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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000813 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; May 21, 2009 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
ROKG to Create Various Investment Funds to Absorb 811 Trillion Won 
Worth of Short-Term Funds Floating in Domestic Market 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
With Korea's Labor-Management Relations Still 
among the World's "Most Rigid," Labor Unions 
Again Prepare for Massive Strike 
 
Dong-a Ilbo, SBS 
New Mt. Everest Route Conquered: 
ROK Alpinist Park Young-seok Breaks New Route Up 
Mt. Everest's Dangerous Southwest Face 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
Concerns about Some Media and Political Circles Trying to Turn 
"Trial-Tampering Justice Case" 
into an Ideological Confrontation 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
ROKG "Bans All Mass Rallies in Urban Areas"... 
Constitution Article 21, which Guarantees 
Citizens' Freedom of Assembly, Is in Crisis 
 
Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun 
President's Friend Faces Second Grilling 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
The ROK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will 
hold a special summit on Jeju Island June 1-2 to further strengthen 
ties and discuss cooperation on key issues, ranging from the 
financial crisis to climate change. (All) 
 
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 
-------------------------- 
 
On May 19, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her first foreign 
press conference since taking office, explained President Barack 
Obama's overall foreign policy but made no mention of North Korea. 
(Dong-a, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) 
 
According to the Japanese media, President Obama's close friend and 
lawyer John Roos has informally been named as U.S. Ambassador to 
Japan. Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye, who had purportedly 
been considered a leading contender for the post, was apparently 
sidelined by Roos in the final stage of the personnel decision. 
(All) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
-------------- 
 
-North Korea 
------------ 
Most ROK media carried inside-page reports on Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton's May 19 first foreign press conference since taking 
office, in which she explained President Barack Obama's overall 
foreign policy, but made no mention of North Korea. 
 
Conservative Dong-a Ilbo headlined its story: "Secretary Clinton's 
'Strategy of Neglect toward North Korea'?"  Left-leaning Hankyoreh 
Shinmun, in an article entitled "Clinton 'Silent' on North Korea," 
observed that Secretary Clinton's failure to mention North Korea (in 
her press conference) might indicate a changed U.S. stance on North 
Korea following the North's long-range rocket launch and reflect the 
prevailing view in the U.S. that it is better to have a cooling-off 
period with North Korea than to respond hastily to the North's 
 
SEOUL 00000813  002 OF 004 
 
 
threats.   Hankyoreh also cited some analysts who speculated that 
Secretary Clinton might have felt no need to mention North Korea 
because the Obama Administration is still reviewing its policy 
towards North Korea and there are no special pending issues 
regarding North Korea. (sic) 
 
All ROK TV networks quoted Secretary Clinton's statement at a Senate 
hearing that: "The U.S. will not give North Korea a penny of aid 
unless the North voluntarily returns to the Six-Party Talks." 
 
-New U.S. Auto Emission Standards 
--------------------------------- 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "The problem for Korea 
is whether its automobile producers will be able to meet the (U.S.) 
requirement (to meet new emission and fuel efficiency standards) in 
time.  This is not optional; it must be achieved.  Should Korea fail 
to reach this target, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that 
Korea's auto industry will face bankruptcy.  After all, we currently 
export 900,000 units to the U.S. per year. ... We need to embrace 
the new U.S. fuel efficiency standards as a stepping stone toward 
dealing with other challenges.  We must begin an all-out effort to 
produce quality hybrid cars through the coordinated efforts of the 
government and the corporate sector." 
 
 
OPINIONS/EDITORIALS 
------------------- 
 
HYBRID CHALLENGES AHEAD 
(JoongAng Ilbo, May 21, 2009, Page 38) 
 
The development of technologies for green cars - 
environment-friendly vehicles - has suddenly emerged as an urgent 
issue, sparked by U.S. President Barack Obama's recent announcement 
of new standards for fuel mileage and greenhouse-gas emissions. 
Obama said automakers must raise the average fuel efficiency of 
vehicles sold in the domestic market from the current 10.5 
kilometers per liter (25 miles per gallon) to 15 kilometers (35.5 
miles per gallon) by 2016.  Starting that year, Korean car exporters 
must meet the requirements in order to sell in the U.S. market. 
 
The fuel efficiency requirement for passenger cars will be more 
stringent than that for trucks; passenger cars will be required to 
meet 16 kilometers per liter (39 miles per gallon) on average.   The 
problem for Korea is whether its automobile producers will be able 
to meet the (U.S.) requirement (to meet new emission and fuel 
efficiency standards) in time.  This is not optional; it must be 
achieved.  Should Korea fail to reach this target, it wouldn't be 
too far-fetched to say that Korea's auto industry will face 
bankruptcy.  After all, we currently export 900,000 units to the 
U.S. per year. 
 
