SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s climate and environment authorities said Thursday they will begin formally managing insects that appear in large numbers in urban areas, responding to a rise in outbreaks linked to climate change. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that so-called “urban mass-occurrence insects,” including the red-backed lovebug, will [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will allow middle and high school students to use credit cards issued in their own names under a family card system, part of a broader regulatory overhaul aimed at adapting the financial sector to a cashless economy. The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s Gangnam District has begun installing newly designed “separated smoking booths” along major commercial corridors, part of a broader effort to reduce secondhand smoke and ease tensions between smokers and pedestrians. District officials said Thursday that the first booths have been placed near the DB Financial Center on Teheran-ro and [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea on Thursday formally enacted a far-reaching law governing the use of artificial intelligence, positioning itself as the first country to introduce a comprehensive legal framework aimed at curbing misinformation, deepfakes and other emerging risks tied to the technology. The legislation, known as the AI Basic Act, establishes national [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The unification ministry said Thursday it will seek consultations with the U.N. Command (UNC) over its move to reopen three shuttered trail sections within the inter-Korean buffer zone of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In 2019, South Korea launched 11 trail routes, known as the DMZ Peace Trail, along key [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s artificial intelligence–based labor law consultation service recorded more than 117,000 inquiries last year, underscoring growing demand for round-the-clock guidance on wages, working hours and employment rights, the Labor Ministry said Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, usage of the AI-powered service rose sharply in 2025, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Wednesday it will sharply increase investment in nuclear fusion research this year, nearly doubling its budget as the government accelerates efforts to move the technology from laboratory development toward real-world demonstration and eventual commercialization. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it has finalized its 2026 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The military has been advised to swiftly adopt a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in handling firearms in a bid to prevent gun-related accidents and deaths in the military, the defense ministry said Wednesday. A special advisory committee comprising civilian, government and military officials made the recommendation as the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Wednesday that it had imposed a combined 272 billion won, or about $184 million, in fines on the country’s four largest commercial banks, accusing them of coordinating restrictions on mortgage lending in a way that undermined competition. The Fair Trade Commission said Shinhan Bank, Woori [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – Banks and other financial institutions will be temporarily exempt from the foreign exchange stability levy until June as part of government efforts to boost the supply of U.S. dollars, the budget ministry said Wednesday. Under the six-month measure, financial institutions will not be required to pay the special levy, [...]