Samsung Display’s latest OLED globally recognized for quality

Samsung Display said Thursday its organic light-emitting diode panels for 5G smartphones have been certified as energy-saving and eye-care displays by multiple international organizations. The company is a major supplier for the latest Galaxy S20 series. SGS, a Switzerland-based certification institute, said Samsung’s latest OLED display for smartphones emit 6.5 percent blue light, the lowest percentage among comparable products. As of last year, other firms’ OLED products produ

TechnologyFeb. 27, 2020

KT&G signs $1.8b deal with UAE consumer giant

KT&G said Thursday it signed a 2.2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) contract with Dubai-based consumer giant Alokozay for a period of seven years and four months. This is the South Korean tobacco company’s second global collaboration this year following the supply deal signed with Philip Morris International on Jan. 29 to export the firm’s e-cigarettes globally for the next three years. KT&G said through the deal, it “cleared uncertainties in major overseas markets,

ConsumerFeb. 27, 2020

Hanjin Group to sell hotel assets for financial health

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of airline-to-logistics conglomerate Hanjin Group, said Thursday it was looking to sell its non-core hotel assets to improve its financial health and shareholder value.  Hanjin KAL said invitations to bid for the assets had been sent to 12 firms including real estate consulting firms, accounting firms and asset management firms.  On Feb. 7, the company decided during the board meeting to sell assets related to its loss-making leisure and hotel busines

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Samsung unveils upgraded smartwatches in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled two new smartwatch models in South Korea in a move to expand its presence in the wearable device market. The Galaxy Watch Active2 Golf Edition and the Galaxy Watch Active2 LTE Aluminum models will be launched in South Korea on Friday, according to Samsung. The South Korean tech giant said that the golf edition will be available in the United States and Britain, while the LTE Aluminum version will be also sold in Europe and some Asian countries.

TechnologyFeb. 27, 2020

US State Department urges Americans to reconsider travel to S. Korea

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- The US State Department raised its travel advisory for South Korea to the second-highest level Wednesday, urging Americans to reconsider travel over concerns about the coronavirus. The travel advisory was raised by one notch to Level 3 on a four-tier scale, according to its website. Level 4 advises Americans not to travel to the designated country. The measure came shortly after US President Donald Trump said earlier Wednesday that it is not the right time to restrict trav

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

LG Uplus signs global partnership on AR solutions

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecommunication firm, said Thursday it has signed a partnership with leading companies in the augmented reality (AR) sector to provide better services with its 5G network. LG Uplus said it has joined hands with AR software startup Spatial Systems Inc., mobile AR headset maker Nreal and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Technologies Inc. to develop 5G-based AR collaboration solutions. Japanese telecom giant KDDI Corp. and Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG are also

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Number of discouraged workers hits new high in 2019

SEJONG -- The number of discouraged workers in South Korea touched an all-time high in 2019, data showed Thursday, pointing to a tough employment situation amid an economic slowdown. Asia's fourth-largest economy registered a monthly average of 533,000 discouraged workers last year, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the office of Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition United Future Party. The figure was the largest since 2014, when data com

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

Cancellation of single exercise would not affect Korea-US joint posture: defense chief

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeog-doo has said that the cancellation of a single combined exercise between South Korea and the United States would not affect their joint readiness posture, according to his ministry. He made the remarks while visiting US National Defense University on Wednesday (Washington time), ahead of an expected announcement by the two sides on the possible modification of their combined exercises slated for March due to concerns over the new coronavirus. "Different from

DefenseFeb. 27, 2020

S. Korea, US decide to postpone upcoming combined exercises over coronavirus concerns: CFC

South Korea and the United States decided to postpone their springtime joint military exercises over growing concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, their combined command said Thursday. The two sides had initially planned to stage their computer-simulated combined command post training in March but decided to put it off "until further notice" in light of Seoul's decision to raise its alert rating to "severe," the highest level, over COVID-19, according to the Com

DefenseFeb. 27, 2020

BOK cuts growth outlook to 2.1% on fallout from coronavirus

South Korea's central bank lowered its growth estimate for the year by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent on Thursday as the fast-spreading coronavirus may have a far-reaching impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy. The downward revision came as the COVID-19 outbreak is feared to badly hurt the economy, which was earlier expected to grow 2.3 percent this year. The BOK singled out the virus outbreak as a main reason for the downward revision of its growth outlook but said the economy will re

