Korean stocks close nearly flat, won sinks

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as a recovery in global oil prices boosted investor sentiment against the new coronavirus pandemic. The local currency dropped against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.58 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,725.44. Trading volume was high at some 986 million shares worth a little over 1 trillion won ($811 million), with gainers outnumbering losers 506 to 328. The index got off to

MarketApril 3, 2020

Officials from S. Korea, Germany to hold videoconference on coronavirus response

South Korean officials will hold a videoconference with their German counterparts Friday to share the country's experience in battling the new coronavirus, a foreign ministry official said. The session, set to begin at 5 p.m. (Korea time), comes after the German government voiced hope to send a delegation to take a first-hand look at South Korea's containment efforts, which have recently gained international recognition due to a slowdown in new COVID-19 cases and a relatively low fatality rate.

Foreign AffairsApril 3, 2020

K-pop star Kim Jae-joong cancels schedule amid public uproar over making April Fools‘ Day joke about coronavirus

K-pop group JYJ’s Kim Jae-joong canceled his schedule in Japan after criticism for announcing he had the new coronavirus as an April Fools‘ Day joke. Kim released his third Japanese single “Brava Brava Brava” in March and was scheduled to promote the album by appearing on several music shows in Japan. Kim’s agency CJes Entertainment on Friday announced that due to the current situation Kim would not appear as scheduled on TV Asahi’s music show “Musi

PerformanceApril 3, 2020

Crossing 10,000-case threshold: A look back on coronavirus chaos

South Korea, one of the first countries hit by novel coronavirus outside China, marked a grim coronavirus milestone Friday when the virus toll surpassed 10,000 -- 74 days after the first case was reported. 　 Grim as it may look, the crossing of the 10,000 mark came amid a stabilizing trend of new infections. The country counted 86 new cases in the 24 hours to midnight Thursday, markedly down from a peak of 909 on Feb 29. Of the 10,062 people infected with the virus, 6,021 have fully reco

Social AffairsApril 3, 2020

Defense cost-sharing deal still ongoing: US official

Despite earlier reports that a defense cost-sharing deal between South Korea and the US was imminent, a senior US official said Friday the negotiations are still ongoing and reiterated a call for an “equitable” agreement.  “What I can tell you right now is that we are still in talks with each other -- my colleagues in my bureau and then of course at the ministerial level and higher,” R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military, said in a b

Foreign AffairsApril 3, 2020

Korea’s FX reserves sharply drop in March

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves last month posted the sharpest drop in over a decade due to the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and the strengthened US dollar value, the central bank said Friday. As of the end of March, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $400.21 billion, down $8.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It fell by the largest margin since November in 2008 when the global financial crisis wa

MarketApril 3, 2020

S. Korea to dole out relief cash fund based on health insurance

The government decided Friday to make emergency cash payments to households in the bottom 70 percent income bracket, financially hit by the novel coronavirus, by using March health insurance premiums as key standard. The temporary, yet controversial scheme will provide 1 million won ($814) each to four-person households with salaried workers that paid March premiums below 237,000 won, according to the government. Though the households’ March insurance payments stand as a common standar

EconomyApril 3, 2020

Coronavirus cases surpass 10,000

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 86 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the country’s tally to 10,062. The death toll rose by five to 174. The number of cases surpassed the 10,000 mark 74 days after a Chinese woman from Wuhan, the global origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic, was tested positive for the first time on Jan. 20. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday he expected that the inflow of virus cases from abroad will come under control soon.

Social AffairsApril 3, 2020

Bus stops closed, flowers plowed up to prevent crowds in blossom-viewing season

Seoul City said on Friday it will close seven bus stops around Yunjung-ro, a street lined with cherry blossoms that attract visitors in Yeouido, this weekend in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. The bus-stop closures, which lead to temporary detours on 17 bus routes, are a follow-up to the city’s decision to close the area from April 1-10 to keep springtime picnickers from flocking. Bus stops at Yeouido Full Gospel Church (bus stop numbers 19136, 19137), Yeouido Park (19138), Yeouina

Social AffairsApril 3, 2020

7 boy bands to compete in ‘Road to Kingdom’

Mnet’s new idol competition show “Road to Kingdom” has been unveiled, before its official premiere on April 30. Seven boy bands will go against each other and showcase their charm through various performances. The viewers will vote on their favorite team and stages, and the final winner will have a priority to join the subsequent show “Kingdom.” Teaser clips of the bands’ first performances were released Monday online along with a preshow preference poll

