Military reports no additional cases of new coronavirus for 6th day

The military has reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among service personnel for six days in a row, the defense ministry said Tuesday, amid signs the outbreak is slowing down in South Korea. The total number of COVID-19 infections in barracks remained unchanged at 38, including 12 personnel -- eight in the Army and four in the Air Force -- who have fully recovered from the new virus, according to the ministry. Of the total infections, 21 were reported in the Army, 13 in the A

DefenseMarch 17, 2020

New cases in S. Korea stay low for 3rd day, cluster inflections rising in capital area

South Korea recorded daily new infections of the new coronavirus in the double digits for the third straight day Tuesday, but the daily tally in Seoul and neighboring areas surpassed that in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the two epicenters of the fast-spreading virus. In an unprecedented measure against the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea decided to extend all school breaks by another two weeks to April 6. All child care centers were also ordered to stay closed until April 6. The 84

Social AffairsMarch 17, 2020

[Monitor] Korea-US trade volume expands 32% since FTA

The South Korea-US free trade agreement -- which went into effect 2012 -- has led to an increase in trade volume by 32 percent, data from the Trade Ministry and Korea International Trade Association showed. Bilateral trade increased from $101.8 billion to $135.2 billion last year, even though Korea’s overall international trade volume dropped 8.3 percent. Automakers and chipmakers gained the most from the trade deal over the eight years, with the volume of auto exports to the US increa

IndustryMarch 17, 2020

Sick baseball player tests negative for coronavirus

The South Korean baseball league breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday after an ill minor leaguer tested negative for the novel coronavirus. The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the player, with their Futures League affiliate Goyang Heroes, will remain quarantined in his team dormitory for 14 days. Both Kiwoom and Goyang were forced to suspend all baseball activities on Monday, and will now resume training on Thursday. The player, who remained unidentified, had a fev

BaseballMarch 17, 2020

Biden wins Washington primary, capturing 5 out of 6 states

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Joe Biden has been declared the winner of last week's Democratic presidential primary in Washington state, giving him victories in five out of six states that voted March 10. After nearly a week of counting votes, the former vice president on Monday held onto a small lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders that turned out to be insurmountable. Washington was a state that Sanders had been hoping to win. In 2016, he won more than two-thirds of the delegates from the Washington

WorldMarch 17, 2020

IOC set for crisis talks as fears grow for Tokyo Olympics

LAUSANNE (AFP) -- The International Olympic Committee will hold high-level talks on Tuesday, as doubts grow over the Tokyo Games and with some in Japan urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency. While countries across Europe have gone into full lockdown after the continent was declared the new epicentre of the deadly virus by the World Health Organization, no decision is expected yet on a possible postponement, or indeed cancellation, of this summer'

Olympic GamesMarch 17, 2020

National Ballet dancer dismissed for breaking self-quarantine rules

A dancer at the Korean National Ballet has been fired for traveling to Japan during a self-quarantine period amid the rapid spread of the infectious coronavirus, the KNB said Tuesday. The decision about the dancer, identified only as Na, was made during a disciplinary committee the previous day. Na, a member of the corps de ballet, or the group of non-soloist dancers, went to Japan in late February and uploaded some photos of his trip with his girlfriend on a social media account. All member

PerformanceMarch 17, 2020

Trump: S. Korea did 'good job' but had 'tremendous problems' fighting virus

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday that South Korea did a "good job" handling the coronavirus outbreak but also had "tremendous problems" at the start. Trump made the remark at a White House press briefing as he defended his own administration's response to the growing outbreak in the United States. "I noticed a lot of people are talking about South Korea because they've done a good job on one side, but on the other side, tremendous problems at the be

Foreign AffairsMarch 17, 2020

S. Korean exports to China perk up in March

South Korean exports to China have been picking up in March as the new coronavirus retreats in the neighboring country, data showed Tuesday. Daily exports to the world's second-largest economy averaged $436 million during the first 10 days of this month, up 20.8 percent from the same period in February, according to the data from the government and industry sources. Yet the daily average was down 8.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Daily exports to China soared to $530 million in

BusinessMarch 17, 2020

Coronavirus: latest global developments

PARIS (AFP) -- Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: Border closures, checks French President Emmanuel Macron says the 27-nation European Union is to close all its external borders for 30 days. Germany implements controls at its land borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Spain announces it is closing its land borders. Chile closes all its land, maritime and air frontiers. Egypt will close its airports from Thursday to March 31. Greece a

