K-News Bulletin

Baedal Minjok, Korea's largest food delivery app, started a robot delivery service in three apartment buildings in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul. For lucky residents, their meals will be delivered by Dilly Tower, a 1.08-meter tall robot with a face like an excited emoji.    Woowa Brothers, which runs Baedal Minjok, said Monday that Dilly Tower had started deliveries to almost 300 residents in Yeongdeungpo.  One Dilly Tower is on duty in each of the three buildings, and they operate without any human help. Delivery times are supposed to be 5 to 16 minutes shorter than before, according to the company.   Here is how Dilly Tower works.  Full article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/12/business/industry/dilly-tower-baemin-woowa-brothers/20210712184414119.html

SsangYong Motor, the debt-laden automaker in court receivership, is selling its Pyeongtaek factory, its only facility for auto assembly. The company has been making cars there for 42 years. Both the land and the factory are being unloaded, according to an announcement Sunday by the troubled automaker and the city of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/11/business/industry/ssangyong-motor/20210711180116792.html

South Korea's main nuclear research institute was reportedly exposed for over 12 days to hacking attacks probably by North Korea, but no important data was leaked, according to a parliamentary intelligence committee member on Thursday. People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Ha Tae-keung, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters on Thursday, “A probe is underway after the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute filed a damage report on June 1. It was possibly exposed to North Korea for about 12 days.” Ha said he was given the information in a briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The first hacking attempt on the institute reportedly occurred on May 14.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/08/national/northKorea/North-Korea-hacking-nuclear/20210708190700374.html

Samsung Electronics provisionally reported a 12.5 trillion won ($11.0 billion) operating profit in the second quarter, up 53.4 percent on year, on strong demand for computer chips.It is a record for the company for a second quarter and higher than expectations. Analysts forecast second-quarter operating profit at 10.9 trillion won, according to FnGuide.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/07/business/industry/Samsung-Electronics-Q2/20210707113400375.html

Torrential rain in the southern regions led to floods and landslides that killed at least two people Tuesday. Following some 201.5 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rainfall in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, from Monday to Tuesday morning, a landslide around 6:04 a.m. in a mountainous area of the city tore through two homes and a warehouse, killing an 82-year-old woman, police said. There were reports earlier Tuesday that the woman was alive, because when the Fire Department called her cellphone, the line appeared to be busy.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/06/national/socialAffairs/floods-landslides-kill-two/20210706191100390.html

Korea has signed on to the global tax plan designed to rein in the tech companies and get them to pay their fair share. It is also trying to make sure its major companies don't get caught up in the rush to tax.   “We will respond thoroughly from the point of national interest,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Monday. In total, 130 countries have agreed in principle to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-led agreement that will seek to tax multinational companies at a rate of 15 percent regardless of where they are headquartered and regardless of where they operate.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/05/business/economy/global-tax-reform-Google-Korea-Samsung-Electronics/20210705160400375.html

Facemasks will remain mandatory in the greater Seoul area — even for vaccinated people — due to a recent surge in virus cases. In addition, drinking will be banned outdoors after 10 p.m. in parks and riversides in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi. A planned relaxation of measures has been called off as health authorities deal with a spike in new Covid cases.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/04/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-masks-vaccination/20210704181500783.html

President Moon Jae-in's secretary for civil affairs was indicted Thursday for abuse of power for allegedly masterminding a travel ban on a top official from the previous administration.   The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Department III indicted Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-cheol, a key member of the Blue House inner circle, for arranging an illegal travel ban on former Vice Minister of Justice Kim Hak-eui in 2019. The indictment was filed with the Seoul Central District Court so Lee can be tried with other government officials indicted earlier in the case.   Lee said the indictment was unjust, according to a Blue House statement, but still tendered his resignation to Moon.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/07/01/national/socialAffairs/Lee-Kwangcheol-Kim-Hakeui-travel-ban/20210701181200294.html

