yna--2020-02-18--(Spring Training) Signing Ryu Hyun-jin shows front office's confidence in Blue Jays: infielder

`` I think it 's also really important to go out and have fun , '' he said .
`` @ @ @ @ @ team at the end of the year , you could see that we were winning @ @ @ @ @ were doing it in fun and loose ways .
Keeping that loose atmosphere in the @ @ @ @ @ said than done , but I think we have a lot of good guys in @ @ @ @ @ easily do it . ''

By Yoo Jee-ho
DUNEDIN, United States, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- The Toronto Blue Jays' offseason signing of coveted free agent pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin indicates the faith the front office has in the young team, its budding second baseman said Monday.
"Once we signed a pitcher of that caliber, it's really exciting to see the confidence that the front office has in this young team that we have," Cavan Biggio said at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on the day of the first full workout for position players.
Cavan Biggio of the Toronto Blue Jays speaks to reporters at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on Feb. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)
The Jays signed Ryu to a four-year, US$80 million contract in December, making him the most expensive pitcher in team history. Ryu saw his stock rise considerably in 2019, as he led the majors in ERA and finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting.
"I think we pushed the envelope a little bit with having some success at the end of the year and forcing them to pay extra money to an ace like that," Biggio added. "I think it's encouraging and exciting. I think everyone in the locker room is excited to compete this year."
The Jays went 67-95 but had a decent second half of the season after high-end prospects like Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette were called up to the big leagues. They were 12-15 in August and 12-13 in September.
Biggio, son of the Hall of Fame second baseman Craig Biggio, batted .234/.364/.429 with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs and 14 steals in 100 games last year. He said he needs to keep working on improving his whole game, and he's not concerned about any type of sophomore slump.
"I am just looking forward to dominating each day and trying to get better every day," Biggio added.
As for how the Blue Jays can pick up where they left off in the final month of the season, Biggio said health is of the utmost importance.
"I think it's also really important to go out and have fun," he said. "If you look at our team at the end of the year, you could see that we were winning ball games, and we were doing it in fun and loose ways. Keeping that loose atmosphere in the clubhouse all year is easier said than done, but I think we have a lot of good guys in our locker room that can easily do it."
Cavan Biggio of the Toronto Blue Jays speaks to reporters at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on Feb. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)
jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(EDITORIAL from Korea JoongAng Daily on Feb. 18)

The Korean economy is facing a crisis at home and abroad .
While it suffers external shocks from the new @ @ @ @ @ shakes from the government 's anti-market and anti-business policy based on its artificial boosting of @ @ @ @ @ hikes .
Due to far-reaching shocks from the outbreak in China — which accounts for @ @ @ @ @ — and because of the misleading government policy , operating profit of major listed companies @ @ @ @ @ more than 10 percentage points , according to Infomax , a financial market research firm @ @ @ @ @ our economy barely achieved last year could plunge below 1 percent this year .

The same tune on repeat
The Korean economy is facing a crisis at home and abroad. While it suffers external shocks from the new coronavirus outbreak, the economy shakes from the government's anti-market and anti-business policy based on its artificial boosting of the economy through rapid wage hikes. Due to far-reaching shocks from the outbreak in China — which accounts for 25 percent of our exports — and because of the misleading government policy, operating profit of major listed companies is projected to dive by more than 10 percentage points, according to Infomax, a financial market research firm. The two percent growth our economy barely achieved last year could plunge below 1 percent this year.
If the novel coronavirus is just a severe type of influenza, the Moon Jae-in administration's income-led growth policy is a malignant tumor. Simply put, that's a policy that puts the cart before the horse. The policy focused on income redistribution only helped our economy fall further by dampening corporate investments. Despite the government's hefty spending, the economy is nose-diving instead of turning around.
The reason is clear. When other countries slimmed down corporate tax, the administration raised it to target conglomerates, which led to decreased investments — and to reduced income tax revenues. The government also beefed up pressure on managerial rights of companies through the National Pension Service which has a major stake in a number of local companies. On top of that, drastic hikes in the minimum wage forced the poor to lose their jobs, while its uniform enforcement of a 52-hour workweek helped lower the productivity of our companies.
Four economy-related ministries' reports to President Moon on Monday attracted much of our attention as we anticipated a turnaround by the government. But Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hong Nam-ki's briefing to the president sounded just like the same tune being played over and over. Despite a glitzy slogan — "A leaping economy, a better future!" — no substance could be found.
Moon only reiterated his encouragement for economic ministries to "take a path toward an inclusive economy without any interruption." He once again declared to stick with the controversial income-led growth policy regardless of the urgent need to draw up market-friendly policies ardently desired by business leaders and merchants across the country.
Economic ministers and aides to Moon must tell the truth about what's behind the alarming under performance of our economy. But they failed to deliver a plethora of complaints from the market to the president. Instead, they were all busy patting each other on the backs for the government's "successful reaction" to Japan's export restrictions in retaliation to our courts' rulings on wartime forced labor.
Self-praise cannot lead to a breakthrough for the economy. The virus' threat to the economy will subside in the near future. But if the government does not change course, the economy will continue falling.
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Feb. 18)

(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Feb. 18)

Such a U.S. position runs counter to an agreement between the two countries that Washington would foot the bill for @ @ @ @ @ provide the site .
How could America attempt to pass the burden on to the @ @ @ @ @ ?
Some critics speculate that the U.S. might try to use the construction cost issue @ @ @ @ @ force the government to agree to greater share of the cost for the upkeep of @ @ @ @ @ Korea ( USFK ) stationed here .

New THAAD controversy
US should not undermine alliance with Korea
The tricky issue regarding the U.S. deployment of an anti-missile battery in South Korea is likely to resurface as Washington has floated the idea of installing additional launchers here while asking Seoul to fund the construction of a U.S. base for the battery.
This idea is a cause for concern on the part of the host country as it appears to be unrealistic and hard to accept.
A fresh controversy erupted last week when the U.S. Department of the Army's budget proposal for the 2021 fiscal year revealed some details about money set aside for the battery. The proposal said the U.S. earmarked $49 million for the development of a South Korean town where the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery has been deployed.
The outlays are required to build a base, including facilities and infrastructure, for the operation of the anti-missile system in the southeastern town of Seongju. However, the problem is that the U.S. is apparently trying to make Korea pay for the construction. The budget plan states, "The possibility of host nations programs has been addressed." It added: "Funds from host nations programs are available to support this requirement."
Such a U.S. position runs counter to an agreement between the two countries that Washington would foot the bill for building facilities while Seoul would provide the site. How could America attempt to pass the burden on to the South, despite the accord? Some critics speculate that the U.S. might try to use the construction cost issue as a bargaining chip to force the government to agree to greater share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) stationed here.
The Trump administration has already invited the ire of South Koreans and the government for making an irrational demand that Seoul pay about $5 billion for the U.S. troop presence this year, five times last year's payment. The two sides are in a tug of war over the defense cost sharing negotiations.
We cannot understand why the Trump administration is engrossed in extorting money from Seoul without valuing the importance of the bilateral alliance. The THAAD battery is designed to address growing missile threats from North Korea. It should not be used as a means for mere financial gain.
Also worrisome is another U.S. idea of deploying more THAAD anti-missile launchers here or moving some of the six launchers deployed up north nearer to Pyeongtaek or other central regions. Vice Adm. John Hill, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, stressed the need for forward deployment of the battery to increase strategic flexibility on the peninsula.
The U.S. is also making efforts to upgrade the THAAD capability by combining it with its Patriot anti-missile system. In this case, South Korea may be forced into the U.S. global missile defense network, which could trigger a strong backlash from neighboring countries such as China and Russia.
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(EDITORIAL from Korea Herald on Feb. 18)

In a column published in the Jan. 29 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun , Lim Mi-ri , a Korea University @ @ @ @ @ party for `` being preoccupied with its grip on power rather than with people 's @ @ @ @ @ it is a regime for the people . ''
At the end of the column @ @ @ @ @ support any party `` except for the Democratic Party of Korea '' in the general @ @ @ @ @ sort of warning to the party that it must not forget what voters long for @

