SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Drug trafficking using international shipping has sharply increased as overseas travel became nearly impossible and online purchases went up amid the coronavirus pandemic, a local customs office said Tuesday. The Incheon Main Customs said it busted 189 cases of drug smuggling into South Korea in the first quarter of [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of scientists said Tuesday that Ieodo, a submerged rock south of Jeju Island, was created more than 2.24 million years ago through a volcanic eruption, marking the first time for the detailed origin of the rock to be revealed. Scientists were able to trace the origin of [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Tuesday announced a decision to extend the period of stay for about 115,000 foreign migrant workers by one year in a bid to relieve labor shortages at small businesses and in farming and fishing communities. The labor and justice ministries said that the temporary extension of [...]
SEJONG, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has recently experienced a flare-up in virus cases, with outbreaks occuring at schools that opened in early March for the spring semester, putting to test the ability of health and education authorities to keep schools safely open. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae visited a high school in Anyang, [...]
SEJONG, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean households’ spending on lottery tickets rose more than 7 percent in 2020 despite a record fall in their overall consumption, government data showed Tuesday. Local households spent a monthly average of 590 won (US$0.52) on lottery tickets last year, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier, according [...]
INCHEON, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Alarm bells are ringing for South Korea’s convenience stores as the Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced a plan to crack down on cigarette ads starting from July. Under the current Tobacco Business Act and the National Health Promotion Act, convenience stores are required to prevent their in-store [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 for the first time in six days Monday partly due to fewer tests over the weekend, amid looming concerns over the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country reported 587 more COVID-19 cases, including 560 local infections, raising the [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of unemployment benefit recipients reached a new monthly record in March, due mainly to the prolonged negative impact of coronavirus pandemic on the economy, government data showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government paid job-seeking benefits, also dubbed unemployment allowance, to 759,000 [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A tougher mask mandate that went into effect for all indoor public places nationwide on Monday is triggering a spate of controversy, as some people complain of inconvenience in their daily lives. Beginning this week, mask wearing is mandatory in all public indoor spaces and on public transportation, including [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Newly elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Monday the city will look for ways to allow small businesses, hurt by prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, to operate longer hours and asked the central government to approve COVID-19 self-testing kits to support the plan. “Many neighborhood businesses, which are the backbone of Seoul’s [...]