Cablegate: Seoul Esth Update - December 2009
VZCZCXRO6576
RR RUEHVK
DE RUEHUL #0092/01 0250811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250811Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6767
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7252
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7188
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8256
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 7681
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 4073
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5547
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1800
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 4469
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 9628
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCPDC/NOAA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHMFIUU/CHJUSMAGK SEOUL KOR
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SEOUL 000092
SIPDIS
STATE FOR OES/IHB, OES/SAT, OES/PCI AND OES/EGC
STATE FOR EAP/K, ISN/NESS AND STAS
STATE PASS TO EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP AND CEQ
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL, NE, FE, AND EERE
USDOC FOR 4400/MAC/EAP/OPB/ITA/TA
USDOC FOR NIST
HHS FOR OGHA
HHS PASS TO NIH FOR FIC
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTL PROGRAMS
STATE PASS TO NRC FOR INTL PROGRAMS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EIND ENRG PGOV PREL TBIO TRGY TSPA KS
SUBJECT: SEOUL ESTH UPDATE - DECEMBER 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
- Wind to be Korea's Third Largest Renewable Energy Source
- World's Largest Tidal Power Plant to be Built near Incheon
- LG Chem to Provide Batteries to U.S. Component Maker
- KEPCO to Install Electric Vehicle Battery Chargers in 2011
- Regulations Eased for Electric Vehicles
- South Korea Aims to Export 80 Nuclear Energy Reactors by 2030
- Government Proposes New Sejong City as a Science Hub
- Korea's First Weather Satellite to Be Launched This Year
- Korean Scientists Discover New Alzheimer's Gene
- New Rules on HIV Testing of Foreign Workers Causes Confusion
- More Koreans Smoke
- Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)
----------------------
Energy and Environment
----------------------
Wind to be Korea's Third Largest
Renewable Energy Source
--------------------------------
1. In January 2008, Korea revised the goal of raising the share of
new and renewable energy in its total energy equation from 2.6
percent in 2008 to 6 percent in 2020, and 11 percent in 2030.
Korea's New and Renewable 2030 Vision stipulates wind energy to be
developed and deployed as the third largest source of renewable
energy in Korea, after waste incineration and biomass. To meet that
goal, Korea plans to invest USD 161 million on wind energy during
the 2008-12 period. Investments will focus on the development and
manufacture of 1-MW, 2-MW, and 3-MW turbine systems and components.
2. The current total installed wind generation capacity in Korea is
just 350 megawatts (MW), representing only 0.1 percent of the
nation's electric demand. According to recent data of the Korea
Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, 206 wind
turbines currently operate on 20 wind farms throughout the country.
Unison Company, Ltd., a private wind energy developer in South
Korea, has installed the biggest wind farm to date (49 2-MW wind
turbines) in Kangwon Province. The company is in discussions to
supply 1000 wind turbines to China over a 5-year period, a deal
valued in some press reports as high as USD 3.2 billion. Separately
on January 20, the Canadian province of Ontario selected Korea
Electric Power Company (KEPCO) and Samsung Corporation to jointly
build a large wind and solar power generation complex to be
completed by 2016. The value of the contract is reportedly worth
USD 5.5 billion.
World's Largest Tidal Power Plant
To Be Built near Incheon
---------------------------------
3. GS Engineering and Construction signed an MOU with state-run
Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) on January 20 to begin
construction this year on a 1.3 million kilowatt/hour tidal power
station of the coast of Incheon, which will generate the equivalent
of 60 percent of Incheon's household electricity consumption by the
time of its completion in 2017. The facility will be the world's
largest tidal power plant in terms of electricity generation.
Currently, the largest tidal power plant in the world (and the
SEOUL 00000092 002 OF 005
oldest) is the Rance Tidal Power Station in France with 400,000 kw/h
generating capacity.
LG Chem to Provide Batteries to
U.S. Component Maker
-------------------------------
4. South Korea's LG Chem Ltd. said on January 5 that it will begin
supplying lithium-ion batteries for commercial hybrid electric
vehicles (HEVs) to Eaton Corp., a U.S. commercial vehicle components
maker in November 2010. LG Chem plans to expand the assembly line
of Compact Power Inc., its U.S. unit, in anticipation of increasing
its supply of plug-in, rechargeable batteries to Eaton, the company
said in a statement. Eaton dominates the U.S. commercial HEV
component market, LG Chem said.
