SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ruled that resident doctors at general hospitals are entitled to overtime and night-shift pay under the Labor Standards Act, marking a major decision that reinforces labor protections for medical trainees. The court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of three former emergency medicine residents [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Asset Management said Monday it will launch a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in companies participating in South Korea’s national “Sovereign AI” project, underscoring growing investor confidence in the country’s bid to develop its own artificial intelligence infrastructure. The KODEX Korea Sovereign AI ETF, set to debut on [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 2.3 million people in South Korea sought medical treatment for influenza last year, marking the second consecutive year flu cases have exceeded 2 million, government data showed Sunday. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 2.36 million people were treated for influenza in 2024, slightly below [...]
The Backdrop: A Sudden Shift in Washington In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) quietly made a ruling that would reverberate through South Korea’s nuclear industry. During a closed-door meeting attended by officials from Seoul and Washington — including representatives of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), and [...]
South Korea’s Nuclear Export Deal with Westinghouse Sparked by U.S. Ruling on Reactor Technology Origins SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government’s controversial settlement with U.S. firm Westinghouse over nuclear technology rights was driven by a 2024 decision from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) declaring that Korea’s APR1400 reactor design contains American-origin [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government will formally launch the “K-Ship Tech Alliance” next year, a sweeping initiative designed to accelerate the shipbuilding industry’s transition to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as part of the country’s broader industrial innovation strategy. Announced at a high-level economic ministers’ meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As the Korean Wave continues to attract record numbers of foreign visitors, South Korean retailers are ramping up tailored marketing to meet the growing demand for K-beauty, K-pop, and cultural experiences. According to industry data released on October 19, the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea reached 12.38 million between [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Archaeologists have unearthed a lavish tomb believed to belong to a Silla-era general dating back 1,600 years, the national heritage agency said Monday. The tomb, thought to have been built for a high-ranking general who died around age 30, was discovered at the royal tomb complex in Gyeongju, the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang has found itself at the center of a political and legal storm after a prosecutor alleged that senior officials pressured investigators to clear the company of wrongdoing in a wage-related case — a revelation that has reignited debate over prosecutorial reform and cast new scrutiny [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ruled that only some imported nicotine liquids used in e-cigarettes are subject to tobacco-related taxes, drawing a distinction based on whether the nicotine was extracted from tobacco leaves or stems. The Seoul Administrative Court said on October 19 that it had partially upheld a [...]