SEOUL, June 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Council is advancing a new ordinance that prioritizes children’s right to play over noise complaints related to playground activities, aiming to safeguard childhood development while mediating community concerns. On June 3, Councilmember Yoon Young-hee of the People Power Party introduced an amendment to the “Seoul Ordinance [...]
GWANGMYEONG, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) — In a pioneering move to combat suicide, the city of Gwangmyeong, just southwest of Seoul, has equipped 10 rental cars with carbon monoxide detectors, becoming the first municipality in South Korea to adopt such a measure. The city government announced Thursday that it partnered with local company K Rent-a-Car to [...]
Gwangju, South Korea, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The rain came and went over Gwangju’s northern hills, but the students kept walking—518 of them, a symbolic number etched into the nation’s memory. On this overcast morning, just two days before the 45th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, they made their quiet way through the [...]
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) of South Korea has imposed a ₩1.36 billion (approximately $990,000) fine on Chinese e-commerce platform Temu for violating the country’s data protection laws, including the unauthorized overseas transfer of personal data belonging to South Korean users. The penalty, announced on May 15, comes [...]
SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Two disability rights activists affiliated with the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) underwent a pretrial detention hearing on Monday after staging a 15-day rooftop protest atop a Catholic cathedral in Seoul’s Hyehwa-dong neighborhood. They were arrested earlier this month on charges of violating assembly laws after descending voluntarily from the [...]
SEOUL, May 1 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean appellate court has ordered the government to pay 11 million won (approximately $7,600) in damages to a Moroccan national who was subjected to abusive treatment, including the controversial “shrimp posture” restraint, while held at an immigration detention center. The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 9-1 upheld [...]
SEOUL, April 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean appellate court has upheld the disciplinary suspension of Pastor Lee Dong-hwan, who received a two-year suspension from the Korean Methodist Church for offering blessings to LGBTQ individuals during a queer cultural festival in 2019. The Seoul High Court’s Civil Division 9 on April 24 dismissed Lee’s appeal [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — One in three South Korean women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime, a government survey showed Thursday. The gender ministry said the survey conducted in-person on 7,027 female adults nationwide from September to November last year showed that 36.1 percent of women had [...]
SEOUL, April 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Starting April 23, 2025, individuals with disabilities in South Korea will be allowed to enter nearly all public and private spaces with assistance dogs, following a newly revised enforcement ordinance and rule under the Disability Welfare Act (ACT ON WELFARE OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES). Announced by the Ministry of Health [...]
YEONGAM, South Korea, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The death of a 28-year-old Nepali migrant worker in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, has sparked national concern and renewed calls for labor reform, as rights groups accuse his former employer of sustained abuse and exploitation. The worker, identified only as Mr. A, was found dead in February 2025 [...]