Korea's consumer prices up 1.1% on-year in Feb.

South Korea's headline inflation rose 1.1 percent in February from a year earlier, marking an increase of over 1 percent for the second straight month, the statistics agency said Tuesday. The inflation rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy increased 1.5 percent in January, the highest in 14 months, Statistics Korea said. South Korea's headline inflation was below 1 percent every month in 2019. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, increased 0.6 percent from a ye

EconomyMarch 3, 2020

BTS' 'ON' debuts at career-best 4th on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart

"ON," the lead track of BTS' new album, debuted at 4th on the Hot 100 singles chart this week, the highest rank for any BTS song, Billboard said Monday (US time). "BTS scores its third and highest-peaking Hot 100 top 10, and the highest-charting song ever for a K-pop group, as 'On' roars in at No. 4," Billboard said, announcing the weekly chart dated March 7. It is BTS' first top five hit on the highly competitive singles chart and the band's third top 10 entry. "Boy

K-popMarch 3, 2020

82 countries, regions restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus fears

A total of 82 countries and regions are imposing entry bans or quarantine procedures on visitors from South Korea over new coronavirus fears on Monday, despite Seoul's beefed-up diplomacy to prevent inordinate measures targeting its citizens.   As of 7 p.m., 36 countries and regions plan to ban or are barring the entry of travelers who have visited South Korea in the past two weeks, while 46 countries and regions, including China, are implementing quarantine procedures for them, according

Foreign AffairsMarch 2, 2020

Pro volleyball leagues suspended due to coronavirus

The South Korean national volleyball federation decided to suspend men's and women's professional leagues on Monday, joining other sports organizations in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.    The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) said both the men's and women's V-League regular seasons will be put on hold, starting with matches scheduled for Tuesday. Earlier Monday, representatives from the 13 V-League teams had asked the KOVO to halt action on the court. V-League te

SportsMarch 2, 2020

Car sales fall 11% in February on virus-caused supply disruptions

South Korea's car sales fell 11 percent last month from a year earlier as supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak resulted in reduced production.     The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor  -- sold a combined 505,212 vehicles in February, down from 565,568 units a year ago, according to data from the companies.    The lower sales largely resulted from shortages of auto compone

MobilityMarch 2, 2020

OECD cuts outlook for S. Korea amid coronavirus impact

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has cut its outlook for South Korea’s growth this year by 0.3 percentage point, reflecting the fallout from the new coronavirus, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday. In its biannual Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD forecast that the world economy would expand 2.4 percent this year, down 0.5 percentage point from its earlier prediction in November last year. The outlook for next year, in contrast, was raised 0.3 per

EconomyMarch 2, 2020

Celltrion gives W1b to help coronavirus efforts

Celltrion said Monday it gave 1 billion won ($841,000) to areas hit hard with COVID-19 to help curb the spread. The donation has been divided to areas most affected and which had strong links to Celltrion. Daegu, the city with the highest number of affected COVID-19 patients in Korea at 3,081 as of Monday afternoon, was given 400 million won, while North Gyeongsang Province, the second-heaviest hit region with 624 patients, received 200 million won. Incheon and North Chungcheong Province we

IndustryMarch 2, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s total birthrate hits new low in 2019

　South Korea’s birthrate hit an all-time low in 2019, government data shows, a clear sign of a coming population decline down the road. 　The country’s total birthrate, which refers to the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.92 last year, down from 0.98 a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. 　Last year marked the second consecutive year for the rate to fall below 1. South Korea was the only member of the Organization for Economic

Social AffairsMarch 2, 2020

Korea plans massive supplementary budget for COVID-19

The government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea have decided to draw up a supplementary budget of over 6.2 trillion won ($5.2 billion) and submit the plans to the National Assembly on Thursday. The exact scale of the supplementary budget has not been determined, but the two sides agreed it needs to be larger than that allocated in response to the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2015, the ruling party said. At the time, a supplementary budget of 6.2 trillion won was drawn up

PoliticsMarch 2, 2020

Amorepacific’s contract to sell Gangnam building falls through

South Korea’s cosmetics giant Amorepacific said Monday it will seek a new buyer for its office building in Nonhyun, southern Seoul, as the preferred bidder has backed out. According to the firm, Hanyang Construction -- which was chosen as the preferred bidder -- canceled the contract to buy Sungam Building for 160 billion won ($131.2 million). Amorepacific had said it decided to sell its building to secure liquidity and to improve solvency. The contracted price accounted for about 2 per

IndustryMarch 2, 2020

Entertainment industry braces for spread of coronavirus

The entertainment industry is bracing for a possible spread of the novel coronavirus infection, after two people who attended Milan Fashion Week tested positive for the virus. K-pop singer Chungha went into self-quarantine after two staff members who accompanied her on the Milan trip were confirmed with COVID-19 upon returning from Italy on Feb. 24, the singer’s agency MNH Entertainment said Sunday. One of the staff on the Milan trip was confirmed with COVID-19 after reporting a fever.

