Ex-Prime Minister Chung passes away at 91

Former Prime Minister Chung Won-shik, known for his role in crafting a pact for inter-Korean reconciliation in 1991, passed away Sunday after months of battling a kidney ailment, his family said. He was 91. Chung, who served as premier from 1991-1992, died at around 10 a.m. His memorial altar has been set up at Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul. Chung is best remembered for his efforts to reach a historic agreement with Pyongyang over cross-border reconciliation, nonaggression and exchang

PoliticsApril 12, 2020

S. Korea to launch COVID-19 vaccine development task force

South Korea will set a special government-civilian team in motion this week to support the development of a new coronavirus vaccine and treatment, Cheong Wa Dae announced Sunday. It's designed to help facilitate the work via a comprehensive review of relevant situations and a swift decision-making process, according to Cheong Wa Dae's deputy spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan. It will involve top-level officials from the health, science, finance, commerce and startup ministries, as well as the Ministry

Social AffairsApril 12, 2020

Over 110 people retest positive for coronavirus: authorities

The number of people who fully recovered from the new coronavirus and retest positive topped 110 in South Korea, health authorities said Sunday. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 111 people have tested positive for the new coronavirus again, after they were released from quarantine. KCDC Director-General Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a daily briefing that a viral test on such cases is currently under way. A huge chunk of such cases were reported in Daegu an

Social AffairsApril 12, 2020

Kim Jong-un reinstates sister to Politburo, calls for stricter coronavirus measures

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reinstated his sister as an alternate member of the Politburo, the ruling party’s top policymaking body, at its meeting Saturday, the North’s state media said Sunday. 　 The Worker’s Party meeting also addressed countermeasures to COVID-19, other personnel reshuffles and organizational matters, according to the Korea Central News Agency. 　 A joint resolution was adopted to take “more thorough state measures to protect life and safety of o

North KoreaApril 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] SsangYong Motor to receive W40b from Mahindra & Mahindra

SsangYong Motor will receive 40 billion won ($32 million) in special funds this month from its major shareholder, Indian carmaking conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, to urgently address liquidity issues, the Korean automaker said Sunday. SsangYong said it finalized its plan to raise 40 billion won in new funds at an extraordinary general meeting Friday. Mahindra will first invest in SsangYong as a loan, which will be converted to equity later upon Indian and Korean government agencies&rs

MobilityApril 12, 2020

Coronavirus likely to intensify US-China trade dispute: report

South Korea’s trade-reliant companies should be fully prepared for the possibility of heightened trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies amid the global pandemic and the approach of the year-end US presidential election, according to a local business association Sunday. A new report from the Korea International Trade Association titled “The direction of US-China relations in the post-coronavirus era” said COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China, has

IndustryApril 12, 2020

US arrivals to get tested within 3 days of self-isolation: authorities

All arrivals from the United States will get tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation starting this week, health authorities said Sunday. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), confirmed cases coming in from the US have been increasing steadily, which calls for the strengthened quarantine step against COVID-19 beginning Monday. The KCDC data showed that 343, or 37.6 percent, out of a total of 912 imported cases came from the US But

Foreign AffairsApril 12, 2020

LG Electronics names new smartphone ‘Velvet’

LG Electronics Inc. on Sunday unveiled the name of its new smartphone that is expected to be released in South Korea next month. LG said the upcoming mass-market premium smartphone has been named LG VELVET. The new name comes after the company recently revealed it will no longer use the G series brand. "LG VELVET will be the first device to implement the company's new branding strategy for its mobile devices, moving away from alphanumerical designations in favor of familiar and expressiv

TechnologyApril 12, 2020

Hyundai, Kia set to report poor Q1 results on virus impact

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are set to suffer a sharp decline in their first-quarter earnings due to a growing coronavirus impact on production and sales, data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor is expected to post an operating profit of 700 billion won ($577 million) for the January-March period, down 15 percent from 824.9 billion won a year earlier, according to data from Yonhap Infomax, a financial service arm of Yonhap News Agency. Before the outbreak of the new coronav

MobilityApril 12, 2020

USFK contractor tests positive for COVID-19, total infections at 22

An American contractor working at a key US military base south of Seoul has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Sunday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 22. The worker at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek underwent the test after his supervisors directed him to self-quarantine due to his direct contact with a COVID-19 patient. He last visited the base on March 26 and has been self-isolating outside the base since March 30. "This conf