Ruling party's arrogance
Democratic Party drops accusations against columnist amid criticism over freedom of expression
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Friday dropped charges of election law violations that it had filed against a university professor and the news outlet to which she had contributed a column critical of the party.
In a column published in the Jan. 29 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Lim Mi-ri, a Korea University professor, criticized the ruling party for "being preoccupied with its grip on power rather than with people's aspirations even though it claims it is a regime for the people." At the end of the column, she proposed that voters support any party "except for the Democratic Party of Korea" in the general election. It was a sort of warning to the party that it must not forget what voters long for.
If a political party takes issue with a newspaper column, it is proper to request a chance first to publish a response in the news outlet. If the request is not accepted, it may well seek press arbitration. If it is dissatisfied with the results of arbitration, it may then bring the matter to court.
But the ruling party dispensed with intermediate steps, and filed a complaint with the prosecution directly on Feb. 5, seeking punishment for the columnist and the newspaper.
It is clear that the aim of the accusations was to suppress criticism of the party by menacing critics with legal suits. It is an act contrary to freedom of expression, upon which democracy is built, and proves the arrogance of the party toward the people. A politically mature ruling party should be open to criticism from a scholar, unless it is slandered malignantly with fake facts.
After the accusations became public knowledge Thursday, denunciations of the party rained down. Liberal figures sided with the columnist, challenging the party to "accuse me, too." Civic groups friendly to the ruling camp joined the condemnation, raising concerns about freedom of expression.
A day later, the party's public affairs office issued a statement admitting it "went too far by filing a complaint" and expressing its "regret."
However, the Democratic Party of Korea did not apologize formally, nor did its leader express any regrets publicly.
Even as it announced its decision to drop the accusations, the party noted the professor had once worked at a think tank for an opposition politician, concluding there was political intent to slander the party. This implies the columnist was untrustworthy because she had not been "on our side from the beginning." It is doubtful whether the party truly regretted accusing the columnist.
"This issue is done because we decided to drop the charges. We have nothing more to explain," a senior spokesman for the party told reporters who asked him to elaborate.
Though the complaint was signed by Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan, he reportedly vented his anger during a closed-door meeting with senior party officials on Friday, asking, "Who on earth proposed filing the accusations?" His anger is surreal and absurd.
Professor Lim demanded the party apologize not only to her but also to the people for its attack on freedom of expression, but no one in the party has come forward to take responsibility publicly. If the Democratic Party wants to shun unnecessary misunderstandings and wasteful controversies, it would do well to apologize publicly as soon as possible.
This incident raises suspicions about the ruling party's view of democracy.
The party has taken pride in carrying on the tradition and spirit of the democracy movement that ended dictatorship in South Korea. A considerable number of its members fought against authoritarian regimes in the 1980s. They must have felt the need for freedom of expression more acutely than anyone. Nonetheless, the ruling camp is effectively doing what dictators did -- without hesitation.
Allegedly on command from the presidential office, police raided the office of an opposition party candidate on the day he won the nomination to run in a local mayoral election. Cheong Wa Dae attempted to buy off an aspiring ruling party candidate to discourage him from running for mayor. The justice minister thwarted the people's right to know by deciding not to disclose the indictment of suspects involved in the presidential office's alleged meddling in the election.
Now the ruling camp has reached the point where its members refuse to tolerate a column and hurl accusations at the columnist. Even while doing so, they say they are champions of democracy. It is questionable whether they really fought dictators for the sake of democracy, or to take power themselves.
The ruling party must wake up from its arrogance and self-righteousness, and remember the basic spirit of democracy.
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Top headlines in major S. Korean newspapers

Korean-language dailies -- S. Korea to fly presidential jet to transport S. Koreans on Japan 's cruise ship plagued by @ @ @ @ @ -- Virus quarantine measure put to another test amid new patients ' untraceable infection ( @ @ @ @ @ on alert over quarantining Chinese students returning to S. Korea for spring semester ( Donga @ @ @ @ @ merge again after 3 years ( Seoul Shinmun ) -- 'Eco-friendly consumption ' changes corporate @ @ @ @ @ -- Pan-conservative , united new party launched ( Chosun Ilbo ) -- S. Korea to @ @ @ @ @ 's cruise ship by presidential jet ( JoongAng Ilbo ) -- Ruling party in growing @ @ @ @ @ ) -- Gov't , ruling party struggle to reach deals on real estate measures , @ @ @ @ @ elections ( Hankook Ilbo ) -- Five confirmed coronavirus cases in Seoul 's Jongno district @ @ @ @ @ ) -- 'Minus growth ' shock looming attributable to coronavirus ( Korea Economic Daily )

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The following are the top headlines in major South Korean newspapers on Feb. 18.
Korean-language dailies
-- S. Korea to fly presidential jet to transport S. Koreans on Japan's cruise ship plagued by coronavirus (Kyunghyang Shinmun)
-- Virus quarantine measure put to another test amid new patients' untraceable infection (Kookmin Daily)
-- Universities on alert over quarantining Chinese students returning to S. Korea for spring semester (Donga llbo)
-- Conservative parties merge again after 3 years (Seoul Shinmun)
-- 'Eco-friendly consumption' changes corporate ecosystem (Segye Times)
-- Pan-conservative, united new party launched (Chosun Ilbo)
-- S. Korea to transport S. Koreans on Japan's cruise ship by presidential jet (JoongAng Ilbo)
-- Ruling party in growing sense of crisis (Hankyoreh)
-- Gov't, ruling party struggle to reach deals on real estate measures, extra budgets ahead of general elections (Hankook Ilbo)
-- Five confirmed coronavirus cases in Seoul's Jongno district alone (Maeil Business Newspaper)
-- 'Minus growth' shock looming attributable to coronavirus (Korea Economic Daily)
English-language dailies
-- No. 29 causes concerns of untraceable infection (Korea JoongAng Daily)
-- China virus cases pass 70,000 as WHO mission begins (Korea Herald)
-- Korea confirms 30th case of coronavirus (Korea Times)
(END)


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(END)


yna--2020-02-17--(LEAD) Seoul to send presidential jet to evacuate citizens from virus-hit cruise ship off Japan

The ship has been moored at a pier in Japan 's Yokohama for the past two weeks .
More than @ @ @ @ @ of the ship have been reported to be infected with the novel virus , dubbed @ @ @ @ @

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with additional information throughout)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is in talks with Japan about its plan to send a presidential jet to evacuate its nationals from a cruise ship stranded at a Japanese port, Seoul officials said Monday.
"The government is in talks with the Japanese government to send a presidential jet to Japan's Haneda airport on Feb. 18 and bring back South Korean nationals who are on the Diamond Princess anchored at Japan's Yokohama port and wish to return to the country," the government said.
The ship has been moored at a pier in Japan's Yokohama for the past two weeks. More than 400 passengers or crew members of the ship have been reported to be infected with the novel virus, dubbed COVID-19 as of Monday.
There are 14 South Koreans -- nine passengers and five crew members -- and none of them have been infected, according to officials here.
Seoul earlier said it will find ways to bring home South Korean passengers and crew members should any of them wish to return.
"We cannot say exactly how many will return to South Korea as some of them still have not decided," a government source said earlier.
Meanwhile, the health ministry said those who return home will be quarantined for at least for two weeks, the believed incubation period of the COVID-19.
"The quarantining of people is deemed necessary and follows similar actions taken by Seoul on South Korean nationals evacuated from Wuhan, China, and their immediate family members" Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a press briefing.
The country has airlifted more than 800 South Koreans from Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
About 700 of them have been released after being quarantined for two weeks.
This photo taken Feb. 15, 2020, shows the Diamond Princess cruise ship in lockdown at a pier in Yokohama harbor in Japan, after people on board were found to have been infected with COVID-19. (Yonhap)
(END)


yna--2020-02-17--Court rejects request to detain audition show producers in vote-rigging scandal

`` It is hard to recognize the reason and need for the arrest at this stage , '' the court @ @ @ @ @ the rejection .

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Monday denied a request to detain producers of a popular K-pop TV audition show over their alleged vote-rigging.
Following a hearing earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court turned down the request to issue arrest warrants for two producers of Mnet's 2017 show "Idol School."
"It is hard to recognize the reason and need for the arrest at this stage," the court said of its reason for the rejection.
Police, who raided the cable channel's operator CJ ENM last year, are known to have secured evidence that shows signs of manipulation in the show's mobile text message voting.
The allegation is the latest in a widening probe into a massive vote-rigging scandal that hit the K-pop industry last year.
Officials at Mnet were indicted for allegedly rigging votes in another hit reality show, "Produce 101."
CJ ENM has issued an apology, promising to financially compensate victims of the vote-fixing and establish a support fund for K-pop.
A composite image of music channel Mnet's logo against footage from its auditions shows (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(6th LD) Coronavirus infections now at 31, S. Korea dealing with more unlinked virus cases

Later in the day , the places where the patient had visited , as well as those in their vicinity @ @ @ @ @ people working there were put into in self-quarantine .
The hospital transferred 33 remaining inpatients @ @ @ @ @ , and authorities have been looking into possible contamination of other facilities within the hospital @ @ @ @ @

