NK leader oversees politburo meeting on coronavirus response

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party and discussed coronavirus prevention measures, including strengthening testing and quarantine efforts, state media said Saturday. North Korea has yet to report a case of COVID-19 but has intensified its preventive efforts across the country, calling its fight against the virus is a "political matter" that will determine the fate of the country. "In case the infectious disease spreadin

North KoreaFeb. 29, 2020

FM voices strong regrets over Vietnam's planned suspension of visa-wavier program for Koreans

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha voiced strong regrets on Friday over Vietnam's decision to suspend a visa-waiver program for Korean nationals amid growing coronavirus fears, calling it an "excessive" entry restriction. Kang made the remark during a phone conversation with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, on Friday, hours after the Southeast Asian country announced the plan, according to her ministry. Kang conveyed South Koreans' deep disappointment with Vietn

Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

S. Korea's virus cases approach 2,400, people urged to avoid mass gatherings

South Korea's confirmed cases of the new coronavirus approached 2,400, with an additional three deaths being reported, on Friday as the nation worked to aggressively counter the fast-spreading virus with extensive testing. Health authorities renewed calls for citizens to keep away from others and avoid mass gatherings such as religious services over the weekend. The 571 new cases -- the sharpest daily spike yet, outnumbering 327 new cases reported in China earlier in the day -- brought the nat

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

S. Korea reports 3 more deaths from coronavirus, death toll rises to 16

South Korea reported three additional deaths tied to new coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country's death toll to 16, the national public health agency said. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the three -- all women aged from 60-90 either quarantined at local hospitals or at home -- died of COVID-19 in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Two were posthumously diagnosed with the disease and the third had received treatment after testing po

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

Park Seo-jun talks about ‘Itaewon Class,’ cancellation of pop-up bar plan

Owing to the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak, actor Park Seo-jun said he would have to cancel the pop-up bar he had promised to open if the drama series “Itaewon Class” succeeded to reach a 10 percent viewership rating. “I will try to find some other way to express our gratitude. I had not expected this situation when I had made the promise. Although promises are important, I believe it is more important that the (COVID-19) situation gets better,” Park, who plays the lead

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2020

58 countries restrict entry from coronavirus-hit S. Korea

Nearly 60 countries are restricting the entry of travelers from South Korea with bans or tougher quarantine procedures over coronavirus concerns, foreign ministry data showed Friday, as the number of infections rose to more than 2,300 confirmed cases here. South Korea's government issued an advisory asking its people to reconsider or delay any planned travel to countries that have imposed restrictions due to worries that people could face inconveniences or safety issues. As of Friday, twenty-

Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

KDB picks 2 external partners to back W120b for supply chain autonomy

State-run Korea Development Bank said Friday it had chosen two external partners to operate funds with a combined 120 billion won ($99.2 million) of public money to support South Korea’s drive for supply chain autonomy. The two partners are BNW Investment-Industrial Bank of Korea consortium and SKS Private Equity-Korea Investment Private Equity group. These were among nine applicants to manage the funds. Each group is mandated to attract at least 40 billion won investment from the priva

MarketFeb. 28, 2020

S. Korea to offer half of promised help to China through int'l agencies: official

South Korea will provide about half of the aid it promised to China in its fight against the new coronavirus through international assistance agencies in an apparent bid to avoid disrupting supplies of medical items for its own people, a foreign ministry official said Friday. Late last month, the Seoul government unveiled a plan to provide $5 million worth of aid to China, including face masks, medical gloves and disinfectants, to help the country at the center of COVID-19 outbreak, which has

Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

Seoul stocks crumble on coronavirus-fueled selling spree

Stocks on South Korea’s main bourse Kospi plunged more than 3 percent Friday with investors dumping assets amid the rapid increase of COVID-19 virus cases. Market watchers are closely watching how long the selling pressure will continue despite aggressive steps being taken by the government to contain the virus spread. The benchmark Kospi opened sharply lower at 2,020.17 -- sinking 34.72 points, or 1.69 percent, from the previous session. The weak start continued through the day to clos

MarketFeb. 28, 2020

S. Korea raises travel advisory for northern Italy

South Korea raised the travel advisory for three provinces in northern Italy on Friday after the European country reported a rapid increase in new coronavirus infections. The foreign ministry issued a "yellow warning", which calls for travel restraint and is the third highest out of a four-level scale, for Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto in the country's north, according to the ministry website. The ministry cited growing concern over person-to-person transmission as the numbe

