SEOUL, July 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is weighing a significant pension reform that could bring platform workers — such as food delivery riders and chauffeur-for-hire drivers — under the same pension contribution scheme as regular employees, with their platforms potentially covering half of their premiums. A new report released Tuesday by the National [...]
SEOUL, July 9 (Korea Bizwire) — As climate change intensifies, its psychological toll—ranging from anxiety to trauma—is emerging as a critical public health issue, prompting experts in South Korea to call for an integrated mental health support system. At the Climate Health Forum hosted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the [...]
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry is once again under fire as a string of illegal rebate scandals have surfaced in 2025, reigniting calls for structural reform and stronger support for new drug development. Prosecutors recently indicted three mid-sized pharmaceutical companies and their employees in connection with the so-called “residents’ rebate” [...]
SEJONG, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s latest euro-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bond (FESB) offering in London has garnered record-breaking demand, signaling strong global investor confidence in the country’s fiscal and economic outlook under its newly inaugurated administration. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the €1.4 billion issuance on June 26 attracted [...]
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul is preparing to reintroduce trams to its streets for the first time in nearly six decades, as construction on the Wirye Line, the city’s first modern tram project, approaches completion. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Wirye tram line is scheduled to open in September 2026, with [...]
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Saturday that 60 additional in-home long-term care medical centers have been designated nationwide, bringing the total number to 195 just two and a half years after the initiative began. Launched in December 2022 with 28 sites, the program enables elderly individuals with [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government said Friday it will fine SK Telecom Co. for belatedly reporting a data breach affecting all 25 million users and ordered it to waive customer cancellation fees, wrapping up its two-month probe into one of the worst data leak cases in the country’s history. SK [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Yongsan District in central Seoul has completed a cutting-edge urban design project aimed at crime prevention in Cheongpa-dong, an area with a high concentration of single female households, officials announced Thursday. The initiative, led in partnership with Sookmyung Women’s University’s environmental design department, integrates smart technologies and tailored spatial [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Visual Artists Copyright Association convened a special policy seminar Thursday in central Seoul to discuss the future of the country’s nascent “art-for-tax” program, which allows inherited artworks to be used in lieu of cash for paying estate taxes. [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s ambitious initiative to curb antibiotic resistance through a national antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) is faltering due to widespread staffing shortages, with more than half of eligible hospitals unable to participate, a new government-commissioned report has found. The study, conducted by Hanyang University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation for the [...]