South Korea's culture minister arrested over arts blacklist in political scandal www.reuters.com

South Korean prosecutors arrested the culture minister on Saturday for suspected involvement in drawing up a blacklist of artists, writers and entertainers critical of President Park Geun-hye amid a graft scandal that led to her impeachment.

Cho Yoon-sun became the first sitting minister ever to be arrested, the special prosecutor's team, investigating the scandal, said.

The country has gripped by crisis for months, and Park could become the first democratically elected leader to be removed from office if her impeachment by parliament is upheld by the Constitutional Court.

Seoul Central District Court said on Saturday in a text message to reporters that minister Cho was arrested because her crime had been "verified and there were concerns over destruction of evidence".

The special prosecutor's office on Wednesday asked the court to issue warrants to arrest Cho and a former presidential chief of staff on suspicion of abuse of power and perjury.

The former chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, was also arrested.

The same court on Thursday refused to grant an arrest warrant for the head of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], the country's largest conglomerate, on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury amid the corruption scandal.

The reprieve for Jay Y. Lee, 48, may only be temporary, as the prosecutors said they would pursue the case.

The prosecution team questioned Cho and Kim this week over allegations that they created the blacklist of actors, writers and other cultural figures considered critical of the current administration, which both have publicly denied.

Park has been accused by legal authorities and lawmakers of putting pressure on the entertainment industry in retaliation against satirical attacks and criticism. The allegations have evoked bad memories of the oppression suffered when Park's late father, Park Chung-hee, ruled the country. [L4N1F81T1]

BLACKLIST? WHAT BLACKLIST?

The presidential Blue House denies that such a blacklist exists. Culture Minister Cho has said many times that she has heard reports of such a list but that she had nothing to do with it.

Cho did not respond to reporters on Friday at the court to attend a hearing on her arrest warrant.

Park was impeached by parliament in December after accusations that she colluded with long-time friend Choi Soon-sil to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back the president’s policy initiatives.

Park, 64, remains in office but has been stripped of her powers while the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the impeachment.

The special prosecutor's office said on Friday it summoned Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Executive Vice President

Hwang Sung-soo for questioning. It did not elaborate.

Samsung Electronics is the flagship company of Samsung Group and is the world's top manufacturer of smartphones, memory chips and flat-screen televisions.

A Samsung Group spokesman declined to comment. Hwang was not available for comment.

The special prosecutor's office is investigating whether the

conglomerate paid bribes to Park's confidant, Choi Soon-sil, to

win support from the National Pension Service for the 2015

merger of two Samsung Group affiliates.

Park and Choi have denied wrongdoing. Samsung has acknowledged making contributions to entities

controlled by Choi but has denied accusations of lobbying to

push through the merger.

In another scandal indirectly affecting South Korea, the United States has asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex.

Ban, who is ranked second in opinion polls among potential candidates for South Korean president, said in Seoul he knew nothing about the case but issued an apology for family members who have caused public concern.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Nick Macfie & Simon Cameron-Moore)

Apple files $1 billion lawsuit against chip supplier Qualcomm www.chinadaily.com

Apple Inc filed a $1 billion lawsuit against supplier Qualcomm Inc on Friday, days after the US government filed a lawsuit that accused the chip maker of resorting to anticompetitive tactics to maintain a monopoly over key semiconductors in mobile phones.

Qualcomm is a major supplier to both Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for "modem" chips that connect phones to wireless networks. The two companies together accounted for 40 percent of Qualcomm's $23.5 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year.

In the lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of California, Apple accused Qualcomm of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. Apple said in its complaint that Qualcomm withheld the rebates because of Apple's discussions with South Korea's antitrust regulator, the Korea Fair Trade Commission.

"If that were not enough, Qualcomm then attempted to extort Apple into changing its responses and providing false information to the KFTC in exchange for Qualcomm's release of those payments to Apple. Apple refused," Apple said in its lawsuit.

Qualcomm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Qualcomm has patents for chips which include standard essential patents, a term used to describe technology that is required to be licensed broadly and on "reasonable" terms.

In its lawsuit, Apple accused Qualcomm of refusing to license the technology to other manufacturers to prevent them from making the chips.

It also accused Qualcomm of selling chips while requiring Apple to pay a separate licensing fee for the same chips, in a "no license, no chip" policy.

In addition, Qualcomm pressured network carriers to not sell or support Apple devices made with Intel chipsets Apple said.

The KFTC fined Qualcomm $854 million in December for what it called unfair patent licensing practices.

In February 2015, Qualcomm paid a $975 million fine in China, while the European Union in December 2015 accused it of abusing its market power to thwart rivals.

On Tuesday, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, saying the San Diego-based company used its dominant position as a supplier of certain phone chips to impose "onerous" supply and licensing terms on cellphone manufacturers. Qualcomm said it would contest the FTC complaint.

Qualcomm was the sole supplier of modem chips for Apple's phones until the release of the iPhone 7 in September. Intel Corp supplied about half of the modem chips for the newest models, said Stacy Rasgon, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research.