KEPCO to Install Electric Vehicle
Battery Chargers in 2011
---------------------------------
5. The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), South Korea's sole
electric utility provider, announced January that that it has
successfully developed electric vehicle battery chargers that can be
used by consumers at roadside fuel stations. The company said it
had tested the reliability of the chargers on electric vehicle
batteries that will be installed in Hyundai and Kia Motors electric
vehicles. The KEPCO chargers offer a stable recharging capacity,
credit card payment capability, and a face recognition function to
prevent ID fraud using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards.
Although the company plans to work further on enhancing the function
and design of the prototype, it said it expects to be able to
install them in services stations in Seoul and along the nation's
highways in 2011.
Regulations Eased for Electric Vehicles
---------------------------------------
6. In conjunction with its drive to encourage the manufacture and
use of electric vehicles, the government is changing regulations
that will make it easier for small "neighborhood" electric vehicles
to be legally driven on the country's roads. The Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs published a public notice on its
website January 21 revising the Enforcement Decree of the Automobile
Management Act allowing owners of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles to
be operated on designated roads in the country. Neighborhood
Electric Vehicles are defined as electric-powered vehicles that
weigh less than 1100 kilograms and have a maximum speed of 60
kilometers per hour. The vehicles will not be allowed to run on the
country's highways or roads where the speed limit is above 60
km/hr.
--------------------
Science & Technology
--------------------
South Korea Aims to Export 80 Nuclear
Energy Reactors by 2030
-------------------------------------
7. According to the Office of the President, President Lee stressed
that the nuclear power industry will become a new growth engine for
SEOUL 00000092 003 OF 005
the country. In keeping with that goal, the Ministry of Knowledge
Economy (MKE) reported on January 13 that it has set an aggressive
goal for Korea to export 80 nuclear reactors by the end of 2030,
which would make Korea one of the world's top three suppliers of
nuclear energy. Meeting that target would create more than 1.5
million new jobs in Korea, according to MKE. With its winning bid
to export four reactors and build a nuclear energy power plant
complex in the United Arab Emirates, Korea has become the world's
sixth country to export nuclear energy reactors, joining the United
States, Russia, France, Japan and Canada.
8. The government's long-term strategy plans include the domestic
development of major core technologies such as reactor cooling
systems, control instrumentation devices, and design code systems,
currently supplied by foreign companies such as Westinghouse. To
accomplish this strategy, the government will earmark USD 88.5
million for research and development on these technologies. The
government also plans to join the private sector in investing USD
365 million by 2017 in R&D to expand the life expectancy of nuclear
power plants from 60 to 80 years and to reduce reactor construction
time from 52 to 36 months.
9. Government Proposes New Sejong City as a Science Hub
In a 2005 campaign pledge to promote balanced regional development
and garner votes in a crucial swing region, then President Roh
Moo-hyun promised to relocate nine central government ministries and
four subsidiary agencies to the planned Sejong City, located in
South Chungcheong Province, some 150 kilometers south of Seoul,
beginning in 2012. The National Assembly passed controversial
legislation in 2005 to implement Roh's campaign pledge. On January
11 of this year, the Lee Myung-bak administration announced plans to
scrap Roh's plan. Prime Minister Chung Un-chan announced at a press
conference that the government would propose instead turning the new
city into a business and science hub by building an international
science-business center and encouraging Samsung, Hanwha, Woongjin,
Lotte, and Austrian solar energy developer SSF to build plants there
and Korea University and the Korea Advanced Institute for Science
and Technology (KAIST) to build new campuses there. The revised
draft plan calls for investment of a total of 16.5 trillion won (USD
15 million) over the next 10 years about half from the government
for construction of public facilities and half from the private
sector for private construction.
10. In addition, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
said it would build an international science belt on an 815-acre
area in Sejong City with a total investment of 3.5 trillion won (USD
3.2 million) by 2015. The four key facilities to be located in the
science belt include an international graduate school for science, a
basic research institute, a heavy ion collider research center, and
a nuclear fusion research institute. These facilities would enhance
Sejong City's image as an international science center, the ministry
said.
11. President Lee has the support of a majority of the ruling Grand
National Party to revise the Sejong City plan, but party-rival and
2012 presidential contender Park Geun-hye is opposed. Lee's plan
cannot pass without the support of Park's faction. The likely
outcome is a stalemate to be decided in the 2012 presidential
election.
