S. KOREA OFFERS FREE VIDEO CALLS DURING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAY

Highlights –

• S. Korea offers free video calls during the Lunar New Year holiday.
• The ICT ministry gave the order to encourage virtual family meetings amid pandemic.
• SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. agreed to not charge fo...

KEC REPORTS HEAVY TRAFFIC ACROSS S. KOREA DUE TO LUNAR NEW YEAR

Highlights –

• KEC reports heavy traffic across S. Korea due to Lunar New Year.
• Gyeongbu Expressway connecting Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan was congested.
• The government has kept in place a nationwide ban on private gath...

OUTBREAK OF BIRD FLU IN SOUTH KOREA MAKES THE PRICE OF EGGS SOAR BY 27%

Highlights –

• Outbreak of bird flu in South Korea makes the price of eggs soar by 27%.
• On Monday, sales prices of a carton of 30 eggs averaged 7,456 won.
• In January, the consumer prices, in general, rose 0.6 percent on-year.

S. KOREA PM CAUTIONS ABOUT COVID-19 IN THE LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS’

Highlights –

• S. Korea PM cautions about COVID-19 in the Lunar New Year holidays’.
• The coming holiday week is said to be crucial for the country’s fight towards the 3rd wave of the coronavirus.
• The PM in a press briefing as...

KDCA ANNOUNCES COVID-19 INOCULATION TO BEGIN ON FEB. 26 IN SOUTH KOREA

Highlights –

• KDCA announces COVID-19 inoculation to begin on Feb. 26 in South Korea.
• The date remains so if final approval for the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine is made this week.
• KDCA reported that the country added 303 more COVID...

CHINESE PROVINCE OF 37 MILLION PROCLAIMS EMERGENCY TO REIN IN CORONAVIRUS

• Chinese province of more than 37 million proclaimed an ‘emergency state’ on Wednesday to iron out a handful of Covid-19 cases, as the country shifted gear to decisively contain infections.
• China had impressively reined the coronavirus under control since its entry i...

SOUTH KOREA GOVT. PLANS TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY HANDOUTS TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

Highlights –

• South Korea govt. plans to provide emergency handouts to small business owners.
• The government plans to do so by early February, around the Lunar New Year holiday.
• The government will provide US$8.6 billion in relief fund...

Despite Surging Sales In Vietnam, Virus Fear Lurks

In January 2020, the retail sales in Vietnam’s commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City surged 11.2% to an estimated value of US $4.8 billion. However, outbreak of Coronavirus in February cut the joy of Vietnamese economists short.

According to official government data, the revenue in ...

CHINESE PRESIDENT SAYS CORONA VIRUS RESTRICTIONS IS BAD FOR ECONOMY

Highlights:

• President Xi Jinping states that the restrictive measures have gone overboard
• Governments have been asked to meet social and economic targets
• Chinese policy makers are preparing for a disappointing first quarter