SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s embattled petrochemical industry has agreed to slash its core production capacity by as much as a quarter, in a government-backed effort to stave off collapse and reposition for higher-value growth. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that 10 companies operating naphtha cracking centers (NCCs) [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is considering a major overhaul of how it grants pension credits for childbirth and military service, moving from a system of post-retirement adjustments to upfront support — a change that could save nearly 88 trillion won ($65 billion) in state finances over the long term, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s biggest conglomerates could see their founding families lose significant sway over board oversight if a second round of corporate law revisions clears the National Assembly, according to a new analysis. Leaders Index, a corporate research firm, said Tuesday that under the proposed reforms, roughly 38 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — An air-raid siren will be sounded on Wednesday, restricting people’s outdoor movement as part of a nationwide civil defense drill this week, officials said Tuesday. The 20-minute drill, slated for 2 p.m. Wednesday, will include civil evacuation training and traffic restrictions in an air raid attack scenario, according to [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – A government policy aimed at reducing smoking through tobacco tax increases appears to have only short-term impact, with a recent study revealing that the sales drop triggered by higher prices typically vanishes within four months. According to a new report released Monday by the Korea Institute for Health and [...]
South Korea Moves to Codify ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ by 2025, Amid Hurdles to Implementation SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is set to codify the principle of “equal pay for equal work” into the Labor Standards Act by the end of this year, aiming to implement the policy as [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is moving to ease staffing requirements for home-based hospice services in an effort to expand access to end-of-life care that allows patients to die with dignity at home. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a proposed amendment to the enforcement regulations of the Act [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Steel has withdrawn a 4.61 billion won ($3.4 million) damages lawsuit against members of its irregular workers’ union, who staged a strike in 2021. The move comes as the ruling Democratic Party pushes to pass the so-called “Yellow Envelope Law” this month, aimed at limiting companies’ ability to seek [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae-myung’s signature higher-education pledge to create “10 new Seoul National Universities” has been adopted as an official state agenda item, setting the stage for full-scale implementation. The initiative, part of the administration’s effort to tackle longstanding regional disparities in education quality, aims to invest heavily in regional [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Presidential Committee on National Planning unveiled Wednesday a comprehensive set of labor policy initiatives that would extend protections to the country’s smallest workplaces and strengthen rights for all workers. The proposals are part of President Lee Jae Myung’s broader agenda for his term, aimed at modernizing the nation’s [...]