Spring flowers to be plowed up to keep picnickers away

Drastic measures are being taken in some parts of South Korea to keep social distancing going, including plowing up spring flowers that draw picnickers. The southern resort island of Jeju, which in normal times would be brimming with tourists enjoying the season’s change, plans to do away with the massive blossom lining a road in a small village of Gasi-ri. Villagers asked for their earlier removal, fearing they would draw crowds of spectators potentially carrying the novel coronaviru

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

USFK reports another coronavirus case at Camp Humphreys, total at 14

US Forces Korea (USFK) reported another coronavirus case Wednesday, bringing the total number of USFK-related infections to 14. The new COVID-19 case came from Camp Humphreys, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to USFK. "The individual works at a remote isolated site," Garrison Commander Col. Michael Tremblay said on Facebook Live. Further details were not immediately available. A USFK official said the military will stop providing related releases following the Pentagon's orde

DefenseApril 1, 2020

Korea’s exports hold up despite virus, for now

South Korea’s exports in March managed to stabilize, although the fall in export prices and lowering overall sentiment portend a drop amid the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Trade Ministry on Wednesday. The nation’s exports reached $46.9 billion, down 0.2 percent from a year ago. Export prices went down by 11.7 percent on-year, while the amount of outbound shipments went up by 13.1 percent, the largest leap in the last 17 months. Export prices of oil products, for i

IndustryApril 1, 2020

Binggrae takes over Haitai Icecream

Korean food and beverage giant Binggrae said Wednesday it has acquired Haitai Icecream, a subsidiary of Haitai Confectionery & Food, for 140 billion won ($115 million). The exact date of the acquisition will be fixed after details are sorted out. Haitai Confectionery & Food began its ice cream business in 1970 by rolling out Bravo Cone. In January, it was spun off as a separate entity. Following the acquisition, Binggrae is likely to become No. 1 in the confectionery industry, with

ConsumerApril 1, 2020

Overseas voting for general elections kicks off

South Korean nationals living abroad began casting ballots for the April general elections Wednesday, but the global coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the process. 　 A total of 171,959 overseas nationals registered to vote over six days through Monday, but some 80,000 won’t be able to do so in the aftermath of the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has killed over 42,000 people around the world. The National Election Commission has suspended election-related affairs at 65 diplomati

PoliticsApril 1, 2020

S. Korea voices regret over furloughs for USFK workers, vows supportive measures

South Korea expressed regret Wednesday after US Forces Korea put thousands of South Korean employees on indefinite furloughs, vowing to come up with diverse measures, including extending loans, to help support the workers. About 4,500-5,000 employees were forced to go on unpaid leave starting Wednesday as Seoul and Washington have failed to work out a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that covers wages of South Korean employees and other costs of the upkeep of about 28,500 US troops statione

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

5G subscribers in S. Korea top 5m

The number of subscribers to the 5G mobile network in South Korea passed the 5 million mark in February, 10 months after its commercialization, government data showed Wednesday. Nearly 5.37 million South Koreans subscribed to the top-of-the-line wireless network as of end-February, up 8.1 percent from the previous month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The nation's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have been aggressively

EconomyApril 1, 2020

[Newsmaker] Prosecutor denies report he plotted against prominent liberal figure

A high-ranking public prosecutor accused of plotting with a journalist to tarnish the reputation of a vocal supporter of President Moon Jae-in denied Wednesday the accusation made against him by MBC. The terrestrial broadcaster reported Tuesday that a cable network sought to dig up dirt on Rhyu Si-min, using its connections with the prosecution. Lee Cheol, a major shareholder of biotech company SillaJen who is currently in jail for financial fraud, told MBC that a reporter at Channel A pres

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

Cube Entertainment founder resigns after ownership dispute

Founder and executive producer of Cube Entertainment Hong Seong-sung announced Tuesday that he was leaving the label, about a month after the firm’s ownership changed. He wrote on his Twitter that “I am leaving Cube Entertainment which I had bet my life on” and “I will stand in front of public again in some other way.” On his reasons for leaving, he said “It didn’t take much time for me to realize they, whom I thought would be good partners that prov

K-popApril 1, 2020

AleXa releases electrifying first EP “Do Or Die”

