SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A top South Korean presidential aide said Wednesday that a potential currency swap with the United States is an essential safeguard in ongoing trade talks, but not sufficient on its own to resolve the thorny negotiations. Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, told reporters in New York [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) —South Korea’s foreign minister on Friday sought to draw a fine line between the country’s massive investment commitments in the United States and the fallout from a U.S. immigration raid that detained hundreds of Korean workers, saying the visa dispute is not a formal condition for the projects but will [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Thursday conditionally approved a joint venture between Shinsegae Group’s Gmarket and Alibaba’s AliExpress Korea, clearing the way for a new challenger to disrupt a market long dominated by Coupang and Naver. The tie-up, structured as a 50:50 joint company under Grand Opus Holding, will [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to lower its benchmark interest rate for the first time under President Donald Trump is fueling cautious optimism in Seoul’s financial markets, with analysts predicting improved liquidity and renewed foreign inflows — but also warning of lingering risks tied to trade negotiations. On Wednesday [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — When Ji, a 41-year-old technician from South Korea, finally walked into the arrivals hall at Incheon International Airport this week, he was carrying more than a suitcase. He carried a story of humiliation. “The food was like garbage. We couldn’t eat it,” Ji said, recalling the seven days he [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — When a popular YouTube commentator recently began selling a “990 won salt bread,” it was more than a marketing stunt. It was a pointed jab at what Koreans have come to call “breadflation,” a steep rise in bread prices that many believe has made the staple disproportionately expensive at home compared [...]
FOLKSTON, Ga. Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The return of more than 300 South Korean workers detained in last week’s U.S. immigration raid at Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution’s joint battery plant is drawing relief in Seoul, but partner companies say their absence has left a gaping hole in the highly specialized construction project. [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — At a time when glowing screens compete for nearly every spare moment of attention, most South Korean adults still reached for a traditional paper book last year. A new nationwide survey finds that four out of five adults in the country — 80.4 percent — read at least one [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s human rights watchdog has ruled that public libraries violated children’s right to information by restricting access to sex education and gender equality books that were not legally classified as harmful publications. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said Monday that several libraries had either removed such titles [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea weighs proposals for a shorter workweek and extended retirement age, a growing number of companies are already adopting flexible schedules — in some cases reducing hours to just four days — in what could become a model for broader labor market reform. Major firms including SK [...]