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

S. Korea's virus infections near 1,600, new cases center on hardest-hit Daegu, church followers

South Korea reported another daily spike in the number of new infections of the new coronavirus on Thursday, and more additional cases may be identified in the hardest-hit city of Daegu and its neighboring regions as virus tests started on more than 210,000 members of a religious sect at the center of the rapid spread. The whopping 334 new cases took the nation's total infections to 1,595, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 74-year-old virus patient who is ti

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Hyundai Mobis to enter global head-up display market

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Thursday it aims to make inroads into the global head-up display market. The global HUD market has been dominated by multinational auto parts companies such as Continental AG, Denso and Nippon Seiki Co. "The company is aiming to sign contracts with global carmakers to sell its HUD products and foster HUD products to become a major export item," Hyundai Mobis said in a statement. Hyundai Mobis recently started to supp

MobilityFeb. 27, 2020

BOK stands pat amid looming virus fallout, again cuts growth outlook

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key policy rate steady, while slashing its growth outlook amid growing worries over the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The Bank of Korea left the base rate frozen at the current 1.25 percent. The central bank has been keeping the policy rate at the record low level since October when its seven-member board made its second rate cut in three months as the economy showed signs of a recovery. The decision to stand pat came despite a downward revis

EconomyFeb. 27, 2020

BTS to release 2nd music video of 'ON'

K-pop boy band BTS will release the second and official music video of "ON," the lead track of its new album, on Friday. The new video, set for release at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, is the second music flick matching the main song of "Map of the Soul: 7," released last Friday. The upcoming video will be a visual and symbolic interpretation of the lead single, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of BTS. Last Friday, BTS released the first music video, cal

K-popFeb. 27, 2020

Trump says US coronavirus spread 'not inevitable,' mulls new travel bans

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it was not inevitable that the novel coronavirus would continue to spread in the United States, as he said he is considering travel restrictions on Italy and South Korea and appointed his vice president to lead the response. His optimism about containing the pathogen contradicted a senior health official in his own administration and came as authorities said they had identified the first case in the US that was of unknown origin. &q

World NewsFeb. 27, 2020

Esper says N. Korea seeks legitimacy with nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that North Korea seeks to attain legitimacy by developing its nuclear and ballistic missile capability. Esper made the remarks in a written statement to the House Armed Services Committee ahead of a hearing on the Pentagon's 2021 budget request. "North Korea seeks to build legitimacy through the development of a variety of nuclear, conventional, and unconventional weapons, and by growing its ballistic missile capabilities,"

North KoreaFeb. 27, 2020

US military restricts travel to S. Korea over coronavirus

WASHINGTON -- The US Indo-Pacific military command said Wednesday it is restricting nonessential travel to South Korea over concerns about the coronavirus. The notice came after a soldier with US Forces Korea tested positive for COVID-19 amid a rapid rise in the number of cases in the country. "Effective immediately, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command, in line with the CDC Travel Health Notice, restricts all nonessential (Department of Defense) travel to (Republic of Korea) to reduce ris

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

S. Korea, US in close communication over coronavirus: ambassador

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States have been in close communication over the coronavirus, including the US response to a surge in cases in the South, Seoul's ambassador to Washington said Wednesday. Amb. Lee Soo-hyuck said South Korean Embassy officials have been meeting with State Department and White House officials to communicate the South Korean government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak and discuss the US government's next steps. The US Centers for Disease Control and Pr

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Trump says it's not right time to put travel restrictions on S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it's not the right time to put travel restrictions on South Korea over the coronavirus. Trump was asked at a White House press briefing whether he is considering restricting travel to and from South Korea, Italy and other countries affected by COVID-19. "At a right time we may do it," the president said. "Right now it's not the right time, but at a right time." South Korea has seen a rapid increase in the number

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

City refuses to host Olympic football qualifier following coronavirus outbreak

A South Korean city told the national football federation on Wednesday that it won't host an upcoming Olympic football qualifying match following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus there. Yongin, located about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, was scheduled to stage an Olympic women's football qualifying match between South Korea and China on March 6. It is the first leg of the home-and-home playoff round between the two, with the winner securing a spot at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Due t

SportsFeb. 26, 2020