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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012284

Engineers at South Korea’s semiconductor chipmakers are increasingly being offered the chance to put off retirement to a later date.

This comes as the memory chip powerhouse, home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, experiences a talent shortage in the industry.

The move will likely be welcome news to the government, which is struggling to find ways to deal with the economic impact of the country’s rapid demographic shift toward an aging population.

Starting this year, Samsung Electronics will employ a “senior track” policy to retain senior employees even after they reach the standard retirement age of 60.

The world’s largest maker of memory chips said the new policy aims to create a culture where accumulated expertise and knowledge are highly valued. Details about the new human resources policy, such as prerequisites for the program, have yet to be unveiled since they were announced in November.
 

This came in tandem with a fresh human resources strategy to help the company retain the brightest minds in the industry regardless of age, meaning younger employees are also given opportunities to enter management.

Its memory chip rival, world No. 2 SK Hynix, has already adopted the policy, under the so-called “honored engineer” program.

First introduced in 2018, SK hynix‘s program in 2020 produced to the first employee who would be exempt from the retirement age of 60.

Separately, SK hynix also offered jobs at SK hynix University — the chipmaker’s in-house training institution — to retiring staff and executives.

These constitute the backbone of SK hynix‘s human resources policy under which “aging engineers with outstanding expertise are not forced to retire,” as stated by SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho in a New Year’s speech for 2022.

These policies drew attention, as the government is poised to resume talks to push all Korean companies to retain senior employees as a demographic shift looms in the country, where the young population is shrinking faster than ever and the number of seniors is rapidly growing.

According to the Finance Ministry, a new task force will be formed within February to discuss raising company retirement ages. The plan has drawn backlash from businesses, which are concerned about the impact on costs of having to retain their most expensive staff.

Korea is expected to become a superaged society with those aged 65 or older accounting for at least 20 percent of the population by 2025. The ratio stood at 16.5 percent in 2021, data from Statistics Korea showed. Also, two-thirds of those aged 65 or older in Korea were jobless in 2020.

In the meantime, Korea was ranked 198th out of 198 countries in the world in terms of the total fertility rate, staying below 1 for the third consecutive year until 2020.

Son Ji-hyoung

The Korea Herald

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Over 300 Filipinos in Ukraine were urged by MP to leave the country temporarily amid the threat of an invasion by Russia.

MANILA, Philippines — Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun made the call after the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring the tension between Ukraine and Russia.

Fortun called on the government to ensure the safety of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Ukraine and neighboring countries such as Belarus, Poland, and Moldova.

“Filipinos can either secure in place and care about their Ukrainian employers and friends, or temporarily evacuate the countries just outside of Ukraine through commercial rail and airlines,” Fortun said in a statement on Saturday.

He also urged OFWs in countries adjacent to Ukraine to be alert for developments between Russia and Ukraine. The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, has reached out to the 300 Filipinos in Ukraine.

Filipinos in Ukraine were advised to contact the Philippine embassy for any untoward event in their areas.

The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw has jurisdiction over Ukraine. There is an existing labor deployment ban on OFWs bound for Ukraine.

US officials earlier warned that an attack by Russia on Ukraine could “come within days” as new forces were observed to have arrived at the Ukrainian border.

Published : February 13, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012279

Prime Minister Hun Sen requested that South Korea increase the quota for Cambodian migrant workers and continue to promote their health and well-being while employed there

Prime Minister Hun Sen requested that South Korea increase the quota for Cambodian migrant workers and continue to promote their health and wellbeing while employed there.

The request was made on February 11 when he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during his four-day visit to the country.

“Samdech Hun Sen has requested South Korea to continue increasing the quota … and also thanked Korea for having vaccinated Cambodian migrant workers there against Covid-19,” Hun Sen’s Facebook post said.

The premier also met with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-Seung on the same day, during which he thanked the latter for receiving Cambodian migrant workers in Korea.

Park said Cambodian workers in South Korea had contributed a lot to the Korean economy.

Published : February 13, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012278

Police in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Guangdong province has detained 17 people after cracking down on a criminal gang suspected of medical insurance fraud.

According to a statement released by Shenzhen’s healthcare security bureau on Friday, the gang was investigated for suspected tampering with the genetic test results of tumor patients to defraud the medical insurance fund in the previous months.

