SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government will launch a nationwide refund program this fall that reimburses consumers for part of their credit card spending in an effort to revive household demand and support small businesses. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday that the “Coexistence Payback” scheme will run from [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The government on Wednesday announced a set of measures aimed at stabilizing supply chains in the nation’s strategic industries, with support extending to “every stage” of the industrial process, the finance ministry said. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said the measures will focus on sectors particularly vulnerable to [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) agreed Wednesday to ramp up their policy efforts to infuse private firms, the public sector as well as all sectors of society with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Under the so-called AI Transformation initiative, the government and the DP plan to promote [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped below 700 million tons last year for the first time in nearly 15 years, driven by a shift from coal to nuclear and renewable energy. The Ministry of Environment’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center reported Wednesday that national emissions reached 691.6 million [...]
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 [...]