Headlines, April 14, 2020

Tuesday April 14, 2020

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

The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com/)
“Women take care of children, house work, but men also do when wives work”
The following are excerpts from an interview with Mrs. Nataliia Tymoshenko, spouse of the Ambassador of Ukraine in Seoul.—Ed.
Question: As was briefly introduced afore, the Korean people have a time-honoured expression, Naejo, which literally translates as “Domestic Support” and which means “Support and assistance given by a wife to her husband. How is this understood among non-Korean ladies?

‘Khoka, then a little boy, removed all the darkness, odds from Bangladesh’
The following article was contributed by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Seoul for publication on the occasion of the Independence Day of Bangladesh on March 26, 2020.—Ed. It was 1920, a century ago. It was a late spring evening, March the 17th. It was dark all around. It was one of the thousands of villages in Bangladesh - Tungipara at the present Gopalganj district. Born there was a baby boy, affectionately called ‘Khoka‘ - meaning a little boy - by his parents, who half a century later removed all the darkness and odds; changed the history of the Bengali nation and the world; created an independent and sovereign Bangladesh in 1971.
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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)
Moon to Join ASEAN+3 Virtual Summit on COVID-19
President Moon Jae-in will attend a special video summit of the so-called ASEAN Plus Three on Tuesday to discuss global cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus.
ASEAN Plus Three refers to the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus South Korea, China and Japan. Vietnam serves as the chair of this year's ASEAN meetings.

S. Korean Firms to Ship COVID-19 Test Kits to US
Two South Korean companies will ship their coronavirus test kits to the United States on Tuesday.
A senior Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said on Monday that the test kits will be shipped Tuesday afternoon after the two firms secured interim approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and signed contracts with the U.S.

Amnesty Int'l Voices Concern over COVID-19-Related Tech Surveillance
Amnesty International has expressed concerns over possible human rights violations with the use of surveillance technology to track COVID-19 patients or those suspected of having the virus.
The South Korean branch of the human rights watchdog issued a joint statement with over 100 local civic groups on Monday, stressing they cannot tolerate the coronavirus being used as grounds for extensive and unconditional public surveillance.
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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)
New cases dip below 30 again, social distancing still urged
South Korea on Monday saw its daily number of coronavirus infections fall below 30 again, but health authorities said that the country should not let its guard down against the pandemic, urging people to keep up social distancing.
The 25 new cases, detected Sunday and down from 32 a day ago, brought the nation's total infections to 10,537, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

All U.S. arrivals to get tested within 3 days of self-isolation
All arrivals from the United States are to be tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation, starting Monday, health authorities said.
The strengthened measure against COVID-19 began midnight, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Election watchdog prioritizes preventing COVID-19 self-isolators from having contact with other voters
South Korea's election watchdog said Monday it will prioritize preventing those in self-isolation over the new coronavirus from having contact with other voters when they cast ballots in this week's elections.
The government will allow people ordered to go into self-quarantine from April 1-14 and without symptoms of the virus to vote in Wednesday's parliamentary elections after regular voting ends at 6 p.m.
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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)
Parties implore voters, highlight shortfalls of rivals ahead of elections
The country’s two main political parties are scrambling to reach out to voters, with both sides highlighting the perceived failures of their rivals ahead of Wednesday’s general elections.
Rep. Lee Hae-chan, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, on Monday highlighted the importance of Seoul and the surrounding regions in the general elections and urged voters to pick the party’s candidates in constituency elections while picking the Citizen Party for proportional representation. The Citizen Party is the ruling party’s proportional representative party.

Health officials warn NYC could run out of virus test swabs
New York City is in danger of running out of swabs for COVID-19 tests and should only test hospitalized patients, the city health department said in a memo to health care providers over the weekend.
"As the swab supply continues to decline, there is a real possibility hospitals will completely run out," the April 11 health alert said. "At this time, providers are reminded to only test hospitalized patients in order to preserve resources that are needed to diagnose and appropriately manage patients with more severe illness."

As 'remote' gains momentum, how will medical system change?
The unprecedented spread of the novel coronavirus in the past months has forced medical professionals to seek ways to minimize their contact with patients in testing while maximizing the scope of tracking the infection.
Industry watchers say that the South Korean Health Ministry’s smartphone applications, for instance, are an applied form of rudimentary telemedicine by allowing people to self-test during quarantine to report their conditions to medical professionals.
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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
S. Korea mulls easing social-distancing rules
The government will discuss easing social-distancing rules later this week as COVID-19 infections have shown signs of decreasing, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 25 new infections Sunday, pushing the total number of cases to 10,537, with 217 deaths.

'Chinese economy slowly coming back to life'
The global economy is expected to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic-led economic recession faster than expected as China, the epicenter of the virus, is showing slow yet clear signs of a recovery with its production capacity picking up, a noted Shanghai-based economist said Monday.
While the global pandemic clearly illustrates how the world's economy remains vulnerable to a China-centered supply chain, no major restructuring is expected any time soon due to the lack of a cost-efficient alternative, he added.

Unemployment allowance hits record high amid pandemic
The amount paid out to jobseekers and people who are unemployed broke another record in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the country's economic and business activities, data showed Monday.
According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government's monthly unemployment and job search allowance payments totaled 898.2 billion won ($737 million) in March, soaring 40.4 percent from 639.7 billion won in the same month last year. It also hit a fresh high, surpassing the previous record of 781.9 billion won in February.
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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)
Trump rejected S. Korea’s offer to increase defense cost by 13%, US press reports
According to a report in the foreign press, the South Korean government offered a 13% year-on-year increase of its financial contribution to the cost of stationing American troops in the country in its ongoing negotiations with the US, but that offer was rejected by US President Donald Trump. The negotiations have been disrupted by the “Trump factor” at the very moment when it looked as if a tentative agreement had been reached, leading some to predict that the deadlock in the talks will continue.