The government and ruling party agreed on a 33-trillion-won ($29 billion) supplementary budget, the sixth since the start of the pandemic and second this year, but the Democratic Party failed to get relief grants for all. Emergency relief grants will be given to all households except those in the top 20 percent income bracket. Including the emergency grants, nearly half of the supplementary budget -- or between 15 and 16 trillion won -- will be Covid-19-related stimulative spending. That includes a one-time subsidy of 100,000 won for roughly 3 million low-income households and struggling single parents.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/29/business/economy/supplementary-budget-emergency-relief-grant-Covid19/20210629153100348.html

Choe Jae-hyeong, head of the Board of Audit and Inspection [BAI], tendered his resignation amid speculation that he will run for president. "I concluded that it is inappropriate for me to continue serving as the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection amid growing speculations about my fate," Choe told reporters on his way to the office Monday morning. "I, therefore, expressed my intention to step down to the president." President Moon Jae-in appointed Choe, a 64-year-old former judge, to head the audit agency in January 2018. "I apologize to the people, Moon and the members of the Board of Audit and Inspection that I could not complete my tenure," Choe said. His four-year tenure ends next year.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/28/national/politics/Choe-Jaehyung-Yoon-Seokyoul-presidential-election/20210628180500331.html

Starting July 1, the Seoul metropolitan area will allow private meetings of up to six people and restaurants and bars to stay open until midnight. Most other regions will allow gatherings of up to eight people and will have no limits on businesses hours. Limits on gatherings for all regions are set to gradually be expanded after a two-week trial. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced Sunday that the capital area will be under Level 2 of the revamped four-tier scheme, while the other areas of the country will be under Level 1 — allowing businesses to extend operating hours and easing restrictions on social gatherings from July.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/27/national/socialAffairs/covid19-social-distancing-rules-level-1/20210627183600407.html

 Universities in Korea will resume in-person classes from the upcoming fall semester, starting with small classes, laboratory courses and other kinds of instruction requiring hands-on teaching. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye announced Thursday a phased plan to enable college students to return to classrooms full-time from the fall semester of the 2021 school year. This comes after the Education Ministry's recent announcement of the reopening of kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the fall semester. But some returns to class will depend on the country's progress in vaccinations and gaining of herd immunity. A great many college students won't have gotten vaccinations by the start of the semester.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/24/national/socialAffairs/Yoo-Eunhye-Education-Ministry-Facetoface/20210624174706917.html

There is an "almost zero" chance that President Moon Jae-in will travel to Japan for the Olympics, government sources told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday. Culture and Sports Minister Hwang Hee will go instead. “We have finalized a plan that Minister Hwang will attend the opening ceremony [on July 23],” a high-ranking government official told the JoongAng Ilbo in a phone conversation. “For now, there is almost zero possibility that Moon will attend the opening event.”   The source said the government decided to send an envoy based on the principle that politics and sports are separate issues. After Japan refused to remove the Dokdo islets from a map on the official Tokyo Summer Olympics website, political heavyweights, even from the ruling party, demanded that Korea boycott the games.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/23/national/diplomacy/Moon-Jaein-Suga-Olympics/20210623180200631.html

The Bank of Korea (BOK) warned of growing vulnerability to the financial system from mounting household debt, probably signaling a raise in interest rates. The central bank said in a regular financial stability report released Tuesday that should an unexpected economic crisis takes place, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) could contract by as much as 2.2 percent. According to the report, the ratio of household and company debt to GDP hit a record 216.3 percent in the first quarter, up 15.9 percentage points year on year. Household and company debt grew by 9.4 percent on year in the first quarter, and the country's GDP grew at a much slower 1.3 percent.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/22/business/finance/bank-of-korea-interest-rate-financial-stability/20210622185213621.html

Hackers connected to North Korea stole information about Navy vessels and submarines designed and built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, possibly including research for a domestically designed nuclear-powered submarine, according to multiple government sources on Sunday. “The targeted documents include long-running conceptual research into the development of nuclear-powered submarines that was conducted by Daewoo Shipbuilding,” said one source at the technology protection division of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). “Some of the documents got out, but we haven't been able to verify that the ones related to the nuclear-powered submarine development were among these,” the source added.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/21/national/defense/submarine-nuclear-hacking/20210621182100321.html

