Global TV market tipped to shrink 9% in 2020 on virus impact

The global TV market is expected to contract for the first time in three years in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. In its latest market report, Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, predicted global TV shipments to decline 8.7 percent on-year to 203.5 million units this year. The projection is down from 9.7 percent from an estimate of 225 million units made at the start of the year. Global TV shipments fell to 217 million units in 2017 from 222 million a yea

EconomyApril 1, 2020

New curriculum at Seoul Foreign British School ‘global minded, distinctly British’

The Seoul Foreign British School has introduced a new curriculum centered on three frameworks, boasting innovative education and preparing students upon graduation, the school said Thursday.  According to Seoul Foreign British School, it is the first school in Seoul to roll out the system to “not only prepare students for the rigors of high school, but wherever else their lives may take them.” While maintaining the English national curriculum at its core and English and math p

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

CNN reporter Cuomo, brother of NY governor, has coronavirus

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) -- Ethiopia's election commission announced Tuesday that general elections due in August would be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, in a setback for the country's fragile democratic transition. "Because of issues related to the coronavirus, the board has decided it can't conduct the election as planned according to the calendar it announced, so it has decided to void that calendar and suspend all activities," it said in a statement. (AFP)

World NewsApril 1, 2020

S. Korea, US could announce defense cost deal as early as Wednesday: source

South Korea and the United States could announce a defense cost-sharing agreement as early as Wednesday, a source said, as thousands of Koreans workers in the US Forces Korea went on unpaid leave in the absence of a deal to fund their wages. "In the broad scheme of things, the two sides have clearly reached the stage of putting the finishing touch on the negotiations, though various possibilities remain still open," the source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. "

DefenseApril 1, 2020

USFK begins indefinite furloughs for Korean employees over stalled cost-sharing talks

Thousands of South Koreans working for the US Forces Korea (USFK) were furloughed indefinitely starting Wednesday amid a deadlock in defense cost-sharing negotiations between the two countries, sparking concerns over the possible impact on Korea's readiness posture. The furloughs have also drawn criticism that Washington is risking the livelihoods of South Koreans who have worked many years for the USFK for the sake of its own financial interests and to pressure its ally in the defense cost t

Social AffairsApril 1, 2020

S. Korean negotiator expresses regret over planned furloughs of Korean USFK employees

South Korea's top negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States expressed regrets Tuesday over the planned furloughs of thousands of Koreans employed by US Forces Korea, calling on Washington to make efforts to enable their swift return to work. Jeong Eun-bo also voiced expectation for the conclusion of the negotiations in the near future, stressing Seoul and Washington have "considerably" narrowed their differences over the sharing of the cost for stationing 28,500

DefenseMarch 31, 2020

Korean Air pilots to take 3 months of unpaid leave

Korean Air Lines Co. is set to put all of its non-Korean pilots on a three-month unpaid leave starting next month in a self-rescue effort amid worsening business conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the measure, 387 pilots are expected to go on mandatory unpaid leave from April 1 to June 30, an industry source said Tuesday. Around 60 of them have already been off without pay, the source added. "(The measure) is aimed at adjusting workforce following a sharp reduction i

MobilityMarch 31, 2020

Major hospital in Seoul on alert after 9-year-old tests positive for coronavirus

A nine-year-old girl hospitalized at Asan Medical Center in Seoul tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday, raising alert over possible transmissions at one of the biggest hospitals in South Korea. The patient, who was being treated for non-respiratory symptoms in a single-bed room, was transferred to a negative pressure room after testing positive, according to the hospital in eastern Seoul. An official said the hospital conducted the screening test after she was found to have visited Uij

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2020

Yongsan reports Polish virus patient to police for breaking quarantine

Yongsan District in Seoul said Tuesday it has sought a police investigation of a Polish patient of COVID-19 accusing him of violating his 14-day quarantine. The district filed a complaint against the man in his 40s with Yongsan Police Station on Monday. The Polish national was ordered to self-isolate from March 13-26 after coming into contact with another Polish national who tested positive. The man was later diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. Following his diagnosis, the office found out

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2020

[Kim Seong-kon] Living as an Asian in West in uncomfortable times

Undoubtedly, these are uncomfortable times for all Asians living in the West. For the unprecedented global pandemic that has recently devastated the earth, many Westerners blame China. Yet, even if the virus originated in China, the Chinese people are not themselves to blame for the existence of the virus. Moreover, in the eyes of many Westerners, all Asians look alike, and therefore, any Asian on sight can be an object of hate and derision in Western countries. To make matters worse, Westerners

