International

South Korea posted its second-highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Saturday as outbreaks at a prison, nursing homes and churches continued to grow, prompting authorities to plead for a halt to all year-end gatherings. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said there were 1,132 new coronavirus cases on Friday, not far off the record 1,241 logged a day earlier. “The virus is spreading whenever and wherever it wants,” Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told an intra-agency meeting, adding that people were also being infected at small gatherings with friends and acquaintances. “As we stand at the crossroads of the third wave, how we stop the spread hinges on how we spend this year-end and New Year period.” KDCA chief Jeong Eun-kyeong urged that all private gatherings be cancelled and public and religious events be held online. The government plans to hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss whether it will tighten distancing rules to the toughest level for the greater Seoul area. That would shut another 1.2 million stores and allow only essential workers into offices. Curbs currently in place have closed night clubs, karaoke bars and other night entertainment venues as well as banned on-site dining after 9 p.m. Ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays, the government also banned gatherings of more than four people in the greater Seoul area and closed ski resorts and other tourist spots. South Korea had largely managed to control early major outbreaks with aggressive testing and contact tracing. But critics have faulted authorities for being over-confident and failing to properly prepare for the third and largest wave. The current largest cluster is at a prison in eastern Seoul, where 520 inmates, workers and their family members have been infected, prompting health authorities to test all 650 people there. The virus likely spread easily as the prison consists of five, high-rise buildings and suffers from over-capacity, a health official said. South Korea’s total infections now stand at 55,902, with 793 deaths, KDCA data showed.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in faced growing public pressure on Wednesday over his Covid-19 vaccine procurement plans as the country struggled to contain a third wave of the pandemic, reporting its second-highest daily tally of cases. Domestic media has lambasted the government's approach to securing newly developed Covid-19 vaccines as too relaxed and overly reliant on locally produced shots which will take more time than overseas options. According to a poll by research firm Realmeter, six in 10 South Koreans believe urgency should be prioritised over safety when it comes to Covid-19 vaccines and that inoculations should begin as soon as possible given the rapid surge in new cases. South Korea had 1,092 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 52,550, with 739 deaths, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The record of 1,097 cases was logged on Sunday. Late on Tuesday, Moon's office said a public inoculation programme would "not begin too late". The government has previously said vaccinations could start as early as February. Health authorities have expressed concern over public perceptions that view the vaccination programme is a global competition, emphasizing instead the significance of confirming the safety of the shots. The United States and the United Kingdom, suffering much higher cases and death rates, have no alternative to anti-virus measures other than the vaccines, Son Young-rae, a senior official at the health ministry, told a briefing. "These countries are somewhat inappropriate for us to take as teachers, and considering the process of safety checks, we believe there is no reason for us to be the world's first or second country to receive the vaccines," Son said. Meanwhile, the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines for the U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea will arrive as early as Thursday, Yonhap news agency said, citing a military source. Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea. "We can confirm that USFK was one of the overseas locations identified to receive the Moderna vaccine through the Department of Defense’s deliberate and phased distribution plan," Col. Lee Peters, a U.S. Forces Korea spokesman told Reuters. "We cannot confirm any other details at this time." South Korea’s aggressive tracing and testing early in the pandemic had made the country a global success story but the recent surge in cases has confounded efforts to contain the virus. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Wednesday that authorities have so far secured around 8,000 of a targeted 10,000 additional hospital beds for Covid-19 patients with the help of private hospitals. Seoul and its surrounding areas have banned gatherings of more than four people from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3, and both restaurant owners and patrons may face up to 3 million won ($2,700) in fines for violation of the order. Authorities have also shut down all ski resorts and winter tourist spots in a bid to stop the spread during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

South Korea said on Tuesday it had scrambled fighter jets in response to an intrusion into South Korea's air defence identification zone by 19 Russian and Chinese military aircraft. Four Chinese warplanes entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) followed by 15 Russian aircraft, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The South Korean military dispatched air force fighters to take tactical measures. The South Korean military said in a statement the Chinese military had informed South Korea that its planes were carrying out routine training before the Chinese aircraft entered the KADIZ. "This incident seems to be a joint military drill between China and Russia but it requires a further analysis," the JCS said in a statement. In July last year, South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots toward Russian military aircraft on a joint air patrol with China, when they entered South Korean airspace. South Korea and Japan, which both scrambled jets to intercept the patrol at the time, accused Russia and China of violating their airspace. Russia and China denied it.

* President Moon says will need to review tightest Covid-19 curbs * S.Korea reports 1,030 cases, second day of record rises * Level 3 social-distancing rules would essentially be lockdown  South Korea's President Moon Jae-in warned on Sunday that Covid-19 restrictions may be raised to the highest level after a second day of record increases in cases as the country battles a harsh third wave of infection. Presiding over an emergency meeting at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the first time since February, Moon urged vigilance and called for an all-out efforts to contain the virus. "Unless the outbreak can be contained now, it has come to the critical point of considering escalating social-distancing measures to the third level," he said, referring to the tightest curbs under the country's five-tier system. Greater Seoul, home to about half of South Korea's 52 million people, is under level 2.5 restrictions. Gatherings of more than 50 people are banned and restaurants are prohibited from serving customers after 9 p.m. A country that had initial success controlling Covid-19, South Korea reported 1,030 new coronavirus infections on Sunday after 950 the previous day, bringing total infections to 42,766 with 580 deaths. Of the new cases, 1,002 were locally transmitted, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. "Our back is against the wall," Moon said. "This is a crucial moment to devote all our virus control capabilities and administrative power to stopping the coronavirus spread." Level 3 curbs would essentially mean a lockdown for the first time in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Schools would switch to remote learning, companies could allow only essential workers in offices and gatherings of more than 10 people would be banned. South Korea was praised for its early success in containing the coronavirus without a lockdown by relying heavily on contact-tracing and testing after the country's first case was confirmed in January. On Saturday, Moon ordered the mobilisation of police, military personnel and public medical doctors to block the spread, which he called an "emergency." 

