Podcast: Park's low rating, US intelligence sharing, and smoking bans
Today on The Korea Times Podcast: President Park's approval rating continues to slide and details are are put in motion on an intelligence sharing deal with Japan. Plus some business owners are taking the nation's smoking ban to court and the government says it can't stop anti-North Korean leaflets.
Park's popularity hits new low
President Park Geun-hye's approval rating continued its negative slide last week to just 30%, down five percentage points from the previous week. Experts indicated the downward trend stems from the tax code revision fiasco and Park’s no-compromise stance.
U.S. seeks to establish formula for implementing intelligence sharing deal with S. Korea, Japan
The United States is attempting to formulate how a new three-way military intelligence sharing deal with South Korea and Japan will be implemented. The deal struck is aimed at better coping with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Legality of smoking ban disputed
Twenty restaurant and bar owners will ask the Constitutional Court to review the smoking ban imposed on all such establishments. I Love Smoking, which is an online community of smokers, said that some of its members will file a petition with the court next month as they believe the new law, which bans smoking at all cafes, restaurants and bars, regardless of their size, infringes on their basic rights.
'Leaflet campaign by foreigners cannot be controlled'
“Freedom of expression is the most fundamental human right, so the government cannot restrict the campaign by foreigners as well as local residents,” an official from the unification ministry said. He added that the government’s hands-off policy toward local group’s leaflet distributions applies equally to those led by foreigners.
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