Eight American service members and one civilian employee for the US Forces Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Friday. Of the nine, seven arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on two US government chartered flights, while the others arrived here on commercial flights, it said. All nine individuals tested positive in their first mandatory COVID-19 test prior to entering quarantine, and they have been moved to isolation facilities at the US

A Seoul court on Friday slashed disgraced former president Park Geun-hye's prison terms by 10 years, in what should be the final ruling over the corruption scandal that brought her down. The country's first female president was impeached in 2017 after huge street protests against her rule. She had been serving a combined 30-year jail term for bribery, abuse of power and receiving money from the national spy agency. But on appeal the Seoul High Court sentenced Park to 15 years in prison

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is buying the software of Hooq Digital, the South-east Asian video streaming service owned by Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), Sony and Warner Bros that's filed for liquidation, according to people familiar with the deal. Coupang has already struck a deal to acquire the assets, the people said, asking not to be named because the information hasn't been announced. The deal ushers SoftBank-backed Coupang into a competitive over-the-top video streaming

South Korean bourse operator Korea Exchange said Friday that it will review a business normalization plan by bio tech firm SillaJen to decide whether to delist it. The KRX has been reviewing the company's listing, after the company's chief executive and key management were indicted over charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. SillaJen submitted its business normalization scheme to the bourse operator, and the KRX will have to decide whether to accept it by Aug. 4. In the case of grantin

South Korea's nuclear safety agency on Friday recommended minor safety improvements for eight older reactors in service following stress tests carried out by its operator. The recommendation came after Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., which runs the country's atomic power plants, conducted extensive safety inspections on such units as the Kori 2 and Wolsong 2 reactors from October 2016 through December 2018, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said. "Stress tests that reflect

North Korea's official newspaper said Friday that preventing an outbreak of the coronavirus is more important than economic achievements, urging people to stay alert in their fight against the highly contagious virus. North Korea's media outlets have called for beefed-up anti-virus efforts recently after leader Kim Jong-un demanded "maximum alert" against COVID-19 and warned against complacency, saying that it will lead to an "unimaginable and irretrievable crisis." "I

Google's video-sharing platform YouTube will cooperate with South Korea to closely monitor and prevent the spread of fake news and illegal content, South Korea's telecommunications regulator said Friday, citing a Google executive. Google's Senior Vice President Neal Mohan made the comments during a videoconference with Han Sang-hyuk, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, according to the regulator's statement. The remarks came after Han requested such cooperation, considering fake n

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Friday announced it has released six photos and six videos of animals living at palaces and royal tombs in Korea. The CHA added there are also photos of the sites of palaces and royal tombs for people who would like to visit the sites but cannot do so due to the virus situation. The palaces and royal tombs have been shut down since May 29 due to the spread of the COVID-19. The organization highlighted that the video content includes raccoons playing

French luxury fashion house Hermes gained the upper hand in a lawsuit against Korean fashion label Playnomore, alleging copyright infringement of its signature handbags Kelly and Birkin. Playnomore is recognized for its use of neon colors and “eyeball bags.” The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a ruling saying that Playnomore violated the act of “unfair competition,” copying Hermes’ iconic handbag designs. The Supreme Court returned the case to the Seoul High

Over 330,000 people have signed a petition asking to the government to cancel the health authority’s decision to ban small gatherings and meetings in churches on the government‘s online public petition platform as of Friday. The public petition was first posted on the website on Wednesday immediately after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said Protestant churches will be barred from hosting small Bible classes, choir practices and lunch services from Frid

Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is deeply profound and almost prophetic even when we read just the first two lines: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / And sorry I could not travel both.” Let’s not dig deeper into the entire poem since it will take days, if not months, to talk about various literary interpretations and related ideas. Instead, I will focus on the difficulty in choosing between the two choices, and hopefully a workable solution that ca

All foreign arrivals from countries with a high infection rate of the novel coronavirus will be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test result to be allowed entry to South Korea, health authorities said Friday. Starting Monday, foreign nationals from countries that the government has internally designated as “high-risk” countries will have to submit certificates issued within 48 hours proving they tested negative for the coronavirus on a polymerase chain reaction test. Even w

Debt-saddled Doosan’s efforts to secure cash in response to the policy lenders’ bailout appears to be coming to fruition, as the construction-to-equipment giant is finding new investors to help the conglomerate improve its balance sheet. In line with ongoing moves, Doosan is looking to embark on talks with Daewoo Development Engineering & Construction, the Korean subsidiary of Chinese real estate developer JL Global, to sell Doosan Engineering & Construction. The final de

Government rolls out 22nd set of measures to curb surging house prices

The sudden death of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has been not only shocking, but also controversial in many aspects. One particularly thorny issue has turned out to involve the planned funeral schedule. Expressing condolences over Park’s passing, the Seoul city administration announced Friday that it would hold a five-day mayoral funeral open to the public in accordance with the official guidelines specified in state protocols. The plan immediately touched off a wave of angry comments on