South Korea's nuclear safety watchdog said Friday that it will enforce more stringent personnel training and material handling rules to better guard against potential radiation accidents. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said it has decided to revise the existing nuclear safety act in the wake of the accident that occurred at Seoul Semiconductor in July 2019. The accident at the light emitting diode (LED) manufacturing company involved inadequately trained subcontract workers who di

Industry May 15, 2020

Doosan Heavy Industries, South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Friday that it swung to a net loss in the first quarter from a year earlier due to increased one-off costs. For the January-March period, Doosan Heavy posted a net loss of 371.4 billion won (US$302 million), shifting from a net profit of 52.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The company said the net loss is mainly blamed on severance payments and losses from equity ties with Doosan Bobcat Co. D

Industry May 15, 2020

South Korea's national golf championship has been canceled for the first time in its history due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Korea Golf Association (KGA) said Friday the 63rd Kolon Korea Open will not take place this year because of the recent virus situation in the country. South Korea has reported an uptick in daily virus cases in recent days following cluster infections in a nightlife district in Seoul. This is the first time that the organizers decided not to hold the presti

Golf May 15, 2020

SsangYong Motor reported on Friday that its net loss sharply widened in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, marking the 13th consecutive quarter in the red, amid growing worries over the coronavirus outbreak. Net losses for the January-March quarter deepened to 193.54 billion won ($157 million) from 26.12 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. "Disrupted production by the coronavirus outbreak and weaker sales amid virus fears cut into the bottom

Industry May 15, 2020

Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Friday it convened a meeting with military officials in charge of public relations with regard to North Korea's strong criticism of South Korea's recent border island drills. Presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok stressed that the meeting was to discuss media-related policy, not to "reprimand" the military. Earlier in the day, the Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo newspaper carried a front-page report claiming that Moon's office had called in senior military officers an

Defense May 15, 2020

South Korea's oldest coronavirus patient, a 104-year-old woman in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, was released from a hospital Friday after 67 days of treatment, officials said. The centenarian, identified only as Choi, left Pohang Medical Center, a provincial government-run hospital, in Pohang, some 375 kilometers southeast of Seoul, around noon after testing negative for COVID-19, according to the hospital officials. Choi, who had stayed at a senior care center in Gyeongsan,

Social Affairs May 15, 2020

CHANGWON -- Normally this time of the year, schools throughout the country are filled with giggles and laughter as students prepare gifts, write thank-you letters and sometimes scheme mischievous-yet-endearing pranks to surprise and thank their teachers for their hard work. This year's Teacher's Day, which falls on Friday, is instead marked by dead silence and empty classrooms at schools, as the new coronavirus outbreak has ruptured one of society's most ordinary-yet-important routines: kids g

Social Affairs May 15, 2020

South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Friday after a choppy session as investors sat on the sidelines over the growing concerns over the diplomatic and economic tension between the United States and China. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 2.32 points, or 0.12 percent, to finish at 1,927.28. Trading volume was moderate at 850 million shares worth 9.55 trillion won ($7.75 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 485 to 360.

Market May 15, 2020

All small firearms at South Korea's border guard posts have been newly inspected, but no problems have been found, an official said Friday, following revelations that the response to the North's recent gunfire was slow due to a machine gun malfunction. The Joint Chiefs of Staff official made the remark during a press briefing, promising to beef up regular inspections of weapons to prevent a similar incident from happening again and maintain a full readiness posture. The military has come unde

Defense May 15, 2020

'가짜 분유' 제조사 대주주, 中 유명 분유회사 창업자 출신 2008년 멜라민 분유 등 중국서 '불량 분유' 사건 끊이지 않아 중국에서 가짜 분유를 먹은 아기들의 머리가 '큰머리 인형'처럼 커지는 사건이 공분을 불러일으킨 가운데 이 분유의 다른 부작용에 대한 보고도 잇따르고 있다. 15일 홍콩 명보, 빈과일보 등에 따르면 중국 후난(湖南)성 천저우시 융싱현에 사는 궈(郭) 모 씨는 자신의 아이가 이 가짜 분유를 먹게 된 경위와 그 후유증에 대해 중국 현지 매체에 상세하게 증언했다. 현재 3살인 궈 씨의 딸은 생후 6개월 무렵부터 보통 분유에 대해 알레르기 반응을 보였다고 한다. 이에 궈 씨는 융싱현에서 가장 큰 분유 판매점에 찾아가서 특수 분유를 찾았고, 판매원은 궈 씨에게 문제의 분유를 권했다. 궈 씨가 분유통 위에 적힌 '고체 음료'라는 표시에 의문을 제기하자 판매원은 "분유와 같은 것"이라며 안심시켰다. 하지만 이 가짜 분유를 먹기 시작한 후 딸

한국어판 May 15, 2020

A North Korean newspaper called Friday for increased food production, saying that achieving "food self-reliance" is an "important business" needed to prop up socialism and overcome challenges facing the country.  North Korean media outlets have recently ramped up calls for an increase in grain production as the full-blown rice planting season has started.  "Completely resolving the issue of feeding our people and tackling food problems is an important politi

North Korea May 15, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic triggered renewed controversy about whether to allow telemedicine services in South Korea, as a doctors' lobby group warned of "extreme" resistance against telemedicine. Telemedicine is illegal in South Korea, but the nation has allowed doctors to treat coronavirus patients who have mild symptoms via telephone since late February. Telemedicine has played a role in protecting medical staff from exposure to the virus, while helping virus patients recover. H

Industry May 15, 2020

South Korea on Friday reported 29 more coronavirus cases, with most tied to cluster infections in Seoul, putting health authorities on alert against secondary and tertiary infections. The 27 new cases of COVID-19 detected Thursday, with 22 of them being local infections, brought the nation's total number to 11,018, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases connected to bars and clubs in Seoul's popular nightlife district of Itaewon has reached at

Social Affairs May 15, 2020

President Moon Jae-in pledged every effort Friday to support teachers nationwide who are busy providing students with online classes amid the continued spread of the coronavirus. In his Teachers' Day message, the president pointed out that an infection crisis can occur again even after the ongoing pandemic is brought under control. "(The government) will develop the remote learning system and information-communication infrastructure," he wrote on his social media. He said the gove

Politics May 15, 2020

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking the overnight gains from Wall Street as investors welcomed the gradual reopening of businesses across the globe, including the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,932.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. After trading in negative terrain earlier in the sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually advanced 1.62 percent overnight, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.91 perc

Market May 15, 2020