[News Focus] Sejong residents on alert after string of COVID-19 reports

SEJONG -- Residents of the central administrative city of Sejong are sounding alarm bells now that the COVID-19 epidemic has truly reached them, with five new cases reported over four consecutive days beginning Thursday. The man who tested positive Thursday was not counted in the statistics for Sejong because he had moved to North Gyeongsang Province before receiving his diagnosis. But he had lived and worked in Sejong until Feb. 29. A woman in her 40s residing in Saerom-dong was confirmed po

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2020

S. Korea to spend W616b on space projects in 2020

South Korea plans to spend around 615.8 billion won ($516.5 million) on space development projects this year as the country gears up to launch its first domestically-built rocket and next generation satellites, the science ministry said Sunday. The investment is a 6.4-percent increase from 2019, with the earmarked budget to be focused on building up the country's capability to use space more effectively and bolster related industries, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Of the total

TechnologyMarch 8, 2020

SKT, Singtel, AIS set up esports JV targeting Southeast Asia

Leading telecom companies of South Korea, Singapore and Thailand have teamed up to establish an esports joint venture targeting some 800 million Southeast Asian gamers, SK Telecom said Sunday. Under the agreement, Korea’s SKT, Singapore’s Singtel and Thailand’s AIS will each invest an equal amount of funds and share equal rights to the joint venture, expected to launch in 2020. The addition of AIS is the result of a follow-up to the partnership SKT and Singtel had agreed on

TechnologyMarch 8, 2020

1 more coronavirus case reported in military, total now at 36

One more service personnel was confirmed to have been infected with the new coronavirus, with the total infection cases in the military rising to 36, the defense ministry said on Sunday. The new COVID-19 patient is an Army soldier in Pocheon, north of Seoul, according to the ministry. Of the total infections, 20 were in the Army, 12 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a defense ministry unit. Around 3,120 service members are quarantined at their bases as pa

DefenseMarch 8, 2020

N. Korea releases more people from quarantine over virus: report

North Korea's state media said Sunday that it has lifted the quarantine placed on some 3,600 people over new coronavirus concerns. Around 3,650 people under quarantine have been released as of Thursday, including some 1,020 in Kangwon Province and 2,630 in Chagang Province, according to the North's radio broadcaster, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station. In mid-February, North Korea doubled the quarantine period for people at risk of being exposed to the virus to a month as it stepped up

North KoreaMarch 8, 2020

103 countries, territories restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus fears

A total of 103 countries and territories were enforcing or planning to impose entry restrictions or tougher quarantine procedures on people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns, foreign ministry data showed Sunday. The tally, as of 2 p.m., remains unchanged from late Saturday's figure, but the number of countries and territories barring the entry of travelers from all of Korea rose by one to 37, according to the foreign ministry website. Saudi Arabia was moved to this list as it now bar

Foreign AffairsMarch 8, 2020

S. Korea mulling sending chartered flight to bring nationals home

South Korea is reviewing a plan to send a chartered flight to Iran to bring its citizens home from the coronavirus-hit Islamic country this week, government officials said Sunday. The number of Iran's COVID-19 cases has reportedly risen to 5,823 with 145 deaths as of Saturday, raising concerns about the safety of Koreans in the country suffering a shortage of medicine and medical equipment. It marks the third most coronavirus infections in the world, following China and South Korea. "Th

Foreign AffairsMarch 8, 2020

PM urges cooperation for 'smooth' mask distribution amid virus angst

South Korea's prime minister on Sunday called for citizens' cooperation to resolve the supply shortage of face masks and ensure smooth distribution amid growing public anger over the bungled supply scheme. Under the measure that will take effect Monday, citizens will be able to buy only two protective masks per week from pharmacies, on designated days of the week, depending on the final number of their year of birth. "To make the system smoothly operate, there is a desperate need for pe

Foreign AffairsMarch 8, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘All consumer decisions to soon depend on genomic data’

Personal computers have become ubiquitous in daily life since they were popularized in the late 1970s. “It’s now unimaginable to work or live without computers. Soon, the same will be said about genomic data and consumer behavior,” said Hwang Tae-soon, CEO of genome analysis company Theragen Etex, in an interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Hwang foresees that in less than a decade, genomic logic will be applied to all commercial areas. A

IndustryMarch 8, 2020

Korea's geostationary environmental monitoring satellite in orbit

South Korea's geostationary environmental monitoring satellite has successfully reached its designated orbit around the Earth, the science ministry said Sunday. The Chollian-2B that blasted off atop the Ariane-5 rocket from French Guiana on Feb. 18 (local time) is now in fixed orbit some 35,786 kilometers above the equator, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 3.4-ton satellite stationed at 128.25 degrees longitude will undergo a full systems optimization process in the coming mo

