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. 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 [...]
South Korea’s Nuclear Export Deal with Westinghouse Sparked by U.S. Ruling on Reactor Technology Origins SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government’s controversial settlement with U.S. firm Westinghouse over nuclear technology rights was driven by a 2024 decision from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) declaring that Korea’s APR1400 reactor design contains American-origin [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government will formally launch the “K-Ship Tech Alliance” next year, a sweeping initiative designed to accelerate the shipbuilding industry’s transition to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as part of the country’s broader industrial innovation strategy. Announced at a high-level economic ministers’ meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The country’s chief financial regulator said Monday that financial authorities are ready to take additional measures, if needed, to rein in soaring household debt. During a parliamentary audit, Lee Eog-weon, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said his agency is taking preemptive measures to secure financial stability. [...]
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Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will soon allow organ donations from patients who die after life support is withdrawn and their hearts stop beating — not just those declared brain dead — in a major policy shift aimed at easing the nation’s severe shortage of transplant organs,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) — 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 [...]