Headlines, May 1, 2020

Friday May 1, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
Crown Prince of the UAE discusses with President Moon ways to contain COVID-19
The following details were provided by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Seoul to The Korea Post for publication.—Ed. To prevent the wide spread of novel coronavirus, international cooperation have been important. The UAE has been in close collaboration with international and regional organizations and other nations, including the Republic of Korea. It was one of the first countries to stand by China in this critical period. It also supported other nations including Afghanistan, Iran and Italy, to mention a few.

President of Uzbekistan is bringing together government and businesses to ensure social protection of the people at times of coronavirus outbreak
Uzbekistan, along with a number of other countries in the world, is facing consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and social area, including on the lives of people in cities and regions.
Amid novel coronavirus, the head of state places a great emphasis on providing support to vulnerable segments of the population and ensuring full operation of industrial enterprises, construction area and country’s infrastructure.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
S. Korean Parliament Passes 2nd Extra Budget to Finance COVID-19 Relief
South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed the government's 12-point-two trillion won second supplementary budget bill to finance the government's coronavirus relief payments.
In a delayed vote minutes before 1:00 a.m., 185 of 206 lawmakers cast their ballots for the bill. Six voted against it and 15 abstained.
With the bill now approved, the government is expected to speed up the process of making payments to 21-point-71 million households starting May 13.

Authorities Begin On-Site Inspection of Icheon Warehouse Fire
South Korean police, fire authorities and forensic experts began a joint on-site inspection on Thursday of a warehouse where a fire killed 38 people and injured ten others the previous day.
A team of 45 investigators started inspecting the site in the city of Icheon, Gyeonggi Province at 11:00 a.m.
Authorities believe the fire may have been caused by an explosion of oil mist from construction work involving urethane on the second underground level.

Temples Across S. Korea Hold Ritual to Mark Buddha's Day, Pray for Overcoming COVID-19
Temples across South Korea held ceremonies on Thursday to mark the birth of the Buddha and to pray for the nation to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
At downtown Seoul's Jogyesa Temple, the head temple of South Korea's dominant Jogye Order, a ceremony took place to ritually cleanse the venue for Buddhist events, make offerings to the Buddha and help all creatures perceive their foolishness.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
S. Korea reports 4 imported virus cases with zero local infections
SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea reported four more cases of the new coronavirus Thursday, but all of them were imported ones, marking the first time in 72 days that local infections have fallen to zero.
The four new cases brought the total to 10,765.
It was the first time since Feb. 18 that no locally infected cases have occurred. It also marked the lowest daily increase in more than two months, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Korea's April exports sink 24 pct over virus pandemic
SEOUL, May 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports plunged 24.3 percent in April from a year earlier as the country suffered from a double whammy of the new coronavirus pandemic and the falling oil prices, data showed Friday.
Outbound shipments came to US$36.9 billion last month, compared with $48.7 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Imports moved down 15.9 percent on-year in April to $37.8 billion.

S. Korea striving to identify workers killed in warehouse fire
ICHEON, South Korea, April 30 (Yonhap) -- Police on Thursday strived to identify some of the 38 construction workers killed in a warehouse fire in Icheon, south of Seoul, after wrapping up a search and rescue operation in one of the country's deadliest blazes in years.
The fire, which injured 10 others, two of them seriously, engulfed a four-story building under construction in Icheon, 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon and was put out five hours later.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Korea reports 4 new COVID-19 cases, all imported
Korea on Thursday reported four new confirmed cases of COVID-19, all of which were imported from overseas, marking the first time in 75 days that zero local community infections were reported.
The total number of confirmed cases in Korea stood at 10,765 as of midnight, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The daily number of confirmed cases has ranged between six and 14 since it dropped to 18 on April 18.

S. Korea striving to identify workers killed in warehouse fire
Police on Thursday strived to identify some of the 38 construction workers killed in a warehouse fire in Icheon, south of Seoul, after wrapping up a search and rescue operation in one of the country's deadliest blazes in years.
The fire, which injured 10 others, two of them seriously, engulfed a four-story building under construction in Icheon, 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon and was put out five hours later.