* New infections at nine-month high * Officials call outbreak most serious yet * Stricter social distancing measures to be enforced * President apologises for burden of virus restrictions South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Monday for expanded coronavirus testing and more thorough tracing as the country struggled to control its latest and largest wave of infections. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 615 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Sunday, capping a month of triple-digit daily increases that have led to 8,311 confirmed patients in quarantine, the most ever. The surge in cases has deliverd a blow to South Korea's vaunted pandemic-fighting system, which successfully used invasive tracing, testing, and quarantines to avoid lockdowns, blunt previous waves, and keep infections below 50 per day for much of the summer. Moon ordered the government to mobilize every available resource to track infections, and to expand testing by deploying the military and more people from the public service, presidential Blue House spokesman Chung Man-ho told a briefing. Moon said testing sites should operate longer hours to allow people working to get tested at their convenience and more drive-through testing facilities should be set up, Chung said. The positive rate for the latest batch of tests was about 4.2%, compared to the year's average of 1.2%, according to the KDCA. Starting next week, testing centres will begin using a test kit designed to more easily gather samples from saliva, hopefully reducing some of the difficulty they had faced when trying to collect usable samples, KDCA deputy director Na Seong-woong told a briefing. While questions remain over their accuracy, the centres will also start using antigen tests - which are supposed to detect specific proteins from the virus - as a stopgap, Na said. Na predicted that daily cases would hover between 550-750 for this week, possibly spiking to as much as 900 per day the next week. "This crisis is the most critical yet," he said, warning that the outbreak could lead to a "medical collapse" if the numbers aren't contained. On Sunday, authorities said they will impose heightened social distancing rules for the capital Seoul and surrounding areas that will last until at least the end of the month. With this third wave, the government has faced increasing criticism as cases continue to rise despite measures such as mask mandates, curfews for restaurants and other businesses, and restricted public transportation. Among the facilities ordered to completely close are the private academies or cram schools, called "hagwon”, used by students for extra study. The Korea Association of Hagwons staged a rare public protest over the outright ban on hagwons opening in the greater Seoul area, saying it is discriminatory because other businesses including PC cafes and movie theatres frequented by students are still allowed to be open until 9 p.m. The ban has prompted concerns among many students and parents ahead of the final exam period, and would deepen inequality by boosting private tutoring that only well-off students can afford, it added. In comments to a meeting of his senior ministers, Moon called the wave of infections the most serious yet and apologised for failing to blunt the surge and for the burden caused by the social distancing restrictions. Monday's total was down slightly from Sunday, when the agency reported 631 new cases, the largest daily tally since a peak in February and early March. In total, South Korea has reported 38,161 cases, with 549 deaths. 

Asymptomatic Covid-19 patients are driving a surge in new cases in South Korea, frustrating efforts to control transmission by the Asian country which managed to keep infections under control in previous outbreaks. South Korea reported 569 new cases in the 24 hours ending Thursday midnight, a level unseen in nearly nine months, as it grapples with the third wave of the pandemic that appears to be worsening despite tough new social distancing measures. With young people at the centre of the surge, health authorities in South Korea estimate asymptomatic patients now account for 40% of total infections, up sharply from 20-30% in June. That compares with research evidence suggesting about one in five infected people in general will experience no symptoms. The rate is much lower in China where the state disease control centre said in February that around 1% of more than 70,000 cases it analysed were asymptomatic. In Tokyo, about 19 percent of patients are asymptomatic. It's not clear why some patients who test positive for the virus do not display any symptoms, but health officials believe they pose less transmission risks. However, the people they infect may display symptoms. Also, the officials are concerned about a rise in untraceable clusters since these asymptomatic infections are more difficult to identify. Cold weather is further accelerating the spread as more meetings and activities are held indoors in places with poor ventilation, while the risk of unwitting infections by symptomless patients has increased. That poses a major challenge in South Korea, which succeeded in keeping infections low in previous outbreaks through aggressive contact tracing. It has introduced tougher social distancing measures this week to contain transmission and encouraged people to get tested. "We should have maintained tough social distancing measures longer," said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital. "In the wake of eased social distancing measures in early October, a lot of people, especially young people, let their guard down, and many of those who had very mild symptoms or no symptoms have gone unnoticed." As young people drive the surge in new cases, the number of young patients in serious conditions and in need of ventilators has also shot up to 19 this week in South Korea to nearly one fourth of total patients who need ventilator support.