S. Korea’s early voting in National Assembly election produce record voter turnout of 26.7%
The results of an Apr. 3 poll by the National Election Commission (NEC) about voting intentions have been borne out in early voting on Apr. 10-11, which brought out a record 26.7% of voters. If this trend continues, the overall turnout in the parliamentary elections could end up exceeding not only the previous parliamentary elections four years ago (58.0%) but also the 2004 parliamentary elections, which set a record for voter turnout (60.6%).

Easter services and general election sparks concern over fresh surge of COVID-19 cases
While the number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea has fallen, the country’s disease control authorities are concerned that people who congregated at several large churches for Easter Sunday have undermined the government’s push for intense social distancing. For one thing, the occurrence of new cases must be stabilized before the country can switch to a more relaxed quarantine regime; for another, there needs to be widespread awareness that such a switch doesn’t mean it’s okay for large numbers of people to start gathering again.
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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)
Coronavirus Knocks Down Gangnam Real Estate Prices
The prices of aging apartments in Gangnam are dropping rapidly as the coronavirus epidemic delivers a severe blow to the economy.
Older apartments in the affluent area are considered bellwethers of property prices because they tend to surge when designated for renovation or reconstruction, and the government had introduced tougher regulations to stabilize them to little effect.

Gov't Wrestles with Electronic Tags for Quarantine Violators
The government has stirred up a hornets' nest by promising lenience to violators of self-quarantine orders if they agree to wear an electronic tag.
"Investigators or judicial authorities will regard the wearing of an electronic wristband as extenuating circumstances," Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health and Welfare Ministry official, said Sunday.

Self-Quarantined Without Symptoms Allowed to Vote
The government will allow new returnees from overseas to vote in the general election this Wednesday if they show no symptoms of coronavirus even though they have been placed in mandatory self-quarantine.
The government on Sunday said that self-quarantined people seeking to cast their votes must inform health authorities of their intent to do so on Monday and Tuesday.
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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)
Coronavirus comes in three distinct variants, says a study
A study has found that COVID-19 is spreading around the world in three different variants. Researchers from Cambridge University collected 160 samples from patients all around the world and analyzed their genome sequence between Dec. 24 and March 4 to find three distinct variants of the coronavirus, Mirror and The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Ri Son Gwon, Ri Pyong Chol enter State Affairs Commission of N. Korea
North Korea held a Supreme People's Assembly meeting on Sunday to announce the official inauguration of a new diplomatic system led by Ri Son Gwon, a hardline foreign minister with a military background. It is drawing attention whether the introduction of new figures will lead to new policies toward the U.S. while the dialogues between the U.S. and North Korea are stuck in a long-term deadlock and North Korea insists on the “frontal breakthrough.”

Hyundai Mobis to build 2nd R&D center in India
Hyundai Mobis will build its second R&D center in India near the first one in Hyderabad, the capital of southern India's Telangana state, the company announced Monday. The Hyderabad R&D center dedicated to automotive software has over 700 employees, focusing on the development and demonstration of the software.
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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)
U2 Bono Writes to President Moon Saying He Wants to Buy Protective Equipment for COVID-19 and Donate Them to Ireland
According to Cheong Wa Dae on April 12, Bono, the lead vocalist of the rock band, U2, and a humanitarian activist nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, recently sent a letter to President Moon Jae-in asking South Korea to help his home country of Ireland overcome COVID-19.
In a written briefing, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok mentioned that in the letter Bono described the current situation in Ireland, where the number of confirmed COVID-19-positive cases has been increasing out of control, and that he respectfully asked South Korea to share its insight, knowledge, and most of all, available equipment. Bono also said he would treasure the president’s opinion on the best method, given South Korea’s experience and leadership in a time of crisis.

Troops Stuck Inside Bases Relieve COVID-Induced Stress with Video Calls
The Ministry of National Defense temporarily allowed video calls for soldiers, who have been restricted from going on leave due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
On April 12, the defense ministry announced, “We temporarily allowed soldiers to make video calls beginning April 8,” and further explained, “It was a measure to relieve the stress suffered by the soldiers, who have been restricted from leaving their bases for an extended period of time due to COVID-19.” Earlier, on February 22, the ministry banned visits, outings, and leaves of all soldiers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This ban has continued for over two months.
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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)
S. Korea to enable faster clinical testing for COVID-19 cure or vaccine
South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Monday it will cut down on regulatory lag times to below seven days to help speed up the human clinical testing of a treatment or vaccine that is reinvented based on an existing development platform to fight COVID-19.
As part of efforts to aid the process, the ministry will provide tailored regulatory support for developers of COVID-19 cures or vaccines to reduce regulatory review and approval timelines, it added.

Kolon Life Science shares jump on FDA’s nod for Invossa’s clinical trial
Shares of South Korea’s Kolon Life Science Inc. soared to the daily ceiling Monday after its osteoarthritis drug Invossa was given a second chance to prove its validity in the United States despite its suspension at home over an ingredient mix-up.
The stock immediate rose by its daily limit of 30 percent to close at 26,900 won ($22.07) Monday on the overnight news.

Korea’s car output, sales, exports fall in Q1 on COVID-19 impact
South Korea’s auto industry came under triple scourges in the virus-stricken first quarter with sales at home and abroad as well as output all slumping against a year-ago period and is headed for its worst-ever performance in the first half.
According to data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday, auto production in Korea tumbled 15.4 percent from a year earlier to 809,975 units during the January to March period.
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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com

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