All Koreans to get COVID-19 relief money
The National Assembly on Thursday passed a 12.2-trillion-won extra budget bill to offer disaster relief money to all Koreans to help them tackle the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The second supplementary budget to be approved this year was increased from the government’s earlier proposal of 7.6 trillion won as the scope of recipients was expanded from the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket to all households.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
S. Korea reports zero domestic infections
Korea reported four new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, all of which were imported, marking the first day without any domestically reported cases since Feb. 18.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the total number of cases rose to 10,765, with 247 fatalities.
Also, the quarantine authorities said they hadn't seen any people suspected of contracting the virus after visiting polling stations April 15. Wednesday was the last day of the 14-day incubation period for the virus.

S. Korea remains firm against US pressure for defense cost-sharing
Seoul is standing firm against Washington's repeated pressure for a hefty increase in its share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong United States Forces Korea (USFK) stationed here. Although the lack of deal has put thousands of Korean workers at U.S. military bases on unpaid leave, the government is not accepting the U.S. demand, but instead responding by setting up special laws to support the workers.

Assembly approves W12.2 trillion extra budget
The National Assembly approved a 12.2 trillion-won ($10 billion) extra budget Thursday to provide emergency relief money to all households nationwide.
This is the second extra budget this year to help the country better cope with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous one, worth 11.7 trillion won, was passed March 17.
With the 12.2 trillion won from the central government combined with 2.1 trillion won from local governments, 1 million won will be provided to households with four or more members, 800,000 won to three-person households, 600,000 won to two-person households and 400,000 won to single-person households. A total of 21.7 million households will receive the funding.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://englishani.co.kr)
Recounting Daegu’s battle with the worst of S. Korea’s COVID-19 epidemic
The South Korean metropolis of Daegu saw its first COVID-19 case on Feb. 18, 29 days after the country reported its first case on Jan. 20. After that, the city became the front line of the war against the coronavirus. While the city faced a crisis in which hundreds of patients were diagnosed every day, the diligence of its citizens and help from around the country have enabled a gradual return to normal life. Kim Il-woo, the Hankyoreh’s Daegu correspondent, outlines the bitter struggle of the past 72 days.

Doctors suggest COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms be discharged sooner
A group of doctors who are treating people with COVID-19 observed that 93% of patients have mild symptoms and suggested that patients should be discharged if three or four days go by without their symptoms worsening. These doctors are seeking ways to more effectively use intensive care units and other medical resources since only 0.7% of such patients go on to develop severe symptoms of the coronavirus

S. Korea records lowest number of new COVID-19 cases since Feb. 18
South Korea recorded four new COVID-19 cases for Apr. 30, bringing the total to 10,765. This was the lowest number of daily increases since the country recorded its 31st patient on Feb. 18. All four cases were imported from overseas, bringing the total of imported cases to 446. The total number of patients released from quarantine increased by 137 to 9,059, and the number of deaths increased by one to 247.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Half of Korea's Workers Lose Income to Coronavirus
Five out of 10 salaried workers have lost income due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to a survey. Low-income, temporary workers in the service industry were hit much harder than high-paid permanent employees in other industries.
The Public Workers Solidarity Foundation on Monday said that in a survey of 1,000 employees from April 14-20, 47.5 percent replied that their income has dropped since the epidemic erupted.
Six hundred were permanent employees and 400 on temporary contracts. Some 500 were office workers, 178 factory workers, 299 in the service industry and 23 in other sectors.

Top Health Official Warns of Coronavirus Resurgence
Korea's top health official has warned that it could take a long time to end the coronavirus epidemic.
Jung Eun-kyeong, the chief of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday that the coronavirus epidemic will "ebb and flow repeatedly and possibly surge again when winter comes and conditions become ripe for viruses to thrive."

Coronavirus Accelerates Contactless, Automated World
The coronavirus and other epidemics have made a "contactless chain" in commerce an increasingly attractive proposition, but speeding up automation also means that human jobs are getting even scarcer.
Robots, vending machines, self-checkout and all the rest were rapidly catching on in Korea even before the coronavirus epidemic. But where once it was only supposed to save money on wages, it is now also becoming attractive to customers as a way of avoiding infection risks.

