Monday, March 9, 2020
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today
The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
103 countries, territories restricting entry from S. Korea over coronavirus fears
A total of 103 countries and territories were enforcing or planning to impose entry restrictions or tougher quarantine procedures on people from South Korea over coronavirus concerns, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The tally, as of 6 p.m., remains unchanged from late Saturday's figure, but the number of countries and territories barring the entry of travelers from all of Korea rose by one to 37, according to the foreign ministry website.
Fire breaks out at Samsung chip plant, production unaffected
Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday a fire at its semiconductor plant in South Korea will not affect its chip production. A fire broke out at Samsung's chip plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, late Sunday night and was completely extinguished early Monday morning, according to fire authorities.
N. Korea fires 3 unidentified projectiles toward East Sea: JCS
North Korea fired three unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, a week after the communist regime fired two short-range projectiles. The projectiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern town of Sondok in Hamgyong Province, the JCS said in a brief release. Other details, including their type, flight range and altitude, were not immediately available.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
New Mask Purchase Rules Take Effect
The government will enforce new purchasing rules from Monday to resolve the supply shortage of face masks and ensure fair distribution amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Under the measures, citizens will be able to buy only two masks per week from pharmacies, on designated days of the week, depending on the final number of their year of birth.
S. Korea, Japan Enforce New Entry Restrictions
South Korea and Japan have begun enforcing toughened entry restrictions on each other, effectively blocking travel between the two neighboring countries. According to Seoul's Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry, South Korea has suspended a 90-day visa-free entry program for Japanese citizens and invalidated already issued visas from 12 a.m. Monday.
Health Authorities Assess S. Korea's COVID-19 Shows Signs of Slowdown
South Korea's health authorities have cautiously assessed that the country's COVID-19 outbreak is showing signs of containment. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said on Sunday during a news briefing that health authorities have almost completed virus tests on the followers of the Shincheonji church in Daegu. The authorities are now focusing their efforts on testing and finding infected people among Daegu citizens not linked to the church.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea's virus cases top 7,300 amid signs of infection slowdown
The number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea continued to rise, with an additional 179 cases confirmed Sunday, bringing the total to 7,313. The number of newly added confirmed cases is lower than 367 additional cases of COVID-19 released on Saturday, the slowest on-day gain since Feb. 26, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
N. Korea fires 3 unidentified projectiles toward East Sea: JCS
North Korea fired three unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, a week after the communist regime fired two short-range projectiles. The projectiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province, the JCS said in a brief release. Other details, including their type, flight range and altitude, were not immediately available.
Public transportation use in Seoul sinks amid virus angst
The number of passengers on public transportation in the capital city of Seoul tumbled more than 30 percent in the first week of this month from two months earlier amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the daily number of people who took subways and buses over the Monday-Friday period of last week decreased 34.5 from the day-to-day average in January.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
N. Korea fires 3 unidentified projectiles toward East Sea: JCS
North Korea fired three unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, a week after the communist regime fired two short-range projectiles. The projectiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern town of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province, the JCS said in a brief release. Other details, including their type, flight range and altitude, were not immediately available.
New infections drop, but Seoul on alert for new clusters
South Korean government said the country might see a slowing trend in the spread of the novel coronavirus as it reported 367 new cases of coronavirus infections Sunday, the lowest daily increase in more than 10 days. Health authorities, however, were cautious about the slowing trend, saying it was too early to say the situation has got better and new clusters of infections could still emerge.
Fire breaks out at Samsung chip plant, production unaffected
Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday a fire at its semiconductor plant in South Korea will not affect its chip production. A fire broke out at Samsung's chip plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, late Sunday night and was completely extinguished early Monday morning, according to fire authorities.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Airlines, travel agencies panic over Japan's entry restrictions
Airlines and travel agencies, already hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, are taking another hit from Japan's recent decision to tighten entry restrictions on people traveling from Korea, company officials said Sunday. Asiana Airlines, the nation's second-biggest airline, suspended all flights to Japan from Monday to the end of March for the first time since the company launched its Seoul-Tokyo route.
Virus disrupting Chinese supply chains, helping Samsung
As the blockbuster U.S.-China trade war escalates in the wake of the deadly coronavirus' lingering effect on tech companies with Chinese-centric supply chains, Samsung Electronics is aiming to harness the ongoing uncertainty to win lucrative deals with American tech companies.
'Rate cuts not enough to keep economy on track as virus spreads'
The Bank of Korea's (BOK) possible 25 basis points cut in its benchmark key rate may not be enough to keep the economy on track, as the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in itself, should never be a determining factor for monetary easing, experts said Sunday.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Looking back on a life as a revolutionary
On Sept. 12, 1980, Cha Myung-sook was standing in a military courtroom. Having seized power, the military dictatorship had held a martial l aw general court-martial inside of the Gwangju Sangmudae (combat training command) building to try individuals involved in the May 18 Democratization Movement earlier that year. Armed military police were lined up in the courtroom. It was the end of summer, but the atmosphere in the courtroom was chilly.