World NewsMarch 17, 2020

Tom Hanks released from hospital after virus quarantine

GOLD COAST (AFP) -- Tom Hanks has been released from the Australian hospital where he was in isolation since testing positive for the coronavirus last week, but his wife Rita Wilson remains hospitalised, health officials said Tuesday. The multiple Oscar-winning actor was on the Gold Coast near Brisbane to film an Elvis Presley biopic directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann when he and Wilson, both 63, came down with the disease. Wilson, a singer-songwriter, had given concerts in Sydney and Brisba

World NewsMarch 17, 2020

Parliament set to handle extra budget bill over coronavirus

The National Assembly is set to handle an extra budget bill Tuesday that is designed to strengthen quarantine measures and minimize the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. Rival parties earlier agreed to handle the proposal by Tuesday, the last day of the current extraordinary parliamentary session, amid an urgency to back up the government's efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. The government submitted an 11.7 trillion-won ($9.53 billion) supplementary budget bill to the Nationa

PoliticsMarch 17, 2020

Agriculture exports to China drop 6.7% on virus in Jan.-Feb.

South Korea's exports of farm goods to China fell 6.7 percent in the first two months of the year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, government data showed Tuesday. Shipments of agricultural and livestock products to the neighboring country came to $138 million in the January-February period, compared with $148 million during the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The cumulative decline follows a 22.5 percent o

EconomyMarch 17, 2020

Markets plunge as intervention fails to staunch virus panic

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Stock markets and oil prices went into freefall Monday as interest rate cuts and fresh stimulus measures by central banks failed to dampen fears amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The US Federal Reserve on Sunday slashed borrowing costs to zero -- its second emergency cut in less than two weeks -- and took action coordinated with central banks in several European countries to counteract global "dollar funding pressures." The Fed acted again on Monday, with its

World NewsMarch 17, 2020

US maintains positions ahead of new defense talks with S. Korea

The US State Department on Monday reiterated its commitment to a "fair and equitable" agreement on defense cost-sharing with South Korea as the two sides are set to continue negotiations this week. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's chief negotiator, will meet with his American counterpart, James DeHart, in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday for a seventh round of talks on renewing the allies' Special Measures Agreement. The US has warned that some 9,000 Korean workers on its military bases wi

DefenseMarch 17, 2020

Military under fire for lax discipline over series of civilian intrusions into bases

A civilian intruded into an Army outpost in the capital area Monday, officials said, in the latest in a series of similar cases that have sparked criticism of the military's lax security.  The man in his 50s dug under the fence surrounding an air defense outpost in Siheung, south of Seoul, at around 12:40 p.m. and went inside, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).  After questioning him, the authorities dismissed the possibility of espionage and sent him to the police for fu

DefenseMarch 16, 2020

JTI Korea invites applicants for global internship in Geneva

JTI Korea said Monday it is recruiting talented youth to participate in the global internship program “Make It Bright” at its global headquarters in Geneva. The company’s Make It Bright internship program is currently being run in 33 countries. Selected trainees can choose one of the given topics to participate in the local and global presentation competition, from which they can receive professional mentoring and hands-on experience, the company said. After several stage

IndustryMarch 16, 2020

Oceans minister under self-isolation following virus cases at govt. complex

The minister of oceans and fisheries became the first South Korean Cabinet member to go into self-isolation Monday, following recent coronavirus infections at the government complex in the central city of Sejong. Health authorities have advised Minister Moon Seong-hyeok to work from his residence until March 24 after he was found to have had contact with a ministry official who tested positive, according to ministry officials. Moon himself has tested negative. The oceans ministry, headquarter

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2020

Virus fight inundated by misinformation

What’s making the fight against the coronavirus harder in South Korea is the spread of misleading information surrounding the new disease. The National Police Agency embarked on a crackdown on circulation of coronavirus fake news as early as January, in coordination with the Korea Communications Commission and other relevant agencies. The police said producing and peddling false information regarding the virus would be punishable under laws on obstruction of official duties and defamat

Social AffairsMarch 16, 2020

[Graphic News] Samsung retains top spot in S. American smartphone market: data

　Samsung Electronics retained its dominant position in the South American smartphone market last year, data showed. 　Samsung accounted for 38 percent of the South American smartphone market in 2019, up 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. 　Motorola was the runner-up with a 15.5 percent market share, up 2.7 percentage points from a year ago, while Huawei Technologies came in third place and LG Electronics and Apple were fourth and

World BusinessMarch 16, 2020