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≡ President Moon's Approval Rating Falls For 7th Straight Week
President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has dropped for the seventh straight week.
Realmeter conducted a survey from Monday to Wednesday last week on over 1,500 people nationwide and found his approval rating stood at 53.8 percent, down 1.6 percentage points from a week earlier.
Negative views of him rose 1.1 percentage points to 39.4 percent.
As to why his approval rating dropped, the pollster said "anxiety about the economy has steadily expanded, fanned by news of economic indicators deteriorating and near daily attacks by some political parties and the media over economic failures."
The survey had a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.■
[2018.11.15]
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≡ N. Korean Media Condemns S. Korean Military Drills
North Korean media has condemned South Korea for carrying out military exercises, calling them an "outright provocation."
The North's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri ran a commentary today, saying the drills gravely violate a military pact signed during the September summit in Pyongyang where the leaders of the two Koreas promised to halt all hostile actions against each other.
The South Korean Army, Air Force and Marine Corps conducted a joint drill last week.
Seoul has also been carrying out joint marine exercises with the U.S. since earlier this month.
South Korea describes both drills as "defensive" in nature.■
[2018.11.15]
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≡ Three S. Korean Firms To Pay $236 Mln For US Military Bid Rigging
The U.S. Justice Department says three South Korean companies have agreed to pay 236 million dollars for their involvement in a bid-rigging scheme to supply fuel to U.S. military bases.
The department said in a statement that SK Energy, GS Caltex Corporation and Hanjin Transportation are accused of taking part in a "conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition" during the bidding process for fuel supply contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The companies have agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay some 82 million dollars in fines.
Separately, they will also pay some 154 million dollars in related civil damages.
The department said it suspects the scheme began around March 2005 and continued into 2016.■
[2018.11.15]
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≡ Seoul City's Drunk Driving Crackdown Leads To Decrease In Accidents, Casualties
Seoul police say their recent crackdown on drunk driving reduced the number of alcohol-related accidents and casualties.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said there were 223 drunk driving accidents from October 11th to November 10th, down 250 cases from the previous month-long period, and a drop of 69 causalities.
Officials, however, saw a nearly 30 percent increase in the number of daily violations.
Police plan to continue its crackdown through the end of the year, targeting accident-prone areas on weeknights.■
[2018.11.15]