WASHINGTON, March 31 1(Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Monday released an annual report on foreign trade barriers that listed South Korea’s “offset” defense trade policy, emission-related regulations on imported cars and pricing policies for pharmaceuticals to name a few. The Office of the USTR issued the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report [...]
SEOUL, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s quick commerce (or “Q-commerce”) market—defined by delivery times under an hour—is rapidly expanding as major players including Emart, Naver, and Daiso aggressively enter the fray, intensifying competition in the nation’s retail and e-commerce sectors. Emart, the country’s largest hypermarket chain, has quietly rejoined the Q-commerce arena after [...]
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A new government report has revealed a growing polarization in housing among young South Koreans in their early 30s, with more individuals shifting either into monthly rentals or homeownership—while the once-dominant jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) model continues to decline. Published Wednesday by Statistics Korea’s National Statistical Research Institute, the [...]
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotteria, a burger chain operated by Lotte Group’s affiliate Lotte GRS Co., will raise prices of its main products next week to pass higher costs onto customers, Lotte GRS said Friday. Lotteria will raise the prices of 65 items, including 23 burgers, beverages and desserts, by an average of [...]
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Friday it has launched a special unit to “preemptively” protect domestic companies from potential fallout due to the latest tariff measures by the U.S. administration. The team aims to minimize anticipated disruptions stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, which are [...]
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — When the search term “Yonsei” suddenly trended on the CU convenience store chain’s mobile app on March 18, it wasn’t customers looking for the dairy company’s milk. Instead, Doosan Bears baseball fans were hunting for a new cream-filled pastry collaboration between CU, Yonsei Dairy, and their beloved team. The [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The government will join hands with export-related agencies to provide “all-out” support to South Korean companies in export business, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a joint conference in Seoul with various export-related agencies, including the Korea Customs Service, the Korean Intellectual [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The chief of the country’s financial watchdog called on private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. to be more responsible for the recent Homeplus fiasco Wednesday. Since last week, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has been inspecting MBK Partners to look into whether there have been any flaws in the [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — European companies operating in South Korea are increasingly dissatisfied with their business performance and the country’s regulatory environment, according to a new survey released Monday. The 2024/25 Korea Business Confidence Survey, conducted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK), the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed on March 24 that Hanwha Corporation recorded the highest number of construction defects for apartment and officetel buildings over the past six months. According to the ministry’s quarterly disclosure of construction defect data, Hanwha received 97 defect determinations for [...]