Trump wants payroll tax relief to calm virus-spooked markets

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Monday his administration will ask Congress to pass payroll tax relief and other quick measures as a public health and economic maelstrom brought on by the coronavirus drew closer to him personally. Intending to calm the fears of financial markets over the impact of the epidemic, Trump told reporters that he is seeking "very substantial relief" to the payroll tax. Trump also said he was seeking help for hourly-wage workers to ensure

World NewsMarch 10, 2020

N. Korea says leader Kim oversaw long-range artillery strike drill

North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong-un supervised a long-range artillery strike drill a day earlier to inspect his forces' "sudden military counterattack capability." On Monday, South Korea's military said the North fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast in what appears to be part of its artillery strike drill involving multiple rocket launchers. It marked the second time in a week that the North has tested weapons. Kim "guided another firepower strike

North KoreaMarch 10, 2020

USFK employee in Daegu tests positive for coronavirus, total at 8

A South Korean employee of U.S. Forces Korea stationed in the southeastern city of Daegu has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of USFK-related infection cases to eight, the military said Monday. The patient, who works at Camp Walker, is quarantined at his off-base residence, USFK said, adding health officials have been conducting contact tracing to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed. "USFK remains at risk level 'high' peninsula-wide and is

DefenseMarch 9, 2020

No. of Incheon airport passengers falls to lowest amid virus concerns

The number of passengers using Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, fell to the lowest level ever on Monday due to coronavirus concerns, its operator said. Incheon International Airport Corp. said the number is estimated to total 21,241 -- 11,335 outbound and 9,906 inbound. It is lower than the previous record low of 26,773, registered on May 20, 2003, when international travel was hit by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom. The figure is also one-ninth of 2018's daily average of 187,000.

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

Samsung Display asks Vietnam to approve entry of its staff: source

Samsung Display, one of the world's leading display panel makers, has called on Vietnam to permit the entry of engineers for the renovation of its plant in the Southeast Asian country, an industry source said Monday. Vietnam stopped issuing visas for visitors from South Korea on Feb. 29 and has been putting people flying in from Korea into a 14-day quarantine period at designated facilities to check for COVID-19. "Samsung Display has asked Vietnamese authorities to issue visas for some 7

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020

S. Korea's Olympic football qualifying matches rescheduled for April

Postponed Olympic women's football qualifying matches between South Korea and China have been rescheduled for June in light of the coronavirus outbreaks in both countries. The Korea Football Association said Monday it was informed by the Asian Football Confederation that the home-and-home playoff series between the nations will be played on June 4 and 9. Venues will be determined later. The winning team, based on the aggregate score after the two matches, will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympi

SoccerMarch 9, 2020

NK paper warns against reliance on imports

North Korea's official newspaper on Monday warned against reliance on outside help as the country continues to face crippling international sanctions led by the United States. North Korea has repeatedly called for "self-reliance" in all possible areas as prospects for any easing of sanctions remain slim amid a protracted stalemate in nuclear talks with the United States. "Getting rid of the disease of relying excessively on imports is a critical political problem related to main

North KoreaMarch 9, 2020

China to send relief items to S. Korea amid anti-virus effort

China is preparing to send masks and other relief items to South Korea to help the neighboring country fight the coronavirus, the foreign ministry said Monday. China plans to send about 1 million medical masks, 100,000 general face masks and 10,000 items of protective clothing to Korea through the Red Cross, the ministry said in a release. The two countries are discussing details, it said. The move came after South Korea delivered four batches of relief goods to a number of the virus-hit regi

Foreign AffairsMarch 9, 2020

Chart-smashing rookie band ITZY returns with new album 'IT'z ME'

Roaring rookie girl band ITZY on Monday returned with its new album "IT'z ME," a seven-track record led by the main song "Wannabe." The lead track has a fusion groove, mixing EDM with other trendy music genres. The song is another collaboration between the five-piece girl band and Galactika, the music production team that produced the band's breakout 2019 debut single "Dalla Dalla."    "The title song, 'Wannabe,' is a track that best represent

PerformanceMarch 9, 2020

Woori Financial chief files for court injunction against reprimand

The head of South Korea's Woori Financial Group has sought a court injunction against the financial watchdog's recent reprimand over improper selling of derivatives-linked products, people familiar with the issue said Monday. Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-sung filed for the injunction with the Seoul Administrative Court. He also filed a separate lawsuit calling for the nullification of the disciplinary action by the Financial Supervisory Service, they said. Woori Financial Group said

