SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Jung Eun-hye, a 35-year-old actress and painter with Down syndrome who rose to prominence through the hit drama Our Blues, appeared before South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday to call for the passage of a special bill supporting stable, rights-based public jobs for people with severe disabilities. Speaking as a [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite a high-profile safety campaign, Seoul’s designated “kickboard-free zones” are failing to keep electric scooters off crowded streets, with underage riders zipping through school districts largely unchecked. On a recent afternoon in the Banpo neighborhood, a 15-year-old middle school student rode a shared e-scooter alongside friends on electric bicycles, weaving [...]
DANGJIN, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — A new safety initiative by Hyundai Steel Co. has sparked a labor dispute after the company deployed four-legged patrol robots at its Dangjin plant, with the metalworkers’ union accusing the firm of using the technology to monitor workers rather than protect them. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union, affiliated with [...]
GYEONGJU, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea’s ancient city of Gyeongju played host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit this week, one guest drew particular fascination not for his diplomacy, but for his dinner order. U.S. President Donald Trump, who stayed overnight at the Hilton Hotel in Gyeongju during his two-day [...]
JEONJU, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A courtroom drama over a stolen snack valued at just 1,050 won (about 70 cents) has drawn national attention in South Korea, where prosecutors have asked the court to suspend sentencing for a 41-year-old security guard accused of stealing a Choco Pie and custard bread from an office refrigerator. [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A rare institutional rift has opened between South Korea’s Supreme Court and Constitutional Court over a proposed system that would allow citizens to challenge judicial decisions on constitutional grounds. During a National Assembly audit on Wednesday, Supreme Court Chief Judicial Administration Officer Cheon Dae-yeop and Constitutional Court Secretary-General Son In-hyuk [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — In a quiet courtroom in Seoul on Thursday, the five young women of NewJeans lost the first round of one of K-pop’s most dramatic showdowns. A judge ruled that their management contract with the agency ADOR remains valid, rejecting the group’s bid for independence after months of turmoil that has [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul is turning to artificial intelligence and advanced spatial data to make its streets safer, using a city-developed 3D mapping platform to identify and eliminate potential crime blind spots. City officials said Wednesday that the new system, known as the S-Map Crime Vulnerability Prediction Model, will be fully deployed [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial authorities are moving to tighten oversight of insurance agents in an effort to curb their involvement in fraud, introducing measures that would mandate pre-screening and expand public disclosures of disciplinary records. The Financial Services Commission said Wednesday it discussed the reforms during a meeting of the Insurance [...]
GWANGJU, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is confronting a troubling rise in criminal investigations and prosecutions involving people with mental disabilities, prompting renewed calls for reforms to safeguard their legal rights. According to a report released in May by the Judicial Policy Research Institute, criminal cases involving mentally disabled individuals nearly doubled in four [...]