S&P puts Hyundai on negative watchlist amid virus pandemic

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday placed Hyundai Motor Group on its watchlist of firms with a negative outlook, citing the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic on the global automobile industry. "The COVID-19 pandemic is causing production suspensions and weakening demand in the global auto industry, which was already facing slowing demand in 2019," S&P said in a report as it placed the South Korean auto giant on "CreditWatch with negative implications," hinting its r

MarketApril 2, 2020

S. Korean, Danish leaders vow cooperation on coronavirus: Cheong Wa Dae

The leaders of South Korea and Denmark had phone talks Thursday on the coronavirus pandemic and a postponed international summit on climate change, Cheong Wa Dae said. In the conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President Moon Jae-in emphasized the importance of international coordination to terminate the COVID-19 outbreak at an early date, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Moon reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to share its relevant experience and clinical

Foreign AffairsApril 2, 2020

Air Force officers caught drinking on emergency standby

More than a dozen Air Force officers were caught drinking on emergency standby, the military said Thursday, sparking criticism about lax discipline. A total of 16 officers affiliated with the 10th Fighter Wing in Suwon, south of Seoul, drank beer on three separate occasions between August and September last year at the base's alert area where airmen stay for emergency operations. They were in charge of either F-4E or F-5 fighters. An informant reported this to the defense ministry in February

DefenseApril 2, 2020

N. Korea eases coronavirus restriction on foreigners

North Korea has eased coronavirus restrictions on foreigners, allowing them to go to shops and restaurants, according to the Russian mission in Pyongyang on Thursday. The North Korean foreign ministry's protocol department issued the notice to all embassies and international organization offices, saying that foreigners are allowed to visit all shops, restaurants and customer services, including the central market in Tongin Street, the Russian Embassy said in a Facebook post. The department urg

North KoreaApril 2, 2020

Doosan Group execs to forgo 30% of their wages

Doosan Group said Thursday that its chairman Park Jeong-won and other executives will forgo their salaries by 30 percent as part of efforts to help normalize troubled affiliate Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. Doosan Group said the pay cuts will affect executives of all of its affiliates, including Doosan Heavy, beginning this month. Still, no specific time frame was given for when the pay cuts will remain in effect. Doosan Heavy, South Korea's largest power equipment maker, said ab

IndustryApril 2, 2020

Air pollutant emission-cap system to be expanded nationwide

South Korea's air pollutant emission-cap management system, which has been enforced in Seoul since 2008 to manage the capital's air quality, will be expanded to cover almost all parts of the country this week, the Ministry of Environment said Thursday. The emission-cap system allocates yearly emission allowances to workplaces, every five years, that emit large amounts of air pollutants. The ministry said the emission-cap management system will be expanded to include the central regions compris

Social AffairsApril 2, 2020

Temples, Catholic churches further postpone public services due to coronavirus

Roman Catholic churches in Seoul and temples of the country's biggest Buddhist sect will further suspend their public services, at least till mid-April, as part of national efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Catholic Church's Seoul archdiocese said in a press release on Thursday that all weekly public Masses will remain on hold until future notice. "On Tuesday, the government announced that it will put school openings on indefinite hold while starting the new school year throu

CultureApril 2, 2020

North Korea insists it is free of coronavirus

North Korea remains totally free of the coronavirus, a senior health official in Pyongyang has insisted, despite mounting scepticism overseas as confirmed global infections near one million. The already isolated, nuclear-armed North quickly shut down its borders after the virus was first detected in neighbouring China in January, and imposed strict containment measures. Pak Myong Su, director of the anti-epidemic department of the North's Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters, insisted

North KoreaApril 2, 2020

Deal shows virus-hit airlines can sell debt but cost steep

A bond deal by South Korea’s biggest airline showed that while carriers pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic can still sell debt, they will need to pay a steep price. The fee Korean Air Lines paid underwriters to issue won notes jumped to a record 1.157percent, four times what it was charged in a similar deal in September. And an unusually numerous 15 sales managers took part in the offering this week of 600 billion won ($490 million) of debt backed by sales of future passenger tickets, a

MarketApril 2, 2020

Report on first physician COVID-19 death false alarm: KCDC

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday afternoon that earlier reports of a doctor dying from COVID-19 were inaccurate. The Centers did confirm, however, that the doctor-turned-patient was in a critical state. The clarifications came after a local outlet had reported that a doctor in North Gyeongsang Province died Thursday morning after contracting the virus from a patient who came to his office. The hospital in the province, which handles severe to critical c

