SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday, signaling caution as a weakening currency and persistent inflation risks narrowed the scope for further monetary easing. The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea voted unanimously to hold the policy rate at 2.5 percent, extending a pause [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ordered Pizza Hut Korea to refund 21.5 billion won (about $16 million) to franchise owners, ruling that the company illegally collected undisclosed margin-based fees without explicit contractual consent—a decision expected to reverberate across the country’s franchise industry. In a final ruling issued Thursday, the Supreme [...]
WASHINGTON•SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea is preparing for “all possibilities” as it weighs how to respond if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down President Donald Trump’s sweeping, country-specific tariffs, a senior trade official said Wednesday, underscoring the uncertainty facing global markets as Washington’s trade policy hangs in the balance. Trade Minister Yeo [...]
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday signed a document to participate in a growing U.S.-led coalition for supply chain cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals and other areas, joining South Korea and seven other signatories to the group. The State Department said that Under Secretary of State [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that companies may be exempt from statutory damages for data breaches if they can demonstrate that customers suffered no actual harm, a decision that could reshape corporate liability in personal data cases. In a ruling finalized last month and disclosed [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly one in three mid-sized companies in South Korea say regulatory burdens intensify and government support diminishes as they grow, hampering their ability to scale up, according to a new business survey released Wednesday. The findings, published by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), highlight mounting concerns that the country’s so-called [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s postal service said it is seeking to broaden its role in public administration and logistics as part of a sweeping effort to shore up its finances and reposition itself as a platform for delivering government and social services. The Korea Post said at a policy briefing on Tuesday [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s customs authority said it will tighten identity verification for overseas online purchases next month, adding a new layer of checks to curb the misuse of personal customs clearance numbers following a series of data theft incidents. The Korea Customs Service said Wednesday that starting Feb. 2 it will [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s media watchdog said Wednesday it has asked U.S.-based social media platform X to come up with measures to protect minor users from sexual content generated by the artificial intelligence (AI) model Grok. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) said it delivered the request to the operator [...]
NARA, Japan, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea has reaffirmed its bid to join the trans-Pacific trade pact during the summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Lee’s top security adviser said Wednesday. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters that relevant government departments were expected to discuss [...]