The Korean won is falling.It exceeded 1,240 won. The reason that Japan must not make promises with the new Korean president prematurely .
2022-03-15
Category:South Korea
Photo by National Missile Defense image (licensed under CC0 1.0 )
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The won's depreciation has not stopped, and there are many uncertainties
The won fell to 1,243 won against the dollar.If the Fed raises interest rates in real terms, it will fall further.The main reason is that Russia's economic prospects are pessimistic. And Yoon Seok-yeol won the presidential election on March 9 and became president on May 10.Yoon called for strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance and mentioned the deployment of THAAD.China accounted for 24.8 percent of Korea's exports, twice as much as the U.S., the second largest exporter.When the Park Geun Hye administration decided to deploy THAAD, China imposed severe economic sanctions.China's economic sanctions are only pessimistic for investors, so Korean investment is likely to rise further and the won is likely to fall further.
Next time, South Korea will break its promise with China
The Moon Jae In administration has made a promise with China that it will not be included in the U.S. missile defense system, and that the U.S.-Japan security cooperation will not develop into a military alliance,and that the THAAD, which has already been deployed in South Korea without additional THAAD deployment, will not harm China's security.In other words, economic sanctions will inevitably be imposed if South Korea break their promise to China.The Democratic Party has 58 percent of the seats in the ruling party, and domestic opposition is likely to be strong.If the won depreciates further, there will be more material to attack the president.
It's too early to get excited about improving Japan-South Korea relations
In Japan, it is reported that the president, who wants to improve Japan-South Korea relations, took office, but the environment is not that good.Even if the new president makes a simple promise between Korea and Japan, it is highly likely that Korean public opinion and parliament will not be able to fulfill it.On the contrary, if the won-dollar exchange rate exceeds 1,300 won, it will be out of control and even default again.
POINT All promises made in Japan and South Korea have been broken every time the president changes.The Japanese government should observe it a little calmly without rushing to achieve mere diplomatic results.
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[related article]
Prime Minister Kishida and South Korea's next president, Yoon Seok - Yeol, have a telephone conversation. Will there be any changes in foreign policy?
Regarding Yun Seok-Yeol's telephone talk with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan following the US, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs' foreign policy states that ``we will strengthen mutual assistance with China, Japan, and Russia, centering on the South Korea-US alliance. ”, which indicates that the telephone conversation did not follow the order of current foreign policy.
Looking at South Korea's diplomatic white paper for 2021, it uses expressions for Japan that are a step above the terms ``closest neighbor'' and ``neighboring country,'' and after looking into it, it appears that this expression has been adopted in 2020.
Similarly, in 2020, Japan reinstated the expression "important neighbor", which had been removed in 2018 and 2019. Although this appears to be in response to South Korea's move, it is a step down from the "most important neighboring country" that was used up until 2017.
Since this was a telephone conversation to report on the election, I don't think it will have a direct impact on Japan's diplomatic blueprint for 2022, but since the South Korean president will be inaugurated in May, it is important for the country to be able to carry out full-fledged diplomatic activities. will be after that.
It may be necessary to check the 2022 edition of the Diplomatic Bluebook to see if there will be any changes in Japan's foreign policy in the future
What happened to hydrogen fluoride - South Korea claims to have overcome Japan, but what is its relationship with product defects?
Moon Jae-in wants to say we won against Japan
Japanese hydrogen fluoride has fewer impurities
Relationship between hydrogen fluoride and defective rate
Massive recalls in America
Kona EV burst into flames again
Don't worry about exploding cars
In his farewell address, former President Moon Jae-in said that all people came together to overcome the crisis caused by Japan's unfair export restrictions. However, looking at the data, of the three export control items, hydrogen fluoride has decreased by 86% compared to fiscal 2018, while other items such as photoresist and fluorinated polyimide have remained almost unchanged.
