SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Delinquency rates at South Korea’s major credit card companies hit an 11-year high in the first quarter amid an economic slowdown, the central bank said Thursday. The delinquency rate on loan assets at the major card firms came to 2.3 percent as of end-March, the highest since 2014, according [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The likelihood of South Korea facing a debt problem as seen in some European economies remains “limited,” a local analyst said Thursday, dismissing concerns that President Lee Jae Myung’s expansionary fiscal policy may strain the local economy. Ahn Jae-kyun, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., made the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver Corp. is expected to acquire Dunamu Inc., the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, as a wholly owned subsidiary as part of its push to expand into the digital finance sector, industry sources said Thursday. Naver plans to carry out a comprehensive stock swap through its [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — When a young Taiwanese tourist emerged from the steaming heat of a jjimjilbang in Seoul last week, she laughed and admitted the traditional Korean sauna had been “hot but fun.” She said she came with her mother after watching the hit Netflix animation K-Pop Demon Hunters, curious to experience [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry is bracing for fallout after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the widely used painkiller Tylenol could raise the risk of autism when taken during pregnancy, a claim experts say lacks scientific basis. At a White House press conference on September 22, Trump said studies [...]
An article published by CGTN explains China’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and how the country has advanced global climate governance through NDCs. It explores China’s NDCs targets for the next decade and details the country’s domestic progress in ecological protection, as well as its outreach to developing nations, reflecting Beijing’s broader commitment to fostering [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. military has deployed its new Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) system to South Korea, marking the first time the advanced air defense platform has been stationed at an overseas base. According to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul court has ruled that a sauna operator must compensate an elderly customer who fractured his hip after slipping on a wet towel placed under a leaking air conditioner in the facility’s locker room. The Seoul Southern District Court on September 5 ordered the operator to pay 13 [...]
JEJU, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s decision to expand visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists is expected to bring sweeping changes to Jeju’s tourism market, easing earlier concerns that the island could lose visitors to Seoul and other major destinations. Starting September 29, Chinese nationals traveling in groups of three or more through [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s widening gap between retirement and pension eligibility is fueling structural imbalances in middle-aged employment, with Seoul turning to data-driven policymaking to address the challenge. According to a new survey of 10,000 job seekers and 450 companies released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul 50 Plus [...]