Asean Tribune

South Korean stocks fell slightly Thursday following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to hold the key rate flat. The Korean won rebounded against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 8.41 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,683.65, ending the three-session winning streak that started last Friday.

Trade volume was slim at 342.7 million shares worth 8.9 trillion won (US$6.5 billion). Decliners outnumbered gainers 513 to 357.

Individual and foreign investors bought a net 147.4 billion won worth of local shares, offsetting a net sale of 144.1 billion won by institutions.

“The Korean financial market was slightly weak due to a less-than-expected hawkish stance by the U.S. Federal Reserve,” said Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities.

Overnight, the U.S. central bank kept the rate unchanged for the sixth straight meeting as widely expected due to still high inflation. But the Fed showed a dovish stance, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it is “unlikely” for the Fed to
make an interest rate hike at its next meeting.

In Seoul, major shares closed mixed.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 0.65 percent to 78,000 won, but its chipmaking rival SK hynix fell 0.34 percent to 173,600 won.

Top steelmaker POSCO Holdings declined 1.48 percent to 399,000 won, and leading zinc smelter Korea Zinc dropped 0.76 percent to 460,000 won.

Bank shares were negative as Hana Financial Group decreased 2.9 percent to 57,000 won, and KB Financial Group slid 4.37 percent to 72,300 won.

But defense companies finished higher on a strong first-quarter performance as Hanwha Aerospace advanced 4.26 percent to 220,500 won, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) jumped 4.44 percent to 54,100 won.

Hybe, a record label behind K-pop superstars, dipped 0.99 percent to 200,000 won after releasing its weak first-quarter earnings report amid an internal power struggle.

The local currency closed at 1,375.9 won against the U.S. dollar, up 6.1 won from the previous session’s close.

Bond prices, which move i
nversely to yields, rose. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 2 basis points to 3.509 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds dropped 2.3 basis points to 3.563 percent.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is preparing for the expected onset of the La Niña phenomenon next month by ensuring that its disaster preparedness and response strategies are in place to mitigate the possible effects of the wet season, an agency official said on Thursday.

‘Na-approve na rin yung ating Buong Bansa Handa project… yung ating framework agreement. Ongoing din yung procurement for that dahil nga ang gusto nating mangyari ay mabilis yung pagpapahatid ng tulong kapag dumating na yung tag-ulan,’ (The Buong Bansa Handa Project has been approved… the framework agreement. The procurement process is also ongoing because what we want to happen is for the assistance to be immediately delivered when the rainy season arrives),’ DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a media forum in Quezon City.

Dumlao, assistant secretary for Disaster Response Management Group, noted that the Buong Bansa Handa (the whole country is ready) project would establish two parallel supply chain mechani
sms for disaster preparedness and response, which would enhance the department’s capacity to meet the needs of families in various disaster-stricken areas.

The first mechanism features a national and local government-driven supply chain that will improve the production capacities and processes of the DSWD’s National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City, the Visayas Disaster Resource Center in Cebu, and warehouse and storage facilities across the 16 DSWD field offices.

For the second mechanism, the DSWD will forge partnerships with established large and small groceries, supermarkets, manufacturers, and distributors to leverage their technical expertise and resources to create a private sector-driven supply chain.

Enough relief supplies in warehouses

Dumlao said they are monitoring the relief supplies and ensuring that there are enough family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items (NFIs) prepositioned in the various warehouses across the country.

As of April 29, a total of 387,124 FFPs have been preposit
ioned in the 10 DSWD hubs while 602,113 boxes of food packs were sent to the 66 spokes and 545,526 FFPs in the 849 last-mile delivery facilities across the country.

‘Doon sa ating mga last mile, binabantayan natin ang delivery, gayundin ang mga withdrawal ng ating FFPs and NFIs para hindi po tayo nauubusan and, of course, pag dumating ang tag-ulan ay sapat ang ating mga supply and are ready to be sent to LGUs that are affected (In our last-mile delivery facilities, we monitor the delivery, as well as the withdrawal of our FFPs and NFIs, so that we don’t run out, and of course, when the rainy season comes, our supplies are sufficient and ready to be sent to affected LGUs),’ she said.

Safe evacuation centers

Dumlao pointed out that the DSWD is also monitoring the evacuation centers to ensure that evacuees would be provided with necessary interventions.

She said evacuation centers, in coordination with the local government units and the Department of Education, have been inspected to ensure the safety of the
would-be evacuees.

One of the concerns of the DSWD is also to ensure that women and children affected by various disasters are safe, she said.

To date, 18,069 evacuation centers around the country can be used to temporarily shelter internally displaced individuals.

Source: Philippines News Agency

As Paris gears up for the 2024 Olympics, South Korea will launch a six-month program Thursday to showcase its diverse artistic and cultural landscape in major cities around France.

