Wednesday, June 2
Counterfeit luxury goods
As anyone who has visited or lived here can attest, most of Asia (with the possible exception of Japan) is awash with fake luxury goods- handbags, shoes, clothing sunglasses and the like.
In Korea it is especially prevalent, with almost every Korean woman I know owning a fake Louis Vuttion or Chanel handbag of varying quality- some good, and some not so good. So a report that I saw in the Korea Herald that two-thirds of Seoul University students have imitation luxury goods didn't surprise me at all.
What did surprise me however was the xenophobic attitude of a customs official at the Seoul Main Customs office:
"Why should Korean officials work for foreign companies that make a pile of money? With imitations, consumers have access to designer brands they might not otherwise be able to afford." (my emphasis)
Of course it is only foreign companies making millions of the back of the Korean labor force who are losing money in a market awash with fakes, so why should the guys in the customs office do anything about it?
Other government officials have a saner point of view about the problem:
"Korea cannot ignore the complaints of other countries because 70 percent of South Korea's economy is dependent in some way on foreign trade," said a government official.
The story goes on to say that the government is working hard at addressing the issue- obviously using the enlightened guys in the Seoul Customs office to assist them!
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In Korea it is especially prevalent, with almost every Korean woman I know owning a fake Louis Vuttion or Chanel handbag of varying quality- some good, and some not so good. So a report that I saw in the Korea Herald that two-thirds of Seoul University students have imitation luxury goods didn't surprise me at all.
What did surprise me however was the xenophobic attitude of a customs official at the Seoul Main Customs office:
"Why should Korean officials work for foreign companies that make a pile of money? With imitations, consumers have access to designer brands they might not otherwise be able to afford." (my emphasis)
Of course it is only foreign companies making millions of the back of the Korean labor force who are losing money in a market awash with fakes, so why should the guys in the customs office do anything about it?
Other government officials have a saner point of view about the problem:
"Korea cannot ignore the complaints of other countries because 70 percent of South Korea's economy is dependent in some way on foreign trade," said a government official.
The story goes on to say that the government is working hard at addressing the issue- obviously using the enlightened guys in the Seoul Customs office to assist them!
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April election spending figures
The figures have all been tallied, and now have been released by the National Election Commission, which show that the amount spent on the National Assembly elections in April was an astounding 99 billion won (US$84.4million).
This is amount is substantially less than what the parties reported to have spent up until the day of the election- 68 billion won. The lower figure is from a voluntary reporting service that the NEC ran during the election on the internet (the only way to run things here now days!). The internet reporting service was set up to allow electors to see how much money their party or candidate was spending, and how they were spending in relation to others in the same electorate.
Some are now saying that the system was a waste of time, and it seems to be true. 45% of all campaign spending seems to have occurred after the election on April 15, according to the official figures.
As shown by the large numbers of investigations into illegal spending, fundraising and other financial problems in 100 electorates, a voluntary reporting system to prove honesty and accountability to the Korean electorate is a waste of time. If there is loophole a National Assembly candidate will have exploited it.
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This is amount is substantially less than what the parties reported to have spent up until the day of the election- 68 billion won. The lower figure is from a voluntary reporting service that the NEC ran during the election on the internet (the only way to run things here now days!). The internet reporting service was set up to allow electors to see how much money their party or candidate was spending, and how they were spending in relation to others in the same electorate.
Some are now saying that the system was a waste of time, and it seems to be true. 45% of all campaign spending seems to have occurred after the election on April 15, according to the official figures.
As shown by the large numbers of investigations into illegal spending, fundraising and other financial problems in 100 electorates, a voluntary reporting system to prove honesty and accountability to the Korean electorate is a waste of time. If there is loophole a National Assembly candidate will have exploited it.
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More elections
More elections are due, with gubernatorial and mayoral elections to be held this week, on June 5. The GNP and the newly dominant Uri parties are fighting it out for the mayoralty of Busan, the second biggest city on Korea, with the GNP expected to win, as usual in the southeast of the country, and Uri to perform well in the north west. These results would follow those of Aprils National elections.
An interesting side note is that the leader of the GNP, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee is now being referred to as the late dictator's daughter by the Korean Times. Is this a change in attitude or have I missed it before?
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An interesting side note is that the leader of the GNP, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee is now being referred to as the late dictator's daughter by the Korean Times. Is this a change in attitude or have I missed it before?
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