SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Once a popular and low-barrier entry point for entrepreneurs, South Korea’s café industry is now facing an intense survival challenge due to market oversaturation, rising costs, and regulatory pressures. Despite the industry’s rapid expansion, data shows an alarming rate of closures. According to Statistics Korea, as of 2022, the number [...]
INCHEON, South Korea, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A fundraising campaign launched by firefighters in Incheon to support accident victims has surpassed 1.2 billion won ($827,586) in donations over five years, officials announced on February 16. The “119 Miracle” campaign, which began in August 2019, allows participants to donate 119 won daily to assist victims of [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Five years after the implementation of South Korea’s 52-hour workweek, three out of four corporate research divisions report declining research and development (R&D) performance, according to a new survey. The findings, released on February 16 by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in collaboration with the Korea Industrial [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — If the Trump administration moves forward with tariffs on the automotive sector, South Korea and Japan are expected to be among the hardest-hit nations outside North America, according to industry analysts. A report from CNBC on February 13, citing consulting firm GlobalData, highlighted that South Korea and Japan accounted [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) has introduced a stringent “one-strike-out” policy to immediately initiate foreclosure proceedings against foreign landlords who fail to return tenants’ rental (jeonse) deposits, aiming to curb financial risks associated with non-compliant property owners. HUG announced on Friday that the new measure, effective since [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — As discussions of potential peace negotiations between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine gain momentum, South Korean companies are positioning themselves to participate in what could become one of the largest reconstruction efforts in modern history. Estimates have pegged the cost of rebuilding Ukraine’s war-torn infrastructure at approximately $900 billion, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will accept preorders for a custom-built high-performance edition of the company’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicle (EV), of which only 50 units will be sold globally. Preorders for the Ioniq 5 N DK edition are available via the automaker’s N Performance Shop, an online [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean gaming giant NCSoft has found itself in a financial crisis, posting its first annual operating loss in 26 years. The company reported an operating loss of 109.2 billion won ($75 million) for 2024, marking its first negative earnings since 1998. Revenue fell by 11.3% to 1.58 trillion [...]
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The absence of a fully elected leader in South Korea poses a “danger” to Seoul’s efforts to address U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for tariffs, an expert said Thursday, stressing the importance of leader-to-leader engagement to neutralize the impact of those planned or proposed duties. Victor Cha, president of [...]
ULSAN, South Korea, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — A team of South Korean researchers has developed a groundbreaking diagnostic technique that can detect lung cancer using only a few drops of blood. Scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) announced on February 13 that they have created EV-CLIP, a technology capable of [...]