South Korea reported 583 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the highest since March, as it grapples with a third wave of infections that appears to be worsening despite tough new social distancing measures.  The government reimposed strict distancing rules on Seoul and surrounding regions this week, only a month after they had been eased following a second wave of infections. Some experts say the government moved too early to relax those rules, as the daily tally exceeds 500 for the first time since March 6, with young people at the centre of the surge. “The easing was done because of economic concerns and growing fatigue but it was premature and sowed the seeds of people’s complacency,” said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul. South Korea’s first wave erupted in late February from meetings of a religious sect but the latest cases are more dispersed around the capital, Seoul, making them harder to trace and contain. Of the latest cases, 553 were locally transmitted and almost 73% of those were from the greater Seoul area, the highest ever for the region, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally could hover between 400 and 600 until early December if people fail to stick to stricter distancing, said Lee Sang-won, a senior KDCA official.  The armed forces ordered a 10-day ban on leave after a series of outbreaks at military facilities. Other clusters have been traced to a sauna, a high school, an aerobic academy, churches, a children’s cafe and a get-together among friends. “Covid-19 has arrived right beside you and your family,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a televised meeting of health officials. “The spread of infections among young generations is extraordinary.” Infections among young people, many of whom show no symptoms, prompted the government to urge students to stop attending cram schools and private lessons ahead of college entrance exams on Dec. 3. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae pleaded with citizens to halt all unessential outside activity for at least a week so that some 490,000 students can take the exam safely. “We’re fighting a full-fledged third wave,” the KDCA’s Lee told a briefing. “Sources of infections have been diversified, and more active, young people are at the centre of the spread, which requires greater control efforts.” Health officials did not respond directly to criticism that the government had been too quick to ease restrictions following the previous spike in infections in August.  They have expressed regret about the economic impact of the latest measures, coming just after Asia’s fourth-largest economy returned to growth in the third quarter. Asked about some calls from experts for more curbs, Lee said time was needed for the rules to kick in but additional action would be taken “without hesitation” when necessary.  South Korean markets held their nerve as the central bank kept its policy rate steady and marginally raised its growth outlook for this year and next. South Korea’s total infections stand at 32,318, with 515 deaths.

More than 300 drones lit up the sky over Seoul on Friday in a show the government said was meant to give "comfort and hope" to residents enduring the coronavirus pandemic. The devices lined up in synchronised light displays, forming multi-coloured images of people wearing masks, and spelling out slogans promoting the government's "Korean New Deal" programme to rebuild the economy. "I hope this drone show serves as an opportunity to convey joy and hope for a moment to our people experiencing pandemic fatigue," Kim Sang-do, deputy minister for aviation policy, said in a statement. The show was designed to thank residents for their efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the statement said. The first such show in July was held over the city's Han River without notice, as organisers wanted to prevent crowds from gathering. This time, the event was announced in advance and held above the park built to host the 1988 Summer Olympics. South Korea's aggressive campaign to control the coronavirus outbreak has won international praise, helped the country avoid lockdowns and insulated its economy from some of the worst impacts of the crisis. But the country has continued to battle small and persistent clusters of infections, with 191 new coronavirus cases reported on Friday as daily infections creep higher. As of Friday South Korea will begin fining people who fail to wear masks in public.

With Joe Biden’s projected victory in the US presidential election, South Korean officials are expecting a win of their own in a drawn-out, multi-billion dollar dispute with Washington over the cost of thousands of US troops on the peninsula.  Officials and experts in Seoul don’t expect Biden to entirely drop the demand that South Korea pay more toward maintaining the roughly 28,500 US troops that are stationed in the country as a legacy of the technically unfinished 1950-1953 Korean War. But Biden has promised not to use the troop presence to “extort” South Korea, and South Korean government sources say they anticipate his administration would agree to a deal close to Seoul’s proposal to pay 13% more, or around $1bn per year. Outgoing US President Donald Trump demanded much as $5bn as part of a broader push to get allies to contribute more towards defence. A Biden campaign spokesman declined to comment, and South Korean officials say it’s unclear how deeply his team has thought about the exact outlines of a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA). “But the 13% increase discussed in past negotiations could be considered reasonable,” said one South Korean government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations. “We will know more when we actually sit down with their team after the new administration names a new negotiator or reappoints the incumbent, but at least there is more predictability now and a Biden White House wouldn’t veto a nearly done deal at the last minute,” the official added. In April, Reuters reported Trump had rejected that 13% proposal, which was seen as probably Seoul’s best offer ahead of its parliamentary elections that month. The impasse has strained the alliance in almost unprecedented ways, experts say. It comes as North Korea pushes ahead with its weapons programmes, including state-of-the-art weapons designed to target South Korea, as well as long-range, nuclear-capable missiles that may now put the entire United States within range. In early 2019, South Korea and the United States were forced to sign an SMA covering only one year instead of the usual five amid ongoing disagreements. But that short-term deal, under which South Korea agreed to pay 8.2% more, or about 1.0389 trillion won ($920 million) per year, expired earlier this year with no new agreement. One of the most tangible results of the breakdown in the talks was the roughly 4,000 South Korean workers on US bases furloughed as a result of the failure to reach a deal by an April 1 deadline. Eventually those workers were able to return to work under stop-gap agreements, but the ongoing deadlock led US Forces Korea to warn in October those workers could once again be placed on unpaid leave early next year if no agreement is made. One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the US-South Korea alliance, said the dispute cast a near-constant shadow over many of the two countries’ discussions on other issues including North Korea and China. Trump’s view that wealthy South Korea, which has an economy larger than Australia’s, is taking advantage of the United States was met in Seoul by a perception that Washington has become a transactional partner with unreasonable demands. Ahead of the Nov 3 election, Biden vowed not to use the threat of reducing US troop levels in South Korea as a bargaining chip.  “As President, I’ll stand with South Korea, strengthening our alliance to safeguard peace in East Asia and beyond, rather than extorting Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops,” Biden wrote in an unprecedented op-ed published on Oct 30 in South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Cho Tae-yong, a former deputy national security advisor who worked with many Biden aides, said issues around U.S. troops and their costs would be “substantially” resolved under Biden. “Biden’s victory is a source of relief when it comes to alliance issues,” he said.

