US supports NK people amid coronavirus pandemic: White House

The United States supports the people of North Korea and other countries vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House National Security Council said Monday, underscoring Washington's commitment to providing humanitarian aid. The NSC statement was posted on its Twitter account together with a link to a press release issued by the Treasury Department last week. The Treasury said Thursday that it continues to allow US sanctions exemptions for the delivery of humanitarian aid to countries

North KoreaApril 14, 2020

US health secretary seeks coronavirus advice from S. Korea

US Health Secretary Alex M. Azar reached out to his South Korean counterpart, Park Neung-hoo, on Monday to learn from Seoul's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the health ministry here said. It said Park and Azar discussed testing procedures and managing of people who have come in contact with patients, as well as recent cases in South Korea where people have retested positive for COVID-19. The number of new cases has stayed below 50 for the past five days in South Korea, while the virus

Foreign AffairsApril 14, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] G80 sets identity of Genesis luxury sedan

Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis launched a revamped third-generation G80 on March 30, seven years after the previous version was launched in 2013.  After releasing G70 in 2017 and the brand’s first sport utility vehicle GV80 earlier this year, Genesis has been diversifying its vehicle lineup to attract a wider range of customers.  As the flagship model, the latest G80 represents and cements Genesis’ brand identity. The Korea Herald had an opportunity to test

MobilityApril 14, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher amid eased virus woes

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday as the country witnessed a daily number of new coronavirus cases below 30. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.28 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,841.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The country repoted 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,537. Most large-cap stocks rose across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.31 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix was

MarketApril 14, 2020

N. Korea's paper urges absolute obedience of antivirus guidelines

North Korea's official newspaper called Tuesday for absolute obedience of anti-coronavirus guidelines, urging people not to let their guard down as the country is bracing for a long fight against the global pandemic. North Korea claims to have no confirmed COVID-19 infection, but the country has taken drastic preventive measures at an early stage, such as closing its border with China and toughening quarantine criteria. "What we have to stay away from is to be complacent about the achiev

North KoreaApril 14, 2020

Subway train derails in Seoul, delaying services

A subway train derailed near Yeongdeungpo Station in southwestern Seoul on Tuesday, delaying and partially disrupting services on line No. 1. No casualties have been reported. The accident took place around 6:28 a.m., halting traffic on both ways of the express lines for line No. 1, according to subway operators. Regular trains on line No. 1 are in operation, but delays have been reported. Around 100 passengers who were on the derailed train walked to the nearby Singil Station, also on line

Social AffairsApril 14, 2020

Health officials warn NYC could run out of virus test swabs

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is in danger of running out of swabs for COVID-19 tests and should only test hospitalized patients, the city health department said in a memo to health care providers over the weekend. 　"As the swab supply continues to decline, there is a real possibility hospitals will completely run out," the April 11 health alert said. "At this time, providers are reminded to only test hospitalized patients in order to preserve resources that are needed to diagn

World NewsApril 13, 2020

Health or wealth? Nations pressured to loosen virus rules

MADRID (AP) -- As the coronavirus pandemic throws millions out of work and devastates economies worldwide, governments are struggling with the delicate balance between keeping people safe from a highly contagious virus and making sure they can still make a living or even have enough to eat. Workers in some nonessential industries were returning to their jobs Monday in Spain, one of the hardest hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, while in South Korea, officials were warning that hard-ea

World NewsApril 13, 2020

Doosan Group likely to sell off affiliate as part of self-rescue plan

　 The cash-strapped South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group announced Monday it has submitted a self-rescue plan to its creditors, apparently including selling of an affiliate and pay cuts for executives. 　Doosan Group has been struggling to normalize troubled affiliate Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Last month, Doosan Heavy opened a 1 trillion-won ($821 million) credit line from South Korea‘s state lenders -- Korea Development Bank and Korea Export-Import Bank -- to preve

IndustryApril 13, 2020

SoftBank Group forecasts $7b full-year net loss

TOKYO (AFP) -- Struggling Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group on Monday forecast a $7-billion net loss for the year ended March due to the negative impact of coronavirus and losses related to WeWork. The telecoms and investment giant, led by flamboyant entrepreneur Masayoshi Son, also said in a surprise press release it expected to suffer an operating loss of 1.35 trillion yen or $12.5 billion. The firm cited a 1.8-trillion yen loss at its SoftBank Vision Fund, blaming “the deteriorati

