Internet cafes shunned as hotbed of COVID-19

Internet cafes, where patrons mostly play multiplayer computer games for an hourly fee, are getting the blame for spreading the novel coronavirus as students have nowhere else to go amid extended school closures. Seoul City has advised owners of internet cafes and karaoke establishments to suspend business to keep COVID-19 from spreading, considering that they are enclosed spaces where people tend to stay for long hours. Four people who used the same internet cafe in Seoul’s Dongdaemun-

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Local libraries provide drive-thru service as coronavirus spreads

More and more local public libraries in Korea are starting to provide drive-thru book services as a solution for the shutting down of libraries due to the spread of coronavirus. A public library in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday said it was providing a drive-thru service to check out books. The library said that it is a temporary service and will operate until March 22. Anyone who would like to check out books from this library can call (02) 2204-6440 from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to

CultureMarch 12, 2020

Tada to end van-hailing service in April

After the National Assembly passed a controversial bill last week that dealt a severe blow to ride-hailing service Tada, service operator VCNC has decided to “indefinitely terminate” the service on April 10, according to the company on Thursday.  VCNC said that it has requested 30 percent of its 20 employees resign, following the company’s plan to downsize the workforce due to the suspension of the service.  On Friday last week, Korean lawmakers voted to pass the r

MobilityMarch 12, 2020

Airlines halt more flights on increased entry restrictions

  South Korean airlines are halting more flights as countries around the world increasingly imposed entry restrictions in their fight against the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. Asiana Airlines Inc. said Thursday it will suspend all of its flights to Thailand beginning Saturday through the end of this month as travel demand dried up amid virus fears. It is the first time for the country's second-biggest airline to suspend the route to the Southeast Asian country since it began s

MobilityMarch 12, 2020

Moon urges people to harbor hope in fight against coronavirus amid pandemic declaration

President Moon Jae-in called on people not to lose hope in South Korea's battle against the new coronavirus Thursday as the UN health agency has declared the virus outbreak a pandemic. "This cannot help being a big threat to us at a time when domestically we've contained the blaze of COVID-19 and sought to curb the further spread," Moon wrote on his social media. "(The global spread of the virus) could deal an unspeakable blow to the global economy and the Korean economy."

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Genesis G90 rated safest sedan in US crash tests

The Genesis G90, a luxury flagship sedan from Hyundai Motor, has been picked as the safest sedan by the US institute that evaluates vehicle safety, the automaker said Thursday.  According to the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the G90 was designated the Top Safety Pick+, the highest possible honor, becoming the third and last Genesis sedan to earn the designation. In February, the Genesis G70 and G80 were also named the Top Safety Pick+.  Established in 1959, the US inst

MobilityMarch 12, 2020

Coronavirus to have bigger, longer impact on economy than past epidemics: BOK

The ongoing spread of the new coronavirus is expected to have a greater and longer-lasting impact on the local economy than past epidemics, partly due to its impact on China, now one of the world's largest suppliers and buyers, a central bank report said Thursday. "The ongoing crisis is expected to have a greater impact than in the past in that COVID-19 is spreading to other countries while China currently is the world's largest trading and tourism exchange country and plays a critical rol

EconomyMarch 12, 2020

Lotte Duty Free closes store at Gimpo airport

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea’s biggest duty-free retailer by sales, said Thursday it will temporarily close its store at Gimpo International Airport amid a rapid decline in number of passengers over COVID-19 spread.  The outlet at Gimpo airport is largely used by passengers who travel on short-distance routes to Japan, China and Taiwan.  But due to the suspension of such routes over coronavirus concerns, the number of flights plummeted to one to two flights per day as of Monda

IndustryMarch 12, 2020

Clubs overturn decision to open as coronavirus continues to spread

Clubs in Gangnam, a posh area south of the Han River known for its thriving nightlife, decided to remain shut this week too, after some earlier announced that they would reopen as early as Wednesday, amid the novel coronavirus spread. “We are planning to advise businesses such as coin-noraebangs, clubs and cola-theques, among others, that put people in close contact like the call center -- where the latest infection outbreak took place -- to temporarily close doors,” said Seoul May

CultureMarch 12, 2020

[News Focus] 22 civil servants at Government Complex Sejong infected with COVID-19

