SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Tuesday the government will expand discount support for everyday items for the Lunar New Year holiday and supply more than 39 trillion won (US$26.94 billion) in funds for the self-employed and small businesses. Koo made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting presided over by [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s whiskey market is showing clear signs of polarization as prolonged inflation and a weak won reshape consumer behavior, with shoppers increasingly gravitating toward either budget bottles or high-end labels while shunning midpriced options. Data released Monday by major supermarket chains indicate that sales of whiskeys priced under 30,000 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s appetite for coffee is proving increasingly costly. The country’s coffee import bill jumped sharply last year, surpassing 2 trillion won for the first time, as global bean prices climbed to record levels amid climate-related supply disruptions, government data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans’ rice consumption fell to a record low in 2025 as changing diets and eating habits continued to reduce demand, government data showed Thursday. Per capita rice consumption stood at 62.5 kilograms last year, down 3 percent, or 1.9 kg, from the previous year, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – American beef and pork products accounted for the largest share in South Korea’s imported meat market last year, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said Monday. In 2025, Korea imported a total of 468,122 tons of beef products, with U.S. beef taking up 220,427 tons, or 47.1 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s franchise industry is bracing for wider legal and financial fallout after the Supreme Court of Korea finalized a ruling ordering Pizza Hut Korea to refund billions of won in improperly collected fees to franchise owners—a decision that could open the door to a wave of similar lawsuits across [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ordered Pizza Hut Korea to refund 21.5 billion won (about $16 million) to franchise owners, ruling that the company illegally collected undisclosed margin-based fees without explicit contractual consent—a decision expected to reverberate across the country’s franchise industry. In a final ruling issued Thursday, the Supreme [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will import 2.24 million fresh eggs from the United States this month to help stabilize domestic egg prices amid the recent spread of highly contagious avian influenza (AI), the agriculture ministry said Wednesday. The eggs will be purchased by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., and [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court is set to deliver a closely watched ruling this month in a long-running dispute over franchise fees involving Pizza Hut Korea, a decision that could reshape the financial practices of the country’s franchise industry. According to the food service sector, the Supreme Court’s Civil Division 3 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s most familiar fish may soon become a luxury item. Mackerel, a staple of the Korean diet, is facing mounting supply pressures as climate change shrinks domestic catches and Norway — the country’s dominant foreign supplier — moves to sharply cut its harvest. The combined squeeze is already pushing [...]