SK E&S sells entire stake in China Gas Holdings

SK E&S has sold its entire stake in a Chinese private gas company to prevent a liquidity crisis as demand in the energy market plunged since the global coronavirus pandemic. The energy unit of SK Group said it sold all of its 10.25 percent stake (535 million shares) in China Gas Holdings through a block deal on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the previous day in a regulatory filing Friday. The sale price was 1.8 trillion won ($1.4 billion), 11.1 percent off the closing price of the contra

IndustryApril 17, 2020

Pengsoo to release first digital single featuring Tiger JK

Pengsoo, the popular costumed penguin character from educational television channel EBS, collaborated with rapper Tiger JK to release his first digital single. On Friday, EBS announced the release of Pengsoo’s digital single, “Billboard Project Vol. 1” at 6 p.m. on April 21. Artists Tiger JK, Bizzy and BiBi featured in the song that has both rapping elements and yodeling elements. “Working with Pengsoo! It was an honor lol,” posted Tiger JK on is Instagram on Tue

PerformanceApril 17, 2020

S. Korea to hold briefing session for exporters on humanitarian trade with Iran

South Korea was set to hold a briefing session Friday for local firms about resuming exports to Iran, a foreign ministry official said, after receiving US approval for humanitarian trade with the Middle East country. The briefing, to be co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), comes after Seoul obtained a US special license designed to authorize aid-related transactions with Tehran through Iran's central bank. Sales of

Foreign AffairsApril 17, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ to resume from April 23

The Seoul run of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera,” which was suspended after its cast members were confirmed with COVID-19, will resume on April 23. On March 31, a Canadian ensemble cast member was confirmed with the virus infection. Two days later, her colleague, an American actor, also tested positive. The production initially decided to halt the musical shows until April 14 but delayed it further after the second infection. Before confirmed as having the coronavirus , t

PerformanceApril 17, 2020

Marine Corps to help guard naval bases in wake of security breaches

The defense ministry announced a series of measures to beef up the security of military bases in the wake of embarrassing civilian intrusions, including improving CCTVs and other surveillance systems and mobilizing Marine Corps troops to help guard naval bases. The ministry unveiled these measures after Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo held a videoconference with around 30 top military commanders to discuss how to prevent any recurrence of such security breaches. The Marine Corps will be mobilized t

DefenseApril 17, 2020

Global chip capex forecast to drop 3% this year

Capital spending by global chipmakers is expected to dip 3 percent on-year to $99 billion in 2020, with the industry remaining unscathed by the coronavirus outbreak so far, a market tracker said Friday. The expected decline comes after capital expenditures by Samsung Electronics Co. and other heavyweights fell 3 percent last year, the first on-year drop since 2015, according to IC Insights. Capex by three memory majors -- industry leader Samsung, No. 2 player SK hynix Inc. and US chipmaker Mi

TechnologyApril 17, 2020

US congressmen call for finalizing defense deal with S. Korea

US Congressmen urged the Trump administration Wednesday to conclude the drawn-out defense cost-sharing deal with South Korea to protect US security interests and the readiness of both countries’ forces in Korea. On April 1, Korean national employees working for United States Forces Korea here were put on unpaid, indefinite leave due to a lapse in the bilateral cost-sharing deal for the upkeep of 28,500 US troops in Korea. Two countries had failed to finalize the agreement due to differenc

DefenseApril 17, 2020

6 in 10 Seoul citizens back ‘social distancing’ extension

Six out of 10 citizens in Seoul said it was necessary to extend rigorous social distancing, a survey showed Friday, as the nationwide measure against the spread of COVID-19 is scheduled to end on Sunday.  According to the survey for Seoul Metropolitan Government by Global Research, which was conducted from April 10-12 on 1,000 people living in Seoul, 63.6 percent of the respondents said it was too soon for the country to transition to “routine safety measures” from Sunday, whi

Social AffairsApril 17, 2020

[Newsmaker] Identity of 18-year-old suspect in Telegram sexual abuse case disclosed

The identity of an 18-year-old suspected of running an online abuse ring that victimized dozens of women and girls was disclosed to the public Friday. Kang Hun, known by his internet alias “Butta,” is South Korea’s first criminal suspect to have his identity revealed while still a minor. The age of majority is 19 in Korea. Kang is a key accomplice of 24-year-old Cho Ju-bin who allegedly led a group that blackmailed women and girls into sharing sexual videos of themselves, a

Social AffairsApril 17, 2020

Hyundai Motor provides Paju human resources center for entrants from overseas

Hyundai Motor is set to provide about 60 rooms in its human resources development center in Paju as temporary quarantine lodgings for people entering South Korea, the automaker said Friday. The facilities are places where people who enter the country without symptoms can stay until they are notified of the results of coronavirus tests. The company will also provide outdoor parking lots for the installation of test facilities. In March, Hyundai Motor Group provided two training centers in Gye

