US flies surveillance plane over Korean peninsula

The United States has flown a surveillance aircraft over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Tuesday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea. The US Navy P-3C maritime surveillance plane was spotted in the skies over the peninsula on Monday, Aircraft Spots tweeted. It is the latest in a series of US operations seemingly aimed at monitoring the North after the communist nation warned of a "new strategic weapon" and "shocking actual action" against the US. Denucle

DefenseFeb. 25, 2020

Samsung retains top spot in Q4 domestic smartphone market: data

Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the domestic smartphone market in the fourth quarter of last year, but its market share fell sharply as its archrival Apple Inc. doubled its presence in South Korea, data showed Tuesday. Samsung had a 57 percent market share on its home turf in the last three months of 2019, down 14 percentage points from three months earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. Apple was the No. 2 player with a 28 percent share in the fourth

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Huawei unveils new foldable online amid coronavirus scare

Huawei unveiled its second foldable smartphone, the Mate Xs, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, in an online broadcast to prevent spreading the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The out-folding Mate Xs has a display the same size as that of its predecessor -- 8 inches diagonally when unfolded -- but features an improved hinge mechanism, called a “falcon-wing hinge,” and a stronger wraparound screen. Huawei’s mobile business head, Richard Yu, said during the launch presentati

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Seoul asks foreign missions to refrain from rigorous entry restrictions

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is urging partner countries to refrain from imposing rigorous entry restrictions against Korean nationals, amid concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak here. 　 The ministry explained Korea’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus and request the countries refrain from taking excessive measures in a briefing session on Tuesday afternoon.  　  Kim Gunn, deputy foreign minister for political affairs, head the session held at the ministry in Seou

Foreign AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

Shincheonji leader’s brother died after 5 days in Daenam Hospital

The Christian sect linked to more than half of South Korea’s COVID-19 infections said its leader’s brother received inpatient treatment for five days before dying at Daenam Hospital, where mass infections occurred. Also, inpatients in the closed psychiatric ward of the hospital in Cheongdo, near Daegu, stayed out overnight, went out for appointments or had visitors on 25 occasions between Jan. 22 and Feb. 13, according to the hospital. Most of the confirmed cases at Daenam Hospita

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

LG Chem announces cylindrical battery deal with Lucid Motors

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading lithium-ion battery maker, said Tuesday that the company will start supplying cylindrical batteries this year for the Lucid Air, the first electric vehicle to be commercialized by Lucid Motors. The supply deal is expected to enhance the firm’s electric vehicle battery portfolio, along with its proprietary pouch-type batteries. The company is focusing on supplying pouch batteries and has order backlogs worth 150 trillion won ($124 billion). But the

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Samsung to provide fastest-ever mobile memory

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday that it had begun mass production of the industry’s first 16-gigabyte DRAM for premium smartphones. The 16 GB low-power DDR5 DRAM, based on Samsung’s second-generation 10-nanometer-class (1y) process technology, offers a data transfer rate of 5,500 megabits per second, which is about 1.3 times faster than the previous mobile memory LPDDR4X. It also offers an energy savings of over 20 percent while providing twice the capacity. The advance wi

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Some 400 Koreans return from Israel via Israeli evacuation flights

Some 400 Koreans returned from Israel on Tuesday via chartered planes arranged by the Israeli government after COVID-19 infections were confirmed among two earlier groups of tourists after their return home. The first batch of some 220 Koreans arrived at Incheon International Airport Tuesday morning, followed by 196 Koreans on board Israeli government-sponsored chartered flights offered to Korean nationals who wish to return home, the Korean Embassy in Israel said. “We plan to operate

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

Full entry ban against Chinese visitors pointless for now: Cheong Wa Dae official

Cheong Wa Dae dismissed a call Tuesday to block the entry of all people coming from China, stressing the need for a "scientific," not emotional, approach. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has shot up in South Korea, mostly in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas, the Moon Jae-in administration has come under growing pressure to take the step, albeit belated in the eyes of critics. Limited travel restrictions are in place against those who have stayed in China's H

PoliticsFeb. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] US CDC recommends avoiding nonessential travel to S. Korea over coronavirus

WASHINGTON -- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday issued the highest type of travel health notice for South Korea, recommending that Americans avoid all nonessential travel to the country due to the spread of the coronavirus there. The Level 3 notice constitutes a "warning" to avoid all nonessential travel over the high risk posed to travelers by the outbreak and the absence of precautions to protect against the risk. The new action came only two days after t