(ATTN: ADDS more quarantine measures in paras 15-16)
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's public health authorities warned Tuesday that the country should prepare for more coronavirus infections not linked to known clusters as its latest confirmed cases are believed to be without links to other existing cases or to China and overseas countries.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the country is entering a "new phase" with some confirmed cases not being linked to existing spreads or clusters, which means that those patients are judged to have contracted the COVID-19 virus without traveling abroad or coming into contact with other infected patients.
The public health agency admitted that it is still unclear how the three latest virus patients -- the country's 29th, 30th, and 31st -- contracted the virus as they had not had contact with other confirmed patients or been abroad recently.
"The three patients' infection routes are uncertain ... and there is a chance of additional similar cases being found," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said in a press conference.
The country needs to tighten quarantine controls over arrivals from abroad and self-quarantine rules, while coming up with countermeasures to prevent community spread, she said.
A notice at a public health center in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, informs people on Feb. 18, 2020, that the facility will be closed temporally for disinfection after the country's 31st patient was checked by medical workers at the facility. (Yonhap)
However, she flatly dismissed concerns that citizens are actually exposed to the virus.
"Those most at risk are people who have been to China, followed by people who have come into contact with them," the official said.
The KCDC will make certain people at the greatest risk are not bypassed in the screening process.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo told lawmakers that health authorities are dealing with the current situation calmly and preparing for the possibility of community spread.
"The seeming lull in new confirmed cases last week can be seen as a transition period leading to a 'second peak' stage," the minister said.
The latest cases raised concerns over the spread of the disease without a link to known clusters of the COVID-19 virus and marks the first time that a virus patient has been reported in the southwestern Gyeongsang region of the country.
The country's 31st patient, a 61-year-old South Korean woman who lives in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, started to complain of fever on Feb. 10 and was tested Monday at a local health center after which she was sent to a hospital and placed in quarantine for treatment and monitoring.
The KCDC said it is tracing the patients' steps and working to find out how they contracted the illness.
The health authorities said she visited Seoul late last month, was treated at a Daegu hospital after a car accident and went about her everyday life in which she used public transportation.
Later in the day, the places where the patient had visited, as well as those in their vicinity, were closed, and people working there were put into in self-quarantine. The hospital transferred 33 remaining inpatients to a nearby medical center, and authorities have been looking into possible contamination of other facilities within the hospital, according to officials.
A public health center, a hotel restaurant and a church where the 31st patient visited were also shut down and sterilized.
Most of the previous cases here have been centered in and around Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, with a few confirmed cases reported in Gwangju and the Jeolla region in the southeastern part of the country.
Workers at a youth hostel in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, disinfect a room on Feb. 17, 2020, that will be used as a temporary self-quarantine facility by people suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus. (Yonhap)
Of all cases reported here, 12 were those who visited Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the current outbreak, with five others who made trips to Singapore, Thailand and Japan. The remaining 14 are presumed to be person-to-person transmission cases in the country.
The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 818 as of Tuesday afternoon, down from 957 earlier in the day, the KCDC said.
South Korea has screened 9,772 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 8,923 testing negative. The country also has discharged a total of 12 patients from quarantine after they fully recovered.
The country said the 12th and 14th patients, who are a Chinese couple, had been treated at a hospital south of Seoul and discharged after they tested negative for COVID-19 twice in the last 24 hours.
The 12th patient is a 48-year-old man who was confirmed to have been infected on Feb. 1, while the 14th patient is a 40-year-old woman who tested positive on Feb. 2.
The KCDC said other virus patients are in stable condition, according to the KCDC.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Samsung C&T wins 1.15 tln-won power plant deal from UAE

Under the deal with F3 Holding Company B.V. , Samsung C & T will build a 2,400-MW combined cycle power @ @ @ @ @ Emirate of Fujairah by the end of April 2023 .

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday that it has won a 1.15 trillion-won (US$970 million) deal to build a power plant in the United Arab Emirates.
Under the deal with F3 Holding Company B.V., Samsung C&T will build a 2,400-MW combined cycle power plant in Qidfa in the Emirate of Fujairah by the end of April 2023.
Shares in Samsung C&T Corp fell 2.09 percent to 117,000 won, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 1.48 percent decline.
entropy@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Samsung maintains dominant status in Q4 DRAM market despite sales drop: data

`` Samsung will be scaling back DRAM production at Line 13 by allocating more of the facility 's wafer capacity @ @ @ @ @ '' it said .
`` However , the second fab of the Pyeongtaek base will @ @ @ @ @ second half of 2020 to offset the production cut at Line 13 . ''

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its dominant status in the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter of 2019 despite a decline in revenue, industry data showed Tuesday.
Samsung's market share in the global DRAM market stood at 43.5 percent in the October-December period, down 1.6 percentage points from three months earlier, while its revenue declined 5 percent to US$6.7 billion over the cited period, according to data from market researcher TrendForce.
"From the revenue angle in the fourth quarter of 2019, the quarter-on-quarter growth of Samsung's server DRAM shipments was lower than that of its chief competitors," TrendForce said. "Its sales bits for the period increased by just 2-3 percent quarter-on-quarter, while its average selling price saw a quarter-on-quarter drop."
This undated photo provided by Samsung Electronics Co. shows the company's plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
However, from the profitability standpoint, TrendForce said Samsung is the sole chip supplier among major players that made a turnaround in the fourth quarter.
"Samsung managed to increase its operating margin against headwinds to 36 percent from 33 percent in the third quarter due to the cost reduction associated with its transition to the 1Y-nm production," it said.
Samsung was followed by its South Korean competitor SK hynix Inc., which had a 29.2-percent market share in the fourth quarter, up 1.2 percentage points from three months earlier.
SK hynix's DRAM revenue increased 5 percent quarter-on-quarter to $4.5 billion in the last three months of 2019, according to TrendForce.
"SK hynix has seen its profitability negatively affected by the cost incurred during the course of its transition to the 1Y-nm production," TrendForce said. "For this supplier, the yield rate has been low during the early phase of the technology migration."
This undated photo provided by SK hynix Inc. shows the company's DRAM chip products. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. took third place with a 22.3-percent market share in the fourth quarter, up 0.8 percentage point from three months earlier as its revenue rose 2.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter, TrendForce said.
For the first quarter of 2020, TrendForce said DRAM chip suppliers' profitability could improve with rising prices, but not significantly.
In regards to production, TrendForce predicted Samsung's total DRAM production capacity this year will not change much from the end of last year.
"Samsung will be scaling back DRAM production at Line 13 by allocating more of the facility's wafer capacity to CMOS image sensor," it said. "However, the second fab of the Pyeongtaek base will begin volume production in the second half of 2020 to offset the production cut at Line 13."
kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Loss-hit Doosan Heavy to carry out voluntary retirement program

Doosan Heavy said it remains unclear how many of its eligible employees will opt to leave the company in the @ @ @ @ @ years , citing the voluntary nature of the program .

By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the world's leading desalination plant builder, said Tuesday that it plans to carry out a voluntary retirement program in the latest move to cut costs.
Doosan Heavy said its employees age 45 and above are eligible for the retirement program.
Currently, the number of eligible employees is about 2,600 out of its total of 7,600 employees, according to the company.
Doosan Heavy said it remains unclear how many of its eligible employees will opt to leave the company in the first retirement program in five years, citing the voluntary nature of the program.
It did not elaborate on when the retirement program will take effect.
The company has offered to pay the equivalent of up to two years' salary and college tuition for retirees' children as well as severance pay.
In addition, those who have worked for the company for more than 20 years will receive another 50 million won (US$42,000).
The latest retirement program comes as the company suffered net losses for the sixth consecutive year since 2014.
In 2014, some 200 office workers at Doosan Heavy left the company in a retirement program.
entropy@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Man died of pneumonia not linked to novel coronavirus

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( KCDC ) said the man in his 30s , who had @ @ @ @ @ with his family , was not infected with COVID-19 virus .
The confirmation came after @ @ @ @ @ public health agency saying he died of pneumonia .

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that the death earlier in the day of a man who recently visited China was not related to the novel coronavirus.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the man in his 30s, who had visited Hainan China last month with his family, was not infected with COVID-19 virus. The confirmation came after his death, with the public health agency saying he died of pneumonia.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(LEAD) Average monthly wage of N. Korean defectors hits record high of 2 mln won

The percentage of defectors who responded that they have experienced discrimination or being ignored here slipped to 17.2 percent , @ @ @ @ @ previous year .

(ATTN: ADDS info in paras 6-8)
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The average monthly wage of North Korean defectors living in South Korea exceeded 2 million won (US$1,684) for the first time last year, the unification ministry said Tuesday.
Defectors earned 2.04 million won (US$1,720) per month on average in 2019, compared with 1.89 million won in 2018, according to a report released by the unification ministry.
It was the first time that defectors' average wages had topped the 2 million-won mark.
"The level of North Korean defectors' participation in the economy has improved continuously in the past nine years," the report said.
The monthly wage gap between North Korean defectors and South Korea-born citizens narrowed from last year.
South Korea-born citizens earned an average of 2.64 million won (US$2,220) per month last year, about 600,000 won (US$500) more than North Korean defectors, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The employment rate of North Korean defectors last year was 58.2 percent, down from the previous year's 60.4 percent, behind that of South Korea-born citizens (61.4 percent).
The economic activity participation rate of North Korean defectors was 62.1 percent this year, lower than 63.3 percent of South Korea-born citizens.
Defectors' satisfaction with their quality of life in the South increased to 74.2 percent in 2019, up 1.7 percent from the previous year.
The percentage of defectors who responded that they have experienced discrimination or being ignored here slipped to 17.2 percent, down from 20.2 percent the previous year.
Currently, about 33,500 North Korean defectors are living in South Korea.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(LEAD) USFK commander warns of potential furlough amid delay in defense cost deal

`` There is a need to quickly resume the seventh round of negotiations , and depending on the outcome of @ @ @ @ @ I think we may be able to more clearly forecast the prospects of the conclusion @ @ @ @ @ she added .

