この戦(たたか)いは意味(いみ)がない。: 이 싸움은 의미 없다.

戦(たたか)わないでください。: 싸우지 말아 주세요.

戦(たたか)ってみる価値(かち)はある。: 싸워볼 가치는 있다.

The government finalized a new household electricity billing system that will lower the average bill by 11.6 percent - and cut bills in half for some heavy users. It goes into effect with this month’s power bills. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy submitted three alternate sets of revisions to the National Assembly and lawmakers approved the third proposal, which reduces the number of electricity usage levels from six to three and the difference between the starting rate and the highest rate from 1,110.7 percent to 300 percent. This is the first time in 12 years the government revised the progressive billing system, which became a major issue this summer after a major heat wave led to monster power bills. “We have reviewed changes in consumption and the number of household members and came up with the new billing system,” said Shin Yong-min, a director at the Trade Ministry. “No households will experience more financial burden from the new system and I believe they will save 11.6 percent on average and as high as 14.9 percent during summer and winter.” 

Currently there are six levels. Korean households pay 60.7 won (5 cents) per kilowatt of electricity for the first 100 kilowatts in a month. The price goes up to 125.9 won for the next 100 kilowatts per month and as high as 709.5 won per kilowatt - or 1,110.7 percent more than the starting price - in the highest range. Under the new system, households will pay 93.3 won per kilowatt for the first 200 kilowatts in a month. The price will go up to 187.9 won for the next 200 kilowatts per month and to 280.6 won per kilowatt for usage over 401 kilowatts a month, or 300 percent more than the starting price. Households that consume 350 kilowatts a month will pay 55,080 won, down 12 percent from the 62,910 won they currently pay. That’s a savings of 7,830 won. “We will also give discounts to those who consume lesser amounts of electricity and penalties to those who consume large amount of energy to have people participate in saving energy,” said Shin. 

According to the Trade Ministry, the government plans to give 10 percent discounts to households that use 20 percent less energy when compared to their average consumption of the past two years. It will give 15 percent off for such households during summer and winter. For those who consume more than 1,000 kilowatts per month, the government will charge 709.5 won per kilowatt during summers and winters, which is some 77 percent higher than the highest rate in the old system. The government also announced that it plans to give more financial benefits to people in lower income groups and socially disadvantaged groups, such as the disabled and large families. 

The government currently gives 8,000 won monthly discounts to low-income groups, which will be doubled to 16,000 won. During summers, the ministry said it will give 20,000 won discounts. Families with a large number of members, or more than three children, will enjoy 30 percent discounts on their electricity bills, up from 20 percent. On top of household electricity bills, the Trade Ministry announced that it will give cuts in power rates for schools. The ministry said it will give 20 percent cuts for elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. “We will give 50 percent discounts to them during summers and winters, which is higher than the current 15 percent,” said Shin. As the new plan will lower power bills by 11.6 percent, on average, the government estimated that the Korea Electric Power Corporation, the sole power distributor, will see a drop of 939.3 billion won in its annual sales.

彼(かれ)は私(わたし)を疑(うたが)っている。: 그는 나를 의심하고 있다.

耳(みみ)を疑(うたが)ってしまった。: 귀를 의심하고 말았다.

疑(うたが)わないでください。: 의심하지 말아 주세요.

落(お)ち着(つ)いた感(かん)じが好(す)きです。: 차분한 느낌이 좋아요.

ちょっと、落(お)ち着(つ)いて！: 제발, 진정해!

落(お)ち着(つ)かせてください。: 진정시켜 주세요.

Korea’s rankings in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, published by the OECD on Tuesday, fell from 2012. It was the first time Korea missed the top three ranks in all three sectors: reading, mathematics and science. PISA is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the world. Roughly 540,000 students took part in 2015, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds in 72 countries. In Korea, 5,201 students participated. 

