[Newsmaker] Transgender soldier files petition against discharge decision

A former noncommissioned officer forcibly discharged from the military after sex reassignment surgery has filed an appeal seeking reinstatement, sources said Wednesday. Byun Hee-soo, 22, filed the petition with the Army Headquarters, the sources said, after a military committee ruled last month based on a medical examination that the staff sergeant is unable to continue to serve. Byun underwent the transition surgery late last year in Thailand and has expressed a desire to keep serving in the

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2020

10-year-old has COVID-19

　 A 10-year-old girl was confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the first case of COVID-19 among children here. 　 　 The child is the daughter of a 41-year old woman in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the country’s 20th patient who was confirmed with the virus on Feb. 5, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mother became infected after coming into contact with her brother-in-law, the country’s 15th patient, who had traveled

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2020

Samsung Display announces commercialization of glass cover for foldable devices

Samsung Display Co., an affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co., said Wednesday it has commercialized a glass cover for foldable devices. Samsung Display said its ultra thin glass cover window that is about 30 micrometers thick can be mass-produced for various foldable devices. The flexible glass cover is already used in Samsung Electronics' vertically folding Galaxy Z Flip smartphone that was launched last week. The company said its UTG cover window is more durable and scratch-resistant than p

IndustryFeb. 19, 2020

[팟캐스트] (340) 네덜란드 국적기 인종차별 논란 / 폭설로 인한 사상사고 발생

  진행자: 손지형, Paul Kerry 1. KLM apologizes after being accused of coronavirus racism 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638 요약: 네덜란드 국적기 KLM, 인종차별 논란에 대해 사과 [1] The Netherlands’ flag carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines apologized Friday for banning South Koreans from using a restroom on a plane amid coronavirus concerns. *flag carrier: 전세기 *ban A from B: A가 B하는 것을 금지하다 [2] According to a K

PodcastFeb. 19, 2020

S. Korea reports 5 more cases of novel coronavirus, total now at 51

South Korea confirmed 5 more cases of the novel coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections here to 51, amid growing concerns that the respiratory illness is spreading across the country despite tighter quarantine measures. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 13 new patients reside in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul and adjacent areas. They are presumed to have contracted the illness via contact with a 61-year-old South Kor

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2020

'Parasite' wins prestigious Italian award

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's film "Parasite," which won four Academy Awards this month and the Cannes Film Festival's top honor, the Palme d'Or, last year, captured a prestigious Italian award dubbed Italy's Oscars, an Italian news agency said Wednesday. "Parasite" has been selected as this year's winner of best foreign language film at the David di Donatello awards, ANSA said. The South Korean social comedy-thriller beat Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time

FilmFeb. 19, 2020

US flies surveillance aircraft to monitor N. Korea

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea, an aviation tracker said Wednesday. The US Air Force's E-8C, or JSTARS, was spotted in the skies over South Korea at 29,000 feet the previous day, Aircraft Spots tweeted. As a platform for airborne command and control, surveillance and reconnaissance, the E-8C is known to be capable of closely monitoring North Korea's troops and equipment movements, including missiles and artillery guns. It

North KoreaFeb. 19, 2020

Samsung signs partnership with BTS to boost marketing

Samsung Electronics Co. signed a partnership with K-pop super band BTS for marketing of its new smartphones, company officials said Wednesday. Samsung will first work with BTS for the boy band's global contemporary art initiative, "CONNECT, BTS," and will expand their collaboration to other areas, according to the officials. "CONNECT, BTS" is a global initiative spearheaded in collaboration with curators from five major cities -- London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul and N

IndustryFeb. 19, 2020

Korean-made geostationary environment-monitoring satellite successfully launched

The world's first geostationary environment-monitoring satellite built by South Korea has been successfully launched, the country's state-run aerospace research institute said Wednesday. The Ariane-5 rocket carrying the 3.4-ton Chollian-2B, tasked with monitoring the movement of fine dust and other air pollutants in the East Asian region, as well as tides, is on course to reach its transfer orbit some 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's equator after lifting off from French Guiana at 07:18 p.m

TechnologyFeb. 19, 2020

S. Korean presidential plane arrives back from Japan with 7 evacuees aboard

A South Korean presidential plane with six nationals and a Japanese spouse onboard arrived back from Japan on Wednesday, completing the mission to evacuate them from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship.   The Air Force VCN-235 arrived at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul at 6:27 a.m. after departing from Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 2:23 a.m.   The evacuees, excluding the Japanese, were among 14 South Koreans who were aboard the Diamond Princess. The ship has been quaran

