JEJU, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A Netflix animated feature has unexpectedly cast a centuries-old Korean craft into the global limelight. In K-Pop Demon Hunters, the boy band “Saja Boys,” rivals of the girl group protagonists, don traditional hats known as gat — and audiences worldwide have taken notice. One character’s performance, twirling a gat’s [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – In a nation often described as a “coffee republic,” South Koreans are increasingly reaching for decaffeinated brews, reshaping menus and fueling new debates about caffeine’s role in daily life. On a busy avenue in central Seoul, a café recently advertised only decaf coffee on a large signboard — a [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s gender wage gap at publicly listed companies grew wider last year, even as the gap in average tenure between men and women narrowed, according to new government data. An analysis of 2,980 corporate annual reports for 2024, released Friday by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Once regarded as isolated personal misfortunes, “lonely deaths” — people dying alone and unnoticed — are increasingly being understood in South Korea as symptoms of systemic failure. A government-commissioned study released Friday portrays the phenomenon as a “social disaster” demanding urgent intervention. According to the report, prepared by the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Exchange said Friday it will introduce three new stock indexes tied to artificial intelligence on Sept. 8, underscoring how rapidly the technology is reshaping investment strategies across industries. The indexes — the KRX Sovereign AI Index, the KRX-Akros AI Power Infrastructure Index, and the KRX AI Semiconductor Index [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s judiciary is bracing for what many judges describe as the most sweeping attempt at judicial reform in decades, as the Supreme Court moves to gather the views of court leaders nationwide ahead of legislation being advanced by the ruling Democratic Party. The Supreme Court announced that it will [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Democratic Party on Friday unveiled plans to impose far heavier financial penalties on media outlets for publishing false or manipulated reports, vowing to pass the legislation before the Chuseok holiday on Oct. 6. At a press briefing, the party’s special committee on media reform said it would [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — A large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor Group–LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site in Georgia has sent shockwaves through Korean companies operating in the United States, raising fears of heightened regulatory risks under the Trump administration. According to foreign media and industry officials, U.S. Immigration and Customs [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new culture minister offered a stark warning on Thursday, saying that behind the glittering image of K-pop, K-drama and other cultural exports lies a fragile industry infrastructure at risk of collapse. At his first press conference since taking office, Choi Hwi-young, minister of culture, sports and tourism, said he [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s efforts to rescue its collapsing essential medical system by sharply raising reimbursements for high-risk surgeries have failed to halt the sector’s decline, new government data show. Even with more generous payments, essential care still accounts for less than 20 percent of total medical spending, while pediatric and obstetric [...]