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 [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ordered Iron Mace, a startup game developer, to pay 8.5 billion won to gaming giant Nexon in a trade secrets case that hinged on whether game design concepts and rules developed at a company constitute protected business secrets. The Seoul Central District Court ruled on [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s retail sector is entering a slowdown phase as economic stagnation and reduced consumer spending take hold, according to a recent market analysis. Cushman & Wakefield Korea released its Q4 2024 Retail Market Report on Monday, forecasting that persistent inflation, a strong U.S. dollar, and rising household debt burdens [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly half of South Korean restaurant owners have raised their menu prices to offset mounting delivery app commission fees, which they cite as their biggest business burden, according to a new survey released on February 14. The Consumer Network for Public Interest surveyed 502 restaurant owners and found that delivery [...]
JEJU, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Tangerine greenhouse farmers on South Korea’s Jeju Island are increasingly turning to smartphone-controlled irrigation systems, marking a significant shift toward smart farming in the country’s prominent citrus-growing region. A consortium including the Namwon Agricultural Cooperative in Jeju, the Jeju ICT Cooperative, and smart farm developer Mamkkot Garden has been selected [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The management rights of Inspire Entertainment Resort, a major integrated resort on Yeongjong Island near Incheon, have been transferred from U.S.-based Mohegan to global private equity firm Bain Capital. Inspire announced on Monday that Bain Capital had exercised its acquisition rights, taking over the management of its parent company, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The defense ministry said Tuesday it will seek to recover the remains of more than 200 soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War this year as part of an ongoing project to find and identify missing service members. Since 2000, the ministry has been working to recover the remains [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Hynix is ramping up preparations for its first semiconductor fabrication plant in the Yongin Cluster, moving forward with infrastructure recruitment to support its growing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor production. According to industry sources, SK Hynix has posted job openings on its recruitment website for [...]
DAEJEON, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have discovered how coronaviruses can replicate so quickly after infecting human cells, potentially opening new avenues for treatment development. The research team, led by professor Lee Gwangrog from KAIST’s Department of Biological Sciences, revealed that a protein called nsp13 [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — A stark disconnect exists between how elderly South Koreans hope to spend their final days and where they actually die, according to a comprehensive study released on February 17 by the National Health Insurance Service Research Institute. The analysis found that while 67.5% of elderly long-term care recipients wish to [...]