Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Anti-Pollution” Drinks in High Demand Amid War on Virus and Fine Dust
Public interest in strengthening the immune system has recently been increasing amid growing concerns over harmful external environments, including the novel coronavirus (officially named as COVID-19) and find dust unrelenting even in the cold weather. In particular, COVID-19 can develop respiratory symptoms such as coughing, fever and phlegm, and those with weak immune system can become more vulnerable to viral diseases.
Il Ponte Unveils a New Menu
Il Ponte, Millennium Hilton Seoul’s popular Italian trattoria, has unveiled its new menu. Long-acclaimed for its authentic Italian pizzas and homemade pastas, Il Ponte has added tempting new ones to its culinary repertoire starting from March 2nd, 2020. The new items will include a signature pasta of Il Ponte, which will feature handmade pasta.
Moon to meet with political leaders on COVID-19 response
President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold a meeting with the leaders of South Korea's ruling and opposition parties this week on the COVID-19 epidemic, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday. Moon plans to invite Lee Hae-chan, head of the ruling Democratic Party; Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition Future United Party; and leaders of other major parties to Cheong Wa Dae as early as Friday, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Gov't Secures List of 212,000 Shincheonji Followers
The government has secured a complete list of the followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, amid a surge in coronavirus cases among its members in Daegu. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said on Tuesday that they have received a list of 212-thousand Shincheonji followers from the sect.
S. Korea's Business Sentiment Suffers Record Drop in February
South Korean firms' business sentiment posted a record drop in February amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. According to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, the business survey index(BSI) for all industries came to 65 for the month, down ten points from the previous month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.
Korean Air Flight Attendant Positive for COVID-19
A Korean Air flight attendant has reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus after flights to Israel and Los Angeles in the United States. According to the government on Tuesday, the flight attendant was on Incheon-Los Angeles flights last week, and voluntarily took the virus test after showing symptoms starting on Saturday.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea ups anti-virus fight in Daegu and neighboring region as cases near 1,000
With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases nearing 1,000 on Tuesday, South Korea vowed to maximize its containment measures in the southeastern city of Daegu and neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, where some 800 cases have been reported so far. The 144 additional cases brought the nation's total infections to 977, according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). It marked a more than 30-fold surge since Feb. 18, when the number stood at 31.
S. Korea hit by more travel restrictions as new coronavirus spreads
The United States, France and Taiwan have advised their nationals against all non-essential travel to South Korea, and Hong Kong has joined about half a dozen others in slapping entry restrictions on visitors from the country as it is rocked by a steady increase in coronavirus infections.
S. Korea to take 'maximum' quarantine steps in Daegu, surrounding province against coronavirus
South Korea plans to take "maximum" quarantine steps in the southeastern city of Daegu and its surrounding province to contain the new coronavirus and seek to create an extra budget, party officials said Tuesday. The government, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the presidential office decided to thoroughly implement stepped-up "containment" measures in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, where infections of COVID-19 have shot up in recent days.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Potential clusters of COVID-19 virus emerge outside Daegus
South Korea reported a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, with most cases traceable to a branch of a minor Christian sect in Daegu and a hospital in a neighboring county, amid the government’s struggle to prevent its spread outside Daegu. Fears about the community spread of COVID-19 are growing, with new cases occurring in 21 people at a facility for the mentally challenged, a pastor at a megachurch in Seoul and a Korean Air cabin crew member.
Presidential office, ruling party to speed up economic aid for COVID-19
An economic aid package and extra budget will be drawn up as quickly as possible to combat the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the presidential office, government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea agreed Tuesday. The move comes a day after President Moon Jae-in raised the possibility of the additional funds to manage the economic fallout of the outbreak.
Trump says he 'spoke to' S. Korea about coronavirus
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he spoke with South Korea and Italy about the spread of the coronavirus in those countries. Trump made the remark during a press conference in New Delhi, India, as he talked about US cooperation with China over the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 people around the world, mostly in China.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
'Three months to decide fate of Tokyo Olympics'
Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the IOC, estimates there's a three-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, which are being threatened by the fast-spreading virus from China. Pound, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, did not sound alarmist. But he did speak frankly about the risks facing the Olympics, which open July 24.
Korea's business sentiment slumps even before virus crisis erupts
South Korea suffered its worst fall in business sentiment in nearly 17 years due to the fast-spreading coronavirus, according to a central bank survey taken days before South Korea became the country with the largest number of cases outside China. The business sentiment index (BSI) for March was compiled from a survey of 3,242 corporate enterprises between Feb. 11-18, just before the health scare became a full-blown emergency following an outbreak of the coronavirus in Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city.
Coronavirus scare forces millennials to relive Sewol nightmare
We millennials are scared, not so much of the rising number of casualties from the coronavirus epidemic, but about the sense of helplessness ― not being able to do anything except wear a mask or wash our hands more often. What we are going through is deja vu of six years ago, on April 16, 2014, when the Sewol ferry sank and students of my age on board died.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
S. Korean economy sinks even further as coronavirus spreads
Just as distribution networks, mom-and-pop shops, and manufacturers with factories in South Korea and abroad seemed to gain some breathing room amid an abated rise of novel coronavirus diagnoses, a sharp spike in cases in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province is sounding the alarm once again.
Public institutions shut down to prevent further spread of novel coronavirus
Amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, even constitutional bodies such as the National Assembly are halting their operations. Since South Korea has elevated its infectious disease alert level to the highest level of “red,” both the public and private sectors have been witnessing an unprecedented series of closures. Courthouse trials are slated to be delayed, and daycares in Seoul are taking two weeks off, following the delay of the spring semester for kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools.
