Corporate logos tweaked for coronavirus times

Logos send impactful messages, and many companies are tweaking their logos to encourage social distancing and convey messages of hope. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday posted on the internet a cheer-up logo that can be used for free. The red, blue and black logo reads “Cheer up, Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province. Cheer up, Korea.” “We hope that this ‘Cheer up, Korea’ logo gives whatever small help it can give to the people suffering from COV

Arts & DesignApril 19, 2020

Moon, Trump agree to cooperate on coronavirus response, related N. Korea aid

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed Saturday to continue cooperation in response to the coronavirus and reaffirmed a push for humanitarian assistance for North Korea with regard to the pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae said. In phone talks that lasted half an hour, Trump called South Korea's handling of COVID-19 the "best model," noting that it successfully held national elections earlier this week. He then congratulated Moon on his party

PoliticsApril 19, 2020

[News Focus] Sagging economy seemingly put in backyard in election

SEJONG -- Wednesay’s election de facto provided both the first and last opportunity for a large portion of voters in a fury to officially tackle the Moon Jae-in administration’s economic policies and judge its midterm performance via the ballot. But the majority of effective ballots chose the ruling party in the 2020 general election. This means opponents of President Moon’s state affairs in the economic sector will have to wait two more years until March 9, 2022, which is th

EconomyApril 19, 2020

Army conscripts released after testing positive for COVID-19

Two Army conscripts from Daegu who are followers of the Shincheonji Church are to be released from military training after testing positive for COVID-19, the Army said Saturday. Two days earlier, another conscript who lived in South Gyeongsang Province near Daegu, also a follower of the sect, tested positive for the virus and was sent to a hospital for treatment. The three men enlisted Monday at a boot camp in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province. About 130 trainees believed to have come into c

DefenseApril 18, 2020

ITC to review trade secrets case between LG Chem and SK Innovation

The United States International Trade Commission said Sunday that it has accepted a request from SK Innovation to review a high-profile case between the company and LG Chem concerning the alleged theft of trade secrets. The ITC said it would “review the initial determination in its entirety.” Previously, the ITC found that SK Innovation stole trade secrets about lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, in the process of recruiting former LG Chem employees since 2017. Publishe

IndustryApril 18, 2020

Korea bans local sales of Medytox’s BTX drug Meditoxin

Sales of the botulinum toxin product Meditoxin, from South Korean drugmaker Medytox, have been banned due to apprehensions about an unapproved ingredient, authorities said Friday. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will indefinitely suspend the manufacturing, selling and use of Meditoxin, adding that it was canceling its approval for Meditoxin products containing doses of 2, 4 and 6 milliliters. The ministry made the decision after the prosecution revealed the results of an investi

IndustryApril 18, 2020

Korea to extend repayment deadline for poor nations

South Korea will allow certain coronavirus-hit countries to postpone repayment of their debts until the end of this year, Seoul officials said. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday in a World Bank Development Committee videoconference that Korea would extend the repayment deadline for members of the Industrial Development Agency and for the world’s least developed countries, at the suggestion of the World Bank, to give them some financial breathing room. “South Korea support

EconomyApril 18, 2020

New infections drop to 18, lowest since Feb. 20

South Korea reported 18 new coronavirus infections Friday, bringing the tally to 10,653, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.  The number of new infections was the lowest since Feb. 20, when it was 16. After that the daily tallies escalated in the hundreds throughout March, but they dropped markedly in early April and has since remained between 20 and 30. Of the 18 new infections, five occurred in the southeastern city of Daegu and adjacent North Gyeong

Social AffairsApril 18, 2020

Petition pokes fun at Gangnam voters after election of North Korean defector

Tens of thousands of South Koreans have signed a petition calling for the mandatory construction of residential flats for North Korean defectors in the ritzy district of Gangnam, southern Seoul, following a high-profile defector's election in the constituency. In apparent derision of the Gangnam residents who elected Tae Ku-min in Wednesday's legislative election, an anonymous petition was filed on the website of the presidential office on Thursday, demanding the government oblige builders to

PoliticsApril 18, 2020

PM appeals for strict adherence to social distancing campaign to stem coronavirus

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called on the people Saturday to minimize outdoor activities during upcoming holidays and adhere to social distancing guidance to stem the coronavirus. "I am worried that the social distancing campaign that we've carried out very well could be jeopardized later this month," Chung said, pointing to planned holidays set to begin at the end of this month. South Korea is to mark Buddha's birthday on April 30, which will be followed by Labor Day, and Childr