Arts & DesignMarch 2, 2020

KDI School of Public Policy and Management 2020 fall admissions open

Admissions for KDI School of Public Policy and Management’s 2020 fall semester will open next month to both international and domestic applicants. Candidates can apply online from April 1-27. The educational body of Korea Development Institute, Korea’s leading think tank, opened in March 1998. Since its foundation, the school has positioned itself as a major institution in teaching and research in the field of development and public policy. It has a global netowrk, with over 2,300

Social AffairsMarch 2, 2020

Public divided over expanding China entry ban

Public opinion on the introduction of a comprehensive entry ban on travelers from China appears divided along partisan lines, with a slight majority viewing it as necessary to South Korea’s fight against the novel coronavirus. According to the latest survey by local pollster Realmeter, released Monday, 55.6 percent of the respondents supported a wider ban, while 40.9 percent said existing measures were strong enough. Currently, Korea denies entry to foreign nationals traveling from Chi

Social AffairsMarch 2, 2020

North Korea fires two short-range projectiles into East Sea

North Korea fired two short-range projectiles into the East Sea between South Korea and Japan on Monday afternoon, the Ministry of National Defense said. They flew approximately 240 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 35 kilometers from Wonsan, along the North’s eastern coast. Pending further analysis, the projectiles could be ballistic missiles. The launches were an extension of the annual strike drills Pyongyang conducted Friday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “We

North KoreaMarch 2, 2020

[Monitor] Consumption drops rapidly upon coronavirus

With the vast spread of COD-19 across the nation, consumption rapidly dropped in February, particularly among offline businesses. According to data provided by the Finance Ministry, lodges nationwide saw their revenue drop by 17.7 percent, 10.8 percent and 24.5 percent in the first, second and third week of last month, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Restaurants saw their revenue drop 9.6 percent, 2.0 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively. Sales at department stores als

IndustryMarch 2, 2020

Govt. will submit extra ‘coronavirus’ budget bill this week

South Korea’s government will be submitting an extra budget bill this week to cope with the fast spread of the new coronavirus, the country’s top fiscal policymaker said Monday, requesting cooperation from parliamentarians. Though specific details have yet to be yet revealed, the budget will far exceed the 6.2 trillion won ($5.18 billion) allotted in 2015 to deal with the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome. “The government’s supplementary budget bill will be

EconomyMarch 2, 2020

Kospi recovers 2,000-mark over Fed rate cut remark

  Korea’s benchmark Kospi on Monday rose less than 1 percent, barely recovering past the 2,000-point mark after crashing in the previous session over expectations on an interest rate cut in the US.  The local currency closed at 1,193.70 won against the US dollar, strengthening 20 won from the previous session’s close. The benchmark bourse Kospi opened slightly high at 1,997.03 -- rising 10.02 points, or 0.5 percent, from the previous session. It dipped below 1,980 points

MarketMarch 2, 2020

KCGI woos Delta Air Lines for Hanjin control

A coalition led by South Korea’s activist private equity fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement called Delta Air Lines a “partner” in its pursuit for a control over Hanjin Group and its crown jewel Korean Air in a note Monday. This reflects KCGI’s drastic turn from the previous week when the activist investor questioned Delta’s increase in Hanjin KAL stake -- to 11 percent in February -- as the family-controlled Hanjin Group had entered into a proxy battle tha

MarketMarch 2, 2020

[Ferdinando Giugliano] Europe’s coronavirus plan is not enough

The economic damage from the coronavirus epidemic has prompted calls for Europe to relax its fiscal rules to allow governments to cut taxes and increase spending. The European Commission seems to agree: Paolo Gentiloni, its economy czar, has hinted that affected governments -- such as Italy -- may enjoy some budget “flexibility” to deal with the emergency.　 Granting more leeway is a welcome step, but it’s only a second-best approach. The virus risks affecting some countries mu

ViewpointsMarch 2, 2020