Air, train routes between NK and China suspended

North Korea has suspended all travel from and to China starting Jan. 31, UK’s Foreign Ministry said Friday citing Pyongyang’s latest travel advisories issued a day earlier. “They (the North) have also announced that all air and train routes between North Korea and China are temporarily suspended as of Jan. 31,” the ministry said. The UK Embassy in the North confirmed the news, while the Indian Embassy there said the last flight between the North and China will take place

North KoreaJan. 31, 2020

Govt. vows efforts for police reform legislation

South Korea will make efforts to get legislation of police reform bills passed in the first half of 2020 in its drive to follow up on the parliamentary passage of key prosecution reform bills, the prime minister said Friday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun unveiled the government's steps to support the passage of bills to set up a non-prosecution body to look into corruption by ranking public officials and to grant police more investigative authority. "(The government) will introduce an au

PoliticsJan. 31, 2020

S. Korea in talks with China to send new evacuation flight Friday night to virus-hit Wuhan

South Korea is in talks with Chinese authorities over its plan to send another flight to the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday night to bring home its remaining citizens there, a foreign ministry official said. Kang Hyung-shik, head of the ministry's international safety management bureau, made the remarks hours after the first evacuation plane carrying nearly 370 South Koreans from the epicenter of the deadly virus arrived in Seoul. Currently about 350 citizens are awaiting evac

Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2020

Leadership vacuum at Woori and Hana inevitable due to FSS’ heavy sanctions

Financial giant Woori Financial Group said Friday that it has delayed the process to select CEO candidates for its banking unit Woori Bank. The announcement came after the nation’s financial watchdog Financial Supervisory Service decided the day before to impose sanctions on top executives of Woori Financial Group and Hana Financial Group. “The company has decided to readjust the schedule for shortlisting CEO candidates due to recent changes,” the financial conglomerate sai

MarketJan. 31, 2020

Boston Symphony Orchestra cancels Seoul concert amid coronavirus crisis

With the death toll of China’s coronavirus outbreak rapidly increasing, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has called off its East Asia tour, including its first-ever performance in Seoul. The orchestra announced the cancellation of its tour led by music director Andris Nelsons in an official statement released Thursday. The tour was originally set to start off with two shows in Seoul on Feb. 6 and 7, followed by performances in Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai stretched out to Feb. 16. &ldqu

PerformanceJan. 31, 2020

S. Korea seizes more than 100 kilo of methamphetamine in 2019

South Korea's customs agency said Friday it will take strong measures against drug smuggling after it confiscated more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2019. South Korea seized 116.7 kg of methamphetamine, a common illegal substance, also known as Philopon, last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. This was the second-largest volume, following the record 222.9 kg of Philopon confiscated in 2018. The number of cases in which at least a kilogram of methamphetamine was found cam

Social AffairsJan. 31, 2020

[Newsmaker] Explosion at leather factory kills at least 2, injures 8 others

A fire caused by an explosion broke out at a leather processing factory north of Seoul on Friday, killing at least two and injuring eight others, fire fighters said. The accident occurred at 11:25 a.m. at the factory in Yangju, 25 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the fire service. The eight injured people, including four foreign workers, were taken to a nearby hospital. Two of them are said to be seriously wounded. A total of 13 people, including one who was believed to have gone miss

Social AffairsJan. 31, 2020

LG Display goes into red amid restructuring efforts

LG Display announced Friday it has posted an operating loss of 1.35 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in 2019 -- largest in eight years -- going into the red amid ongoing business restructuring efforts.  Overall, the world’s biggest provider of organic light-emitting diode panels posted 23.5 trillion won in sales and 1.36 trillion won in operating loss last year, according to its earnings report for the final quarter of 2019. Compared to 2018, the annual sales dropped 8 percent, while th

IndustryJan. 31, 2020

Asan residents withdraw opposition to housing Korean evacuees from Wuhan

Residents of Asan in South Chungcheong Province said on Friday that they would not oppose accommodating South Koreans who had been airlifted from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the center of a deadly coronavirus, earlier in the day. Some residents in the city and Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, have strongly protested the government’s plan to use facilities there as quarantine wards to house some 700 Koreans, who were evacuated from Wuhan, amid mounting fears over the rapid spread of

Social AffairsJan. 31, 2020

S. Korea's daily FX turnover jumps to record high in 2019

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea climbed to an all-time high in 2019 on a sharp increase in the transaction of derivatives, central bank data showed Friday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $55.77 billion in the year, up $260 million, or 0.5 percent, from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The amount marks the highest since 2008, when the central bank began including transactions of FX derivatives in such data. &

MarketJan. 31, 2020

New Cardinals pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun eyes rotation spot ahead of 1st MLB spring training

