National Assembly member Cheol-woo Lee of the Liberty Korea Party purchased a house in Nongso-myeon, Gimcheon-si, about 4 km away from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in Seongju, Gyeongbuk, to show that the electromagnetic waves from the THAAD are harmless to the human body. He actually bought the house in August along with 9 other persons, including Professor Yun-myeong Kim of Dankook University (an electromagnetic-wave expert), Chairman Seok-hwan Song of the Songseoldang Educational Foundation, and Chairman Sang-chun Lee of the Kimcheon Countryman Union in Seoul. The house was newly built but had been vacant thus far due to electromagnetic waves.

National Assembly member Lee supported the government’s deployment of the THAAD in July last year and received complaints from some residents. In September of the same year, in a question to the government, he said that he would live in the area around the THAAD in person to persuade the residents that the THAAD is harmless to the human body. National Assembly member Lee recently actually stayed in this house with his son and wife for about ten days. He kept the promise he made a year ago. The nine other persons who purchased the house along with National Assembly member Lee also plan to stay there for several days, in turns. It is nice to see them fulfilling their promise at this time, when the country is having related difficulties.

It has been repeatedly revealed that the electromagnetic waves from the THAAD are harmless to the human body. Last year, the U.S. military invited Korean journalists to their Guam base to show them the harmlessness of electromagnetic waves, and in an environmental-impact assessment conducted by the Ministry of Environment earlier this month, the Seongju base was found to have no problems. Nevertheless, anti-THAAD groups and religious groups continue to protest against the THAAD. They staged a demonstration in front of the National Police Agency on the 12th, and another demonstration in front of the Blue House on the 13th. It is not reasonable to continue protesting against electromagnetic waves even though they have been proven harmless.

The U.S. forces in Korea completed the construction for the deployment of six THAAD launchers on the 12th and have actually started the operational deployment. Although the deployment was labeled “temporary deployment,” the THAAD launchers cannot and should not be removed in the face of the North Korean threat now that they have been installed.

What remains now is to think about how to effectively block North Korean attacks using the THAAD in Seongju, Gyeongbuk Province. The proper attitude is to recognize and accept the fact that the THAAD is a state-of-the-art weapon system that is necessary to protect the national security.

The demonstrations against the THAAD must end now. It has already been installed, and continued demonstrations against it will only lead to division among the people. As Korean President Moon Jae-in has made difficult decisions even at the cost of China’s trade retaliation and backlash, the people should also accept the THAAD and support the government’s decision. That is what the people who love their country must do. National Assembly member Lee’s act of living near the THAAD base together with his granddaughter shows true love of country. Those who claim to be patriots and leaders should imitate his act.

[Exclusive interview] Professor Yun-myeong Kim repeatedly admitted, “No one knows the absolute safe distance from the THAAD radar…. It’s just a calculation based on U.S. military data…. I don’t know the radar output.” In an exclusive interview with this newspaper on the 29th, Professor Yun-myeong Kim of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Dankook University, who preaches about the safety of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radars, which have been controversial of late, repeatedly admitted that his argument was “just an estimation.” Professor Kim also emphasized that the “100 m absolute safe distance” is not an absolute safe distance and was just estimated through inverse operation because the radar output was not disclosed, and it does not mean that the THAAD radars are safe for all the people on earth.

This is a THAAD political situation. About 2,000 residents of Seongju, Gyeongbuk Province, who oppose the deployment of the THAAD held a large-scale rally in Seoul in the afternoon of the 21st. The biggest reason for the opposition is the perceived harmfulness of electromagnetic waves from the THAAD. It is natural for people to oppose the THAAD if their electromagnetic waves are harmful to the human body and to crops. What then is the truth behind the electromagnetic waves from the THAAD? At 5 p.m. on the 22nd, I met a professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Dankook University. Professor Kim is the foremost authority in the field of electromagnetic waves in South Korea, who was in charge of production and test development at a radar company and studied electromagnetic-wave standards for the human body for over 20 years. I interviewed him for an hour and a half on the harmfulness of electromagnetic waves from various information appliances and electronic products, including the THAAD.

What are electromagnetic waves?
The words electromagnetic waves are short for electric and magnetic waves. The words can be further shortened into radio waves. However, electromagnetic waves and radio waves are used as different concepts in reality. In South Korea, radio waves are used as a concept different from electromagnetic waves, which refer to electromagnetic fields.