The wildly infectious and relentlessly repetitive children's song ‘Baby Shark’ became the most-watched YouTube video on Monday, with more than seven billion plays. The bane of parents and teachers worldwide, the South Korea-produced song has gone from the realm of children's YouTube to a global viral sensation, with a catchy and addictive melody buoyed by a hypnotically colourful video. ‘Baby Shark Dance’, the English-language version of the song, clocked up over seven billion views on YouTube at around 0400 GMT on Monday, dethroning Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's ‘Despacito’ as the most-watched video on the platform. The ubiquitous children's song and earworm, first uploaded to YouTube in June 2016, is a remix of an American campfire song by the Seoul-based production company Pinkfong. Its YouTube success paved its route into the global music charts, reaching the number 32 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2019. It has picked up plenty of adult fans along its way to global viral fame: the Washington Nationals baseball team took it up as an anthem and went on to win the World Series last year, prompting the White House to play the tune during the celebrations. One US town played the song on a loop, while another, Florida's West Palm Beach, used the melody to try to discourage homeless people from congregating in a public area. It has also been pressed into anti-pandemic service, with a coronavirus-themed version, ‘Wash Your Hands’, teaching children the importance of personal hygiene. Two of the last four tracks to hold the most-played record on YouTube are South Korean -- rapper Psy's megahit ‘Gangnam Style’ held the title for more than three years until it was dethroned by Wiz Khalifa's ‘See You Again’.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, one of the world’s most fossil-fuel reliant economies, said yesterday the country will go carbon neutral by 2050.  The announcement comes after Japan earlier this week said will cut greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 and become a carbon-neutral society, a major shift in position on climate change. “Together with the international community, we will actively respond to climate change and target carbon neutrality by 2050,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a speech in parliament. He pledged to spend 8tn won ($7.10bn) on an earlier announced “Green New Deal” aimed at creating jobs and helping the economy recover from the coronavirus fallout by replacing coal dependence with renewables. The plan also includes remodelling public buildings, creating urban forests, recycling, establishing a foundation for new and renewable energy, and creating low-carbon energy industrial complexes to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.  South Korea aims to have 1.13mn electric vehicles (EVs) and 200,000 hydrogen cars on the roads by 2025, up from 91,000 and 5,000 each by the end of 2019, Moon had said, while the government would add more charging stations for the vehicles. The United Nations and the environmental groups welcomed South Korea’s commitment to net-zero emissions. “This is a very positive step in the right direction after Korea’s exemplary Green New Deal which was announced in July,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “We expect that this important pledge leads the Korean industry to swiftly shift from fossil fuels to a 100% renewable based system,” Jude Lee, Program Director of Greenpeace East Asia said in a statement. First proposed by Moon’s ruling party ahead of the parliamentary election in April, the plan set ambitious goals of net-zero emissions by 2050, an end to funding of overseas coal plants, and introduction of a carbon tax. Coal makes up 40% of South Korea’s electricity mix and renewable power less than 6%, making carbon dioxide emissions per capita are among the highest in the region. In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2060.

The family of late Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee held a funeral ceremony on Wednesday for the patriarch, whose death on Sunday threw into question the control of the chipmaker and the country's largest conglomerate. The focus is now on Lee's son Jay Y. Lee, the 52-year-old vice chairman, to see what kind of leadership he will display as he faces serious legal risks from two trials seen stemming from efforts to ensure he succeeded his father. After a morning ceremony closed to the media, family members, including Jay Y. Lee, boarded a bus, which left the Samsung Medical Center, where the funeral services had been held, Yonhap News TV channel showed. The late Lee's casket, with a white wreath atop, was transported in a black hearse from the hospital to a family burial ground in Suwon, Yonhap news agency reported. The route taken passed by sites that held meaning for Lee, including his home in central Seoul and Samsung Electronics' chip-production facilities in Hwaseong near the capital. Lee's death raised expectations for stake sales and a potential restructuring of the sprawling business empire, as the family grapples with an anticipated inheritance tax bill of nearly 10 trillion won ($9 billion). The tasks awaiting Samsung Electronics' new head will include growing the non-memory chip business and expanding its presence in software. But heir apparent Jay Y. Lee faces a bigger risk from two ongoing trials, which analysts say could land him in jail for a second time. One trial concerns the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates that helped Lee assume greater control of Samsung Electronics, and another relates to his role in a bribery scandal, for which he had been jailed for a year. "Inheritance and corporate governance are issues as well, but the trials, especially the latter case, are the biggest problem. His father's passing may turn public opinion in his favour, but the effect it might have is unclear," said Park Ju-gun, head of research firm CEO Score.

