
They favor staying in apartments. 
 
In the U.S., WEST participants live with homestay families or stay 
in dormitories or apartments.  Homestays or apartments are 
preferable to dormitories.  Many dormitory facilities are not worth 
the (high) cost, and the homestay arrangement is satisfactory but 
costly.  Suh lived with homestay families until April, but starting 
this month, he lives in a rental apartment.  In most cases, three 
Korean students or two Koreans and one foreigner share an apartment. 
 Lee also said, "Before leaving the ROK, I applied for the homestay 
program but cancelled it, and now I am living with a Korean 
roommate.  This is much more comfortable." 
 
Getting an internship is the key. 
 
The Global Internship Support Task in charge of the WEST Program and 
(ROK) consulates in the U.S. are actively helping program 
participants adjust to life in the U.S.  Some language institutes 
with many WEST participants have prepared a separate counter 
 
SEOUL 00000716  005 OF 005 
 
 
exclusively for the WEST Program. 
 
Now, the last remaining hurdle is to get an internship.  Sponsors of 
the program are receiving the profiles of WEST participants and 
searching for companies to provide internships opportunities.  WEST 
participants say, "Contrary to previous concerns, sponsors are 
making active efforts to find internships for us.  The levels of 
internships are expected to vary depending on our command of 
English."  Now, the Global Internship Support Task is recruiting the 
second group of participants.  If you are interested in the program, 
you can contact the international programs office at each 
university. 
 
 
STANTON