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES throughout)
By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Gen. Robert Abrams, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), warned Tuesday of a potential furlough of its South Korean employees, as Seoul and Washington have yet to narrow differences in their defense cost-sharing negotiations.
Abrams made the warning during a meeting with Choe Ung-sik, the head of the USFK Korean Employees Union, saying the allocated funds for their salaries will run out by the end of next month, the military said.
"Without an agreed upon Special Measures Agreement (SMA), USFK is out of money and must prepare for a potential furlough," he said.
SMA refers to the cost-sharing deal between South Korea and the United States over how much Seoul should pay this year and beyond for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK. Last year's one-year SMA already expired on Dec. 31.
Since September, the two countries have held six rounds of negotiations. But they have yet to reach a deal amid Washington's demand for a sharp increase in Seoul's financial contributions to the USFK operation.
During a parliamentary session, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha dismissed speculation that Seoul and Washington have reached a deal of some sort from a broad perspective.
"It is still premature to say that," Kang said.
"There is a need to quickly resume the seventh round of negotiations, and depending on the outcome of that round of talks, I think we may be able to more clearly forecast the prospects of the conclusion of the negotiations," she added.
The minister also said that both sides shared the understanding of the need for an early conclusion of the SMA talks.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Williams, USFK chief of staff, said USFK, though not part of the negotiations, is "keenly interested in the outcome and remain hopeful for its swift conclusion."
South Korean employees are "loyal and dedicated employees who are valued and critical to USFK and a potential furlough would be a significant impact for both them and USFK," Williams said.
Last month, USFK began sending a 60-day notice of potential furloughs to its nearly 9,000 South Korean workers, saying that if staff members are furloughed, they will be placed on "temporary nonduty and nonpay status."
In this file photo taken on Nov. 12, 2019, and provided by U.S. Forces Korea, its Commander Gen. Robert Abrams speaks during a press conference at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(3rd LD) S. Korean presidential plane arrives in Japan to evacuate 7 people from quarantined cruise

(3rd LD) S. Korean presidential plane arrives in Japan to evacuate 7 people from quarantined cruise ship

Only the five will board the government plane as the rest of them apparently expressed a desire to stay on @ @ @ @ @ to their residential status and lack of connection to South Korea .
All but three @ @ @ @ @ permanent residents in Japan , the foreign ministry in Seoul said earlier .

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS new info in 4th para)
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean presidential plane arrived in Japan on Tuesday to evacuate six nationals and a Japanese spouse from a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo, after an increase in onboard infections of the new coronavirus.
The VCN-235 of the Air Force arrived at Japan's Haneda Airport hours after it departed from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of the capital. The plane plans to return to Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on Wednesday morning.
Fourteen South Koreans -- nine passengers and five crew members -- have remained inside the Diamond Princess since it reported the first group of infections of COVID-19 on Feb. 5. The number of cases has surged to more than 450 out of some 3,700 aboard.
Among the Koreans to board the plane bound for Seoul are four crew members, a source said. Seoul initially planned to bring home five people, but two more crew members are known to have applied to take the flight.
None of the South Koreans on the ship have contracted the disease.
Only the five will board the government plane as the rest of them apparently expressed a desire to stay on the ship, largely due to their residential status and lack of connection to South Korea. All but three of the 14 people are permanent residents in Japan, the foreign ministry in Seoul said earlier.
The evacuees from the ship will be placed into isolation for 14 days at a facility in the quarantine office of Incheon International Airport, Kim said.
The planned flight to Japan is the latest in a series of aerial evacuations by South Korea from a virus-hit foreign country. It sent three planes to Wuhan, China, in late January and earlier this month to pull some 800 of its citizens and their family members out of the epicenter of the virus outbreak.
The VCN-235 of the Air Force takes off at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of the capital, on a mission to evacuate four South Koreans and one Japanese spouse from the quarantined cruise ship moored at a port in Yokohama, Japan. (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(5th LD) Coronavirus infections now at 31, S. Korea dealing with more unlinked virus cases

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( KCDC ) said the country is entering a `` new phase @ @ @ @ @ not being linked to existing spreads or clusters , which means that those patients are @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 virus without traveling abroad or coming into contact with other infected patients .

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 9-10, 17-18)
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's public health authorities warned Tuesday that the country should prepare for more coronavirus infections not linked to known clusters as its latest confirmed cases are believed to be without links to other existing cases or to China and overseas countries.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the country is entering a "new phase" with some confirmed cases not being linked to existing spreads or clusters, which means that those patients are judged to have contracted the COVID-19 virus without traveling abroad or coming into contact with other infected patients.
The public health agency admitted that it is still unclear how the three latest virus patients -- the country's 29th, 30th, and 31st -- contracted the virus as they had not had contact with other confirmed patients or been abroad recently.
"The three patients' infection routes are uncertain ... and there is a chance of additional similar cases being found," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said in a press conference.
The country needs to tighten quarantine controls over arrivals from abroad and self-quarantine rules, while coming up with countermeasures to prevent community spread, she said.
A notice at a public health center in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, informs people on Feb. 18, 2020, that the facility will be closed temporally for disinfection after the country's 31st patient was checked by medical workers at the facility. (Yonhap)
However, she flatly dismissed concerns that citizens are actually exposed to the virus.
"Those most at risk are people who have been to China, followed by people who have come into contact with them," the official said.
The KCDC will make certain people at the greatest risk are not bypassed in the screening process.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo told lawmakers that health authorities are dealing with the current situation calmly and preparing for the possibility of community spread.
"The seeming lull in new confirmed cases last week can be seen as a transition period leading to a 'second peak' stage," the minister said.
The latest cases raise concerns over the spread of the disease without a link to known clusters of the COVID-19 virus and marks the first time that a virus patient has been reported in the southwestern Gyeongsang region of the country.
The country's 31th patient, a 61-year-old South Korean woman who lives in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, started to complain of fever on Feb. 10 and was tested Monday at a local health center after which she was sent to a hospital and placed in quarantine for treatment and monitoring.
The KCDC said it is tracing the patients' steps and working to find out how they contracted the illness.
The health authorities said she visited Seoul late last month, was treated at a hospital after a car accident and went about her everyday life in which she used public transportation.
Most of the previous cases here have been centered in and around Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, with a few confirmed cases reported in Gwangju and the Jeolla region in the southeastern part of the country.
Workers at a youth hostel in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, disinfect a room on Feb. 17, 2020, that will be used as a temporary self-quarantine facility by people suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus. (Yonhap)
Of all cases reported here, 12 were those who visited Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the current outbreak, with five others who made trips to Singapore, Thailand and Japan. The remaining 14 are presumed to be person-to-person transmission cases in the country.
The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 818 as of Tuesday afternoon, down from 957 earlier in the day, the KCDC said.
South Korea has screened 9,772 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 8,923 testing negative. The country also has discharged a total of 12 patients from quarantine after they fully recovered.
The country said the 12th and 14th patients, who are a Chinese couple, had been treated at a hospital south of Seoul and discharged after they tested negative for COVID-19 twice in the last 24 hours.
The 12th patient is a 48-year-old man who was confirmed to have been infected on Feb. 1, while the 14th patient is a 40-year-old woman who tested positive on Feb. 2.
The KCDC said other virus patients are in stable condition, according to the KCDC.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Actress Kim Tae-hee returns with fantasy comedy drama after 5-yr hiatus

Cha Yoo-ri then is given a chance to be reincarnated .
She is given 49 days to take back her @ @ @ @ @ the daughter and the wife of her now remarried husband , the success of which @ @ @ @ @ .

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Breaking a five-year hiatus, actress Kim Tae-hee is set to return to the TV screen this week with cable drama series, "Hi Bye, Mama!," a fantasy comedy depicting the story of a ghost mother.
Kim plays a mother named Cha Yoo-ri who dies in an accident, leaving a newborn daughter. Unable to leave her daughter behind to cross into the afterlife, she hovers around her beloved child for five years.
Cha Yoo-ri then is given a chance to be reincarnated. She is given 49 days to take back her position as the mother of the daughter and the wife of her now remarried husband, the success of which is to guarantee her reincarnation.
This photo of Kim Tae-hee during a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020, is provided by tvN. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Actor Lee Kyu-hyung stars as the husband, Cho Kang-hwa, and actress Ko Bo-gyeol plays his second wife, Oh Min-jung.
The 16-episode weekend drama series by entertainment cable channel tvN marks actress Kim's official resumption of her acting career.
Kim has been away from show business for the last five years, during which she tied the knot in 2017 with singer and actor Rain, whose legal name is Jung Ji-hoon, and gave birth to two daughters.
Kim said during a press conference broadcast live on the internet Tuesday, that the mother role resonates heavily with the real-life feelings from her own life as a mother of two daughters.
"Except that (Cha) is a ghost, the character has a lot in common with my own real self in that they both are a mother and a member of an ordinary family," Kim said.
"Cha knows how negative it is for her daughter to be around a ghost ... but she still can't leave her. The mother's longing to watch the child longer really resonated with me," she said.
This photo of the main actors of "Hi Bye, Mama!" during a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020, is provided by tvN. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Actor Lee said he was first awe-struck to be playing the husband of Kim, one of the most famous beauties in the South Korean entertainment industry
"I was first under pressure to be part of her first comeback project after the five-year leave ... but her open-minded (attitude) helped me (loosen up) and bring the husband character to its completion," Lee said.
Besides Cha, the fantasy comedy depicts the stories of many other ghosts, but in a comic and amusing light.
"The drama series may be dealing with more ghost characters than human characters in a way that can be entertaining and fun to the eyes of anybody," actress Ko said.
Kim said the new series is a heart-warming family story that may make its viewers laugh and cry and have their wounds healed.
"I had a five-year hiatus due to personal affairs. Through this series, I hope I could continue my (acting career) into subsequent projects," Kim said.
"Hi Bye, Mama!" is another TV ghost series by TV director Yoo Je-won, whose 2015 tvN series, "Oh My Ghost" starring Park Bo-young and Jo Jung-suk, was a modest hit.
The new series is set to premiere Saturday night to run every Saturday and Sunday in place of romantic comedy "Crash Landing On You" which wrapped up its 16-episode run last week, recording the highest viewership for a tvN drama series.
The new series will be also available on Netflix.
This photo of director Yoo Je-won during a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020, is provided by tvN. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Lee Kwang-soo injured in car accident

