USFK bans travel to Daegu amid virus spread

Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the US military in South Korea, banned service members from “non-essential travel” to and from Daegu on Wednesday, after a surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to church services there.  The total number of infected people in Korea was at 104 as of Thursday afternoon. The commander of United States Forces Korea said service members who attended church services in Daegu would undergo mandatory self-quarantine. He urged their family members to do th

DefenseFeb. 20, 2020

Conservative merger fails to boost support

Three conservative parties have formed a unified front to challenge the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in the upcoming general elections, but the latest survey shows their merger has not boosted public support. The governing Democratic Party of Korea still takes the lead with 41.1 percent of support, according to a Realmeter poll Thursday, conducted between Monday and Wednesday, after the launch of the United Future Party, The new party garnered support from 32.7 percent of respondents --

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Religious groups respond to COVID-19 outbreak

Religious organizations are on alert after a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases was linked to a church in Daegu. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the South Korean government had reported 22 new cases of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The total number of infections in Korea had jumped to 104. It is suspected that the nation’s 31st patient hastened its spread by visiting a church in Daegu, which is associated with a minor religious sect. Amid the quick sprea

CultureFeb. 20, 2020

Moon meets Bong Joon-ho, vows govt. efforts against cinema screen monopolies

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday his government would do its best to introduce a legal measure to curb screen monopolies in South Korean cinemas, speaking at a Cheong Wa Dae meeting with Bong Joon-ho, director of the Oscars-winning movie "Parasite." The president pledged "tangible support" for the further development of the local film industry and cited the proposed ceiling on the total number of screens for a certain movie and the expansion of academies. The Ministry o

FilmFeb. 20, 2020

LG Household to buy Physiogel's biz right for US, Asia markets

LG Household & Health Care Ltd., a major South Korean cosmetics company, said Thursday it has signed a deal to acquire Physiogel business rights for the Asian and North American regions from British pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline Plc.  LG Household will finalize the deal with GlaxoSmithKline to take over the brand's business license for 192.3 billion won ($160 million) within the first half of 2020, the company said in a statement.  "The Physiogel brand has not advan

IndustryFeb. 20, 2020

Preorders for Samsung's Galaxy S20 smartphones start in S. Korea

Preorders for Samsung Electronics Co.'s new flagship smartphone line started in South Korea on Thursday, with local mobile carriers rolling out various promotions to attract customers. Samsung said preorders for the Galaxy S20 smartphones will run through next Wednesday at online and offline stores in South Korea, with the official launch of new handsets scheduled for March 6. The Galaxy S20 series, which was unveiled last week in San Francisco, comes in three models -- the S20, S20 Plus an

IndustryFeb. 20, 2020

Samsung C&T secures W1.15tr power plant deal in UAE

Samsung C&T, the construction arm of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it clinched a 1.15 trillion won ($960 million) power plant deal in the United Arab Emirates. According to the company, it won the order placed by Emirates Water and Electricity Co. to build a 2,400-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Fujairah, some 300 kilometers northeast of Abu Dhabi. The envisioned power plant, under the project Fujairah F3, is expected to provide power for 380,000 homes in the region. Construction i

IndustryFeb. 20, 2020

COVID-19 tests at doctors’ discretion regardless of symptoms, travel records

Starting Thursday, anyone can be tested for COVID-19 at doctors’ discretion, regardless of his or her overseas travel record. People who have not traveled to China can be tested for the coronavirus if they have been in contact with someone who has traveled to the country and show respiratory symptoms or fever, according to the latest guidelines from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who have been admitted to hospitals for pneumonia of unknown cause must be iso

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2020

S. Korea's trade with Vietnam up 16.5% annually since FTA

South Korea's trade with Vietnam has expanded 16.5 percent annually since the two countries implemented a free trade agreement in 2015, data showed Thursday. The combined trade volume between the two countries reached $69.2 billion in 2019, compared with $37.6 billion posted in 2015, according to the Korea Customs Service. South Korea and Vietnam implemented the FTA in December 2015, after kicking off their first negotiations in 2012. Over the cited period, South Korea's trade with China, t

EconomyFeb. 20, 2020

S. Korea goes all-out to boost exports amid new coronavirus spread

SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to utilize all necessary measures to help local firms weather the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. In January, South Korea's exports fell 6.1 percent on-year, but when measured by working days, they increased 4.8 percent, marking the first on-year increase in 14 months. The January figure is being seen as a sign of recovery. Outbound shipments nosedived 10.3 percent in 2019 amid a prolonged trade feud between the United States and China