TechnologyMarch 8, 2020

S. Korea's virus cases top 7,300 amid signs of infection slowdown

The number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea continued to rise, with an additional 179 cases confirmed Sunday, bringing the total to 7,313. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the country confirmed 367 additional cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the slowest on-day gain since Feb. 26. It also marked the first time in 11 days the number of new infections fell to below 400, possibly offering signs of containment. The additional 179 cases were confirmed over

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2020

Some 4.7 million face masks hit stores Saturday

Amid government-led efforts to ramp up the production and supply of face masks, some 4.7 million have been supplied to authorized distributors nationwide, health officials said Saturday. South Korea’s Korea Food & Drug Administration said 4.5 million face masks were allocated to pharmacies and 190,000 to Nonghyup Hanaro Mart. “Masks can be purchased at drugstores nationwide, and with the exception of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province they can also be found at Hanaro Mart stores,&rdq

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2020

N. Korea slams European countries for criticizing recent projectile firings

North Korea on Saturday slammed five European nations for taking issue with its recent projectile firings, saying that it is "unreasonable" to criticize a sovereign country's ordinary military training. On Thursday, Belgium, Britain, Estonia, France and Germany issued a statement, calling North's firings of two projectiles, presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles, on Monday a provocation that violated UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea's media claimed that the launche

North KoreaMarch 7, 2020

Seoul raises Japan travel warning on coronavirus fears

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry raised the travel alert for all regions of Japan on Saturday, amid growing concerns about the number of COVID-19 cases there.  Effective Monday Seoul advised “restraint,” representing the third level in the country’s four-notch warning system. A week ago it advised “caution,” a warning one notch lower.  The ministry cited growing concerns about the continued spread of the coronavirus in Japan and how it could affect

Foreign AffairsMarch 7, 2020

National Assembly votes against ride-hailing service Tada

The National Assembly on Friday passed a controversial bill that dealt a severe blow to the ride-hailing service Tada, in an attempt to put an end to the conflict between the service operator and taxi companies. The passage of the bill comes on the heels of a court ruling last month that allowed the ride-hailing service to operate freely. Tada is the only company to offer the service here. The bill limits the hours of operation for ride-hailing services and also imposes restrictions on the ou

PoliticsMarch 7, 2020

Public servant at Sejong govt. complex infected with coronavirus

A public servant working at the main government complex in Sejong has been infected with the new coronavirus, government and Sejong city officials said Saturday. The patient, a woman in her twenties who works for the health ministry, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. She does not work for the unit that is overseeing the virus outbreak. Health officials at the Sejong city government said the patient is assumed to have contracted the virus at a Zumba class she took in February. The Zumb

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2020

Another Korean Air flight attendant infected with new coronavirus

A second cabin crew member of Korean Air Lines Co. has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, company and local government officials said Saturday. According to them, a 36-year-old Korean Air flight attendant has tested positive for COVID-19 after serving on a Los Angeles-Incheon route late last month. Another Korean Air cabin crew member on the same KE012 flight that departed Los Angeles on Feb. 20 was earlier confirmed as a virus patient on Feb. 25. Korean Air said the other cabin crew w

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2020

WHO addresses Seoul-Tokyo spat over coronavirus, calls on countries to stand together

The World Health Organization on Friday (Geneva time) urged countries to “stand together” on COVID-19, in response to the renewed diplomatic row between Seoul and Tokyo over travel restrictions in response to the outbreak.  “COVID-19 is a common enemy,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. “And the only way we can beat this virus is when we stand together. …

Foreign AffairsMarch 7, 2020

Trump says US is working closely with S. Korea on virus

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- US President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and South Korea have been working closely together as allies to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The president spoke during a visit to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, as his administration grapples with an increasing number of infections in the country. "We're working closely with South Korea," Trump said. "They're also in a much different position. Th

Foreign AffairsMarch 7, 2020

Korea's coronavirus cases surpass 7,000, death toll nears 50

The number of COVID-19 patients rose to 7,041 on Saturday, with 274 additional cases being confirmed as of 5 p.m. According to the government’s central response team, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province continued to see the largest increase in the number of cases. Of the 483 cases confirmed Friday, 390 were in Daegu and 65 in North Gyeongsang Province. The number of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province now stands at 6,133, accounting for 90.6 percent of South Korea&rsq

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2020