The bureau teamed up with police for further investigation after learning that some staff of pharmaceutical giant Astra-Zeneca may have colluded with the gang to cheat the insurance fund in July, the statement said.

After months of investigation, a special operation was launched recently by Shenzhen healthcare and public security authorities to break up the gang, under the guidance of the National Healthcare Security Administration.

Investigation of the case is continuing, the statement said.

China Daily

Published : February 13, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012250

South Korea’s zombie apocalypse drama “All of Us Are Dead” has been the most popular TV series on Netflix for two consecutive weeks, a market tracker said Saturday.

According to data by streaming analytics firm Flixpatrol, the 12-part show has stayed atop its daily list of top TV series from Netflix all around the world for 14 days since it was released on Jan. 28.

The Netlix original topped the rankings in 37 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Britain, France, Hungary, Greece, New Zealand and Australia. It ranked second in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

The series received 807 points based on its rankings by country Friday, staying in the 800s for the 14th day.

Coming in a distant second was the Mexican thriller “Dark Desire,” which gained 493 points. It was followed by the American romance “Sweet Magnolias” with 449 points.

Based on a popular webtoon, “All of Us Are Dead” is set at a high school plunged into chaos due to a mysterious zombie virus. A group of students stages all-out battles against the zombies, formerly their friends and teachers, while no police and other adults come to rescue them. (Yonhap)

Published : February 12, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012249

HÀ NỘI — Despite low growth in 2021, the local retail industry is still considered full of potential and will continue to explore areas for new growth.

According to experts, modern retail distribution faces the biggest challenge in the last two years due to changes in customer trends, human resources, warehouse operation and the supply chain.

During the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in HCM City, the supply chain of goods suffered many fluctuations which the modern retail enterprises must respond to in its distribution system instead of the traditional role of providing goods to consumers onsite. 

During the pandemic, retail businesses invested in technological innovation and applied them in operations, business, and delivery services to fully meet the needs of customers.

MM Mega Market Việt Nam system has started a multi-channel sales development strategy, along with completing the online sales solutions: website MM Click & Get; Zalo and Telesales.

The system is also preparing to launch MMPro, an online shopping website for professional customers with product prices and solutions designed for each specific customer.

Similarly, Saigon Co.op, AEON, and LOTTE Mart are also pushing sales via phone, Zalo, assorted apps and e-commerce partners.

In addition, in 2021, major retail systems such as Saigon Co.op, MM, Central, Aeon, LOTTE Mart, and Emart have implemented cashless payment methods on both online and offline shopping channels. 

Experts forecast the COVID-19 pandemic will still be complicated in 2022, thus businesses must be well-prepared to stay up to speed during the recovery.

Nguyễn Anh Đức, general director of Saigon Co.op, said the firm’s 1,000 points of sale continued the development of modern commercial forms with advanced distribution channels to ensure the local consumption and to comply with world development trends such as online, e-commerce, cashless payment, contactless payment.

To avoid crowding during the pandemic, instead of focusing on developing physical stores, Saigon Co.op has focused on improving and perfecting its online sales channel and supply chain system, Đức said.

He added the trend of modernizing traditional sales channels and quick-selling models will soon come into practice while individual-customer-first serving is another trend.

“Retailers that optimise the experience for customer retention and apply multiple sales process metrics will have a better edge to dominate the market,” he said.

With a digital transformation strategy in the retail sector, focusing on customers according to the data-driven value chain model, Saigon Co.op is constantly upgrading technology for solutions for the collection, storage, and management and comprehensive data analysis, based on a solid, secure, flexible, and self-operating cloud computing infrastructure.

MM will continue to invest and develop multi-channel sales. The wholesale supermarket system will soon put into use Pick & Go software.

“MM’s goal from now to 2025 is to become a leading food supplier in the retail industry,” said an MM representative.

“We plan to open a smaller centre in the inner city with the Food service model, and Depot (storage and distribution) for the provinces to develop tourism and the Hybrid Food Service model – a place that combines shopping at the centre for household customers, and selling goods to customers at the same time.”

AEON Việt Nam has focused on opening more business locations with a variety of retail models, including shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and specialized stores; digital transformation, especially focusing on promoting O2O (offline-to-online); developing products to meet customer needs and making more efforts in sustainable development in terms of environment and social responsibility.

AEON Việt Nam General Director Furusawa Yasuyuki said it aimed to open 30 shopping centres by 2030 along with other models.

