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

Will Marvel heroes save Korean cinemas?

With the ever-dropping number of moviegoers, three major multiplexes are holding screenings of Marvel hero movies starting Wednesday. Megabox on Monday said it will screen six of the most popular films from the Marvel series from Wednesday to April 29. “Logan” and “Deadpool” will start screening Wednesday, with “Avengers” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” to be screened starting April 23. “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: End

FilmApril 13, 2020

WeWork names new chief for Korea

Coworking space giant WeWork said Monday that it has appointed Chun Chung-joo (Patricia) as the new general manager of its South Korean office. Chun has 20 years of experience at global and Korean companies under her belt. Most recently, she served as chief strategy officer of food delivery firm Delivery Hero Korea, leading development of business strategies and proceeding with investments and merger and acquisition deals. She was also responsible for managing government relations, corpora

MarketApril 13, 2020

Telegram chat room operator indicted for sexual exploitation

  The leader of a high-profile digital sexual exploitation ring was indicted and referred for court trial Monday for allegedly producing and distributing sexual exploitation materials online for profits, prosecutors said. Cho Ju-bin is accused of blackmailing female victims, including underage girls, into providing their sexual videos from last May to February, which were then posted in his pay-to-view chat room, dubbed "Baksabang," meaning doctor's room in Korean, on the Telegr

Social AffairsApril 13, 2020

Seoul down 1.9% on virus woes, weak data

South Korean stocks closed 1.88 percent lower Monday as investors were concerned about the spiraling number of COVID-19 infections in major economies despite signs of a slowdown locally, analysts said. The Korean won sharply fell against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 34.94 points to close at 1,825.76. Trading volume was high at 1 billion shares worth 9.4 trillion won ($7.73 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 694 to 180. South Korea detec

MarketApril 13, 2020

Parties implore voters, highlight shortfalls of rivals ahead of elections

The country’s two main political parties are scrambling to reach out to voters, with both sides highlighting the perceived failures of their rivals ahead of Wednesday’s general elections. Rep. Lee Hae-chan, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, on Monday highlighted the importance of Seoul and the surrounding regions in the general elections and urged voters to pick the party’s candidates in constituency elections while picking the Citizen Party for proportional repr

PoliticsApril 13, 2020

Main opposition party expels candidate over controversial remarks

The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) decided Monday to kick out election candidate Cha Myeong-jin over his controversial remarks about families of the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster. The decision, made at an emergency meeting of the conservative party's leadership council, will deprive Cha of candidacy to run in the April 15 parliamentary elections. During a TV debate last week, Cha, who ran in Bucheon, west of Seoul, cited an unconfirmed news report that a bereaved family

PoliticsApril 13, 2020

N. Korea holds parliamentary meeting amid coronavirus pandemic

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament held a session Sunday, two days later than scheduled, the country’s state media reported Monday. 　 The 14th Supreme People’s Assembly gathered for a third session in Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was absent, so No. 2 leader Choe Ryong-hae chaired the parliamentary session, the Korea Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun reported. While Kim’s attendance is not required at the Assembly, he has often appeared in the past a

North KoreaApril 13, 2020

From AR shows to short films: The wonders of election coverage

It is not just politicians who will be battling for voters on Wednesday -- local television broadcasters are waging a battle of their own armed with new technology and high-profile experts to attract viewers to their election night coverage Wednesday. Under the slogan “A Choice to Change My Life,” state-owned broadcaster KBS will focus on providing coverage with perspectives with in-depth discussions among political pundits. Rhyu Si-min, a liberal pundit and the chairman of the Ro

TelevisionApril 13, 2020

KDB in talks with local PEF to sell life insurer

State-run policy lender Korea Development Bank is in talks with South Korea’s private equity firm JC Partners to sell a life insurer unit as part of its restructuring process, an industry source said Monday. JC Partners is the only bidder participating in the preliminary stage that is undergoing a due diligence for the acquisition, the source added. KDB said further details cannot be disclosed because the talks are ongoing with the potential buyer before signing a deal. “Regardi

MarketApril 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] COVID-19 concealed president’s missteps: Ahn

