SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — In a significant healthcare reform initiative, the South Korean government announced plans to reclassify certain non-critical and uninsured medical treatments, including manual therapy, under a new “managed care” category that will require patients to pay over 90% of the costs. The policy change, unveiled at a public forum on healthcare [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The use of cashless payment methods, such as credit cards and digital wallets, has led to a record low number of counterfeit bills detected in South Korea last year, according to the Bank of Korea. In its report released on January 9, the central bank stated that only 143 counterfeit [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The volume of corporate bonds maturing in the first quarter of 2025 has risen sharply, marking a 27% increase compared to the same period last year. According to Yonhap Infomax on January 9, the total amount of general corporate bonds set to mature this quarter stands at ₩24.92 trillion, up [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — A new study has revealed that individuals who have previously filed claims for private medical insurance not only visit hospitals more frequently but also spend more on outpatient care compared to those who haven’t filed claims. According to research published in the recent issue of the Korean Journal of Hospital [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system achieved a surplus for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, with its reserve fund reaching a record 29.7 trillion won, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced on January 7. In 2024, NHI revenue totaled 99 trillion won, while expenditures amounted to [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s stock market stumbled on January 7 after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed at CES 2025 that the company’s new GeForce RTX graphics processing unit (GPU) will use DRAM supplied by Micron Technology, sidelining Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The announcement cooled investor sentiment, halting the recent rally that [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A credit rating agency has warned that South Korea could face downward pressure on its sovereign credit rating toward the end of the year due to the government’s decision to expand treasury bond issuance. While global credit rating agencies have indicated that political uncertainties, including martial law and impeachment proceedings, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it will become the largest shareholder in a South Korean robotics startup, Rainbow Robotics, as part of its push for advancing robotics technologies including humanoid robots. The tech giant increased its stake in Rainbow Robotics to 35 percent by exercising a call option on [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stock markets have shed more than 250 trillion won in market capitalization this year, standing in stark contrast to the record-setting rallies seen in other major global markets. According to the Korea Exchange, as of December 27, the main KOSPI market’s capitalization stood at 1,966.96 trillion won, while [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, has seen its market capitalization plummet by over 160 trillion won this year, marking a significant contraction in its dominance on the domestic stock market. As of December 26, the total market value of Samsung’s 22 listed companies, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics, [...]