Related: “He Worked 80 Hours a Week”: The Bakery Case Stirring Debate on Labor Practices The tragedy at a popular Seoul bakery has reignited scrutiny of South Korea’s long-hour work culture — and exposed how easily labor protections can fail in the service industry. 1. What Happened In July 2024, a man in his 20s working [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A controversy over overwork has erupted in South Korea after the death of a young employee at the popular bakery chain London Bagel Museum (known locally as Runbaemyu), with the victim’s family alleging that he worked excessive hours in the weeks leading up to his death. According to the family, [...]
YANGSAN, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Residents in the city of Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, are defying convention by actively competing to host a municipal crematorium — a facility typically shunned by communities. The city, which currently lacks its own cremation facility, is moving forward with plans to build one to ease the burden on [...]
Korea Heritage Service Vows to Protect Jongmyo Shrine After Court Upholds Seoul Development Plan SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s cultural heritage authority pledged Thursday to prevent Seoul’s Jongmyo Shrine from losing its UNESCO World Heritage status following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a city ordinance easing development restrictions near the site. The [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. has come under scrutiny for allegedly concealing a massive malware infection last year instead of reporting it to authorities, a joint government-private investigative panel said Thursday. According to the panel, KT discovered in mid-2024 that dozens of its servers had been infected with BPFDoor, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a disputed ordinance allowing large-scale redevelopment just outside designated cultural preservation zones in Seoul, clearing the way for a long-stalled city project near one of the capital’s most sacred heritage sites. The court ruled that the Seoul Metropolitan Council acted lawfully when [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — K-pop superstar G-Dragon said in a recent interview that he was so devastated by a drug investigation two years ago that he briefly considered retiring from music altogether. The frontman of the influential group BIGBANG spoke candidly about the episode on MBC’s current affairs program “Sohn Suk-hee’s Questions,” which aired [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 70 percent of baby boomers living in the Seoul metropolitan area said they would be willing to relocate to regional areas if jobs at small and medium-sized enterprises were available, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Korea Economic Association (FKI). The survey, conducted in September by Mono [...]
SEJONG, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s agriculture minister said Wednesday that restaurant companies should be required to inform customers when they reduce product sizes, as public anger grows over so-called “shrinkflation” — the practice of cutting portions while keeping prices the same. “It is a matter of consumers’ right to know,” Agriculture Minister Song [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” which recently swept six Tony Awards including Best Musical, has returned to Seoul for its 10th-anniversary season, rekindling the quiet tenderness that moved Broadway audiences earlier this year. Written by Park Chun-hyoo (also known as Hue Park) and Will Aronson, the production explores love [...]