Of some concern is the fact that experts say that meeting the new 
standards is not that simple.  The best fuel efficiency rating for a 
Hyundai Motor vehicle is 12.5 kilometers per liter.  In the next 
seven years, the fuel efficiency has to be improved by around 4 
kilometers per liter.  The carmaker may consider reducing vehicle 
weight but the ultimate solution, experts say, lies in developing 
green cars, including hybrids. 
 
The fuel efficiency of hybrid vehicles produced by Japan's carmakers 
now stands at 30-40 kilometers per liter.  If Korea develops similar 
vehicles and exports them to the U.S., along with ordinary 
gasoline-based vehicles, it won't be difficult for Korea to lower 
the average fuel efficiency of cars shipped there.   However, Korea 
lags behind Japan, the U.S. and Europe.  One problem is that Korea's 
first hybrid vehicle, set to go on sale here in July, has a fuel 
efficiency of 17 kilometers per liter, less than half that of its 
Japanese counterparts.  In addition, the Korean hybrid will be based 
on liquefied petroleum gas, unlike in Japan, where gasoline is used, 
or in Germany, where they use diesel, because Japan and Germany hold 
patents for those technologies.  And since the U.S. doesn't 
currently have LPG stations, exports of Korean hybrids to the U.S. 
do not seem feasible. 
 
SEOUL 00000813  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
But Korea shouldn't give up just on account of these three reasons. 
We need to embrace the new U.S. fuel efficiency standards as a 
stepping stone toward dealing with other challenges.  We must begin 
an all-out effort to produce quality hybrid cars through the 
coordinated efforts of the government and the corporate sector. 
 
(This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is 
identical to the Korean version except that we have corrected the 
calculations of the conversions of kilometers per liter to mpg.) 
 
 
FEATURES 
-------- 
 
SECRETARY CLINTON'S "STRATEGY OF NEGLECT TOWARD NORTH KOREA"? 
(Dong-a Ilbo, May 21, Page 6) 
 
At the National Press Building in Washington D.C. on May 19, U.S. 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held her first foreign press 
conference since taking office.  The conference was held only for 
foreign reporters under the title, 'Global Press Conference.'  In 
the conference, she was expected to explain President Barack Obama's 
foreign policy to the foreign media.  Prior to the conference, State 
Department officials hinted that she will likely mention the North 
Korean issue.  They speculated that Secretary Clinton will likely 
discuss the Obama Administration's countermeasures against North 
Korea which, since its long-range rocket launch, has been 
threatening a second nuclear test and has been saying that the 
Six-Party Talks are 'dead'. 
 
However, there was no mention of North Korea during the conference. 
In an opening statement, Secretary Clinton mentioned Afghanistan and 
Pakistan, Middle East Peace and Iraq as issues of particular 
interest on which the U.S. is focusing.  She also talked about 
carrying out 'smart diplomacy' to build a candid and constructive 
relationship with Russia and China while strengthening ties with 
traditional allies.  She said that the U.S. is taking a new approach 
to Iran, which is dubbed the axis of nuclear proliferation along 
with North Korea.  But she did not make any remark with regards to 
North Korea. 
 
At an earlier House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on April 22, 
she did not mention North Korea even once.  This stands in contrast 
to her remarks at the January confirmation hearing that she will 
continue to work to prevent nuclear proliferation in North Korea and 
Iran and stop the alleged transfer of nuclear technology from North 
Korea to Syria.  It also marks a sharp departure from her efforts to 
bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks during her February 
tour of four Asian countries, including the ROK, by directly 
mentioning the succession issue in North Korea. 
 
Observers in Washington view Secretary Clinton's change in attitude 
as a reflection of a new strategy on the part of the U.S. 
According to observers, when Pyongyang appeared to be testing the 
Obama Administration, even though the U.S. has repeatedly expressed 
its willingness for dialogue with the North through its Special 
Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth, she sent the 
message back to Pyongyang that "We (the Obama Administration) are 
different from the previous administration."  A diplomatic source 
said, "North Korea would be making a mistake if it expects the Obama 
Administration to be like the Democratic government in 2000, when 
Washington sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang 
and even considered a visit by President Bill Clinton." 
 
However, some observers note that it is difficult to consider 
Secretary Clinton's failure to mention North Korea as an indication 
of "intentional disregard."  This is  because the U.S. is 
concentrating all its attention to Afghanistan while, at the same 
time, dismissing the U.S. commander in Afghanistan and deploying an 
additional 20,000 troops to the region and, as a result, there is no 
room to focus on North Korea. 
 
 
 
SEOUL 00000813  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
STANTON