The remains of a 52-year-old firefighter trapped in Coupang's blazing warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi, on Thursday were found Saturday. What appeared to be the remains of firefighter Kim Dong-shik were found in the basement of Coupang's four-story warehouse at 10:49 a.m. on Saturday – two days after the fire that appears to have been sparked by a power outlet in the basement early Thursday morning. Kim's remains were discovered 50 meters from the entrance to the basement.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/20/business/industry/coupang-icheon-warehouse/20210620173000743.html

Starting in July, all adults in their 50s, school teachers and high school seniors will be eligible for their first Covid-19 shots, which will be expanded to everyone over 17 from August. The Covid-19 Vaccination Task Force announced its vaccination plan for the third quarter on Thursday with the aim of inoculating a total of 36 million people, or 70 percent of Korea's population, by the end of September. In the first three weeks of July, the government will first offer jabs to around 270,000 people whose vaccine appointments were delayed due to supply shortages.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/17/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-vaccination-third-quarter/20210617174900299.html

The People Power Party (PPP), considered not long ago as a cemetery for political dinosaurs, is being inundated with membership applications after it elected 36-year-old Lee Jun-seok as its new chairman.  Many of the new members are in their 20s and 30s. “Because there are so many applicants, the online server crashed twice,” a PPP worker told JTBC. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/16/national/politics/Lee-Junseok-People-Power-Party/20210616174900287.html

Samsung Electronics signed a contract with UK telecom operator Vodafone to sell 5G equipment -- its first 5G cellular network deal in Europe. That market was dominated for years by China's Huawei and European vendors like Nokia and Ericsson. Washington's sanctions on Huawei forced many countries to diversify their network suppliers, and the Korean giant is moving in.   The tech company announced Tuesday it will provide Vodafone a set of advanced wireless access technologies needed for the deployment of 5G, including a virtualized radio access (vRAN) system. vRAN enables telecom companies to run networking functions as software in contrast to the widely-used, centralized radio access network that requires physical hardware upgrades.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/15/business/industry/Samsung-Electronics-5G-Vodafone/20210615190100631.html

The Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of beleaguered SsangYong Motor, questioned whether its latest turnaround plan is good enough to attract a buyer. The KDB admitted that buyers with any genuine intention to invest in the carmaker are “very rare" at the moment. “It is true that the latest turnaround plan proposed by SsangYong Motor has progressed compared to before, but a turnaround plan without a detailed business plan is not sufficient for the KDB to decide whether we can provide financial support,” said Lee Dong-gull, chairman of the KDB, at an online press conference on Monday.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/14/business/industry/ssangyong-motor/20210614190000528.html

Local exchanges are slashing the number of cryptocurrencies they offer.   The country's largest exchange by trading volume, Upbit, announced Friday that 25 coins were put on its investment warning list, a first step before delisting the coins from the exchange. Smaller exchanges such as Probit announced the delisting of hundreds of coins recently. The moves come as the exchanges hope to partner with banks that agree to offer bank accounts in the name of the actual trader for trading on the exchanges. After an amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information took effect in March, exchanges were given until Sept. 24 to find such banks to keep operating.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/13/business/finance/coin-upbit-cryptocurrency/20210613183100430.html

The heads of four Korean business groups met Thursday to form a committee dedicated to investment and business opportunities in hydrogen.  Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Posco Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo and Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon met Thursday at Hyundai Motor's R&D center in Namyang, Gyeonggi.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/10/business/industry/hydrogen-committee-hyundai-motor/20210610174000575.html

North Korea will not be part of the Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed Tuesday, the first time it will skip the Summer Games in 33 years.   North Korea's berths for the Tokyo Olympics from July 23 to Aug. 8 were reallocated to other athletes, said the IOC. The announcement dashed any hope of the upcoming games being used for sports diplomacy with the North. International sporting events in the past, particularly the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, were occasions for diplomatic breakthroughs.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/09/national/northKorea/Tokyo-Olympics-North-Korea-IOC/20210609163100317.html

