WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top economic policymakers gathered in Washington this week, pressing to finalize a landmark trade agreement that could redefine the industrial and strategic alignment between Seoul and Washington. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met Thursday for what officials described as an “in-depth” two-hour discussion [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will soon allow organ donations from patients who die after life support is withdrawn and their hearts stop beating — not just those declared brain dead — in a major policy shift aimed at easing the nation’s severe shortage of transplant organs, the government announced Thursday. The change, [...]
HONGSEONG, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Chungcheong Province will build an eco-friendly recycling facility in Seocheon to convert massive amounts of driftwood and debris washed down the Geum River each summer into renewable wood pellets, officials said Thursday. The new center, to be located in the Janghang National Ecological Industrial Complex, aims to establish a [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Household lending in South Korea grew at its slowest pace in six months in September, new data showed Thursday, as tougher regulations and seasonal factors cooled borrowing amid renewed efforts to rein in housing prices and rising household debt. According to the Bank of Korea, household loans extended by banks [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Two of South Korea’s largest music copyright organizations are locked in a legal dispute over more than 100 billion won (about $72 million) in so-called “residual royalties” collected from YouTube — funds generated from music whose rights holders were unidentified or failed to claim payment in time. The Korea Music [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator has launched an on-site inspection into securities firms and banks accused of mis-selling a 90 billion won ($65 million) investment product that collapsed entirely, marking the first major consumer protection probe under the leadership of newly appointed Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Chan-jin. The FSS [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite six years under South Korea’s workplace bullying ban, nearly one in three employees who experience or witness such abuse choose not to report it, often fearing retaliation or reputational harm, a new government survey shows. According to data obtained by Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party from [...]
DAEGU, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The recent killing of a South Korean college student from Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in Cambodia has shed new light on how young Koreans are being lured overseas by criminal networks with false promises of easy money, court records show. A Daegu District Court ruling issued in May detailed the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean police say recent criminal investigations have exposed a growing use of virtual assets to launder the proceeds of large-scale frauds, reigniting debate over the need for stronger oversight as authorities and industry consider expanding the use of digital currencies, including won-pegged stablecoins. The Ulsan Police Agency disclosed [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top policy aide to President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that the government is considering a comprehensive overhaul of real estate taxation — including possible hikes in property holding taxes — as it moves to rein in surging home prices in Seoul and surrounding regions. Kim Yong-beom, the [...]