As tip jars quietly appear in restaurants, backlash grows against what many see as creeping Americanization of service culture SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Koreans are voicing frustration over the appearance of tip boxes in local restaurants, igniting debate over whether a foreign practice should be grafted onto a [...]
As ad revenue declines, South Korean digital creators shift toward memberships, merch, and multi-platform branding strategies SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Once fueled by the chase for views and viral content, South Korea’s YouTubers are increasingly transforming into entrepreneurs, diversifying their revenue streams and treating their channels as full-fledged personal brands. According to industry sources [...]
New climate projections highlight urgent need for emissions reduction under President Lee’s administration as global temperatures rise under Trump-era climate diplomacy gap SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea could face a dramatic surge in extreme heat events unless global carbon emissions are curbed, with so-called “compound extreme heat days” projected to increase up [...]
SANCHEONG, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — In the aftermath of back-to-back disasters, the rural county of Sancheong in South Gyeongsang Province finds itself overwhelmed, under-resourced, and emblematic of a broader crisis facing South Korea’s depopulating regions. Slammed first by a massive wildfire in March and then by record-breaking rains in July that dumped nearly 800 [...]
National security concerns and U.S. trade pressure shape South Korea’s cautious stance on data sovereignty SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is deferring a key decision on whether to allow Google to export high-resolution mapping data until after an upcoming summit between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, underscoring [...]
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The global market for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is expected to expand at a rapid clip, growing at an average annual rate of 28.3% over the next five years and reaching $60.5 billion by 2030, according to a new report from South Korea’s Software Policy & Research Institute. [...]
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Electronics’ modular home concept, the “LG Smart Cottage,” is capturing growing attention among South Koreans embracing emerging lifestyle trends such as workations and the “5-to-2” urban-rural split living model. According to LG, all 200 slots for its recent open house tour in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, were fully [...]
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s recent breakthrough trade agreement with the United States—touted as a major diplomatic win—may offer temporary relief on tariffs but leaves the door open for further pressure from Washington on sensitive trade issues, experts warn. The deal, struck on July 30, outlines a sweeping $450 billion investment and [...]
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — In a major step following recent U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) has issued its first investment guarantee under a $200 billion bilateral fund aimed at boosting Korean business ventures in the United States. K-SURE announced Sunday that it will provide a $1 billion financial guarantee [...]
SEOUL, August 3 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Group is ramping up its investments in the biotech sector, acquiring a stake in U.S.-based cancer therapy developer Strand Therapeutics as part of a broader push into future-growth industries. Strand Therapeutics, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics company founded in 2017 by bioengineering graduates [...]