Loading...
About this Episode
The latest news from home and abroad, with a close eye on Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula in particular
Hosts & Guests
Transcript
From Seoul, Korea, KBS World Radio News today starts right now.
On today's broadcast,
global prices break past $100 USD per barrel,
battling the Korean stock in foreign exchange market.
South Korea and the US begin their freedom-shield military exercise
to prepare for potential contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.
And Bayafi Community becomes the first female South Korean athlete
to win a gold medal at the Winter Paralympic Games.
This is KBS World Radio News. I'm Daniel Choi.
Global oil prices broke $100 USD per barrel in response to supply chain disruptions
in the Gulf region amid the US-Israel war on Iran.
The price of West Texas Intermediate for April delivery was $107 USD
and $0.54 per barrel as of 7.26 a.m. Monday, Korean Standard Time,
up 14.85% from the previous day's closing.
WTI broke the $100 mark for the first time since July 2022,
soaring $211.24 per barrel in interday trading.
Brand crude, the international standard,
jumped 14.85% to $107.54 a barrel,
also hitting $111.04 during trading.
Logistics of crude oil have been hindered by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz,
a strategically important waterway in the region
and attacks on vessels traversing its waters.
The benchmark Korea composed a stock price index plunge nearly 6% on Monday
to the 5,200 level after global oil prices surge amid the Middle East crisis
during Monday's session.
A sell-site sidecar was triggered on both the Cosby and Costech markets
for the first time in three trading days.
Arbhedrian asked more.
The benchmark Korea composed a stock price index dipped 333 points
or 5.96% on Monday to close at 5,251.87.
Shortly after the mainboard opened,
the Korea Exchange activated its sidecar mechanism for five minutes
starting at 9.06am after the Cosby 200 futures index fell more than 5%
from the previous trading day.
This was the third sell-site sidecar this month,
then at 10.31am a circuit breaker,
which halts trading for 20 minutes,
was activated after the Cosby plunge more than 8% interday.
It was the second circuit breaker this month.
The last time a circuit breaker was activated twice in a single month
on the Cosby market was in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both the sidecar and the circuit breaker were activated just three days after the previous ones.
Meanwhile, the $1 exchange rate posted the highest figures
since the 2009 global financial crisis
after the Middle East conflict drove global oil prices past $100 USD per barrel.
The South Korean won weekend against a US dollar by 19.11,
trading at $1495.51 per dollar as of 3.30pm.
Analysts said tensions have escalated in the financial market
after oil prices broke through the psychological barrier of $100 USD per barrel,
adding that the Cosby's drop reflected the high exchange rate to ankleable oil prices.
The tech-heavy cost stack lost 52.39 points or 4.54% to close at 1,102.28.
A sidecar was also activated on the cost stack market
after the cost stack 150 spot and futures indices fell sharply.
Pigeon Keebius World Radio News
The presidential office says it will implement within the week price caps on gasoline and diesel
as an emergency step to deal with volatility in oil prices,
stemming from the Middle East conflict.
The top office's director of national policy, Kim Jong-bum,
revealed the plan Monday in a briefing following an emergency meeting
on the situation in the Middle East.
Kim said President E. Jamyeon ordered the swift implementation of the price caps
after discussions on ways to prevent irregular pricing of petroleum products
and to ensure prices are predictable.
Kim said the industry ministry will swiftly carry out procedures
to put the price caps in place before the end of the week.
The top official also said the president and instructed related agencies
to review ways to ease burdens on economic entities,
including increasing the scope of fuel tax reductions
and providing direct support for oil consumers.
South Korea's rival political parties are backing different strategies
to deal with surging fuel prices and other major economic impacts
of the Middle East crisis.
While the ruling party is falling in line with the government countermeasures,
the main opposition is demanding reduced gas taxes
and even calling for oil to be released from the nation's strategic reserves.
Rosenbach Esmore
The ruling Democratic Party on Monday through its support
behind government efforts to respond to volatile market conditions
amid the intensifying U.S. around conflict.
After the government activated the 100 trillion-1 market stabilization program
and announced plans to implement a fuel price cap
and an agreement to purchase 6 million barrels of crude oil
from the United Arab Emirates.
The ruling party vowed to follow up with supportive legislation.
Conversely, the main opposition people power party through criticism at the government.
Pointing out that the emergency UAE crude supply was secured
thanks to our priority purchase agreement signed by the previous administration.
The opposition party also said a fuel price cap would have unintended effects
and demanded more effective measures such as lowering oil taxes
and considering the release of strategic stockpiles.
In addition, the party raised concern that the government's current methods
of handling the exchange rate, which it sees as heavy-handed,
could trigger a recession and stagnation.
Rosenpark, KBS World Radio News
A government-sharded plane carrying 203 South Koreans
and three family members of different nationalities arrived in the country
after evacuating from the United Arab Emirates amid the crisis in the Middle East.
The Etihad Airways flight took off from Abu Dhabi around 5.35pm Sunday
Korean Standard Time and landed at Inchan International Airport
at around 120pm Monday.
Though 285 people were initially expected to board the plane,
38 later withdrew their names and another 53 failed to appear for departure.
12 who showed up without having applied in advance were allowed to board the plane.
Evacuation alerts were issued three times during the boarding process.
South Korea and the United States kicked out their annual springtime military exercise on Monday
to prepare for potential contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.
According to authorities, the Freedom Shield exercise will run through March 19th
and incorporate realistic thread scenarios based on lessons learned from recent conflicts.
The Allies are also expected to focus on assessing and verifying whether conditions have been met
for the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea.
About 18,000 troops will take part in the exercise similar to last year.
However, the number of field training drills involving actual troop movements
has been reduced to 22 from 51 last year.
My athlete Kim Yoon-ji became the first female South Korean athlete to win a gold medal
at the Winter Paralympic Games.
The 19-year-old across the finish line first in 38 minutes and 0.1 seconds on Sunday
during the women's individual sitting paraboyatlan event at the Sarah Cross Country skiing stadium in Northern Italy.
Kim is not only South Korea's first female athlete to win gold at the Winter Paralympics,
but also the nation's first gold medalist since the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.
The same day, Snowboarder E.J. Huck won South Korea's first ever medal in Paris Snowboard
earning the bronze in men's Snowboard Cross SB-LL2.
Thick fog is expected in the nation's southwestern region through Tuesday morning
with temperatures set to drop.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday,
the fog is set to limit visibility to 200 meters in the early morning hours
in the Jala provinces in the Narrius.
Most parts of the nation are forecast to see high levels of find us through the day.
Morning lows will stand between minus five and plus two degrees Celsius
two to three degrees lower than Mondays.
Afternoon highs will range between seven and twelve degrees,
similar to or slightly higher than Mondays.
And that's the news from KBSboroVideos News Center in Seoul, the Sassbindanyo Chair.
The Sassbindanyo Chair.
