[Newsmaker] Police expand probe into Telegram sex slave videos

Police nabbed a 20-something man for allegedly subjecting at least 74 people, including 16 minors, to sexual exploitation and assault and operating a pornography ring on Telegram, the police revealed Friday. The alleged crimes involved the messenger service Telegram, where videos of a sexual nature were posted in return for cryptocurrency payments. The suspect, currently known by the surname Cho and by the Telegram nickname “doctor,” is thought to be one of a large number of ind

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2020

Coupang provides free health counseling for delivery workers

Coupang has introduced new plans to boost the safety of its delivery personnel as of Friday. Coupang said it will provide remote health counseling service to all of its Coupang deliverymen and have their health checked by visits from health professionals on a regular basis. The company added that it will provide emergency care service for its deliverymen if they are confirmed with the coronavirus or under self-quarantine. Also, safety mangers will be deployed at all c

IndustryMarch 20, 2020

Nearly half of Korean workers at US military camps face furloughs

Nearly half of South Koreans working at US military camps here may face furloughs next month as the two countries failed to narrow their differences during the latest round of cost-sharing negotiations, which ended Thursday in the US. “Prior to furloughs of nearly half the Korean national employees of US Forces Korea on April 1, a US negotiating team traveled to Los Angeles under extraordinary circumstances this week to meet over four days,” Yonhap News Agency quoted a State Depa

DefenseMarch 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Protestant church groups hope to normalize activities starting April 6

Mainstream Protestant church groups -- the National Council of Churches in Korea and the United Christian Churches of Korea -- apologized to the public on Thursday for the COVID-19 clusters that formed at churches. The statement also said the organizations hoped to normalize group activities and worship services from April 6. The joint statement followed an increase in the number of novel coronavirus clusters in South Korea this week among those attending Protestant church services. As of Fr

CultureMarch 20, 2020

LG CNS bags W120b deal in S. Korea

LG CNS said Friday it has been selected as preferred bidder for a new social security solution provider for the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 122 billion won ($97.2 million) project. LG CNS’ consortium and Deloitte Consulting bid for the deal. Previously Samsung SDS was expected to join the competition, but it withdrew after reviewing feasibility. The new social security solution of LG CNS will substitute the ministry’s existing computer system built in 2009, which was u

TechnologyMarch 20, 2020

Government to delay taxes for businesses affected by outbreak

The government will seek ways to reduce the tax burden as part of its efforts to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, which may mean delaying corporate and value-added taxes for affected businesses. “Delaying filing, and extending the deadline for value-added tax and general income tax will be discussed,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at Friday’s meeting. Saying the outbreak has brought the economy to a halt, Chung added that the economic effects of t

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2020

Collaboration projects spice up global pop songs with Korean lyrics

In a remix of British pop star Dua Lipa's latest song, "Physical," released earlier this week, K-pop artist Hwasa opens up the sensual synth-pop number with her signature raspy voice singing in the Korean language. The remix featuring Hwasa gives more color and trendiness to the original version, which peaked at 60th on the Billboard Hot 100 chart last month. The collaboration between Dua Lipa and Hwasa, a member of K-pop girl band Mamamoo, marks the latest in a growing number of j

K-popMarch 20, 2020

[From the Scene] LG Chem shareholders meeting ends abruptly amid coronavirus fears

LG Chem’s shareholders meeting this year posed a real challenge to the company as attendees braved to gather amid the coronavirus outbreak at an auditorium in Twin Tower headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, Friday. The involved three steps: wearing masks first cleaned their hands with hand sanitizer, had their temperatures checked with a hand-held noncontact infrared thermometer and had to pass the final stage of a thermal imaging camera. Due to reinforced safety efforts amidst the

IndustryMarch 20, 2020

Samsung bags new battery material deal

STM, a subsidiary of South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI, has bagged a deal to sell electric vehicle battery materials to Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology. According to industry sources, STM sold its precursor production line to Cosmo AM&T. The negotiation over the deal had been in process since last year. The size of the deal is unknown. A lithium-ion battery is composed of four main parts: cathode, anode, electrolyte and separator. Precursors are an intermediate pr

IndustryMarch 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] S. Korea seeks to arrange 2 chartered flights to bring home citizens from virus-hit Italy

South Korea is seeking to arrange two chartered flights to bring home hundreds of its citizens from Italy, which has been hit hard by the new coronavirus, a senior foreign ministry official said Friday. Italy's COVID-19 death toll had topped 3,400 as of Thursday afternoon -- a tally higher than that of China where the novel virus first emerged in December. As of Friday afternoon, more than 570 people have expressed their wish to return to Korea. "We currently think that two flights are

