GOYANG, South Korea, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ruled that members of a virtual idol group are entitled to damages over defamatory online comments, marking a significant precedent in how the law treats avatars in the digital age. On May 17, the Uijeongbu District Court’s Goyang branch ordered an individual, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A government-backed consumer coupon program has driven a notable increase in sales at South Korea’s smallest merchants while also lifting household spending among shop owners, Shinhan Card said Thursday. An analysis by the company’s Big Data Research Center found that after the rollout of the “livelihood recovery consumer coupons,” [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s biggest business families stand to see their dividend tax bills fall by more than 12 percent under the government’s new tax reform, which grants breaks to shareholders of companies classified as “high-dividend.” According to a study released Wednesday by corporate research firm CEO Score, 87 out of [...]
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) — The sun had just dipped behind the skyline of Gwanghwamun when demonstrators began to gather, clutching banners, candles, and hastily printed placards. By nightfall, the streets outside the U.S. Embassy had become a stage for simmering outrage. Hundreds marched through central Seoul on Saturday evening, their chants ricocheting off the [...]
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 [...]
MUNICH, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor unveiled its first small electric vehicle concept on Tuesday at Europe’s largest mobility fair, underscoring the South Korean automaker’s push to expand its EV lineup into the compact segment, where demand is strongest in Europe. The concept car, dubbed “Concept THREE,” was introduced at the IAA Mobility 2025 [...]
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. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Uncertainty surrounding the United States’ trade policy alone is estimated to reduce South Korea’s economic growth rate by about 0.13 percentage point this year, the central bank said Monday. In late July, Seoul and Washington reached a crucial agreement in which the U.S. imposes a 15 percent tariff on [...]