20% of S. Korean smartphone users at risk of overdependence, government study finds
A new study by the South Korean government finds that 20% of smartphone users last year were at risk of overdependence, with the sharpest increase observed among young children. On Feb. 20, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency released the results of a fact-finding survey about smartphone overdependence that was carried out on 28,592 South Korean internet users between the ages of three and 69.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Korea, Japan Suspend Visa-Free Entry
Korean visitors will be quarantined for two weeks at locations designated by Japanese authorities the moment they arrive at Japanese airports. Most air routes between the two countries have been closed except to Narita International Airport in Tokyo and Kansai International Airport in Osaka.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
COVID-19 spreads in Italy and Washington, D.C.
The new cases of COVID-19 are on the rapid increase in Italy and Iran. In the case of the U.S., its capital Washington, D.C. saw the first case and the fear of the Grand Princess cruise ship is growing. Now with COVID-19 cases in every continent in the world, it is deemed that the virus has entered the course of becoming a global pandemic.
SK Telecom enters Singapore’s and Thailand’s e-sports market
SK Telecom has signed a contract with Singtel and AIS to form a joint venture that will provide a platform for 800 million Asian game players, the company said Sunday. The three companies have agreed to create a global game community such as Steam Community that is visited by 150 million game lovers every month. Based on SK Telecom’s expertise in operating an esports team called “T1” and Singtel’s and AIS’s experience in hosting esports games, they will explore new business opportunities such as live broadcasting esports games in virtual reality and providing views of multiple players at the same time.
Sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 should be nipped in the bud
It has been 50 days since the first reported COVID-19 case in South Korea. As of Sunday, the country saw more than 7,100 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, 50 of which were dead. The COVID-19 outbreak, which has gone viral, seems to be slowing down although the total number of confirmed cases surpassed 5,300 and 1,000 in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, respectively, South Korea’s two hardest-hit regions.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
Kim Jong-un Sends Letter Supporting South Korea’s Fight Against COVID-19, “May Our Southern Compatriots Stay Healthy”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (pictured) sent a letter to President Moon Jae-in, extending words of comfort to the South Korean people struggling with the COVID-19 outbreak, and President Moon replied with a letter of gratitude to Chairman Kim, according to Cheong Wa Dae on March 5. Cheong Wa Dae conveyed that the North Korean leader shared his honest thoughts on the issues concerning the Korean Peninsula in the letter.
Two Masks a Week, ID Required. Minors Must Accompany Parents
The government will enforce a “5-day ration system” allowing citizens to purchase masks, supplied by public retailers including drug stores, Nonghyup Hanaro Mart stores and post offices, on one weekday according to the last digit in their birth year. People can purchase two masks per person from public retailers, and the price will be fixed at 1,500 won per mask. The government will also ban the export of masks. On March 5, the government held an emergency cabinet meeting at the government office in Seoul and passed these and other measures to ensure a stable supply of masks. Public retailers like drug stores, post offices and Nonghyup Hanaro Mart stores will sell masks according to the 5-day ration system.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Opposing front campaigns for voting power to win proxy fight vs Hanjin management
The shareholder alliance challenging Hanjin Group chairman Cho Won-tae openly campaigned for votes from minority shareholders and sought court warrant to win the proxy battle aimed to replace the management of the holding company of flag carrier Korean Air Lines. Activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI) on the coalition led by Hanjin Group heirless Cho Hyun-ah urged the shareholders to add votes to the alliance for proxy fight in the upcoming shareholders meeting on Mar. 27.
Korean financial firms brace for aftereffects of COVID-19 outbreak
Korean financial groups began to scale back business plans and income targets as they fear the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and strong fiscal and monetary easing plan could seriously weaken their performance. What can most hurt their balance sheet is additional easing after protracted low-interest environment as the Bank of Korea is expected to follow suit after the U.S. took extraordinary action of slashing the interest target by 50 basis points ahead of regular policy meeting.
Korean government bond maturity near $40 billion this year
South Korean government bonds maturing this year total 45.1 trillion won ($37.9 billion), which will be covered by this year’s record-scaled debt and budgetary spending plan. According to the finance ministry’s sovereign bond report, the government last year issued debt worth 101.7 trillion won in 2019, slightly below the 102.9 trillion won ceiling. This year’s ceiling was raised to 130.2 trillion won to finance the record-scale 152.3 trillion spending plan for 2020. About 59 trillion won was earmarked to cover refinancing in maturing debt.
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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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