South Korea's richest and most powerful industrialist, Lee Kun-hee, turned Samsung Electronics into one of the world's biggest tech companies but lived a reclusive existence. Still, occasional pronouncements on business by the tycoon, who died at 78 on Sunday, reverberated through the country. When he inherited the chairmanship of the Samsung group in 1987 -- founded by his father as a fish and fruit exporter -- it was already the country's largest conglomerate, with operations ranging from consumer electronics to construction. But Lee transformed it into a global power -- by the time he was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014, it was the world's biggest maker of smartphones and memory chips. He seldom ventured out from the high walls of his private compound in central Seoul to visit the company headquarters, earning him the nickname "hermit king". Samsung is by far the biggest of the chaebols, the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy. They drove the nation's transformation from a war-ravaged ruin to the world's 12th-largest economy, but nowadays are accused of murky political ties and stifling competition -- with Lee himself twice convicted of criminal offences, in one case bribing a president. Lee's far-sighted leadership style was widely credited with turning Samsung Electronics, now the group's flagship subsidiary, into one of the world's leading developers and producers of semiconductors, mobile phones and LCDs. "Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse," Samsung said in a statement announcing his death. "His legacy will be everlasting." Early in Lee's chairmanship, Samsung was seen as a shoddy producer of cheap, low-quality products. "Let's change everything except our wives and kids," he said in 1993. The company gathered up and burnt all 150,000 mobile phones it had in stock, paving the way for the rebirth of the highly successful "Anycall" handset. Soon afterwards, he ordered Chinese-made products to be displayed at Samsung headquarters, saying it was important to show how China was quickly catching up. Lee rarely spoke to the media, but was closely watched whenever he broke his long silences, often with doom-laden New Year corporate addresses. In meetings with subordinates and occasional interviews, Lee always stressed the importance of bright minds in business. "No matter what happens, there will be nothing to be afraid of if we have the best talent," he once said. "In the era of unlimited competition, winning or losing will depend upon a small number of geniuses... One genius will feed 100,000 people." Lee, the third son of Samsung group founder Lee Byung-chull, had a soft spot for dogs -- developed as a child in Japan where he went to school from age 11. "My first love was my Pekingese," Lee wrote in a collection of essays published in 1997. "I learned then that an emotional dialogue between a man and a dog was possible." He was also known for his love of movies, horseriding and exotic supercars. Lee studied at Japan's prestigious Waseda University and earned an MBA at George Washington University in the United States. At the age of 36, he became vice chairman of the group's construction and trading arm, and became group chairman nine years later, shortly after his father's death. Lee was known for taking months-long trips to Hawaii and Japan before key business decisions, including the promotion of his own son Lee Jae-yong to vice chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2013. Big business and political power have often been closely linked in South Korea, and in 1996, Lee Kun-hee was convicted of bribing former president Roh Tae-woo. While Roh was in office, Lee paid him "a large sum of money in bribes over a long period", the court ruled, seeking favours for Samsung in the president's business policy decisions. Lee was also found guilty of embezzlement and tax evasion in a slush fund scandal in 2008, which saw him briefly step down from the company leadership. But suspended sentences meant he never served time in jail and he received two presidential pardons, going on to spearhead his country's successful efforts to secure the 2018 Winter Olympics. A few years later, he fought off a lawsuit from his older brother and sister claiming they were entitled to Samsung shares worth billions of dollars. Lee married Hong Ra-hee -- whose father was a justice minister -- with whom he had a son and three daughters. After his heart attack, Lee spent his last years in medical care. Secretly filmed footage broadcast in 2017 showed him seated in a wheelchair, while other reports said he was in a coma but did not need a ventilator. Little was ever revealed about his condition, leaving him shrouded in mystery even in his final days.

* Lee built Samsung Elec into global tech powerhouse * Succession issues loom for son Jay Y. Lee, daughters * Son embroiled in legal troubles linked to group control * "His legacy will be everlasting" -Samsung  Lee Kun-hee, who built Samsung Electronics into a global powerhouse in smartphones, semiconductors and televisions, died on Sunday after spending more than six years in hospital following a heart attack, the company said. The charismatic leader of Samsung Group and the country's richest person, grew it into South Korea’s biggest conglomerate. But he and the empire he built have also been vilified by critics for wielding huge economic clout, and for opaque governance and dubious transfers of the family wealth. "Lee is such a symbolic figure in South Korea's spectacular rise and how South Korea embraced globalisation, that his death will be remembered by so many Koreans," said Chung Sun-sup, chief executive of corporate researcher firm Chaebul.com. Lee, who was 78, is the latest second-generation leader of a South Korean family-controlled conglomerate, or chaebol, to die, leaving potentially thorny succession issues for the third generation. Lee's "innovative leadership and indomitable spirit should be highly regarded in any era and in any field," ruling party leader and former prime minister Lee Nak-yon wrote on Facebook. "But it can't be denied that he reinforced chaebol-led economic structure and failed to recognise labour unions." The death of Lee, with a net worth of $20.9 billion according to Forbes, is set to prompt investor interest in a potential restructuring of the group involving his stakes in key Samsung companies such as Samsung Life and Samsung Electronics. Lee owns 20.76% of the insurance firm and is the biggest individual shareholder of Samsung Electronics with a 4.18% stake. Lee’s son Jay Y. Lee has been embroiled in legal troubles linked to a merger of two Samsung affiliates that helped Lee assume greater control of the group’s flagship Samsung Electronics. The younger Lee served jail time for his role in a bribery scandal that triggered the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye. The case is on appeal. A separate trial on charges of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation kicked off this month. "With Lee passing, Samsung Group is now facing the biggest governance shakeup since the merger between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T" in 2015, said Ahn Sang-hee, an expert in corporate governance at Daishin Economic Research Institute. "For Jay Y. Lee, getting the most of that stake Lee Kun-hee holds is more important than ever," Ahn said. "The key here is with taxes. Coming up with enough taxes related to that inheritance and avoiding possible disputes with his sisters are the major hurdles." It remains unclear how the elder Lee's three children will split his wealth, an issue that has led to family feuds at other chaebols in recent years after the death of their patriarchs. "It has been six years since Lee was hospitalised, so if there is a consensus among the children, Samsung will go through an orderly succession. If not, there is a possibility of a feud," said Park Sang-in, a professor at Seoul National University. "With Lee’s death, Samsung now faces greater uncertainty over the inheritance," he said. Lee died with his family by his side, including Jay Y. Lee, the Samsung Electronics vice chairman, the conglomerate said. "Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business," Samsung said in a statement. The company did not specify the cause of death and declined to comment on whether Lee left a will. Lee helped grow his father Lee Byung-chull's noodle trading business into a sprawling powerhouse with assets worth some $375 billion, with dozens of affiliates stretching from electronics and insurance to shipbuilding and construction. During his lifetime, Samsung Electronics developed from a second-tier TV maker to the world's biggest technology firm by revenue - seeing off Japanese brands like Sony Corp, Sharp Corp and Panasonic Corp in chips, TVs and displays; ending Nokia Oyj's handset supremacy and beating Apple Inc in smartphones. "His legacy will be everlasting," Samsung said.

