SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and the United Kingdom signed an upgraded free trade agreement aimed at easing rules of origin for Korean exporters and expanding access to Britain’s high-speed rail and digital services markets, Seoul’s trade ministry said Tuesday. The deal, signed in London by Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill that would sharply increase financial penalties for companies responsible for major personal data breaches, amid rising public anger over a series of high-profile leaks. The bill, approved by the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee subpanel, would raise the maximum fine for [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A proposal that would grant the South Korean government authority over civilian access to the Demilitarized Zone — long controlled by the United Nations Command — is facing resistance from key ministries in Seoul and from the U.S.-led command itself. Lawmakers from the governing Democratic Party introduced the bill [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The presidential office reaffirmed Tuesday that South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo are unequivocally South Korean territory, rejecting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s renewed claim over the islets in the East Sea. A senior presidential official dismissed Takaichi’s remarks during a parliamentary session earlier in the day, reasserting that [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Both the United States and China have quietly omitted references to the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” from major national security documents released in recent weeks, raising speculation over whether the two most influential actors in nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang are recalibrating their approach. The omission in Washington was notable. [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A sweeping shift in American national security priorities — from reasserting influence in the Western Hemisphere to elevating Taiwan’s defense and omitting North Korea’s denuclearization — is prompting fresh debate in Seoul over what the changes signal for South Korea’s security role in Asia. The White House on Thursday [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s unification minister publicly criticized the United Nations Command (UNC) on Wednesday, revealing that it had recently barred a senior presidential security aide from entering the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), reviving long-standing tensions over the scope of the UNC’s authority. Speaking at a National Assembly hearing on legislation to expand [...]
President Lee Jae-myung on Dec. 3, marking the first anniversary of the martial-law crisis, declared, “We will complete the Revolution of Light and build a true nation of popular sovereignty.” In a special national address titled “First Anniversary of the Revolution of Light” delivered at the presidential office in Yongsan that morning, Lee said, “I [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the failed Dec. 3 coup attempt by declaring that the South Korean people “have every right to receive the Nobel Peace Prize” for defending democracy against an illegal military intervention. In a nationally televised address titled “First Anniversary of [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday forcefully dismissed renewed proposals for South Korea to pursue its own nuclear weapons program, calling the idea “impossible” and warning that it would trigger immediate international backlash. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office, Lee addressed growing calls from some opposition lawmakers to [...]