SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea recorded a 16th consecutive month of year-on-year growth in births in October, but the pace of increase slowed to its weakest level this year, underscoring how fragile the country’s demographic rebound remains. A total of 21,958 babies were born in October, a 2.5 percent increase from a [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s science ministry on Wednesday sought to calm privacy concerns over a new requirement for real-time facial recognition when registering mobile phone numbers, insisting that no biometric data is stored under the system. The reassurance followed the launch Tuesday of a pilot program that requires applicants to verify [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Hynix on Wednesday urged South Korea’s government to loosen fair-trade regulations, arguing that existing ownership rules are ill-suited to the scale and financial demands of investment in the artificial intelligence era. The chipmaker said regulatory flexibility is needed to allow it to set up special purpose companies with [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s government plans to enact a sweeping Climate Adaptation Act next year and expand the use of artificial intelligence to forecast floods, road icing and wildfires, as it steps up preparations for intensifying climate risks, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said the Fourth National [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will exempt a wider range of low-risk recyclable materials from mandatory import insurance requirements, a move aimed at securing recycling inputs and accelerating the country’s transition to a circular economy, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that it will revise enforcement [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Replacing screen time with traditional outdoor games has led to measurable improvements in weight and eating habits among South Korean elementary school students, according to government data released Tuesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute said the “Healthy Care Playground” program, designed to promote [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — China has surpassed South Korea and Japan in four of the five major manufacturing industries that anchor global trade, underscoring a structural shift in East Asia’s industrial balance and intensifying pressure on Seoul to move beyond volume-driven exports, a new report shows. According to a study released Tuesday by the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — More than seven in 10 foreign nationals running small businesses in South Korea are Chinese, highlighting the growing role of Chinese entrepreneurs in the country’s local service economy, according to a new report released Tuesday. An analysis by the Korea Immigration Policy Institute found that Chinese nationals accounted for 72.5 [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s government on Tuesday approved a sweeping consumer protection plan aimed at preventing harm before it occurs, stepping up scrutiny of deceptive digital marketing practices known as “dark patterns” and tightening safety standards for everyday products, officials said. The Consumer Policy Committee, chaired by Kim Sung-sook, approved the 2026 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) reported a record number of visitors this year driven by hit exhibitions, the museum said Wednesday. The MMCA said over 3.37 million people visited the national museum, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. The most popular exhibition was [...]