SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s global ranking in tourism competitiveness has jumped to 19th this year, backed by an improvement in market openness and infrastructure, a report showed Tuesday. The global ranking of Asia’s fourth-largest economy moved up 10 spots in 2017 compared with two years earlier, tagging along with top tourist [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – North Korea vowed Tuesday to take the “toughest” counteraction against the United States as Washington is sending its strategic assets near the Korean Peninsula for what the North calls an invasion of Pyongyang. The North’s warning was made after the U.S. dispatched the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Cigarettes sold on the market contain seven “cancer-causing” substances that pose a threat to public health, South Korean authorities said Tuesday. The International Agency For Research On Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization classifies certain substances as group 1 that are carcinogenic to humans. Substances are placed in [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – The business sentiment index for the second quarter rose from the previous quarter, but pessimism still outweighed optimism overall, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said Tuesday. A survey of some 2,200 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index at 89 in the second quarter, up 21 [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Auto sales in South Korea rose to the highest in 14 years in the first quarter of the year, aided by solid demand for new models, industry data showed Tuesday. Data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) showed that the country’s five automakers and two commercial vehicle manufacturers [...]
SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Some 550,000 South Koreans had placed preorders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ just two days after the process began on April 7. That is almost three times the number for the Galaxy Note 7 (roughly 200,000 from August 6 to 7) and more than fivefold for the Galaxy [...]
SEJONG, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The average wealth of South Korea’s leadership class – public officials, lawmakers, and high-ranking judges – was almost six times higher than members of the general public, recent data showed. According to Sunday’s asset disclosures released by the Government Public Ethics Committee, the Supreme Court of Korea and the [...]
SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s health authorities are considering a suspension of health insurance reimbursement for imatinib, a highly effective leukemia drug sold under the brand name of Gleevec (or Glivec), after its maker Novartis was found to have provided illegal kickbacks to doctors. The Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company was investigated by prosecutors [...]
SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The final round of an Italian K-pop competition was held at an exhibition center in Rome on Saturday. As part of Romics, one of the country’s biggest comic fairs, fourteen group and individual talents who passed the preliminary rounds showed off their moves for the final time to K-pop [...]
SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean military confirmed Monday the United States is sending a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula again due to concerns about North Korea’s provocations. The Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, announced earlier that the Carl Vinson Strike Group is on its way to the [...]