The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea announced on Jan. 29 that it will start accepting applications from Jan. 30 for this year’s K-City Network Global Collaboration Project. This initiative aims to establish a smart city cooperation network with foreign nations and suppo
Positive tangible results are being made by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the CF Alliance pursuing a strategy to expand carbon-free power sources in the industrial sector.Major countries such as the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates
Samsung, Kia and other major Korean companies spent a record amount of money on lobbying the U.S. government in 2023 as they prepared for uncertainties in their trade environments.Last year, Samsung Group (Samsung Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics America and Samsung SDI America) spent US$6.3 milli
The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) announced on Jan. 29 that it has established its fifth overseas hub, following the opening of offices in New York, London, Singapore, and San Francisco.The new hub is the Mumbai office in India, marking the KIC’s first overseas presence in an emerging market. T
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is actively moving forward with the designation of new global innovation districts this year. Simultaneously, it is focusing its efforts on strengthening global collaboration programs to foster the venture ecosystem. The ministry plans to strengthen support fo
Starting from April of this year, foreigners and overseas Koreans must reside in the country for at least six months to be eligible for health insurance as dependent beneficiaries.According to the National Health Insurance Service on Jan. 24, a revision to the Health Insurance Act will take effect f
The first round of official negotiations to improve the Korea-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are being held in Seoul.The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Jan. 23 that more than 50 delegates from both countries are participating in the negotiations, led by Ahn Chang
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to inject 100 billion won into companies in advanced strategic industries and key supply chain sectors that are returning (U-turn) to Korea this year. This marks a 75% increase from the previous year. The corporate tax reduction period will be extende
The government is set to implement a comprehensive plan for “smart cities” incorporating new technologies. The primary focus is accelerating the entry into foreign markets through the restructuring of the “K-City Network” project. This initiative aims to strengthen the global competitiveness of Kore
The government is restructuring industrial and energy technology development projects to focus on high-risk, next-generation, and large-scale tasks. There will be a significant reduction in the financial burden on companies. The plan is to transition to a demand-driven process where businesses and r
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea announced the launch of the Asia-Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Summit (APFRAS) Secretariat on Jan. 15 to support the activities of the international cooperative body aimed at leading food sector international cooperation and regulatory harmoniz
South Korean passports took second place in the global passport power rankings. They moved up one spot from third place last year.The number of countries that give visa-free entry to Korean passport holders stood at 193, which means Korean passports claim second place, tied with Finland and Sweden,
The top leading economic organizations of Korea and Japan met in Tokyo for the first time in four years, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in fostering startups in the two countries. They also agreed to establish trilateral economic cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan, and to wo
The heads of the four major Korean conglomerates are expected not to participate in this year’s Davos Forum.Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo will not attend the 2024 Davos Forum,
A bill to amend the Petroleum and Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act passed the National Assembly’s plenary session on Sept. 9, paving the way for refiners to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).SAF is an aviation fuel derived from renewable biomass or carbon dioxide. It has the same compos
With the re-addition of Guatemala, the only Central American country that had previously withdrawn from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea and Central American nations, the FTA has reached its final completion.The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) announced that it formall
Despite a record influx of foreign workers, South Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still facing a labor shortage.According to a comprehensive survey on foreign labor employment conducted by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (K-Biz), 29.7% of the 1,200 SMEs employ
The government’s new entrusted operating funds for the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), the sovereign wealth fund, have effectively ceased from 2022 until last year. Some argue that the KIC faces concerns about its international competitiveness. In a landscape where competing sovereign wealth fun
The Korean government will increase an influx of foreign workers to industrial sites and rural areas suffering from labor shortages in 2024 to more than 260,000 from 170,000 in 2023 in response to the Korea’s population crisis and labor shortage, according to the Korean Government’s Economic Policy
The Korean government has earnestly taken steps to address the escalating population crisis, which has emerged as a significant social concern in the nation. More efforts will be made to bolster support for childbirth and the upbringing of infants and children, aimed at mitigating the population dec