S. Koreans' work hours edge down in 2019

Average work hours in South Korea decreased 0.5 percent last year as the country enforced a shorter workweek system, government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's survey, the average South Korean employee worked 1,957 hours in 2019, 10 hours less than the previous year. The figure for companies hiring at least five workers was 1,978, a 0.4 percent decrease from 2018. The reduction came despite the fact that 2019 had two more working days than 2018.

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

Price gap widens between jeonse, apartment cost

The price gap between the average jeonse -- a real estate term unique to South Korea that refers to property lease -- and average sale price of apartments in Seoul reached a record high in February in seven years, increasing the financial burden on potential home buyers, according to latest data Thursday. Jeonse refers to a two-year leasing system that requires tenants to pay a large deposit instead of monthly rent. The average jeonse price amounted to 55.6 percent of the average apartment

MarketFeb. 27, 2020

Trump says ‘not the right time’ to bar entry from S. Korea

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (US time) said it was “not the right time” for the US to restrict travelers from South Korea, though it may do so in the future. 　 “At a right time, we may do that. Right now, it’s not the right time,” he told a press conference on the novel coronavirus in Washington, adding the US was checking people arriving from infected areas. 　 “They are working on their countries, and we are working on our country, since, so far

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Hanwha Galleria to open Galleria Gwanggyo in Suwon

Hanwha Galleria said Thursday it will open Galleria Gwanggyo in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday, making it the first new department store to open in 10 years and the biggest among the five franchises it operates. According to the company, the store will be located in the Suwon Gwanggyo Convention Complex area, and it will present the best lineup of luxury brands in the Gyeonggi Province area. Galleria Gwanggyo will be the biggest department store for the company, with its building takin

ConsumerFeb. 27, 2020

[Photo News] Starbucks Korea to releases March 1 edition goods

Starbucks Korea will roll out a new set of goods -- a mug, tumbler and card -- designed with mugunghwa, or hibiscus, to celebrate the March 1st Independence Movement Day, the company said on Thursday. The company said it will donate 100 million won ($82,200) from the profit made to the descendants of independence fighters. (herim@heraldcorp.com)

ConsumerFeb. 27, 2020

Mobility startups immune to coronavirus outbreak

Personal mobility startups remain mostly unaffected by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak for the time being, according to industry sources. Electric scooter-sharing service Kickgoing operator Olulo, with more than 440,000 members, said Wednesday that its personal mobility business has not been greatly affected by the massive COVID-19 crisis. “Olulo’s service wasn’t much affected as it is a personal mobility service. Rather, it was the weather that had a bigger influence,&r

MobilityFeb. 27, 2020

Coronavirus: latest developments worldwide

PARIS (AFP) -- The situation improves in China while the list of countries hit globally grows, with a first case in Latin America. The WHO warns the world is "simply not ready". Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis. More than 45 countries hit There have been more than 82,100 infections and 2,800 deaths worldwide, according to the latest toll from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The number of deaths in China -- where the virus was first detected --

World NewsFeb. 27, 2020

Denmark announces first coronavirus case

COPENHAGEN (AFP) -- Denmark reported its first coronavirus case Thursday, a man who had returned from a skiing holiday in northern Italy which has become a hotspot for the disease. "The man who came back from a skiing trip with his wife and son on February 24 has been suffering since then from a cough and a temperature," Denmark's public health agency said in a statement. "The man tested positive, but the results of his wife and son are negative," it said. The man is rela

World NewsFeb. 27, 2020

Non face-to-face service spikes as coronavirus spreads

The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered a big demand on “untact” services, which do not require direct contact between businesses and customers, with large retailers expanding their stock for delivery. According to big data analysis firm Appminder, users of food delivery and online shopping apps increased significantly since Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 20. Before the outbreak in Jan 17-19, about 2.73 million people used food delivery apps including Baedal Minjok a

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Korea's private bad bank eyes 1st exit from distressed assets

South Korea’s private bad bank, United Asset Management Co. (UAMCO), is betting on exiting from an investment in a distressed company here -- highlighting its growing role in corporate restructuring here. Seha, an industrial paper maker based in Daegu, is inching closer to inviting a new group of controlling shareholders led by Hankuk Paper to take the place of UAMCO, after Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers selected it as the preferred bidder for Seha’s majority stake and its bonds. Up

