Yonhap News Summary

The following is the first summary of major stories moved by Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.

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(2nd LD) New virus cases stay below 30 for 2nd straight day

SEOUL -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 30 for the second straight day Tuesday, but health authorities are staying vigilant over imported cases and cluster infections.

The 27 new cases, detected Monday and slightly up from 25 a day ago, brought the nation's total infections to 10,564, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

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U.S. grateful to S. Korea for supplying virus test kits: official

WASHINGTON -- The United States is grateful to South Korea for supplying COVID-19 testing kits, a senior U.S. government official said Monday ahead of the planned arrival of a shipment of Korean-made kits.

Two South Korean companies were set to load their test kits on a U.S. cargo flight Tuesday (Seoul time) after getting interim approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Rising relapse cases raise alert amid virus infection slowdown

SEOUL -- The number of COVID-19 relapses in South Korea has steadily risen in the past few days, putting health authorities to the test again in the fight against the virus, though the country's new infections have slowed.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 116 people had been confirmed as relapsed COVID-19 cases as of Monday, up three from a day earlier. Health authorities are striving to find the cause of such cases that could possibly lead to a new source of infections.

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Parties focus on campaigns in Seoul, adjacent areas on eve of elections

SEOUL -- Political parties focused on campaigns in the toughest battlegrounds of Seoul and the surrounding province Tuesday, the last day of the official electioneering for this week's parliamentary polls.

South Korea will hold the quadrennial parliamentary elections Wednesday to fill the 300-seat unicameral National Assembly at a time when it is fighting COVID-19.

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(LEAD) Subway train derails in Seoul, delaying services

SEOUL -- A subway train derailed near Yeongdeungpo Station in southwestern Seoul on Tuesday, delaying and partially disrupting services on line No. 1.

No casualties have been reported. The accident took place around 6:28 a.m., halting traffic on both ways of the express lines for line No. 1, according to subway operators.

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Hyundai Motor resumes production in Russia amid virus woes

MOSCOW -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Tuesday it has restarted vehicle production at its plant in Russia that was temporarily shut down due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

The resumption of the plant in St. Petersburg, which began Monday, is set to last through Friday with only an essential workforce.

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Major firms' R&D spending rises 7.8 pct in 2019

SEOUL -- Major South Korean companies' spending on research and development (R&D) climbed nearly 8 percent in 2019 despite weaker performances, a market tracker said Tuesday.

Combined R&D expenditures by 208 out of the top 500 companies by sales came to 53.5 trillion won (US$43.9 billion) last year, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score.

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Korea's export prices drop in March

SEOUL -- South Korea's export prices dropped from a month before in March, central bank data showed Tuesday, possibly indicating worsening conditions for South Korean products amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

The export prices index, in terms of local currency, came to 96.59 last month, down 1.1 percent from revised 97.63 the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
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