S. Korea’s national museums and galleries temporarily shut down amid coronavirus spread
South Korean religious groups are halting weekly services to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The Archdiocese of Daegu was the first Catholic body to suspend masses on Feb. 19, with the suspension lasting through Mar. 5. The Diocese of Andong tentatively suspended masses on Feb. 22, after a case was confirmed there.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Airline Industry Devastated by Travel Bans
Passenger airlines have been devastated by a growing number of entry bans for travelers from Korea as coronavirus infections spike here. As of Tuesday, some 18 countries around the country have banned or restricted travelers from Korea including Bahrain, Hong Kong, Israel, Macau, Qatar and the U.K. The Mongolian government on Monday asked Korean Air and Asiana Airlines to halt flights between the two countries. Singapore Airlines will stop flights to Incheon next month. Until early this month, 1,400 people took the Incheon-Singapore route every day, but that has fallen almost 40 percent to less than 900 people.
Global Companies Restrict Operations in Korea
Global companies with branch offices in Korea are restricting their operations here or have even closed their offices temporarily. Intel, the world's top semiconductor company, in a video conference with executives in Seoul on Sunday, the day the Korean government raised a red alert for coronavirus, decided to ask all staff in its Seoul offices to work from home this week.
Public Transportation Empty as Koreans Hunker down
Public transportation use has sharply declined as more and more people stay at home amid the coronavirus scare. Seoul Metro said on Monday that some 42.52 million people took the subway from Feb. 17 to 23, down 19.1 percent from 52.55 million during the same period last year.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Helpless diplomacy while S. Korean passengers are quarantined in China
The U.S. and China have enhanced their response towards South Korea in the wake of soaring confirmed cases with the Wuhan coronavirus in the nation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the travel alert for South Korea to the highest level on Monday (local time), and a local city in China isolated all passengers from South Korea for the first time on Tuesday. As the COVID-19 crisis is prolonged, the Moon Jae-in administration’s diplomatic power is on the chopping blocks along with quarantine and economic issues.
Samsung begins mass producing 16GB LPDDR5 DRAM chips
Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing16-gigabyte (GB) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM for the first time in the world, pursuing its strategy to create a massive gap in the semiconductor industry between the company and its competitors. The 16GB mobile DRAM, providing the highest speed and largest capacity in the industry, features twice the capacity and 30 percent higher speed compared to 8GB LPDDR4X mobile DRAM, which is used in premium smartphones, the South Korean tech giant said.
Groundbreaking NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson dies at 101
Katherine Johnson whose life was portrayed in the movie “Hidden Figures” died on Monday (local time) aged 101. The 2016 movie depicts a real story of female African American mathematicians who joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and led a mission to put the first man on the Moon in the 1950s when racial discrimination was widespread.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
[COVID-19 Outbreak] A Darker Shade of COVID-19 in Our Society
The poor conditions that the disabled and the homeless face put them at greater risk in the latest COVID-19 outbreak. When it comes to immigrant workers, who are not fluent in Korean, it is difficult to obtain information on the virus. Non-regular workers are more often excluded from safety measures compared to regular workers. The ripples from COVID-19 take different forms depending on the social position of the people.
Israel Repatriates South Korean Tourists on Chartered Flight
Countries throughout the world are restricting the entry of tourists from South Korea due to the COVID-19 outbreak, adding to the government’s burden. As of February 24, six countries including Israel and Jordan have banned the entry of foreigners from South Korea, and nine countries including Brazil and Qatar have put in quarantine people with a history of visiting South Korea. On February 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will explain the government’s efforts to respond to COVID-19 to the foreign missions in South Korea.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
S. Korean biz sentiment plummets to 11-year low as COVID-19 surges
Business sentiment in South Korea plummeted to a 11-year low this month amid growing concerns that the fast-spreading novel coronavirus (COVID-19) would do serious harm to most industries, a survey revealed on Monday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country’s top 600 companies by sales was 78.9 for February, the lowest level since February 2009 when the figure came to 62.4, according to a survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) on Monday. It was also 10.4 points lower from January.
Korean state firms join economic stimulus campaign to contain virus impact
Korean state enterprises are accelerating their big spending plans to aid the virus-battered economy. The country’s biggest state-run company Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH) said Monday it will expedite the release of 7 trillion won ($5.78 billion), or 34 percent of its annual total budget, in the first half of the year to ward off the economic impact of the virus epidemic, which has been spreading at an alarming rate in Korea in recent days.
Korean drug makers on alert due to reduced blood donations from virus scare
South Korea is running out of blood reserves as people avoid going out and interacting with others due to coronavirus fears, putting strain on blood product manufacturers that rely on donated blood. Korea now has blood reserves for 4.4 days, shy of 50,378 liters from normal five-day levels, according to Korean Red Cross on Monday.
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What’s ticking around the world at this second?
See what the world media around the world have to report:
USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com
Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com, service@wsj-asia.com
Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com
The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk
The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk
Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cn kf@people.cn
China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn
GwangmyeongDaily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn
Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com
Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com
Mainichi www.mainichi.jp
Le Monde www.ilemonde.com
Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com
Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de
SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de
Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au
Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com
Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.combfp@bogotafreeplanet.com
El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english
Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en
Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net
The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com
LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en
The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com, lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com
El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html
Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net
Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com
Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu
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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.
Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM
Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s
Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE
And many other countries.
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