South and North Korea should work together in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus from the perspective of "humanitarian" and "mutually beneficial" cooperation, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday. The emphasis on cross-border cooperation came a day after North Korea announced that US President Donald Trump expressed an intention to help its fight against the coronavirus in a personal letter to leader Kim Jong-un. "Our government's

North Korea March 23, 2020

The United States stuck to its demand for $4 billion in Seoul's financial contribution to stationing 28,500 American troops here in last week's defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea, a diplomatic source indicated Monday. The figure was down from the US' initial call for a fivefold increase to $5 billion in Korea's share of the cost for the upkeep of the US Forces Korea (USFK), but Seoul officials believe that the figure is still unrealistically high. "Basically, there wasn't a chan

Defense March 23, 2020

The office of President Moon Jae-in announced the replacement of four vice minister-level officials and two of Moon's secretaries in a partial shake-up Monday as his administration nears its third anniversary. It followed the resignation of some senior officials seeking to run in the April 15 general elections, affecting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the National Agency for Administrative City Construction. Moon

Politics March 23, 2020

A South Korean baseball club canceled its practice and closed its home stadium on Monday after a player reported a fever. The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the unidentified player will be tested for the novel coronavirus later in the day, and the rest of the team will be self-isolated in their homes in the meantime. The Giants, based in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, came home from their spring training in Australia last Tuesday. They had three days of

Baseball March 23, 2020

South Korea on Monday launched another round of trade talks with Russia to flesh out details on the two country's pending free trade agreement (FTA) in the service and investment segments. The two countries have decided to hold the four-day video conference on their free trade talks due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. So far, the two countries held three rounds of trade negotiations, with the previous meeting being held in

Economy March 23, 2020

More than 2 million people have signed an online petition as of Monday demanding the government unveil the identity of a man who allegedly ran a group chat room where photos and videos of violent sex acts, involving underaged victims, were distributed. At least 74 victims are known to have been exploited in the so-called Nth room case, in which a man surnamed Cho allegedly lured victims into taking naked photos and later threatened and exploited them into more gruesome sex acts. Cho, who used

Social Affairs March 23, 2020

The management agency of K-pop boy band BTS will this week launch a series of short video clips designed to provide Korean language education to non-Korean fans, the agency said Monday. Big Hit Entertainment said the first three episodes of the series, "Learn Korean with BTS," will hit Weverse, the mobile app for the BTS fan community, Tuesday afternoon. Following the release of the first three episodes, one new episode will hit Weverse every Monday morning, with a total of 30 clip

K-pop March 23, 2020

One Air Force officer stationed in the southeastern city of Daegu has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday, the first infection reported in barracks in about two weeks. The new case brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military to 39. Of the total, 21 were in the Army, 14 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry. The numbers include 19 people who have ful

Social Affairs March 23, 2020

South Korea's economy may post its first negative growth in more than two decades this year should the spread of the new coronavirus continue to undermine global economy and trade, reports suggested Monday. Capital Economics, a London-based economic research consultancy, said in a report last week that the South Korean economy could shrink 1 percent this year, the worst outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy so far. South Korea also said its economic growth will likely slow due to the globa

Economy March 23, 2020

North Korea's main newspaper called Monday for "unconditional and absolute" adherence to coronavirus quarantine regulations, saying allowing exceptions to the law could affect the very existence of the country. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, made the appeal in an editorial, stressing that it is also an important political issue for all people to strictly abide by regulations and order established under the national emergency quarantine system. &quo

North Korea March 23, 2020

South Korea's financial authorities are expected to announce a set of measures this week to help stabilize financial markets roiled by the spread of the new coronavirus, industry sources said Monday. The measures include a bond market stabilization fund worth more than 10 trillion won ($7.94 billion), according to officials. Last week, Financial Services Commission chief Eun Sung-soo decided to create the bond market stabilization fund during a meeting with the heads of eight banks and other r

Market March 23, 2020

South Korea will take legal action against some Protestant churches for violating the government's guidelines for preventing the massive spread of the new coronavirus, the prime minister said Monday. As part of the government's drive for stricter social distancing, health authorities advised churches to follow quarantine measures, including keeping the distance between followers at least 2 meters while attending services and having their temperature checked. But some churches, including Saran

Politics March 23, 2020

South Korea's exports moved up 10 percent in the first 20 days of March from a year earlier despite the new coronavirus pandemic, customs data showed Monday, led mostly by improved shipments of chips and automobiles, along with increased working days. The country's outbound shipments came to $30.7 billion in the March 1-20 period, rising from $27.9 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average for the period, however, slipped

Economy March 23, 2020

South Korea has suffered the second-largest outflow of foreign stock investment funds among major Asian emerging nations over the past month amid a dollar shortage sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Offshore investors withdrew $10.24 billion from the South Korean stock market between Feb. 20 and Wednesday, according to the data compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF). It was the second-largest outflow among major Asian emerging markets after Taiwan's

Market March 23, 2020

경찰이 텔레그램을 이용한 디지털 성범죄를 저지른 이용자 100명 이상을 검거한 것으로 확인됐다. 22일 경찰청에 따르면 경찰은 지난해 9월부터 'n번방'으로 대표되는 텔레그램 성 착취 대화방에 대한 수사를 벌인 결과 이달 20일까지 총 124명을 검거했다. 이 가운데 '박사'로 이름을 알린 조모씨를 포함해 총 18명을 구속했다. 특히 경찰은 지난달 10일부터 경찰청·지방청에 설치된 사이버성폭력수사팀을 동원해 텔레그램과 다크웹, 음란사이트, 웹하드 등 사이버 성폭력 4대 유통망에 대해 집중단속에 나서 한 달간 58명을 검거하는 성과를 올렸다. 경찰 관계자는 "국제공조와 아이피 주소 추적 등을 통해 아동·청소년 등이 등장하는 성 착취물을 유통하는 텔레그램 대화방 운영자와 제작자, 유포자, 소지자 등 다수를 검거했다"고 설명했다. 다만 'n번방'을 처음 만든 인물로 알려진 '갓갓'이란 닉네임을 쓴 운영자는 아직 붙잡히지 않았다. 경찰

한국어판 March 23, 2020