Singer AleXa released her very first EP “Do Or Die” on Wednesday. Featuring a total of eight tracks including the lead single “Do Or Die” and her previously single “Bomb,” the EP encompasses all of her work she’s released since her official debut last October and more. “Do Or Die” also features a EDM remix version of her debut single “Bomb” -- a stomping, bombastic pop song with a heavy dose of electro beats that helped her mak

K-popApril 1, 2020

S. Korea to use longest ballots for proportional representation voting

South Korea will have the longest ballots for proportional representation (PR) voting in the April parliamentary elections, as political parties targeting seats have sprung up due to the revised election law. The 48.1-centimeter ballots are the longest since the country adopted the current form of parliamentary elections in 2004. To elect the 300-member National Assembly, voters have to cast two ballots to pick a candidate running in a district and a political party. The ballots will be count

PoliticsApril 1, 2020

TV stations cancel variety shows this week after producer tests positive for coronavirus

The South Korean entertainment circle has faced another major setback after a staff member of a variety show was confirmed to have the novel coronavirus. A producer of the food variety show "Bob Bless You" on Olive, a cable channel run by entertainment giant CJ ENM, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. She developed symptoms after returning from vacation in the United States on March 18. The junior producer, whose name has been withheld, participated in production of the progra

TelevisionApril 1, 2020

Europeans on UN Security Council condemn North Korean tests

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The European members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned North Korea's latest missile tests, describing the launches as "provocative actions." Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom "are deeply concerned by the repeated testing of missiles, using ballistic missile technology," by North Korea on March 2, 9, 21 and 29, read a statement issued after an informal high-level UN videoconference. The Europeans noted tha

North KoreaApril 1, 2020

S. Korea develops indigenous port surveillance system

South Korea has developed a new port surveillance system with indigenous technologies that can better detect increasingly quiet submarines and other underwater moving objects, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday. The advanced maritime surveillance system, developed by the Agency for Defense Development with a 130 billio- won ($106.6 million) budget since 2015, has been installed at major ports across the country, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. "Submarin

DefenseApril 1, 2020

US flies spy plane over Korean Peninsula following NK's missile launch

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Wednesday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea just days after the communist nation fired what are believed to be two short-range ballistic missiles. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in skies above South Korea on Tuesday, Aircraft Spots tweeted. The operation came two days after North Korea fired two projectiles from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan toward the East Sea, marking the fourth major weapons t

North KoreaApril 1, 2020

Coupang spins off fintech business

South Korea’s leading e-commerece platform Coupang announced Tuesday that it has decided to spin off its fintech business currently operating its payment service. It has established a fintech subsidiary named Coupang Pay on Wednesday, and will start offering payment services within the first half of this year. The move is aimed to offer the services to a broader base of customers with renewed focus on enhancing user experience, the company said. The spinoff is led by Kyung In-tae, Cou

ConsumerApril 1, 2020

Individuals shun private equity funds over misselling scandal

South Korean individuals' investments into private equity funds declined for an eighth straight month in February following two major investment fiascos last year that undermined consumer trust, data showed Wednesday. Retail investors' monthly cash inflow into private equity funds came to 22.7 trillion won ($18.6 billion) in February, down 2.1 percent from a month ago, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. After peaking at 27.3 trillion won in late June, the investment siz

EconomyApril 1, 2020

New infections again on slide, but cluster, imported cases still on rise

South Korea saw a slight decline in new coronavirus cases Wednesday, but cluster infections in Seoul and the surrounding area and imported cases continued to emerge. The 101 new cases of COVID-19, detected Tuesday and down from 125 new cases a day earlier, brought the country's total cases to 9,887 and marked the 20th consecutive day that new infections have hovered around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The death toll ros

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

Number of moviegoers falls to record low in March

The number of moviegoers in South Korea dropped to a record low last month as more people stayed home over growing fears of the novel coronavirus, data showed Wednesday. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), just over 1.83 million people went to the movies in March, the lowest for the month since the KOFIC started to compile box-office data in 2004. A year ago, 14.67 million tickets were sold across the nation, while 7.37 million people saw films in February. Moreover, the KOFIC data

FilmApril 1, 2020

Korean Air to suspend flights to Washington amid virus fallout

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, said Wednesday it will suspend flights on the Incheon-Washington route from mid-April due to the impact of the coronavirus. Korean Air plans to stop serving flights from Incheon to Washington, D.C., starting April 13, with the suspension scheduled to last through the end of this month, a company spokeswoman said over the phone. The company currently flies from Incheon to US cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago

EconomyApril 1, 2020