EconomyFeb. 20, 2020

Son Heung-min to undergo surgery on broken forearm on Friday: source

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean forward Son Heung-min will undergo operation on his broken right forearm in Seoul on Friday. A source close to the player told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that Son was admitted to a Seoul hospital earlier in the day, and the surgery has been scheduled for Friday. Son suffered the fracture to the radius in the forearm during a Premier League match against Aston Villa last weekend. Son apparently suffered the injury when he landed hard on the right arm follow

SoccerFeb. 20, 2020

Watchdog chief says he feels sorry over Lime fiasco

The head of South Korea's financial watchdog said Thursday he feels sorry for the controversy surrounding the suspension of fund redemption by the country's largest hedge fund Lime Asset Management Co.  Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said in a parliamentary session that he will help the fund come up with and implement its redemption plan.  The comments came as the watchdog prepares to launch an inspection into Lime's suspension of fund redemption ear

MarketFeb. 20, 2020

US flies surveillance aircraft over Korean Peninsula to monitor N. Korea

The United States again flew a surveillance aircraft over South Korea on Thursday, an aviation tracker said, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea. The US Air Force's RC-135W Rivet Joint was spotted in the skies above South Korea at 31,000 feet, Aircraft Spots tweeted. This type of aircraft was detected four times here last month. The latest flight came just a couple of days after the Air Force's E-8C, or JSTARS, flew over the Korean Peninsula, according to the tracker. US spy plan

North KoreaFeb. 20, 2020

Two former Japan cruise ship passengers die: media

TOKYO (AFP) -- Two former passengers of the coronavirus-wracked Diamond Princess have died, local media reported Thursday, as fears mount about those who have left the ship after testing negative for the virus. A man and a woman in their 80s who had been infected have died, public broadcaster NHK and others reported, which would be the first fatal cases among the more than 600 on board the cruise ship. Both had underlying conditions and had been taken off the ship on February 11 and 12 before

World NewsFeb. 20, 2020

Daegu on alert as coronavirus cases surge

The South Korean city of Daegu is on alert as concerns over the new coronavirus are peaking in line with a surge in patients, with many of them suspected of contracting the potentially fatal virus at a church associated with a minor religious sect. On Thursday, South Korea reported 31 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections here to 82. The first case in the country was reported on Jan. 20. The pace of new infections had slowed in the past couple of weeks, but this w

Social AffairsFeb. 20, 2020

Moon's renewed economy drive hit by fast virus spread

President Moon Jae-in's campaign to block the economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak has suffered a heavy blow from the faster-than-expected spread of the virus in South Korea this week. Having for weeks placed his No. 1 priority on countering the novel coronavirus outbreak, first confirmed here on Jan. 20, Moon has shifted the focus to reviving the momentum for economic recovery. In the early phase of the outbreak, he visited public hospitals and quarantine facilities for South Koreans w

PoliticsFeb. 20, 2020

USFK limits soldiers' travel to Daegu, closes several facilities amid surge in coronavirus cases

US Forces Korea (USFK) has banned "non-essential" travel to and from South Korea's southeastern city of Daegu and shut down all of its children-related facilities there in the wake of a surge in new coronavirus cases in the region. Since Wednesday, South Korea has confirmed more than 50 additional cases of the COVID-19 virus, and a majority of the newly confirmed patients are from Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and its surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, according to Se

DefenseFeb. 20, 2020

Refiners, chemical firms feared to take further hit from virus

The new coronavirus outbreak is expected to deal a fresh blow to South Korean oil refiners and chemical makers already reeling from worsening profits, industry sources said Thursday. The pessimistic outlook comes as South Korean refineries' exports to China, their largest overseas market, are projected to drop sharply because of the COVID-19 shock. South Korean refiners resort to exports more than domestic demand for their sales. China is estimated to account for nearly 20 percent of their to

EconomyFeb. 20, 2020

S. Korea's economic growth nearly halves in past 2 decades

South Korea's economic growth rate has nearly halved in the past two decades due to low productivity and regulations, a local think tank said Thursday. South Korea's economy grew an average of 5 percent between 2001 and 2005 before falling to 2.7 percent during the 2016-2019 period, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. South Korea ranked fifth among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 36 mostly rich and advanced nations, in terms

EconomyFeb. 20, 2020

S. Korean producer prices edge up in Jan.

South Korea's producer prices inched up in January from the prior month due to the increased cost of farm and fishery goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 103.93 last month, up 0.2 percent from December, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From the same month a year earlier, the country's producer prices climbed 1 percent. Producer prices serve as a key barometer of future inflation. The BOK said prices

EconomyFeb. 20, 2020