March 4th week tidy up
On the 23rd, in Gwangjin-gu, there was a zebra uproar in the afternoon. A 2-year-old male zebra escaped from the nearby Seoul Children’s Grand Park Zoo by breaking a fence and wandering around the nearby roads and residential areas, and was captured in three hours. After that, the zoo side revealed the sad story that the zebra’s name is ‘Serro’ and he grew up with lots of love from his parents, but started to rebel as his parents died one after another.
Sero’s short spring outing has become a subject of parody for netizens and is spreading in the online community. It’s been a week overflowing with arguments and comments.
Photos taken by Sero while wandering around Gwangjin-gu, followed by parodies about zebras. Source = Online Community
Shohei Otani (LA Angels) of the Japanese baseball team, who started as the designated hitter in the WBC final match against the United States on the 22nd, took the mound as a finishing pitcher in the top of the ninth inning. He ended the tournament by striking out fellow American superstar Mike Trout, a member of his team’s Angels, on a swing without a swing. It is no exaggeration to say that this WBC started with Ohtani and ended with Ohtani. Ohtani, who is both a pitcher and hitter, appeared in three games as a pitcher and recorded 2 wins, 1 save, and an ERA of 1.86. Batter Ohtani appeared in all 7 games, batting average of 0.435 (10 hits in 23 at-bats), 1 home run, and 2 bases. Scored 4, 8 RBI and 9 runs.
Korean baseball fans simply watched the cartoon-like baseball of the Japanese national team led by Ohtani as if they were watching a cartoon across the sea. At one time, Japanese baseball considered Korea as an ‘enemy’ and ‘rival’, but now it is true that the level gap has become too large to be called a rival. Experts are looking for the cause in the pitcher’s velocity. At the 2nd World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2009, the average speed of fastballs by Korean pitchers was 146.3 km/h, not much different from Japan (average 146.9 km), but at the 5th WBC in 2023, 14 years later, Japanese pitchers Recording an average speed of 153.5 km per hour, Korea is rather regressing at 145.9 km. Anyway, leaving the country, Ohtani’s future activities will continue to draw attention.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia on the 20th and 22nd and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the summit on the 21st, the two promised to cooperate with Taiwan and Ukraine, saying, “We firmly support each other on the issue of territorial integrity.” We have repeatedly confirmed that we are solidarity. When President Xi Jinping visited Russia, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also made a surprise visit to Ukraine on the 21st and had a summit meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, European Union (EU) foreign and defense ministers agreed on the 20th to supply Ukraine with an additional 1 million 155mm shells over the next 12 months. Ukraine welcomed the EU’s aid of 1 million shells, calling it a “decision that could change the tide of war.” The Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for over a year, seems to be getting bigger due to the intervention of China and the West.
zoom inPhoto = AP Newsis
On the 19th, North Korea loaded a model nuclear warhead on the Iskander (KN-23) ballistic missile and exploded it in the air (800m in the air). According to NuukMap, a nuclear explosion simulation site, if a tactical nuclear weapon with a power of 10 kt explodes 800 meters above Seoul City Hall, the expected death toll will reach 44,000. Some experts analyze that a nuclear weapon optimized for an explosion altitude of 800m would be over 60kt, which would increase the death toll to 237,000.
North Korea’s missile provocations continued without stopping during the ROK-US joint exercise, ‘Shield of Freedom’. On the 22nd, several “North Korean version Tomahawks (KN-27)” cruise missiles were launched into the East Sea, targeting the US light carrier-class landing ship Markin Island (LHD-8, 42,000 tons) that entered Busan Port. We conducted an underwater explosion test of an underwater attack boat. In particular, according to the Korean Central News Agency, the nuclear unmanned underwater attack boat, which was put into training off the coast of Liwon County, South Hamgyong Province, submerged in the East Sea at a depth of 80 to 150 meters for 59 hours and 12 minutes, and then reached the waters of Hongwon Bay, which simulated an enemy port, on the 23rd and engaged in a test battle. They said it exploded underwater. North Korea detonated a nuclear torpedo underwater on the 23rd, just three days before the sinking of the Cheonan warship 13 years ago (March 26). The military believes that the North Korean nuclear torpedo launched this time is an imitation of Russia’s nuclear-powered super-large nuclear torpedo ‘Poseidon’, called ‘Doomsday’ (Doomsday).
