SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Shares of South Korea’s nuclear power companies tumbled Wednesday after revelations that a settlement with U.S. nuclear giant Westinghouse has sharply curtailed their access to major global markets. By mid-morning trading, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) was down more than 5 percent, while Doosan Enerbility dropped nearly 9 percent. [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped below 700 million tons last year for the first time in nearly 15 years, driven by a shift from coal to nuclear and renewable energy. The Ministry of Environment’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center reported Wednesday that national emissions reached 691.6 million [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s embattled petrochemical industry has agreed to slash its core production capacity by as much as a quarter, in a government-backed effort to stave off collapse and reposition for higher-value growth. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that 10 companies operating naphtha cracking centers (NCCs) [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is considering a major overhaul of how it grants pension credits for childbirth and military service, moving from a system of post-retirement adjustments to upfront support — a change that could save nearly 88 trillion won ($65 billion) in state finances over the long term, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s biggest conglomerates could see their founding families lose significant sway over board oversight if a second round of corporate law revisions clears the National Assembly, according to a new analysis. Leaders Index, a corporate research firm, said Tuesday that under the proposed reforms, roughly 38 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of doctors working at South Korea’s public health centers and branch facilities has plummeted by more than 40% over the past decade, raising red flags about the country’s ability to ensure basic medical access in rural areas. According to data released on August 17 by the Ministry of [...]
South Korea Moves to Codify ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ by 2025, Amid Hurdles to Implementation SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is set to codify the principle of “equal pay for equal work” into the Labor Standards Act by the end of this year, aiming to implement the policy as [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics reported a decline in first-half revenue from China, citing mounting U.S. sanctions, weakening demand, and intensifying local competition, while sales in the United States grew, buoyed by robust demand from Big Tech firms investing in AI infrastructure. According to the company’s semiannual report released Sunday, Samsung’s exports to [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ sentiment toward Japan has warmed significantly, reaching levels not seen since the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, according to a new Gallup Korea poll released Thursday, marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. In the nationwide survey conducted August 12–14 [...]
BUSAN, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — In a move seen as both scientific and symbolic, South Korea has published the world’s first complete genome sequence of the extinct Dokdo sea lion (Dokdo Ganchi or Dokdo Kangchi) —commonly known in the West as the “Japanese sea lion”—while using the name “Dokdo sea lion” in a peer-reviewed international [...]