* 36 people died after getting flu shots -KDCA * Forensic team conducted autopsy on 17-year-old boy * Programme aims to head off Covid-19 complications  The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Friday it would not halt a wide flu vaccination programme aimed at heading off complications from the coronavirus, after reviewing more than two dozen cases of deaths that have raised public concern. A review had shown no direct link between the vaccination and 26 deaths that were investigated, the KDCA said in a statement, adding it planned to meet on Saturday to review additional analysis. The toll of deaths among people who have been vaccinated reached 36 on Friday, sparking calls from doctors and politicians for a halt to the programme, which aims to vaccinate about 30 million of the country's 52 million population. One of the early cases of death was a 17-year-old boy. The National Forensic Service has conducted autopsies on some of the deceased and determined that the vaccine did not cause the boy's death, Yonhap news agency said, citing police. Both the forensic agency and police were not immediately reachable for comment. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed condolences to the families of those who died, calling for a thorough investigation to verify the exact cause of deaths. "So far experts said there was low possibility that the shots and deaths were related but many citizens remain anxious," he told a meeting. The rising death toll has fuelled debate about whether the programme, which is free for some citizens, should be suspended. The country's largest grouping of doctors called for a halt until the safety of the vaccines is confirmed, while a major vaccine society said inoculation should continue as no relation to the deaths have been found. Some local governments and district offices around the country have voluntarily advised residents against taking a flu shot or are considering suspending the programme. The vaccine providers include domestic firms such as GC Pharma, SK Bioscience, Korea Vaccine and Boryung Biopharma Co Ltd, a unit of Boryung Pharm Co Ltd, along with France's Sanofi. They supply both the free programme and paid services. Of those who have died, 10 people received products from SK Bioscience, five each from Boryung and GC Pharma, four from Sanofi and one from Korea Vaccine. There were no details about the latest 11 cases. KDCA director Jeong Eun-kyeong said on Thursday that vaccines would continue to be supplied but the government might consider suspending some products that have identification numbers matching batches manufactured at the same plant on the same day if more people die using them. One batch consists of around 150,000 doses. It was not immediately clear if any of the vaccines made in South Korea were exported, or if those supplied by Sanofi were also being used elsewhere. All four domestic firms declined to comment. Sanofi referred to the KDCA findings but said in a statement to Reuters that scientific assessments and monitoring were under way and that it would closely work with local health authorities. South Korea ordered 20% more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a "twindemic" of concurrent major flu and Covid-19 outbreaks in winter. So far 8.3 million people had been inoculated since the programme began on Oct. 13, with about 350 cases of adverse reactions reported, the KDCA said. The KDCA reported 155 new coronavirus cases as of Thursday midnight, bringing total infections to 25,698, with 455 deaths. 