Former President Moon Jae-in has loudly declared that hydrogen fluoride has been successfully domestically produced, but regarding the quality of hydrogen fluoride, it is Japan's hydrogen fluoride is 12N (99.9999999999%). There is talk that hydrogen fluoride, which is said to have been developed by Korea's LG Chem, may be 5N. ~N is the number 9, and 12N is 12×9. In other words, Japan's hydrogen fluoride has as few impurities as 12 nines in a row.
Hydrogen fluoride is used to clean machines and processes used in precision machinery manufacturing. What happens when there are many impurities here is an increase in the product defect rate. What about the defective rate of Korean products? Whether it went up or down, if there is no change, then whether it is 12N or not has little meaning.
On August 20, 2021, the US automobile giant General Motors (GM) expanded the scope of the recall due to the risk of fire in the battery pack installed in the electric vehicle (EV) “Chevrolet Bolt EV”. announcement. As a result of this announcement, all models of the Chevrolet Bolt EV released so far are subject to a recall. The battery manufacturer for this car is LG Chem.
In January 2022, another fire occurred in the Kona EV, in which Hyundai Motors had replaced the battery due to a recall after a series of battery fires. A fire broke out while the vehicle was running and was completely destroyed. According to Korean media, internet communities, and fire authorities, a fire accident occurred in a Kona EV that was traveling on Taean Road in South Chungcheong Province at around 6:46 pm on the 11th. The accident vehicle was a 2020 model, and the battery had been replaced due to a recall in September last year.
The explosion of lithium-ion batteries was a hot topic in the past when a Sumsung smartphone exploded into flames, but now that EV cars are being developed, the large batteries used to drive the car explode and burst into flames in the blink of an eye. It is unclear whether it has anything to do with hydrogen fluoride, but there is even a rumor that some Japanese-made hydrogen fluoride is being imported from China.
It would be surprising if they were going to such lengths to protect the country's face-to-face contact, but we should continue to pay close attention to defective products from South Korea.
[South Korea] If you have the world's highest household debt, you don't have enough disposable income - If you don't spend money, it's just bad manners.
Private/government debt 254%
Household debt is 104.2% of GDP
Global trend of interest rate hikes
Mortgage reduces disposable income
A traveler who just has bad manners
In a statement distributed in advance of the conference, Professor Ham Joon-ho of Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies, who served as a member of the Bank of Korea's Financial and Monetary Committee, stated, ``Korea's macro leverage (private and government debt) level has expanded to 254% of GDP. ” he pointed out.
The household debt balance has continued to expand for 16 years, reaching a record high of 1,850.9 trillion won (approximately 176.9871 trillion yen) in the April-June 2021 period. According to a study by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Japan's GDP ratio was 104.2%, the highest among 37 major countries and regions. Incidentally, the countries other than South Korea are followed by Hong Kong (92.0%), the UK (89.4%), and the US (79.2%).
On the 15th, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the central bank of the United States, announced the first major interest rate hike in about 30 years. The policy rate will be raised by 0.75% to a range of 1.50 to 1.75%.
Prior to this, South Korea announced that it would raise its policy interest rate from 1.5% to 1.75% in May. The rate was set at 1.5% in April, making this the second consecutive month of interest rate hikes. This will also be a severe blow to those who are burdened with household debt.
South Korea's per capita GDP is approaching that of Japan. According to the 2021 IMF announcement, Japan's price is $39,340 and South Korea's price is $34,801. However, Japan's household debt is around 66-7%.
Housing loans are the largest component of household debt. The skyrocketing price of land in Seoul continues to skyrocket, forcing many to borrow large sums of money to purchase apartments. As a result, even if GDP and wages rise, most of the money goes toward repaying household debts, resulting in less disposable income. I don't have any money to spend.
Even after salaries are paid, the money goes straight through the tunnel and is returned to financial institutions, where it is returned to the market. This is the reality of GDP per capita in the Korean economy.
As the coronavirus pandemic begins to subside and overseas travel is gradually lifted, travel to Japan is expected to become a boom again in South Korea. It's not that they like Japan. The above reasons are largely responsible for why Japan is chosen as a nearby travel destination.