SEJONG -- Sejong has only about half as many residents as Songpa-gu, one of 25 wards in Seoul. The administrative city’s population posted 343,000 as of February, whereas Songpa had 675,000 people. Nonetheless, as of 8:01 p.m., Thursday, Sejong had overtaken three of the nation’s provinces -- South Jeolla Province, population 1.86 million, North Jeolla Province, population 1.81 million, Daejeon, population 1.47 million, Gwangju, population 1.45 million and Jeju Provi

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Not plausible to reopen Kaesong park for mask production: official

Reopening a now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial park in North Korea for mask production is not realistically plausible as Pyongyang is blocking its border as part of its fight against the new coronavirus, a unification ministry official said Thursday. Calls have grown from some lawmakers and experts for the resumption of the operation of factories in the industrial zone in the North's border city of Kaesong to address shortages of masks here amid intensifying anti-virus fight around the worl

North KoreaMarch 12, 2020

S. Korea unveils virus prevention guidelines for confined workplaces

South Korea on Thursday unveiled virus prevention guidelines for confined workplaces and public-use facilities to stem cluster infections of the novel coronavirus following a massive group transmission at a call center in Seoul. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will distribute the guidelines to those who operate their businesses in enclosed spaces, including internet cafes, karaoke rooms and fitness centers, which are vulnerable to group transmission of COVID-19.

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Seoul man acquitted over cyber threat against Obama

The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a lower court's not guilty verdict for a South Korean man accused of posting threatening messages on the White House website in 2015. The 38-year-old man, identified only as Lee, was indicted in 2015 on charges of posting two separate messages indicating an attempt to harm then-U.S. President Barack Obama's family and kill the US ambassador to South Korea, using internet access from his home in Seoul. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee to one

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Tokyo governor says cancelling Olympics 'unthinkable'

TOKYO (AFP) -- Cancelling the 2020 Olympics is "unthinkable" although the classification of the coronavirus as a pandemic will likely have some impact on the Games, the Tokyo city governor said on Thursday. "It can't be said that the announcement of a pandemic would have no impact... But I think cancellation is unthinkable," Yuriko Koike told reporters. Doubts are increasingly being raised over whether the Olympics can be held as scheduled from July 24 to August 9. Organ

Olympic GamesMarch 12, 2020

S. Korea to apply enhanced quarantine on arrivals from 5 European countries

South Korea said Thursday that all people arriving in the country after visiting Germany and four other European countries will face strengthened quarantine starting next week as part of efforts to stem the inflow of the new coronavirus. Starting Sunday, entrants from France, Germany, Spain, Britain and the Netherlands will be required to get fever checks and submit papers on their health condition, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The strengthened mea

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

Virus infections linked to Seoul call center reach 102: mayor

The number of new coronavirus infections linked to a call center in southwestern Seoul has reached 102 cases, the capital's mayor said Thursday, amid rising concerns over possible mass transmission in the metropolitan area. Among the cases, Seoul accounted for the highest number of infections with 71 patients, followed by 17 in Incheon, west of Seoul, and 14 in Gyeonggi Province, according to Mayor Park Won-soon. The figures are based on screening tests of 207 call center employees who worked

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2020

N. Korea tightens controls on imported goods over virus concerns

North Korea has tightened guidelines on disinfecting imported goods as part of efforts to prevent the new coronavirus from reaching its soil, the country's main newspaper said Thursday. The Rodong Sinmun said the country has recently updated its guidelines on quarantine measures and disinfecting imported goods and distributed them to institutions related to health and border controls. "It is important to place strict controls on imported goods in order to take scientific and preemptive m

North KoreaMarch 12, 2020

No fresh coronavirus patients reported in military, total at 38

The military reported no additional cases of the new coronavirus among its population Thursday, with the total number of infections standing at 38, according to the defense ministry. Thirty-three COVID-19 patients are active-duty service members, and the remaining five are civilians working for the military, the ministry said, adding that 21 were in the Army, 13 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry. Two of them

DefenseMarch 12, 2020

123 countries, territories restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus concerns

A total of 123 countries and territories were restricting entry or enforcing tougher quarantine measures for people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns on Thursday, the foreign ministry said. As of 2 p.m., 47 countries and territories were planning to impose or were enforcing an entry ban on people who have been in Korea at least in the past two weeks. Malaysia was moved to this list as it was expanding the scope of its entry ban from parts of Korea to the entire country, effective fro

Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 2020

NBA suspends season until further notice, over coronavirus

MIAMI (AP) -- The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press o

World NewsMarch 12, 2020