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged Monday to work with both Seoul and Pyongyang to help arrange reunions of Korean-Americans who were separated from family members during the 1950-53 Korean War.   "This is just heart wrenching, knowing that people have been not only separated, but don't even know the fate of their loved ones," Blinken said in a hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee on the reunion issue. "What I can pledge to you is that we will absolutely work on this, including with our South Korean partners to make sure that the interests of Korean-Americans who have been separated from families are reflected in the efforts that we make and that are made."  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/08/national/diplomacy/US-Secretary-of-State-Antony-Blinken-wartorn-family/20210608175200269.html

President Moon Jae-in vowed to rid the military of its “backward culture” in an address at the Memorial Day ceremony at Seoul National Cemetery on Sunday, in light of the recent death of an Air Force officer who reportedly took her own life following a sexual harassment claim against a fellow service member.   “Today we remember veterans, independence fighters and unknown soldiers who fought valiantly, as well as the heroic defenders of the nation during the battles and bombardment of Yeonpyeong and the Cheonan sinking,” Moon said. The ceremony was attended by veterans and their relatives, heads of political parties, the minister of patriots and veterans affairs and the chiefs of staffs of the Army and Navy, some attending virtually.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/06/national/defense/memorial-day-president-moon-orders-thorough-investigation/20210606155300306.html

Korean companies shrunk an average of 3.2 percent last year, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea Thursday, because of the coronavirus epidemic. The proportion of companies unable to cover interest payments on debt hit a record high. The central bank analyzed audits filed by the country's 25,871 non-financial companies and released a gloomy overview of the previous year.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/03/business/finance/bank-of-korea-operating-margin/20210603185600197.html

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday showed his most receptive attitude so far to business leaders' pleas to pardon jailed Samsung head Lee Jae-yong.   Moon invited the leaders of the country's top four business groups to a luncheon at the Blue House to thanks them for announcements of massive investments in the United States just before his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden last month. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/02/national/politics/Lee-Jaeyong-pardon/20210602182800274.html

Korea's exports soared 45.6 percent in May, the sharpest growth since 1988 thanks to a rebound in mainstay export items including semiconductors, cars and petrochemical products.   Outbound shipments from the country totaled $50.7 billion last month, a record for the month of May, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.   This follows 41.2 percent growth in April compared to a year earlier, and the seventh consecutive month of expansion.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/01/business/economy/exports-vaccine-chip/20210601175700296.html

Hyundai Motor sold its first factory in China, which once symbolized its aggressive expansion into the market, after years of sales held hostage by geopolitics.   The automaker agreed to sell its Plant 1 in Beijing to the government of Shunyi District, a satellite city of Beijing, according to industry sources and multiple media reports both in Korea and China.   “It is true that Hyundai Motor is pushing to sell the Beijing factory to the Shunyi District government,” said an industry source with knowledge of the sale.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/30/business/industry/Hyundai-Motor-China-Li-Xiang/20210530180500734.html

The government will invest 3.8 percent of its GDP on Green New Deal projects by 2025 to bring about carbon neutrality for Korea.   It's also increasing its support for environmental efforts by developing countries Official Development Assistance (ODA) and contributions to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/26/business/economy/green-Korean-government-carbon-neutrality-ODA/20210526164300380.html

Covid-19 vaccines left over after people didn't show up to get them will be available for anyone interested starting Thursday — and you can sign up to receive alerts about leftover vaccine at neighborhood clinics and hospitals. Foreigners covered by Korean health insurance and over the age of 30 are included.  The Covid-19 Vaccination Task Force announced Tuesday that it will test-run a leftover reservation system via Naver and Kakao for two weeks starting Thursday, when AstraZeneca vaccinations for people aged between 65 to 74 will begin.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/25/national/socialAffairs/Vaccine-Leftover-Naver/20210525173300350.html