* 36 people died after getting flu shots: KDCA * Forensic team conducted autopsy on 17-year-old boy * Programme aims to head off Covid-19 complications South Korea's forensic agency has found no links between a teenage boy's death and a flu shot he had taken, the Yonhap news agency reported, as 11 more people linked to the vaccination programme died, taking the toll to 36. The 17-year-old was among the first reported to have died during a government campaign to vaccinate about 30 million of a population of 52 million to prevent coronavirus complications. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said it would hold a meeting with vaccination experts on Friday to review developments as the toll reached 36, up from 25 a day before, sparking calls from doctors and politicians for a halt to the programme. Health authorities have refused to suspend the campaign citing a lack of evidence to suggest direct links between the deaths and the vaccines. The National Forensic Service has conducted autopsies on some of the deceased and determined that the vaccine did not cause the 17-year-boy's death, Yonhap said, citing police. Both the forensic agency and police were not immediately reachable for comment. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, calling for a thorough investigation to verify the exact cause of deaths. ‘So far experts said there was low possibility that the shots and deaths were related but many citizens remain anxious,’ he told a meeting. At least 22 of the 25 confirmed cases, including the boy, received a free flu shot the government has allotted for about 19 million teenagers and senior citizens, while the other three paid for it. Seven of the nine people investigated had underlying conditions, the KDCA said. The agency has not yet provided details about the 11 deaths reported overnight. The rising death toll has fuelled debate about whether the programme should be suspended. The country's largest grouping of doctors called for a halt until the safety of the vaccines is confirmed, while a major vaccine society said inoculation should continue as no relation to the deaths have been found. ADVISED AGAINST SHOTS Some local governments and district offices around the country have voluntarily advised residents against taking a flu shot or are considering suspending the programme. The vaccine providers include domestic firms such as GC Pharma, SK Bioscience, Korea Vaccine and Boryung Biopharma Co Ltd, a unit of Boryung Pharm Co Ltd, along with France's Sanofi. They supply both the free programme and paid services. Ten people received products from SK Bioscience, five each from Boryung and GC Pharma, four from Sanofi and one from Korea Vaccine. There were no details about the latest 11. KDCA director Jeong Eun-kyeong said on Thursday that vaccines would continue to be supplied but the government might consider suspending some products that have identification numbers matching batches manufactured at the same plant on the same day if more people die using them. One batch consists of around 150,000 doses. It was not immediately clear if any of the vaccines made in South Korea were exported, or if those supplied by Sanofi were also being used elsewhere. All four domestic firms declined to comment. Sanofi referred to the KDCA findings but said in a statement to Reuters that scientific assessments and monitoring were under way and that it would closely work with local health authorities. South Korea ordered 20% more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a ‘twindemic’ of concurrent major flu and Covid-19 outbreaks in winter. The KDCA reported 155 new coronavirus cases as of Thursday midnight, for the second consecutive day the daily tally marked a triple-digit increase after largely hovering below 100 over the last two weeks. It brought the total infections to 25,698, with 455 deaths. So far 8.3 million people had been inoculated since the programme began on Oct. 13, with about 350 cases of adverse reactions reported, the KDCA said.

South Korean officials refused to suspend the country's seasonal flu inoculation programme on Thursday, despite growing calls to do so following the deaths of at least 13 people who were vaccinated in recent days. Health authorities said they have found no direct links between the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy, and the vaccines being given under a programme to inoculate some 19 million teenagers and senior citizens for free. ‘The number of deaths has increased, but our team sees low possibility that the deaths resulted from the shots,’ Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), told parliament. South Korea ordered 20% more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a ‘twindemic’ of people with flu developing potential Covid-19 complications, and overburdening hospitals over the winter. ‘I understand and regret that people are concerned about the vaccine,’ Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said on Thursday, while confirming the free programme would go ahead. ‘We're looking into the causes but will again thoroughly examine the entire process in which various government agencies are involved, from production to distribution,’ he added. The country's free vaccine programme uses doses manufactured by local drug makers GC Pharma, SK Bioscience and Ilyang Pharmaceutical Co, along with France's Sanofi and Britain's Glaxosmithkline. The vaccines are distributed by local companies LG Chem Ltd and Boryung Biopharma Co. Ltd., a unit of Boryung Pharm Co. Ltd. GC Pharma, LG Chem, SK Bioscience and Boryung declined to comment. Ilyang Pharmaceutical, Sanofi and GSK did not immediately reply to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear if any of the South Korean-manufactured vaccines were exported, or whether those supplied by Sanofi and GSK were also being used in other countries. Kim Chong-in, leader of the main opposition People Power party, said the programme should be halted until the exact causes of the deaths had been verified. Health authorities said on Wednesday that a preliminary investigation into six deaths found no direct connection to the vaccines. No toxic substances were found in the vaccines, and at least five of the six people investigated had underlying conditions, officials said. EARLIER SUSPENSION The free programme has proved controversial from its launch last month. Its start was suspended for three weeks after it was discovered that some 5 million doses, which need to be refrigerated, had been exposed to room temperature while being transported to a medical facility. Officials said 8.3 million people had been inoculated since the programme resumed on Oct. 13, with around 350 cases of adverse reactions reported. The government is also offering a paid vaccine programme which, combined with the free programme, aims to inoculate about 30 million of the country's 52-million population. Under the paid programme, the purchaser can select the vaccine provider from a larger pool that includes the free vaccine manufacturers plus others. The highest number of deaths in South Korea linked to seasonal flu vaccinations was six in 2005, according to the Yonhap news agency. Officials have said it is difficult to make comparisons to previous years because of the greater numbers of people taking the vaccine this year. Kim Myung-suk, 65, who is eligible for a free vaccine, was among a growing number of people opting to exercise choice instead. ‘Though just a few people died so far, the number is growing and that makes me uneasy,’ she told Reuters in Seoul. ‘So I'm getting a shot somewhere else and will pay for it.’