IndustryApril 17, 2020

Individual trips to N. Korea to be pursued in consideration of virus fight: official

South Korea remains unchanged in its push for active cross-border exchanges, including allowing individual tours to North Korea, but such projects should be pursued in consideration of progress in the anti-coronavirus fight, the unification ministry said Friday. South Korea has pushed for individual trips to North Korea as a way to improve inter-Korean relations without violating sanctions on Pyongyang, but no progress has been made. Making matters worse has been the coronavirus pandemic that

North KoreaApril 17, 2020

Airlines to apply no fuel surcharges on all routes in May

As oil prices continue to fall, airlines will not impose fuel surcharges on international and domestic airline tickets issued in May, according to the industry Friday. Fuel surcharges are imposed in steps when the average value per gallon (3.785 liters) of Singapore’s jet fuel is 150 cents and over. From March 16 to Wednesday -- the period that determines fuel surcharges for international routes for May -- the average price of Singapore’s jet fuel was $27.60 per barrel and 65.72 c

MobilityApril 17, 2020

US allows coronavirus aid to sanctioned NK

The US Treasury Department on Friday said it had allowed nongovernmental organizations to provide coronavirus-related humanitarian aid to sanctioned North Korea, including testing kits and respiratory devices.  The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released the list of items that have gained exemptions for countries like North Korea, Iran and Venezuela to assist in their battle against COVID-19.  OFAC said it is authorizing NGOs to provide items for the civilians o

North KoreaApril 17, 2020

Apple to reopen Seoul store Saturday

Apple will reopen its Seoul store on Saturday, the company said Thursday. The branch, located in Garosugil in Gangnam-gu, will be the first store outside of China to reopen. Apple previously closed all stores outside of China amid the viral COVID-19 pandemic, and hundreds of Apple Stores around the globe remain closed. “South Korea has shown great progress during the spread of COVID-19 and we’re excited to announce the re-opening of Apple Garosugil. We look forward to seeing our

IndustryApril 17, 2020

“Time to Hunt” to be released on Netflix after distributing companies reach agreement

After over a monthlong delay, the movie “Time to Hunt” will be available on Netflix with the streaming platform announcing that a new release date will soon be made available. Netflix had postponed the premiere of “Time to Hunt” scheduled for April 10, after a court ruling prohibited the release of the movie outside Korea following a dispute between local and overseas film distributors. Kwon Ji-won, the CEO of Little Big Pictures, the film’s local distributor, re

FilmApril 17, 2020

PM says coronavirus situation in S. Korea ‘the calm before the storm’

South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday warned against loosened social distancing amid the COVID-19 outbreak, calling the current situation “the calm before the storm.” “The spread of COVID-19 infection has clearly slowed in April. But taking a close look, it feels like the calm before the storm,” Chung said at a daily meeting on the country’s disaster response. Korea reported 22 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections

Social AffairsApril 17, 2020

ELS issuance plunges in Q1 amid coronavirus scare

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea plummeted in the first quarter, as lingering coronavirus concerns in global stock markets slashed demand, data showed Friday. ELS products issued in January-March stood at 21 trillion won ($17.2 billion), down 38.8 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are determined by the performance of underlying equities, including a stock

MarketApril 17, 2020

S. Korea confirms 22 new cases, hovering around 20 for 5th day

South Korea reported 22 new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 10,635. New cases of COVID-19 in the country, which once had the largest outbreak outside China, hovered around 20 for the fifth straight day. After reaching a peak on Feb. 29 with 909 cases, the country has since managed to massively reduce the number of new infections. The number of daily new infections was below 50 for nine days in a row. Of the new cases, 11 came from overseas,

Social AffairsApril 17, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 44.6 points, or 2.4 percent, to reach 1,901.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Thursday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 0.14 percent and the S&P 500 up 0.58 percent. The Nasdaq increased 1.66 percent. Large-cap shares on the Seoul bourse were trading in positive terrain. Top cap

MarketApril 17, 2020

Unsold duty-free items to be sold at regular stores: reports

The South Korean government is seeking to enable department stores and outlets to temporarily sell duty-free stores’ inventory to help the struggling operators, according to local news outlets on Friday. According to news reports, major duty-free operators in Korea, including Lotte, Shilla and Shinsegae, held a meeting last week with officials from the Korea Duty-Free Shops Association and the Korea Customs Service to discuss the sale of bonded goods. During the meeting, the duty-free

IndustryApril 17, 2020