Restructuring looms large at virus-hit companies

Companies hit by the coronavirus look set to restructure their businesses and reduce their workforces if the outbreak of the respiratory illness extends beyond the second quarter, analysts said Friday. The COVID-19 virus, which first emerged in China late last year and has claimed more than 24,000 lives and infected over 531,000 people around the world, has had an impact on a wide range of industries in recent months. In particular, airlines and tourism companies have been hit hardest by the n

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2020

Seoul observes record early cherry blooming

The first cherry blooming in Seoul this spring was observed Friday, the earliest in record due to warmer weather, the state weather agency said. It was seven days earlier than last year's April 3 and 14 days earlier than the average date of April 10 between 1981 and 2010, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). This year's blooming was also the earliest since the nation began to record data in 1922. The first bloom is declared when at least three blossoms of a KMA-design

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2020

Consumer sentiment dips to over 10-year low in March

Amid the snowballing economic fallout of the novel coronavirus, South Korea saw its consumer sentiment aggravate in March, hitting its lowest point in more than a decade, central bank data showed Friday. The composite consumer sentiment index, or CCSI, stood at 78.4 in March, down 18.5 points on-month and marking the lowest score since March 2009, when the world was reeling under the global financial crisis, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The corresponding survey was conducted o

EconomyMarch 27, 2020

US Forces Korea reports new infections, total 12

United States Forces Korea said Friday that a soldier and a contract worker at Camp Humphreys, its headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing its tally to 12. Korea hosts 28,500 US troops here. Of the 12 patients, two were soldiers -- one at Camp Humphreys, the other at Camp Carroll near Daegu -- and the rest were either the service members’ family or contract employees working for the US military. Two days ago, USFK declared a public healt

DefenseMarch 27, 2020

Half-million infected worldwide as economic toll rises

The human and economic toll of the lockdowns against the coronavirus mounted Thursday as India struggled to feed the multitudes, Italy shut down most of its industry, and a record-shattering 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in a single week. The US surpassed official Chinese government numbers to become the country with most reported infections. As the number of cases worldwide topped a half-million and deaths climbed past 24,000, the damage to people's livelihoods and th

World NewsMarch 27, 2020

Mirae Asset Daewoo loses $5m in email scam

Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo said Friday that its Hong Kong branch has suffered a loss of $5 million in a recent email fraud scam. The firm’s Hong Kong branch concluded an underwriting agreement to take over airplanes from an aircraft leasing company last year and made another contract to sublease the aircrafts to a carrier in Asia. But it was targeted in a “spear-phishing” attack while paying the balance, the brokerage said. Spear-phishing is an email scam targe

MarketMarch 27, 2020

LG Group chief highlights risk management amid virus spread

LG Corp. CEO Koo Kwang-mo, leader of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, said Friday he will focus on risk management amid the global coronavirus pandemic. At the company’s annual shareholders meeting held at its headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, Koo highlighted that LG Group will need to be unshaken by the current risks and rather focus on prioritizing customer value. “Amid the persisting uncertainties triggered by the global coronavirus spread in the busine

IndustryMarch 27, 2020

Hyundai Motor, Aptiv complete deal for autonomous driving

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday that it has completed the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture with the US software developer of autonomous vehicles Aptiv. The headquarters of the joint venture will be set up in Boston, Massachusetts, and it will run research centers in both the US and Asia, the company said, adding that the company mission will be announced in the near future. In September last year, Hyundai Motor Group clinched a deal with Aptiv, formerly known as Delphi, for a $4 billion

MobilityMarch 27, 2020

Hyundai to suspend plants in Russia and Turkey amid virus woes

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Friday it will halt its plants in Russia and Turkey, the latest in a series of suspensions due to the new coronavirus outbreak.   Hyundai's plant in Turkey is set to be closed Friday, and no date has been set for its resumption.   Meanwhile, the Hyundai plant in St. Petersburg is set to be shut down from Sunday through April 3, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a nationwide paid holiday next week in a move

IndustryMarch 27, 2020

Samsung to shutter another Brazil plant over new coronavirus

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will temporarily close another manufacturing plant in Brazil due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Samsung will suspend operation of its manufacturing plant in Campinas, Sao Paulo, in southeastern Brazil for two weeks from Monday to April 12. The world's largest smartphone maker already shut down its plant in Manaus, Amazonas, in northern Brazil due to the virus crisis. Samsung originally planned to close the Manaus factory from Tuesday to Sunday t

IndustryMarch 27, 2020

[Anjani Trivedi] Dollar squeeze coming for China Inc.