MarketFeb. 27, 2020

Rents, commissions lowered as virus rages through economy

　As the economy in Korea shoulders headwinds from weakened consumer sentiment due to the coronavirus spread, a number of companies and building owners are coming up with self-rescue measures to help prop up the ecosystem. 　Telecom giant KT announced Thursday it will reduce rents for three months for self-employed business owners at its buildings across the nation, which it believes will cost it 2.4 billion won ($1.97 million). 　KT said it wished to take on the social responsibility of sharing

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Gwanak-gu takes steps to nurture companion pets

Seoul’s Gwanak-gu is boosting efforts to create an environment where companion animals and people can coexist. The district has launched a “companion animal team” for the first time and enacted a regulation to bring pets and companions under one roof in harmony, respectively. In a bid to raise awareness that animals are people’s friends and part of the family, the area has designed 19 new projects with goals like promoting animal welfare. The region has been making e

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] BOK holds first press briefing via YouTube amid coronavirus fears

The Bank of Korea held a press conference on its rate decision via YouTube on Thursday, in a first for the central bank. The conference was held online as part of the central bank’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus and ensure the safety of its officials and reporters, a BOK official said. Following the announcement of its decision to keep its interest rates unchanged at 1.25 percent, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol answered questions from reporters in the livestream on YouTube.

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

China, 11 more countries restrict travel from S. Korea over coronavirus concern

About a dozen additional countries and parts of China have slapped entry restrictions on travelers from South Korea, and the United States has raised its travel warning for its Asian ally as the wave of new coronavirus cases in the country showed no signs of let-up. The State Department's travel advisory was raised by one notch to Level 3, the second-highest on a four-tier scale. Level 4 advises people not to travel to the designated country. The US has not put any entry restrictions from trav

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Moody's sees short-term coronavirus virus impact on S. Korean firms

Moody's Investors Service said Thursday it expects the spreading coronavirus outbreak to have a short-term impact on South Korean companies as the virus may be contained in the coming months. The rapid spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and its countrywide efforts to contain the infection are credit negative for local companies in many sectors over the short term as it will increase disruptions of Korea-based production lines and further weaken domestic demand for months to come, Moody's said i

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

Naver grants incentive stock options to employees

Korean internet and search giant Naver said it will grant stock options to its employees to purchase up to a total of 1.06 million stocks, the company said in its regulatory filing issued Wednesday late afternoon. The stocks that will go to the company’s employees account for 0.65 percent of Naver’s stocks, the company added. The stocks will be provided to 3,084 workers at a price of 186,000 ($153) won per share. The options are exercisable for a period of five years starting in

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Daishin, KB Securities, Woori Bank raided in Lime scandal probe

  Prosecutors raided Daishin Securities, KB Securities and Woori Bank on Thursday as part of a probe into the snowballing Lime Asset Management fiasco. Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office executed a search and seizure operation at the headquarters of Daishin Securities and KB Securities in central Seoul and KB Securities’ office in Yeouido in the morning. Prosecutors had raided Lime Asset Management and Shinhan Investment last week, after the f

MarketFeb. 27, 2020

No genetic mutation in new coronavirus found: KCDC

South Korea's public health authorities said Thursday they have not found a genetic mutation in the new coronavirus so far, suggesting that the possibility of developing medications, including vaccines, may be higher than what has been thought. The result came after an interim analysis of six genes, including five isolated ones, from COVID-19 patients, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Genome sequencing of the virus from coronavirus patients here match

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Komipharm stocks soar upon news of clinical trial application for coronavirus

Komipharm stocks hit the ceiling on Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq early Thursday, after the company said it applied for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of its Panaphix drug for coronavirus as a potential treatment. The company said it will issue further notice if it gains the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval for final phase clinical trials targeting 100 coronavirus-confirmed patients. Investors should be aware that the possibility of any drug winning final commercializat

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

COVID-19 hits Daegu city officials

Five officials of the Daegu city government were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 as of Thursday morning, as the city struggles to deal with over 1,000 confirmed cases and another 1,000 in isolation. Three additional staff infections were confirmed overnight, after a staff member of the deputy mayor’s office was confirmed Tuesday and another official who had a meal with that person was confirmed Wednesday. The infections have prompted the city government to shut down buildi

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020