Lee Kwang-soo injured in car accident

`` He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture , '' @ @ @ @ @ He is now being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment . ''

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean star actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo has been injured in a traffic accident and will cancel all of his scheduled activities, his agency said Tuesday.
According to King Kong by Starship, Lee was hit by a car violating traffic signals on Saturday last week.
"He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture," the company said. "He is now being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment."
As a result, Lee will cancel all his further scheduled activities, including his appearance on the hit variety show "Running Man" as an emcee, it added.
Making his screen debut in 2007, Lee has appeared in popular TV series and films including situational comedy "High Kick Through the Roof" (2009) and crime movie "Tazza: One Eyed Jack" (2019). He earned stardom among Asian fans through "Running Man."
Lee Kwang-soo (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)


Yonhap News Summary

The following is the second summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
----------------
(4th LD) Coronavirus infections now at 31, S. Korea dealing with more unlinked virus cases
SEOUL -- South Korea's public health authorities warned Tuesday that the country should prepare for more coronavirus infections not linked to known clusters as its latest confirmed cases are believed to be without links to other existing cases or to China and overseas countries.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the country is entering a "new phase" with some confirmed cases not being linked to existing spreads or clusters, which means that those patients are judged to have contracted the COVID-19 virus without traveling abroad or coming into contact with other infected patients.
----------------
(2nd LD) Moon urges 'special' economic policy measures against virus-caused 'emergency situations'
SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in ordered his Cabinet on Tuesday to mobilize all available "special" means to handle the "emergency economic situations" attributable to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus.
"Emergency situations require an emergency prescription. The current situation is much more serious than (we) thought," he said in his opening remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
----------------
(2nd LD) S. Korean presidential plane arrives in Japan to evacuate 5 people from quarantined cruise ship
SEOUL -- A South Korean presidential plane arrived in Japan on Tuesday to evacuate four nationals and a Japanese spouse from a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo, after an increase in onboard infections of the new coronavirus.
The VCN-235 of the Air Force arrived at Japan's Haneda Airport hours after it departed from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of the capital. The plane plans to return to Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on Wednesday morning.
----------------
Asiana Airlines to grant employees unpaid leave amid virus outbreak
SEOUL -- Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest airline, on Tuesday said all of its employees will take unpaid leave as air travel demand has plummeted due to the spreading coronavirus outbreak.
Some of about 10,500 employees are set to take 10 days of unpaid leave starting Wednesday. Others will join the cost-cutting measure later in a way that does not affect flights.
----------------
Seoul to work on South-side sections of railways for cross-border reconnection project
SEOUL -- South Korea will try to repair its own sections of cross-border roads and railways as part of a project to reconnect them across the border, the unification ministry said Tuesday, as the project has remained stalled for more than a year.
South and North Korea agreed to reconnect severed railways and roads between the two Koreas, following up on a summit agreement in 2018, and held an event to mark the launch of the project late in the same year.
----------------
(LEAD) Seoul stocks dip 1.5 pct on renewed Sino-American trade tension
SEOUL -- South Korean stocks sank 1.5 percent Tuesday on news that the United States is considering imposing tougher trade restrictions on China. The Korean won sharply lost ground against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.29 points, or 1.48 percent, to close at 2,208.88. Trading volume was moderate at 464 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won (US$5.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 670 to 180.
----------------
Ministry notes 'shared understanding' with China over high-level exchange plans
SEOUL -- South Korea will continue consultations with China over high-level exchanges under the "shared understanding" that they should proceed as planned despite the new coronavirus outbreaks in China, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry made the comments amid speculation that the COVID-19 outbreaks could force Chinese President Xi Jinping to delay his plan to travel to South Korea. Seoul and Beijing have been in talks to arrange Xi's trip here in the first half of this year.
----------------
N.K. defectors to form first-ever political party ahead of April elections
SEOUL -- North Korean defectors launched a preparatory committee Tuesday to establish the first-ever political party composed of defectors in South Korea, saying the envisioned party will work for democratization of their communist homeland and better protection of defectors' rights.
Around 200 North Korean defectors came together at the meeting in Seoul to announce the launch of the party tentatively named the Inter-Korean Unification Party, less than two months before the April 15 parliamentary elections.
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Asiana Airlines to grant employees unpaid leave amid virus outbreak

Some of about 10,500 employees are set to take 10 days of unpaid leave starting Wednesday .
Others will join @ @ @ @ @ a way that does not affect flights .

By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest airline, on Tuesday said all of its employees will take unpaid leave as air travel demand has plummeted due to the spreading coronavirus outbreak.
Some of about 10,500 employees are set to take 10 days of unpaid leave starting Wednesday. Others will join the cost-cutting measure later in a way that does not affect flights.
Asiana had 4,078 crew members as of Feb. 1, accounting for 39 percent of its total workforce of 10,538, according to the airline.
Asiana Airlines also said it will cut wages of its CEO, executives and heads of departments by 40 percent, 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
"We are desperately trying to come up with and implement measures to overcome a crisis of a massive operating loss this year," Asiana Chief Executive Han Chang-soo said in a statement.
For 2019, Asiana's net losses widened to 672.6 billion won (US$565.3 million) from 96.2 billion won a year earlier, due mainly to a sharp decline in travel on Japanese routes.
Asiana's operating losses widened to 368.2 billion won in 2019 from 35 billion won a year ago.
All executives will offer to resign in a show of their commitment to overcoming difficulties sparked by the coronavirus, called COVID-19.
The move comes as Asiana has temporarily halted 12 out of 26 routes to mainland China and reduced flights on 12 routes to the world's most populous country, leaving only two routes intact.
Asiana is currently running 57 flights to China per week, compared with 204 before the coronavirus outbreak.
The virus has killed more than 1,860 people in mainland China.
Asiana said flights to China accounted for 19 percent of its total sales at the end of September last year, the highest such proportion among local airlines.
entropy@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--USFK commander warns of potential furlough amid delay in defense cost deal

Abrams made the warning during a meeting with the head of a union of USFK 's Korean employees , Choe @ @ @ @ @ funds for their salaries will run out by the end of next month , the @ @ @

By Choi Soo-hyang
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams on Tuesday warned of a potential furlough of its South Korean employees amid a delay in the signing of a defense cost-sharing deal between South Korea and the United States.
Abrams made the warning during a meeting with the head of a union of USFK's Korean employees, Choe Ung-sik, saying the allocated funds for their salaries will run out by the end of next month, the military said.
"Without an agreed upon Special Measures Agreement (SMA), USFK is out of money and must prepare for a potential furlough," he said.
SMA refers to the cost-sharing deal between South Korea and the U.S. over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong American troops stationed here.
The two countries have held a series of talks over the issue but have yet to reach a deal amid Washington's demand for a sharp increase in Seoul's share.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Williams, USFK chief of staff, said USFK, though not part of the negotiations, is "keenly interested in the outcome and remain hopeful for its swift conclusion."
South Korean employees are "loyal and dedicated employees who are valued and critical to USFK and a potential furlough would be a significant impact for both them and USFK," Williams said.
Last month, USFK began sending a 60-day notice of potential furloughs to its nearly 9,000 South Korean workers, saying that if staff members are furloughed, they will be placed on "temporary nonduty and nonpay status."
In this file photo taken on Nov. 12, 2019, and provided by U.S. Forces Korea, its Commander Gen. Robert Abrams speaks during a press conference at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Nov. 12, 2019. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
scaaet@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(LEAD) 2 more dead in expressway pileup

(LEAD) 2 more dead in expressway pileup

The exact cause of the accident has yet to be identified , but the officials note the truck and the @ @ @ @ @ on snow or ice patches on the road as the entire nation was under a @ @ @ @ @

(ATTN: UPDATES lead, headline, details with new fatality)
NAMWON, South Korea, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The number of fatalities in a multiple-vehicle collision on an expressway that occurred in the country's southwestern region has increased by two, bringing the total number of deaths to five, rescue officials said Tuesday.
Rescue officials said they found one victim at around 1:10 a.m. in one of the cars near a tank truck that was carrying nitric acid in a tunnel on a highway connecting Suncheon and Wanju in North Jeolla Province.
They found another victim under a collapsed vehicle while carrying out a further search at 2:16 p.m. The identity of the victim has not yet been confirmed.
The accident occurred Monday afternoon when the tank truck reportedly ran into a small pile of cars involved in an earlier accident inside the tunnel.
Around a dozen other vehicles ran into the truck, which had spilled its load and caught fire, according to police and rescue officials.
In addition to the five who died from the fatal pileup, 43 were known to be injured as of 3 p.m.
The exact cause of the accident has yet to be identified, but the officials note the truck and the other cars may have skidded on snow or ice patches on the road as the entire nation was under a snow warning or alert.
Debris from damaged vehicles are piled up in a tunnel on a highway connecting the cities of Suncheon and Wanju in North Jeolla Province on Feb. 17, 2020. (Yonhap)
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--(LEAD) Seoul stocks dip 1.5 pct on renewed Sino-American trade tension