Apple made the move around the same time that Samsung, which had switched to using its own internal chips for its Galaxy S6 phones, returned to Qualcomm for the Galaxy S7.

Qualcomm "has been able to manage through (the Apple contract loss) pretty well because they got back Samsung at the same time," Rasgon said.

Apple is known for seeking multiple suppliers to keep prices down, said Jim Morrison, vice-president of technical intelligence for TechInsights, which tears down devices to analyze their parts.

Trump administration announces withdrawal from TPP www.nhk.or.jp

The administration of new US President Donald Trump has announced through the White House website that the US is withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

US-Mongolia Transparency Agreement ratified at Washington ceremony on January 18, will enter into force on March 18

More than three years after it was signed in September 2013 by US Trade Representative Michael Froman and then-Foreign Minister Lu. Bold, the US-Mongolia Transparency Agreement was finally ratified on Wednesday, January 18, at a Washington DC ceremony at which letters by Ambassador Froman and Mongolian Ambassador to the US Bulgaa Altangerel were exchanged certifying that both the US and Mongolia have completed their respective legal requirements to implement the agreement. Formally known as the “Agreement on Transparency in Matters Related to International Trade and Investment between the United States of America and Mongolia,” the agreement will enter into force on Friday, March 18, 60 days after the January 18 ceremony.

The agreement applies to matters relating to international trade and investment and includes joint commitments to provide opportunities for public comment on proposed laws and regulations and to publish final laws and regulations in English. The English publication provision is expected to make it easier for all foreign companies to do business in, and invest in, Mongolia. The agreement also commits both nations ensure that administrative agencies apply fair, impartial and reasonable procedures and that persons affected by the decisions of administrative agencies have a right to appeal those decisions. Other sections cover the application of disciplines on bribery and corruption.

Certification of the agreement came two days before Ambassador Froman will leave his post at USTR on January 20, after President-Elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. It is customary for all Presidential appointees to resign at the end of an administration. At the January 18 ceremony, Ambassador Froman offered his appreciation to US State Department officials for their valuable support leading up to the signing and exchange of letters. President-Elect Trump has nominated Washington trade lawyer Robert Lighthizer, a former Deputy US Trade Representative, to succeed Froman. The date of a confirmation hearing at the Senate Finance Committee has not yet been announced.

“On this landmark occasion, “ said NAMBC Chairman Frank Herbert, “we also want to pay tribute not only to Ambassador Froman and his team but also most particularly to former US Ambassadors Jonathan Addleton and Piper Campbell, and their successor, Ambassador Jennifer Galt, and to Mongolia’s Ambassadors to the US Khasbazaryn Bekhbat and Bulgaa Altangerel for their key roles in negotiating this historic agreement and in achieving its implementation.” Herbert also noted, “This agreement offers huge benefits to Mongolia in reaching out for new FDI around the world, allowing a wider global audience for Mongolia’s ongoing effort to promote predictability, stability and fair treatment to investors and trading partners.” He further said the agreement represented “the continuing commitment of five consecutive Mongolian Prime Ministers from different parties to achieve greater openness and transparency.”

The United States and Mongolia signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on July 15, 2004, creating a United States-Mongolia Council on Trade and Investment that considers a wide range of issues that include, but are not limited to, intellectual property rights, labor, environmental matters, non-tariff barriers, investment and transparency. Through the Council, the two countries have established an ongoing dialogue to help remove impediments to trade. The next TIFA meeting will be in Washington DC at a date yet to be determined this spring.

The transparency agreement with Mongolia represents the first time that the United States has concluded a stand-alone agreement addressing transparency in matters related to international trade and investment. Previously, the United States had only negotiated transparency commitments as part of broader agreements, such as free trade agreements (FTA). Negotiating a stand-alone agreement with Mongolia offered an opportunity to build concretely on cooperation between the United States and Mongolia under the existing TIFA.

For the full 11 page text of the U.S.-Mongolia Transparency Agreement, go to: https://ustr.gov/…/US-Mongolia%20Transparency%20Agreement-E…

For copies of the letters signed and exchanged on January 18, go to: https://ustr.gov/…/Mongolia%20Transparency%20Agreement%20EI…

For the full 4 page text of the 2004 TIFA Agreement, go to: https://ustr.gov/…/US-Mongolia%20TIFA%20English%20Version.p…

'World's top-paid' footballer arrives in Shanghai www.nhk.or.jp

Argentine footballer Carlos Tevez has arrived in Shanghai to play for a local professional club. Shanghai Shenhua reportedly offered him about 40 million dollars a year, the highest annual pay for a soccer star.

ROK, US, Japan to hold maritime drills against DPRK missiles www.chinadaily.com.cn

Vietnam opens new doors with push for coal energy www.asia.nikkei.com

VAT Law implementation results in growth of government budget revenue www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The “Changemakers” club of economic journalists has organized a discussion on the implementation of the new Law on Value Added Tax. The event gathered some important figures, including the chairman of the General Department of Taxation, directors of public and private companies and university professors.

China economy grows 6.7% in 2016 www.bbc.com

Western Union admits to aiding wire fraud, to pay $586 million www.reuters.com