SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Fatalities from multiple wildfires raging in southeastern South Korea over the past week have increased to 26, the government said Thursday. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said the wildfires in the North and South Gyeongsang provinces have caused 56 casualties — 26 deaths, eight serious injuries and [...]
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — While the compensation gap between top earners and average employees at major South Korean companies narrowed slightly last year, executives still earned more than 15 times their workers’ salaries, according to a new analysis by Leaders Index. The research firm’s study of 284 companies among Korea’s top 500 firms [...]
DAEGU, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Korean local governments are implementing a “lunchtime closure” policy at public offices, sparking a national debate over the balance between public service efficiency and workers’ right to rest. Under the system, civil service counters close entirely from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., giving staff uninterrupted [...]
CHEONGJU, South Korea, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — As wildfires continue to spread across South Korea this spring, local government officials and forest fire patrol officers are working around the clock, battling not only flames but growing exhaustion. In Naesu-eup, a rural district of Cheongju, 73-year-old forest fire watcher Lee Sang-bok begins his day as [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea’s medical school boycott stretches beyond its first year, frustration is mounting across university campuses over what many students view as unprecedented leniency toward their peers in medical schools. “There’s nothing that puts medical students above the law, so why are they getting such special treatment?” says [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court Sentencing Commission announced on Tuesday new sentencing guidelines aimed at strengthening penalties for animal abuse, sexual offenses, large-scale fraud, and violations of electronic financial transaction laws. The updated guidelines, finalized during the commission’s 137th meeting on March 24, 2025, will apply to crimes prosecuted from [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Political polarization remains the most pressing social conflict in South Korea, according to the 2024 Korean Social Indicators report released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The report, reflecting data from the previous year, highlights growing concerns over social isolation and widening disparities, alongside shifts in education, housing, and health [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) – In what appears to be a calculated diplomatic gesture, China is showing signs of relaxing its unofficial ban on South Korean cultural imports, amid growing pressure from the United States and a desire to improve relations with its East Asian neighbor. The shift becomes apparent as high-profile K-pop girl [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Wednesday it has hosted a forum themed on the reconstruction of Ukraine with business representatives from the Eastern European nation to strengthen bilateral ties in Kyiv’s postwar rebuilding efforts. The event was held Tuesday in Seoul in conjunction with a visit by [...]
SEOUL, March 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The state arms procurement agency said Wednesday it has completed a project to upgrade simulators for the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of efforts to better train pilots. The military has sought upgrades to the aging simulators deployed in 2000 and 2008 that have suffered performance issues [...]