S. Korea facing more trade barriers from emerging nations: report

Emerging countries launched dozens of new investigations against goods from South Korea in line with growing protectionism around the globe, data showed Monday. Such countries accounted for 34 of the 41 new trade investigation cases against Asia's No. 4 economy in 2019, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The United States launched five new investigations against South Korea, with Australia and the European Union taking up one each. Emerging nat

EconomyMarch 16, 2020

Samsung Foundry Forum in Silicon Valley postponed over pandemic

Samsung Electronics’ annual forums on its semiconductor foundry business strategy for this year have been postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the tech giant said Monday. The company posted the notice on its forum registration website. The first event of the forums was to be held in California’s Silicon Valley on May 20 and was supposed to kick-start the annual forum series that takes place worldwide, including in China, Japan and Germany. “The forums are pushed

TechnologyMarch 16, 2020

Airlines to apply no fuel surcharges on int'l routes in April

South Korean airlines will apply no fuel surcharges on international routes in April to reflect declining oil prices, industry officials said Monday. The surcharges for one-way tickets on international routes will drop to zero next month from 19,200 won ($15) in March, an industry official said. If the average jet fuel price on the Singapore spot market rises over $1.50 per gallon, South Korean airlines are allowed to impose fuel surcharges starting one month later. Jet fuel prices averaged

MobilityMarch 16, 2020

Capital area reports another cluster infection from church

Another cluster transmission of the new coronavirus has infected 40 followers of a protestant church in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, municipal government said Monday, raising an alarm bell on the steady spread of cluster infections in the capital area. The city government of Seongnam said 40 members of Grace River Church, including the pastor and his wife, have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Sunday service about a week ago. Six other people who had come into contact with the

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Military reports no additional case of new virus for 5th day

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among service personnel for the fifth straight day Monday, with the total number of infections remaining unchanged at 38. Of the total COVID-19 cases, 21 were in the Army, 13 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps, and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry, the defense ministry said. The numbers include 12 personnel -- eight in the Army and four in the Air Force -- who have fully recovered f

DefenseMarch 16, 2020

Will Naver’s Vibe introduce a system that works for artists?

Naver’s music-streaming service Vibe has recently announced a payment system that it believes is more transparent and profitable for artists. Currently, streaming platforms such as South Korea’s Melon and Sweden’s Spotify use a “pro-rata” model that shares streaming revenue with artists by collecting all fees from users and dividing that pool of money according to the percentage of streams each artist receives. That means even if you never listen to the most fre

K-popMarch 16, 2020

S. Korea reports 74 new virus cases, total now at 8,236

South Korea reported 74 new cases of the new coronavirus Monday, slightly down from 76 new cases a day earlier, bringing the nation's total infections to 8,236, as health authorities battle to contain cluster infections across the nation. The 74 new cases, which were detected on Sunday, marked the lowest number of daily infections in more than three weeks and the second straight day that daily new infections fell to a double-digit increase. So far, 75 people, mostly elderly patients with unde

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Hyundai Heavy clinches 400b-won deal to build 1 frigate

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder in terms of the value of orders last year, said Monday that it has won a 400 billion-won ($330 million) order to build one frigate for the South Korean Navy. Under the deal with South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hyundai Heavy will deliver the 3,500-ton ship by 2024 to the country's Navy. The deal is for the first of six new 3,500-ton frigate vessels to be delivered to the Navy. The ship -- 129 meters long

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

BOK under growing pressure to cut rate following Fed rate reduction

The Bank of Korea will have no choice but to take all available measures to shield the local economy against further damage from the outbreak of the new coronavirus, including a base rate reduction, especially since the US Fed cut its own rates to nearly zero, analysts here said Monday. "The Bank of Korea too must now take steps due to the confusion in the local financial market," said Korea Investment & Securities analyst Ahn Jae-kyun. "Like the central banks of other majo

EconomyMarch 16, 2020

Corporate bond issues, trading dip amid coronavirus

Corporate bond issuance and transactions in South Korea fell last week as investors remained spooked by the spread of the new coronavirus, data showed Monday. South Korean companies floated bonds worth 1.1 trillion won ($900 million) during the one-week period between March 6 and Thursday, compared with 1.5 trillion won a week earlier, according to the data from bond rater NICE Pricing & Information. Trading volume of corporate bonds also decreased by 216.7 billion won to 2.74 trillion wo