Five people have died after getting flu shots in South Korea in the past week, authorities said, raising concerns over the vaccine's safety just as the seasonal inoculation programme is expanded to head off potential Covid-19 complications. Authorities said there was no reason to believe the deaths were linked to the vaccine but an investigation, including post mortems, was underway. "It makes it hard for us to put out a categorical statement," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing on Wednesday about the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy and a man in his 70s. Coming just weeks after the rollout of the national vaccine programme was suspended over safety worries, the deaths have dominated headlines in South Korea. Officials last month announced plans to procure 20% more flu vaccines for the winter than the previous year to inoculate 30 million people in a bid to prevent the health system being overloaded by patients with flu and Covid-19 exposure. However, the start of a free jab programme for around 19 million eligible people was suspended for three weeks after it was discovered that some 5 million doses, which need to be refrigerated, had been exposed to room temperature while being transported to a medical facility. Boosting public trust in vaccines has become a major global challenge this year, as some countries rush to approve experimental Covid-19 vaccines before full safety and efficacy studies have been completed. South Korea's flu vaccines are supplied by different drugmakers, including LG Chem Ltd and Boryung Biopharma Co. Ltd., a unit of Boryung Pharm Co. Ltd. . A Boryung official told Reuters the company was aware of the reported deaths, but had no immediate comment. LG Chem said the company would follow government advice. A 17-year-old boy who died on Friday was the first death noted by officials to follow receipt of the vaccine. The boy died two days after receiving the flu shot in Incheon, near the capital Seoul. A man in his 70s, who had Parkinson's disease and arrhythmia, was the most recent case. He died in Daegu on Wednesday, a day after receiving the flu vaccine. Daegu officials said the man had received vaccines since 2015 with no prior adverse reactions. Officials said 8.3 million people have been inoculated with the free flu vaccine since it resumed on Oct. 13, with around 350 cases of adverse reactions reported. The highest number of deaths linked to the seasonal flu vaccination was six in 2005, according to Yonhap news agency. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, trust in vaccines was a growing challenge for public health bodies. The World Health Organization named vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 global health threats for last year. In South Korea, a poll earlier this month found that 62% of 2,548 respondents in Gyeonggi province, near Seoul, would not get vaccinated against Covid-19, even if a vaccine is approved, until all safety questions are fully answered.

North Korea unveiled previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missiles at an unprecedented predawn military parade on Saturday that showcased the country’s long-range weapons for the first time in two years. Analysts said the missile, which was shown on a transporter vehicle with 11 axles, would be one of the largest road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the world if it becomes operational. “This missile is a monster,” said Melissa Hanham, deputy director of the Open Nuclear Network. Also displayed were the Hwasong-15, which is the longest-range missile ever tested by North Korea, and what appeared to be a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Ahead of the parade, which was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party, officials in South Korea and the United States said Kim Jong Un could use the event to unveil a new “strategic weapon” as promised earlier this year. A senior U.S. administration official called the display of the ICBM “disappointing” and called on the government to negotiate to achieve a complete denuclearisation. The parade featured North Korea’s ballistic missiles for the first time since Kim began meeting with international leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, in 2018. “We will continue to build our national defence power and self-defensive war deterrence,” Kim said, but vowed that the country’s military power would not be used preemptively. He made no direct mention of the United States or the now-stalled denuclearisation talks. Kim blamed international sanctions, typhoons, and the coronavirus for preventing him from delivering on promises of economic progress. “I am ashamed that I have never been able to repay you properly for your enormous trust,” he said. “My efforts and devotion were not sufficient to bring our people out of difficult livelihoods.” The video showed Kim make an appearance as a clock struck midnight. Dressed in a grey suit and tie, he waved to the crowd and accepted flowers from children while surrounded by military officials in Pyongyang’s recently renovated Kim Il Sung Square. Kim spoke for nearly half an hour, often visibly sweating despite the cool morning air, shedding tears when thanking the troops, and smiling and laughing as he watched the missiles. The parade was highly choreographed, with thousands of troops marching in formation, displays of new conventional military equipment including tanks, and fighter jets launching flares and fireworks. Experts said that the new, larger ICBM is likely designed to carry multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRVs), allowing it to attack more targets and making interception more difficult. The new ICBM is likely intended to dispel doubts about North Korea’s ability to strike the continental United States, and an implicit threat that they are preparing to test the larger missile, said Markus Garlauskas, a former U.S. intelligence officer for North Korea. “If the Hwasong-15 could carry a ‘super-large’ nuclear warhead to anywhere in the U.S., then the natural question is what can this larger missile carry?,” he said.

South Korean lawmakers and officials raised concerns on Wednesday about the safety of the teenage daughter of a former senior North Korean diplomat in Italy after news reports that he has settled in South Korea while she was sent back to the North. Jo Song Gil, who was North Korea's acting ambassador to Italy, disappeared with his wife after leaving the embassy without notice in November 2018. His whereabouts had been unknown since, but a member of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee on Tuesday confirmed news reports that Jo arrived in South Korea in July 2019 under the protection of the government. The reports triggered concerns among some lawmakers about Jo's daughter, who according to Italy's foreign ministry, was repatriated to the North at her request after her parents went missing. She is a teenager, but no other details about her were immediately known. Thae Yong-ho, Pyongyang's former deputy ambassador to Britain who defected to South Korea in 2016, had publicly asked Jo to come to the South but urged restraint in media coverage of him. "Where a defected diplomat lives determines the levels of treatment or punishment to be given to his relatives left in the North," said Thae, who is now a lawmaker. "If he takes asylum in South Korea, he is defined as a traitor, apostate. ... And no one knows what penalties would be imposed on the family members of a traitor." Cho Tae-yong, another opposition lawmaker and former deputy national security advisor, accused the government of leaking the information even though Jo had not wanted his defection to be publicly known because of his daughter. "It was impossible to know without help from intelligence authorities and the government effectively confirmed it, which was an act that completely lacked humanitarian considerations regarding his daughter," Cho told a parliamentary session. The National Intelligence Service declined comment. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said at the session she was "surprised" to see the news and shared the lawmakers' concerns about the safety of Jo's daughter.