SEOUL, Mar. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s parliament passed eight bills intended to better fight fine dust Wednesday as the country is struggling with its worst-ever particle air pollution. The legislation includes a revision to the disaster and safety management law to include high density of particulate matter as a “social disaster.” Such a [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Statistics Korea has revealed that the cost of hiring caregivers rose by 6.9 percent last year, the largest jump since 2005. Last year’s overall consumer price index only rose by 1.5 percent. The only other time that the cost of caregivers has jumped as much was in 2008, when [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will ban using radioactive materials in consumer goods this year following public concerns over radon gas emitted from various products, the government said Tuesday. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said the government finalized this year’s policy aimed at preventing a recurrence of radon contamination concerns, including [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Rival parties are speeding up deliberation on various bills on fighting fine dust pollution, with a goal of passing at least seven of them in a plenary session of the National Assembly this week, officials said Monday. The nation’s three biggest parties — the ruling Democratic Party, the main [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of couples over the age of 60 are applying for divorce counseling, data released by a provider of free legal consultation services showed Monday. The Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations (KLACFR) said it handled 4,653 clients who wanted help with divorce last year, with [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s top chemical firm, said Monday that it has received a US$33.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new combination vaccine. The grant will be used to develop the 6-in-1 vaccine for simultaneous protection against six serious diseases — [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean workers’ spending on education and hobbies increased last year, due largely to the implementation of the government’s 52-hour workweek policy, government data showed Sunday Total household spending on private education came to 42.24 trillion won (US$37.15 billion) last year, up 3.22 percent from a year earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Spike in fine dust concentrations have caused sales of air purifiers for automobiles to soar amid rising consumer health concerns, local retailers said Sunday. Data provided by E-Mart Inc., South Korea’s largest discount hypermarket chain, showed sales of vehicle dust filtering products skyrocketing 1,046 percent on-year in the March [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A photocatalytic paint that absorbs fine dust will be applied to public buildings in Seoul for the very first time. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Thursday that it will repaint the outer walls of the Cinematheque Seoul Art Cinema located in Jung District with photocatalytic paint. “Once we [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — As one of some of the worst air pollution ever has swept across South Korea for six straight days, many people are particularly concerned for their health. A recent study revealed that continuous exposure to ultrafine dust can infiltrate facial pores and quicken the aging process, resulting in facial [...]