It is said that the area within a radius of several kilometers from the THAAD radar is dangerous due to the electromagnetic waves from the radar. If the main beam of radar waves follows the horizon, the safe distance is up to 3.6 km. The mission of the THAAD radar is to track high-altitude aircraft. The main beam is shot with an elevation angle of at least 5 degrees. As the Seongju area is a downhill terrain, the area within a radius of 100 m from the radar should be considered a dangerous area.

Will the electromagnetic waves from the THAAD radar lead to deformed children with burns? People will not suffer burns unless they approach the radar within a 100 m radius. The birth of a deformed child is impossible unless the woman was within a 100 m radius from the radar for a long period of time. It is said that in the early days of radar operation, damage to people’s bodies occurred because people were not very much aware of the risk involved.

There are also arguments that electromagnetic waves adversely affect agricultural products. The argument that the electromagnetic waves adversely affect the Oriental melon, a specialty of Seongju, is not true. There have been no reports of adverse effects of electromagnetic waves on crops near the radar base.

EMF Safety localized electromagnetic-wave absorption rate measurement equipment

EMF Safety (CEO Kim Yun-myeong, Professor of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Dankook University), a campus venture within Dankook University, has succeeded in localizing the specific absorption rate (SAR) measurement equipment.

On the 23rd, EMF Safety announced that it had acquired the original technology from 3D EMC in the United States for US$200,000 in March, had recruited the founder of 3D EMC as a technical advisor, had started localization work, had developed core technologies such as those for electromagnetic-wave probes and signal-processing units (SPUs) along with a measurement system, and had signed a contract with Radio Research Laboratory to supply them.

The measurement equipment will measure the SAR of newly developed mobile phones. This will be done by placing the mobile phones on a head model with the same composition as the human body and attaching a ceramic probe and an SPU to the other side.

As EMF Safety succeeded in localizing the measurement equipment with an error range of only 土5%, it is expected that the measurement equipment can replace the current products from foreign companies such as Schmid & Partner.

EMF Safety signed contracts with domestic mobile-phone parts makers to supply measurement equipment and is advancing into overseas markets such as Singapore Productivity and Standards Board and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in China.

“SAR is the amount of energy absorbed by the human body from electromagnetic waves generated by electronic products,” said Kim Yun-myeong, president of EMF Safety. He added, “The developed equipment will not only be sold in South Korea but will also be exported to China, Singapore, etc.”

Dankook University campus venture’s localized SAR measurement equipment

EMF Safety (CEO Kim Yun-myeong, Professor of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Dankook University), a campus venture within Dankook University, has succeeded in localizing the specific absorption rate (SAR) measurement equipment.

On the 23rd, EMF Safety announced that it had acquired the original technology from 3D EMC in the United States for US$200,000 in March, had recruited the founder of 3D EMC as a technical advisor, had started localization work, had developed core technologies such as those for electromagnetic-wave probes and signal-processing units (SPUs) along with a measurement system, and had signed a contract with Radio Research Laboratory to supply them.

The measurement equipment will measure the SAR of newly developed mobile phones. This will be done by placing the mobile phones on a head model with the same composition as the human body and attaching a ceramic probe and an SPU to the other side.

As EMF Safety succeeded in localizing the measurement equipment with an error range of only 土5%, it is expected that the measurement equipment can replace the current products from foreign companies such as Schmid & Partner.

EMF Safety signed contracts with domestic mobile-phone parts makers to supply measurement equipment and is advancing into overseas markets such as Singapore Productivity and Standards Board and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in China.

“SAR is the amount of energy absorbed by the human body from electromagnetic waves generated by electronic products,” said Kim Yun-myeong, president of EMF Safety. He added, “The developed equipment will not only be sold in South Korea but will also be exported to China, Singapore, etc.”

Absorption rates of electromagnetic waves from mobile phones should be disclosed beginning December - the Ministry of Information and Communication

The specific electromagnetic-wave absorption rate (SAR) will be disclosed on the mobile phone handsets that will be released from December 1st.

The Ministry of Information and Communication announced on the 30th that as the interest in whether electromagnetic waves are harmful to the human body is increasing, it decided to require each mobile-phone manufacturer to autonomically indicate the SAR of its mobile phone handsets beginning December, and recently notified the manufacturers of this policy.

Accordingly, the manufacturers are expected to specify the meaning of SAR, its effect on the human body, and its numerical values in the product manuals of their handsets to be released after December. The handsets released before December will come with a related manual.

