SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Asset Management said Tuesday that its KODEX Robot Active exchange-traded fund (ETF) has surpassed 200 billion won ($145 million) in net assets, underscoring surging investor enthusiasm for the nation’s robotics sector amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence. As of October 14, the fund’s net asset value stood at [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — While much of the world races to unlock the economic and therapeutic potential of medical cannabis, South Korea remains mired in outdated regulations that treat even non-psychoactive compounds as narcotics. Lawmakers and experts warn that this rigid stance is stifling domestic innovation, draining public healthcare funds, and pushing patients [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — As soaring bakery prices push past 10,000 won for just a few items at franchise shops, Koreans are increasingly turning to low-cost private label (PB) bread sold at convenience stores and large retailers. The shift has fueled what industry insiders are calling a “budget bakery boom,” with PB bread [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics’ latest foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7, have received the highest ratings from leading consumer publications in the United States and Europe, reinforcing the company’s dominance in the premium foldable market. According to industry sources on Wednesday, consumer advocacy magazines in five countries — including [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite repeated warnings, South Korea’s legal framework still fails to prevent unauthorized access to patients’ medical records, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to misuse. At the center of the concern is a glaring legislative gap: under current medical law, hospitals are only required to keep logs when electronic medical records [...]
DAEJEON, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s national standards institute has unveiled an artificial eye designed to mimic the human retina, a breakthrough aimed at improving the accuracy of diagnostic imaging for retinal diseases. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) said Monday it has developed a “retinal phantom,” a synthetic model [...]
JEJU, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Jeju Province will roll out a three-year pilot program to repurpose used electric-vehicle batteries into agricultural machinery and energy storage systems, underscoring South Korea’s broader push to strengthen its battery recycling industry. The project, set to run through 2027, will supply 100 devices—including farm equipment, transport robots, and streetlights [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Delinquency rates at South Korea’s major credit card companies hit an 11-year high in the first quarter amid an economic slowdown, the central bank said Thursday. The delinquency rate on loan assets at the major card firms came to 2.3 percent as of end-March, the highest since 2014, according [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry is bracing for fallout after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the widely used painkiller Tylenol could raise the risk of autism when taken during pregnancy, a claim experts say lacks scientific basis. At a White House press conference on September 22, Trump said studies [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s widening gap between retirement and pension eligibility is fueling structural imbalances in middle-aged employment, with Seoul turning to data-driven policymaking to address the challenge. According to a new survey of 10,000 job seekers and 450 companies released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul 50 Plus [...]