Pummeled by the coronavirus, China Inc. now faces another disruption: a global shortage of dollars. Chinese companies are looking at $120 billion of debt repayments this year on their US dollar denominated debt. Real estate developers and industrial companies make up three-quarters of the outstanding $233 billion of junk-rated bonds. There’s another $563 billion of higher-rated debt. The question isn’t just whether they’ll be able to pay their debt. It’s worth wondering

ViewpointsMarch 27, 2020

Duty-free sales halve in Feb. on COVID-19

Sales at South Korean duty-free stores nearly halved in February from a month earlier, hit hard by the spread of the new coronavirus, industry data showed Friday. Combined sales of local duty-free shops came to 1.1 trillion won ($910 million) last month, down 45.5 percent from January, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The number of visitors plunged 54 percent on-month to 1.75 million in February, with foreigners accounting for 40 percent of the total. Sales of

ConsumerMarch 27, 2020

New infections again skid, clusters, imported cases still concerns

South Korea saw a slight decline in new coronavirus cases on Friday, but cluster infections continued to emerge amid a rise in cases involving arrivals from overseas. The 91 new cases, which were detected Thursday and down from 104 new cases on Wednesday, marked the 16th consecutive day that there were around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). There were 9,332 confirmed cases in total and the death toll rose by eight to 13

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Judy (US) Opened March 25 Biography, Drama Directed by Rupert Goold Thirty years after starring in “The Wizard of Oz,” beloved actress and singer Judy Garland (Renee Zellweger) arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband. Move the Grave (Korea) Opened March 25 Drama, Family, Comedy Directed by

FilmMarch 27, 2020

How K-pop is becoming mainstream on US talk shows

NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” made an unprecedented effort for BTS’ premiere performance of its new single “On” last month. The production team booked New York’s Grand Central Terminal, one of the busiest transit hubs anyway. The station was shut down to keep filming top-secret. And a crew of 180 people moved with extra scrutiny to pull off the landmark show solely dedicated to BTS. For the five-minute spectacle, the whole arrangemen

K-popMarch 27, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Budget meal at InterContinental Seoul Coex InterContinental Seoul Coex’s Sky Lounge presents dining promotion “Piatto Unico” where authentic Italian cuisine will be offered at reasonable prices every Monday. The menu is available for lunch and dinner on Mondays until June 30 at the price of 30,000 won per person and can be paired with 15 types of wine at 30,000 won per bottle. Piatto Unico refers to dishes typically served in a trattoria. The promotion meal features today

FoodMarch 27, 2020

Simple lunchbox recipes for homebound, officebound

Supermarche chef-owner Lee Hyung-jun has come a long way from his French fine dining roots. It was 2007, Lee recalled, when he helmed a French fine dining spot in Seoul’s Hannam-dong before moving on to another upscale French restaurant in 2011. Lee then stepped away from fine dining to launch a deli-style eatery called Epicerie Collage in 2014 before taking this concept a step further with Supermarche in 2019. “Supermarche is like its name, which means ‘supermarket’

FoodMarch 27, 2020

Coronavirus to hit tourism in Asia-Pacific: report

South Korea is feared to be one of the hardest-hit countries in the Asia-Pacific area, given the fact that China, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, accounts for 20 percent of international tourism expenditures. Other vulnerable countries are Thailand, Japan and Vietnam as they depend heavily on Chinese visitors for tourism revenue. The fast spread of the novel coronavirus is also feared to cause the global aviation industry to suffer big losses in passenger numbers and revenue. Should the

EconomyMarch 27, 2020

Trump says he has heard 'so much' about S. Korea amid coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday he has heard "so much" about South Korea since the coronavirus outbreak, as the country's handling of COVID-19 has been praised in American media and elsewhere. During a daily White House press briefing on the coronavirus, Trump also said he has a great relationship with South Korean President Moon Jae-in but insisted the US is doing a better job than South Korea by doing more coronavirus testing. Trump has boasted since Tuesday

Foreign AffairsMarch 27, 2020