Monday, March 30, 2020

Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)

The first nation in the 21st century to gain independence, liberation from religious, cultural oppression
Kim Shin-hwan is a player -turned coach training children in East Timor to play football. Since the start of the 21st century, East Timor was the first nation to become independent in May 2002, after it gained liberation from religious and cultural oppressions. When Kim first arrived in East Timor, he did not have a firm plan for what to do there. Upon arrival, he was welcomed by the then Lt. Col. Choi Chull-whan, the deputy chief of the Civil Military Affairs of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces Headquarters, posted in East Timor at the time to support the nation’s independence movement.

Episode
The original Korean-language version of this prize-winning English story was written by the famed late Korean Novelist, O Yeong-su, and was translated into English by Lee Kyung-sik (Yi Kyung-sik) and published by The Korea Times in Seoul on Nov. 1, 1973. Lee is now the publisher-chairman of The Korea Post media publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications.—Ed. Tomorrow. Sometimes we exist only for tomorrow. As long as there is hope for tomorrow and we dwell only on tomorrow, we will have no despair, for there will be a tomorrow. One of the endless tomorrows, we may see the riddle of our story unravelled.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

KOSPI Opens Lower on Mon.
South Korean stocks opened lower on Monday amid the continuing global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) fell over three percent early in the morning before gaining some ground later in the session. As of 10:42 a.m., the index hit one-thousand-678-point-39 points, down by 39-point-34 points, or two-point-29 percent, from Friday’s closing.

Prime Minister Calls for Thoroughness in 2-week Mandatory Quarantine
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has underlined thoroughness with regard to the government’s move to impose a two-week mandatory quarantine on all people arriving from overseas. Chung revealed the stance when he chaired a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Monday. He said amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases from abroad, it’s imperative, at the present time, to inspect travelers entering the country. Additionally, it is important to trace where such travelers have been and for these travelers to thoroughly implement self-quarantine measures.

Health Minister Defends Gov't Stance Against Complete Entry Ban
The government has defended its position against imposing an all-out entry ban on foreigners, saying that many South Koreans also need to go abroad for essential business. In a regular press briefing on Sunday, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo explained why the government is not fully banning foreigners from entering the country to block the inflow of COVID-19 cases. Park said that many South Koreans need to make overseas trips for business and the government should leave some room for them to go abroad by not enforcing a complete entry ban on foreigners.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)

New infections again on slide, but Seoul still on alert over clusters, imported cases
South Korea saw a slight decline in new coronavirus cases Monday, but cluster infections in Seoul and the surrounding area continued to emerge, coupled with a continued rise in cases involving arrivals from overseas. The 78 new cases of COVID-19, detected Sunday and down from 105 new cases a day earlier, marked the 18th consecutive day that new infections have hovered around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The death toll rose by six to 158.

N. Korea says it tested 'super-large' multiple rocket launchers
North Korea has tested "super-large" multiple rocket launchers, state media reported Monday, a day after South Korea's military said the communist state fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles. Seoul's military said Sunday that the missiles were fired from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, flying 230 kilometers with a maximum altitude of 30 km. The launches marked the latest in a series of weapons tests or artillery firing drills the North has conducted this year.

Moon to unveil household relief money plan over coronavirus
President Moon Jae-in is expected to announce a major stimulus package Monday that includes doling out emergency relief money to a majority of households in South Korea. He will convene a third session of the emergency economic council against the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak at Cheong Wa Dae late Monday morning, with its termination not in sight.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)

N. Korea says it tested 'super-large' multiple rocket launchers
North Korea has tested "super-large" multiple rocket launchers, state media reported Monday, a day after South Korea's military said the communist state fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles. Seoul's military said Sunday that the missiles were fired from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, flying 230 kilometers with a maximum altitude of 30 km. The launches marked the latest in a series of weapons tests or artillery firing drills the North has conducted this year.

New infections again on slide, but Seoul still on alert
South Korea saw a slight decline in new coronavirus cases Monday, but cluster infections in Seoul and the surrounding area continued to emerge, coupled with a continued rise in cases involving arrivals from overseas. The 78 new cases of COVID-19, detected Sunday and down from 105 new cases a day earlier, marked the 18th consecutive day that new infections have hovered around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The death toll rose by six to 158.

Moon to unveil household relief money plan over coronavirus
President Moon Jae-in is expected to announce a major stimulus package Monday that includes doling out emergency relief money to a majority of households in South Korea. He will convene a third session of the emergency economic council against the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak at Cheong Wa Dae late Monday morning, with its termination not in sight.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)

S. Korea reports 78 new virus cases, total at 9,661. Death toll hits 158
South Korea reported 78 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, down from 105 new cases a day earlier, bringing the nation's total infections to 9,661. The 78 new cases of COVID-19, detected Sunday, marked the 18th consecutive day that new infections hovered around 100 or fewer additional cases, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The death toll rose by six to 158.

COVID-19 changes pecking order of large-cap stocks 
Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Korea back on January 20, the KOSPI has seen 385.92 trillion won ($316.32 billion) in market capitalization evaporate, reducing the total market cap of the main bourse to 1,138.46 trillion won as of March 27. The nation's secondary Kosdaq market has also shrunk by 58.65 trillion won, with its total market cap standing at 188.24 trillion won last Friday.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

Scientific community focuses on vaccine development with no clear end to outbreak in sight
“We believe it is unlikely that [the novel coronavirus] can be completely reduced to zero.” -- Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) With Mar. 20 marking two months since the first confirmed coronavirus case in South Korea, experts agreed that “aftershocks” of small-scale infection are poised to continue occurring throughout South Korea even if there are no additional explosive increases in patients such as those seen in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. The message is that it is unlikely that an “end” to the outbreak can be easily determined.

