SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Members of the “I Love Smoking” group gathered outside the National Assembly building in Seoul Thursday demanding that the government repeal Korea’s cigarette price hike, which took effect in January 2015, and raised cigarette prices by 2,000 won ($1.76) per pack. Protestors held pickets alleging that the tobacco policy [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea said Thursday that it will gradually complete initial public offerings (IPOs) for eight public energy companies by 2020 to help improve their financial status. The eight firms are Korea South-East Power Co., Korea Southern Power Co., Korea East-West Power Co., Korea Western Power Co., Korea Midland Power [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has decided to reset its push to become a regional financial hub, reflecting a change in related global circumstances, authorities announced Thursday. Despite the government’s initiative that started in 2008, foreign financial firms have withdrawn or scaled down their businesses in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy. In a relevant [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The biggest beneficiary of Tuesday’s parliamentary hearing of eight Korean conglomerate chiefs into the Choi Soon-sil scandal was neither the investigative parliamentary committee, nor the prosecutors; it was Softlips, a lip balm lineup from American health care products maker The Mentholatum Company. The lip balm was brought to attention [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea boasts among the world’s fastest Internet connection speeds. A recent study added to the country’s pride, revealing that Korea also outranks major cities around the world when it comes to LTE. According to the study announced Wednesday by the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association, which looked at LTE connection [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Startup companies voiced opposition Wednesday following recent media reports that the government may impose restrictions on mobile apps offering carpool services. The Korea Startup Forum, representing some 70 startups in the country, released an official statement Wednesday claiming that carpool apps are legitimate business models that do not violate [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – In an effort to make up for its lost cause, the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is again launching its Galaxy S7 Edge in a new color, this time “Black Pearl”. Much reminiscent of the Jet Black of the iPhone 7 series, it is the seventh color edition of the [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s population is expected to start contracting in 2032 amid widespread concerns that the country’s chronic low birthrate and aging citizens will undermine growth potential, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy will likely see its population peak at 52.96 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The popular Korean action film “Train to Busan” will be remade in English, its distributor said Thursday. NEW said the film’s remake right was sold to France’s Gaumont Film Company, a major global film studio behind such hit films as “Leon,” “The Fifth Element” and “Point Blank.” “We are [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Annual exports from South Korea’s health care businesses are forecast to reach US$10 billion in 2016, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday. Outbound shipments of locally manufactured medicines, medical equipment and cosmetics products are expected to total $9.8 billion by the end of this year, up 19.1 [...]