SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK)’s first interest rate cut in 38 months highlighted the urgent need for South Korea to ease interest burdens on households and businesses to prop up sagging domestic demand despite concerns over rising home prices and household debts, experts said Friday. The BOK lowered its [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is reaching out to foreign residents for their perspectives on a recently announced standardization of foreign name notations in administrative documents. The ministry will host a field meeting on October 10 to gather feedback from those most affected by the new guidelines. The [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – A new convenience in South Korea’s bustling alcohol market is raising concerns about underage drinking. ‘Smart order’ services, which allow customers to order alcohol online and pick it up at offline stores, are under fire for potentially lax age verification procedures, a consumer watchdog group reported on October 10. The [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Riding a wave of growing international interest in the Korean language, South Korea’s Education Ministry announced on October 10 that it will double the frequency of its internet-based Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) in 2025. The ministry’s “2025 TOPIK Implementation Plan” outlines a total of 15 test administrations for [...]
YEONCHEON, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent fatal shooting in Yeoncheon County has shed light on the growing risks associated with South Korea’s expanding wild boar hunting program, as the number of licensed hunters has more than doubled since 2019. On October 6, a hunter in his 40s was accidentally shot and killed by a [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute announced on October 9 that they will launch their second anti-smoking advertisement campaign of the year, titled “E-cigarettes Are Not OK At All,” running from October 10 through the end of the year across various media platforms. This [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Seven months after the South Korean government launched a pilot program to clarify nurses’ responsibilities, about 30% of nurses still report feeling anxious due to ambiguous job scopes, according to a recent survey. Representative Kang Sun-woo of the Democratic Party of Korea revealed these findings on October 9, based on [...]
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea was elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2025-2027 term on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to actively participate in international efforts to address North Korean and other human rights issues. The U.N. General Assembly elected South Korea to the 47-member council for a sixth [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The Cabinet meeting on Thursday approved a new bill calling for tougher punishment for digital sex crimes using deepfake technologies. The revision of the sexual crimes punishment law calls for punishing people caught possessing, purchasing, storing or viewing deepfake sexual materials and other fabricated videos with up to three [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Japan interfered with South Korea’s marine research around its easternmost islets of Dokdo more than 70 times over a recent five year period, a lawmaker said Thursday. The hindrances to the research on climate change and the marine environment took place 75 times from 2019 to 2023, Hwang Hee, [...]