Korea's First Weather Satellite
To Be Launched This Year
SEOUL 00000092 004 OF 005
-------------------------------
12. South Korea plans to launch its first weather satellite in the
first half of this year, hoping to enhance the speed and accuracy of
its forecasting, the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute
(KARI) said on January 13. According to the KARI press release, the
maritime communication and weather satellite will be launched by
Arianespace from the Guyana Space Center in French Guyana. It will
be placed in geostationary orbit some 36,000 kilometers above the
Korea peninsula, equipped with a multi-spectrum camera and sensor
array that can closely monitor typhoons, ocean temperatures, and the
movement of dust and cloud formations. It will be programmed to
conduct up to 10 ocean meteorological observations a day and send
this information to ground controllers on a real-time basis. Korea
has already placed several remote sensing, scientific and
communication satellites into orbit through Arianespace and other
foreign space agencies. Its first attempt to domestically launch
and place a satellite into orbit last July was unsuccessful.
Another domestic launch is tentatively scheduled for late May 2010.
------
Health
------
Korean Scientists Discover
New Alzheimer's Gene
--------------------------
13. A research team led by Dr. Suh Yoo-hun of Seoul National
University and funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology, has linked the human gene S100a9 as an underlying cause
of Alzheimer's Disease. The team used an "advanced chip array
method" to detect overly active gene manifestations in the S100a9
gene of Alzheimer's patients. In addition, the team also found that
injecting laboratory mice genetically modified to have Alzheimer's
Disease with RNA specifically designed to interfere with the S100a9
gene resulted in a reduction of memory loss and other symptoms
associated with the disease. The discovery has been published in
the latest issue of PLoS One, an international, Internet-based
peer-reviewed publication.
New Rules on HIV Testing of Foreign
Workers Causes Confusion
-----------------------------------
14. South Korea lifted its entry ban on HIV-positive foreigners
effective January 1, 2010. However, the Ministry of Health, Welfare
and family Affairs said Korea can still restrict reentry for
HIV-positive individuals that have been deemed a threat to public
health. In an interview with Expat Living, a Ministry of Justice
official said foreigners already residing in the country can still
be tested for HIV, and added, "originally, we deported foreigners
who tested positive for HIV. And they were not allowed to reenter
Korea. But in light of the January 1 announcement... if foreigners
who work here test positive, we would not immediately deport them,"
the Ministry official said. "But as for foreigners who are judged
by local medical centers as highly dangerous, we will impose
restrictions on them." As for how someone who is HIV positive is
judged to be "dangerous," the Justice Ministry official demurred.
That determination is made by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and
Family Affairs, he said.
SEOUL 00000092 005 OF 005
More Koreans Smoke
------------------
15. The Ministry for Health and Welfare Affairs recently said that
the smoking rate for Korean people aged 19 or older increased by one
percentage point, to 23.3 percent in 2009. The ministry surveyed
3,000 people by phone across the nation. The rate for males
increased from 40.9 percent to 43.1 percent, and the rate for
females decreased from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent. Asked what
caused them to smoke, 59.1 percent of all smokers said they smoke
because it is a habit and 32.6 percent pointed to stress. In
response to the rising smoking rate, the ministry plans to intensify
anti-smoking efforts by designating more parks, hospitals, and other
public facilities as smoking-prohibited areas. A Korean Development
Institute study, meanwhile, found that indoor smoking prohibitions
introduced in 2003 reduced the number of cigarettes smoked per day
by 16 percent for the average smoker.
-------
Profile
-------
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience
and Biotechnology
--------------------------------------
16. Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
(KRIBB), founded in 1985, is the only Korean government research
institute dedicated to biotechnology research across the full span
of biological subject areas from basic studies on the fundamental
phenomena of life to applied studies such as new drug discovery,
novel biomaterials, and bio-information. Currently KRIBB has more
than 1,000 full-time employees, including about 330 Ph.D. degree
holders.
17. In June 2004, KRIBB established a joint collaboration center at
its compound in partnership with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center (FHCRC) of the United States to develop biomarkers for early
detection liver and stomach cancer. KRIBB and the FHCRC also teamed
up with research institutes in Singapore, Taiwan, and China to
launch the International Cancer Biomarker Consortium. KRIBB also
has joint research programs with the University of Washington to
develop platform technology for T cell therapy. Also, in June 2007
KRIBB formed a strategic alliance with Pfizer, under which KRIBB and
Pfizer will undertake joint research projects to screen chemical
compounds with the potential to control the NK immune cell and to
identify suitable molecular targets for new liver and stomach cancer
drugs.
18. Since its foundation in 1985, KRIBB researchers average over
300 published articles a year and have registered almost 400 patents
at home and abroad. Recent efforts in commercialization have spun
off over 80 venture companies and have successfully commercialized
several discoveries.
STEPHENS