Seoul to improve living conditions in semi-basement apartments depicted in ‘Parasite’

The Seoul City government will financially support 1,500 households living in semi-basement apartments like the one depicted in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” to improve their living conditions, it said Tuesday.  Together with the Korea Energy Foundation, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will offer up to 3.2 million won per household to enhance heating systems, replace floors, and install air conditioners, dehumidifiers, ventilators, windows and fire alarms. A semi-base

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

South Korea’s environment-monitoring satellite Chollian 2B awaits countdown

South Korea’s environment-monitoring satellite Chollian 2B will lift off Wednesday morning as scheduled, the government-led aerospace project team said Tuesday. The Chollian 2B, a twin satellite of the Chollian 2A launched in 2018, is the world’s first geostationary satellite to be used in observing air conditions from 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s equator. “The only thing that is left at the current moment is the countdown,” said Choi Jae-dong, director of

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

Moon calls for ‘extraordinary measures’ to shore up economy

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday again called on the government to do all it can to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Moon said the outbreak has created an “emergency economic situation” that calls for extraordinary measures, and stressed the need to cooperate with neighboring countries. “Extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures. Preemptive response and special measures for both the people’s safety a

PoliticsFeb. 18, 2020

Sales growth of Korean firms slows, market share in China declines

Only eight companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, have been ranked among Korea’s top 50 listed companies in revenue for 35 consecutive years. Seventy percent of the largest companies were found to have lost their ranks or changed ownership, data showed Tuesday. Local research firm Sustainable Growth Institute surveyed sales data of the nation’s 50 largest companies by revenue between 1984 and 2018. The surveyed companies are in the manufacturin

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem aims to double revenue by 2024

LG Chem said Tuesday it aims to double its revenue by 2024. The South Korean chemical giant ranked 10th among the global top 50 chemical companies in 2018 in an annual survey by Chemical and Engineering News, published by the American Chemical Society, last year. The company aims to double its current revenue of around 30 trillion won ($25.6 billion) to 59 trillion won and to secure double-digit operating margin by 2024. It has set 2020 as the “Year of Execution” and vowed to r

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

BTS’ top 50 singles and album tracks, ranked

50. Paradise The R&B track from “Love Yourself: Tear” keeps things simple and brings back the memories of 2000s R&B. 49. Jamais Vu J-Hope, Jin and Jungkook teamed up in a rare occasion for this dramatic song that takes an edgy turn a third way through. 48. Anpanman As the title suggests, the light-hearted and playful tune was inspired by the character from the popular anime series “Anpanman.” Rather than siding with the likes of Batman, it’s endearing

K-popFeb. 18, 2020

[Newsmaker] Cabinet passes bill on soldiers’ child care leave

The Cabinet on Tuesday passed a revised bill that encourages soldiers to take longer periods of leave for child care. Government officials including soldiers can take child care leave of up to three years per child. Currently, up to a year of child care leave for a soldier for his or her first child is included in the minimum period of service required for promotion. Under the revised bill, soldiers will be able to take child care leave of more than one year for their first child without dela

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, US to hold talks in Washington next week

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington next week to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and other pending issues, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo will leave Seoul on a six-day trip to the US on Sunday for his first visit there since US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper took office in July last year. During the talks on Monday, the two sides will discuss issues ranging from the allies' joi

DefenseFeb. 18, 2020

2 more fully recovered coronavirus patients released, 12 in total discharged

South Korea said Tuesday that it has released two more fully recovered patients from a hospital, bringing the total number of people who have been discharged to 12 out of 31 infected cases here. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country's 12th and 14th patients had been treated at a hospital south of Seoul. They had tested negative for COVID-19 twice in the last 24 hours. The 12th patient is a 48-year-old South Korean man who was confirmed to have b

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Samsung SDI employee gets credit for giving blood more than 200 times

With the coronavirus scare dragging down the amount of blood donations in South Korea well below average, exemplary cases of devoted blood donors are receiving spotlight. Battery company Samsung SDI employee Cho Hyun-su was acknowledged by the Korean Red Cross for donating blood more than 200 times over the past 20 years, according to the firm this week. Cho, 38, started giving blood from highschool years and have now drawn an accumulated 85 liters of his blood for others, which is equivalent