Emart with a new legal entity as THISO Retail, from Thaco Group, will put into operation two new shopping centres, which will be “one destination” for the Emart supermarket, wedding centre and car showroom.

Experts said that although the retail market in Việt Nam experienced a low growth rate due to the pandemic, it was still a potential market in the long term.

According to AEON, Việt Nam’s economy and the retail industry will have a great potential in the next 5-10 years with many favourable development conditions as Việt Nam will be one of the leading countries for the expansion of the middle class in Southeast Asia, with growth of 9.2 per cent per year. 

Along with the rapid growth of the local economy and drastic change in the structure of the retail industry, the revenue of leading retailers is expected to be three times higher from now, according to AEON. — VNS

Published : February 12, 2022

By : Vietnam News

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said the worst may now be over for the Philippines and it supports government’s move to reopen its borders and relax quarantine protocols as long as it continues to implement measures to reduce COVID-19 risk.

Rajendra Yadav, acting Philippine representative of the WHO, said the decreasing trend in the country’s COVID-19 cases was “really very encouraging,” and noted that there were relatively few deaths and health care utilization rate was stable.

“So for now we can say worst is over, but that’s only for now, because we do not know how long this current favorable situation will last. We need to hope for the best but remain prepared for the worst,” Yadav said at the Laging Handa briefing.

He also said the WHO backs the government’s efforts to chart its way out of the pandemic by relaxing restrictions it had previously imposed.

“The WHO continues to support the government in all its efforts. As long as we take care of the three things that we know work best, then opening up borders and relaxing the quarantine protocols are fine,” he said.

These three things are having enough vaccines, oxygen, and antiviral drugs; continuing to implement public health and social measures, such as maintaining physical distance, wearing well-fitting masks, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, cleaning hands and following respiratory hygiene; and restoring and sustaining essential health services disrupted by the pandemic, he said.

The WHO is in favor of allowing travel while making it less risky, and Yadav warned that blanket travel bans could “give a false sense of security and destroy economies.”

“We encourage de-risking travel, which means that we have to take necessary steps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection during the travel and after the travel,” he said.

But he said easing travel restrictions and quarantine requirements does not mean people should travel anytime and anywhere they want.

They should travel only when necessary and keep their travels as small as possible, he said.

By: Leila B. Salaverria

Published : February 12, 2022

By : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012247

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government announced on Friday that it will extend to March 4 the suspension of passenger flights from eight countries, while the same restriction will apply to aircraft from Nepal from Saturday.

Having implemented the place-specific flight suspension mechanism from Jan 8, passenger flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States are not allowed to land in Hong Kong. This restriction was to be maintained until Feb 18, according to a government press release.  

With the local pandemic situation worsening and many Hong Kong residents returning from these eight places, the government decided to extend the suspension for two weeks from Feb 19 to March 4.

It made the move to prevent imported COVID-19 cases from placing additional pressure on the city’s healthcare system at this crucial juncture of curbing the local epidemic situation, the release said. 

To stop people from the eight countries from travelling to Hong Kong via transit, those who have stayed there for more than two hours within 14 days will be restricted from boarding inbound passenger flights, said the government. 

At the same time, due to a number of imported COVID-19 cases from Nepal, a flight ban will be enforced on passenger aircraft from the country from Saturday until March 4, prohibiting people who have stayed in the South Asian country for more than two hours within 14 days from boarding passenger flights for Hong Kong. 

“We understand that the place-specific flight suspension mechanism is an extremely stringent emergency measure, and will inevitably affect the return journeys of Hong Kong residents from these nine places,” a government spokesman said.  

“However, we must maintain the relevant measure so as to quickly quell the epidemic situation, in order to prevent imported cases from posing additional pressure on the medical system,” added the spokesman.

By Wang Zhan

Published : February 12, 2022

By : China Daily

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Amid aggressive posturing by China on maritime issues, the four Quad countries today called for adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas.

”We are determined to deepen engagement with regional partners, including through capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness; protect their ability to develop offshore resources, consistent with UNCLOS; ensure freedom of navigation and overflight; combat challenges, such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and promote the safety and security of sea lanes of communication,” foreign ministers of India, Australia, Japan and the United States said in a joint statement at the end of their day-long meeting in Melbourne.

