Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun to make 1st spring start vs. Marlins

St. Louis Cardinals' new South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun will make his first spring training start this week. Currently training in Jupiter, Florida, the Cardinals announced Monday (local time) that the left-hander will start against the Miami Marlins in Wednesday's home game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. It'll be a split squad game for the Cardinals, whose other half will play the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach, south of Jupiter, also on Wednesday. Left-hander Genesis Cabrera will

BaseballFeb. 25, 2020

WHO warns coronavirus may be 'around for months'

BEIJING (AFP) -- The World Health Organization warned Monday that the new coronavirus might be around for months but said the measures China implemented have prevented the infections of hundreds of thousands of people. Bruce Aylward, leader of a joint WHO-China mission of experts, said the world can learn from the nation's approach to restraining the virus. "The single biggest lesson is speed. Speed is everything and what worries me most is, has the rest of the world learned the lesson o

World NewsFeb. 25, 2020

Coronavirus: latest developments worldwide

PARIS (AFP) -- Infections jump sharply outside China. Italy locks down several cities. Stocks tumble on world markets. Here are the latest developments in the new coronavirus crisis. 2,592 dead in China Mainland China's official death toll hits 2,592, with more than 77,000 people now reported infected. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution, China postpones its annual parliament session when Communist Party leaders including President Xi Jinping gather to rubber-stamp bills and bu

World NewsFeb. 25, 2020

S. Korea to swiftly conduct virus tests on all Shincheonji followers

South Korea said Tuesday it will swiftly conduct tests on the new coronavirus on all followers of Shincheonji as the minor religious sect has agreed to provide the complete list of its members. The government said the Shincheonji church has agreed to offer the list of its worshipers and their contact numbers to support state quarantine efforts to curb the fast spread of COVID-19. The move comes as about 60 percent of all infection cases are linked to a Shincheonji church in the southeastern c

Social AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

Some 400 S. Korean tourists leave Israel on chartered flights

CAIRO -- Some 400 South Korean tourists boarded two chartered flights in Israel on Monday after the Israeli government imposed an entry ban on South Koreans over concerns about the new coronavirus. The first plane carrying some 220 South Koreans departed Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport at around 4 p.m. The second plane left the airport at around 10 p.m., with 196 South Koreans aboard, according to the South Korean Embassy in Israel. The flights were arranged at the Israeli government's expense

Foreign AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

Esper urges S. Korea to pay more for combined defense

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that South Korea can and should contribute more to its defense in terms of financial contributions to the upkeep of American troops on the peninsula. Esper, speaking at a joint news conference after talks with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, also said that the two countries are considering scaling back combined military exercises due to concerns about the new coronavirus spreading in the South. "General Abrams and

DefenseFeb. 25, 2020

FM calls Israel's entry ban on Koreans over new coronavirus 'excessive'

GENEVA/SEOUL -- Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has described Israel's recent entry ban on South Koreans over concerns of the new coronavirus as "excessive," noting Seoul's ongoing diplomacy to prevent such unwarranted restrictions.  Kang made the remarks as more than a dozen countries have imposed entry restrictions against visitors from South Korea that has so far reported 833 infections and eight fatalities despite its stepped-up containment efforts. "My assessment is

Foreign AffairsFeb. 25, 2020

US and S. Korea may cut back military moves due to coronavirus

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and South Korea are considering curtailing joint military exercises due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, officials said Monday. After a meeting at the Pentagon to review a full range of issues, including a standoff over US demands that Seoul pay a much bigger share of the cost of hosting American forces, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told reporters that coronavirus is a threat to their schedule o

DefenseFeb. 25, 2020

BTS' 'Map of the Soul: 7' on way to No. 1 on Billboard 200

"Map of the Soul: 7," the new album of K-pop super band BTS, is bound to debut atop the Billboard 200 next week, the band's historic fourth No. 1 on the chart, Billboard said on its website Monday. "The set, which was released Feb. 21 via Big Hit Entertainment, could earn 300,000 equivalent album units in the US in the week ending Feb. 27, with most of that sum driven by album sales," the US magazine said.  If confirmed as forecast, it marks the band's fourth Billboar

K-popFeb. 25, 2020

Hong Kong to bar non-resident arrivals from S.Korea over virus

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong will bar non-residents arriving from South Korea from Tuesday morning in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak, the city's security chief said late Monday. "Considering the development of the epidemic in South Korea, the Security Bureau will issue a red travel alert," John Lee told reporters. "We also urge Hong Kong residents not to travel there unless necessary," he added. (AFP)