`` This is bad news and should be considered as a risk at a time when the market relies heavily @ @ @ @ @ said Ha In-whan , an analyst at Meritz Securities Co. `` The U.S.-China trade war @ @ @ @ @ phase one trade deal , but issues should be always monitored closely . ''

(ATTN: ADDS photo, bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks sank 1.5 percent Tuesday on news that the United States is considering imposing tougher trade restrictions on China. The Korean won sharply lost ground against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.29 points, or 1.48 percent, to close at 2,208.88. Trading volume was moderate at 464 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won (US$5.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 670 to 180.
The index opened weak following media reports that the Donald Trump administration may restrict the use of U.S. chipmaking equipment to further pressure China's Huawei Technologies Co., which is already on Washington's blacklist for security concerns.
A currency dealer walks by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020. (Yonhap)
According to reports, U.S. may force global chipmakers using American-made equipment to obtain licenses before supplying their chips to Huawei.
Washington is also considering blocking exports of jet engines made by General Electric Co., which could limit China's efforts to develop its own passenger jets, according to the news.
"This is bad news and should be considered as a risk at a time when the market relies heavily on IT shares," said Ha In-whan, an analyst at Meritz Securities Co. "The U.S.-China trade war was somewhat forgotten following their phase one trade deal, but issues should be always monitored closely."
Institutional investors sold a net 527 billion worth of local shares, while foreigners dumped a net 305 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 766 billion won.
Most large caps stayed in negative terrain, with tech shares suffering a sharp drop.
Market kingpin Samsung Electronics plunged 2.76 percent to 59,800 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix dipped 2.86 percent to 102,000 won.
Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor slid 2.21 percent to 132,500 won, and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis lost 1.46 percent to 235,500 won.
The country's No. 1 steelmaker POSCO slipped 0.46 percent to 217,500 won, while top chemical firm LG Chem sank 0.36 percent to 418,000 won.
The local currency closed at 1,189.5 won against the dollar, sharply down 5.6 won from the previous session's close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed sharply higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 4.9 basis points to 1.271 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond dropped 5.4 basis points to 1.381 percent.
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--S. Korean Bond Yields on Feb. 18, 2020

S. Korean Bond Yields on Feb. 18, 2020

(URGENT) N. Korea says Travis King decided to come over to N. Korea because he harbored ill feeling within the U.S. Army: KCNA


yna--2020-02-18--Director hopes his documentary can help Sewol tragedy regain public attention

`` The purpose of this documentary was to tell the truth of the Sewol incident to as many people as @ @ @ @ @ I kept the promise with the families of the victims , '' Yi said in @ @ @ @ @ for the promotion of `` In the Absence . ''
`` I think this is @ @ @ @ @ that my film can cause the Sewol incident to be a topic of conversation again @ @

By Kim Boram
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- Director Yi Seung-jun said Tuesday that he hopes people will talk more about the tragedy of the Sewol ferry sinking after watching his Oscar-nominated short documentary film about the incident.
"The purpose of this documentary was to tell the truth of the Sewol incident to as many people as possible overseas. I think I kept the promise with the families of the victims," Yi said in a press conference in Seoul for the promotion of "In the Absence." "I think this is the beginning. I hope that my film can cause the Sewol incident to be a topic of conversation again."
Yi Seung-jun (C), the director of the Oscar-nominated short documentary, "In the Absence," speaks at a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020. (Yonhap)
The 29-minute film was nominated in the documentary short subject category of the 92nd Academy Awards held on Feb. 9, becoming the first South Korean documentary film to earn an Academy nomination.
It was also one of the two South Korean Oscar nominees at this year's Oscars, along with Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" that grabbed four titles, including best picture.
The documentary is about the sinking of the 6,800-ton Sewol ferry in April 2014 that killed more than 300 people, most of whom were high school students on a spring field trip. It goes deeply into the government's flawed search-and-rescue operations at that time and its follow-up measures.
The movie drew favorable responses from media and audiences alike during official screenings before the Academy Awards, although it failed to win a trophy.
The film won the grand jury prize in the 2018 DOC NYC, an annual documentary film festival in New York City, and took home a prize at the World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest for Long Form in 2019.
U.S. audiences, during the screenings, seemed to feel the same anger that Koreans did, according to the director.
He said they were agitated by scenes of the captain of the Sewol ferry, who gets off the sinking vessel first and seeks to be rescued even though his young passengers are still trapped inside.
"The U.S. audiences showed the same reactions," he said. "Their reactions are even more aggressive than those of Koreans."
Yi attended the Oscar ceremony, along with mothers of two students who lost their lives in the Sewol sinking.
"We didn't plan to hit the red carpet, but we got the chance as wives of our director and producer made concessions to us," said Kim Mi-na, one of the two mothers. "I went there with photos of some 250 students. I was happy to take pictures with famous Hollywood stars there, carrying the photos."
The director said he spent most of time editing video and audio records on one of the worst maritime disasters in South Korea as the film was aimed at foreign audiences from the offset.
His U.S. producer, Field of Vision, played a role in streamlining the storyline and making the film more understandable and acceptable in the United States.
"As I targeted foreigners, editing was essential and difficult. I was wondering whether foreigners could catch the complex context of the Sewol tragedy," Yi said. "Our U.S. producers suggested employing a U.S. editor and his editing made the film more tranquil."
Yi said many capable Korean documentary directors and filmmakers can also appeal to the U.S. cinematic industry.
"It's not necessary for a director to make a film in the U.S. to receive favorable reviews in the U.S.," he said. "But you need more to get a nod from the Oscars. You have to have financial support either from a U.S. producer or from the South Korean government to go through the awards season."
This photo from the homepage of the World Press Photo shows a scene from "In the Absence." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--Ministry notes 'shared understanding' with China over high-level exchange plans

At the parliamentary session , Kang also noted a high possibility that for the time being the North would not @ @ @ @ @ the resumption of dialogue with the United States given its efforts to ward off the @ @ @ @ @ presidential election campaigns .

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will continue consultations with China over high-level exchanges under the "shared understanding" that they should proceed as planned despite the new coronavirus outbreaks in China, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry made the comments amid speculation that the COVID-19 outbreaks could force Chinese President Xi Jinping to delay his plan to travel to South Korea. Seoul and Beijing have been in talks to arrange Xi's trip here in the first half of this year.
"The ministry will continue to consult with China over key future diplomatic schedules under the shared understanding that the plans between South Korea and China will be pursued without a hitch," the ministry said in a policy briefing to the parliament.
Seoul has been pushing to arrange the trip by the Chinese leader as part of efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation in its efforts to denuclearize North Korea and foster a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
But the virus that has claimed 1,868 lives in China alone has raised questions over whether Xi could carry out his overseas diplomatic plans despite Chinese Premier Li Keqiang playing a leading role to oversee Beijing's response to the deadly virus.
After her talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the margins of a security forum in Munich, Germany, last week, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that Seoul and Beijing have agreed to pursue Xi's visit to Korea in the same way they have so far been coordinating.
At the parliamentary session, Kang also noted a high possibility that for the time being the North would not take any dramatic move toward the resumption of dialogue with the United States given its efforts to ward off the novel coronavirus and the U.S. presidential election campaigns.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-18--N.K. defectors to form first-ever political party ahead of April elections

`` We will create a party that can encompass both the commonalities and differences of all 80 million people of @ @ @ @ @ , '' the organizers said in a statement .
`` We will also address the @ @ @ @ @ the miserable realities of North Korean people living unaware of freedom and human rights .
@

By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korean defectors launched a preparatory committee Tuesday to establish the first-ever political party composed of defectors in South Korea, saying the envisioned party will work for democratization of their communist homeland and better protection of defectors' rights.
Around 200 North Korean defectors came together at the meeting in Seoul to announce the launch of the party tentatively named the Inter-Korean Unification Party, less than two months before the April 15 parliamentary elections.
"I am here today to support the big challenge of fellow North Koreans and to congratulate the launch of the new party of North Korean defectors," Thae Yong-ho, a former No. 2 diplomat at North Korea's Embassy in London, said in his congratulatory speech at the meeting.
"When we launch the party, more defectors will join and more fellow North Koreans will leave North Korea to come to the South," he said.
Thae, who defected to South Korea in 2016, joined the main opposition Liberty Korean Party earlier this month and announced his bid to run in the April elections, vowing to work for inter-Korean unification if elected.
At Tuesday's meeting, organizers said they need a political party that represents the rights of North Koreans and defectors. The new party will also work toward improving human rights situations in the North.
"We will create a party that can encompass both the commonalities and differences of all 80 million people of the South and the North," the organizers said in a statement. "We will also address the worst human rights violations and the miserable realities of North Korean people living unaware of freedom and human rights."
Thae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea in 2016, attends a meeting to mark the launch of a new party led by North Korean defectors in Seoul on Feb. 18, 2020. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--(3rd LD) S. Korean presidential plane arrives back from Japan with 7 evacuees aboard

The evacuees , excluding the Japanese , were among 14 South Koreans who were aboard the Diamond Princess .
The @ @ @ @ @ the port in Yokohama since an outbreak of the COVID-19 aboard the ship early this @ @

