SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Corp. has moved to roll back a major redesign of its flagship messaging app, KakaoTalk, after a wave of user backlash forced one of the most unusual reversals in the app’s 15-year history. According to industry officials on Monday, Kakao decided over the weekend to restore the original [...]
BERLIN, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — With just a week left before a deadline to dismantle a comfort woman statue in Berlin, a Korean civic group has filed an injunction against the local district office, seeking to preserve the memorial that has become a focal point of historical and diplomatic tensions. The Korea Verband, a [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — On a crisp September morning in rural Yeoncheon, a 70-year-old man had been missing for two days. Police and firefighters scoured the fields and riverbanks, but time was slipping away. Then, “Daechan,” a 119 rescue dog, was brought in. Within 30 minutes, the dog froze at a patch of [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The use of payment services employing passwords, biometric data and other authentication methods rose more than 11 percent in the first half, reflecting the growing trend of contactless commerce, central bank data showed Monday. The daily average value of simple payment transactions reached 1.046 trillion won (US$745.77 million) in [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Corp.’s biggest revamp of its flagship KakaoTalk messenger in 15 years has sparked a wave of criticism from users, rattling confidence in the app that dominates South Korea’s mobile communications. The update, rolled out last week, is part of Kakao’s push to reposition KakaoTalk from a basic messenger [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Suicide has overtaken cancer as the leading cause of death for South Koreans in their 40s, underscoring the intensifying pressures on the country’s core working-age population, according to new government data. Figures released by Statistics Korea show that South Korea’s overall suicide rate rose to 29.1 deaths per 100,000 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s biosimilar industry is ramping up competition at home and abroad, with companies racing to secure early approvals, expand sales networks, and leverage artificial intelligence as differentiators in a crowded market. At least six biosimilars won approvals or launches globally this month alone, underscoring the pace of expansion. Celltrion [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s two largest automakers, Hyundai Motor and Kia, have agreed to broaden the scope of “ordinary wages” in their latest labor agreements, a move that could reshape labor relations and intensify cost pressures across corporate Korea. The accords, reached earlier this month, follow a Supreme Court ruling last December [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Obstruction of official duties against South Korean police officers remains alarmingly frequent, with more than 9,000 cases recorded last year — nearly 25 incidents every day — according to newly disclosed government data. Figures released by Rep. Seo Beom-soo of the People Power Party, citing the National Police Agency, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s second-largest telecom carrier, KT, is under mounting criticism from consumers and legal experts for refusing to disclose key network data in cases involving unauthorized mobile phone payments, even as reports of such incidents climb. Authorities say nearly 19,300 cases of fraud involving mobile micropayments were reported last [...]