How Goyang’s drive-thru testing model became adopted throughout the world
The “Goyang safe car screening clinic,” a drive-thru approach to novel coronavirus testing introduced on Feb. 26 by the city of Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, is attracting global attention. The Goyang clinics have been praised as an “innovative idea” and reported on by major global news outlets such as CNN, NBC, and ABC in the US and AFP in France. They’ve become even more famous after US President Donald Trump announced plans to adopt the South Korean drive-thru model.

Radiation leak at KAERI was result of design flaws and sloppy management, regulator finds
An accidental leak of extremely low-level radioactive material that occurred at the natural evaporation facility at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in Daejeon late last year was the result of flawed facility design and poor operations, South Korea’s nuclear regulator has found. It also discovered that radioactive waste has continued to leak over the past 30 years from the facility because of its faulty construction. KAERI is facing serious criticism for its sloppy operations over the last 30 years, not to mention its negligence of issues in facility design.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

All Arrivals to Be Put in Self-Quarantine
All arrivals from abroad will be told to quarantine themselves for two weeks starting Wednesday. Foreign tourists will be quarantined at a government-run facility at their own expense, which authorities hope will reduce their numbers to practically zero without an outright ban. So far only students from China and travelers from Europe and the U.S. were required to quarantine themselves.

Cash-Strapped Young Koreans Look out for Savings
Young Koreans are having an increasingly tough time making ends meet as the economic slowdown is exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak. Even the lucky few who have managed to find work are tightening their purse strings. One of the easiest ways to cut down on spending is to use smartphone apps that offer discounts or points that can be used as cash. Some apps help users to sell used products, while others conduct surveys for marketing purposes and award points that can be cashed in as gift coupons or vouchers at franchise or convenience stores.

Gatecrashers Take Advantage of Universities' Online Lectures
Universities have opted for online lectures as the coronavirus epidemic rages on but are sometimes startled by heavy traffic from people other than students who are tuning in. In some cases this has caused servers to crash, prompting universities to upload lessons to video-sharing websites like YouTube. One professor of political science at Jeonbuk National University conducted his lecture through Afreeca TV. The class has 50 students, but more than 350 tuned in.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)

14-day self-isolation imposed on all entrants starting from April
The South Korean government has ordered all incoming travelers to self-quarantine for two weeks starting from next month to prevent COVID-19 from entering the country from other countries. This implies that short-term travels or business trips are not recommended. “All entrants are required to practice two-week self-quarantine regardless of their nationality and travel destination from midnight on April 1,” South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-gyun said in a meeting about quarantine strategies on Sunday.

N. Korea launches missiles 2 days after Moon’s remark on Cheonan sinking
North Korea launched two short-range missiles assumed to be KN-25 in Wonsan, Gangwon on Sunday. The fourth provocation in March came two days after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Cheonan sinking was an act of North Korea at a ceremony marking the Yellow Sea Defense Day on Friday. According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched two short-range missiles from a wheeled transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) at around 6:10 a.m. on Sunday. The launch vehicle flew around 230 kilometers towards the Northeast direction at a maximum altitude of around 30 kilometers before falling in the East Sea.

$12 bill. to be released Thursday from S. Korea-U.S. currency swap
Of the 60 billion U.S. dollars made available by the South Korea-U.S. currency swap agreement, 12 billion dollars will be released to the South Korean financial market on Thursday. This is the first 20 percent of the total limit set to be released to the local market, and amounts to three times the initial supply (4 billion dollars) offered during the 2008 global financial crisis.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

Online Classes Instead of Rushing to Start School: Many Agree, But Reality Is Not So Adaptable
COVID-19 is refusing to die down, and experts predict the possibility of online classes replacing school for elementary, middle and high schools scheduled to begin April 6. In case COVID-19 is not contained, the Ministry of Education is reviewing measures to recognize online classes as official school days rather than further postpone the first day of school, which has already been pushed back three times. On March 26, some schools notified homes about demonstrations of online classes and began an environmental survey to see who owned what kind of smart devices.

Ultrafine Particles Recognized as Industrial Hazard for the First Time
A cooking assistant collapsed from a stroke after being exposed to high humidity and ultrafine particles for five years in a cafeteria with poor ventilation, and the court ruled that this was an industrial accident. This was the first case in South Korea where the court recognized ultrafine particles as a cause of an industrial accident. The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service recognized the case of Yi (51), a cooking assistant who collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage while working in a middle school cafeteria, as an industrial accident according to the recommendation for a settlement by the Seoul Administrative Court on March 11.

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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)

SK Energy readies for commercial production of $820 mn low-sulfur fuel oil production unit
South Korean refining giant SK Energy Co. is ready to mass produce 40,000 barrels of environmentally-friendly low-sulfur fuel oil a day after successfully test running its new 1-trillion won ($820 million) worth vacuum residue desulfurization unit (VRDS) at its Ulsan refining complex. The construction of the new VRDS began in January 2018 and reached mechanical completion about three months ahead of schedule in late January this year, the company said on Sunday.

Korea to impose sweeping 2-wk quarantine on all int’l arrivals from Wed
Anyone stepping into South Korea from April 1 will be required to stay isolated for two weeks regardless of their departure point and nationality as the number of coronavirus cases in the country ticks up from overseas arrivals. The quarantine rule, to be effective from midnight April 1, will be expanded from arrivals from Europe and the United States to include all international entrants, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday.

Korean household names Samsung, Hyundai, LG close more overseas factories over virus
The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the global manufacturing bases of South Korean household corporate names Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics. Hyundai Motor Co, the country’s largest automaker, will suspend assembly lines at its St. Petersburg factory in Russia for five days from March 30 after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide paid holiday next week to stem the spread of COVID-19, according to the company on Friday.

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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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