Foreign AffairsMarch 20, 2020

FM Kang calls for efforts to minimize economic, social fallout from coronavirus

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called Friday for joint efforts with China and Japan to minimize the social and economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak as she held a videoconference with her counterparts, her office said.   "I believe the three countries should discuss the need to minimize the economic and social shock, as well as the contraction in people-to-people exchanges and cooperation due to this crisis, along with (efforts to) stem the virus spread," she said

Foreign AffairsMarch 20, 2020

Coronavirus testing to be done on all arrivals from Europe

Starting Sunday, South Korea is to test everyone entering the country from Europe -- Koreans and foreign nationals alike -- for the novel coronavirus, as the government scrambles to prevent infections coming in from abroad. Returnees and travelers arriving in the country from Europe for a long-term stay will be required to self-quarantine at their homes or at state-run facilities for two weeks, health authorities said Friday. The move comes amid growing public concerns that weekslong domesti

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2020

KT’s new CEO meets with stock market experts amid stock price plunge

KT’s new CEO Koo Hyun-mo held closed-door meetings with stock market experts this week on the company’s future strategy following a plunge in share prices, industry sources said Friday. The meetings on Tuesday and Thursday came after the South Korean telecommunications giant’s stock fell below the 20,000 won ($16) bar amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. KT’s stock sold for around 27,000 won at the end of 2019. But it failed to bounce back, even after the company chose

IndustryMarch 20, 2020

Samsung shuts down TV plants in Slovakia

Samsung Electronics announced Friday it has decided to suspend operations of its Slovakia plant for a week due to the fast spread of coronavirus. The South Korean tech giant said it made the decision to protect employees from the spread of COVID-19. Currently, there are about 30 suppliers of the firm in Slovakia. Slovakia has declared a state of national emergency, limiting both logistics and personnel movement, due to the increasing number of COVID-19 confirmed cases. The government has s

TechnologyMarch 20, 2020

Asiana Airlines to suspend all European routes from April

Asiana Airlines will halt all its European routes in April as the new coronavirus spreads fast and the continent closes its borders and restricts movement, the firm confirmed Friday. The decision comes after the European Union decided on Tuesday to block the entry of foreign travelers to Europe for 30 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19. According to the airline, service on the Incheon-Frankfurt route, the only European route it is still operating, will be halted from April 1 to April 16.

IndustryMarch 20, 2020

Hyundai Rotem wins 345b won train order in S. Korea

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Friday it has received an order worth 345 billion won ($274 million) in its home country. Hyundai Rotem will supply 120 subway train cars for a new local subway line named the Great Train Express-A (GTX-A) by 2024, the company said in a statement. The GTX-A line will stretch 83.1 kilometers from Unjeong Station in Paju to Dongtan Station in Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province, it said.  The subway trains will be bu

MobilityMarch 20, 2020

New cases dip below 100 again, but concerns persist over new cluster infections

South Korea recorded fewer than 100 new daily virus cases again on Friday, but health authorities remained on high alert over new cluster infections and imported coronavirus cases. The 87 new cases, which were detected Thursday, brought the nation's total number of infections to 8,652, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The daily infection rate has been in double digits this week, except for the 152 new cases reported Wednesday. So far, 94 people, mostly elder

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Women's pro basketball season canceled due to coronavirus

There will be no more women's pro basketball played in South Korea this spring in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Women's Korean Basketball League decided on Friday to scrap the rest of the regular season, which had been on hold since March 10, and to also wipe out the playoffs. With all other major professional sports -- men's basketball, baseball, men's football and men's and women's volleyball -- having come to a halt due to COVID-19, the WKBL became the first league to cancel it

More SportsMarch 20, 2020

S. Korea to import 53 tons of mask filters amid supply shortage

South Korea said Friday it plans to import 53 tons of mask filters through June to keep up the supply of the sanitary item amid the spread of the new coronavirus. The first batch of 2.5 tons of melt-blown nonwoven fabric filters will arrive here next week, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country has been running short of protective masks, as well as their materials, as demand for them has soared amid the COVID-19 epidemic. Starting last week, South Korea has been

EconomyMarch 20, 2020

Italy overtakes China with most virus deaths, Trump slams Beijing

PARIS (AFP) -- Italy surpassed China on Thursday as the country with the most deaths from coronavirus as the UN chief warned "millions" could die if it spreads unchecked around the globe. President Donald Trump said meanwhile that the United States is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment and lashed out at China for not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak. China for its part reported no new domestic cases for the first time since the virus appea

World NewsMarch 20, 2020