BusinessMarch 16, 2020

K-pop boy band NCT 127's new album debuts at 5th on Billboard 200

The new album by K-pop boy band NCT 127 debuted at fifth on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week, the band's strongest feat on the chart, the music magazine said Monday.  "Korean pop group NCT 127 lands its first top 10 effort, as 'NCT #127 Neo-Zone,' the 2nd (full-length) album debuts at No. 5," the Billboard website showed Monday (Korean time). "The act's previous high was claimed with its last release, 2019's 'NCT #127 We Are Superhuman,' which debuted and peaked a

K-popMarch 16, 2020

S. Korea expands special quarantine procedures to arrivals from all European countries

South Korea expanded its special quarantine procedures to arrivals from all European countries Monday over concerns about imported cases of the new coronavirus. The special screening measures at airports began to be applied to people coming from all European countries, up from the previous six -- Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Britain and the Netherlands -- at midnight. South Korea is also implementing similar measures for arrivals from China, Japan, Iran, Hong Kong and Macao. The expansion

Foreign AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Yankees' minor league player tests positive for coronavirus

NEW YORK (AFP) -- A New York Yankees minor league player has tested positive for the coronavirus the team said Sunday, the first known case in baseball. The team did not identify the player in accordance with US medical privacy regulations, but said he was never present at the Florida spring training facility used by the Yankees' major league team and did not have known contact with any of the Yankees players. "He was never here, nor anybody who would be linked to being with him," Y

World NewsMarch 16, 2020

FM Kang holds conference call with counterparts from 5 countries over coronavirus response

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a conference call with her counterparts from Canada and four other countries to discuss cooperation in fighting the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said Monday. Kang and her Canadian, German, Brazilian, Italian and Australian counterparts -- Francois-Philippe Champagne, Heiko Maas, Ernesto Henrique Fraga Araujo, Luigi Di Maio and Maris Payne -- joined the 70-minute call Sunday night (Korea time). The talks were proposed by Canada, the ministry said.

Foreign AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Fed takes emergency steps to slash rates and ease bank rules

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve took massive emergency action Sunday to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. The Fed's surprise announcement signaled its worry that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in coming months and that it is prepared to do whatever it can counter the risks. It cut its key rate by a full percentage point -- to a range be

World NewsMarch 16, 2020

Global economic coordination lacking in virus crisis

With the global economy melting down after the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, world leaders swiftly created an international forum that committed to boost economies by spending more and keeping trade open. Central banks announced rate cuts within seconds of each other. The approach to the economic shock from the coronavirus outbreak is, so far, looking very different. The disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness. With the w

World BusinessMarch 15, 2020

Philippines isolates Manila to fight coronavirus outbreak

Thousands of police officers and army troops started sealing the Philippines' densely populated capital on Sunday at the start of one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves against the new coronavirus.    Under monthlong restrictions imposed in the entire Manila metropolis _ home to more than 12 million people _ residents are compelled to stay at home, except when they need to leave for work or go on urgent errands, including medical emergencies.    Police and s

World NewsMarch 15, 2020

Tokyo 2020 torch handover to take place in empty Athens stadium

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games flame handover in Athens next week will be done in an empty stadium amid the coronavirus outbreak, Greece's Olympic Committee said on Sunday. Greece on Friday cancelled the remainder of the domestic Olympic torch relay through the country to avoid attracting crowds a day after the Tokyo Games flame was lit in ancient Olympia. The Hellenic Olympic Committee has decided that the handover ceremony for the "Tokyo 2020" Olympic Games, on Thursday, March 19, w

World NewsMarch 15, 2020

Turkey quarantines thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia

Thousands of Muslims returning to Turkey from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia were being taken into quarantine on Sunday due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Turkish officials said. Television pictures showed buses transporting pilgrims along the highway from Ankara's airport to the city as part of an operation to place those returning into student dormitories. Turkey, which has only diagnozed six cases of coronavirus, has ramped up measures to halt its spread in recent days, clos

World NewsMarch 15, 2020

Irish PM mulls coronavirus restrictions on pubs after outcry

The Irish government isconsidering imposing restrictions on pubs and nightclubs due tocoronavirus, after videos of singing in packed bars in thecapital on Saturday sparked a social media campaign to closethem down. Ireland, which has 129 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two deaths, closed schools and universities last week and advisedpeople to cancel all indoor gatherings of 100 people or more. But it stopped short of closing cafes, bars and restaurants, as some European states have done, citin

World NewsMarch 15, 2020