BTS nabbed the Top Duo/Group, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Social Artist, and Top Selling Song awards at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) held on Monday, Korean time, setting a record for not only itself but for all of K-pop. The 2021 BBMA was broadcast live from 9 a.m. on cable channel Mnet in Korea. This year's event took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, hosted by actor Nick Jonas.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/24/entertainment/kpop/Billboard-Music-Awards-BTS-Butter/20210524092800442.html

President Moon Jae-in ticked off promised investment in the United States by Korean corporations and suggested that more incentives will equal more investment. “If the U.S. government provides a wide variety of incentives for battery production facilities, there will be more investment to come,” Moon said during a visit to SK Innovation's electric vehicle (EV)  battery plant in Commerce, Georgia on Saturday.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/23/business/economy/SK-Innovation-Georgia-Korean-companies-investment-incentives-semiconductor-war/20210523155700518.html

A gradual but steady increase in power consumption is the latest indication of economic recovery, along with healthy indicators in manufacturing, making President Moon Jae-in's goal of  4-percent growth for 2021 more possible.  According to a report by the Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), power consumption in March increased by 0.5 percent compared to a year earlier, the fifth consecutive month of positive growth.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/19/business/economy/electricity-Recovering-manufacturing-industry-Covid19-recovery/20210519153800471.html

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that his upcoming trip to the United States will be used to make Korea a global hub of vaccine production.   “I will use the upcoming trip to the United States as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in the field of [Covid-19] vaccines and make Korea a global hub of vaccine production,” Moon said in his opening remarks for a senior secretariat meeting at the Blue House.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/17/national/politics/Moon-Jaein-summit-vaccine/20210517184500414.html

The National Assembly on Thursday approved President Moon Jae-in's nomination of Kim Boo-kyum as prime minister. At a voting session arranged by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, a motion to approve Kim's appointment was passed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP). Lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who have protested other cabinet nominees, attended the session but did not vote.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/13/national/politics/Kim-Bookyum-prime-minister/20210513195900376.html

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are being hurt by the coronavirus crisis in India as partial lockdowns affect their production lines there. The Korean electronics makers could also see shrinking demand for electronic gadgets and home appliances in one of their biggest consumer electronics markets, as India suffers the world's highest daily infection rates and death tolls from the pandemic.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/12/business/industry/Samsung-Electronics-LG-Electronics-Covid19/20210512192900482.html

Kakao Entertainment will acquire two U.S.-based start-ups that run platforms for webtoons and web novels to expand in English-speaking markets. The companies being bought are Tapas Media, a webtoon service based in San Francisco, and Radish Media, which runs a web novel service headquartered in New York. Both have larger user bases in the U.S. and provide platforms for amateur creators to profit from their work.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/11/business/industry/webtoon-novel-kakao/20210511170500441.html

Even auto parts makers in Korea are feeling the pinch from the global chip shortage. The Korea Automobile Industry Association (KAIA) on Monday said that 66 out of 78 auto parts makers in Korea, or 84.6 percent of the respondents to a survey, said that they were having trouble due to an auto semiconductor shortage that has hit the industry since February.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/10/business/industry/auto-chip-shortage/20210510191700420.html

Department stores are emerging as a new Covid-19 vector after workers in major department stores in Seoul tested positive in recent days. Two cashiers from the food hall of Shinsegae Department Store's branch in Seocho District, southern Seoul, tested positive, the company said Wednesday.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/05/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-Department-stores-Shinsegae/20210505185500403.html

President Moon Jae-in nominated former Vice Justice Minister Kim Oh-soo as the new head of South Korea's prosecution service, the Blue House announced Monday. Justice Minister Park Beom-kye recommended Kim, a long-time prosecutor, for the position of Prosecutor General after Yoon Seok-youl quit the post in March. The president accepted the recommendation, according to Blue House spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/05/03/national/politics/prosecutors-president-justice/20210503190506984.html

Forty-two years after the crested ibis vanished from Korea, two birds from the endangered species were born in the wild on Tuesday. Two crested ibis chicks hatched from eggs laid by a breeding pair that was released two years ago in the Upo Wetland in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang, county officials said.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/29/national/socialAffairs/bird-environment-ibis/20210429175100397.html