According to the report, Korea ranked between fourth and ninth in reading, “first-fourth” in mathematics and “ninth-14th” in science. Narrowing the results to the 35 OECD members, Korea ranked “third-eighth” in reading, “first-fourth” in mathematics and “fifth-eighth” in science. The PISA rankings are presented in scales when a country’s score is not significantly different from other countries’ scores. So for reading, Korea’s score was only marginally different from countries ranked fourth to ninth. Three years ago, Korea got “first-second” in reading, “first” in math and “second-fourth” in science. Educational experts blame a growing gap between the performance of high and low achievers. According to the PISA report, Korea’s share of low achievers in all three subjects increased by 7.7 percent, while top performers remained steady. “Korea’s PISA ranks have moved within narrow limits over the years,” said Koo Ja-ok, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, “but this time the drop is bigger than ever. “A rapid increase in the number of low achievers is to blame, but we will carry out research to find out the specific reasons.” 

“An increase of poverty leads to more low achievers,” said Jung Jin-gon, an education professor at Hanyang University, “because some parents can’t support their children’s academics.” According to Statistics Korea, incomes among families in the bottom 10 percent of society saw their sharpest drops this year since 2003. There is also a gap between boys and girls. On the average across OECD countries, the number of top performers in science and math is larger for boys. In Korea, however, girls outshone boys in science and math. But Korean students were below average in their science engagement and motivation. Only 53.7 percent of Korean students said yes when asked if they were interested in science, far below the OECD average of 63.8 percent. The percentage of Korea students who said they enjoyed reading science books was 43.4 percent, below the average at 51.8 percent. Only 9.6 percent said they can easily interpret scientific information, under the OECD average of 20 percent. 

“We’ve seen the trend of growing numbers of underachieving students in nationwide scholastic achievement tests,” said Kang Sung-chul, who heads the National Curriculum Policy Division at the Ministry of Education. “The central government should cooperate with district educational offices to support student who score below standard academic levels.”

信念(しんねん)を曲(ま)げない。: 신념을 굽히지 않는다.

スプーンを曲(ま)げる。: 숟가락을 구부리다.

腕(うで)を曲(ま)げる。: 팔을 구부리다.

Korean automobile exports bounced back for the first time in 13 months largely due to the end of a lengthy labor strike at Hyundai Motor, the country’s largest automaker. However, imported-car sales, which have seen an aggressive surge in market share that seemed to never end, are likely to post an annual decline for the first time in seven years. The country’s car exports increased 0.9 percent in November compared to the same period last year, with 260,491 Korean vehicles sold overseas, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday. This is a welcome signal for the industry, which has been struggling with declining exports for more than a year. The last time Korean car exports showed a positive growth was in October 2015 when 259,304 cars were exported, marking a 7.5 percent year-on-year rise. Since then, automobile exports have declined. In October, exports fell 13.1 percent. 

“One of the contributing factors to the rise was the normalization of Hyundai Motor and its production line after the labor strike ended,” said a ministry official. Hyundai models such as the Accent and Avante, also known as the Elantra overseas, increased their exports, contributing to an overall 11.1 percent year-on-year gain. The popularity of multipurpose vehicles also contributed to increased sales. The Tivoli and the Tivoli Air, a popular sport-utility vehicle manufactured by SsangYong Motor, gained popularity among Iranian consumers, boosting the carmaker’s overseas sales 26.8 percent compared to last year. Not all local carmakers, however, had growing exports. Kia Motors exports declined, a 2.4 percent year-on-year loss in November. 

While sales in North America and Asia shrank, sales in other parts of the world surged, some more than 40 percent compared to the previous year. Korean car sales in the Middle East rose 41 percent, and grew 45.2 percent in Central and South America. “We can attribute few different factors to the phenomenon,” said the trade ministry official. “Basically, exports to those regions were so bad before November, that when Korean car sales were revitalized, the growth rate leaped. Also, the reason sales were rejuvenated was because the economies of the countries in those regions began to recover. “But still, there are so many uncertain factors and the world economy as a whole is in a downturn at the moment. So it’s not possible for us to conjecture if export growth will continue to see an incline.” On the flip side, sales of imports in Korea fell amid Volkswagen’s gas-emission tampering scandal. 

