Amorepacific sweeps up European quality awards

Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific said Tuesday it was recognized by Monde Selection, an international quality institute with almost six decades of history. According to Amorepacific, the cosmetics firm’s three brands -- Vitalbeautie, Pleasia and Boncho Study -- won one gold, four silver and one bronze in the 2020 Monde Selection quality awards. In the diet and health products category, Vitalbeautie’s Ginseng Extract Ampoule won a gold award while the brand’s Metagreen an

IndustryApril 14, 2020

8 S. Koreans to head home on Japan-arranged flights from virus-hit India, Sudan

A total of eight South Korean nationals will head home this week from coronavirus-hit India and Sudan aboard flights that Japan arranged to evacuate its own citizens, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday. The evacuation underscored continued cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo in protecting their overseas citizens and tackling the COVID-19 pandemic despite their prolonged row over trade and wartime history. On Tuesday, two Koreans will take a flight that the Japanese government arranged t

Foreign AffairsApril 14, 2020

Culture Ministry announces progress on financial aid for tourism sector hit by COVID-19 outbreak

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism provided an update Tuesday on the progress of efforts to assist the tourism industry as it struggles to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since February, the ministry has announced 21 different plans to assist the tourism industry. The government said it tried to reflect the industry’s needs when drawing up the support programs. The ministry said it had received 78 suggestions from the industry and that 59 were reflected in its programs. &ldqu

CultureApril 14, 2020

Jeju Island introduced to global audience via UNESCO media campaign

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Monday that it was taking part in UNESCO’s media campaign “#ShareOurHeritage.” The UNESCO campaign aims to promote world heritage to people who are unable to visit the sites due to the coronavirus pandemic. The international organization provides videos and information about world heritage sites around the world on its YouTube channel and on the website https://en.unesco.org/covid19/cultureresponse. “At this moment, 89

CultureApril 14, 2020

[Newsmaker] Quarantined voters to cast ballots under strict guidelines

In Wednesday’s general elections, even those in quarantine can vote.   　 South Korea will pick 300 members of the National Assembly in the first nationwide election to take place during the pandemic.   　 According to the National Election Commission, there are about 50,000 eligible voters under self-quarantine.   　 Not all can vote. Only those who express their intent to vote by 6 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to step outside their places of isolation to visit polling sta

Social AffairsApril 14, 2020

Parties make last-minute appeals to voters

With masks and gloves on, Koreans go to the polls to elect their parliamentary representatives in nationwide elections Wednesday, becoming the first country to do so amid a global virus pandemic. With 300 seats up for grabs, the ruling and main opposition parties concentrated on the capital area on Tuesday, in a last-minute attempt to sway voters on the last day of election campaigns. With 121 of 253 constituencies located in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the three regions are consi

PoliticsApril 14, 2020

S. Korean stocks rebound 1.72% amid hopes of virus outbreak

South Korean stocks rebounded 1.72 percent higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was buoyed by hopes the global coronavirus outbreak is peaking and better-than-expected Chinese data. The Korean won gained ground against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 31.32 points to close at 1,857.08. Trading volume was heavy at 872 million shares worth 9.8 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with gainers far outpacing losers 757 to 106. The country reported 27 new case

MarketApril 14, 2020

[Economy in Pandemic] S. Korea’s shrinking job market sparks fears of recession

Slammed by the novel coronavirus, South Korea’s labor market is shrinking fast, sparking concerns over its impact on consumer spending and the possibility of a sharp recession. Total payouts for state unemployment benefits hit a record high of nearly 900 billion won ($738 million) in March, data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor showed Monday. The figure had jumped by a whopping 40.4 percent on-year, affected by the risks stemming from the COVID-19 crisis. The number of

EconomyApril 14, 2020

‘Sewol trauma behind Seoul’s quick response to virus crisis’

South Korea’s quick and preemptive response to the coronavirus outbreak stems from the painful experience of the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, said Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in an interview with foreign media.   “We acted quickly and preemptively and that is not just our philosophy but is a reflection of our recent experience,” Kang said during an interview with French news channel France 24 on Monday. “You may know that in 2014, we had a terrible ferry boat a

Foreign AffairsApril 14, 2020

US flies spy plane over Korean peninsula following NK missile launches

A US surveillance aircraft flew over South Korea on Tuesday, an aviation tracker said, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea shortly after the communist nation fired what appeared to be cruise missiles off its east coast. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in skies above South Korea at around 10 a.m. (Seoul time), Aircraft Spots tweeted. Earlier in the day, North Korea fired surface-to-ship cruise missiles near its eastern coastal town of Munchon at around 7 a.m., according to the Joint