Social AffairsApril 2, 2020

Smaller K-pop labels hit hard by coronavirus

Over the last few weeks, the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the K-pop scene to an unprecedented standstill. Most concerts and meetup events, both at home and abroad, have been cancelled or postponed, while weekly TV shows are being held without audiences. The prolonged COVID-19 crisis may be taking a heavy toll on the whole K-pop industry, but small and midsized music labels in particular are feeling the pinch, as their business model relies heavily on tickets, physical albums and forei

K-popApril 2, 2020

NSC to strive for defense cost-sharing deal with US

South Korea's top security officials agreed Thursday to continue efforts for an agreement with the United States on defense cost-sharing, Cheong Wa Dae said. In a weekly standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC), the officials reviewed progress in the negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) between the allies. They "agreed to continue efforts to strike a deal at an early date," Cheong Wa Dae said in spite of multiple news reports that Seoul and Wa

DefenseApril 2, 2020

S. Korea starts 1st quantitative easing operation

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday funneled around 5.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) of liquidity to the financial markets shaken by the novel coronavirus, through its first round of auctions held in conjunction with its “unlimited” repo operations. The Bank of Korea last week, in an unprecedented move, vowed to inject more liquidity into the market over the next three months through a repurchase agreement or repo operations, allowing securities to be sold and then repurch

EconomyApril 2, 2020

2nd S. Korean chartered flight brings home 205 nationals from virus-hit Italy

About 200 South Koreans returned home from Italy on Thursday aboard a second chartered flight that the government arranged to bring its nationals from the European nation hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The Korean Air plane took off from Rome then made a stopover in Milan to pick up 92 people. It landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 4:30 p.m. The government arranged the two special flights to airlift citizens stranded in Italy, a country under nationwide lockd

Foreign AffairsApril 2, 2020

Korea's proposed M&As shrink to half in Q1

The volume of proposed mergers and acquisitions in South Korea has shrunk to about half in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting the impact of the novel coronavirus, data showed Thursday. The first quarter saw 5.23 trillion won ($4.22 billion) worth of deals announced, falling 50.6 percent on-year, according to a league table by news outlet thebell. This comes as the coronavirus pandemic is causing delays in reaching agreements between parties due to market uncertainties. Major deals annou

MarketApril 2, 2020

[Trudy Rubin] Data sans politics can curb virus

Back in the 1950s, Sgt. Joe Friday of the TV show “Dragnet” famously advised witnesses: “Just the facts, ma’am.” That phrase became a national slogan, long before the very concept of “facts” was clouded by social media. As the number of coronavirus cases soars, with Americans anxious to know when stay-at-home orders will end, we desperately need the facts, based on reliable data. Instead, we are deluged with COVID-19 misinformation from the White House

ViewpointsApril 2, 2020

BlackRock offloads W130b stake in NCSoft

US investment house BlackRock Fund Advisors has offloaded its 1.01 percent stake in South Korea’s game software developer NCSoft to cash out 129.57 billion won ($105.1 million), a filing showed Thursday. As a result, BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 specially related parties hold 6.05 percent voting rights in the company as of March 25 as a nonengagement shareholder. NCsoft share price rose 6.15 percent. The investor said its transactions from September to March were “meant to se

MarketApril 2, 2020

SK Innovation, vulnerable to Europe virus crisis, charters flight to Hungary

SK Innovation has decided to dispatch employees to its electric vehicle battery plant in Hungary, where it has less workforce presence than other Korean EV battery manufacturers. According to SK Innovation, the company will dispatch 300 staff members on a chartered flight to Hungary on April 5 to support the construction of its second EV battery plant in Komarom, as global travel restrictions have limited the deployment of necessary personnel to the construction site. “Though SK Innov

IndustryApril 2, 2020

NCSoft kicks off four-day workweek

Korean game company NCSoft said Thursday it will launch a four-day workweek to create a safer working environment and support families with children, amid the worsening novel coronavirus pandemic. The company will operate a four-day workweek for four weeks from this weekend until April 29, employing flexible work schedules and allowing telecommuting for those pregnant or with underlying conditions. “All 4,000 staff members will be given paid leave every week during the period, which

IndustryApril 2, 2020