South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun left for the United States on Friday for his first spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals, determined to win a spot in the starting rotation as a major league rookie. Kim signed a two-year deal worth $8 million with the Cardinals in December. He'd spent the previous 12 seasons with the SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization, putting together an All-Star career that included a regular season MVP award as a 20-year-old in 2008. Last year, Kim wen

BaseballJan. 31, 2020

Air Force sets up Global Hawk reconnaissance squadron

The Air Force set up a reconnaissance squadron in charge of operating the advanced unmanned aircraft of Global Hawk, the defense ministry said Friday. The new military unit was established in December as South Korea brought in its first RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) that month. Under a 2011 deal with the United States, South Korea purchased four units, with the remaining three to arrive here in the first half of this year, according to officials. As one of the m

DefenseJan. 31, 2020

N. Korea says will suspend plan to remove Mt. Kumgang facilities due to coronavirus fear

North Korea has suspended its plan to remove South Korean-built facilities at the Mount Kumgang resort on its east coast as part of efforts to prevent the spread of a new strain of coronavirus, the unification ministry said Friday. Pyongyang notified Seoul of the decision Thursday through a telephone line they opened after the two Koreas agreed to temporarily shut down their joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong earlier in the day until the threat from the virus is "c

North KoreaJan. 31, 2020

China virus death toll hits 213: govt.

BEIJING (AFP) - The nationwide death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak has risen to 213, with nearly 2,000 new cases confirmed, the National Health Commission said on Friday. In its daily update, the commission said 43 new deaths had occurred as a result of the virus, all but one of them in hardest-hit Hubei province where the virus first emerged. The latest numbers indicate that the daily death count and the overall spread of the virus within China were continuing to grow steadily, despit

World NewsJan. 31, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

For Sama (UK) Opened Jan. 23 Documentary Directed by Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts In 2011, a civil uprising begins in the city of Aleppo, Syria, demanding democratic reforms. A student and journalist Waad Al-Kateab decides to stay and document the war and her life in the battlefield. Amidst the conflict and confusion, she falls in love with Hamza Al-Kateab, a doctor, gets married and gives birth to their daughter Sama. While protecting and raising Sama, the Al-Kateabs continue to help the inno

FilmJan. 31, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Relax muscles at Grand Hyatt Seoul Grand Hyatt Seoul’s The Spa presents the Muscle Release spa program for guests stressed out from the Lunar New Year holiday. The treatment begins with a scalp massage, followed by a body scrub and full-body massage using organic ginger oil. The Muscle Release treatment is priced at 198,000 won for 60 minutes or 264,000 won for 90 minutes. For more information, call Grand Hyatt Seoul at (02) 799-8808. Valentine’s Day at Mayfield Hotel Mayfie

FoodJan. 31, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

20 for 2020 at Everland　 Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is to hold the “Hello My Twenties” event to celebrate the year 2020. In Korea, the number 20 symbolizes the beginning of adulthood, as students enroll in universities when they turn 20 by the Korean age system. The “Hello My Twenties” event aims to congratulate and encourage those who have just turned 20 and to remind those who are older of their 20s. Visitors can record special moments at a

TravelJan. 31, 2020

Paella and other crowd-friendly eats at Sigolo

The paella at Sigolo, a newly minted restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, sums up the best qualities of this new fine casual addition to the city’s dining scene. Served in what appears to be a 17-inch pan, this dish meant to serve two is large enough for several diners to dig into. Hearty and fragrant with garlic and onion, each grain of rice has soaked up the nutty and fresh flavors of the clam, mussel and crustacean broths used to craft this Spanish classic. Sigolo’s paella

FoodJan. 31, 2020

[Herald Interview] Blazing Samsung Biologics’ trail into new territory

Describing Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of the mammoth Samsung Group, as a “startup,” Executive Vice President John Rim is confident that the company’s competitive edge will bring Korea’s footprint forward in the biologics drugs field. Armed with 34 years of experience working at multiple global pharmaceutical companies, Rim joined Samsung Biologics in September 2018. “Korea has to find technology and competitive advantage where it can survive for the long

IndustryJan. 31, 2020

[Eye Plus] Around the world in a day

Curiosity about the world has fanned many cultural byproducts. The Multiculture Museum in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, is one such example. Tucked inside the four-story museum is director Kim Yoon-tae’s private collection of cultural objects from 40 countries, including the US, Canada, Russia, China, Mongolia, India, Thailand, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Italy, France, Brazil and Peru. Miniature replicas of the Tower of Pisa or a Dutch windmill and Venetian gondolas are only part of the vast coll

CultureJan. 31, 2020