PeopleFeb. 18, 2020

LG Group chief visits R&D center, emphasizes design

The chief of LG Group on Tuesday emphasized design quality for its electronic products, saying that design is a factor that can deliver a differentiated customer experience. Koo Kwang-mo, who leads South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, visited LG Electronics Inc.'s research and development (R&D) campus in Seoul and checked the company's products. "It is design that gives the first impression of our products and delivers this sense of feeling that this product is worth buying,&q

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

Pre-orders for BTS album top record 4 million

Pre-orders for K-pop super band BTS' upcoming album have topped the 4 million mark, the biggest pre-order volume ever for a South Korean album. Pre-orders for "Map of the Soul: 7," set for official release on Friday, reached 4.02 million copies as of Monday, BTS' management agency, Big Hit Entertainment said, citing data from record distributor Dreamus Company. It is the biggest pre-order volume for any South Korean album as well as for any BTS record. The album achieved 3.42 mil

K-popFeb. 18, 2020

Moon urges 'special' economic policy measures against virus-caused 'emergency situations'

President Moon Jae-in ordered his Cabinet on Tuesday to mobilize all available "special" means to handle the "emergency economic situations" attributable to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus. "Emergency situations require an emergency prescription. The current situation is much more serious than (we) thought," he said in his opening remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. The president stressed that, "It is the time when specia

PoliticsFeb. 18, 2020

IZ*ONE breaks first-week sales record for girl group albums

IZ*ONE has shattered a first-week sales record for albums by girl groups of all time with its new album, the band's management agency said Tuesday. The group's first full-length album "Bloom*Iz" sold some 184,000 copies within the first day of its release Monday at 6 p.m., Off the Record said, citing data from domestic album sales tracker Hanteo Chart. It took less than a day for the group to break the previous record set by TWICE when its eighth EP album "Feel Special" so

K-popFeb. 18, 2020

Imports of Japanese consumer goods down for 7th month amid boycott

South Korea's imports of key consumer goods from Japan fell for the seventh consecutive month in January as a boycott of Japanese goods has dragged out amid their monthslong feud over their shared wartime history, data showed Tuesday. Imports of consumer goods from Japan dipped 35.9 percent from a year earlier in January to $193.6 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service and released by Rep. Kim Chung-woo of the ruling Democratic Party.  A growing number of

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

S. Korea reports 1 more case of novel coronavirus, total now at 31

South Korea on Tuesday identified another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections here to 31, with the latest patient confirmed not to have been abroad recently. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the latest patient is a 61-year-old South Korean woman who lives in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. After testing positive at a public health center, the woman was placed in quarantine for treatment and monitoring. The

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Hyundai Motor again halts assembly line in S. Korea over parts shortages

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Tuesday suspended one of its five main assembly plants in Ulsan due to a lack of parts from China amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Hyundai said the No. 1 assembly plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is set to be closed until Thursday, a move that will disrupt production of the Veloster subcompact and the Kona subcompact SUV. The latest halt came five days after Hyundai Motor resumed operations at the assembl

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020

LG unveils new budget smartphones with quad rear camera setup

LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled new budget smartphones, each with a quad rear camera setup, in the hope that the latest handsets will help its struggling mobile business. LG introduced three new K series models -- K61, K51S and K41S -- that will be launched in Europe, Central and South America in the second quarter. The company did not disclose the prices of the new handsets, but industry observers expect them to be sold for around US$300. The new K series smartphones come with fou

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

WHO warns against novel coronavirus 'blanket measures'

GENEVA (AFP) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned against "blanket measures" over the novel coronavirus outbreak, pointing out the epidemic outside of China was only affecting a "tiny" proportion of the population. WHO also said that -- with a mortality rate of around 2 percent -- COVID-19 was "less deadly" than other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). WHO officials rejecte

World NewsFeb. 18, 2020

1 more dead in expressway pileup

NAMWON -- The number of fatalities in a multiple-vehicle collision on an expressway that occurred in the country's southwestern region has increased by one, bringing the total number of deaths to four, rescue officials said Tuesday. Rescue officials said they found the victim at around 1:10 a.m. in one of the cars near a tank truck that was carrying nitric acid in a tunnel on a highway connecting Suncheon and Wanju in North Jeolla Province. The accident occurred Monday afternoon when the tank

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020