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2020

Spurs left hanging by Son's injury: Mourinho

LONDON (AFP) -- Jose Mourinho has compared Tottenham's hopes of having a positive end to the season to hanging from the balcony of a fourth-floor building after losing Son Heung-min to injury. Already without Harry Kane for much of the remainder of the campaign, Mourinho said he does not expect Son to feature again this season after the South Korean fractured his right arm in Sunday's 3-2 win at Aston Villa. Spurs host German side RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last 16

SoccerFeb. 19, 2020

Burberry cancels invitations of Korean celebs to London show over coronavirus concerns

British luxury brand Burberry has cancelled its invitations of South Korean celebrities and branch workers to its show at London Fashion Week due to coronavirus concerns, the company said Tuesday.     Actor Yoo Ah-in and actress Gong Hyo-jin, as well as employees of Burberry Korea, were scheduled to attend the event this week, but the company later decided to disinvite them as part of "preventive" measures related to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Burberry officia

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Man died of pneumonia not linked to novel coronavirus

South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that the death earlier in the day of a man who recently visited China was not related to the novel coronavirus.     The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the man in his 30s, who had visited Hainan China last month with his family, was not infected with COVID-19 virus. The confirmation came after his death, with the public health agency saying he died of pneumonia. (Yonhap)

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2020

Samsung maintains dominant status in Q4 DRAM market despite sales drop: data

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its dominant status in the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter of 2019 despite a decline in revenue, industry data showed Tuesday.     Samsung's market share in the global DRAM market stood at 43.5 percent in the October-December period, down 1.6 percentage points from three months earlier, while its revenue declined 5 percent to $6.7 billion over the cited period, according to data from market researcher TrendForce.    &

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

Samsung C&T wins W1.15tr power plant deal from UAE

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday that it has won a 1.15 trillion-won ($970 million) deal to build a power plant in the United Arab Emirates. Under the deal with F3 Holding Company B.V., Samsung C&T will build a 2,400-MW combined cycle power plant in Qidfa in the Emirate of Fujairah by the end of April 2023. Shares in Samsung C&T Corp fell 2.09 percent to 117,000 won, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 1.48 percent decline. (Yonhap)

IndustryFeb. 18, 2020

[Photo News] LG leader visits design center

LG Group Chairman and Chief Executive Koo Kwang-mo on Tuesday visited LG Electronics’ research and development campus in Seoul, the firm said. During the visit Koo was quoted as saying, “It is design that gives the first impression of our products and delivers this sense of feeling that this product is worth buying.”  At the campus, Koo also checked the company’s consumer electronic products, including a smart door and a wall-mounted OLED TV, as wel

TechnologyFeb. 18, 2020

[Graphic News] Foreign ownership of Jeju land falls 1.4%

　The amount of land owned by foreigners on the South Korean island of Jeju decreased slightly last year, official data showed. 　According to the data released by Jeju’s provincial government, foreigners owned 22.6 square kilometers in 14,644 plots on Jeju Island as of the end of last year. 　The volume marked a reduction of 1.4 percent from 22.9 square kilometers at the end of 2018. 　By region, foreign land ownership in the city of Jeju amounted to 11.1 square kilometers, compared wi

BusinessFeb. 18, 2020

Kim Tae-hee returns to small screen as ghost mom in ‘Hi Bye, Mama!’

Actress Kim Tae-hee is returning to the small screen in five years as a ghost mom in tvN’s new comedy drama series “Hi Bye, Mama!” Kim, a mother of two daughters, said her character in the upcoming drama, Cha Yu-ri, is one that is the most similar to herself of all the characters she has played so far. “(Yu-ri) Is an ordinary mom of a daughter, a member of a family, and I felt she was the closest to myself,” the actress said during a video press conference held

TelevisionFeb. 18, 2020

Indie film ‘Lucky Chan-sil’ wishes dreamers well

While indie film “Lucky Chan-sil” may seem like a story about cineastes, director Kim Cho-hee is dedicating the movie to anyone pursuing a dream. “There is an underlying pressure in our society that makes people with dreams feel as if they have to achieve something,” the director said during a press conference held Monday to promote the movie. “Small and big twists in life sometimes turn out to be an opportunity leading to a new life. I hope the audience can laugh

FilmFeb. 18, 2020

All of Asiana Airlines executives offer to resign amid low profit on coronavirus spread

Korean full-service carrier Asiana Airlines said Tuesday that all executives, including the CEO, have offered to resign to improve the company’s financial health, which has been severely hurt by the latest outbreak of the coronavirus that has cut into aviation services.  In a letter sent to Asiana employees, the air carrier’s CEO Han Chang-soo said that the company has activated an emergency business management due to the crisis following the epidemic outbreak.  Han said

MobilityFeb. 18, 2020