Fully vaccinated people will be exempted from the mandatory 14-day quarantine after entering from abroad or coming in contact with a Covid-19 patient starting May 5 — but only if they got the shots in Korea, and not if they're coming from countries where highly contagious virus variants are prevalent. "People who have completed the vaccination in Korea will be exempted from self-quarantine after close contact with a Covid-19 patient […] or have returned from overseas if they test negative on the Covid-19 test and show no symptoms," said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health Ministry official, in a regular briefing Wednesday.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/28/national/socialAffairs/Covid19-Quarantine-Exemption/20210428192400400.html

President Moon Jae-in met Novavax CEO Stanley Erck on Tuesday but revealed little about when its vaccines may be ready for Korea.  It was the first time that the president held a face-to-face meeting with a vaccine pharmaceutical company CEO amid public concerns over a slow rollout of vaccines and their safety. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/27/national/socialAffairs/Novavax-Moon-Jaein-Vaccine/20210427185000401.html

Youn Yuh-jung won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 93rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Youn followed the milestone set by Bong Joon-ho's “Parasite” by becoming the first Korean to ever win an Oscar for acting. Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/26/entertainment/movies/Youn-Yuhjung-Oscars-best-supporting-actress/20210426154200406.html

The Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea (BAI) announced Friday that it had reported Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon to police over allegations of power abuse and corrupt practices in hiring teachers in Seoul.   Cho was elected as the education superintendent of Seoul in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. During the election in 2018, he was the single unified candidate of the ruling party of Korea. His four-year term ends next year.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/25/national/socialAffairs/Board-of-Audit-and-Inspection-of-Korea-investigates-corruption-allegations/20210425184600390.html

In 2030, a person will be able to travel between any two parts of Korea within two hours, the government promised, after ambitious upgrades to the high-speed rail network.   The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday released rail plans focused on connecting major cities with areas without high-speed rail infrastructure.   The goals are to disperse some of the highly concentrated populations in Korea's cities and boost regional economies. More people will be able to live where they wish but commute to jobs anywhere.  Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/22/business/economy/railroad-highspeed-metrocommute/20210422170400424.html

Investors hoping to make a quick buck are turning to alternative coins, cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin, which have prices that sometimes skyrocket by a thousand times in a matter of minutes. The downside of alternative coins, or altcoins, is that their prices can plunge just as quickly. On Tuesday, a new altcoin dubbed Arowana Token was listed on one of Korea's four major exchanges, Bithumb. On its listing at 2:30 p.m, it started trading at 50 won (4.5 cent) per token, then soared to 53,800 won by 3:01 p.m. That's a 107,500 percent rise in 31 minutes.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/21/business/finance/altcoin-aronawa-token-bithumb/20210421192500388.html

A petition to the Blue House demanding the cancellation of a planned Chinese cultural town in Gangwon has amassed a record number of signatures, forcing the provincial government to deny that it is building an immigrant community –– or a modern Chinatown. Titled “Scrap the Chinatown Construction in Gangwon,” the petition opposed the creation of the Korea-China Cultural Tourism Town, a 1.2 million-square-meter (296 acres) Chinese culture-themed development in Hongcheon, asking, “Why do we need a Little China in Korea?”Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/20/national/politics/Chinatown-Gangwon-petition/20210420192100294.html

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday decided to form a special committee to address public concerns about real estate policies, following the party's crushing defeat in by-elections earlier this month. The decision reflects the party's belief that one of the main reasons for its landslide defeat is public disenchantment with rising assessed values of homes, real estate taxes, and restrictions on mortgages.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/19/national/politics/real-estate-housing-party/20210419185900264.html

Ultium Cells is investing 2.7 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in a battery factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, the company's shareholders announced Saturday. Owned 50-50 by LG Energy Solution and General Motors, the joint venture is already building a 2.7-trillion-won battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio.Full Article: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/18/business/industry/lg-energy-solution-ultium-cells-general-motors/20210418153202071.html