K-popApril 3, 2020

Baseball clubs open to playing postseason at league's only dome as neutral venue: source

If the 2020 South Korean baseball postseason gets pushed to early winter by the coronavirus outbreak, then teams would be willing to play at a neutral, climate-controlled venue to ensure a warmer setting for players and fans, an informed source said Friday. The source told Yonhap News Agency that general managers (GMs) from multiple Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs are in favor of playing late playoff games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, the only domed ballpark in the country. It is the h

SportsApril 3, 2020

[Newsmaker] Public bath emerges as a new cluster of infections

Concerns are rising that a public bath in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, may have become the site of a COVID-19 infection cluster as at least four people who used it have been confirmed with the virus. A 70-year-old woman who used the same public bath with a 67-year-old woman confirmed earlier was confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus Friday. A high school student and a woman in her 50s, who were confirmed a day earlier, were also found to have used the same public bath -- th

Social AffairsApril 3, 2020

Ahn urges parties to return campaign subsidies

Ahn Cheol-soo, head of the centrist People’s Party, called on political parties to return campaign subsidies they received from the government, saying the coronavirus pandemic has dampened conventional campaigning activities, bringing down overall costs. 　 “Our economy is in a total disarray and many people are pushed to their limits. (...) Are we going to spend all the taxpayers’ money at a time like this? Are we even entitled?” the politician wrote on Facebook on Frid

PoliticsApril 3, 2020

Vice FM calls for 'criteria' to allow essential business trips despite coronavirus spread

Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young expressed hope Friday for international efforts to craft "criteria" to allow essential trips by entrepreneurs or other entrants despite the spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. Cho's remarks came during a weekly conference call with his counterparts from six countries, including the United States and Japan, as many countries have banned the entry of foreigners and tightened border controls to stop any influx of COVID-19. "

Foreign AffairsApril 3, 2020

S. Korea implements order to restrict foreigners' activities over coronavirus

South Korea's justice ministry said Friday it has implemented an administrative order that restricts the scope of activities for all foreign arrivals for the first time over the new coronavirus pandemic. The restriction order has begun to apply to all foreign entrants who have arrived in South Korea since Wednesday as the government is struggling to curb imported cases of COVID-19. A justice minister can issue an order to limit the scope of activity for foreigners when there is a need to keep

Foreign AffairsApril 3, 2020

S. Korea reports first death of doctor from COVID-19

A physician infected with the novel coronavirus died early Friday morning in Daegu, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It is the first known death of a medical professional from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The doctor, 60, had been hospitalized at Kyungbook National University Hospital upon his diagnosis on March 19. He was believed to have contracted the pathogen from a patient who visited his clinic. An erroneous report by a Korean news agency said h

Social AffairsApril 3, 2020

EU suspends HHI-DSME merger screening amid coronavirus pandemic

The European Commission has recently suspended the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering amid the coronavirus pandemic. The commission site showed the “deadline” of the screening was “suspended” without specifying the reason. The EU recently notified on its website that due to the complexities and disruptions caused by the coronavirus, companies were encouraged to delay merger notifications original

IndustryApril 3, 2020

CJ donates dumpling to Korean community in New York

CJ Group plans to donate dumplings to Korean residents in New York who are suffering from the coronavirus outbreak, the firm said Friday. The dumplings -- enough for 1,600 servings -- will be given to the Korean Community Service in New York through the Korean American Association. “The donation was made with the aim of adding some support to the Korean community suffering from the impact of coronavirus in New York,” the group said. CJ plans to deliver the food produced at its

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Samsung shutters washing machine factory in US over coronavirus

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has temporarily shuttered a washing machine factory in the United States after reporting virus-infected workers there. Samsung decided to suspend operation of its home appliance plant in Newberry County, South Carolina, after two workers tested positive for COVID-19. The company said the plant will reopen on Monday after disinfecting facilities. Samsung's plant in South Carolina started operation in January 2018 and produces 1 million washing machines a y

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Moon vows support for proposed legislation on April 3 Jeju incident

President Moon Jae-in assured Jeju residents Friday that his administration would make every possible effort to legislate compensation for the victims and bereaved families of the April 3 massacre there seven decades ago. He was addressing an annual ceremony to commemorate the tragic incident, during which tens of thousands of civilians were killed by the authorities in a yearslong bloody crackdown on the southern island. They were protesting against US military-led rule following Korea's liber

PoliticsApril 3, 2020