INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in will embark on an eight-day tour of three Central Asian countries this week. during the trip, which will take place from April 15 to 23, the president will discuss how to expand economic cooperation with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The presidential office said that during the tour, the president will also meet ethnic Koreans living in Central Asia while working to bring home the remains of renowned independence fighter Gen. Hong Beom-do as part of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement.
Amid mounting concerns about a slowing global economy, the International Monetary Fund has advised Korea to adopt stimulus measures to support its economy. Germany and Australia came under similar pressure from the international agency. Korea and Germany both posted a government budget surplus last year, while Australia is predicted to report a surplus in the near future.
Seoul police are looking into allegations that a hospital has been covering up the death of a newborn baby for three years. In August 2016, a mother gave birth to a premature baby via c-section at CHA Bundang Medical Center. But a doctor tripped and fell to drop the baby while taking it away for treatment. The newborn died six hours after the incident, despite emergency medical attention. The hospital is accused of faking up the cause of the baby's death. Police booked an ob-gyn doctor and eight other staff members of the hospital on charges of destroying evidence.
The government has unveiled three-year plans to build more facilities closely related to public life, such as libraries and gymnasiums. The government will spend a budget of 30 trillion won over the next three years starting from 2020 to significantly expand cultural and sports facilities as well as public welfare public medical care centers. Under the plans, gymnasiums and libraries can be accessed within a distance of less than ten minutes in any part of the nation. More than one public welfare center will be built in each city, county and district. The government first introduced the policy to improve public-life facilities in August last year.
K-pop sensation BTS' music video for the song "DNA" has surpassed 700 million views on YouTube. Its management agency Big Hit Entertainment, the lead track of the album "Love Yourself: Her" reached the milestone at 3:32 a.m. on April 15. DNA is also the first K-pop music video to attract 600 million views. It also remained on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for four straight weeks, following its release in September 2017.