Sales of imported vehicles fell drastically in July following the German carmaker’s global-scale emissions rigging scandal, from 23,435 in June to 15,730. After a three-month struggle, import automobile sales jumped to more than 20,000 in October. However, sales fell in November to 19,361. Mercedes-Benz led with 5,724 vehicles sold in November, followed by BMW (5,340) and Lexus (1,167).

上着(うわぎ)を着(き)てください。: 겉옷을 입어주세요.

恩(おん)に着(き)る。: 은혜를 입다.

着(き)るものがありません。: 입을 것이 없다.

Nissan, BMW and Porsche falsified certification documents on 10 imported models, the government said Tuesday, and the automakers could be banned from sales in Korea as early as next month. The discovery further taints the image of imported brands in the local market after an emissions scandal in which Volkswagen was found to have manipulated its emissions and fuel efficiency paperwork swept the country. The Ministry of Environment widened its investigation after the VW scandal. On Tuesday, the ministry said that two cars from Nissan, one car from BMW and seven from Porsche manipulated documents in a similar manner to Volkswagen. The cars may be subject to decertification and a sales ban, once illegal fabrication is confirmed in a hearing. The automakers could also face fines that reach a combined 6.49 billion won ($5.6 million), the ministry said. The ministry had been inspecting 15 import brands since August following the Volkswagen scandal. 

Nissan submitted paperwork that indicated that its Infiniti Q50 was certified in Japan but the ministry said the automaker didn’t test in Japan. BMW was caught using test data of its X6 M model on its X5 M certification document. BMW said in a statement that its “X5 M and X6 M models share emissions defeat device and engines. We will explain more of why X6 M’s data was included in X5 M’s certification document in the hearing.” Porsche changed the emissions test data of three models including the Macan S Diesel and falsified documents to appear they were from a certified institution, when the tests were conducted in institutions uncertified by the nation’s Environment Ministry, on four other models including Cayman GTS. 

Nissan’s Qashqai sport-utility vehicle, which already has been banned in the nation due to emissions-rigging in May, was included in the list. While Porsche Korea self-reported problematic documents to the Environment Ministry during the inspections, Nissan will have to explain its documentation before mid-December, when decertification is scheduled. “We are also pressing criminal charges against automakers if they do not come up with a sufficient explanation for their actions,” the Environment Ministry said in a statement. Fines levied on the automakers are based on revenue they received on affected models in Korea. Nissan is subject to 3.2 billion won in fines, BMW faces fines of 430 million won and Porsche 2.86 billion won. The sales ban targets six models, as four Porsche models have been discontinued. “Renowned import brands mostly bring their own certified test papers and we approved of those documents because fabrication was never on our minds,” said Park Yong-hee, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Research. “We have no option but to take a closer look at documents if import brands switch test results or manipulate them to make the certification process faster.” 

Meanwhile, the ministry will demand Volkswagen, which had been ordered by the ministry to recall emissions-rigged cars, supplement its recall plan submitted last month. The Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are testing the fuel efficiency of Volkswagens after the recall and approval of the plan will be decided next month. Volkswagen has been embroiled in an emissions rigging scandal since September 2015, then faced another scandal in August of this year as it falsified emissions and noise test results on its popular models including the Golf, Polo and Beetle. The scandal led to a sales ban on 80 car models by VW and Audi, both brands under Volkswagen Group. The scandals knocked Audi and Volkswagen from the list of the top 10 import brands in October, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Audi sold 475 cars and Volkswagen sold only 30 cars in Korea last month.

財布(さいふ)を盗(ぬす)む。: 지갑을 훔치다.

彼(かれ)の心(こころ)を盗(ぬす)んでみせる。: 그의 마음을 꼭 잡고 말 거야.

盗(ぬす)まれたものはありませんか。: 없어진 물건은 없습니까?