SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Strict social distancing guidelines brought on by the coronavirus pandemic have prompted a growing number of South Koreans to read books to pass the time. South Korean online commerce giant 11st reported that sales of e-book readers and tablets jumped by 117 percent between Aug. 30-Sept. 6. Table lamp [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Assembly passed a bill to extend the family care leave of absence for employees up to 25 days Monday as the country struggles to fight a resurgence of new coronavirus infections. The assembly’s plenary session approved the bill to revise the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean companies saw their overseas sales tumble nearly 20 percent in the second quarter of the year during the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Combined overseas sales of the country’s top 100 firms by revenue totaled 146.3 trillion won (US$123 billion) in the April-June period, down 19.8 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted what otherwise would have been a buzzy and exciting spring season, South Korea’s universities are scrambling to find a way to resume some resemblance of normalcy in the fall semester by taking annual festivals online. Most of the country’s universities put off [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Online shopping jumped 15.8 percent from a year earlier in July, data showed Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic prompted more shoppers to buy goods via e-commerce platforms. The value of online transactions came to 12.96 trillion won (US$10.9 billion) in the month, up 1.76 trillion won from the same [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean telecom operators are expanding collaborations to develop robot-based services that counter the COVID-19 pandemic, industry officials said Thursday, as businesses and establishments seek to limit face-to-face contact to reduce the risk of infection. LG Uplus Corp., the country’s No. 3 mobile carrier, said it has partnered with [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea began Sunday to restrict operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the greater Seoul area in an effort to contain the fast spread of the new coronavirus. Under the plan that lasts until next Sunday, restaurants and bakeries can operate until 9 p.m., and only [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Friday that it will begin to restrict operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the greater Seoul area this weekend in the latest move to contain the fast spread of the new coronavirus. Under the plan set to take effect Sunday, restaurants and bakeries [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The employment rate for nine minor cities in South Korea fell in the first half of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic hit job markets, data showed Tuesday. The employment rate for the nine cities, including Jeonju, Osan, Yangsan and Chuncheon, stood at 58.3 percent in the first half, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea faces a critical moment before further heightening its social distancing guidelines to the highest level if a decision to expand the current measures nationwide starting Sunday fails to put a break on a continued surge in new virus cases. On Saturday, the government announced it would be [...]