Foreign AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

Seoul allocates W380b to support agricultural exports amid virus spread

South Korea said Tuesday it will spend 380 billion won ($311 million) to support local exporters of agricultural goods amid fears the global spread of the new coronavirus will deal a heavy blow to sales this year. "The spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a slump in demand (for agricultural goods) from China, Hong Kong and Singapore," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more

EconomyFeb. 25, 2020

White House unveils $2.5B emergency coronavirus request

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House on Monday sent lawmakers an urgent budget request for $2.5 billion to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak,  whose rapid spread and threat to the global economy rocked financial markets. The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment, and protective equipment. The request could advance quickly through Congress and came as coronavirus fears were credited with Monday's 1,000-plus point drop in the Dow Jones Industrials and are

World NewsFeb. 25, 2020

China reports 71 more virus deaths

BEIJING (AFP) -- China on Tuesday reported another 71 deaths from the novel coronavirus, the lowest daily number of fatalities in over two weeks, which raised the toll to 2,663. The National Health Commission also reported 508 new confirmed cases, with all but nine in hard-hit Hubei province. It is up from Monday's 409 cases nationwide. Multiple provinces in China have reported zero new cases for several days in a row now, with the World Health Organization saying Monday that the coronavirus

World NewsFeb. 25, 2020

USFK imposes tougher process for installation access over coronavirus outbreak

US Forces Korea (USFK) has limited all service members' off-installation travel and implemented a tougher process for accessing garrisons following the first coronavirus case among its members. On Monday, a 61-year-old USFK widowed dependent residing in the southeastern city of Daegu tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the US military to raise the risk level to "high" from "moderate" across the country that calls for stronger countermeasures. "Expect longer wait

DefenseFeb. 25, 2020

S. Korea's power generation drops 1.5% in 2019

South Korea's electricity generation fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2019 amid an economic slowdown and favorable weather conditions, data showed Tuesday. The amount of electricity generated by the nation's power plants came to 562,239 gigawatt hours last year, down 1.5 percent from the prior year, according to the data from state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation. It was the first on-year drop since the 4.1 percent decrease in 1998, when South Korea was in the heat of

EconomyFeb. 25, 2020

LG Electronics unveils new budget smartphone

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new budget smartphone in South Korea, hoping that the latest handset can help its struggling mobile business. The LG Q51 will come with a price tag of 319,000 won ($260) and a 6.5-inch screen, according to LG. The mobile device will go on sale in South Korea on Wednesday. The LG Q51 sports a 13-megapixel (MP) main camera, along with a 5-MP ultra-wide lens and a 2-MP depth sensor, on the back. It also has a 13-MP selfie camera on the front. The pro

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

S. Korea to take maximum quarantine steps in Daegu, surrounding province against coronavirus

South Korea plans to take "maximum" quarantine steps in the southeastern city of Daegu and its surrounding province to contain the new coronavirus and seek to create an extra budget, party officials said Tuesday. The government, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the presidential office decided to thoroughly implement stepped-up "containment" measures in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, where infections of COVID-19 have shot up in recent days. As the word "conta

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

S. Korea reports 60 new virus cases, total now at 893

South Korea reported 60 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total infections here to 893. But the cases in the morning update were fewer than the spike of 161 cases a day earlier. So far, eight people have died in South Korea from the new virus that emerged in China. Two clusters of infections -- at a branch of a religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in the neighboring county of Cheongdo -- have continued to expand sharply, taking up more than

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

[Diplomatic circuit] British Embassy hosts Coffee for Zero Plastic event

The British Embassy poured free coffee for anyone who brought in a reusable cup on Friday, at an event it hosted in Seoul to promote climate change awareness. “This is a critical year for our planet. A truly global effort is required from governments, businesses and each member of society. If we work together to develop and deploy clean technologies, we can accelerate innovation, increase economies of scale, and bring down costs more quickly,” said Mike Welch, country director at t

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 25, 2020

[Meet the diplomat] Athens seeks to attract Korean film, TV producers: top Greek envoy

Greece is seeking to attract South Korean film and TV producers in the hope that more of them will choose Greece as a shooting location and keep the momentum going for tourism. The country has long been popular among honeymooners and historians, but it received a big boost as a dream holiday destination for Koreans thanks to the 2016 smash hit television series “Descendants of the Sun,” featuring Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki. The Korean TV series was shot in Zakynthos, a Gre

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 25, 2020