SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea has warned that continued efforts to stimulate construction investment through non-capital region housing projects may be exacerbating the nation’s widening housing market divide, rather than resolving it. In a report released Wednesday, the central bank argued that building new homes in low-demand regions outside the [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea has raised alarm over South Korea’s persistently high cost of essential goods, warning that it is outpacing both inflation and global averages, and is stifling consumer spending—particularly among low-income households. In a report released Wednesday, the central bank found that from the onset of the [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks closed higher for the third consecutive session Wednesday, led by big gains in market heavyweight Samsung Electronics and IT shares. The local currency was trading lower against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 21.89 points, or 0.74 percent, to end [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Housing prices in Seoul and non-capital regions have diverged further in recent years amid ongoing economic and social changes, and the government is advised to avoid stimulating construction investment through additional housing supply in non-capital areas, the central bank said Wednesday. The gap in cumulative housing price increases between [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s state-run trade promotion agency said Wednesday it is operating a Korean pavilion at a major U.S. biotech exhibition this week, highlighting the country’s bio and pharmaceutical technology. The pavilion, run by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), features 58 companies in cooperation with five local industrial associations, [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has terminated ship equipment contracts worth 4.85 trillion won (US$3.54 billion) with Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex and plans to seek damages over what it called the Russian shipyard’s unilateral breach of contract. The contracts, signed in 2020 and 2021, covered the supply of [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A string of clinical trial failures is putting severe financial strain on South Korea’s biotech sector, forcing some drug development firms into liquidation or restructuring as investor confidence continues to erode. On Tuesday, industry sources confirmed that OsteoNeuroGen, a pharmaceutical startup focused on treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, will [...]
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial regulator has issued a consumer alert warning the public about a rise in fraudulent schemes involving fake promises of imminent stock market listings—an increasingly sophisticated scam targeting retail investors amid the country’s recent market rebound. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), scam operators are falsely [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — For the first time in South Korean history, eco-friendly vehicles—including electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid models—surpassed internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in domestic monthly sales, signaling a significant market shift as electric vehicle (EV) concerns begin to ease. According to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Trade, Industry [...]
SEOUL, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Workers of e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. have launched a new integrated labor union to demand better wages and improved working conditions, the union said Tuesday. Until now, Coupang had two separate labor unions — one representing workers in its logistics affiliate, Coupang Fulfillment Service, and the other for employees [...]