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

Iraq confirms first novel coronavirus case

NAJAF-- Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the c

World NewsFeb. 24, 2020

USFK reports 1st coronavirus patient, among family of soldier

A U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) family member living in the southeastern city of Daegu has been confirmed to have the new coronavirus, USFK said Monday, marking the first case among a person related to the American military stationed here. South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) informed USFK that the 61-year-old female had tested positive for COVID-19, USFK said in a release. The patient is a U.S. national, an official said, adding that it was not immediately known how sh

Foreign AffairsFeb. 24, 2020

S. Korean tourists to return home from Israel on chartered flights

Hundreds of South Korean tourists will head home from Israel aboard chartered aircraft on Monday, Seoul officials said, after they were stranded following the Middle East country's abrupt entry ban on Koreans for concerns about the new coronavirus. The South Korean Embassy in Israel informed the tourists that the Israeli government, in consultation with Seoul, prepared chartered flights for their return home, and asked them to gather at Ben Gurion Airport at 11 a.m (local time). About 500 Sou

Social AffairsFeb. 24, 2020

Seoul Fashion Week 2020 shows to be canceled

Next month’s Seoul Fashion Week is to be canceled amid a serial cancellation of events, as worries over the novel coronavirus spread escalate in Korea. “We have internally decided to cancel the 2020 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week and will notify the concerned parties of the decision in a few days,” said an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government in charge of the biannual fashion week. “However, we will seek ways to support and help designers in Korea by hosting

Arts & DesignFeb. 24, 2020

[Graphic News] Beer imports down for first time in decade

　South Korea’s beer imports fell sharply in 2019 from a year earlier due mainly to a boycott of Japanese products here amid a bilateral trade row, data showed. 　Beer imports reached $280 million in 2019, down 9.3 percent from $309 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service - the first on-year decrease since 2009. 　The drop was largely attributable to the ongoing “No Japan” campaign by Korean consumers, who have been boycotting Japanes

BusinessFeb. 24, 2020

Hit by COVID-19 fears, Seoul stocks plunge

South Korean stocks plunged about 4 percent Monday, after the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed here nearly tripled over the weekend. The local currency closed at 1,220.2 won against the US dollar -- down 11 won from the previous session’s close -- marking the weakest won since Aug. 13 last year, when the trade spat between the US and China had escalated. The benchmark Kospi opened sharply lower at 2,114.04 -- plummeting 48.8 points, or 2.26 percent, from the previous session. Th

MarketFeb. 24, 2020

Company K Partners launches W124b later-stage venture fund

South Korean venture capital firm Company K Partners said Monday it has launched a 124 billion won ($101.7 million) vehicle that targets startups at the later stage of growth, bringing its assets under management to over 560 billion won. The vehicle, dubbed Company K High Growth Fund, is backed by major institutional investors including Korea Teachers’ Credit Union and Korea Scientists & Engineers Mutual-aid Association; state-owned risk capital firm K-Growth, as well as Company K&rs

MarketFeb. 24, 2020

ECCK donates W10m to Daegu citizens to help fight COVID-19

The European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday it has made an emergency donation of 10 million won ($8,210) to Daegu to help combat the spread of COVID-19. The donation was delivered to the Daegu Branch of Korean Red Cross. It will be used to help obtain masks for the most vulnerable people in the Daegu region. “As a responsible member of Korean society, the ECCK has decided to provide an emergency donation of 10 million won to Daegu city region in order to support to quickly ov

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020

Moon calls for focus on battling COVID-19, economic impact

President Moon Jae-in on Monday reiterated the call to focus resources on battling the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as its economic effects. On Monday, Moon held the weekly meeting with senior aides and the heads of major medical associations concerned with infectious diseases and quarantine. At the meeting, Moon said the government is engaging in related measures with “extraordinary determination,” and stressed that further spread of the disease must be prevented. “All ri

PoliticsFeb. 24, 2020

With delivery boom, services on alert over COVID-19 spread

With more people choosing to stay at home amid the rising fear of the fast-spreading COVID-19, delivery apps are seeing a surge in the number of daily orders. But at the same time, many delivery persons are increasingly worried, as food deliveries, in particular, often require direct contact with customers. “It will be a road to disaster if delivery persons get infected with the coronavirus,” an anonymous delivery person said in the open chatroom of a labor union on mobile messeng

IndustryFeb. 24, 2020