MarketMarch 9, 2020

A look back on first 50 days of Korea’s virus fight

A look back on the past 50 days of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak shows just how difficult it is to control and how easy it is for health authorities to lose sight of its spread. The nation’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was on Jan. 20, and despite a gradual rise in the number of infections, the situation seemed to be under control for weeks. Most cases were traceable to China and other infected countries. But on Feb. 18, everything changed, with patient no. 31 in Daegu,

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

[Newsmaker] Shincheonji faces biggest crisis over coronavirus outbreak

The novel coronavirus was apparently brought into the country from Wuhan, China. But it was a branch of an enigmatic Christian sect in Daegu that provided it with a breeding ground at home. The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which operates under a veil of secrecy, abruptly came to the center of attention after one of its congregants tested positive for the virus Feb. 18. The case of the 61-year-old woman, known as COVID-19 patient No. 31, was linked to many others among followers who attended

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

[Graphic News] COVID-19 confirmed cases in South Korea

COVID-19 confirmed cases in S. Korea (As of March 9) 　 Total confirmed cases: 7,382 Death: 53 Released: 166 Total inspections: 189,236 Under inspection: 17,458 Negative: 171,778

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

50 days of COVID-19: What needs to be done

The spread of the novel coronavirus has outpaced any other epidemic in South Korea so far this century. 50 days into the outbreak, much still remains unknown about the disease, which is deadlier than the flu and more infectious than Middle East respiratory syndrome. But this is a fight that can’t be fought by doctors alone, and there is something everyone can do to mitigate its toll, according to experts. Shin Hyoung-shik, director of the National Medical Center’s Center for Infe

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

Renewed coronavirus fear wobbles Korea’s financial markets, volatility increases

Hit by renewed coronavirus fears and investors’ fatigue, South Korea’s financial market took a big hit Monday, with stock and bond prices plunging, and the local currency also getting weaker as foreign investors exited in droves. The main bourse Kospi dipped 4.2 percent from the previous session’s close, the largest drop in 17 months. The index drifted to the lowest since August 2019, when the volatility-prone market was rattled by a trade war between the US and China. Loser

MarketMarch 9, 2020

Anxiety grows after COVID-19 infection of dog reported in Hong Kong

Chung Min-su, who has three bichon frise dogs at home, began to worry about the possibility of her pets catching COVID-19 after hearing news last week that a dog had tested positive for the new coronavirus in Hong Kong. The outbreak has now affected more than 7,000 people in South Korea. “I am more cautious when I am with my dogs in an enclosed space with other people, like in an elevator,” Chung said. “When I walk my dogs outside, they sniff around everywhere, and I freak ou

CultureMarch 9, 2020

Samsung’s Vietnam operations may be affected by entry ban

Samsung Group’s affiliates in Vietnam could take a blow from the entry restrictions on travelers from South Korea imposed by the local government due to the coronavirus spread, according to industry sources Monday. Samsung Display was planning to dispatch around 700 engineers, including some from its subcontractors, to support the ongoing ramp-up at its plant for small and midsized organic light-emitting diode panel modules in Bac Ninh, northern province of Vietnam. The OLED modules pr

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020

Cases with potentially longer incubation periods emerge

Medical experts are scurrying to analyze new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus involving newborn babies, pregnant women and those who tested positive after their quarantine ended. So far, eight pregnant women have been placed in isolation after contracting COVID-19 in Daegu and Busan. One gave birth on Friday in Daegu, marking the first such birth in the country. The baby tested negative. Despite assurances from health authorities that mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2020

[Nisha Gopalan] SARS lessons inoculate HK against epidemic

Hong Kong has fewer coronavirus cases than the US, Singapore or Italy. That might seem surprising for a city that sits on the doorstep of mainland China and has intertwining business, tourism and personal connections with the source of the epidemic. The reason can be summed up in one word: SARS. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 sowed extreme caution in Hong Kong, a former British colony that had returned to Chinese sovereignty six years earlier. The city, which maintain

ViewpointsMarch 9, 2020

[Kevin Rudd] COVID-19 trumps nationalism

I was recently walking along East 29th Street in Manhattan, after visiting a friend at Bellevue Hospital, when I was roused from my thoughts by a middle-aged white male screaming at an old Chinese man, “Get the fuck out of my country, you piece of Chinese shit!” The old man was stunned. So was I, before I bellowed back (deploying the full range of my native Australian vocabulary), “Fuck off and leave him alone, you white racist piece of shit!” The pedestrian traffic sto

ViewpointsMarch 9, 2020