And just because you come to Japan doesn't mean you have to spend money. There are quite a few groups that find faults, point them out, and complain to each other. It is said that Korean tourists just have bad manners.
the next presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol: The relationship between Korea and Japan has deteriorated to the worst level since the normalization of diplomatic relations.Diplomacy should be based on pragmatism and realism, but it has come to this point because of its ideological bias of "bamboo spear songs."The Moon administration is trying to sort things out at the end of the administration, but it seems to have failed.
Li Nak-yeon: I can't believe his recognition when I hear he said about bamboo spears.It was shocking that he made such absurd remark that is shallow historical understanding at Yoon Bong-gil Memorial Hall .
Lee Jae-myung: Japan, an aggressor, should have been divided, but Korea, a victim of Japan's invasion, was divided.
The next presidential election will also be a match between Japan and South Korea.For Japan, Yoon Seok-yeol is better for Japan to pursue diplomacy, but I personally think if the other two would be President Japan should recognize as a hostile country beyond anti-Japanese and historical issues.
In the first place, Japan has nothing to do with the Korean presidential election.Korea should Focus on internal affairs.Either way, Japan will only respond accordingly.Because it's a foreign country.
Yun Seok - yue's manifesto aims to attract and circulate capital through a free economy.Will the National Assembly become a burden that hinders this?
South Korea is wavering between pro-China and pro-US
Original regime change through social policy
A country that thinks about what is better
Yin Seok-yue promotes free economy
Promoting free competition within the country and moving towards CPTPP
Legal development by the Diet is hopeless
Is South Korea wondering whether it should join China, which has achieved growth in recent years, or join the camp of free nations such as Japan, the United States, and Europe? I guess it's a question of which is better, but it seems like a very polarizing choice.
The Moon Jae-in administration completely abandoned its pride as a democratic country without hesitation and spent five years desperately trying to join China and North Korea, a country that violates human rights at its worst, but unfortunately there was no result. Ta.
The new president, Yun Seok-Yeol, has the exact opposite policy, aiming for Korea to be a member of the Japan-U.S. and liberal camp. This seems to be the composition of the right-wing and left-wing forces in South Korea.
The left tends to seek the enhancement of social institutions, while the right tends to seek free competition and liberal democracy. This is a question of the balance between social welfare and liberal economics, and a debate about competition versus distribution. This is an issue to be debated within a democratic country, and can be said to be a universal frame.
America's two-party system is very easy to understand. Republicans and Democrats can be broadly divided on the question of whether taxes should be primarily used for public welfare, or whether they should reduce taxes in the first place and increase competitiveness in a free economy. It is also expressed in the framework of big government and small government.
The choice of domestic social policy is not a question of which country will benefit you by following, but rather a matter of foreign policy. Prior to Japan's annexation of South Korea, there was intense conflict between pro-Russian and pro-Japanese factions on the Korean peninsula. Is nothing different from that era? Another characteristic of South Korea is that its foreign policy is also its domestic policy.
Looking at Yun Seok-Yue's manifesto from the perspective of economic policy, his economic policy is to bring back the capital that fled South Korea under the Moon Jae-in administration.
In particular, the focus is not on where to focus investment and foster industry, but rather the policy appears to be aimed at attracting investors by abolishing regulations and promoting a free economy and free competition.
It appears that the plan is to aim to join the CPTPP and other liberal nation frameworks based on this liberal economic frame, but in order to realize this, it will be necessary to obstruct the various free competitions that exist within Korea. Legislation must be put in place to abolish the regulations that apply.
This is the job of the National Diet, the legislative branch, but the opposition Democratic Party of Japan still holds nearly 60% of the seats. In other words, there are many hurdles for the time being in the economic policy advocated by Yun Seok-Yeol and cooperation with liberal countries. In other words, we will have to wait for the 2024 general election.