Foreign AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

Hanwha Asset to raise W510b capital in cross-border push

Hanwha Asset Management said Friday it planned to raise 510 billion won ($421.7 million) capital from its parent Hanwha Life Insurance, which would bring its total capital to over 700 billion won -- the second-largest for an asset management company in South Korea. The fresh capital will be used to enhance overseas alternative investment capacity through acquisitions of foreign asset management firms, expand its overseas units, create a digital infrastructure and nurture more investment opportu

MarketFeb. 28, 2020

S. Korea urges US to handle USFK employees’ jobs

South Korea hopes to address first the issue of the upkeep of Korean employees for United States Forces Korea, as negotiations on defense cost sharing between the two allies drag on, Seoul’s chief negotiator said Friday.  “We offered the US a side deal to sign to cover the costs for Korean national employees at USFK, just in case we don’t wrap up a new Special Measures Agreement on time,” Jeong Eun-bo said, referring to the cost-sharing deal. The final agreement wo

DefenseFeb. 28, 2020

Moon requests parties’ support for budget for COVID-19 outbreak

President Moon Jae-in on Friday met with leaders of political parties, calling for their cooperation in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. “(I) ask you to increase the speed and strength of the cooperation. I hope (the parties) will shore up measures such as strengthening the country’s quarantine capabilities, and aid (to those affected by the outbreak) with the (supplementary) budget,” Moon said. With the virus spreading rapidly, the government and the ruling Democratic

PoliticsFeb. 28, 2020

Green Day pushes back dates for Asian tour

Green Day has postponed its Seoul show originally slated for March due to mounting fears over the coronavirus outbreak. The American rock band is pushing back the dates for the Asian leg of its “Hella Mega” tour, including the March 22 show in Seoul, local organizer Live Nation Korea said in a statement on Friday. The band was to return to Korea in more than a decade, since its last concert here in January 2010. “Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to pos

PerformanceFeb. 28, 2020

Stop witch hunt, says Shincheonji

Shincheonji Church of Jesus said Friday it is being targeted in a witch hunt, despite having cooperated with authorities to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The minor Christian sect, known for its covert evangelistic activities, has been linked to more than half of South Korea’s coronavirus cases, including a massive number of cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. In a video posted on its official YouTube channel, the sect refuted public criticism that it has failed to prov

Social AffairsFeb. 28, 2020

Samsung’s Z Flip sells out in 9 minutes in China despite slow market

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Flip sold out in nine minutes in China on Thursday, despite dampened consumer sentiment worldwide due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Chinese electronics industry on Friday, Samsung began online sales of the Z Flip across China at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, and the clamshell-type foldable phone sold out in less than 10 minutes. Delivery will begin immediately. On the same day, Samsung began to take preorders for the Z Flip’s limited Thom Browne

IndustryFeb. 28, 2020

Department stores, malls shut down temporarily due to new coronavirus

With the COVID-19 virus spreading across the country, department stores and malls are temporarily shutting down branches that confirmed patients are found to have visited. On Friday, Shinsegae Department Store closed its Gangnam branch in Seoul, when one of the employees of its partner company was confirmed to be infected by the new coronavirus. According to the department store, the employee had been off duty for personal reasons since Monday, and then went into self-quarantine on Thursday

ConsumerFeb. 28, 2020

Incheon airport’s duty-free store license auction falls flat for first time

The bidding for duty-free store licenses at Incheon International Airport failed to attract tenders to fill all of the cosmetics and apparel sections, the airport operator said Friday, the first time . According to Incheon International Airport Corporation, the operation licenses for two of the eight airside sections in the airport’s Terminal 1, DF2 and DF6, failed to attract bids. DF2 is designated for perfumes and cosmetics, and DF6 for apparel. IIAC opened the bidding on Wednesday,

IndustryFeb. 28, 2020

Arario Gallery reaches out via online, private exhibition

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Arario Gallery said Friday it will unveil artworks through an online exhibition. Most art galleries in Korea have shut down temporarily due to rising virus infections across the country.  Arario Gallery, a major commercial contemporary art gallery here, will showcase more than 20 works initially planned for Art Basel Hong Kong, the biggest international art fair in Asia, which was canceled earlier this month due to the virus outbreak. The online showcase

Arts & DesignFeb. 28, 2020

Korean IPOs in February defy coronavirus fears

The initial public offerings of South Korean firms in February were largely successful, despite the impact of the new coronavirus on the domestic stock market. This month through Friday, five companies -- Sunam, Lemon, Kencoa Aerospace, JNTC, Seoul Viosys -- wrapped up IPOs, raising a combined 192.1 billion won ($158.1 million). Four out of five, except for Kencoa Aerospace, were more than successful. The offered prices of the four companies were set at, or beyond, the upper cap of the price

MarketFeb. 28, 2020