SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Public criticism of Coupang, South Korea’s dominant e-commerce platform, is intensifying, spreading beyond small merchants to consumer, labor and civic groups, as concerns mount over corporate power, data security and the company’s ties to U.S. political influence. The backlash has grown sharper since a large-scale personal data breach last year, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung’s decision not to automatically extend a temporary tax break for owners of multiple homes reflects an effort to restore policy normalcy and curb speculative investment in the housing market, a senior presidential aide said Monday, as opposition from property owners continues to mount. Lee Kyu-yeon, the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s trade with Vietnam continued to deepen last year, with the Southeast Asian nation holding its position as Korea’s third-largest trading partner for a fourth consecutive year, underscoring the growing importance of export diversification beyond China and the United States. According to data released Monday by the Ministry of [...]
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – A newly released U.S. defense strategy is signaling a subtle but consequential shift in Washington’s approach to the Korean Peninsula, raising the prospect of changes to the American military footprint in South Korea and placing new expectations on Seoul to assume greater responsibility for its own defense as the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Friday rejected claims by U.S.-based investors in Coupang that the government had targeted the e-commerce giant, calling their use of remarks by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok in a planned international arbitration case a “deliberate distortion.” The Office for Government Policy Coordination said an arbitration notice submitted [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Group’s ambitious plan to position humanoid robots as a pillar of its future growth is facing stiff internal resistance, as labor leaders move to block the introduction of robots on production lines without formal agreement. The conflict emerged this week after Hyundai’s powerful labor union warned that no [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The unification ministry said Thursday it will seek consultations with the U.N. Command (UNC) over its move to reopen three shuttered trail sections within the inter-Korean buffer zone of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In 2019, South Korea launched 11 trail routes, known as the DMZ Peace Trail, along key [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing share of young South Koreans are stepping away from the labor market altogether, a shift that economists say reflects deeper structural strains in an economy struggling to adapt to technological change and slowing growth. According to a report released Tuesday by the Bank of Korea, the proportion of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is confronting renewed debate over its drone regulations as the number of registered unmanned aircraft approaches 70,000 and hobbyists increasingly complain that the country’s rules are among the world’s most restrictive. Online forums and instructional videos about drones are frequently filled with frustrated comments from users who say [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly eight in 10 local governments outside South Korea’s capital region say they face a serious risk of population decline, underscoring the deepening divide between Seoul and the rest of the country as demographic pressures mount. In a survey released Monday by the Federation of Korean Industries, 77 percent of [...]