DefenseApril 12, 2020

Moon holds out hope for overcoming COVID-19 through unity in Easter message

President Moon Jae-in held out hope for overcoming the new coronavirus with a "single mind" in his Easter message Sunday, amid concerns the major Christian holiday could hamper the fight against the pandemic. "Although there are still many challenges ahead of us, and we cannot relax our containment efforts until the last patient fully recovers, we will definitely overcome this with a single mind and stand back up again," Moon tweeted. "Like the resurrection of Jesus C

PoliticsApril 12, 2020

Foreign investors' bond holdings at record high amid uncertainty

Foreign investors held a record amount of state bonds and monetary stabilization debts amid increased uncertainties stemming from the outbreak of the new coronavirus, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, foreign investors held a combined 134.1 trillion won ($111 billion) worth of state bonds and other listed debts as of Thursday, up 1.08 trillion won from the end of last month. The reading marks the largest ever since the financial watchdog

EconomyApril 12, 2020

70% of coronavirus patients fully recovered

More than 70 percent of people who have been infected with the novel coronavirus in South Korea are fully recovered, and fewer than 3,000 remain in hospital, authorities said Sunday. As of 12:01 a.m. Sunday, the country’s total number of cases stood at 10,512, up 32 from the previous day, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Of the total, 70.1 percent, or 7,368, are no longer sick and have been declared virus-free. Some 2,930 are still in isolation for treatment

Social AffairsApril 12, 2020

[Photo News] Easter service at parking lot

Members of a Christian church attend an Easter service at a parking lot in southern Seoul on Sunday.  The service in the parking lot is part of efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.  (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

CultureApril 12, 2020

Refiners face Q1 earnings shock on coronavirus impact

South Korean refiners are expected to report a 2.5 trillion-won ($2.06 billion) combined operating loss during the first quarter due to lower demand and refining margins, industry sources said Sunday. The country's four major refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Corp., Hyundai Oilbank Co. and S-Oil Corp. -- are forecast to suffer the hefty operating loss in the first quarter as demand fell amid the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus outbreak and oil prices plunging due to a pr

IndustryApril 12, 2020

S. Korea's recovery rate for coronavirus patients tops 70%

The recovery rate of patients infected with the new coronavirus topped 70 percent in South Korea amid a slowdown in new cases, data showed Sunday. Since its first case on Jan. 20, the country has reported a total of 10,512 people confirmed infected with COVID-19, with 7,368 of them, or 70.1 percent, fully recovering and released from quarantine, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The recovery rate topped 10 percent on March 15 and went above 30 percent o

Social AffairsApril 12, 2020

NK leader Kim inspects air defense unit

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected an air defense unit, state media said Sunday, in his latest step apparently aimed at tightening troop discipline and readiness amid new coronavirus fears. Kim visited a pursuit assault plane group under the Air and Anti-Aircraft Division in the western area to check its performance of aerial defense, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said without mentioning when his visit took place. "Kim Jong Un learned about the readiness for s

North KoreaApril 12, 2020

[Trudy Rubin] Virus lessons from Korea, Germany

As US fatalities from COVID-19 rise, Germany‘s death rate from the virus is roughly half that of America’s. As America‘s front-line health workers still struggle to obtain face masks, South Korea has a smooth system to distribute masks to its health workers and its entire population. Both countries are democracies and US allies, not authoritarian regimes like China. So shouldn’t we be looking at what these countries are doing right, and whether their methods are appli

ViewpointsApril 12, 2020

Virus recovery rate tops 70% as new infections markedly slow down

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed around 30 for the second straight day Sunday, and the recovery rate of its virus patients topped 70 percent since its first case in late January. The country reported 32 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,512, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Sunday's tally marked a sharp drop from the Feb. 29 peak of 909 new cases, but health authorities remain on high alert over cluster inf

Social AffairsApril 12, 2020

LG Uplus joins hands with Japanese, Taiwanese firms on drone platform

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Sunday it has joined hands with a Japanese telecommunication firm and a Taiwanese drone maker to develop smart drone solutions. Under a memorandum of understanding with Japan's KDDI Corp. and Taiwan's Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corp. (CIRC), LG Uplus will cooperate in the development of a drone control platform. The system is designed to better transmit images or videos recorded by drones to control centers, via LTE or 5G telecomm

TechnologyApril 12, 2020