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Apr 7, 2020 Industry

Korean Air calls for 6-month work stoppage for 70 pct of workforce

South Korea's No. 1 flag carrier, Korean Air Lines, said Tuesday that it will start a six-month-long work stoppage for more than 70 percent of its workforce, as the novel coronavirus wreaks havoc on the airline industry. The measure is part of an ongoing effort to survive the worsening business environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused air passenger movement to nosedive with countries around the world restricting movement of people. The stoppage, which will go into effec

UK’s Johnson spends night in ICU; not on ventilator

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent the night in the intensive care unit of a London hospital with the new coronavirus, but is not on a ventilator, a senior government minister said Tuesday, as pressure grew on the government to release more details of Johnson’s condition. Johnson was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital late Sunday, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, the first major world leader to be confirmed to have the virus. He was moved to t

Apr 7, 2020
World News
Top diplomats of S. Korea, UAE hold phone talks over coronavirus response

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates held phone talks Tuesday over bilateral cooperation in fighting the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry here said. The conversation between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her UAE counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, came after South Korea shipped 51,000 coronavirus sampling kits in emergency exports to the Middle Eastern country last month. The UAE foreign minister expressed gratitude for Korea's cooperation in respond

Apr 7, 2020
Foreign Affairs
Virus puts UK PM in intensive care; Japan declares emergency

London (AP) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in intensive care Tuesday fighting the coronavirus, while across the world, Japan’s leader declared a monthlong state of emergency for Tokyo and six other regions to keep the virus from ravaging the world’s oldest population. The 55-year-old Johnson, the world’s first known head of government to fall ill with the virus, was conscious in a London hospital and needed oxygen but was not on a ventilator, Cabinet minister Mic

Apr 7, 2020
World News
Moon wishes for British prime minister's recovery

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a message Tuesday to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is receiving medical treatment for novel coronavirus. Moon wrote, in English, on his social media account, "I was struck by the news that you had been admitted to intensive care," recalling that Johnson seemed to be "in good shape" two weeks earlier when he took part in the virtual summit of the Group of 20 major economies on the pandemic. Moon added, "I send my best

Apr 7, 2020
Foreign Affairs
Moon’s ‘telephone diplomacy’ continues in wake of pandemic

WHO chief requests Korea’s support for pandemic in Africa

Apr 7, 2020
Foreign Affairs
[Market close-up] Market eyes KDB's bail-out plan on coronavirus-hit companies

Excessive focus on conglomerates gives rise to concerns

Apr 7, 2020
Markets
[Graphic News] Retail sales up 9.1% in Feb. amid virus pandemic

　Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.1 percent in February from a year earlier as more people purchased daily necessities through online platforms amid the spread of the new coronavirus here, data showed. 　The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 10.6 trillion won ($8.68 billion) last month, compared with 9.71 trillion won a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　The sharp increase came as online stores enjoyed a w

Apr 7, 2020
Retail
Tax payment deferred for petroleum industry

The South Korean government has initiated a temporary tax relief program for domestic petrochemical companies as global demand has plummeted amidst the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday it will allow 54 petrochemical companies to delay their tax payments on oil imports and sales of petroleum products for 90 days, giving financial room to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Tax payments for April, May and June will be p

Apr 7, 2020
Industry
Bar employee tests virus positive after contact with infected K-pop singer

Night clubs and bars here were on high alert after it was revealed Tuesday that a female bar employee at one of Seoul’s biggest bar districts was confirmed with COVID-19. The employee, 36, whose test results turned out to be positive last Thursday, is believed to have contracted the COVID-19 after coming into contact with a virus patient, Yoon Hak of K-pop group Supernova, on March 26. The singer, 37, was diagnosed with the infection on April 1 and has since been in isolation at a medic

Apr 7, 2020
Social affairs
South Korean research institute develops low-cost cold-chain safety sticker

The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology on Tuesday announced that it has invented a cold-chain safety sticker that allows one to tell whether frozen food products have been mishandled during delivery. The nanofiber-film sticker, which costs around 120 won (1 cent) to produce, can be used when transporting different types of frozen foods, as well as expensive medicines and medical supplies, the research team said. The cold-chain sticker is designed to indicate how long frozen food

Apr 7, 2020
Technology
Hit by coronavirus, overseas voter turnout at record-low

Disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, overseas citizens' voting in South Korea's parliamentary elections recorded the lowest-ever turnout of 23.8 percent, the National Election Commission (NEC) said Tuesday. Only 40,858 of 171,959 people eligible for overseas voting for the April 15 elections cast their ballots, amounting to the lowest rate since the system was introduced in 2012. The number was 45.7 percent in 2012 and 41.4 in 2016, according to NEC. Overseas voting was conducted from April

Apr 7, 2020
Politics
'Thank God, I'm in Korea'

International students feel safer in Korea, but hurt by growing hostility

Apr 7, 2020
Social affairs
FSS urges retail investors to shun loan stock buying

The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday cautioned local retail investors to refrain from borrowing money when investing stocks, pointing at the excessive market volatility. In a rare message, the financial regulator noted that the current market condition is somewhat different from the 2008 global financial crisis, stressing that it has become more unpredictable than before. “Some existing investors think that now is the time to purchase undervalued shares, since they have seen e

Apr 7, 2020
Markets
Moon appreciates quarantine workers' service at Incheon airport

President Moon Jae-in visited Incheon International Airport on Tuesday for a meeting with quarantine workers fighting the coronavirus on World Health Day, according to his Facebook message. He expressed gratitude to them for their dedicated service at the main gateway of South Korea, the front line of the country's fight against COVID-19. It is located an hour's drive west of Seoul. "Thank you, and thank you again," Moon wrote, praising them for working "day and night" to

Apr 7, 2020
Politics

The Korea Herald by Herald Corporation

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