SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is moving to tighten oversight of the country’s volatile property market, unveiling legislation on Tuesday that would create a powerful new state regulator to police real estate transactions and crack down on unfair trading. The bill, introduced by Representative Kim Hyun-jung, would establish a real [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial authorities have launched a formal investigation into Bithumb, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, after it mistakenly distributed more than 60 trillion won — about $41 billion — worth of bitcoin it did not possess. The Financial Supervisory Service informed the exchange on Monday that it [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Tuesday described the 2016 shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex as an act of “self-injury,” signaling a renewed effort under the Democratic Party–led government to revive one of the most visible symbols of inter-Korean cooperation. The statement came on the 10th anniversary of the decision [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will begin enforcing tighter real estate transaction rules for foreigners this week to prevent speculative property purchases involving suspicious overseas funds, the land ministry said Monday. Under a revision to the enforcement rules of the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act, foreign nationals who sign property purchase contracts [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – The National Assembly on Monday established a special committee to handle legislation aimed at implementing South Korea’s investment pledges to the United States under a trade deal between the two nations. During a plenary session, the Assembly approved a resolution with bipartisan support to form the committee to deal [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday outlined an ambitious vision to overhaul South Korea’s military service system, suggesting a shift away from manpower-heavy conscription toward a structure centered on technology and specialized expertise. Speaking at a forum with young scientists at the Blue House guest house, Mr. Lee said the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – The government is pushing to increase state support for high-tech companies investing in regions far from the Seoul metropolitan area as part of its latest efforts to promote balanced regional development, the budget ministry said Friday. The plan was unveiled during a meeting co-hosted by the Ministry of Planning [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — As the global race for rare earth minerals intensifies, South Korea on Thursday announced a sweeping strategy aimed at securing stable supplies of the materials that underpin everything from electric vehicles and semiconductors to advanced weapons systems. Often described as the “vitamins” of high-tech industry, rare earth elements are used [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday the United States’ move to raise tariffs on South Korea is having a negative effect on follow-up security consultations between the two allies, including talks on nuclear-powered submarines. In an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun, Wi expressed concern that security negotiations have [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has launched a project to develop a monitoring system aimed at curbing drug trafficking conducted via cryptocurrencies on dark web platforms, in response to evolving tactics of drug dealers, the science ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Police Agency said they [...]