Weapons unveiled by North Korea on the 24th, West Sea Protection Day (above) Strategic cruise missile ‘Arrow’ that claims to be equipped with a simulated nuclear warhead (below) A ‘nuclear unmanned underwater attack boat’ called a secret weapon explodes underwater, causing water to rise above the surface of the water. soaring look. Photo = Labor Newspaper News 1, AP Newsis
Amid the aftermath of the banking crisis, the US central bank Federal Reserve (Fed) took the baby step of raising the base rate by 0.25 percentage points on the 22nd. With nine consecutive hikes since March of last year, the US interest rate has entered the upper 5% range, and Korea’s interest rate gap with the US has reached 1.5 percentage points, the largest in 22 years. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “We have not raised our rate forecasts given the banking crisis,” but “we are not looking at a rate cut this year. If there is a need to raise it further, we will raise rates further,” he said.
The Bank of Korea was able to breathe a little bit because it avoided the big step, which it was concerned about, but the fire for an additional interest rate hike in the US is alive and the gap between the US and Korea base rates has widened to 1.5 percentage points. There is no, and we are facing a ‘higher order equation’ that we can’t even watch the largest interest rate reversal in history.
▷ On the 20th, when public transportation masks are lifted and voluntary quarantine is desperately needed
On the 20th, the obligation to wear a mask was lifted in public transportation, marts, and pharmacies in stations. It has been about 2 years and 5 months since the obligatory wearing of masks in public transportation has been eliminated since October 2020, when the central government-level mask wearing obligation was created. However, it was difficult for citizens to find no masks on public transportation for reasons such as ‘because of fine dust’, ‘because everyone else used it’, and ‘because it was uncomfortable’, but more and more people take off masks and ride public transportation after a week. Now is the time when people with symptoms need self-defense to wear masks on their own.
▷ No, enforcement of the grain law… Looks like he will exercise his right to veto no. 1
The amendment to the Grain Management Act, which the Democratic Party of Korea directly referred to the plenary session, was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 23rd with 169 votes in favor, 90 against, and 7 abstentions among 266 present. The amendment requires the government to purchase the entire amount of excess production when the excess production compared to demand for rice is more than 3-5% or when the price of rice during harvest falls by more than 5-8% compared to the normal year. People’s Power Representative Kim Ki-hyun protested, calling it “irresponsible legislative violence,” and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun also said in an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo, “More than 1 trillion won is invested on average annually to purchase rice. He pointed out that the financial resources that can train 3,000 young farmers every year are wasted.” Now the ball has passed to the president, and a senior official in the presidential office said, “President Seok-yeol Yoon is putting weight on exercising his veto power (first after taking office).”
zoom inAt a plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 23rd, a partial amendment to the Grain Management Act was passed with 266 present, 169 in favor, 90 against, and 7 abstentions. Photo = News 1▷ Independent Rep. Min Hyung-bae became a hot potato after the Constitutional Court ruling
After the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the complete deprivation of the prosecution’s right to investigate (complete inspection) law, the issue of the reinstatement of Rep. Min Hyung-bae to the party is emerging as a hot potato within the Democratic Party. There are conflicting opinions that the sacrifice of Rep. Min, who left the party for the passage of the bill, should be embraced as a reinstatement, and that the judgment of the Constitutional Court, which took issue with ‘disguised withdrawal’, should be respected.
zoom inIndependent lawmaker Min Hyeong-bae answers questions from reporters at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the afternoon of the 23rd. Photo = News 1▷
detention extended to 30 days
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Dohyeong, it will take some time until the new recruits are handed over
Do-hyung Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, who had been on the run for nearly a year after the Terra incident broke out in May of last year, was arrested in Montenegro on the 23rd (local time). Representative Kwon was arrested the previous day at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro while attempting to board a flight to Dubai with a forged passport. On the 24th (local time), the Montenegro court extended the detention period of Terraform Labs CEO Dohyeong Kwon to up to 30 days.
If the Montenegrin authorities proceed with their own trial, it will take a considerable amount of time for South Korea or the United States to hand over Kwon’s recruits.
zoom inDo-hyung Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, attends court in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, on the 24th. Photo = AP Newsis▷ Even the indoor mask has been released, but I can’t take it off because of the yellow dust
‘Spring uninvited guest’ Yellow dust is caused by wind-blown dust from the deserts of northern China and the upper reaches of the Huanghe River in spring when the frozen ground melts and the weather is dry throughout the winter. On the 23rd, the concentration of fine dust (PM10) in the western region, including Seoul and other metropolitan areas, rose significantly due to the yellow dust from China, which came without fail this year. Yellow dust is predicted to affect all parts of the country by the 25th.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.