SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Self-driving buses will be deployed on bus rapid transit (BRT) routes for the first time in South Korea. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday it has deployed BRT-exclusive autonomous buses connecting Osong Station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province and the Sejong Express Intercity Bus Terminal in [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases rose over 87,000 Tuesday, a significant hike from the previous day but a similar level reported last week. The country confirmed 87,596 new coronavirus infections, including 66 from overseas, bringing the total to 28,772,196, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The youth suicide rate increased in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic to remain as their No. 1 cause of death, data showed Tuesday, in yet another sign of a chronic problem that has plagued South Korea for years. The suicide rate per 100,000 people aged 17 and below reached [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of small companies in South Korea edged down 0.1 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The number of small businesses reached 4.11 million in 2021, down 10,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of people are struggling to pay back loans with as interest rates continue to rise, a central bank report said Monday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) reported that the average debt service ratio (DSR) of mortgage borrowers in the third quarter of this year reached 60.6 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Nuclear power plants played a significant role in the energy market in South Korea this year, recording the highest proportion of overall electricity transactions in the past seven years, the power market operator said Monday. The Korea Power Exchange reported that the volume of electricity transactions from nuclear power [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric two-wheelers registered in Seoul has surpassed the 76,000 level, the city government said. Last year the capital city subsidized purchases of 52,427 EVs, including electric two-wheelers, with subsidies for an additional 24,000 vehicles expected this year. The share of EVs among [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul Metro, the city-run operator of the subway system in Seoul, said Monday it has introduced Safe Roads to guide passengers to elevators inside subway stations. Seoul Metro joined hands with the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Korea Elevator Safety Agency to lay out Safe Roads in [...]
UIJEONGBU, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Gyeonggi Province is coming up with ways to ensure the safety of personal mobility devices like e-scooters. The provincial office said Monday it will establish a comprehensive plan for the safe use of personal mobility devices next month, and create a joint consultative body for its execution. Previously, the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday declared “zero tolerance” for rush-hour subway protests by members of a disability advocacy group, pledging to take all possible legal action to stop them from disrupting subway services. Since late last year, the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) has staged subway-riding protests at [...]