Social AffairsApril 18, 2020

Seoul stocks likely to further advance next week on stimulus: analysts

South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week, buoyed by hopes for the reopening of the US economy and the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,914.53 points on Friday, compared with 1,860.70 points from a week ago. The KOSPI started off on a weak note on Monday by dropping nearly 2 percent on COVID-19 woes before rebounding on Tuesday and Thursday. The market was closed on Wedn

MarketApril 18, 2020

N. Korea's refined petroleum imports exceeded UN limit up to 8 times: UN panel

North Korea's imports of refined petroleum products exceeded the annual limit imposed by the United Nations by up to eight times in the first 10 months of last year, a UN panel of experts said in a new report cited by foreign media Friday. The 267-page report for the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee also said the communist country continued to enhance its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of Security Council resolutions. The annual report by the

North KoreaApril 18, 2020

Park Yoo-chun on course to resume activities, defying retirement pledge

K-pop star Park Yoo-chun appears to be preparing to resume his show business career, in defiance of a retirement pledge he made last year amid a drug scandal. In a message on his Instagram account Thursday, the former JYJ member announced a plan to officially open a website for fans, called Blue Cielo, next week, apparently taking one step toward resuming his entertainment career. "Park Yoo-chun's official fan site, Blue Cielo, is scheduled to open at 6 p.m. on Monday. We ask for your hi

Social AffairsApril 18, 2020

FMs of 12 countries vow joint virus response for global economy, health

The top diplomats of 12 countries, including South Korea, France, Italy and Brazil, have held a video conference and called for a coordinated anti-virus response to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy and multilateral systems, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha joined her counterparts from 11 countries, which also included Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Morocco, Peru, Singapore, Turkey and Britain, on Friday as "the Ministe

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2020

N. Korea continued nuclear activities in 2019: US State Department

North Korea continued nuclear activities last year in violation of its commitments to abandon all nuclear programs, the US State Department has said. In a summarized report to Congress Wednesday, the department also said North Korea has likely had a biological warfare program since at least the 1960s. The report discusses US and other nations' compliance last year with various arms control and nonproliferation agreements. "North Korea's continuing nuclear activities make clear that it

North KoreaApril 18, 2020

New parliament faces pressure to revise defective election law

As a new proportional representation system, introduced for Wednesday's parliamentary elections, failed to fulfill its purpose, newly-elected lawmakers are now expected to address the problem during their four-year term that begins in early June. The mixed-member proportional representation system was introduced under an electoral reform bill that passed the National Assembly in December to better reflect votes cast for parties. It was expected to work favorably for minor parties by distributi

PoliticsApril 18, 2020

New coronavirus infections fall below 20 for first time in two months

South Korea reported 18 additional cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, marking the lowest daily increase in about two months. The new cases brought the country's total infections to 10,653, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the first time since Feb. 20 that the country's new COVID-19 infections came below 20. Over the past five days, the country reported fewer than 30 new patients per day. The number of South Korea's daily new cases reached a peak

Social AffairsApril 18, 2020

[Eye Plus] Time travel into Korea’s history

Only hundreds of meters away from the palace Gyeongbokgung in central Seoul, time travel into Korea’s history can begin in a temple enshrining Tangun, who founded the first kingdom of Korea in 2,333 BC. According to Korean tradition, Tangun was the legendary founder of Gojoseon, or old Joseon, the first recorded state in Korean history. The state occupied the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and parts of northeast China. In the shrine, a portrait and statue of Tangun have been pla

Social AffairsApril 18, 2020

[Weekender] Make room for us: 5060 generation redefines aging

Yoo Seo-kyung turns 56 this year, but she doesn’t mind getting older. Yoo is excited about the year ahead as she just got into graduate school and now has a chance to delve more deeply into her handicraft hobby. Several years ago, Yoo retired from the private math academy she ran for 10 years. Running the place had become more difficult as she found herself facing an ever-widening generation gap with her teenage students. After retirement, Yoo took an interest in the craft of “ji

IndustryApril 18, 2020

[Digital Simplicity] Unprecedented experiment with remote learning

South Korea is implementing an unprecedented educational experiment for remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the entire world. The question is whether the country can get something positive out of its massive experiment, instead of losing hope in the face of loud complaints about the still fledgling virtual learning environment. On Wednesday, some 3.12 million students across the nation started the new semester through online learning. They were the second group

ViewpointsApril 18, 2020