(ATTN: UPDATES story on transportation of evacuees in paras 4-6; CHANGES photos)
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean presidential plane with six nationals and a Japanese spouse onboard arrived back from Japan on Wednesday, completing the mission to evacuate them from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship.
The Air Force VCN-235 arrived at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul at 6:27 a.m. after departing from Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 2:23 a.m.
The evacuees, excluding the Japanese, were among 14 South Koreans who were aboard the Diamond Princess. The ship has been quarantined at the port in Yokohama since an outbreak of the COVID-19 aboard the ship early this month.
Upon arrival, they went through about an hourlong health check at a business terminal shut off from other general passengers. None of them showed signs of virus symptoms, airport authorities said.
A VCN-235 of the Air Force carrying six South Koreans and a Japanese spouse arrives at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on Feb. 19, 2020. The plane was sent to Japan to evacuate the seven people from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship docked at Yokohama. (Yonhap)
They were transported to a medical facility at the quarantine office of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. The facility, located near the first terminal of the main gateway to the country, has some 50 negative pressure isolation chambers to house patients with infectious diseases.
The evacuees from Japan will be placed into isolation for 14 days, the virus' incubation period.
According to Japanese news reports, 88 people on the vessel were diagnosed with the virus on Tuesday, bringing the total there to 542.
The eight South Koreans still aboard the ship are expected to disembark later this week if they test negative.
South Korea has reported 31 cases of the coronavirus, with no fatalities.
In late January and early this month, South Korea sent three planes to Wuhan, China -- the epicenter of the outbreak -- to evacuate some 800 South Koreans and their family members.
The evacuees have been quarantined at facilities in central South Korea.
A bus carrying the seven evacuees from the quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama leaves Gimpo International Airport to transport them to an isolation facility at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Feb. 19, 2020. (Yonhap)
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--Seoul stocks open higher despite Wall Street losses

The U.S. stock market closed lower Tuesday ( local time ) after tech giant Apple Inc. said it would not @ @ @ @ @ to the novel coronavirus situation in China .

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, bucking overnight losses on Wall Street.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.3 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,219.18 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The U.S. stock market closed lower Tuesday (local time) after tech giant Apple Inc. said it would not meet quarterly financial guidance due to the novel coronavirus situation in China.
In Seoul, however, large caps had a solid start.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.67 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0.98 percent.
Leading automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.38 percent, while auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis advanced 0.42 percent.
The country's No. 1 chemical firm LG Chem, however, plunged 1.67 percent, while top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics shed 0.58 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,190.00 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.50 won from the previous session's close.
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--U.S. flies surveillance aircraft to monitor N. Korea

It is the third time this month alone that this type of aircraft has been detected here , with several @ @ @ @ @ planes flying here more often than before with their identification system turned on .

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea, an aviation tracker said Wednesday.
The U.S. Air Force's E-8C, or JSTARS, was spotted in the skies over South Korea at 29,000 feet the previous day, Aircraft Spots tweeted.
As a platform for airborne command and control, surveillance and reconnaissance, the E-8C is known to be capable of closely monitoring North Korea's troops and equipment movements, including missiles and artillery guns.
It is the third time this month alone that this type of aircraft has been detected here, with several other types of U.S. spy planes flying here more often than before with their identification system turned on.
Amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States, North Korea warned early this year it will show off a "new strategic weapon" in the near future. Concerns have risen that Pyongyang could choose joint military exercises between the U.S. and the South set for March as a pretext for provocations.
The North has long bristled at such drills, denouncing them as an invasion rehearsal.
So far, however, the North has not shown any specific unusual military movements in recent weeks. The country is also believed to have staged its wintertime drills in a scaled-back manner due to concerns over the outbreak of the new coronavirus, according to military sources in Seoul.
Pyongyang has claimed that it has not a single confirmed or suspected case of the virus, COVID-19. In China, which shares a border with the North, more than 2,000 have died, and nearly 74,000 have been confirmed infected as of early Wednesday. South Korea has reported 31 confirmed cases so far.
This image captured from the U.S. Air Force's website shows a USAF E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)


Wednesday's weather forecast

SEOUL , Feb. 19 ( Yonhap ) -- The following is the weather forecast for South Korea 's 12 major @ @ @ @ @ .


KOSDAQ 686.89 UP 3.97 points (open)


KOSPI 2,222.51 UP 13.63 points (open)


yna--2020-02-19--S. Korea to inject liquidity to exporters amid virus fallout

The government will draw up a package of comprehensive measures by the end of this month to preemptively contain the @ @ @ @ @ virus outbreak , which is expected to threaten the fragile Chinese and global economies , @ @ @ @ @ economy-related ministers .

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to provide liquidity support to its exporters that are expected to take a hit from the spread of the new coronavirus in China, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday.
The government will draw up a package of comprehensive measures by the end of this month to preemptively contain the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, which is expected to threaten the fragile Chinese and global economies, Hong told a meeting of economy-related ministers.
kdh@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--Dollar opens at 1,190.0 won UP from 1,189.5 won


yna--2020-02-19--Samsung signs partnership with BTS to boost marketing

`` We hope we can deliver a good experience to fans of BTS and Galaxy devices around the globe through @ @ @ @ @ a Samsung official said .
`` We are planning various activities other than 'CONNECT BTS @ @ @

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. signed a partnership with K-pop super band BTS for marketing of its new smartphones, company officials said Wednesday.
Samsung will first work with BTS for the boy band's global contemporary art initiative, "CONNECT, BTS," and will expand their collaboration to other areas, according to the officials.
"CONNECT, BTS" is a global initiative spearheaded in collaboration with curators from five major cities -- London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul and New York -- to connect people from across the world through art.
The art project was designed to dovetail with BTS' philosophy that centers around diversity, love and care for the periphery.
This file photo taken Jan. 28, 2020, shows fans looking at a media facade installed at the "CONNECT, BTS" exhibition in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Samsung said it will support augmented reality (AR) docent service for the project, in which members of BTS appear and explain art pieces in a virtual system.
The South Korean tech giant also installed a media facade with its Galaxy devices for the art project in Seoul and New York.
Samsung didn't elaborate on its partnership with BTS, but industry insiders expect that the septet will participate in the company's various promotion and marketing events regarding its new smartphones launched earlier this month.
At Samsung's "Galaxy Unpacked 2020" in San Francisco, where the company unveiled the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Z Flip smartphones -- BTS member V was spotted at the event.
"We hope we can deliver a good experience to fans of BTS and Galaxy devices around the globe through collaboration with BTS," a Samsung official said. "We are planning various activities other than 'CONNECT BTS.'"
kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--(LEAD) Korean-made geostationary environment-monitoring satellite successfully launched

The Ariane-5 rocket carrying the 3.4-ton Chollian-2B , tasked with monitoring the movement of fine dust and other air pollutants @ @ @ @ @ , as well as tides , is on course to reach its transfer orbit some @ @ @ @ @ 's equator after lifting off from French Guiana at 07:18 p.m. ( local time ) @ @ @ @ @ Aerospace Research Institute ( KARI ) .

(ATTN: CHANGES headline; ADDS more details in paras 1-3; CHANGES photo)
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- The world's first geostationary environment-monitoring satellite built by South Korea has been successfully launched, the country's state-run aerospace research institute said Wednesday.
The Ariane-5 rocket carrying the 3.4-ton Chollian-2B, tasked with monitoring the movement of fine dust and other air pollutants in the East Asian region, as well as tides, is on course to reach its transfer orbit some 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's equator after lifting off from French Guiana at 07:18 p.m. (local time), according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
The satellite was separated from the rocket 31 minutes after lift-off and made the first contract with a ground tracking station in Australia.
The Chollian-2B is expected to begin carrying out given missions in October, with all systems to be fully operational in 2021.
This photo provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT shows the Ariane-5 rocket carrying the Chollian-2B lifting off from the Guiana Space Center in South America at 07:18 p.m. Feb. 18, 2020 (local time). (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The multipurpose satellite will observe and track fine dust and 20 types of air pollutants, including ozone, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde, KARI said.
The satellite will allow South Korea to keep close tabs on all sorts of pollutants in the region and play an important role in global air monitoring. The information gathered will make it possible to provide more accurate weather forecasts and permit Seoul to work with others to reduce pollution in the region.
The satellite is equipped with the cutting-edge Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-2 (GOCI-2), which can check for algal blooms and other water contaminants.
GOCI-2 is able to cover an area around 2,500 kilometers in diameter 10 times a day. The optical resolution used on the Chollian-2B is four times sharper than previous sensors used by South Korea, making it that much easier to detect red and green tides, and improving the possibility of giving advance warnings to regions that may be affected.
The space agency said the latest launch follows the successful deployment of the Chollian-2A satellite in late 2018 and gives South Korea the world-class capability to monitor the atmosphere and oceans.
South Korea has spent 386.7 billion won (US$324 million) for the Chollian-2B project, which began in 2011. The life cycle of the satellite is 10 years, the same as the Chollian-2A, it added.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--Son Heung-min to have surgery on broken arm, to miss several weeks

`` Heung-Min Son is to undergo surgery this week after sustaining a fracture to his right arm , '' Spurs @ @ @ @ @ its website Tuesday .
`` The South Korea international suffered the injury during our win @ @ @ @ @ . ''

