News Roundup

Jeju Shinbo
1. Politics
Seoul to speed up process to build new Jeju airport
The central government has added Jeju’s second airport project to its mid-to-long-term policy plans for 2016 through 2020. The move is expected to speed up the process to build the facility.

2. Society
School zones ‘not safe’
Classes at most elementary school students in Jeju City will resume next week as vacation comes to a close, but many schools zones still lack mandatory safety facilities, such as pedestrian crossings and speed bumps.

Jemin Ilbo
1. Administration
Price adjusted for Dream & Green Apartments
The price of the new Dream & Green Apartments has been lowered from 3 to 2.63 million won per square meter, after a government committee reviewed the pricing and decided adjustments were needed.

2. Society
Concern over eased visa regulations
The Jemin Ilbo says the government’s latest push to make it easier for Chinese citizens to obtain travel visas to Korea… is raising concerns that more people will misuse the eased restrictions to illegally immigrate to Korea.


Halla Ilbo
1. Economy
Jeju remains popular place to live
The Halla Ilbo is reporting that a record-high 14,300 people moved to Jeju from the mainland last year, proving the island’s popularity as a place to live. But the article says old and new residents still face difficulty getting along and land prices are continuing to rise due to the influx.

2. Economy
Airport operations return to normal
As of early Wednesday, airport operations returned to normal at Jeju International, after days of round-the-clock flights that helped passengers stranded by the weekend storm return home.

Yonhap
1. Economy
Samsung Q4 net tumbles on smartphone, chip woes
Yonhap is reporting that Samsung Electronics reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit Thursday as its smartphone business stuttered on sluggish demand for premium models and chip prices remained weak.

2. Society
Cigarette imports surge in 2015
South Korea's cigarette imports surged in 2015 after contracting for four straight years. This comes despite government efforts to discourage smoking by sharply raising prices.