World BusinessApril 13, 2020

Lime investors to lose over half of principal

Investors in two funds of Lime Asset Management, a South Korean hedge fund that fell from grace on a deluge of scandals, are expected to lose over half of their money, according to redemption plans issued Monday. Investments in two master funds -- Pluto FI D-1, dedicated to privately placed bonds, and Tethys II, which targeted mezzanine instruments – were frozen due to illiquidity last year. Their total value will fall to a combined 534.7 billion won ($439.18 million) according to the pl

MarketApril 13, 2020

KCDC denies allegations of manipulating virus tally for election

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday denied allegations that the agency was testing fewer people ahead of the parliamentary election slated for Wednesday in order to influence the results in the ruling Democratic Party’s favor. “There have been reports the disease control agency was interfering with health care institutions to conduct fewer tests. This is absolutely false,” KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said in a press briefing. “On the contra

Social AffairsApril 13, 2020

Apink celebrates 9th anniversary with new single

Apink released a new single, “Dumhdurum,” Monday. “Dumhdurum” leads “Look,” the group’s ninth EP since its start in 2011. The dance-driven song, which blends an Asian sound with a Spanish vibe, was written by famous K-pop producer duo Black Eyed Pilseung, the mastermind behind Apink’s previous hits “I’m So Sick” and “Eung Eung.”  Thriving on the addictive hook “Dumhdurum rumhdururum,” the song is abo

K-popApril 13, 2020

After resilience in March, exports plummet in April

South Korea’s exports have fallen by more than 18 percent so far this month, government data showed Monday. Weighing further on the country’s export front is the fast-spreading pandemic in developed economies, as well as the gloomy outlook for the semiconductor market throughout the year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw the value of its exports stand at $12.21 billion this month as of last Friday, down 18.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Servic

EconomyApril 13, 2020

McDonald’s introduces ‘Best Burger’ initiative in Korea

McDonald’s Korea said Monday that it has introduced its “Best Burger” initiative in South Korea for the fourth time in the world, and for the first time in Asia. According to the burger chain, “Best Burger” is a global initiative to improve cooking procedures and facilities and to use quality ingredients, with the goal of providing customers with the best burgers. McDonald’s, which operates in over 100 countries around the globe, first introduced the init

IndustryApril 13, 2020

Philip Morris vows job security during pandemic

Philip Morris International announced Monday that it would guarantee job security for its 73,000 employees worldwide throughout the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. “PMI will continue to contribute to the global response to this pandemic in every way we can. First and foremost, we will continue to support our employees and their families, and protect their safety and health. Nothing matters more,” PMI CEO Andre Calantzopoulos said. “Thanks to our employees across the world, working

IndustryApril 13, 2020

Revisiting BoA’s ‘No.1’ two decades on

In the fast changing K-pop industry, BoA has stood the test of time. Including her latest EP “Starry Night” in December and her debut at age 13 with “ID; Peace B” in 2000, she has sold millions of records and become a household name in South Korea. And then there was “No. 1.” Around two years into her career, she released her second studio album with the track on her home turf after her million-seller Japanese debut album “Listen to My Heart” t

K-popApril 13, 2020

OB introduces sustainable beer packaging methods

South Korea’s largest alcoholic beverage provider by market share Oriental Brewery said Monday it has launched sustainable beer packaging for its flagship beer brand Cass. According to OB, it has replaced existing packaging boxes with 100 percent recyclable ones for a pack of 12, 500-milliliter bottles of Cass beer. For 640-milliliter bottles, the transition is currently taking place. “OB’s existing packaging boxes were previously 96-97 percent recyclable, but this is the

IndustryApril 13, 2020

SK Innovation adopts new brand ‘Hi !nnovation’

SK Innovation said Monday it has newly launched a unified brand to facilitate “deep change” and reestablish corporate values from the ground up in the face of challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak. The new brand “Hi !nnovation” portrays its will to embrace new era by accelerating deep change through its “Green Balance 2030” initiative and is setting new corporate values, given the current economic circumstances, the company said. Though it started

IndustryApril 13, 2020

Foreigners’ monthly stock sell-off far exceeds previous record high

Foreigners sold a net 13.45 trillion won ($11.04 billion) worth of local shares last month, far outpacing the previous record high, data showed Monday. The March tally beats the previous largest number in August 2007 of 9 trillion won, and is about four times higher than the January figure of 3.23 trillion won, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. By country, investors from the United States dumped the most at a net 5.5 trillion won, followed by British investors who offloaded a n

MarketApril 13, 2020