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- Tottenham Hotspur's forward Son Heung-min is set to miss several weeks of action after suffering a fractured arm during a recent match, his team has said.
"Heung-Min Son is to undergo surgery this week after sustaining a fracture to his right arm," Spurs said in a posting on its website Tuesday. "The South Korea international suffered the injury during our win against Aston Villa on Sunday."
In the Sunday match, Son scored twice, including the last minute winner and extended his goal scoring streak to five matches. He has scored 16 goals in all competitions so far this season.
It was also his career 51st goal at the Premier League, becoming the first Asia-born player to score a career 50 goals or more at the top level of the English football League.
The club said it will take a number of weeks for the 27-year-old forward to return to the ground after surgery.
"Following surgery, our medical staff shall be reviewing management options for Son's rehabilitation with the player expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks," it said.
Son's injury is expected to deal a heavy blow to Tottenham, with its English striker Harry Kane already sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Spurs have to go through some important games without Son, including the Champions League round of 16 first leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday (local time).
In this Associated Press photo, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates his team's 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in a Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on Feb. 16, 2020. (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--(URGENT) S. Korean-made environment-monitoring satellite makes first contact.


yna--2020-02-19--Korean-made geostationary environment-monitoring satellite launched

The satellite is equipped with the cutting-edge Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-2 ( GOCI-2 ) , which can check for algal @ @ @ @ @ .
GOCI-2 is able to cover an area around 2,500 kilometers in diameter 10 times @ @ @ @ @ resolution used on the Chollian-2B is four times sharper than previous sensors used by South @ @ @ @ @ much easier to detect red and green tides , and improving the possibility of giving @ @ @ @ @ may be affected .

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- The world's first geostationary environment-monitoring satellite built by South Korea has been launched, the country's state-run aerospace research institute said Wednesday.
The Ariane-5 rocket carrying the 3.4-ton Chollian-2B that will monitor the movement of fine dust and other air pollutants in the East Asian region lifted off from French Guiana at 07:18 p.m. (local time), according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
The satellite will reach its orbit some 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's equator and make contact with a ground station.
The Chollian-2B is expected to begin carrying out certain missions in October, with all systems to be fully operational in 2021.
The multipurpose satellite is equipped with the Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) that can observe and track fine dust and 20 types of air pollutants, including ozone, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde, KARI said.
The GEMS is 2-3 years ahead of similar sensors being developed for space use by the United States and Europe, and will be able to cover a region roughly 5,000 kilometers in length and width eight times a day, it said.
The satellite will allow South Korea to keep close tabs on all sorts of pollutants in the region and play an important role in global air monitoring. The information gathered will make it possible to provide more accurate weather forecasts and permit Seoul to work with others to reduce pollution in the region.
The satellite is equipped with the cutting-edge Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-2 (GOCI-2), which can check for algal blooms and other water contaminants. GOCI-2 is able to cover an area around 2,500 kilometers in diameter 10 times a day. The optical resolution used on the Chollian-2B is four times sharper than previous sensors used by South Korea, making it that much easier to detect red and green tides, and improving the possibility of giving advance warnings to regions that may be affected.
The space agency said the latest launch follows the successful deployment of the Chollian-2A satellite in late 2018 and gives South Korea the world-class capability to monitor the atmosphere and oceans.
South Korea has spent 386.7 billion won (US$324 million) for the Chollian-2B project, which began in 2011. The life cycle of the satellite is 10 years, the same as the Chollian-2A, it added.
This undated file photo provided by KARI shows the Chollian-2B with its solar panels in the folded position ahead of being shipped to the Guiana Space Center of Kourou, French Guiana. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--(EDITORIAL from Korea JoongAng Daily on Feb. 19)

As a result , an increasing number of professors , liberal or conservative , are afraid of posting their views @ @ @ @ @ fear of relentless attacks .
This extreme dichotomy — based on defining opponents as `` @ @ @ @ @ their challenges — does not allow for healthy internal criticism .
Such totalitarianism forced even @ @ @ @ @ Korea , Chin Jung-kwon , to turn away from the ruling camp .
Moon 's @ @ @ @ @ than good for the president .
If Moon does not restrain them , the country @ @ @ @ @ .
In his inauguration speech on May 10 , 2017 , Moon vowed to `` @ @ @ @ @ citizens and respect his opponents . ''
We wonder if he does not regard the @ @ @ @ @ Lim as one of the people he pledged to respect .
( END )

Show some respect
The time has come for President Moon Jae-in to put the brakes on the incomprehensible — and never-ending — misbehavior of his avid followers. They have gone too far attacking ordinary people, not to mention political opponents, for differences in their views of the self-righteous president. Shortly after an owner of a grocery store in Asan, South Chungcheong, complained about a decrease in sales to the president last week, an encounter broadcast on television, pro-Moon netizens denounced the owner for blaming the president and exposed private details about the merchant on the internet.
The reaction Moon's loyalists had to a column by Korea University Professor Lim Mi-ri also can not be condoned. Even when progressive scholars and the press criticized the ruling Democratic Party (DP) for filing a complaint with the prosecution over the straightforward column, Moon's fervent followers raised a complaint with the prosecution and ferociously attacked her on social media.
Recurrences of such shameful acts fundamentally result from a critical lack of checks and balances among the liberal camp. Before the launch of the Moon administration three years ago, internal criticism existed in the ruling party. These days, however, the DP attempts to put a gag order on opponents by taking advantage of the fanaticism of its supporters.
Such radical fandom mostly can be blamed on Moon. When his followers vehemently pilloried his rivals, including Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, on the internet for their minimal differences with Moon in a presidential nomination race, he ignored their slanderous comments, saying they were just "spice that helps make our race interesting." Such a reaction translates into tacit approval of verbal violence from his core supporters.
As a result, an increasing number of professors, liberal or conservative, are afraid of posting their views on social media platforms for fear of relentless attacks. This extreme dichotomy — based on defining opponents as "evil" rather than accepting their challenges — does not allow for healthy internal criticism. Such totalitarianism forced even an icon of progressivism in Korea, Chin Jung-kwon, to turn away from the ruling camp. Moon's avid followers do more harm than good for the president. If Moon does not restrain them, the country will split into two groups. In his inauguration speech on May 10, 2017, Moon vowed to "become a president for all citizens and respect his opponents." We wonder if he does not regard the grocery store owner or Prof. Lim as one of the people he pledged to respect.
(END)


yna--2020-02-19--(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Feb. 19)

(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Feb. 19)

It is not hard to imagine what the UFP will be like after the election because it was created through @ @ @ @ @ among various groups with different political interests .
The biggest obstacle ahead will probably be @ @ @ @ @ legacy of the impeached former conservative President Park Geun-hye , seeing that Rep. Yoo Seong-min @ @ @ @ @ Conservative Party leader , boycotted the inaugural ceremony for the new party apparently due to @ @ @ @ @ how to deal with Park and her staunch loyalists .
Notably , Rep. Yoo had @ @ @ @ @ conservative forces for only the merger 's sake '' because of the election , maintaining @ @ @ @ @ and efforts to leave the past behind should precede any attempt for a merger .

'Delusive' merger
:Creation of UFP is only result of 'temporary truce'
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and two minor conservative parties have launched a merged party with the crucial general election less than two months away.
Separately, three other minor parties, whose support bases are in the South and North Jeolla provinces, the so-called "Honam" region, are also seeking a merger ahead of the April 15 polls.
A merger of political parties ahead of crucial polls is far from impressive. From a voter's perspective, it is rather a delusive attempt just to win. Such an attempt deserves contempt seeing what has been proven throughout Korea's political history. Even if they succeed, there are a number of reasons to be quite sure that a merger aimed at only an election victory without "chemical integration" won't benefit the people at all. It will only serve the needs of certain political groups.
Winning more seats means more power, so parties with few chances of winning the election are naturally tempted to gather forces to win. But a merger with this purpose cannot last long after the election is over. This is just a matter of common sense.
This is also why we are not too optimistic about the future of the United Future Party (UFP), created as a result of a merger of the LKP, the New Conservative Party and Forward for Future 4.0. As the UFP's inaugural Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was the LKP chairman, stated in the launch ceremony, Monday, their shared goal was to unify conservative forces ahead of the election in order to achieve a "popular judgment against the dictatorship of President Moon Jae-in and a government being run by North Korea followers."
And that is it. This is a story conservative politicians have long repeated since President Moon was inaugurated in May 2017. Many people are indeed worried about what the liberal administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea have been doing, but they will be reluctant to vote for the UFP as well. To win and become an "alternative power," the UFP needs to do more than just vilify Moon and capitalize on deep-rooted ideological divisions in this nation.
It is not hard to imagine what the UFP will be like after the election because it was created through a "temporary truce" among various groups with different political interests. The biggest obstacle ahead will probably be their failure to overcome the legacy of the impeached former conservative President Park Geun-hye, seeing that Rep. Yoo Seong-min, who was the New Conservative Party leader, boycotted the inaugural ceremony for the new party apparently due to differences with Chairman Hwang over how to deal with Park and her staunch loyalists. Notably, Rep. Yoo had opposed a "merger of conservative forces for only the merger's sake" because of the election, maintaining that rigorous, wide-ranging reform and efforts to leave the past behind should precede any attempt for a merger.
Equally illusive is a merger attempt by the three "Honam-based" minority parties ― the Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace and the New Alternative Party. They are desperate to survive, but there is ― and should be ― no future for any political grouping resorting to regionalism.
(END)