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Zero COVID-19 cases come from S. Korean general elections
The April 15 general elections of South Korea to elect 300 members of the 21st National Assembly took place amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19. A nation-wide elections held during the pandemic outbreak garnered much attention, both domestically and overseas. A number of foreign media covered the country’s voting and ballot-counting scenes.

Super ruling party brings up constitutional amendment
Lee In-young, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has suggested to the opposition party passing the bill put forth in March by 148 members of both the ruling and opposition parties to allow the public to propose a bill for constitutional amendment during the provisional session of the National Assembly in May. The bill may not be passed during the 20th National Assembly in case that the United Future Party opposes, but it can be during the 21st National Assembly as long as the Democratic Party of Korea secures additional 20 seats. Given the circumstances, the ruling party seems to bring up such a constitutional amendment more openly.

Robots provide contact-free services and deliver food
As demand for contact-free services skyrockets due to COVID-19, robots are quickly becoming part of our daily lives, making their way into hotels, restaurants and large supermarkets.
KT and Hyundai Robotics announced Thursday that their AI robot, “GiGA Genie hotel robot 2,” would be dispatched to Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotels & Residences.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
“South Korea and the U.S. Share Views on Inter-Korean Railway Connection Project” Does This Mean Progress after 2 Years?"
On April 28, the government reportedly confirmed similar views with the U.S. on the inter-Korean railway connection project on the Gyeongui Line and the Donghae Line. This project was one of the items that the leaders of North and South Korea agreed to in the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, but it remained at a standstill for two years after the United States pulled the brakes. Now that the U.S. views the project in a similar light with the South, perhaps this and President Moon Jae-in’s expression of his determination to actively expand inter-Korean cooperation will accelerate progress in the inter-Korean railway project.

Whatever You Expect, Son Heung-min Always Has More to Show
Son Heung-min (28, Tottenham) was the central topic of talks with his football even when taking part in military exercises. His “70m dribble wonder-goal” in the match against Burnley last December was voted as the best English Premier League (EPL) goal of all time after it was selected as the “goal of the year” by various media outlets.
Sky Sports, a British broadcasting company with EPL broadcasting rights, announced on April 28 that fans voted Son Heung-min’s goal as the best EPL goal of all time with 26% of the votes.

Lawmakers Agree to Pass Supplemental Budget for Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Tomorrow
On April 27, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass the second supplemental budget for an emergency disaster relief fund for all citizens in response to COVID-19 at a plenary session at the National Assembly on April 29. They also agreed to first handle legislation to prevent the recurrence of another “Nth Room” case and the amendments of the Korea Development Bank Act and the Act on Special Cases Concerning Establishment and Operation of Internet-Only Banks. This day Democratic Party of Korea senior assistant floor leader Yoon Hu-duk and his counterpart in the United Future Party Kim Han-pyo released an agreement including these details.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
Samsung Elec stays intact on spending, alerts weaker Q2 earnings
Samsung Electronics Co. kept its investment plans intact so far in the virus-dominated year, but braces for earnings decline in the coming months from the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic after confirming near 10-percent drop in first-quarter income.
The world`s biggest memory chip and smartphone maker on Wednesday reported finalized operating profit of 6.45 trillion won for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, down 9.96 percent from a quarter ago but up 3.43 percent from a year earlier. Sales totaled 55.33 trillion won, down 7.61 percent on quarter but up 5.61 percent on year.

SK Innovation okays $727 mn capital to build No. 2 battery plant in U.S. for $1.5 bn
South Korea’s SK Innovation Co. pledged $727 million, half of the investment needed to install a second battery manufacturing factory in the United States with an annual capacity of 11.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) less than a year after it broke ground for its first U.S. battery plant.

Virus batters Korea’s domestic demand in March, yet to impact factory output
South Korea’s industrial activity in March benefited from the normalization of auto production while services activity fell by the most on record from social distancing.
The seasonally adjusted mining and manufacturing output in March rose 4.6 percent from the previous month, bouncing back after a 3.8 percent slump in February, Statistics Korea reported Wednesday.

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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com

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