The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The four countries reaffirmed the Quad’s commitment to supporting Indo Pacific countries’ efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific – a region that is inclusive and resilient, and in which states strive to protect the interests of their people, free from coercion.

On their resolve to jointly deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, they said they were pleased with the Quad Vaccine Partnership’s rapid progress in expanding vaccine production at the Biological E Ltd facility in India, which aims to deliver at least 1 billion vaccines by the end of 2022.

”We look forward to the delivery of the first batch of Quad-supported vaccines in the first half of this year. We are assisting to train healthcare workers, combat vaccine hesitancy and augment infrastructure, especially cold chain systems, for ‘last mile’ vaccine delivery,” they said.

The foreign ministers said they were working to identify and address vaccine gaps and barriers exacerbated by gender, disability and social inequities, and ensure safe, effective, affordable and quality-assured vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach areas.

The joint statement said the Quad was exchanging information on ever-evolving threats and working with Indo-Pacific countries, and in multilateral fora, to counter all forms of terrorism and violent extremism.

”We denounce the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism and urge countries to work together to eliminate terrorist safe havens; disrupt terrorist networks and the infrastructure and financial channels which sustain them, and halt the cross-border movement of terrorists,” they said.

In this context, the four countries also called on all countries to ensure that territory under their control was not used to launch terror attacks and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks. ”We reiterate our condemnation of terrorist attacks in India, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. We reaffirm UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021) that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country, shelter or train terrorists, or plan or finance terrorist acts, with such ungoverned spaces being a direct threat to the safety and security of the Indo-Pacific,” the joint statement added.

They said the four Quad countries champion the free, open, and inclusive rules-based order, rooted in international law, that protected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries.

Published : February 12, 2022

By : The Statesman

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012220

The search comes after the successful sale of carbon credits from 2016 to 2020, which netted the nation over $11 million.

PHNOM PENH – The government and partner organisations are seeking new markets in which to sell carbon credits in order to raise funds for its efforts to increase and strengthen the protection of natural resources in the Kingdom.

The search comes after the successful sale of carbon credits from 2016 to 2020, which netted the Kingdom over $11 million.

Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra said on February 7 that it was a “source of pride” that Cambodia had succeeded in selling credits in the global voluntary carbon market.

The proceeds from the previous sale have been directed toward the conservation of natural resources and local community development, he noted.

He also suggested that the sale of carbon credits has benefitted communities that were involved in the protection and conservation of natural resources, particularly by providing them with new sources of work through creating new jobs in the ecotourism industry.

The money has also been used to educate these communities in the fields of livestock management, market supply, growing mixed crops, subsistence farming, and tourism development, he said.

Cambodia previously sold two carbon credit projects at Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province and the REDD+ Project at Southern Cardamom National Park in Koh Kong province and also has its sights set on forest reserves in the northeast.

“Currently, the ministry and partners have been continuing to prepare the sale of carbon credits in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary in Stung Treng,” Pheaktra said.

Companies that have purchased carbon credits in the voluntary market include Disney, Shell, and Gucci.

Pheaktra claimed that large companies buying carbon credits from Cambodia based their decision on assessments from an independent agency which confirmed that the Kingdom was capable of adequately protecting natural resources in the region.

Additionally, “The companies’ decision to buy carbon credits from Cambodia shows that the Kingdom has sufficient capacity to protect the region’s natural resources, which are effectively conserved,” he said.

Cambodia and Indonesia are the only two ASEAN countries that have sold carbon credits so far, he said.

Leak Ratana, communications officer for Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia (WCS Cambodia), said the sale of carbon credits could allow Cambodia to provide sustainable financing for biodiversity, sustainable development and forest conservation, while also helping local communities thrive.

The NGO said it would continue to cooperate with the environment ministry to develop a market for carbon credits from Cambodia.

“WCS and the environment ministry will partner with international marketing companies to access a global network of potential carbon credit buyers,” he said.

Separately, the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) and the environment ministry have announced a press conference and panel discussion to launch an official report entitled ‘Cambodia’s Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN)’.

According to a joint press statement, the event will be held on February 11 at the ministry in the presence of minister Say Samal, who is also chair of the NCSD.

The LTS4CN report was approved and submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on December 30.

“The strategy is a highly significant step for Cambodia, a strong supporter of multilateral action on climate change, to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 following the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” under the UNFCCC,” the statement said.

Published : February 11, 2022