Ahn Cheol-soo, chief of the minor People’s Party, said Monday that President Moon Jae-in’s missteps have been concealed by the COVID-19 crisis, appealing to voters to support his reformative center-right party in the April 15 general elections. Referring to a news article published by Bloomberg headlined “Virus helps bury controversy in South Korea’s pandemic election,” Ahn said the Moon administration and the Democratic Party of Korea were fortunate to rebuild

PoliticsApril 13, 2020

Moon urges policy measures to shield employment amid coronavirus crisis

President Moon Jae-in on Monday instructed his economic team to map out timely "special" measures to insulate jobs in the private sector, hours after the release of a report showing a surge in the number of dole applications in South Korea. He stressed the need to help firms maintain employment despite challenges from the coronavirus pandemic and suggested an initiative by the public sector for those who are not covered by the government's insurance system. He pointed out that the n

PoliticsApril 13, 2020

S. Korean man in Spain dies of COVID-19 in first fatality overseas

An elderly South Korean citizen in Spain died of the new coronavirus last week in the first known fatality involving an overseas national, the foreign ministry said Monday. The man in his late 80s died at a hospital on Friday (Spain time) after having tested positive on April 3. Other details about his death were unknown. As of Monday, the foreign ministry has learned of 59 coronavirus cases involving South Koreans overases. Of them, 18 have fully recovered, while the rest are receiving treat

Foreign AffairsApril 13, 2020

Election watchdog prioritizes preventing COVID-19 self-isolators from having contact with other voters

South Korea's election watchdog said Monday it will prioritize preventing those in self-isolation over the new coronavirus from having contact with other voters when they cast ballots in this week's elections. The government will allow people ordered to go into self-quarantine from April 1-14 and without symptoms of the virus to vote in Wednesday's parliamentary elections after regular voting ends at 6 p.m. Under measures revealed by the National Election Commission (NEC), self-isolators wear

PoliticsApril 13, 2020

Job openings plunge in March over coronavirus uncertainty

Job openings at South Korean companies have fallen by a third in March on-year as businesses are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, according to a local online job portal Monday. Saramin released an analysis of job openings in the first quarter of 2019 and 2020. According to the results, the hiring rate saw a 32.7 percent drop in March as the prolonged COVID-19 spread has increased uncertainties. The number of the companies analyzed was not disclosed. Considering that March is usuall

IndustryApril 13, 2020

S. Korea identifies 38 virus-neutralizing antibodies

South Korea has identified 38 coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies to treat those who are infected with the novel coronavirus, the country's public health agency said Monday. The state-run National Institute of Health (NIH) and local bio-pharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. secured the virus-neutralizing antibody candidates from the blood of people who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The neutralizing antibodies possess prope

IndustryApril 13, 2020

SparkLabs partners with Shinhan Capital for startup fund

Seoul-based global startup accelerator SparkLabs said Monday it has joined hands with nonbanking lender Shinhan Capital to create a 10.1 billion won ($8.28 million) fund to support early-stage startups. The vehicle is aimed at investing in SparkLabs alumni and other early-stage startups with growth potential, as well as secondary investing in fast-growing companies in the fields of health care, biotechnology and manufacturing. The fund is co-managed by SparkLabs and Shinhan Capital, and

MarketApril 13, 2020

Seoul mulls reducing intensity of social distancing

South Korea will consider reducing the intensity of the ongoing social distancing campaign later this week, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday, as the number of new coronavirus cases has been stabilizing over the past week. The government extended its high-intensity social distancing campaign by another two weeks through April 19, urging the entire nation to abide by strict quarantine guidelines to stem the spread of COVID-19. The tougher social distancing has called on people to avoid

Social AffairsApril 13, 2020

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in Feb.

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in February from a month earlier, data showed Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.43 percent at the end of February, up 0.02 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). But compared with a year ago, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point, it said. The delinquency rate for loans extended to companies increased 0.04 percent

EconomyApril 13, 2020

Soldiers allowed to make video calls amid prolonged anti-virus quarantine steps

The defense ministry has temporarily allowed service personnel to have video calls with families and friends as part of efforts to help them reduce stress as they have been banned from leaving their bases or meeting visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. Soldiers have been banned from off-base traveling, vacationing and meeting with visitors since late February when South Korea began to witness a drastic surge in the number of the COVID-19 virus cases. Starting last Wednesday, service memb

DefenseApril 13, 2020