ViewpointsMarch 31, 2020

[Elisa Martinuzzi] Everybody’s trusting the bankers again

Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 are upending every corner of economic life, bringing entire industries to a standstill across the world. What happens in the broader economy has a massive impact on the banks that oil its wheels; and financial regulators have -- rightly -- responded swiftly. The supervisors should ponder their next moves carefully, however. It is essential to soften the blow of companies and people not being able to repay their debts, as income evaporates. Lenders will

ViewpointsMarch 31, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korean exports to China perk up in March

　South Korean exports to China are picking up in March as the new coronavirus retreats in the neighboring country, data showed. 　Daily exports to the world’s second-largest economy averaged $436 million during the first 10 days of this month, up 20.8 percent from the same period in February, according to the data from government and industry sources. 　Yet the daily average was down 8.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. 　Daily exports to China soared to $530 million in the

IndustryMarch 31, 2020

[Video] When will social distancing end? Messages from around the world

When will social distancing end? Is there light at the end of this tunnel of “stay-at-home and postpone-your-weddings” while listening to news about rising mortality? As this prolonged period of COVID-19 outbreak chips away at our morale, global neighbors from hard-hit regions of Iran, Italy, Germany, the UK, the US and Mexico came together to share how they are getting through this time. (Yoga and Animal Crossing, anyone?) Meet in this video Hamed Soleimanzadeh (@hamedsoleimanzade

IndustryMarch 31, 2020

[Market Close-up] ‘Ant warriors’ amass W45tr war chest, eyeing stock jackpot

As financial markets tank and investors rush to dump their tradeable assets amid the coronavirus crisis, some individual investors in South Korea are hoping to hit the jackpot. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, retail investor deposits on Thursday marked some 45.17 trillion won ($36.85 billion), up nearly 14 trillion won in March. Investor deposits refer to funds that are parked with brokerage accounts -- either before making stock purchases or profits earned after trans

MarketMarch 31, 2020

GemVax & Kael expands GV1001 patent to cover COVID-19

South Korean biologics company GemVax & Kael said Tuesday it will expand its antiviral pipeline’s treatment scope to cover COVID-19. GemVax’s GV1001 is a telomerase-derived peptide that helps maintain the length of telomere, which is located at the end of human chromosome. Telomere acts as anti-inflammation, antioxidant, anti-aging and stem cell activation agent, effectively preventing cytokine storm. A cytokine storm is increasingly being recognized as the leading cause of COV

IndustryMarch 31, 2020

Samsung Display pulls plug on LCD production

Samsung Display is planning to pull the plug on its liquid-crystal display business, which has been reeling from Chinese manufacturers’ low-priced large-volume cargo, according to industry sources Tuesday. The display unit of Samsung Group will reportedly close its seventh-generation and eighth-generation LCD manufacturing lines in South Korea and Xuzhou, China, in the first half of 2021. Currently, it manufactures 165,000 seventh-generation and 363,000 eighth-generation displays per mo

IndustryMarch 31, 2020

S. Korea’s industrial output marks steepest drop in 9 years

South Korea’s industrial output, consumption and investment contracted in February, as the economic fallout of the new coronavirus spread has started unleashing its impact, government data showed Tuesday. The country’s industrial output shed 3.5 percent in February from a month earlier, according to the monthly industrial indexes compiled by Statistics Korea. This marked the sharpest drop since the 3.7 percent on-month fall observed in February 2011, when the foot-and-mouth dise

EconomyMarch 31, 2020

Kyobo Life charge against Deloitte Anjin over put option

Kyobo Life Insurance said Tuesday it has filed a complaint with the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board against accounting firm Deloitte Anjin for faulty appraisal of corporate value. It has alleged that that Deloitte Anjin, the local subsidiary of global accounting and consulting group Deloitte, wrongly assessed the fair market value of financial investors’ put options -- which could affect the management rights of current Kyobo Chairman Shin Chang-jae. “Deloitte Anjin

MarketMarch 31, 2020

BOK minutes hint at additional rate cut

The Bank of Korea (BOK) may further cut its policy rate to help minimize the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, BOK minutes showed Tuesday. The central bank delivered a surprise rate cut in an emergency meeting of its monetary policy board held March 16, slashing the policy rate by a half percentage point to a new record low of 0.75 percent. "A rate cut itself may not be expected to promote consumption and investment by easing travel restrictions, but it is expected to he

EconomyMarch 31, 2020