North KoreaApril 14, 2020

[News Focus] Telegram sex ring operated like ‘organic cartel,’ prosecution says

Cho Ju-bin, the 24-year-old behind a massive online pornography ring, was indicted Monday on 14 charges including sexual molestation and violation of the law on protection of children against sex offenses. Cho allegedly led a group that blackmailed girls and women into sharing sexual videos of themselves, which were then posted in pay-to-view chat rooms on the Telegram messenger service. He was not indicted for organizing a criminal group this time, but it appears to be only a matter of time

Social AffairsApril 14, 2020

Govt. speeds up emergency coronavirus relief payment process

The government decided Tuesday to begin the process immediately of handing out "emergency disaster relief payments" to a majority of households in South Korea suffering from the impact of the coronavirus, instead of waiting for the passage of a related extra budget bill. The payment plan, announced late last month, was approved formally in a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in on the day, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. All families here except the t

PoliticsApril 14, 2020

Lights go out at Daehangno

Daehangno, an area of Seoul that is home to numerous small theaters, has been hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak as theaters have been shut down in compliance with the government’s social distancing program. The Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, managed by the Korea Arts Management Service affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, showed a sharp drop in ticket sales following the outbreak of the virus.   According to the data, ticket sale

PerformanceApril 14, 2020

[News Focus] Pace of coronavirus infections relatively fast in India, Brazil, Russia

SEJONG – The novel coronavirus is quickly expanding its power to other populous countries after hitting population giants such as China, Iran, Turkey, Germany and the US, and the next populous group including the UK, France, Italy, Spain and South Korea. According to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the pace of growth of infections is relatively fast in India, Brazil and Russia -- three of the world’s top 10 by population. Among

Social AffairsApril 14, 2020

N. Korea fires barrage of missiles on eve of founder’s birthday, S. Korea’s elections

North Korea fired what appeared to be cruise missiles off its east coast and air-to-ground missiles from fighter jets into the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, in muscle-flexing maneuvers on the eve of the late national founder’s birthday and the South’s general elections. The surface-to-ship cruise missiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern coastal town of Munchon at around 7 a.m. during a time period of more than 40 minutes, the Joint Chi

North KoreaApril 14, 2020

S. Korea aiming to release antibody treatment drug for COVID-19 in 2021

South Korea seeks to carry out clinical tests on antibody-based treatment for the novel coronavirus within the year, with the aim of releasing a drug in 2021, a senior official said Tuesday. The country is mapping out a governmentwide support system to find a treatment method and vaccine to combat COVID-19. "Coming up with a drug and vaccine is the only way to deal with the pandemic," said Yoon Tae-ho, a government official in charge of the quarantine. The large amount of blood sa

Social AffairsApril 14, 2020

N. Korea approaches deadline for completion of tourist zone

North Korea has the deadline coming up this week for a project to develop the Wonsan-Kalma region on the east coast into a new tourist zone, but it is unclear how much the project has progressed, a unification ministry official said Tuesday. In April last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un extended the construction deadline of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone and ordered officials to complete it by April 15, 2020, the birthday of late state founder and his grandfather Kim Il-sung. "North

North KoreaApril 14, 2020

Hyosung makes eco-friendly bags with Samdasoo plastic bottles

Hyosung TNC said Tuesday it will make eco-friendly bags using plastic bottles with its textile brand Regen in a joint project with Jeju Province Development Corp. The textile and trading unit of Hyosung Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a resource circulation system with the Ministry of Environment, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju Province Development Corp. and eco-fashion brand Pleatsmama. Jeju Island Development Corp., which makes bottled water Samd

IndustryApril 14, 2020

‘Korea’s ICT industry will be hit hard by virus pandemic’

South Korea’s information and communications technology industry could suffer as spending by companies is poised to decline due to the COVID-19 spread, according to research firm IDC Korea on Tuesday. Spending on ICT systems is expected to decline this year due to the rise of companies’ emergency management system and short-term cost reduction, the research firm noted. In a recently published report “Korea ICT 2020 Market Outlook,” IDC revised down its forecast for m

IndustryApril 14, 2020

New MMCA show on nature offers healing amid virus pandemic

In this time of strict social distancing, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, is offering an Instagram preview of its latest exhibition, “Axis of Horizon.” A 30-minute live preview of the exhibition, guided by curator Yang Ok-kum, will be available Thursday at 4 p.m. on the museum’s Instagram channel (@mmcakorea). The full exhibition, originally scheduled to open in early April at the Seoul venue, is on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The exhibition features

Arts & DesignApril 14, 2020