SAR is the numerical value that shows how much the human body absorbs electromagnetic waves emitted from the terminal. It is expected to have an impact on handset manufacturers in that it can become a standard for handset selection if electromagnetic waves’ harmfulness to the human body, which has been controversial of late, is proven. Accordingly, handset manufacturers are expected to actively develop technologies to lower SAR as SAR will already be disclosed.

Record of member company visit

EMF Safety Co., Ltd. is a company established by professors of electronic engineering, entrepreneurs, and researchers within Dankook University for the purpose of developing and producing devices for testing the safety of wireless mobile communication terminals to the human body.

Mr. Oscar Garary, who developed the world’s first SAR measurement device at Motorola, USA, was invited as a technical consultant to transfer the technology. In the process of technology transfer, EMF Safety Co., Ltd. made efforts to localize the parts and improve the system performance, thereby succeeding in developing a system that complies with the notification of the Ministry of Information and Communication (No. 2000-93) related to SAR measurement and the standard of Radio Research Laboratory, and thereafter supplied the system to diverse demanders, such as domestic enterprises, research institutes, universities, and certification companies.

Currently, EMF Safety Co., Ltd. is also conducting engineering studies related to the effects of electromagnetic fields on human bodies, and is making efforts to commercialize related research results.

Are the “One Mind” conglomerates and the Ministry of Information and Communication preventing controversies over electromagnetic waves from mobile phones?”

If anyone passing by a street is taken and his/her belongings are checked, a mobile phone will likely be found among them, along with a wallet and ID cards. As the number of domestic subscribers is now 30.6 million, indicating that three out of four Koreans are using a mobile phone, probably nobody will object to the assertion that mobile phones are requisite in the lives of modern people.

However, “South Korean money-spinner” mobile phones, which have ranked first among export items in terms of volume by conquering 30% of the global market, have recently been a subject of controversy. The controversy has nothing to do with the technological advancements of mobile phones with built-in cameras, color phones, and TV phones, which are popular these days. The core of the controversy is the tension among the industry players, civic groups, and government ministries due to the electromagnetic waves generated by mobile phones.

Voices of criticism are rising over the fact that although the social interest in the harmfulness of electromagnetic waves from mobile phones is increasing by the day, the mobile phone handset manufacturers and the government have been extremely passive about such.

- ellipsis-

As mentioned at the beginning, the issue of whether electromagnetic waves from mobile phones are harmful to the human body or not has not yet been resolved. As for the study findings about such from around the world, papers claiming that electromagnetic waves from mobile phones are harmful to the human body and papers claiming the opposite have surfaced, and the study findings of International Agency for Research on Cancer related to such will become available 10 years from now still. It is because of this uncertainty that government authorities and handset manufacturers can shout out that “policy efforts are being made to safely protect users from potential risks,” using the SAR limit criterion as a shield.

The Ministry of Information and Communication and handset manufacturers say that the current domestic SAR limit criterion of 1.6 W/kg is “a safe numerical value harmless to the human body.” Of course, most people agree that the SAR standard is strictly applied in South Korea, but studies on electromagnetic waves from mobile phones are still “in progress.” In particular, the focus of the controversy related to electromagnetic waves from mobile phones in South Korea is on the companies’ ethical duty to respect the users’ right to know and the policymakers’ and authorities’ expertise in making sure that the companies carry out such duty. Therefore, the argument that the SAR should be disclosed along with a “minimum” warning that electromagnetic waves from mobile phones have the potential to affect the human body in any form is persuasive.

Thus, it is worthwhile listening to Professor Yun-myeong Kim of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Dankook University, who runs a venture company that produces SAR measurement equipment.

“The domestic SAR limit criterion is 1.6 W/kg. However, this criterion is not eternal. As the technology advances and study findings are accumulated, the SAR limit criterion will become increasingly stricter. If technologies are not accumulated from now and we do not prepare ourselves for the foregoing, problems may become serious because the numerical value 1.6 W/kg is not a solid shield that can protect humans.”

Recently, in South Korea, “socially responsible investment (SRI),” which includes not only financial indicators such as corporate sales and profits but also environmental, social, and ethical risk factors in investment standards, has been emerging as an advanced financial-investment method. In short, the time is coming when corporate ethical awareness will become an asset. “Responsible investments” by large corporations leading the South Korean economy and the active supervision of such by relevant institutions are necessary against the potential factors that threaten public health.