SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – In South Korea, the seemingly harmless act of skipping a restaurant reservation may soon come with a much steeper price. The Fair Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it plans to raise cancellation fees for diners who fail to show up without notice—a move aimed at curbing what officials describe [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — More than six years after South Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down the nation’s longstanding abortion ban as unconstitutional, lawmakers have yet to pass replacement legislation—leaving women and medical professionals in a state of growing uncertainty. A new government-backed study released Tuesday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and [...]
MUAN, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — In a country racing to secure its place in the global artificial intelligence arms race, South Jeolla Province has quietly become a surprising frontrunner. Backed by abundant renewable energy and vast land resources, the region is drawing some of the world’s biggest technology investments—including the government’s next national AI computing [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Council is taking a landmark step toward acknowledging the economic and social value of unpaid labor traditionally carried out by women. Council Chair Choi Ho-jung announced Tuesday the introduction of an ordinance that would allow women who have spent years in household management or caregiving roles to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a growing presence of service robots in South Korea’s restaurants and public facilities, concerns are mounting over potential hacking risks and the absence of government oversight to ensure their cybersecurity. According to data submitted by the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) to Rep. Choi Su-jin of the opposition [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Police Agency has suspended its use of a domestic artificial intelligence–based legal information platform, citing cost pressures and growing concerns over the reliability of AI-generated content after a recent controversy involving ChatGPT-created false legal citations. According to police officials on Tuesday, the agency announced on its internal [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — When Sanae Takaichi walked into Japan’s Diet chamber on Tuesday to become the country’s first female prime minister, the moment marked both a breakthrough and a question mark for East Asia’s uneasy diplomacy. In Seoul, officials were quick to strike a tone of optimism. “We will continue to closely communicate [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Dual-income couples are more likely to consider having children when housework and earning power are shared equally between partners, a new study has found. According to research published by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, women’s willingness to have children rises significantly when household chores are evenly [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will expand its national pension premium support program starting in 2026 to cover low-income individuals who have temporarily lost income due to job loss or business closure, even if they do not immediately resume payments, the government announced Monday. The reform, part of the pension overhaul agreed upon [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ruled that resident doctors at general hospitals are entitled to overtime and night-shift pay under the Labor Standards Act, marking a major decision that reinforces labor protections for medical trainees. The court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of three former emergency medicine residents [...]