The “2024 Korea Season” will feature 34 events, including performances, exhibitions and crafts, hosted by 17 Korean cultural-arts institutions affiliated with the government, according to the culture ministry that organized the program.

The opening show, “Urban Pulse Uprising,” a collaborative breakdance performance by leading South Korean and French dancing teams, will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Thursday.

South Korea’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon will attend the opening show alongside notable French figures, including former Culture Minister Jack Lang.

Yu expressed his excitement about the return of the Olympics to Paris after a century and the opportunity to showcase the richness of Korean culture through high-quality performances and exhibitions, in a press release.

“We hope ath
letes and tourists visiting France from all over the world will have the chance to encounter and experience a variety of Korean culture and arts,” he said.

The program lineup also includes a concert by emerging young Korean classical musicians; a joint creative Korean opera by national troupes for opera, orchestra and choir; an exhibition of Korean craftsmanship; a special exhibit of Korean folk plays and media arts; a fair featuring Korean cultural content, such as TV dramas, films and webtoons; and a Korean tourism road show.

During the Olympics, “Korea House” will serve as a hub for introducing various Korean content, such as music, drama, film and beauty, alongside tourism, books, traditional culture and Korean-style ballet to international visitors.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The private sector Philippine Computer Emergency Response Team (PH CERT) has urged the administration of Romblon State University (RSU) and other big organizations recently attacked by hackers to establish permanent cybersecurity departments with well-trained and well-equipped personnel.

In an interview on Thursday, PH CERT president Lito Averia said it is about time for institutions that keep huge volumes of sensitive data to invest more of their resources on bolstering cybersecurity.

He said it is not enough to have personnel who will detect and repel potential cyber-attacks, thus it is also necessary that every organization establish an incident response team that can act quickly to mitigate the damage in the event of a successful data breach.

‘Aside from acquiring better cybersecurity tools and hiring highly-trained IT (information technology) people, institutions must also adopt policies that will penalize its personnel for negligence in ‘cyber hygiene’ or who will put the whole organization at great
er risk from cyber criminals,’ he added.

PH CERT is an anti-cybercrime advocacy group made up of cybersecurity professionals from various organizations.

The group has advised members of Congress in crafting cybersecurity and data privacy laws.

Meanwhile, the administration of RSU said its initial investigation into Monday’s data breach showed that the hackers posted a series of screenshots of the alleged data that was hacked from the university’s old internal system.

In an online statement on Wednesday, school authorities said the breach was apparently triggered by an alleged wrongdoing of a faculty member.

RSU did not confirm earlier reports that personal data of students and faculty members were also stolen by the cyber criminals.

‘As a government institution, the university recognizes its inherent obligation to ensure that personal information in its information and communications systems are secured and protected… The university has likewise already reported the matter to the National Privacy Commis
sion in compliance with its issuances. In cooperation with law enforcement agencies, we shall also endeavor to make the perpetrators accountable for this incident,’ the RSU administration said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A court ruled Thursday that the dismissal of some 600 employees at Eastar Jet Co. in 2020 is justifiable, given the financial difficulties suffered by the company at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, Eastar Jet laid off 605 personnel from their company, citing financial difficulties, and 44 of them filed a petition asking for their reinstatement with the Regional Labor Relations Commission in Seoul.

The regional commission ruled that the airline company had not done enough to prevent the layoff, including through temporary closure or taking time off, and recognized the dismissal of 41 people as unjustly done.

The company filed an appeal and the National Labor Relations Commission overturned the regional commission’s decision and sided with the South Korean budget carrier, leading to 29 laid-off workers taking the case to the administrative court.

On Thursday, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled that there was an urgent need for the layoff due to the business situation, including the spread of COV
ID-19, the restraint in travel, and prolonged state of impaired capital for the company.

“The management tried its best to avoid the layoff, selected those to be dismissed based on objective and impartial standards, and negotiated with the head of the workers,” the court said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the top three causes of death in the country last year were ischaemic heart diseases, neoplasms, and cerebrovascular diseases.

In a report released on Thursday, the PSA said these were also the leading causes of death in 2022.

Ischaemic heart diseases, which happen when the heart weakens due to reduced blood flow to the heart, were the leading cause of death with 107,767 cases or 19.0 percent of the total deaths in the country.

Neoplasms, which is the abnormal growth of cancerous or noncancerous mass, came in second with 60,906 deaths accounting for about 10.7 percent.

Cerebrovascular diseases, a group of conditions that affect blood flow and the blood vessels in the brain, were the third leading cause of death which accounted for 57,288 recorded cases.

“Deaths due to diabetes mellitus recorded 36,039 cases or 6.3 percent share, making it the fourth leading cause of death, while deaths due to pneumonia, which ranked fifth, recorded 34,507 cases or 6.
1 percent share,” said the PSA.

Source: Philippines News Agency